"But an odd thing happened when Adams was excused from further migraines. The Sabres stopped sucking. They came home and beat Philadelphia and the New York Islanders, and other than the very occasional hiccup have won ever since. Thursday night they outlasted Montreal, 5-3, for their 15th win in 17 games. All of which incites a series of questions. Is"
"Is this the rare new-general-manager bounce we've never heard of before? Are the lads winning to honor the freshly binned leader who assembled all this previously somnolent talent? Or is it just a big dumbassed coincidence that had nothing to do with Adams leaving, his replacement Jarmo Kekalainen entering, or Pegula tearing himself away from Josh Allen for five minutes?"
"Whatever it is, the Sabres are a defensively obstinate, offensively intrepid, and seriously difficult team to play, especially at home, as the equally surprising Canadiens learned to their own cost. A sellout crowd of 19.070, a serious rarity in Buffalo since the pandemic, got to watch elongated Tage Thompson's hat trick and five-point night, goaltender Colten Ellis repelled the Habs' best efforts in a frantic third period, and the Sabres suddenly look very un-Sabre-y."
On December 15 the Buffalo Sabres fired general manager Kevyn Adams after five years without a playoff appearance and a decade-long franchise playoff drought. Attendance had dropped, leaving the Sabres notable for underperformance in the local sports landscape. After the dismissal the team immediately improved, returning home to beat Philadelphia and the New York Islanders and compiling 15 wins in 17 games, including a 5-3 victory over Montreal. The surge prompted questions about whether a management change, player loyalty, or coincidence explained the turnaround. The team showed defensive stubbornness and offensive audacity, and a sellout crowd witnessed Tage Thompson's hat trick and five-point night while goaltender Colten Ellis stood tall in a frantic third period.
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