Buffalo Sabres Tickets

About The Buffalo Sabres

In 1972-1973, the Buffalo Sabres made the playoffs but lost in the quarter finals to the Canadiens. !974 would also prove to be a sub-par year but the next season the team would tie for the best record in the NHL and would advance to the Stanley Cup for the first time in team history against the Flyers. This series would include the infamous Fog Game. Because of the unusual heat in Buffalo at the time, some of the games were played partially in the fog. During one such game, the Buffalo Sabres center Jim Lorentz saw a bat flying across the rink. He raised his stick to swat it and killed it. Many of the Buffalo Sabres ticket holding fans considered this a bad omen, considering the outcome of the series. It would be the only time that an NHL player killed an animal during an NHL game. Ultimately, the Buffalo Sabres lost the Stanley Cup to the Flyers.

During the 1996-1997 season, the team won the Northeast Division, their first division title in 16 years. But all of their success during the regular season would be overshadowed by the actions during the playoffs. There was growing tension between goaltender Dominik Hasek and head coach Ted Nolan. After being scored on three times in the first round by Ottawa Senators, Hasek left the game. Hasek claimed he heard his knee pop and was placed on day-to-day by the team doctor. After the Senators won game 5, Hasek attacked a news columnist who had written a detailed account of the series. Hasek was suspended for the first three games of the next series, and things just went downhill from there.

Over the next few years the team would struggle, not only to win games but financially as well. The team was put up for sale, but because of the teams struggle on the ice, a buyer was difficult to find. Finally in 2003 a new owner would be found and the team would begin to pick up the pieces and rebuild itself.

In the 2008-2009 season, the Buffalo Sabres ticket holding fans were given a new American Hockey League affiliate, the Portland Pirates, ending the teams 29 year affiliation with the Rochester Americans. In 2008 the team went into the free agency period almost undetected. On July 1 the team signed goaltender Patrick Lalime to a 2 year contract and then they picked up Craig Rivet from San Jose. The team also extended the existing contracts of 3 key players, Paul Gaustad, Ryan Miller and Hason Pominville.