Buffalo Sabres clinch first playoff berth since 2011, end NHL-record drought

WASHINGTON — For the first time since 2011, the Buffalo Sabres are going to the Stanley Cup playoffs.The Sabres ended a league-record 14-season playoff drought on Saturday afternoon when the Detroit Red Wings lost 4-1 to the New York Rangers.It was an anticlimactic end to the drought, especially after the Sabres had a chance to clinch a postseason berth with a win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. Instead of celebrating in the postgame locker room on Thursday, most Sabres players were probably taking their pregame nap during part of the Red Wings’ game against the Rangers. The Sabres play the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m., but they will now do so without the pressure of it being a clinching scenario.Advertisement