2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season

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2005–06 Buffalo Sabres
Division2nd Northeast
Conference4th Eastern
2005–06 record52–24–6
Goals for281
Goals against239
Team information
General managerDarcy Regier
CoachLindy Ruff
CaptainDaniel Briere and
Chris Drury
Alternate captainsMike Grier
Jochen Hecht
Jay McKee
ArenaHSBC Arena
Team leaders
GoalsChris Drury (30)
AssistsMaxim Afinogenov (51)
PointsMaxim Afinogenov (73)
Penalty minutesAndrew Peters (100)
WinsRyan Miller (30)
Goals against averageRyan Miller (2.60)

The 2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season was the 36th season of operation, 35th season of play, for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1] The season not only saw the team qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2000–01 season, but saw them advance to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.

After starting the season 7–8–0 through their first 15 games by November 9, 2005, the Sabres were sitting in fifth place in the Northeast Division and were trailing the Northeast Division-leading Ottawa Senators by 11 points. The Sabres then went on to have only eight regulation losses out of their next 50 games; by March 16, 2006, they had improved to 44–16–5 to move within one point of the Northeast Division-leading Senators. Despite having only two players to play all 82 games (Ales Kotalik and Henrik Tallinder), Buffalo would finish the season with a 52–24–6 record for 110 points and a fourth-place finish heading into the playoffs. The season was the first 100–point season in 23 years and tied the 1979–80 club for the second-best point total in franchise history. The Sabres were one of five teams to reach the century mark in power-play goals during the regular season, scoring 101.[2] The Sabres also finished with 25 road wins, another franchise record.

The Sabres were recognized on June 22, 2006, at the NHL Awards Ceremony, when Lindy Ruff edged Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette to win the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in the closest vote in the award's history. Ruff was the second Sabres coach to win the award.

Regular season[]

On January 14, 2006, the Sabres defeated the Los Angeles Kings at home by a score of 10–1.[3] Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville each had hat-tricks in the game. It was the first time that the Sabres had scored 10 goals in a regular-season game since February 24, 1993, when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings at home by a score of 10–7.[4]

Season standings[]

Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 1 Ottawa Senators 82 52 21 9 314 211 113
2 4 Buffalo Sabres 82 52 24 6 281 239 110
3 7 Montreal Canadiens 82 42 31 9 243 247 93
4 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 41 33 8 257 270 90
5 13 Boston Bruins 82 29 37 16 230 266 74

[5] Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.


Eastern Conference[6]
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 Z- Ottawa Senators NE 82 52 21 9 314 211 113
2 Y- Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 52 22 8 294 260 112
3 Y- New Jersey Devils AT 82 46 27 9 242 229 101
4 X- Buffalo Sabres NE 82 52 24 6 242 239 110
5 X- Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 45 26 11 267 259 101
6 X- New York Rangers AT 82 44 26 12 257 215 100
7 X- Montreal Canadiens NE 82 42 31 9 243 247 93
8 X- Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 43 33 6 252 260 92
8.5
9 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 41 33 8 257 270 90
10 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 41 33 8 281 275 90
11 Florida Panthers SE 82 37 34 11 240 257 85
12 New York Islanders AT 82 36 40 6 230 278 78
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 29 37 16 230 266 74
14 Washington Capitals SE 82 29 41 12 237 306 70
15 Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 22 46 14 244 316 58

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot


Schedule and results[]

October[]

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
1 October 5 NY Islanders 4 – 6 Buffalo Miller 15,702 1–0–0 2
2 October 7 Boston 1 – 4 Buffalo Miller 13,771 2–0–0 4
3 October 8 Buffalo 0 – 5 Ottawa Miller 19,661 2–1–0 4
4 October 10 Pittsburgh 2 – 3 Buffalo OT Miller 12,050 3–1–0 6
5 October 13 Buffalo 4 – 3 Tampa Bay SO Miller 20,184 4–1–0 8
6 October 15 Buffalo 2 – 3 Florida Miller 17,426 4–2–0 8
7 October 20 Buffalo 4 – 3 Boston Miller 14,525 5–2–0 10
8 October 22 NY Rangers 1 – 3 Buffalo Miller 16,346 6–2–0 12
9 October 26 Washington 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 8,552 6–3–0 12
10 October 28 Buffalo 2 – 3 New Jersey Miller 12,378 6–4–0 12
11 October 29 Buffalo 6 – 4 NY Islanders Biron 13,226 7–4–0 14

November[]

