2006–07_Buffalo_Sabres_season

2006–07 Buffalo Sabres season

2006–07 Buffalo Sabres season

NHL hockey team season

The 2006–07 Buffalo Sabres season was the 37th season of operation, 36th season of play, for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1] The Season began with the team attempting to rebound from a disappointing end to the 2005–06 season, in which the Sabres advanced to the Eastern Conference finals before losing in seven to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.

Quick Facts Buffalo Sabres, Division ...

With the best regular-season record in the NHL, the Sabres were awarded the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in their history, and they also earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They defeated the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers in the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference finals, however, the Sabres' season came to an end when they were defeated by the Ottawa Senators in game five of the Conference finals. As of 2023, this remains the most recent season the Sabres won a playoff series.

Offseason

The team lost several veterans to free agency, including J. P. Dumont, Jay McKee, Mike Grier, and Rory Fitzpatrick. Conversely, the team signed only one new player to the roster: defenseman Jaroslav Spacek. The team planned to rely on young players from their own organization – Jiri Novotny, Paul Gaustad and Nathan Paetsch, to name a few—to fill the holes left by the departing players.

Controversy swirled around the team's logo and jersey, meanwhile, as the look was changed. The team's colors were reverted to blue and gold, which they had worn from their addition to the league as an expansion team until 1996–97, when the colors were changed to black and red. The new logo, though, was said to resemble to many a slug or a wig. There were strong efforts to prevent the team from wearing this new jersey, although none were successful. The team's new third jersey, meanwhile, featured the team's original logo. Despite the controversy, the NHL reported that sales of Sabres merchandise were up approximately 1170% from the 2005–2006 season.[2]

Regular season

The Sabres were very successful early in the season, tying an NHL record by winning their first ten games, before finally suffering a shootout loss to the Atlanta Thrashers.[3] They did not lose a game in regulation until exactly one month into the season, in their thirteenth game, when they lost to Toronto.[4] The Sabres also set an NHL record by winning their first ten road games of the season,[5] not losing outside of HSBC Arena until November 18 in Ottawa. This record would not be broken until 2023, when the Los Angeles Kings won their 11th straight road game to start the season.

On January 9, it was announced that three members of the Sabres had been voted to start the All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference: forward Daniel Briere, defenseman Brian Campbell, and goaltender Ryan Miller. It was the first All-Star appearance for each.[6] In addition, as the Sabres had the best record in the Eastern Conference as of the end of All-Star voting, head coach Lindy Ruff was assigned to coach the Eastern Conference team.[7] Briere recorded a goal and four assists in the game, and was named Most Valuable Player of the game.[8] Thomas Vanek was also invited to All-Star Weekend to play in the YoungStars game.[9]

On January 13, Jason Pominville recorded his 20th goal of the season, becoming the fourth Sabre (after Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov) to record 20 goals before the All-Star break. At the time of Pominville's 20th goal, no other team in the NHL had more than two players with 20 goals.[10] Daniel Briere became the fifth Sabre to record 20 goals as he scored a hat-trick on January 30 against the Boston Bruins. With the feat, the Sabres became the first team since the 1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins to have five 20–goal scorers before February.[11] Four Sabres would go on to reach the 30-goal plateau. For the first time in 12 years, Buffalo was not shut-out in any of their 82 regular season games. Moreover, the Sabres led the NHL in goals scored and became the first team to score at least 200 even-strength goals during the regular season since the New Jersey Devils in 2000–01.

In February, the Sabres found themselves battling injury problems. Forward Tim Connolly had been on the long-term injury list all season, and he was joined by Paul Gaustad when a tendon in his leg was sliced on February 7 against the Ottawa Senators. Jaroslav Spacek broke his left hand soon thereafter, and the Sabres lost Maxim Afinogenov, who broke his left wrist, and Jiri Novotny with a high ankle sprain. Ales Kotalik was next to go down, with a knee sprain, and forward Daniel Paille broke his finger. Against the Ottawa Senators on February 22, captain Chris Drury was injured by a blow to the head by Chris Neil, sparking a wild brawl which saw a fight between Martin Biron and Senators goaltender Ray Emery, and later between Emery and Sabres enforcer Andrew Peters.[12]

