2006-07 Buffalo Sabres season

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2006-07 Buffalo Sabres
Division	1st Northeast
Conference	1st Eastern
2006-07 record	48-20-7
Home record	25-10-3
Road record	23-10-4
Goals for	282
Goals against	224
General Manager	Darcy Regier
Coach	Lindy Ruff
Captain	Daniel Briere Chris Drury
Alternate captains	Teppo Numminen
Arena	HSBC Arena
Average attendance	18,690
Team leaders
Goals	Thomas Vanek (37)
Assists	Daniel Briere (58)
Points	Daniel Briere (89)
Penalties in minutes	Andrew Peters (125)
Wins	Ryan Miller (35)
Goals against average	Ty Conklin (2.75)

Contents 1 Regular season 1.1 Season standings 1.2 Game log 1.2.1 October 1.2.2 November 1.2.3 December 1.2.4 January 1.2.5 February 1.2.6 March 2 Playoffs 3 Season Stats 3.1 Scoring Leaders 3.2 Goaltending 4 Coaching Staff 5 Transactions 5.1 Trades 5.2 Free Agents Acquired 5.3 Free Agents Lost 5.4 Lost to Waivers 5.5 Draft Picks 6 External Links 7 See also 8 References

The Buffalo Sabres 2006-07 Season began with the team attempting to rebound from a disappointing end to the 2005-06 season, in which the Sabres advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. The team lost several veterans to free agency, including J.P. Dumont, Jay McKee and Mike Grier. Conversely, the team signed only one new player to the roster: defenseman Jaroslav Spacek. The team planned to rely on young players from their own organization -- Jiri Novotny, Paul Gaustad and Nathan Paetsch, to name a few -- to fill the holes left by the departing players.

Controversy swirled around the team's logo and jersey, meanwhile, as the look was changed. The team's colors were reverted back to blue and gold, which they had worn from their addition to the league as an expansion team until 1996-97, when the colors were changed to black and red. The new logo, though, was said to resemble to many a slug or a wig. There were strong efforts to prevent the team from wearing this new jersey, although none were successful. The team's new third jersey, meanwhile, featured the team's original logo. Despite the controversy, however, the NHL reported that sales of Sabres merchandise were up approximately 1170% from the 2005-2006 season.^[1]

The Sabres were very successful early in the season, tying an NHL record by winning their first ten games, before finally suffering a shootout loss to the Atlanta Thrashers^[2]. They did not lose a game in regulation until exactly one month into the season, in their thirteenth game, when they lost to Toronto^[3]. The Sabres also set an NHL record by winning their first ten road games of the season^[4], not losing outside of HSBC Arena until November 18 in Ottawa.

On January 9, it was announced that three members of the Sabres had been voted to start the All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference: forward Daniel Briere, defenseman Brian Campbell, and goaltender Ryan Miller. It was the first All-Star appearance for each.^[5] In addition, as the Sabres had the best record in the Eastern Conference as of the end of All-Star voting, head coach Lindy Ruff was assigned to coach the Eastern Conference team.^[6] Briere recorded a goal and four assists in the game, and was named Most Valuable Player of the game.^[7] Thomas Vanek was also invited to All-Star Weekend to play in the YoungStars game.^[8]

On January 13, Jason Pominville recorded his 20th goal of the season, becoming the fourth Sabre (after Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov) to record 20 goals before the All-Star break. At the time of Pominville's 20th goal, no other team in the NHL had more than two players with 20 goals.^[9] Daniel Briere became the fifth Sabre to record 20 goals as he scored a hat trick on January 30 against the Boston Bruins. With the feat, the Sabres became the first team since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins to have five 20-goal scorers before February.^[10]

In February, the Sabres found themselves battling injury problems. Forward Tim Connolly had been on the long-term injury list all season, and he was joined by Paul Gaustad when a tendon in his leg was sliced on February 7 against the Ottawa Senators. Jaroslav Spacek was broke his left hand soon thereafter, and the Sabres lost Maxim Afinogenov, who broke his left wrist, and Jiri Novotny with a high ankle sprain. Ales Kotalik was next to go down, with a knee sprain, and forward Daniel Paille broke his finger. Against the Ottawa Senators on February 22, captain Chris Drury was injured by a blow to the head by Chris Neil, sparking a wild brawl which saw a fight between Martin Biron and Senators goaltender Ray Emery, and later between Emery and Sabres enforcer Andrew Peters.^[11]

