2007–08 Buffalo Sabres Season

2007–08 Buffalo Sabres
2007–08 Buffalo Sabres
Division	4th Northeast
Conference	10th Eastern
2007–08 record	39–31–12
Home record	20–15–6
Road record	19–16–6
Goals for	255
Goals against	242
Team information
General manager	Darcy Regier
Coach	Lindy Ruff
Captain	Rotating ; Jochen Hecht (Oct, Feb); Toni Lydman (Nov); Brian Campbell (Dec) ; Jaroslav Spacek (Jan) ; Jason Pominville (Mar-Apr)
Alternate captains	Rotating ; Toni Lydman (Oct) ; Henrik Tallinder (Oct); Brian Campbell (Nov, Feb) ; Jochen Hecht (Nov-Jan); Jaroslav Spacek (Dec, Mar-Apr); Jason Pominville (Jan); Adam Mair (Feb) ; Tim Connolly (Feb) ; Derek Roy (Mar-Apr)
Arena	HSBC Arena; Ralph Wilson Stadium; (1 game)
Average attendance	18,668 (99.9%);
Team leaders
Goals	Thomas Vanek (36)
Assists	Jason Pominville (53)
Points	Derek Roy (81)
Penalty minutes	Andrew Peters (100)
Plus/minus	Jason Pominville (+16)
Wins	Ryan Miller (36)
Goals against average	Ryan Miller (2.64)
	← 2006–07 2008–09 →

Prior to the season, the Sabres lost their co-captains of the previous two seasons, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury. Briere and Drury were signed as free agents on July 1 by the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, respectively. Dainius Zubrus was also lost to free agency, as he was signed by the New Jersey Devils on July 3. Thomas Vanek, who led the team in goals the previous season with 43, was a restricted free agent and was almost lost as well; the Edmonton Oilers signed him to a seven-year, $50 million offer sheet on July 6, but the Sabres matched the offer, retaining him.

Jocelyn Thibault was signed to the Sabres' roster on July 5 to serve as a veteran backup to the team's starting goaltender, Ryan Miller. Thibault replaced Ty Conklin, who had served as Miller's backup for the last month of the 2006–07 season and during the playoffs. Conklin was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 18.

After losing both Briere and Drury in the off-season, the Sabres' captaincy was vacated. Prior to the season, the team announced that it would rotate captaincy throughout the season, just as it did during the 2003–04 season. Jochen Hecht was named the October captain under this system. Toni Lydman was named captain for November, Brian Campbell was named captain for December, and Jaroslav Spacek was named captain for January before the captaincy was cycled back to Hecht in February. Jason Pominville was named the team's captain in March, and he finished the season in the role.

Longtime Sabres' color commentator Jim Lorentz retired just prior to the season. He was replaced in the broadcast booth by longtime Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Harry Neale.

The Sabres' January 1 home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins was played outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills. The NHL called the event the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic. In addition to selling tickets at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the Sabres also sold tickets to HSBC Arena for the game, which was broadcast for fans on the arena's video scoreboard.

Brian Campbell was the Sabres' lone representative in the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, as he was named to the team as a reserve defenseman. It was his second consecutive All-Star Game appearance. Campbell was then traded to the San Jose Sharks on February 26 in exchange for Steve Bernier and a first-round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Regular season

On January 18, 2008, the Sabres defeated the Atlanta Thrashers at home by a score of 10–1. Derek Roy and Drew Stafford each had a hat-trick. It was the first time that an NHL team had scored 10 goals in a regular season game since January 4, 2007, when the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Boston Bruins on the road by a score of 10–2. It was also the first time that the Sabres had scored 10 goals in a game since January 14, 2006, when they defeated the Los Angeles Kings at home by a score of 10–1. Coincidentally, two Sabres had hat-tricks in that game as well: Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville.

Divisional standings

Northeast Division
		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	82	47	25	10	262	222	104
2	Ottawa Senators	82	43	31	8	261	247	94
3	Boston Bruins	82	41	29	12	212	222	94
4	Buffalo Sabres	82	39	31	12	255	242	90
5	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	36	35	11	231	260	83

Conference standings

Eastern Conference
R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	z – Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	47	25	10	262	222	104
2	y – Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	47	27	8	247	216	102
3	y – Washington Capitals	SE	82	43	31	8	242	231	94
4	New Jersey Devils	AT	82	46	29	7	206	197	99
5	New York Rangers	AT	82	42	27	13	213	199	97
6	Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	42	29	11	248	233	95
7	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	43	31	8	261	247	94
8	Boston Bruins	NE	82	41	29	12	212	222	94
8.5
9	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	43	33	6	252	249	92
10	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	39	31	12	255	242	90
11	Florida Panthers	SE	82	38	35	9	216	226	85
12	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	36	35	11	231	260	83
13	New York Islanders	AT	82	35	38	9	194	243	79
14	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	34	40	8	216	272	76
15	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	31	42	9	223	267	71

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

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

For complete standings, see 2007–08 NHL season.