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
12 November 2 Ottawa 10 – 4 Buffalo Noronen 13,905 7–5–0 14
13 November 4 Montreal 3 – 2 Buffalo Biron 18,690 7–6–0 14
14 November 5 Buffalo 2 – 3 Montreal Biron 21,273 7–7–0 14
15 November 9 Carolina 5 – 3 Buffalo Biron 13,106 7–8–0 14
16 November 11 Toronto 2 – 5 Buffalo Biron 18,690 8–8–0 16
17 November 12 Buffalo 1 – 6 Ottawa Biron 19,414 8–9–0 16
18 November 15 New Jersey 1 – 4 Buffalo Biron 13,022 9–9–0 18
19 November 17 Washington 5 – 8 Buffalo Biron 12,471 10–9–0 20
20 November 19 Buffalo 3 – 2 Boston Noronen 17,565 11–9–0 22
21 November 22 NY Rangers 3 – 2 Buffalo SO Biron 16,018 11–9–1 23
22 November 23 Buffalo 4 – 3 NY Islanders SO Biron 13,212 12–9–1 25
23 November 25 Montreal 1 – 3 Buffalo Biron 16,009 13–9–1 27
24 November 27 Buffalo 3 – 2 Washington Biron 11,658 14–9–1 29
25 November 29 Buffalo 3 – 2 Pittsburgh Biron 15,118 15–9–1 31

December[]

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
26 December 1 Buffalo 3 – 2 Montreal OT Biron 21,274 16–9–1 33
27 December 2 San Jose 5 – 0 Buffalo Noronen 18,007 16–10–1 33
28 December 4 Buffalo 6 – 4 Colorado Biron 18,007 17–10–1 35
29 December 8 Anaheim 2 – 3 Buffalo OT Biron 12,504 18–10–1 37
30 December 11 Buffalo 3 – 2 Minnesota Biron 18,568 19–10–1 39
31 December 14 Dallas 3 – 4 Buffalo Biron 16,575 20–10–1 41
32 December 16 Buffalo 4 – 3 Pittsburgh OT Biron 16,648 21–10–1 43
33 December 17 Pittsburgh 3 – 4 Buffalo Biron 18,690 22–10–1 45
34 December 19 Buffalo 2 – 1 Philadelphia SO Miller 19,572 23–10–1 47
35 December 22 Buffalo 1 – 4 Florida Biron 17,823 23–11–1 47
36 December 23 Buffalo 4 – 1 Tampa Bay Miller 21,120 24–11–1 49
37 December 26 NY Islanders 3 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 25–11–1 51
38 December 29 Buffalo 3 – 4 Toronto SO Biron 19,364 25–11–2 52
39 December 30 Atlanta 1 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 26–11–2 54

January[]

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
40 January 1 Florida 2 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 26–12–2 54
41 January 5 Tampa Bay 1 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,032 27–12–2 56
42 January 7 New Jersey 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 27–13–2 56
43 January 12 Phoenix 2 – 1 Buffalo SO Biron 18,690 27–13–3 57
44 January 14 Los Angeles 1 – 10 Buffalo Miller 18,690 28–13–3 59
45 January 16 Buffalo 3 – 1 Edmonton Miller 16,839 29–13–3 61
46 January 19 Buffalo 1 – 4 Vancouver Miller 18,630 29–14–3 61
47 January 21 Buffalo 1 – 4 Calgary Biron 19,289 29–15–3 61
48 January 24 Buffalo 2 – 1 NY Rangers Miller 18,200 30–15–3 63
49 January 26 Buffalo 8 – 4 Toronto Miller 19,477 31–15–3 65
50 January 31 Buffalo 5 – 2 Atlanta Miller 14,021 32–15–3 67

February[]

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
51 February 2 Philadelphia 2 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 33–15–3 69
52 February 4 Ottawa 1 – 2 Buffalo SO Miller 17,451 34–15–3 71
53 February 7 Buffalo 3 – 2 Montreal OT Miller 21,273 35–15–3 73
54 February 9 Montreal 3 – 2 Buffalo OT Miller 17,344 35–15–4 74
55 February 11 Florida 3 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 36–15–4 76
56 February 12 Buffalo 3 – 4 Carolina SO Miller 18,730 36–15–5 77

March[]

