1972–73 Buffalo Sabres season

1972–73 Buffalo Sabres
Division 4th East
1972–73 record 37–27–14
Home record 30-6-3
Road record 7-21-11
Goals for 257
Goals against 219
Team information
General Manager Punch Imlach
Coach Joe Crozier
Captain Gerry Meehan
Arena Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Average attendance 15,632
Team leaders
Goals Rene Robert (40)
Assists Gilbert Perreault (60)
Points Gilbert Perreault (88)
Penalties in minutes Jim Schoenfeld (178)
Wins Roger Crozier (23)
Goals against average Dave Dryden (2.65)
<1971–72 1973–74>

The 1972–73 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' third season of operation in the National Hockey League. 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

East Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Montreal Canadiens 78 52 10 16 329 184 +145 120
2 Boston Bruins 78 51 22 5 330 235 +95 107
3 New York Rangers 78 47 23 8 297 208 +89 102
4 Buffalo Sabres 78 37 27 14 257 219 +38 88
5 Detroit Red Wings 78 37 29 12 265 243 +22 86
6 Toronto Maple Leafs 78 27 41 10 247 279 −32 64
7 Vancouver Canucks 78 22 47 9 233 339 −106 53
8 New York Islanders 78 12 60 6 170 347 −177 30

Schedule and results

Regular season results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WOctober 8, 19725–3 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 1–0–0
2WOctober 11, 19727–3 Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 2–0–0
3TOctober 14, 19721–1 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 2–0–1
4WOctober 15, 19723–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 3–0–1
5WOctober 19, 19726–0 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 4–0–1
6TOctober 21, 19721–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 4–0–2
7WOctober 22, 19727–2 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 5–0–2
8TOctober 25, 19722–2 Boston Bruins (1972–73) 5–0–3
9TOctober 28, 19723–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 5–0–4
10WOctober 29, 19722–1 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 6–0–4
11LNovember 1, 19721–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 6–1–4
12LNovember 4, 19723–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 6–2–4
13TNovember 5, 19721–1 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 6–2–5
14TNovember 9, 19720–0 California Golden Seals (1972–73) 6–2–6
15LNovember 11, 19721–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 6–3–6
16WNovember 12, 19721–0 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 7–3–6
17TNovember 15, 19723–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 7–3–7
18LNovember 17, 19721–5 @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) 7–4–7
19LNovember 19, 19725–9 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 7–5–7
20LNovember 22, 19722–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 7–6–7
21WNovember 23, 19725–3 New York Rangers (1972–73) 8–6–7
22WNovember 26, 19729–2 New York Islanders (1972–73) 9–6–7
23WNovember 28, 19727–2 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 10–6–7
24LNovember 30, 19724–5 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 10–7–7
25LDecember 2, 19726–8 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 10–8–7
26WDecember 3, 19727–4 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 11–8–7
27WDecember 6, 19723–2 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 12–8–7
28WDecember 7, 19726–1 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 13–8–7
29WDecember 10, 19724–2 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 14–8–7
30WDecember 13, 19727–3 Boston Bruins (1972–73) 15–8–7
31WDecember 16, 19724–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 16–8–7
32WDecember 17, 19724–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 17–8–7
33WDecember 20, 19726–3 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 18–8–7
34LDecember 22, 19722–4 @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) 18–9–7
35LDecember 23, 19720–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 18–10–7
36WDecember 27, 19724–1 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 19–10–7
37WDecember 28, 19728–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 20–10–7
38LDecember 31, 19722–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 20–11–7
39WJanuary 3, 19734–1 New York Islanders (1972–73) 21–11–7
40LJanuary 4, 19732–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 21–12–7
41WJanuary 6, 19734–1 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 22–12–7
42WJanuary 7, 19732–0 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 23–12–7
43LJanuary 11, 19732–4 New York Rangers (1972–73) 23–13–7
44LJanuary 14, 19730–6 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 23–14–7
45WJanuary 18, 19735–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 24–14–7
46LJanuary 20, 19732–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 24–15–7
47LJanuary 21, 19733–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 24–16–7
48WJanuary 25, 19735–2 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 25–16–7
49LJanuary 28, 19735–8 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 25–17–7
50WFebruary 1, 19735–3 Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 26–17–7
51TFebruary 3, 19731–1 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 26–17–8
52WFebruary 4, 19735–1 New York Islanders (1972–73) 27–17–8
53LFebruary 7, 19731–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 27–18–8
54WFebruary 8, 19734–0 California Golden Seals (1972–73) 28–18–8
55LFebruary 10, 19731–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 28–19–8
56LFebruary 11, 19732–5 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 28–20–8
57WFebruary 14, 19733–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 29–20–8
58WFebruary 15, 19734–1 New York Rangers (1972–73) 30–20–8
59TFebruary 17, 19733–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 30–20–9
60WFebruary 18, 19734–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 31–20–9
61WFebruary 22, 19733–1 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 32–20–9
62LFebruary 24, 19732–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 32–21–9
63WFebruary 25, 19732–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 33–21–9
64TMarch 1, 19734–4 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 33–21–10
65LMarch 4, 19732–4 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 33–22–10
66TMarch 6, 19732–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 33–22–11
67TMarch 7, 19732–2 @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) 33–22–12
68LMarch 9, 19732–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 33–23–12
69LMarch 13, 19730–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 33–24–12
70LMarch 15, 19731–4 Boston Bruins (1972–73) 33–25–12
71TMarch 17, 19733–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 33–25–13
72WMarch 18, 19735–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 34–25–13
73LMarch 21, 19732–6 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 34–26–13
74TMarch 24, 19734–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 34–26–14
75LMarch 25, 19731–6 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 34–27–14
76WMarch 27, 19733–2 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 35–27–14
77WMarch 28, 19736–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 36–27–14
78WApril 1, 19733–1 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 37–27–14