Schedule and results

October

Record: 5–5–0; Home: 3–2–0; Road: 2–3–0

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 5	NY Islanders	6 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	0–1–0	0
2	October 6	Buffalo	2 – 3	NY Islanders		Miller	16,234	0–2–0	0
3	October 11	Atlanta	0 – 6	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	1–2–0	2
4	October 13	Washington	3 – 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	2–2–0	4
5	October 15	Toronto	4 – 5	Buffalo	OT	Thibault	18,217	3–2–0	6
6	October 19	Columbus	3 – 0	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	3–3–0	6
7	October 20	Buffalo	2 – 4	Montreal		Miller	21,273	3–4–0	6
8	October 24	Buffalo	2 – 6	Carolina		Miller	16,058	3–5–0	6
9	October 26	Buffalo	4 – 2	Florida		Miller	15,842	4–5–0	8
10	October 27	Buffalo	4 – 3	Tampa Bay	OT	Miller	19,804	5–5–0	10

November

Record: 6–6–1; Home: 4–3–0; Road: 2–3–1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
11	November 1	Buffalo	3 – 4	Boston	OT	Miller	13,479	5–5–1	11
12	November 2	Florida	4 – 2	Buffalo		Thibault	18,690	5–6–1	11
13	November 5	Buffalo	0 – 2	Montreal		Miller	21,273	5–7–1	11
14	November 7	Boston	1 – 2	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	6–7–1	13
15	November 9	Toronto	3 – 0	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	6–8–1	13
16	November 10	Buffalo	1 – 2	Boston		Miller	17,565	6–9–1	13
17	November 15	Buffalo	2 – 3	Ottawa		Miller	19,279	6–10–1	13
18	November 16	Montreal	1 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	7–10–1	15
19	November 21	Ottawa	2 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	8–10–1	17
20	November 23	Montreal	2 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	9–10–1	19
21	November 24	Buffalo	3 – 0	Montreal		Thibault	21,273	10–10–1	21
22	November 26	Buffalo	3 – 1	Washington		Miller	11,204	11–10–1	23
23	November 28	St. Louis	4 – 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	11–11–1	23

December

On December 22, the Sabres won their first shootout victory of the season on the road in Philadelphia against the Philadelphia Flyers. Thomas Vanek scored with 7.2 seconds left in the third period, beating former Sabres goaltender Martin Biron from the right circle to force overtime, and Ales Kotalik of the Sabres scored the only shootout goal to provide the Sabres with a win, adding to their total with six victories in a row.

Record: 8–5–1; Home: 4–2–0; Road: 4–3–1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
24	December 1	Carolina	1 – 8	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	12–11–1	25
25	December 5	Buffalo	1 – 4	Anaheim		Miller	17,174	12–12–1	25
26	December 6	Buffalo	2 – 8	Los Angeles		Thibault	15,980	12–13–1	25
27	December 8	Buffalo	7 – 1	San Jose		Miller	17,496	13–13–1	27
28	December 10	Boston	4 – 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,302	13–14–1	27
29	December 12	NY Islanders	3 – 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	14–14–1	29
30	December 14	Buffalo	5 – 3	Washington		Miller	17,035	15–14–1	31
31	December 15	Chicago	1 – 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	16–14–1	33
32	December 19	Buffalo	2 – 1	NY Islanders		Miller	10,806	17–14–1	35
33	December 21	Philadelphia	2 – 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	18–14–1	37
34	December 22	Buffalo	6 – 5	Philadelphia	SO	Miller	19,606	19–14–1	39
35	December 26	Ottawa	5 – 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	19–15–1	39
36	December 28	Buffalo	1 – 2	New Jersey	SO	Miller	17,625	19–15–2	40
37	December 29	Buffalo	0 – 2	Pittsburgh		Miller	17,132	19–16–2	40