The Sabres were the last team to be involved in a trade in the 2006-07 season. On the day of the NHL trade deadline, though, they made four trades. Goaltender Martin Biron, who had been the longest-tenured Sabre, was sent to Philadelphia for Philadelphia's second-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Buffalo's fifth-round pick in that draft was sent to Columbus in exchange for another backup goalie, Ty Conklin. Jiri Novotny was sent along with Buffalo's 2007 first-round pick to Washington in exchange for Dainius Zubrus and Timo Helbling. Finally, the Sabres sent their fourth-round pick in 2007 to Nashville for Mikko Lehtonen, a minor league defenseman.^[12]

Due to injuries, many Sabres prospects have been called up from the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans, and made their NHL debuts during the season; Mike Card, Michael Funk, Patrick Kaleta, Clarke MacArthur, Mark Mancari, Michael Ryan, Andrej Sekera and Drew Stafford all played their first career NHL game during the 2006-07 season.

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Season standings

Northeast Division	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA
Buffalo Sabres	75	48	20	7	103	282	224
Ottawa Senators	76	45	23	8	98	267	206
Montreal Canadiens	76	39	31	6	84	225	235
Toronto Maple Leafs	75	36	29	10	82	232	242
Boston Bruins	75	34	35	6	74	206	265

As of March 25, 2007. For current standings, see 2006-07 NHL season

[edit] Game log

[edit] October

Record for month 10-0-1 (Home 4-0-1 Away 6-0-0)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 4	Buffalo	3 - 2	Carolina	SO	Miller	18,840	1-0-0	2
2	October 6	Montreal	4 - 5	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	2-0-0	4
3	October 7	Buffalo	4 - 3	Ottawa		Biron	19,202	3-0-0	6
4	October 13	Buffalo	3 - 2	Detroit	SO	Miller	20,066	4-0-0	8
5	October 14	NY Rangers	4 - 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	5-0-0	10
6	October 17	Philadelphia	1 - 9	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	6-0-0	12
7	October 20	Carolina	4 - 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	7-0-0	14
8	October 21	Buffalo	6 - 2	Boston		Biron	14,382	8-0-0	16
9	October 23	Buffalo	4 - 1	Montreal		Miller	21,273	9-0-0	18
10	October 26	Buffalo	3 - 0	NY Islanders		Miller	8,861	10-0-0	20
11	October 28	Atlanta	5 - 4	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	10-0-1	21

[edit] November

Record for Month 9-3-1 (Home 4-2-1 Away 5-1-0)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
12	November 2	Buffalo	5 - 4	Boston	SO	Miller	12,547	11-0-1	23
13	November 4	Toronto	4 - 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	11-1-1	23
14	November 5	Buffalo	4 - 3	NY Rangers	OT	Biron	18,200	12-1-1	25
15	November 10	Florida	4 - 5	Buffalo	OT	Biron	18,690	13-1-1	27
16	November 11	Buffalo	5 - 4	Philadelphia	OT	Biron	19,633	14-1-1	29
17	November 13	Buffalo	7 - 4	Carolina		Biron	14,387	15-1-1	31
18	November 15	Ottawa	4 - 2	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	15-2-1	31
19	November 17	Pittsburgh	2 - 4	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	16-2-1	33
20	November 18	Buffalo	1 - 4	Ottawa		Miller	19,770	16-3-1	33
21	November 20	Tampa Bay	2 - 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	17-3-1	35
22	November 22	Toronto	4 - 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	18-3-1	37
23	November 24	Montreal	2 - 1	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	18-3-2	38
24	November 26	Buffalo	3 - 2	NY Rangers	OT	Miller	18,200	19-3-2	40