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
57 March 1 Atlanta 4 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 36–16–5 77
58 March 3 Toronto 2 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 37–16–5 79
59 March 4 Buffalo 3 – 2 Boston Biron 16,065 38–16–5 81
60 March 7 Boston 2 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,117 39–16–5 83
61 March 9 Tampa Bay 5 – 8 Buffalo Miller 17,934 40–16–5 85
62 March 11 Buffalo 6 – 5 Philadelphia Biron 19,717 41–16–5 87
63 March 12 Boston 2 – 6 Buffalo Biron 18,690 42–16–5 89
64 March 14 Buffalo 6 – 4 Washington Miller 14,386 43–16–5 91
65 March 16 Toronto 1 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–16–5 93
66 March 18 Buffalo 2 – 4 Ottawa Miller 19,947 44–17–5 93
67 March 20 Buffalo 0 – 5 Atlanta Biron 14,133 44–18–5 93
68 March 22 Carolina 4 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–19–5 93
69 March 24 Ottawa 3 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–20–5 93
70 March 25 Buffalo 4 – 5 Boston Miller 15,710 44–21–5 93
71 March 27 Buffalo 4 – 5 NY Rangers SO Miller 18,200 44–21–6 94
72 March 29 Boston 3 – 4 Buffalo Miller 16,261 45–21–6 96
73 March 30 Buffalo 1 – 3 New Jersey Biron 12,425 45–22–6 96

April[]

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
74 April 1 Buffalo 0 – 7 Toronto Miller 19,434 45–23–6 96
75 April 3 Buffalo 3 – 2 Toronto SO Biron 19,320 46–23–6 98
76 April 5 Ottawa 4 – 5 Buffalo OT Biron 17,622 47–23–6 100
77 April 7 Philadelphia 4 – 2 Buffalo Miller 16,909 47–24–6 100
78 April 8 Buffalo 6 – 2 Ottawa Miller 19,575 48–24–6 102
79 April 12 Montreal 1 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,201 49–24–6 104
80 April 15 Buffalo 4 – 2 Montreal Miller 21,273 50–24–6 106
81 April 16 Toronto 0 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 51–24–6 108
82 April 18 Buffalo 4 – 0 Carolina Biron 18,730 52–24–6 110

Playoffs[]

Main article: 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Buffalo Sabres earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Buffalo defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-round of the 2006 playoffs in six games. In the second round, the Sabres defeated top-seeded Ottawa in five games. A total of three victories in the series came in overtime, including the series-clinching Game 5, which was won on a short-handed goal by Jason Pominville to send Buffalo to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was the first time in NHL history that a series had been decided on a short-handed overtime goal.

Despite being without some or all of their four top defensemen (Teppo Numminen, Dmitri Kalinin, Jay McKee and Henrik Tallinder), and their top powerplay scorer, Tim Connolly, who had 11 points in eight games in the playoffs, for much of the series, the Sabres fought back from a three-games-to-two deficit to force a seventh game by way of a 2–1 overtime win in Game 6. Buffalo led the Hurricanes 2–1 going into the final period of the deciding game but blew the lead early in the third and gave up two more late goals for a 4–2 final score.

Eastern Conference quarter-finals: vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers[]

The Sabres faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series
1 April 22 Philadelphia 2 – 3 Buffalo 2OT Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 1–0
2 April 24 Philadelphia 2 – 8 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 2–0
3 April 26 Buffalo 2 – 4 Philadelphia Miller 19,984 Sabres lead 2–1
4 April 28 Buffalo 4 – 5 Philadelphia Miller 20,092 tied 2–2
5 April 30 Philadelphia 0 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 3–2
6 May 2 Buffalo 7 – 1 Philadelphia Miller 19,967 Sabres win 4–2

Eastern Conference semi-finals: vs. (1) Ottawa Senators[]

After disposing of the Flyers, the Sabres advanced to play the #1 seed in the Conference, their Northeast Division rivals, the Ottawa Senators.

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series
1 May 5 Buffalo 7 – 6 Ottawa OT Miller 19,544 Sabres lead 1–0
2 May 8 Buffalo 2 – 1 Ottawa Miller 19,816 Sabres lead 2–0
3 May 10 Ottawa 2 – 3 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 3–0
4 May 11 Ottawa 2 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 3–1
5 May 13 Buffalo 3 – 2 Ottawa OT Miller 20,024 Sabres win 4–1

Eastern Conference finals: vs. (2) Carolina Hurricanes[]

The right to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals was on the line as the Sabres squared off with Southeast Division champion Carolina.

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series
1 May 20 Buffalo 3 – 2 Carolina Miller 18,730 Sabres lead 1–0
2 May 22 Buffalo 3 – 4 Carolina Miller 18,730 tied 1–1
3 May 24 Carolina 3 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 2–1
4 May 26 Carolina 4 – 0 Buffalo Miller 18,690 tied 2–2
5 May 28 Buffalo 3 – 4 Carolina OT Miller 18,730 Hurricanes lead 3–2
6 May 30 Carolina 1 – 2 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 tied 3–3
7 June 1 Buffalo 2 – 4 Carolina Miller 18,730 Hurricanes win 4–3

Season stats[]

Scoring leaders[]

