O'Reilly: Sabres can't just decide to win Cup one year

Contenders aren't created with the flick of a switch.

Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly believes that's why his squad still has something to play for in the season's final weeks, although the Sabres haven't made a satisfactory amount of progress in the 2016-17 campaign.

"You don't just wake up one year and decide you're going to win a Stanley Cup or decide you're going to be a competing team for it," O'Reilly told Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News. "It's tough to jump in the standings. Each year you have to make a push."

Buffalo's current pace would see the team finish one point shy of last year's 81-point effort. That season's squad didn't include the likes of free-agent addition Kyle Okposo, a reborn Evander Kane, or a more seasoned Jack Eichel, who has built on his freshman year.

The Sabres appeared to be surging in recent weeks, putting together five wins in seven games through mid-February, only to follow it up by going 3-8-2 in their past 13. Through a recent California road swing, the Sabres went 1-for-3, their lone victory coming in a shootout win over the Anaheim Ducks, and managed only two goals in three contests.

On Feb. 18, Buffalo sat just two points back of a wild-card position and was within striking distance of its first postseason berth since 2011. After collecting just seven points in March, the Sabres have all but fallen out of the mix. Now eight points outside the playoff picture, this spring will mark six straight years without postseason play in Buffalo.

Still, the Sabres can look to the positives in their final 10 games to begin next season on a high note.

"To us, it's not over yet. We've got a lot to prove that we can play and beat these teams," O'Reilly added. "We have to show we should be better, that we should be in the playoffs and that this should be our run this year. That's something we have to prove constantly."