January

Record: 4–5–4; Home: 1–1–2; Road: 3–4–2

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
38	January 1	Pittsburgh	2 – 1	Buffalo^*	SO	Miller	71,217	19–16–3	41
39	January 4	Ottawa	5 – 3	Buffalo		Thibault	18,690	19–17–3	41
40	January 6	Buffalo	2 – 5	Atlanta		Miller	15,213	19–18–3	41
41	January 8	Buffalo	1 – 2	New Jersey	SO	Miller	14,030	19–18–4	42
42	January 10	Buffalo	2 – 3	Ottawa	SO	Thibault	19,843	19–18–5	43
43	January 12	New Jersey	3 – 2	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	19–18–6	44
44	January 16	Buffalo	1 – 2	NY Rangers		Miller	18,200	19–19–6	44
45	January 18	Atlanta	1 – 10	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	20–19–6	46
46	January 19	Buffalo	2 – 4	Toronto		Miller	19,436	20–20–6	46
47	January 21	Buffalo	2 – 6	Phoenix		Thibault	16,981	20–21–6	46
48	January 24	Buffalo	2 – 1	Dallas		Miller	18,532	21–21–6	48
49	January 29	Buffalo	4 – 2	Tampa Bay		Miller	18,920	22–21–6	50
50	January 30	Buffalo	1 – 0	Florida		Miller	14,024	23–21–6	52

*Played at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

February

Record: 8–4–3; Home: 5–3–2; Road: 3–1–1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
51	February 1	Buffalo	4 – 5	Atlanta	SO	Thibault	17,064	23–21–7	53
52	February 5	Buffalo	4 – 2	Boston		Miller	13,427	24–21–7	55
53	February 6	New Jersey	2 – 3	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	25–21–7	57
54	February 8	Boston	3 – 2	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	25–21–8	58
55	February 10	Florida	3 – 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	26–21–8	60
56	February 12	Buffalo	5 – 1	Ottawa		Miller	19,564	27–21–8	62
57	February 13	Toronto	0 – 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	28–21–8	64
58	February 16	Buffalo	1 – 5	NY Rangers		Miller	18,200	28–22–8	64
59	February 17	Pittsburgh	4 – 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	28–23–8	64
60	February 20	Tampa Bay	3 – 4	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	29–23–8	66
61	February 21	Buffalo	5 – 1	Toronto		Miller	19,467	30–23–8	68
62	February 23	NY Rangers	4 – 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	30–24–8	68
63	February 25	Philadelphia	4 – 3	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	30–24–9	69
64	February 27	Nashville	4 – 8	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	31–24–9	71
62	February 29	Montreal	6 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	31–25–9	71

March

Record: 6–5–3; Home: 3–4–2; Road: 3–1–1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
66	March 2	Detroit	4 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	31–26–9	71
67	March 4	Buffalo	5 – 2	Philadelphia		Miller	19,516	32–26–9	73
68	March 5	Washington	3 – 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	32–27–9	73
69	March 8	Buffalo	3 – 4	Carolina	OT	Miller	18,808	32–27–10	74
70	March 10	NY Rangers	3 – 2	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	32–27–11	75
71	March 12	Buffalo	3 – 7	Pittsburgh		Miller	17,132	32–28–11	75
72	March 14	Carolina	1 – 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	33–28–11	77
73	March 15	Buffalo	6 – 2	Toronto		Miller	19,462	34–28–11	79
74	March 19	Tampa Bay	4 – 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	35–28–11	81
75	March 21	Toronto	4 – 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	35–29–11	81
76	March 25	Ottawa	6 – 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	35–30–11	81
77	March 27	Buffalo	4 – 3	Ottawa	SO	Miller	19,883	36–30–11	83
78	March 28	Montreal	4 – 3	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	36–30–12	84
79	March 30	Boston	1 – 2	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	37–30–12	86

April

Record: 2–1–0; Home: 0–0–0; Road: 2–1–0

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
80	April 1	Buffalo	4 – 3	Toronto	SO	Miller	19,288	38–30–12	88
81	April 3	Buffalo	1 – 3	Montreal		Miller	21,273	38–31–12	88
82	April 5	Buffalo	3 – 0	Boston		Thibault	17,565	39–31–12	90

Playoffs

After winning the Presidents' Trophy in the 2006–07 NHL season, the Sabres failed to qualify for the playoffs despite having 90 points.