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.[2]

1973 Stanley Cup Playoffs
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Montreal goals Buffalo goals Decision Attendance Series Recap
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 0-4
5 April 10 Buffalo Sabres 3-2 Montreal Canadiens 9:18 2-3
6 April 12 Montreal Canadiens 4-2 Buffalo Sabres 2-4

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Perreault, GilbertGilbert Perreault C 78 28 60 88 1011807
Robert, ReneRene Robert RW 75 40 43 83 8316906
Martin, RickRick Martin LW 75 37 36 73 7941104
Lorentz, JimJim Lorentz C/RW 78 27 35 62 3061105
Meehan, GerryGerry Meehan C 77 31 29 60 214316
Luce, DonDon Luce C 78 18 25 43 327032
Harris, HughHugh Harris C 60 12 26 38 179000
Hillman, LarryLarry Hillman D 78 5 24 29 56-3200
Ramsay, CraigCraig Ramsay LW 76 11 17 28 1513011
Mickey, LarryLarry Mickey RW 77 15 9 24 47-6102
Robitaille, MikeMike Robitaille D 65 4 17 21 409000
Schoenfeld, JimJim Schoenfeld D 66 4 15 19 17812100
Atkinson, SteveSteve Atkinson RW 61 9 9 18 36-5201
Horton, TimTim Horton D 69 1 16 17 5612000
Pratt, TracyTracy Pratt D 74 1 15 16 1169000
Gratton, NormNorm Gratton LW 21 6 5 11 120201
Carriere, LarryLarry Carriere D 40 2 8 10 52-1100
Terbenche, PaulPaul Terbenche D 42 0 7 7 87000
Wyrozub, RandyRandy Wyrozub C 45 3 3 6 4-1002
Rombough, DougDoug Rombough C 5 2 0 2 02000
Deadmarsh, ButchButch Deadmarsh LW 34 1 1 2 26-3100
Dudley, RickRick Dudley LW 6 0 1 1 7-2000
Gould, JohnJohn Gould RW 8 0 1 1 00000
Busniuk, RonRon Busniuk RW 1 0 0 0 90000
Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier G 49 0 0 0 40000
Dryden, DaveDave Dryden G 37 0 0 0 00000
Farr, RockyRocky Farr G 1 0 0 0 00000
McKay, RayRay McKay D 1 0 0 0 00000
Richer, BobBob Richer C 3 0 0 0 00000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier 2633 49 23 13 7 121 2.76 3
Dryden, DaveDave Dryden 2018 37 14 13 7 89 2.65 3
Farr, RockyRocky Farr 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
Perreault, GilbertGilbert Perreault C 6 3 7 10 2101
Robert, ReneRene Robert RW 6 5 3 8 2101
Martin, RickRick Martin LW 6 3 2 5 12200
Schoenfeld, JimJim Schoenfeld D 6 2 1 3 4000
Lorentz, JimJim Lorentz C/RW 6 0 3 3 2000
Luce, DonDon Luce C 6 1 1 2 2000
Ramsay, CraigCraig Ramsay LW 6 1 1 2 0000
Mickey, LarryLarry Mickey RW 6 1 0 1 5000
Carriere, LarryLarry Carriere D 6 0 1 1 8000
Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier G 4 0 1 1 2000
Gratton, NormNorm Gratton LW 6 0 1 1 2000
Horton, TimTim Horton D 6 0 1 1 4000
Meehan, GerryGerry Meehan C 6 0 1 1 0000
Atkinson, SteveSteve Atkinson RW 1 0 0 0 0000
Dryden, DaveDave Dryden G 2 0 0 0 0000
Harris, HughHugh Harris C 3 0 0 0 0000
Hillman, LarryLarry Hillman D 6 0 0 0 8000
Pratt, TracyTracy Pratt D 6 0 0 0 6000
Robitaille, MikeMike Robitaille D 6 0 0 0 0000
Terbenche, PaulPaul Terbenche D 6 0 0 0 0000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier 249 4 2 2 11 2.65 0
Dryden, DaveDave Dryden 120 2 0 2 9 4.50 0
Team: 369 6 2 4 20 3.25 0

[3]

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
Details
June 6, 1972 To New York Islanders
7th-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 Canadiens
Cash
To Buffalo Sabres
Ron Busniuk
February 14, 1973 To Calgary Flames
Butch Deadmarsh
To Buffalo Sabres
Norm 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, 1972 To New York Islanders
Tom Miller
June 6, 1972 To New York Islanders
Ken Murray
June 6, 1972 To Atlanta Flames
Rod Zaine

1972 NHL Intraleague Draft

June 5, 1972 From Pittsburgh Penguins
Tim Horton

Draft picks

NHL draft

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

References

  1. "1972–1973 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. "1972-73". The 40th Anniversary Site of the Buffalo Sabres. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  3. "1972-73 Buffalo Sabres Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
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