2022–23 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2022–23 Buffalo Sabres season was the 53rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. This was the first season since the inaugural season in 1970–71 in which Rick Jeanneret did not call games. With a win against the Detroit Red Wings on April 5, they clinched their first winning season since 2010–11. Despite this, the Sabres missed the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season, finishing one point short of qualifying for a playoff spot as the second wild-card. The Sabres continued the longest playoffs drought in NHL history, as they were eliminated from playoff contention after a loss to the New Jersey Devils on April 11, 2023.

Standings

Divisional standings

Eastern Conference

Schedule and results

Regular season The regular season schedule was published on July 6, 2022. 2022–23 game logOctober: 6–3–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 13 Ottawa 1–4 Buffalo Anderson 15,364 1–0–0 2 2 October 15 Florida 4–3 Buffalo Comrie 11,481 1–1–0 2 3 October 18 Buffalo 4–2 Edmonton Comrie 16,121 2–1–0 4 4 October 20 Buffalo 6–3 Calgary Comrie 17,080 3–1–0 6 5 October 22 Buffalo 5–1 Vancouver Anderson 18,809 4–1–0 8 6 October 25 Buffalo 1–5 Seattle Comrie 17,151 4–2–0 8 7 October 27 Montreal 3–2 Buffalo Comrie 12,735 4–3–0 8 8 October 29 Chicago 3–4 Buffalo OT Anderson 14,547 5–3–0 10 9 October 31 Detroit 3–8 Buffalo Comrie 9,673 6–3–0 12 November: 4–9–1 (home: 2–5–1; road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 10 November 2 Pittsburgh 3–6 Buffalo Comrie 12,201 7–3–0 14 11 November 4 Buffalo 3–5 Carolina Anderson 18,727 7–4–0 14 12 November 5 Buffalo 3–5 Tampa Bay Comrie 19,092 7–5–0 14 13 November 8 Arizona 4–1 Buffalo Comrie 10,296 7–6–0 14 14 November 10 Vegas 7–4 Buffalo Comrie 15,757 7–7–0 14 15 November 12 Boston 3–1 Buffalo Anderson 19,070 7–8–0 14 16 November 15 Vancouver 5–4 Buffalo Anderson 11,130 7–9–0 14 17 November 16 Buffalo 1–4 Ottawa Comrie 13,558 7–10–0 14 18 November 19 Buffalo 2–5 Toronto Luukkonen 18,645 7–11–0 14 19 November 22 Buffalo 7–2 Montreal Anderson 20,984 8–11–0 16 20 November 23 St. Louis 2–6 Buffalo Luukkonen 17,302 9–11–0 18 21 November 25 New Jersey 3–1 Buffalo Anderson 16,727 9–12–0 18 22 November 28 Tampa Bay 6–5 Buffalo OT Luukkonen 11,766 9–12–1 19 23 November 30 Buffalo 5–4 Detroit SO Anderson 17,117 10–12–1 21 December: 8–2–1 (home: 3–1–1; road: 5–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 1 Colorado 6–4 Buffalo Luukkonen 12,805 10–13–1 21 25 December 4 San Jose 3–6 Buffalo Luukkonen 13,655 11–13–1 23 26 December 7 Buffalo 9–4 Columbus Luukkonen 15,659 12–13–1 25 27 December 9 Pittsburgh 4–3 Buffalo OT Anderson 17,205 12–13–2 26 28 December 10 Buffalo 1–3 Pittsburgh Luukkonen 18,414 12–14–2 26 29 December 13 Los Angeles 0–6 Buffalo Anderson 12,873 13–14–2 28 30 December 15 Buffalo 4–2 Colorado Luukkonen 18,103 14–14–2 30 31 December 17 Buffalo 5–2 Arizona Anderson 4,600 15–14–2 32 32 December 19 Buffalo 3–2 Vegas Luukkonen 17,808 16–14–2 34 — December 23 Tampa Bay Buffalo Postponed due to winter storm. Moved to March 4. — December 27 Buffalo Columbus Postponed due to winter storm. Moved to April 14. 