BY: KEVIN BOGDAN
Since the Buffalo Sabres season has been an absolute dumpster fire, I have been looking to jump on another team’s bandwagon to have a rooting interest in the NHL Playoffs. I have not chosen any teams that are rivals (or ex-rivals) of the Sabres. Even though I would love to see Jumbo Joe Thornton win a cup, I can’t get myself to root for the Maple Leafs. Nonetheless, here are the teams I suggest Sabres fans root for in the playoffs (in no particular order).
The Panthers desperately need some success to boost that fanbase in South Beach. Even though the Panthers are usually in the same division as the Sabres, I have never considered them rivals. I don’t think the Sabres are even good enough to have rivals right now. Also, Keith Yandle is one of my favorite personalities in the league, and I would love to see him have some postseason success.
Denver is such an underrated sports town, and their barn is always rockin’ during the playoffs. Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Eichel have some similarities because they are MVP caliber players who, at some point (or currently), went through some rough years with their team at some point. It is easy to root for a player who went through the trenches and eventually dug their team out of the hole to lead them to become a Cup contending team. We can only hope the Sabres can take the same path as the Avalanche.
I feel so bad for Wild fans. They live in the State of Hockey and have had little to no success in their existence. It is nice to finally see them winning games and having some nice prospects develop into solid NHL players. Also, as a Bills fan, I feel bad for the city of Minnesota because Brandon Beane stole Stefon Diggs from the Vikings. So, let’s go Wild.
I usually tend not to root for Canadian hockey teams (‘Merica), but I felt obligated to choose a team from the North Division, and Winnipeg is the easy choice. After moving from Atlanta, the Jets have put together some decent squads the past few seasons. The city gets a bad reputation for being in the arctic (as does Buffalo). But the fanbase is one of the craziest in the league. The Winnipeg whiteout in the playoffs is electric, and their games are must-watch just for that alone.
Now I know that Chicago is just coming off a dynasty-winning three Stanley Cups, but Patrick Kane is the closest connection Buffalo has to a championship. Kane’s career is coming to an end and we need to cherish being able to watch him still dominate at a high level. Chicago has a young team that has surpassed expectations this season, especially losing Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach before the season started. Kane has pretty much single-handedly carried the team on his back and is in the running for the Hart Trophy.
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