[edit] December

Record for Month 9-4-1 (Home 5-2-0 Away 4-2-1)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
25	December 1	NY Rangers	3 - 4	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	20-3-2	42
26	December 2	Buffalo	4 - 7	Washington		Biron	17,162	20-4-2	42
27	December 5	Buffalo	4 - 1	Tampa Bay		Miller	20,025	21-4-2	44
28	December 7	Buffalo	1 - 3	Florida		Miller	15,385	21-5-2	44
29	December 9	Buffalo	3 - 2	Montreal	SO	Miller	21,273	22-5-2	46
30	December 12	Buffalo	3 - 2	New Jersey		Miller	11,156	23-5-2	48
31	December 14	Florida	1 - 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	24-5-2	50
32	December 16	Ottawa	3 - 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	24-6-2	50
33	December 19	Montreal	5 - 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	24-7-2	50
34	December 21	Buffalo	7 - 2	Nashville		Biron	16,616	25-7-2	52
35	December 23	Buffalo	2 - 3	St. Louis	OT	Biron	12,513	25-7-3	53
36	December 26	Washington	3 - 6	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	26-7-3	55
37	December 28	Carolina	1 - 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	27-7-3	57
38	December 30	Atlanta	1 - 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	28-7-3	59

[edit] January

Record for Month 6-7-1 (Home 4-3-0 Away 2-4-1)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
39	January 1	NY Islanders	1 - 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	29-7-3	61
40	January 3	Buffalo	3 - 6	Ottawa		Miller	19,777	29-8-3	61
41	January 5	Pittsburgh	4 - 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	29-9-3	61
42	January 6	Buffalo	4 - 3	Toronto		Biron	19,487	30-9-3	63
43	January 10	Buffalo	2 - 1	Chicago		Miller	14,041	31-9-3	65
44	January 11	Toronto	4 - 2	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	31-10-3	65
45	January 13	Tampa Bay	3 - 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	31-11-3	65
46	January 15	Buffalo	2 - 3	Boston	SO	Miller	15,585	31-11-4	66
47	January 17	Boston	3 - 6	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	32-11-4	68
48	January 19	Vancouver	3 - 4	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	33-11-4	70
49	January 20	Buffalo	3 - 4	Montreal		Biron	21,273	33-12-4	70
50	January 26	Buffalo	2 - 3	Columbus		Miller	18,136	33-13-4	70
51	January 27	Buffalo	3 - 5	NY Islanders		Miller	15,218	33-14-4	70
52	January 30	Boston	1 - 7	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	34-14-4	72

[edit] February

Record for Month 8-2-1 (Home 5-0-1 Away 3-2-0)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
53	February 1	Buffalo	3 - 1	Boston		Biron	13,853	35-14-4	74
54	February 3	Buffalo	2 - 3	New Jersey		Miller	18,589	35-15-4	74
55	February 6	Buffalo	4 - 3	Atlanta	SO	Miller	17,881	36-15-4	76
56	February 7	Ottawa	2 - 3	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	37-15-4	78
57	February 10	Calgary	2 - 3	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	38-15-4	80
58	February 15	Edmonton	1 - 2	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	39-15-4	82
59	February 17	Boston	4 - 3	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	39-15-5	83
60	February 20	Philadelphia	3 - 6	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	40-15-5	85
61	February 22	Ottawa	5 - 6	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	41-15-5	87
62	February 24	Buffalo	5 - 6	Ottawa		Miller	20,040	41-16-5	87
63	February 27	Buffalo	6 - 1	Toronto		Miller	19,588	42-16-5	89

[edit] March

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
64	March 2	Montreal	5 - 8	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	43-16-5	91
65	March 3	Buffalo	3 - 1	Toronto		Miller	19,515	44-16-5	93
66	March 7	Colorado	3 - 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	44-17-5	93
67	March 9	Minnesota	5 - 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	44-18-5	93
68	March 10	New Jersey	3 - 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	44-19-5	93
69	March 13	Buffalo	4 - 5	Pittsburgh	SO	Miller	17,132	44-19-6	94
70	March 15	Buffalo	5 - 3	Florida		Conklin	18,111	45-19-6	96
71	March 16	Buffalo	3 - 2	Tampa Bay		Miller	21,264	46-19-6	98
72	March 18	Buffalo	3 - 4	Atlanta	OT	Miller	18,602	46-19-7	99
73	March 21	Washington	2 - 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	47-19-7	101
74	March 23	Toronto	4 - 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	48-19-7	103
75	March 24	Buffalo	1 - 4	Toronto		Miller	19,571	48-20-7	103
76	March 29	New Jersey	3 - 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	49-20-7	105

• Green background indicates win.
• Red background indicates regulation loss.
• White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.

