Just lose, baby.

That’s the rallying cry spewing from the mouths of Buffalo Sabre fans these days.

And why not?

The team is woeful and is battling the Arizona Coyotes for the worst record in the NHL and the guarantee of having no worse than the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft.

Because of the league’s new lottery system, the second-worst team in the NHL in terms of won-loss record is not guaranteed one of the top two picks. And there are two names available in this year’s amateur draft — Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel — who are considered the best pro hockey prospects since Sidney Crosby.

With only a handful of games left in the regular season, Buffalo and Arizona are in the middle of a critical home-and-home series against each other. The teams met Thursday and play again Monday.

Clearly, the best thing either team can do for the stability of its respective franchise is to lose now, snare one of those prized draft picks and rejuvenate itself on the ice and in the stands.

The Pittsburgh Penguins can certainly identify with that.

The Pens were a lowly lot in 1983-84, boasting only Mike Bullard as any kind of a star player. The team averaged fewer than 7,000 fans a game, were losing millions of dollars and relocation of the franchise seemed inevitable.

So they lost.

And lost and lost and lost.

With Mario Lemieux — one of the best pro prospects ever — awaiting the team with the worst record that year, the Pens went 3-17-1 over their final 21 games. They edged New Jersey for the NHL’s worst record, grabbed Lemieux and the rest is history.

The Pens sent goaltender Roberto Romano — who was just coming off two stellar performances — back to the minors late in the season and called up Vincent Tremblay to start a few games.

One of those games was a “critical” showdown against the Devils. Tremblay went 0-4 with a dreadful 6.00 goals-against average for the Pens down the stretch and was never heard from again.

New Jersey went on to win a few Stanley Cups in their own right and Kirk Muller — who the Devils took with the No. 2 pick — went on to post a solid NHL career.

But he was no Lemieux.

Can one blame the Sabres or Coyotes for wanting to ensure themselves of a marketable player both franchises so sorely need for their fan base?

No.

Lose now, win big later.

On another note, one player who won’t be drafted this upcoming offseason is Michigan State goalie and Center Township resident Jake Hildebrand. He’s no longer eligible for the draft.

But Hildebrand is coming off a season in which he was Big Ten Player of the Year while posting an impressive .930 save percentage. Even if no team tries to sign him now, he has another year of college hockey remaining.

This guy getting a shot with some NHL team seems to be inevitable.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle