1996–97 Buffalo Sabres season

1996–97 Buffalo Sabres
Northeast Division Champions
Division 1st Northeast
Conference 2nd Eastern
1996–97 record 40–30–12
Home record 24–11–6
Road record 16–19–6
Goals for 237
Goals against 208
Team information
General Manager John Muckler
Coach Ted Nolan
Captain Pat LaFontaine
Arena Marine Midland Arena
Team leaders
Goals Donald Audette (28)
Assists Garry Galley (34)
Points Derek Plante (53)
Penalties in minutes Rob Ray (286)
Plus/minus Michael Peca (+26)
Wins Dominik Hasek (37)
Goals against average Dominik Hasek (2.27)
<1995–96 1997–98>

The 1996–97 Buffalo Sabres season was the 28th for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1] The season was the first season in the newly constructed Marine Midland Arena. The Sabres also underwent a drastic uniform change, replacing the blue and gold colors and classic crest with a black and red color scheme and new white buffalo-head logo. The Sabres won their first Northeast Division title, their first division title in 16 years.

Regular season

On January 12, 1997, Jason Dawe scored just ten seconds into the overtime period to give the Sabres a 3-2 road win over the Phoenix Coyotes.[2] It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1996-97 NHL regular season.[3]

The Sabres allowed the fewest shorthanded goals (4) and scored the most shorthanded goals (16) in the NHL. The Sabres' power play struggled, as they finished 26th in power-play percentage, with 13.19% (43 for 326).[4] The Sabres were also shut out a league-high 10 times during the regular season.[5]

Season standings

Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Buffalo Sabres 82 40 30 12 237 208 92
2 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 38 36 8 285 280 84
3 7 Ottawa Senators 82 31 36 15 226 234 77
4 8 Montreal Canadiens 82 31 36 15 249 276 77
5 10 Hartford Whalers 82 32 39 11 226 256 75
6 13 Boston Bruins 82 26 47 9 234 300 61
Eastern Conference[6]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 45 23 14 231 182 104
2 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 40 30 12 237 208 92
3 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 45 24 13 274 217 103
4 Florida Panthers ATL 82 35 28 19 221 201 89
5 New York Rangers ATL 82 38 34 10 258 231 86
6 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 38 36 8 285 280 84
7 Ottawa Senators NE 82 31 36 15 226 234 77
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 31 36 15 249 276 77
9 Washington Capitals ATL 82 33 40 9 214 231 75
10 Hartford Whalers NE 82 32 39 11 226 256 75
11 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 32 40 10 217 247 74
12 New York Islanders ATL 82 29 41 12 240 250 70
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 26 47 9 234 300 61

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1LOctober 4, 19963–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 0–1–0
2LOctober 6, 19960–3 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 0–2–0
3WOctober 9, 19962–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 1–2–0
4LOctober 12, 19961–6 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 1–3–0
5LOctober 15, 19960–4 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 1–4–0
6WOctober 17, 19964–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 2–4–0
7WOctober 18, 19964–1 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 3–4–0
8WOctober 24, 19966–3 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 4–4–0
9WOctober 26, 19966–3 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 5–4–0
10LOctober 27, 19964–6 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 5–5–0
11LOctober 30, 19960–2 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 5–6–0
12WNovember 1, 19964–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 6–6–0
13TNovember 2, 19960–0 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 6–6–1
14LNovember 7, 19962–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 6–7–1
15LNovember 9, 19963–4 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 6–8–1
16WNovember 11, 19963–2 OT Florida Panthers (1996–97) 7–8–1
17LNovember 12, 19960–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 7–9–1
18WNovember 14, 19965–4 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 8–9–1
19LNovember 19, 19963–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 8–10–1
20WNovember 21, 19966–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 9–10–1
21WNovember 23, 19963–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 10–10–1
22LNovember 26, 19963–4 @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 10–11–1
23WNovember 27, 19963–0 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 11–11–1
24WNovember 29, 19963–0 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 12–11–1
25WNovember 30, 19963–2 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 13–11–1
26LDecember 4, 19966–7 OT Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 13–12–1
27TDecember 6, 19961–1 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 13–12–2
28LDecember 7, 19964–6 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 13–13–2
29WDecember 11, 19963–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 14–13–2
30LDecember 13, 19960–3 New York Rangers (1996–97) 14–14–2
31WDecember 14, 19964–0 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 15–14–2
32WDecember 18, 19965–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 16–14–2
33WDecember 20, 19966–2 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 17–14–2
34WDecember 21, 19963–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 18–14–2
35TDecember 23, 19960–0 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 18–14–3
36WDecember 26, 19965–1 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 19–14–3
37LDecember 28, 19960–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 19–15–3
38WDecember 31, 19966–5 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 20–15–3
39TJanuary 3, 19972–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 20–15–4
40WJanuary 5, 19975–1 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 21–15–4
41TJanuary 7, 19971–1 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 21–15–5
42LJanuary 9, 19973–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 21–16–5
43LJanuary 10, 19972–5 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 21–17–5
44WJanuary 12, 19973–2 OT @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 22–17–5
45WJanuary 15, 19972–1 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 23–17–5
46WJanuary 20, 19972–1 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 24–17–5
47WJanuary 22, 19976–1 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 25–17–5
48LJanuary 24, 19971–3 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 25–18–5
49LJanuary 25, 19971–5 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 25–19–5
50WJanuary 29, 19973–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 26–19–5
51WJanuary 31, 19973–1 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 27–19–5
52TFebruary 2, 19972–2 OT Washington Capitals (1996–97) 27–19–6
53TFebruary 4, 19971–1 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 27–19–7
54TFebruary 6, 19971–1 OT Florida Panthers (1996–97) 27–19–8
55WFebruary 8, 19973–1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 28–19–8
56WFebruary 9, 19972–1 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 29–19–8
57TFebruary 12, 19972–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 29–19–9
58WFebruary 16, 19976–2 San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 30–19–9
59TFebruary 18, 19975–5 OT Calgary Flames (1996–97) 30–19–10
60WFebruary 21, 19975–2 New York Islanders (1996–97) 31–19–10
61WFebruary 23, 19975–1 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 32–19–10
62LFebruary 27, 19971–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 32–20–10
63WMarch 1, 19973–1 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 33–20–10
64WMarch 5, 19974–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 34–20–10
65TMarch 8, 19973–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 34–20–11
66LMarch 9, 19971–4 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 34–21–11
67WMarch 11, 19973–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 35–21–11
68WMarch 15, 19977–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 36–21–11
69WMarch 17, 19975–1 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 37–21–11
70LMarch 18, 19973–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 37–22–11
71WMarch 21, 19974–1 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 38–22–11
72LMarch 22, 19972–3 @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 38–23–11
73LMarch 26, 19972–3 OT New York Islanders (1996–97) 38–24–11
74LMarch 28, 19971–2 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 38–25–11
75LMarch 30, 19972–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 38–26–11
76TApril 1, 19971–1 OT @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 38–26–12
77LApril 2, 19970–2 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 38–27–12
78WApril 4, 19975–1 New York Rangers (1996–97) 39–27–12
79LApril 7, 19972–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 39–28–12
80WApril 10, 19975–1 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 40–28–12
81LApril 12, 19970–1 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 40–29–12
82LApril 13, 19973–8 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 40–30–12

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs The Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators in the first round. The series was played to overtime in Game 7. Derek Plante scored the series clinching goal in overtime. The Sabres then lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games in the second round.

Ottawa vs. Buffalo
Date Away Home
April 17 Ottawa 1 3 Buffalo
April 19 Ottawa 3 1 Buffalo
April 21 Buffalo 3 2 Ottawa
April 23 Buffalo 0 1 Ottawa OT
April 25 Ottawa 4 1 Buffalo
April 27 Buffalo 3 0 Ottawa
April 29 Ottawa 2 3 Buffalo OT
Buffalo wins series 4–3


Philadelphia vs. Buffalo
Date Away Home
May 3 Philadelphia 5 3 Buffalo
May 5 Philadelphia 2 1 Buffalo
May 7 Buffalo 1 4 Philadelphia
May 9 Buffalo 5 4 Philadelphia OT
May 11 Philadelphia 6 3 Buffalo
Philadelphia wins series 4–1