33 December 29 Detroit 3–6 Buffalo Luukkonen 19,070 17–14–2 36 34 December 31 Buffalo 4–3 Boston OT Luukkonen 17,850 18–14–2 38 January: 8–5–2 (home: 3–4–0; road: 5–1–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 35 January 1 Buffalo 1–3 Ottawa Anderson 18,231 18–15–2 38 36 January 3 Buffalo 5–4 Washington OT Luukkonen 18,573 19–15–2 40 37 January 7 Minnesota 5–6 Buffalo OT Luukkonen 19,070 20–15–2 42 38 January 9 Philadelphia 4–0 Buffalo Anderson 11,271 20–16–2 42 39 January 10 Seattle 4–3 Buffalo Comrie 13,219 20–17–2 42 40 January 12 Winnipeg 4–2 Buffalo Luukkonen 15,208 20–18–2 42 41 January 14 Buffalo 5–3 Nashville Luukkonen 17,761 21–18–2 44 42 January 16 Florida 4–1 Buffalo Luukkonen 15,251 21–19–2 44 43 January 17 Buffalo 3–4 Chicago OT Anderson 16,363 21–19–3 45 44 January 19 NY Islanders 2–3 Buffalo OT Luukkonen 19,070 22–19–3 47 45 January 21 Anaheim 3–6 Buffalo Luukkonen 19,070 23–19–3 49 46 January 23 Buffalo 3–2 Dallas OT Anderson 18,134 24–19–3 51 47 January 24 Buffalo 5–3 St. Louis Luukkonen 18,096 25–19–3 53 48 January 26 Buffalo 3–2 Winnipeg Comrie 13,589 26–19–3 55 49 January 28 Buffalo 2–3 Minnesota SO Luukkonen 19,212 26–19–4 56 February: 5–5–0 (home: 1–4–0; road: 4–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 February 1 Carolina 5–1 Buffalo Luukkonen 14,166 26–20–4 56 51 February 11 Calgary 7–2 Buffalo Luukkonen 18,356 26–21–4 56 52 February 13 Buffalo 2–5 Los Angeles Anderson 17,025 26–22–4 56 53 February 15 Buffalo 7–3 Anaheim Comrie 15,165 27–22–4 58 54 February 18 Buffalo 4–2 San Jose Luukkonen 17,562 28–22–4 60 55 February 21 Toronto 6–3 Buffalo Luukkonen 18,641 28–23–4 60 56 February 23 Buffalo 6–5 Tampa Bay OT Comrie 19,092 29–23–4 62 57 February 24 Buffalo 3–1 Florida Anderson 18,075 30–23–4 64 58 February 26 Washington 4–7 Buffalo Luukkonen 19,070 31–23–4 66 59 February 28 Columbus 5–3 Buffalo Anderson 13,661 31–24–4 66 March: 5–7–3 (home: 3–4–2; road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 60 March 2 Buffalo 1–7 Boston Luukkonen 17,850 31–25–4 66 61 March 4 Tampa Bay 3–5 Buffalo Comrie 19,070 32–25–4 68 62 March 6 Edmonton 3–2 Buffalo Anderson 17,634 32–26–4 68 63 March 7 Buffalo 2–3 NY Islanders Luukkonen 17,255 32–27–4 68 64 March 9 Dallas 10–4 Buffalo Comrie 14,174 32–28–4 68 65 March 11 NY Rangers 2–1 Buffalo OT Luukkonen 19,070 32–28–5 69 66 March 13 Buffalo 4–3 Toronto Anderson 18,688 33–28–5 71 67 March 15 Buffalo 4–5 Washington SO Luukkonen 18,573 33–28–6 72 68 March 17 Buffalo 2–5 Philadelphia Anderson 18,051 33–29–6 72 69 March 19 Boston 7–0 Buffalo Luukkonen 19,070 33–30–6 72 70 March 21 Nashville 7–3 Buffalo Anderson 13,043 33–31–6 72 71 March 24 New Jersey 4–5 Buffalo Luukkonen 17,101 34–31–6 74 72 March 25 Buffalo 2–0 NY Islanders Comrie 17,255 35–31–6 76 73 March 27 Montreal 4–3 Buffalo SO Comrie 16,435 35–31–7 77 74 March 31 NY Rangers 2–3 Buffalo OT Levi 18,009 36–31–7 79 April: 6–2–0 (home: 2–0–0; road: 4–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 75 April 1 Buffalo 6–3 Philadelphia Luukkonen 19,404 37–31–7 81 76 April 4 Buffalo 1–2 Florida Levi 17,255 37–32–7 81 77 April 6 Buffalo 7–6 Detroit SO Levi 19,367 38–32–7 83 78 April 8 Carolina 3–4 Buffalo Levi 18,199 39–32–7 85 79 April 10 Buffalo 3–2 NY Rangers SO Levi 18,006 40–32–7 87 80 April 11 Buffalo 2–6 New Jersey Levi 16,514 40–33–7 87 81 April 13 Ottawa 3–4 Buffalo OT Anderson 16,739 41–33–7 89 82 April 14 Buffalo 5–2 Columbus Levi 18,786 42–33–7 91 Legend:

Player statistics Skaters Regular season Player 78 47 47 94 +4 39 79 35 47 82 +15 39 74 36 43 79 +14 20 78 15 58 73 +12 92 81 31 37 68 −3 41 82 15 44 59 −8 22 75 28 12 40 −23 4 75 14 23 37 −7 15 79 4 31 35 +10 24 77 12 20 32 −15 26 75 11 17 28 −7 34 74 9 17 26 −8 50 † 59 7 15 22 −9 23 80 10 8 18 −5 14 68 2 12 14 −2 38 60 3 10 13 −12 30 26 2 9 11 −1 6 55 2 8 10 +14 20 59 1 8 9 −24 8 ‡ 27 2 6 8 0 0 † 17 4 0 4 −3 0 33 0 4 4 −3 24 17 1 2 3 −4 0 † 18 1 2 3 +1 13 ‡ 23 0 3 3 −1 4 2 1 1 2 +1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 ‡ 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 −2 4