Player statistics

Skaters

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

		Regular season
Player	#	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Derek Roy	9	78	32	49	81	+13	46
Jason Pominville	29	82	27	53	80	+16	20
Thomas Vanek	26	82	36	28	64	-5	64
Jochen Hecht	55	75	22	27	49	+1	38
Brian Campbell*	51	63	5	38	43	-1	12
Ales Kotalik	12	79	23	20	43	-5	58
Tim Connolly	19	48	7	33	40	+4	8
Drew Stafford	21	64	16	22	38	+3	51
Paul Gaustad	28	82	10	26	36	-4	85
Daniel Paille	20	77	19	16	35	+9	14
Jaroslav Spacek	6	60	9	23	32	+7	42
Maxim Afinogenov	61	56	10	18	28	-16	42
Toni Lydman	5	82	4	22	26	+1	74
Henrik Tallinder	10	71	1	17	18	+5	48
Adam Mair	22	72	5	12	17	-2	66
Clarke MacArthur	41	37	8	7	15	+3	20
Steve Bernier*	56	17	3	6	9	+1	2
Nathan Paetsch	38	59	2	7	9	+3	27
Andrej Sekera	44	37	2	6	8	+5	16
Michael Ryan	37	46	4	4	8	-4	30
Dmitri Kalinin	45	46	1	7	8	-7	32
Nolan Pratt	4	55	1	6	7	+1	30
Patrick Kaleta	36	40	3	2	5	+1	41
Mike Weber	34	16	0	3	3	+12	14
Andrew Peters	76	44	1	1	2	-4	100
Ryan Miller	30	76	0	1	1	N/A	6
Teppo Numminen	27	1	0	0	0	E	0
Marc-Andre Gragnani	17	2	0	0	0	-2	4
Michael Funk	3	4	0	0	0	-3	0
Jocelyn Thibault	35	12	0	0	0	N/A	0

*Stats reflect games played with Buffalo only.

Note: Goaltenders are not assessed plus/minus ratings.

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

		Regular season
Player	#	GP	TOI	W	L	OTL	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Ryan Miller	30	76	4474	36	27	10	197	3	.906	2.64
Jocelyn Thibault	35	12	507	3	4	2	28	2	.869	3.31

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

Regular season
Player	Milestone	Date achieved
Jason Pominville	100th NHL point	October 13, 2007
Derek Roy	200th NHL game	October 19, 2007
Mike Weber	1st NHL game	October 26, 2007
Jochen Hecht	300th NHL point	October 26, 2007
Andrej Sekera	1st NHL assist 1st NHL point	October 26, 2007
Tim Connolly	400th NHL game	October 27, 2007
Andrej Sekera	1st NHL goal	November 28, 2007
Maxim Afinogenov	500th NHL game	December 26, 2007
Thomas Vanek	200th NHL Game	December 29, 2007
Drew Stafford	1st NHL hat trick	January 18, 2008
Patrick Kaleta	1st NHL goal	February 10, 2008
Ryan Miller	100th NHL win	February 10, 2008
Thomas Vanek	1st NHL hat trick	February 12, 2008
Marc-Andre Gragnani	1st NHL game	February 23, 2008
Mike Weber	1st NHL assist 1st NHL point	March 12, 2008
Thomas Vanek	100th NHL Goal	March 21, 2008
Ryan Miller	200th NHL Game	March 25, 2008
Coach	Milestone	Date achieved
Lindy Ruff	800th NHL game	February 23, 2008

Transactions

The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

June 23, 2007	To Calgary Flames 4th-round pick in 2007 – Keith Aulie	To Buffalo Sabres 5th-round pick in 2007 – Bradley Eidsness 5th-round pick in 2007 – Jean-Simon Allard
February 26, 2008	To San Jose Sharks Brian Campbell 7th-round pick in 2008 – Drew Daniels	To Buffalo Sabres Steve Bernier 1st-round pick in 2008 – Tyler Ennis

Free agents acquired

Player	Former team	Contract terms
Jocelyn Thibault	Pittsburgh Penguins	1 year, $760,000
Nolan Pratt	Tampa Bay Lightning	1 year, $550,000

Player	New team
Daniel Briere	Philadelphia Flyers
Chris Drury	New York Rangers
Dainius Zubrus	New Jersey Devils
Ty Conklin	Pittsburgh Penguins

Draft picks

Buffalo's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
2	31	T. J. Brennan	Defenseman	United States	St. John's Fog Devils (QMJHL)
2	59	Drew Schiestel	Defenseman	Canada	Mississauga IceDogs (OHL)
3	89	Corey Tropp	Forward	United States	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
5	139	Bradley Eidsness	Goaltender	Canada	Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)
5	147	Jean-Simon Allard	Center	Canada	St. John's Fog Devils (QMJHL)
6	179	Paul Byron	Center	Canada	Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
7	187	Nick Eno	Goaltender	United States	Green Mountain Glades (EJHL)
7	209	Drew MacKenzie	Defenseman	United States	Taft School (USHS-CT)

Farm teams

Rochester Americans

The Rochester Americans remain Buffalo's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2007–08. It is expected to be the last year of the two teams' long affiliation and the teams are expected to part ways at the end of the season.

References

Player stats: Buffalo Sabres player stats on espn.com
Schedule: Buffalo Sabres schedule on sabres.com
Game log: Buffalo Sabres game log on espn.com
Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com

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