Buffalo is 11-2-2 since the trade deadline. (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON -- "I guess we're better late than never," Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller deadpanned.

Before the season, this is the Sabres team everybody thought we would see. It took them about five months, but they are finally here. Boy, are they ever here.

Left for dead to the point that they were pretty much considered sellers at the trade deadline -- they shipped off Paul Gaustad and swung another deal to get Cody Hodgson, but that wasn't a seller's move -- the Sabres have been on a ridiculous run. Since the trade deadline on Feb. 27, the Sabres are 11-2-2, including five wins in a row.

Because of that run, Tuesday's game against the Capitals mattered. A lot. Lose to the Caps and it would be a crushing blow. It would feel like a lot of the work they had done to get back in the race was for naught.

Instead they turned in a dominant performance and now are in the lovely position of controlling their own destiny. Now that's a big win.

"It's one of those where you don't want to get too high and on their side they probably don't want to get too low," captain Jason Pominville said after the 5-1 win. "I mean there are still a lot of points available, a lot of things can happen. It's one of those where you've got to enjoy it today and get back to work tomorrow and focus on what's ahead of us. Winning this game doesn't automatically put you in. Still have a lot of work to do and we're ready for that.

"It's in our hands now. If we win out we're in no matter what happens, it's about us focusing on what's ahead of us. Enjoying this one for today but getting back to work tomorrow and focusing on our next one."

It's a far cry from where the Sabres were not even two months ago. Consider this: On Feb. 8 the Sabres were in 14th place in the East, one point ahead of the Hurricanes for last. They were 11 points back of a playoff spot, 12 behind the Maple Leafs.

"You want to forget about that as quick as you can," Drew Stafford said. "If you're dwelling on the past, thinking about all the negativity and frustrations that you had it's only going to hold you back. Starting with right around our Western road trip there, we had a great Western road trip. We've been trying to build on that solid play. Anything before that is not worth thinking about because it doesn't matter. We're right where we want to be."

Where is that, exactly? Well it's March 28 and they are in a playoff spot. Remember that aforementioned deficit to the Maple Leafs? Now they are up 11 points on the Leafs. That's a 23-point swing.

We've seen this before. Pretty much all of it. The Sabres made a similar run at the end of last season to reach the playoffs. The core players are performing at a higher level again. Ryan Miller is showing vintage Ryan Miller form. It's a pretty familiar tune.

"The character in the room ... the experience we can draw on from the past couple of seasons: We know what we've got in this room," Stafford said. "We've got the talent. It's just a matter of executing out there and making it all come together and we're been getting the job done, but we're not done yet. Just trying to keep the foot on the accelerator."

As Stafford pointed to, what got this team's season turned around was a trip that took them West. They were still on the far outside when the voyage began but a three-game run on the road got them going. It was a season-saving turn, it gave them the confidence to get going again.

But you know it's about a lot more than the intangibles. It was a matter of starting to finally put things together.

"I think [we've been] playing better defensively," Pominville said in explaining the team's turnaround. "Not being as risky of a team, realizing that a lot of goals are scored on the rush and if you eliminate the rush opportunities ... in-zone play has been good. Obviously Ryan [Miller] is a big part of our team and when there are breakdowns."

Ah yes, Miller. As good as Pominville has been all season and some of the other talented players on this team, none are better than Miller when he's on his game.

"Ryan's one of the best goalies in the league if not the best," Pominville said. "He's raised his game and given us a chance to win every night. When we've had a breakdown he's there, he's making the key save at the key time. He's a big part of this team. It's definitely enjoyable to have him back there and seeing what he's had, it's been great."

The one point in the season people will constantly come back to this year for the Sabres was that incident with Miller and Milan Lucic. While they don't dwell on the past, it's hard not to notice that Miller still remembers that well and even though it sent the Sabres into a spiral for a few months, it remains a galvanizing moment.

"I think we've shown we have a lot of pride," Miller said. "We were being questioned a lot about our makeup and the kind of players we were for a long time. We knew we had better hockey. For me it's a source of pride. You don't want to be remembered for having a horrible start and basically wasting the season."

That pride is really showing now. Going back to Valentine's Day, Miller has only lost once in regulation. That's once in 19 starts. Against the Capitals on Tuesday he stopped 44 of 45 shots.

"Ryan has been solid. He's comfortable, he's making good saves," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We've got a lot of good things going on and Ryan's a big part of this. He's just real comfortable and I think the numbers just speak for themselves."

The same can be said for this team's turnaround.

The Sabres made it very clear after the win on Tuesday, they know they still have work to do. Lots of it. But this team seems to be playoff bound and I can tell you this: There is no team atop the East that would like to draw them in the first round, whether they are the seventh seed or eighth. The same couldn't be said a few months ago.

"It's something we couldn't change overnight," Pominville said. "We had to build off of it and start getting confidence and playing better hockey. I think we have."

Better late than never or just fashionably late? No matter, they're here.

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