1972–73 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1972–73 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' third season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team made it to the playoffs for the first time, but lost in the first round to Montreal, four games to two.

Offseason The Sabres added future Hall of Fame defenseman Tim Horton in the intra-league draft. In the Amateur Draft, the Sabres picked defenseman Jim Schoenfeld as their first-round pick, fifth over-all.

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|1||W||October 8, 1972||5–3 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1972–73) ||1–0–0

|2||W||October 11, 1972||7–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) ||2–0–0

|3||T||October 14, 1972||1–1 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) ||2–0–1

|4||W||October 15, 1972||3–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) ||3–0–1

|5||W||October 19, 1972||6–0 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) ||4–0–1

|6||T||October 21, 1972||1–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) ||4–0–2

|7||W||October 22, 1972||7–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1972–73) ||5–0–2

|8||T||October 25, 1972||2–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1972–73) ||5–0–3

|9||T||October 28, 1972||3–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) ||5–0–4

|10||W||October 29, 1972||2–1 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) ||6–0–4

|11||L||November 1, 1972||1–7 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) ||6–1–4

|12||L||November 4, 1972||3–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) ||6–2–4

|13||T||November 5, 1972||1–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1972–73) ||6–2–5

|14||T||November 9, 1972||0–0 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1972–73) ||6–2–6

|15||L||November 11, 1972||1–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) ||6–3–6

|16||W||November 12, 1972||1–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) ||7–3–6

|17||T||November 15, 1972||3–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) ||7–3–7

|18||L||November 17, 1972||1–5 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) ||7–4–7

|19||L||November 19, 1972||5–9 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) ||7–5–7

|20||L||November 22, 1972||2–6 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) ||7–6–7

|21||W||November 23, 1972||5–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1972–73) ||8–6–7

|22||W||November 26, 1972||9–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1972–73) ||9–6–7

|23||W||November 28, 1972||7–2 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1972–73) ||10–6–7

|24||L||November 30, 1972||4–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) ||10–7–7

|25||L||December 2, 1972||6–8 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) ||10–8–7

|26||W||December 3, 1972||7–4 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) ||11–8–7

|27||W||December 6, 1972||3–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1972–73) ||12–8–7

|28||W||December 7, 1972||6–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) ||13–8–7

|29||W||December 10, 1972||4–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) ||14–8–7

|30||W||December 13, 1972||7–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1972–73) ||15–8–7

|31||W||December 16, 1972||4–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) ||16–8–7

|32||W||December 17, 1972||4–0 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) ||17–8–7

|33||W||December 20, 1972||6–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) ||18–8–7

|34||L||December 22, 1972||2–4 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) ||18–9–7

|35||L||December 23, 1972||0–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) ||18–10–7

|36||W||December 27, 1972||4–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1972–73) ||19–10–7

|37||W||December 28, 1972||8–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) ||20–10–7

|38||L||December 31, 1972||2–4 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) ||20–11–7

|39||W||January 3, 1973||4–1 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1972–73) ||21–11–7

|40||L||January 4, 1973||2–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) ||21–12–7

|41||W||January 6, 1973||4–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1972–73) ||22–12–7

|42||W||January 7, 1973||2–0 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) ||23–12–7

|43||L||January 11, 1973||2–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1972–73) ||23–13–7

|44||L||January 14, 1973||0–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) ||23–14–7

|45||W||January 18, 1973||5–1 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) ||24–14–7

|46||L||January 20, 1973||2–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) ||24–15–7

|47||L||January 21, 1973||3–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) ||24–16–7

|48||W||January 25, 1973||5–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) ||25–16–7

|49||L||January 28, 1973||5–8 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1972–73) ||25–17–7

|50||W||February 1, 1973||5–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) ||26–17–7

|51||T||February 3, 1973||1–1 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1972–73) ||26–17–8

|52||W||February 4, 1973||5–1 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1972–73) ||27–17–8

|53||L||February 7, 1973||1–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) ||27–18–8

|54||W||February 8, 1973||4–0 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1972–73) ||28–18–8

|55||L||February 10, 1973||1–2 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) ||28–19–8

|56||L||February 11, 1973||2–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) ||28–20–8

|57||W||February 14, 1973||3–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) ||29–20–8

|58||W||February 15, 1973||4–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1972–73) ||30–20–8

|59||T||February 17, 1973||3–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) ||30–20–9

|60||W||February 18, 1973||4–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) ||31–20–9

|61||W||February 22, 1973||3–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) ||32–20–9

|62||L||February 24, 1973||2–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) ||32–21–9

|63||W||February 25, 1973||2–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) ||33–21–9

|64||T||March 1, 1973||4–4 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) ||33–21–10

|65||L||March 4, 1973||2–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) ||33–22–10

|66||T||March 6, 1973||2–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) ||33–22–11

|67||T||March 7, 1973||2–2 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) ||33–22–12

|68||L||March 9, 1973||2–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) ||33–23–12

|69||L||March 13, 1973||0–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) ||33–24–12

|70||L||March 15, 1973||1–4 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1972–73) ||33–25–12

|71||T||March 17, 1973||3–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) ||33–25–13

|72||W||March 18, 1973||5–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) ||34–25–13

|73||L||March 21, 1973||2–6 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) ||34–26–13

|74||T||March 24, 1973||4–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) ||34–26–14

|75||L||March 25, 1973||1–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) ||34–27–14

|76||W||March 27, 1973||3–2 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1972–73) ||35–27–14

|77||W||March 28, 1973||6–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) ||36–27–14

|78||W||April 1, 1973||3–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1972–73) ||37–27–14