The Sabres were the last team to be involved in a trade in the 2006–07 season. On the day of the NHL trade deadline, though, they made four trades. Goaltender Martin Biron, who had been the longest-tenured Sabre, was sent to Philadelphia for Philadelphia's second-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Buffalo's fifth-round pick in that draft was sent to Columbus in exchange for another backup goalie, Ty Conklin. Jiri Novotny was sent along with Buffalo's 2007 first-round pick to Washington in exchange for Dainius Zubrus and Timo Helbling. Finally, the Sabres sent their fourth-round pick in 2007 to Nashville for Mikko Lehtonen, a minor league defenseman.[13]

Due to injuries, many Sabres prospects were called up from the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans, and made their NHL debuts during the season; Mike Card, Michael Funk, Patrick Kaleta, Clarke MacArthur, Mark Mancari, Michael Ryan, Andrej Sekera and Drew Stafford all played their first career NHL game during the 2006–07 season.

The Sabres finished with 298 goals scored (excluding 10 shootout-winning goals), the most in the League.[14][15]

Season standings

More information No., CR ...

[16]

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

More information R, Div ...
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

October

Record for month 10–0–1 (Home 4–0–1 Away 6–0–0)

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
1October 4Buffalo3 – 2CarolinaSOMiller18,8401–0–02
2October 6Montreal4 – 5BuffaloSOMiller18,6902–0–04
3October 7Buffalo4 – 3OttawaBiron19,2023–0–06
4October 13Buffalo3 – 2DetroitSOMiller20,0664–0–08
5October 14NY Rangers4 – 7BuffaloMiller18,6905–0–010
6October 17Philadelphia1 – 9BuffaloMiller18,6906–0–012
7October 20Carolina4 – 5BuffaloMiller18,6907–0–014
8October 21Buffalo6 – 2BostonBiron14,3828–0–016
9October 23Buffalo4 – 1MontrealMiller21,2739–0–018
10October 26Buffalo3 – 0NY IslandersMiller8,86110–0–020
11October 28Atlanta5 – 4BuffaloSOMiller18,69010–0–121

November

Record for Month 9–3–1 (Home 4–2–1 Away 5–1–0)

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
12November 2Buffalo5 – 4BostonSOMiller12,54711–0–123
13November 4Toronto4 – 1BuffaloMiller18,69011–1–123
14November 5Buffalo4 – 3NY RangersOTBiron18,20012–1–125
15November 10Florida4 – 5BuffaloOTBiron18,69013–1–127
16November 11Buffalo5 – 4PhiladelphiaOTBiron19,63314–1–129
17November 13Buffalo7 – 4CarolinaBiron14,38715–1–131
18November 15Ottawa4 – 2BuffaloBiron18,69015–2–131
19November 17Pittsburgh2 – 4BuffaloBiron18,69016–2–133
20November 18Buffalo1 – 4OttawaMiller19,77016–3–133
21November 20Tampa Bay2 – 7BuffaloMiller18,69017–3–135
22November 22Toronto4 – 7BuffaloMiller18,69018–3–137
23November 24Montreal2 – 1BuffaloOTMiller18,69018–3–238
24November 26Buffalo3 – 2NY RangersOTMiller18,20019–3–240

December

Record for Month 9–4–1 (Home 5–2–0 Away 4–2–1)

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
25December 1NY Rangers3 – 4BuffaloSOMiller18,69020–3–242
26December 2Buffalo4 – 7WashingtonBiron17,16220–4–242
27December 5Buffalo4 – 1Tampa BayMiller20,02521–4–244
28December 7Buffalo1 – 3FloridaMiller15,38521–5–244
29December 9Buffalo3 – 2MontrealSOMiller21,27322–5–246
30December 12Buffalo3 – 2New JerseyMiller11,15623–5–248
31December 14Florida1 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69024–5–250
32December 16Ottawa3 – 1BuffaloMiller18,69024–6–250
33December 19Montreal5 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69024–7–250
34December 21Buffalo7 – 2NashvilleBiron16,61625–7–252
35December 23Buffalo2 – 3St. LouisOTBiron12,51325–7–353
36December 26Washington3 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69026–7–355
37December 28Carolina1 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69027–7–357
38December 30Atlanta1 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69028–7–359

January

Record for Month 6–7–1 (Home 4–3–0 Away 2–4–1)