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Plante, DerekDerek Plante C 82 27 26 53 2414506
Holzinger, BrianBrian Holzinger C 81 22 29 51 549226
Audette, DonaldDonald Audette RW 73 28 22 50 48-6805
Peca, MichaelMichael Peca C 79 20 29 49 8026564
Dawe, JasonJason Dawe RW 81 22 26 48 3214413
Ward, DixonDixon Ward RW 79 13 32 45 3617124
Barnaby, MatthewMatthew Barnaby RW 68 19 24 43 24916201
Galley, GarryGarry Galley D 71 4 34 38 10210111
Grosek, MichalMichal Grosek LW 82 15 21 36 7125102
Zhitnik, AlexeiAlexei Zhitnik D 80 7 28 35 9510310
Burridge, RandyRandy Burridge LW 55 10 21 31 2017130
Smehlik, RichardRichard Smehlik D 62 11 19 30 4319201
Shannon, DarrylDarryl Shannon D 82 4 19 23 11223101
Wilson, MikeMike Wilson D 77 2 9 11 5113001
Satan, MiroslavMiroslav Satan LW 12 8 2 10 41201
Ray, RobRob Ray RW 82 7 3 10 2863001
McKee, JayJay McKee D 43 1 9 10 353000
LaFontaine, PatPat LaFontaine C 13 2 6 8 4-8100
Moore, BarrieBarrie Moore LW 31 2 6 8 181100
Boughner, BobBob Boughner D 77 1 7 8 22512000
Brown, CurtisCurtis Brown C/LW 28 4 3 7 184001
May, BradBrad May LW 42 3 4 7 106-8101
Primeau, WayneWayne Primeau C 45 2 4 6 64-2100
Semenov, AnatoliAnatoli Semenov C/LW 25 2 4 6 2-3101
Ronan, EdEd Ronan RW 18 1 4 5 114000
Hasek, DominikDominik Hasek G 67 0 3 3 300000
Huddy, CharlieCharlie Huddy D 1 0 0 0 0-1000
Ndur, RumunRumun Ndur D 2 0 0 0 21000
Shields, SteveSteve Shields G 13 0 0 0 40000
Trefilov, AndreiAndrei Trefilov G 3 0 0 0 00000
Varada, VaclavVaclav Varada RW 5 0 0 0 20000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Hasek, DominikDominik Hasek 4037 67 37 20 10 153 2.27 521772024.930
Shields, SteveSteve Shields 789 13 3 8 2 39 2.97 0447408.913
Trefilov, AndreiAndrei Trefilov 159 3 0 2 0 10 3.77 09888.898
Team: 4985 82 40 30 12 202 2.43 527222520.926

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Plante, DerekDerek Plante C 12 4 6 10 44102
Audette, DonaldDonald Audette RW 11 4 5 9 6-3300
Holzinger, BrianBrian Holzinger C 12 2 5 7 8-3010
Burridge, RandyRandy Burridge LW 12 5 1 6 2-5300
Grosek, MichalMichal Grosek LW 12 3 3 6 83000
Galley, GarryGarry Galley D 12 0 6 6 142000
Shannon, DarrylDarryl Shannon D 12 2 3 5 8-1100
Ward, DixonDixon Ward RW 12 2 3 5 62001
Barnaby, MatthewMatthew Barnaby RW 8 0 4 4 362000
Dawe, JasonJason Dawe RW 11 2 1 3 6-2000
May, BradBrad May LW 10 1 1 2 32-2000
Peca, MichaelMichael Peca C 10 0 2 2 8-3000
Smehlik, RichardRichard Smehlik D 12 0 2 2 40000
Ronan, EdEd Ronan RW 6 1 0 1 6-1001
Zhitnik, AlexeiAlexei Zhitnik D 12 1 0 1 16-9000
Boughner, BobBob Boughner D 11 0 1 1 90000
Ray, RobRob Ray RW 12 0 1 1 28-3000
Wilson, MikeMike Wilson D 10 0 1 1 23000
Hasek, DominikDominik Hasek G 3 0 0 0 20000
McKee, JayJay McKee D 3 0 0 0 00000
Primeau, WayneWayne Primeau C 9 0 0 0 6-2000
Satan, MiroslavMiroslav Satan LW 7 0 0 0 0-1000
Shields, SteveSteve Shields G 10 0 0 0 90000
Trefilov, AndreiAndrei Trefilov G 1 0 0 0 00000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Shields, SteveSteve Shields 570 10 4 6 26 2.74 1334308.922
Hasek, DominikDominik Hasek 153 3 1 1 5 1.96 06863.926
Trefilov, AndreiAndrei Trefilov 5 1 0 0 0 0.00 0441.000
Team: 728 12 5 7 31 2.55 1406375.924

[7]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

NHL All-Star Game

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. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1997-01-13/sports/9701130142_1_jason-dawe-lindgren-overtime
  3. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1997_games.html
  4. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1997.html
  5. http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/BUF/1997_games.html
  6. "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  7. "1996-97 Buffalo Sabres Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  8. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 237, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 978-0-920445-98-3
  9. 1 2 Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.426, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
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