Legend:

Playoffs The 1972–73 season saw the Sabres qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time. The team would ultimately lose to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens in 6 games. After falling behind three games to none the Sabres won two straight to earn a final home game that was memorable for the "Thank you Sabres" chant from the end of the game.

|1|| April 4 || Buffalo Sabres || 1–2 || Montreal Canadiens || || 0–1

|2|| April 5 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–7 || Montreal Canadiens || || 0–2

|3|| April 7 || Montreal Canadiens || 5–2 || Buffalo Sabres || || 0–3

|4|| April 8 || Montreal Canadiens || 1–5 || Buffalo Sabres || || 1–3

|5 || April 10 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–2 || Montreal Canadiens || 9:18 || 2–3

|6 || April 12 || Montreal Canadiens || 4–2 || Buffalo Sabres || || 2–4

Legend:

Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 78 28 60 88 1011807 RW 75 40 43 83 8316906 LW 75 37 36 73 7941104 C/RW 78 27 35 62 3061105 C 77 31 29 60 214316 C 78 18 25 43 327032 C 60 12 26 38 179000 D 78 5 24 29 56−3200 LW 76 11 17 28 1513011 RW 77 15 9 24 47−6102 D 65 4 17 21 409000 D 66 4 15 19 17812100 RW 61 9 9 18 36−5201 D 69 1 16 17 5612000 D 74 1 15 16 1169000 LW 21 6 5 11 120201 D 40 2 8 10 52−1100 D 42 0 7 7 87000 C 45 3 3 6 4−1002 C 5 2 0 2 02000 LW 34 1 1 2 26−3100 LW 6 0 1 1 7−2000 RW 8 0 1 1 00000 RW 1 0 0 0 90000 G 49 0 0 0 40000 G 37 0 0 0 00000 G 1 0 0 0 00000 D 1 0 0 0 00000 C 3 0 0 0 00000Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO 2633 49 23 13 7 121 2.76 3 2018 37 14 13 7 89 2.65 3 29 1 0 1 0 3 6.21 0 Team: 4680 78 37 27 14 213 2.73 6 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG C 6 3 7 10 2101 RW 6 5 3 8 2101 LW 6 3 2 5 12200 D 6 2 1 3 4000 C/RW 6 0 3 3 2000 C 6 1 1 2 2000 LW 6 1 1 2 0000 RW 6 1 0 1 5000 D 6 0 1 1 8000 G 4 0 1 1 2000 LW 6 0 1 1 2000 D 6 0 1 1 4000 C 6 0 1 1 0000 RW 1 0 0 0 0000 G 2 0 0 0 0000 C 3 0 0 0 0000 D 6 0 0 0 8000 D 6 0 0 0 6000 D 6 0 0 0 0000 D 6 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO 249 4 2 2 11 2.65 0 120 2 0 2 9 4.50 0 Team: 369 6 2 4 20 3.25 0

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;

Awards and records Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Gilbert Perreault

Transactions

Trades Date June 6, 1972 To New York Islanders7th-round pick in 1972 (Don McLaughlin)8th-round pick in 1972 (Rene Levasseur)9th-round pick in 1972 (Bill Ennos)10th-round pick in 1972 (Rene Lambert) To Buffalo Sabres Islanders promised to not draft certain players in the 1972 NHL expansion draft June 8, 1972 To Montreal CanadiensCash To Buffalo SabresRon Busniuk February 14, 1973 To Atlanta FlamesButch Deadmarsh To Buffalo SabresNorm Gratton

Lost via retirement Player Dick Duff

Claimed via Waivers Player Former team Date claimed off waivers

Lost via Waivers

Player New team Date claimed off waivers Kevin O'Shea St. Louis Blues March 3, 1972

Lost in the expansion draft

June 6, 1972To New York IslandersTom Miller June 6, 1972To New York IslandersKen Murray June 6, 1972To Atlanta FlamesRod Zaine

1972 NHL Intraleague Draft June 5, 1972From Pittsburgh PenguinsTim Horton

Draft picks

NHL draft

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team 1 5 Jim Schoenfeld Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA) 2 25 Larry Carriere Loyola University (CIAU) 3 37 Jim McMasters Calgary Centennials (WCHL) 4 53 Rychard Campeau Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) 5 69 Gilles Gratton Oshawa Generals (OHA) 6 85 Peter McNab U. of Denver (WCHA)

Farm teams The 1972–73 AHL season was a successful one for the Sabres' AHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Swords. The Swords would finish first overall in the regular season with a 54–17–5 record. They would go on to win the Calder Cup in the playoffs losing only 3 games in the 3 round best-of-7 event. It would be the only championship won by the team in its short existence.

See also 1972–73 NHL season

References