Buffalo Sabres Tickets

The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They play in the National Hockey League. The Buffalo Sabres joined the NHL in the 1970-71 season, owned by Seymour and Northrop Knox, scions of a family long prominent in Western New York. They picked the nickname because a sabre had long been considered a weapon carried by a leader. The Knoxes had tried twice before to get an NHL team; first in the 1967 round of expansion, then unsuccessfully attempting to buy the Oakland Seals with the intent of moving them to Buffalo. Buffalo had been a hotbed for minor-league hockey, and the Buffalo Bisons had been one of the pillars of the American Hockey League, winning the Calder Cup in their final year before yielding to the Sabres. During the 1992-93 NHL season, the Sabres executed what probably was the most important trade in team history, and acquired goaltender Dominik Hašek from the Chicago Blackhawks for Stephane Beauregard and a 1993 4th round draft pick (Eric Daze).

Hasek had spent the previous two seasons as a backup goalie in Chicago, however "The Dominator" became the Sabres' starting goaltender the next season, and blossomed into one of the best goaltenders in the history of the game. Hašek swiftly broke many long-standing NHL records for goaltenders and was the game's preeminent defensive player for several years in the NHL and in international competition. In the sixth game of the seven-game series, Brett Hull's triple-overtime goal -- one that remains controversial as Hull's skate was visibly in the goal crease-- ended the series, and the Stars were awarded the Cup. In 1999, it was illegal to score a goal if an offensive player's skate entered the goal crease ahead of the puck. At the time, even Dallas Morning News hockey writer Keith Gave questioned the legality of the goal. The NHL officials, however, maintained that Hull's shots in the goal mouth constituted a single possession of the puck since the puck deflected off Hasek, and their ruling stood. ESPN's "Page 2" staff has ranked the call as the 5th worst officiating call in sports history. The Sabres' surprising ride ended in the Eastern Conference Finals at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite being without their 4 top defensemen during much of the series, the Sabres fought valiantly, coming back from a 3 games to 2 deficit to force a seventh game by way of a 2-1 OT win in game 6. In the deciding game 7 the Sabres led the Hurricanes 2-1 going into the final period, but blew the lead early in the third period and gave up 2 more goals late in the third period for a 4-2 final. The game winning goal was scored on the power play by Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour after Brian Campbell was penalized for shooting the puck into the crowd. The Sabres exceptional season was recognized on June 22, 2006 at the NHL Awards ceremony, when Lindy Ruff edged Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette 155 votes to 154, to win the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. It was the closest vote in the award's history. Ruff is the second Sabres coach to win the award.