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
39January 1NY Islanders1 – 3BuffaloMiller18,69029–7–361
40January 3Buffalo3 – 6OttawaMiller19,77729–8–361
41January 5Pittsburgh4 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69029–9–361
42January 6Buffalo4 – 3TorontoBiron19,48730–9–363
43January 10Buffalo2 – 1ChicagoMiller14,04131–9–365
44January 11Toronto4 – 2BuffaloBiron18,69031–10–365
45January 13Tampa Bay3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69031–11–365
46January 15Buffalo2 – 3BostonSOMiller15,58531–11–466
47January 17Boston3 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69032–11–468
48January 19Vancouver3 – 4BuffaloSOMiller18,69033–11–470
49January 20Buffalo3 – 4MontrealBiron21,27333–12–470
50January 26Buffalo2 – 3ColumbusMiller18,13633–13–470
51January 27Buffalo3 – 5NY IslandersMiller15,21833–14–470
52January 30Boston1 – 7BuffaloBiron18,69034–14–472

February

Record for Month 8–2–1 (Home 5–0–1 Away 3–2–0)

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
53February 1Buffalo3 – 1BostonBiron13,85335–14–474
54February 3Buffalo2 – 3New JerseyMiller18,58935–15–474
55February 6Buffalo4 – 3AtlantaSOMiller17,88136–15–476
56February 7Ottawa2 – 3BuffaloBiron18,69037–15–478
57February 10Calgary2 – 3BuffaloSOMiller18,69038–15–480
58February 15Edmonton1 – 2BuffaloOTMiller18,69039–15–482
59February 17Boston4 – 3BuffaloSOMiller18,69039–15–583
60February 20Philadelphia3 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69040–15–585
61February 22Ottawa5 – 6BuffaloSOMiller18,69041–15–587
62February 24Buffalo5 – 6OttawaMiller20,04041–16–587
63February 27Buffalo6 – 1TorontoMiller19,58842–16–589

March

Record for Month 8–5–2 (Home 5–3–0 Away 3–2–2)

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
64March 2Montreal5 – 8BuffaloMiller18,69043–16–591
65March 3Buffalo3 – 1TorontoMiller19,51544–16–593
66March 7Colorado3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69044–17–593
67March 9Minnesota5 – 1BuffaloMiller18,69044–18–593
68March 10New Jersey3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69044–19–593
69March 13Buffalo4 – 5PittsburghSOMiller17,13244–19–694
70March 15Buffalo5 – 3FloridaConklin18,11145–19–696
71March 16Buffalo3 – 2Tampa BayMiller21,26446–19–698
72March 18Buffalo3 – 4AtlantaOTMiller18,60246–19–799
73March 21Washington2 – 5BuffaloMiller18,69047–19–7101
74March 23Toronto4 – 5BuffaloMiller18,69048–19–7103
75March 24Buffalo1 – 4TorontoMiller19,57148–20–7103
76March 28New Jersey3 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69049–20–7105
77March 30NY Islanders4 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69050–20–7107
78March 31Buffalo3 – 4MontrealConklin21,27350–21–7107

April

Record for Month 3–1–0 (Home 1–0–0 Away 2–1–0)

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
79April 3Buffalo4 – 1PittsburghMiller17,13251–21–7109
80April 5Boston2 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69052–21–7111
81April 7Buffalo2 – 0WashingtonMiller18,27753–21–7113
82April 8Buffalo3 – 4PhiladelphiaConklin19,02753–22–7113
  • Green background indicates win.
  • Red background indicates regulation loss.
  • White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.

Playoffs

Main article: 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Sabres earned the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference by virtue of finishing with the highest point total in the conference.

Eastern Conference quarterfinals: vs. (8) New York Islanders

The Sabres faced the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs.

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 12NY Islanders1 – 4BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 1–0
2April 14NY Islanders3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,690Series tied 1–1
3April 16Buffalo3 – 2NY IslandersMiller16,234Sabres lead 2–1
4April 18Buffalo4 – 2NY IslandersMiller16,234Sabres lead 3–1
5April 20NY Islanders3 – 4BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres win 4–1

Eastern Conference semifinals: vs. (6) New York Rangers

The Sabres faced the New York Rangers in the second round of the playoffs. The Rangers advanced by sweeping the Atlanta Thrashers, the number three seed, in the first round.

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 25NY Rangers2 – 5BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 1–0
2April 27NY Rangers2 – 3BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 2–0
3April 29Buffalo1 – 2NY Rangers2OTMiller18,200Sabres lead 2–1
4May 1Buffalo1 – 2NY RangersMiller18,200Series tied 2–2
5May 4NY Rangers1 – 2BuffaloOTMiller18,690Sabres lead 3–2
6May 6Buffalo5 – 4NY RangersMiller18,200Sabres win 4–2

Eastern Conference finals: vs. (4) Ottawa Senators

The Sabres faced their division rivals, the Ottawa Senators, in the Eastern Conference finals. The Senators advanced by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round and the New Jersey Devils in the second. The Sabres lost the series, four games to one.