[edit] Playoffs

As of March 25, 2007, the Sabres are in 1st place in the Eastern Conference^[13],

7 points ahead of 2nd place New Jersey
15 points ahead of 3rd place Atlanta
5 points ahead of 4th place Ottawa

[edit] Season Stats

[edit] Scoring Leaders

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

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Daniel Briere	74	31	58	89	+17	66
Thomas Vanek	75	37	37	74	+41	36
Chris Drury	70	35	27	62	E	28
Jason Pominville	75	32	30	62	+22	26
Maxim Afinogenov	53	23	34	57	+17	66

as of March 24, 2007. For complete listing of scorers, see ESPN.com: Buffalo Sabres Player Stats

[edit] Goaltending

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

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OTL	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Ryan Miller	58	3394	35	16	6	158	1	.910	2.79
Martin Biron*	19	1066	12	4	1	54	0	.899	3.04
Ty Conklin*	3	109	1	0	0	5	0	.926	2.75

as of March 24, 2007

*Stats reflect games played with Buffalo only.

[edit] Coaching Staff

• Lindy Ruff - Head Coach
• Brian McCutcheon - Associate Head Coach
• James Patrick - Assistant Coach
• Jim Corsi - Goaltender Coach
• Doug McKenney - Strength and Conditioning Coach

[edit] Transactions

[edit] Trades

July 10, 2006	To Edmonton Oilers Jan Hejda	To Buffalo Sabres 7th round pick in 2007
July 14, 2006	To Vancouver Canucks Taylor Pyatt	To Buffalo Sabres 4th round pick in 2007
February 27, 2007	To Philadelphia Flyers Martin Biron	To Buffalo Sabres 2nd round pick in 2007
February 27, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets 5th round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Ty Conklin
February 27, 2007	To Washington Capitals Jiri Novotny 1st round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Dainius Zubrus Timo Helbling
February 27, 2007	To Nashville Predators 4th round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Mikko Lehtonen

[edit] Free Agents Acquired

Player	Former Team
D Jaroslav Spacek	Edmonton Oilers

[edit] Free Agents Lost

Player	New Team
D Jay McKee	St. Louis Blues
F Mike Grier	San Jose Sharks
D Doug Janik	Tampa Bay Lightning
G Michael Leighton	Anaheim Ducks
D Rory Fitzpatrick	Vancouver Canucks
F J.P. Dumont	Nashville Predators

[edit] Lost to Waivers

Player	New Team	Date
F Chris Thorburn	Pittsburgh Penguins	October 3

[edit] Draft Picks

Buffalo's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[14] The Sabres had the 24th overall draft pick for their success in the 2005-06 NHL season.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	NHL Team	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	24	Dennis Persson (D)	Sweden	Buffalo Sabres	VIK Västerås HK (Allsvenskan)
2	46	Jhonas Enroth (G)	Sweden	Buffalo Sabres (from Vancouver)	Södertälje SK (Elitserien)
2	57	Mike Weber (D)	United States	Buffalo Sabres	Windsor (OHL)
4	117	Felix Schutz (C)	Germany	Buffalo Sabres	Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
5	147	Alex Biega (D)	Canada	Buffalo Sabres	Salisbury (USHS-CN)
7	207	Benjamin Breault (C)	Canada	Buffalo Sabres	Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)

[edit] External Links

• Official website of the Buffalo Sabres

[edit] See also

• 2006-07 NHL Season

[edit] References

Buffalo Sabres - Current Roster

view • talk • edit  Goaltenders: 30 Miller • 35 Conklin  Defensemen 5 Lydman • 6 Spacek • 10 Tallinder • 27 Numminen • 38 Paetsch • 45 Kalinin • 51 Campbell  Forwards 9 Roy • 12 Kotalik • 15 Zubrus • 19 Connolly • 20 Paille • 21 Stafford • 22 Mair • 23 Drury • 26 Vanek • 28 Gaustad • 29 Pominville • 37 Ryan • 41 MacArthur • 48 Briere • 55 Hecht • 61 Afinogenov • 76 Peters  General Manager: Darcy Regier •  Coach: Lindy Ruff