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

Player # GP G A Pts +/- PIM
Maxim Afinogenov 61 77 22 51 73 +6 84
Chris Drury 23 81 30 37 67 -11 32
Ales Kotalik 12 82 25 37 62 -3 62
Daniel Briere 48 48 25 33 58 +3 48
Tim Connolly 19 63 16 39 55 +5 28
Thomas Vanek 26 81 25 23 48 -11 72
Derek Roy 9 70 18 28 46 +1 57
Brian Campbell 51 79 12 32 44 -14 16
Jochen Hecht 55 64 18 24 42 +10 34
Jean-Pierre Dumont 17 54 20 20 40 -1 38
Teppo Numminen 27 75 2 38 40 +6 36
Jason Pominville 29 57 18 12 30 -4 22
Paul Gaustad 28 78 9 15 24 +4 65
Mike Grier 25 81 7 16 23 -7 28
Henrik Tallinder 10 82 6 15 21 +10 74
Dmitri Kalinin 45 55 2 16 18 +14 54
Toni Lydman 5 75 1 16 17 +9 82
Jay McKee 74 75 5 11 16 0 57
Taylor Pyatt 24 41 6 6 12 -1 33
Rory Fitzpatrick 8 56 4 5 9 -18 50
Adam Mair 22 40 2 5 7 -2 47
Jiri Novotny 13 14 2 1 3 -5 0
Daniel Paille 20 14 1 2 3 +5 2
Ryan Miller 30 48 0 2 2 N/A 0
Nathan Paetsch 38 1 0 1 1 -1 0
Chris Thorburn 47 2 0 1 1 -1 7
Martin Biron 43 35 0 1 1 N/A 10
Jeff Jillson 34 2 0 0 0 0 4
Mika Noronen 35 4 0 0 0 N/A 2
Andrew Peters 76 28 0 0 0 -2 100
  • Note: Goaltenders are not assessed plus-minus ratings.

Goaltending[]

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

Player # GP Min W L OTL GA SO Sv% GAA
Ryan Miller 30 48 2862 30 14 3 124 1 .914 2.60
Martin Biron 43 35 1934 21 8 3 93 1 .905 2.88
*Mika Noronen 35 4 169 1 2 0 12 0 .844 4.27

*Mika Noronen was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on March 9. Stats reflect games played with Buffalo only.

Transactions[]

Trades[]

August 25, 2005 To Calgary Flames
Third-round pick in 2006 		To Buffalo Sabres
Toni Lydman
October 4, 2005 To Chicago Blackhawks
Milan Bartovic 		To Buffalo Sabres
Michael Leighton
March 9, 2006 To Vancouver Canucks
Mika Noronen 		To Buffalo Sabres
Second-round pick in 2006

Free agents acquired[]

Player Former Team
D Teppo Numminen Dallas Stars

Free agents lost[]

Player New Team
D Alexei Zhitnik New York Islanders
F Miroslav Satan New York Islanders
D Brad Brown Toronto Maple Leafs
D Andy Delmore Columbus Blue Jackets

Draft picks[]

As there was no 2004–05 season to set the order for the draft, a lottery was held in which teams were assigned a number of balls, between one and three, based on the number of playoff appearances the team had had in the past three seasons. As the Sabres had missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons, they were one of only four teams which had the full allotment of three balls in the lottery. Despite this advantage, the Sabres only ended up with the 13th overall pick.

Buffalo's picks at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario:

Round # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team (league)
1 13 Marek Zagrapan (C)  Slovakia Buffalo Sabres Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
2 48 Philipp Gogulla (W)  Germany Buffalo Sabres Kolner Haie (DEL)
3 87 Marc-Andre Gragnani (D)  Canada Buffalo Sabres
(from Calgary Flames) 		P.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL)
4 96 Chris Butler (D)  United States Buffalo Sabres
(from Calgary Flames) 		Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
5 142 Nathan Gerbe (C)  United States Buffalo Sabres US National Team Development Program
6 182 Adam Dennis (G)  Canada Buffalo Sabres London Knights (OHL)
6 191 Vyacheslav Buravchikov (D)  Russia Buffalo Sabres
(from Minnesota Wild) 		Krylia (Russia 2)
7 208 Matt Generous (D)  United States Buffalo Sabres (EJHL)
7 227 Andrew Orpik (D)  United States Buffalo Sabres Thayer Academy (USHS)

Roster[]

2005–06 Buffalo Sabres Roster
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centers

External links[]

See also[]

References[]

  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. ^ "2005-06 NHL Summary".
  3. ^ "Los Angeles Kings at Buffalo Sabres Box Score — January 14, 2006".
  4. ^ "Detroit Red Wings at Buffalo Sabres Box Score — February 24, 1993".
  5. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 162.
  6. ^ "2005–2006 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
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