The 1974–75 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' fifth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Sabres finished in a tie for the best record in the NHL in the 1974–75 regular season after a disappointing 1974 that saw the 1973–74 team fail to return to the NHL playoffs as they had the year before. Buffalo advanced to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in team history to play against the rough Philadelphia Flyers (who had been recently nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies"), a series which included the legendary Fog Game (game three of the series). The Sabres lost the series 4–2.

The season marked the Sabres' second NHL playoffs appearance. The season was the first under the tenure of Floyd Smith and the team's first in the newly created Adams Division in the NHL's Prince of Wales Conference.

Sabres players earned numerous accolades. Don Luce won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. Rick Martin, Rene Robert, Jerry Korab and Luce were all selected to the 1975 NHL All-Star Game. Martin was a first team NHL All-Star team selection at left wing, while Robert was a second team selection at right wing. The French Connection (Martin, Robert and Gilbert Perreault) were all among the league leaders in important scoring statistics.

Transactions Goaltender Dave Dryden was lost to the World Hockey Association following the 1973–74 season. During the 25-round May 1974 NHL amateur draft that was held by conference call, the team participated in the first twelve rounds of the draft. Although several of their selections eventually played in the NHL, the Sabres only drafted three players that played for the team that year. The Sabres acquired defenseman Lee Fogolin (1st round, 11th overall), right winger Danny Gare (2nd round, 29th overall) and defenseman Paul McIntosh (4th round, 65th overall) in the 1974 NHL amateur draft. They had acquired left winger Morris Titanic in the 1973 NHL amateur draft (1st round, 12th overall) and he was called up from the team's American Hockey League minor league affiliate, the Hershey Bears during the season. In addition, the Sabres drafted fictional Japanese forward Taro Tsujimoto with the 183rd overall pick, presenting the protest selection as real until well into training camp that year.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team111Lee Fogolin (D)Oshawa Generals (OHA)229Danny Gare (RW)Calgary Centennials (WCJHL)347Michel Deziel (LW)Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL)465Paul McIntosh (D)Peterborough Petes (OHA)583Garry Lariviere (D)St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL)6101Dave Given (RW)Brown University (ECAC)7119Bernard Noreau (RW)Laval National (QMJHL)8136Charles Constantin (LW)Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)9153Rick Jodzio (LW)Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)10168Derek Smith (LW)Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)11183Taro Tsujimoto (C)Tokyo Katanas (JIHL)12196Bob Geoffrion (LW)Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)

Prior to the season, the team had lost right winger Ron Busniuk to the Detroit Red Wings in the June 10, 1974 NHL intra-league draft. Buffalo lost right winger Steve Atkinson and center Randy Wyrozub to the Washington Capitals in the June 12, 1974 NHL expansion draft. The team also lost defenseman Paul Terbenche to the Kansas City Scouts in the same draft.

On October 14, 1974, The Sabres acquired 1974 All-Star defenseman Jocelyn Guevremont and forward Bryan McSheffrey from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for left winger Gerry Meehan and defenseman Mike Robitaille. On January 27, 1975, Buffalo acquired left winger Fred Stanfield from the Minnesota North Stars for right winger Norm Gratton and Buffalo's 3rd round choice in 1976 NHL amateur draft. The veteran Stanfield had finished in the top ten in the league four times in assists before being acquired by the Sabres. The Sabres acquired the NHL rights to goaltender Gerry Desjardins from the New York Islanders for defenseman Garry Lariviere on February 19, 1975.

In May, after the season ended, left winger Rick Dudley, who later coached the Sabres for three seasons, signed to play in the WHA. After 11 seasons in the NHL, 1974–75 was the final one for right winger Larry Mickey before his retirement.

Regular season

October–December The Sabres returned after a season of injury and tragedy in which their captain Tim Horton died in an automobile accident. The team also seemed to have mended an apparent preseason feud between Perreault and Martin. On October 10, 1974, in the season-opening game, Danny Gare set the tone for the new season by scoring a goal 18 seconds into the first game of his career.National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.187, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, Perreault added a hat trick and two assists in the 9–5 victory over the Boston Bruins. After starting the season 3–3–1, the Sabres had an 18–1–3 hot streak between October 26 and December 8, 1974, to move to a 21–4–4 record. By the time they reached 7–3–1 following a November 3 victory over the New York Rangers, they had taken over the Adams Division lead. The streak included two unbeaten stretches of at least 10 games. They went 9–0–1 on a streak that extended until November 14 with a win against the Minnesota North Stars. The penultimate win of the streak was the Sabres' first ever win at the Montreal Forum on November 13.