Goaltenders Regular season Player 33 32 1,910:13 17 11 4 115 3.61 1,054 .892 0 0 1 2 26 24 1,392:52 11 11 2 76 3.06 823 .908 1 0 1 2 19 19 1,111:59 9 9 1 68 3.67 594 .886 1 0 1 2 7 7 429:01 5 2 0 21 2.94 222 .905 0 0 0 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2022–23 season.

Key:

Contract is entry-level. Contract initially takes effect in the 2023–24 season.

Trades Date Details Ref To Dallas StarsOskari Laaksonen To Buffalo SabresJoseph Cecconi To Vancouver CanucksJosh Bloom To Buffalo SabresRiley Stillman To Los Angeles KingsErik Portillo To Buffalo Sabres3rd-round pick in 2023 To Chicago BlackhawksAnders Bjork To Buffalo SabresFuture considerations To Anaheim DucksChase Priskie To Buffalo SabresAustin Strand To Minnesota Wild2nd-round pick in 20234th-round pick in 2024 To Buffalo SabresJordan Greenway To Nashville PredatorsRasmus Asplund To Buffalo Sabres7th-round pick in 2025

Players acquired Date Player Former team Term Via Ref Kale Clague Montreal Canadiens 1-year Free agency Eric Comrie Winnipeg Jets 2-year Free agency Jeremy Davies Nashville Predators 1-year Free agency Ilya Lyubushkin Toronto Maple Leafs 2-year Free agency Chase Priskie Florida Panthers 1-year Free agency Riley Sheahan Seattle Kraken 1-year Free agency Tyson Jost Minnesota Wild Waivers

Players lost Date Player New team Term Via Ref Drake Caggiula Pittsburgh Penguins 1-year Free agency Aaron Dell San Jose Sharks 1-year Free agency Colin Miller Dallas Stars 2-year Free agency Ethan Prow Rochester Americans (AHL) 2-year Free agency Dustin Tokarski Pittsburgh Penguins 1-year Free agency Mark Jankowski Nashville Predators 1-year Free agency Mark Pysyk Detroit Red Wings 1-year Free agency John Hayden Seattle Kraken 1-year Free agency Michael Houser Rochester Americans (AHL) 1-year Free agency Will Butcher Dallas Stars 1-year Free agency Arttu Ruotsalainen EHC Kloten (NL) 1-year Free agency Brandon Davidson Kunlun Red Star (KHL) 2-year Free agency Ryan MacInnis Amur Khabarovsk (KHL) 1-year Free agency Jimmy Schuldt Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) 1-year Free agency Cody Eakin SCL Tigers (NL) 1-year Free agency Riley Sheahan Contract termination EHC Biel-Bienne (NL) 1-year Free agency Casey Fitzgerald Florida Panthers Waivers Lawrence Pilut Lausanne HC (NL) 2-year Free agency

Signings Date Player Term Ref Brandon Biro 2-year Jacob Bryson 2-year Vinnie Hinostroza 2-year Malcolm Subban 1-year Victor Olofsson 2-year Jiri Kulich 3-year Noah Ostlund 3-year Lawrence Pilut 1-year Matthew Savoie 3-year Brett Murray 1-year Tyson Kozak 3-year Tage Thompson 7-year Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 2-year Mattias Samuelsson 7-year Dylan Cozens 7-year Devon Levi 3-year Viktor Neuchev 3-year Nikita Novikov 3-year Kyle Okposo 1-year Vsevolod Komarov 3-year Ryan Johnson 2-year Zemgus Girgensons 1-year Lukas Rousek 2-year Joseph Cecconi 1-year Jeremy Davies 1-year

Draft Picks

Below are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2022 NHL entry draft, which was held on July 7 to 8, 2022, at Bell Centre in Montreal.

Round # Player Pos. Nationality Team (League)19 Matthew Savoie C Winnipeg Ice (WHL)16 Noah Ostlund C Djurgårdens IF (J20 Nationell)28 Jiri Kulich C HC Energie Karlovy Vary (ELH)241 Topias Leinonen G JYP (U20 SM-sarja)374 Viktor Neuchev LW Avto Yekaterinburg (MHL)4106 Mats Lindgren D Kamloops Blazers (WHL)5134 Vsevolod Komarov D Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)6170 Jake Richard RW Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)187 Gustav Karlsson C Örebro HK (J20 Nationell)7202 Joel Ratkovic Berndtsson RW Frölunda HC (J20 Nationell)211 Linus Sjodin C Rögle BK (SHL)

References