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 10Ottawa5 – 2BuffaloMiller18,690Senators lead 1–0
2May 12Ottawa4 – 3Buffalo2OTMiller18,690Senators lead 2–0
3May 14Buffalo0 – 1OttawaMiller20,171Senators lead 3–0
4May 16Buffalo3 – 2OttawaMiller20,294Senators lead 3–1
5May 19Ottawa3 – 2BuffaloOTMiller18,690Senators win 4–1

Player stats

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

More information Regular season, Playoffs ...

*Stats reflect games played with Buffalo only.

  • Note: Goaltenders are not assessed plus/minus ratings.

Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek finished the season with the best plus/minus rating in the entire NHL with a +47.

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = OvertimelLosses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

More information Regular season, Playoffs ...

*Stats reflect games played with Buffalo only.

Coaching staff

  • Lindy Ruff – Head coach
  • Brian McCutcheon – Associate head coach
  • James Patrick – Assistant Coach
  • Jim Corsi – Goaltender Coach
  • Doug McKenney – Strength and Conditioning Coach

Transactions

Trades

July 10, 2006 To Edmonton Oilers
Jan Hejda		 To Buffalo Sabres
Seventh-round pick in 2007
July 14, 2006 To Vancouver Canucks
Taylor Pyatt		 To Buffalo Sabres
Fourth-round pick in 2007
February 27, 2007 To Philadelphia Flyers
Martin Biron		 To Buffalo Sabres
Second-round pick in 2007
February 27, 2007 To Columbus Blue Jackets
Fifth-round pick in 2007		 To Buffalo Sabres
Ty Conklin
February 27, 2007 To Washington Capitals
Jiri Novotny
First-round pick in 2007		 To Buffalo Sabres
Dainius Zubrus
Timo Helbling
February 27, 2007 To Nashville Predators
Fourth-round pick in 2007		 To Buffalo Sabres
Mikko Lehtonen

Free agents acquired

PlayerFormer team
D Jaroslav SpacekEdmonton Oilers

Free agents lost

PlayerNew team
D Jay McKeeSt. Louis Blues
F Mike GrierSan Jose Sharks
D Doug JanikTampa Bay Lightning
G Michael LeightonAnaheim Ducks
D Rory FitzpatrickVancouver Canucks
F Jean-Pierre DumontNashville Predators

Lost to waivers

PlayerNew teamDate
F Chris ThorburnPittsburgh PenguinsOctober 3

Draft picks

Buffalo's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.[18] The Sabres had the 24th overall draft pick for their success in the 2005–06 NHL season.

More information Round, # ...

Farm teams

The Rochester Americans were the Buffalo Sabres' farm team during the 2006–07 season.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
  2. [2]
    Garth (November 7, 2006). "SABRES TOP NHL.COM MERCHANDISE SALES". Hockeybuzz.com. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  3. [3]
    "Thrashers put an end to Sabres' bid for NHL record start". espn.com. October 28, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  4. [4]
    "Sundin, Maple Leafs hand Sabres first loss in regulation". espn.com. November 4, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  5. [5]
    "Sabres defeat Canes, bump road record to 10–0". espn.com. November 13, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  6. [6]
    "2006–07 NHL All-Star Rosters". tsn.ca. January 9, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  7. [7]
    "Ruff, Carlyle to coach All-Star teams". tsn.ca. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on January 7, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  8. [8]
    "Briere shines, but West wins All-Star Game". tsn.ca. January 25, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  9. [9]
    "NHL's bright future is on display". nhl.com. January 13, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2007. [dead link]
  10. [10]
    "Richards nets tiebreaker in Lightning win over Sabres". espn.com. January 13, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  11. [11]
    "Drury leads the Sabres over Bruins". tsn.ca. February 1, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  12. [12]
    "Sabres outlast Sens in hard-fought battle". tsn.ca. February 23, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  13. [13]
    "Sabres beef up with Zubrus". nhl.com. February 27, 2007. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  14. [14]
    "2006-07 NHL Summary".
  15. [15]
    "2006-07 Buffalo Sabres Roster and Statistics".
  16. [16]
    Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  17. [17]
    "2006–2007 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  18. [18]
    2006 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com[permanent dead link] – accessed December 9, 2006.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 2006–07_Buffalo_Sabres_season, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.