After a November 16, loss to the Bruins, they started a 9–0–2 streak on November 17 against the Atlanta Flames. In the third game of this streak, which was also against the Flames, they made a comeback from two separate three-goal deficits to tie the game. The other tie during the streak was also a comeback. By the end of the two unbeaten streaks and before the 30-game mark, the Sabres had the best record in the NHL, the league's leading scorer in Perreault, three 20-goal scorers among the French Connection and the leading rookie scorer in the league in Gare. Martin had the second four-goal game of his career in a December 3 5–3 victory against the Washington Capitals on the road. Perreault had three goals and an assist in the December 5 9–2 victory against the Washington Capitals at home. Then, Martin was lost with a recurring thumb injury. Following Martin's injury, the Sabres eleven-game unbeaten streak came to an end, and the team had two different three-game stretches without a win that started in December.

January–February The team posted a season high six-game win streak between January 12, 1975 – January 25, 1975. The streak culminated in a second win against the Montreal Canadiens on the road. After a February 1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Sabres went undefeated for the rest of the month. The team had a season-high 12-game unbeaten streak between February 2, 1975 – February 27, 1975. During that streak, the team went 7–0–5. The 4–4 February 16 tie with the St. Louis Blues clinched a playoff spot for the Sabres. The February 18 3–2 victory over the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum was only the second loss of the season for the Islanders at home. The February 20 6–6 tie against the Flyers, in which the Sabres lost several leads, extended the Flyers unbeaten streak against the Sabres to nine. The final game of the streak was a 5–0 shutout victory over the Los Angeles Kings, who had handed the Sabres three of their eleven defeats prior to that point in the season.

March–April At the beginning of March, Desjardins quit the Baltimore Blades of the World Hockey Association to join the Sabres. Desjardins was frustrated at not getting paid when attendance was sparse. On March 16 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Martin dislocated his thumb during a fight. This necessitated that he wear a cast. Desjardins made his first appearance in a March 20 6–3 victory over the New York Rangers. In their last win of the month, the Sabres clinched the division title on March 23 with a 9–4 victory over the California Golden Seals. Rookie defenseman Hajt was injured with a broken bone in his foot during a 5–1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 26. The Sabres would lose the next two games for the season's only three-game losing streak. The Sabres ended the season by winning all three regular season games in April. The Sabres did not clinch the Prince of Wales Conference until winning the final game of the season against the Maple Leafs.

The season was the first of three full seasons coached by Floyd Smith, who had coached one game during the 1971–72 season. Smith had played for the Sabres during their first two seasons. The team played its home games at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Two members of the team later coached the Sabres: Dudley and Jim Schoenfeld.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Results The following is a Sabres game log.

|1||W||October 10, 1974||9–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||1–0–0

|2||L||October 12, 1974||1–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) ||1–1–0

|3||L||October 13, 1974||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||1–2–0

|4||W||October 17, 1974||6–1 || style="text-align:left;"| California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||2–2–0

|5||W||October 18, 1974||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) ||3–2–0

|6||T||October 20, 1974||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||3–2–1

|7||L||October 24, 1974||2–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||3–3–1

|8||W||October 26, 1974||2–0 || style="text-align:left;"| @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) ||4–3–1

|9||W||October 27, 1974||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||5–3–1

|10||W||November 2, 1974||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||6–3–1

|11||W||November 3, 1974||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1974–75) ||7–3–1

|12||T||November 5, 1974||2–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||7–3–2

|13||W||November 6, 1974||6–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) ||8–3–2

|14||W||November 9, 1974||6–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) ||9–3–2

|15||W||November 10, 1974||8–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||10–3–2

|16||W||November 13, 1974||8–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||11–3–2

|17||W||November 14, 1974||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) ||12–3–2

|18||L||November 16, 1974||5–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||12–4–2

|19||W||November 17, 1974||4–0 || style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta Flames (1974–75) ||13–4–2

|20||W||November 20, 1974||7–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1974–75) ||14–4–2

|21||T||November 22, 1974||4–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) ||14–4–3

|22||W||November 24, 1974||6–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||15–4–3

|23||W||November 27, 1974||3–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) ||16–4–3

|24||W||November 28, 1974||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) ||17–4–3

|25||T||November 30, 1974||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||17–4–4

|26||W||December 1, 1974||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||18–4–4

|27||W||December 3, 1974||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) ||19–4–4

|28||W||December 5, 1974||9–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1974–75) ||20–4–4

|29||W||December 8, 1974||5–0 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) ||21–4–4

|30||L||December 12, 1974||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) ||21–5–4

|31||L||December 14, 1974||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) ||21–6–4

|32||T||December 15, 1974||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||21–6–5

|33||W||December 18, 1974||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1974–75) ||22–6–5