Buffalo Sabres Still the HOTTEST Team in the NHL

So much is said about the teams that are on a streak and rack up the points to be in first place in a division. Now the critics are talking about how good the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Toronto Maple Leafs are doing, but thankfully using the Buffalo Sabres as a benchmark.

Anaheim is so good that it has taken four overtime losses to have a record better than Buffalo. Last time I checked a loss is a loss, right? Not since the NHL instituted the earning of a point for losing in over time in 1999. Granted Buffalo will be meeting Anaheim in the Stanley Cup Finals and beating them in seven games with three overtime wins. Fortunately in the playoffs, you get what you earn.

Atlanta has been Buffalo's nemesis since Buffalo beat them up on November 11, 2001 with a score of 8-0, in Buffalo. Since that time the Sabres have gone 5-9-0 against the Thrashers. So most Buffalo fans worry when the Thrashers meet the Sabres. But remember the Thrashers are learning from the Ottawa Senators on how to have really stellar seasons to only fall apart in the post-season. So Atlanta may have stopped Buffalo's streak in one game, but the same will not happen in the playoffs.

Not to take anything away from Toronto's great run so far this season, but at the time of this article the Maple Leafs have played four more games than Buffalo and still remain two points behind. Hey Leafs fans, your gonna have to accept that Toronto will be finishing in second place in the Northeast Division and fourth in the conference. But after the Maple Leafs failed to make the playoffs in the new NHL last year, that is quite the accomplishment.

One major speed bump for Toronto that will force them to have a 13-game win streak later in the season, is their beacon of strength will be on an injury vacation for three to four weeks. Mats Sundin had amassed 8 goals and 11 assists for 19 points in the 17 games, leading all the Leafs. Without Toronto's best captain ever, look for the Maple Leafs to go .500 for the next month.

With four teams biting at the heels of the best team in hockey, watch for the Sabres to continue their current win streak until they meet either the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 17 in Buffalo or the New Jersey Devils on December 12 in New Jersey.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a team structure that mimics the Sabres - young, fast, and very talented. The Penguins will probably make a turn around this year like the Sabres did last year, but will eventually have their Finals hopes crushed by Buffalo in the conference finals.

The New Jersey Devils are counting the days until their eventual slump when aged 13-year veteran goalie Martin Brodeur finally retires. While Brodeur is still a force to be reckoned with, his team in front of him is becoming a group of superstar relics. New Jersey is one of the teams that had the look of the new NHL several years ago and now fall exactly between the perfect model, the Sabres/Penguins, and the exact failure of change, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Since the last article about the number one team in the NHL, the Sabres have beaten (in order) the Detroit Red Wings 3-2, NY Rangers 7-4, Philadelphia Flyers 9-1, Carolina Hurricanes 5-4, Boston Bruins 6-2, Montreal Canadiens 4-1, NY Islanders 3-0, Boston Bruins 5-4, NY Rangers 4-3, Florida Panthers 5-4, and the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4. There were only two losses during this stretch of surreal hockey to two formidable opponents as before mentioned the Atlanta Thrashers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The next winning streak has started, are you ready for more records to be broken?