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1996–97 Buffalo Sabres season
NHL hockey team season
NHL hockey team season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| League | NHL |
| Season | 1996–97 |
| year | 1996 |
| Team | Buffalo Sabres |
| Conference | Eastern |
| ConferenceRank | 2nd |
| Division | Northeast |
| DivisionRank | 1st |
| Record | 40–30–12 |
| HomeRecord | 24–11–6 |
| RoadRecord | 16–19–6 |
| GoalsFor | 237 |
| GoalsAgainst | 208 |
| GeneralManager | John Muckler |
| Coach | Ted Nolan |
| Captain | Pat LaFontaine |
| Arena | Marine Midland Arena |
| Attendance | 16,911 |
| MinorLeague | Rochester Americans |
| South Carolina Stingrays | |
| GoalsLeader | Donald Audette (28) |
| AssistsLeader | Garry Galley (34) |
| PointsLeader | Derek Plante (53) |
| PlusMinusLeader | Michael Peca (+26) |
| PIMLeader | Rob Ray (286) |
| WinsLeader | Dominik Hasek (37) |
| GAALeader | Dominik Hasek (2.27) |
| DivisionWin | yes |
South Carolina Stingrays The 1996–97 Buffalo Sabres season was the 27th for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. The season was the first season in the newly constructed Marine Midland Arena. The Sabres also underwent a drastic uniform change, replacing the blue and gold colors and classic crest with a black and red color scheme and new white buffalo-head logo. The Sabres won their first Northeast Division title, their first division title in 16 years.
Regular season
On January 12, 1997, Jason Dawe scored just ten seconds into the overtime period to give the Sabres a 3–2 road win over the Phoenix Coyotes. It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1996–97 NHL regular season.
The Sabres allowed the fewest shorthanded goals (4) and scored the most shorthanded goals (16) in the NHL. The Sabres' power play struggled, as they finished 26th in power-play percentage, with 13.19% (43 for 326). The Sabres were also shut out a league-high 10 times during the regular season.
Season standings
Playoffs
The Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators in the first round. The series was played to overtime in Game 7. Derek Plante scored the series clinching goal in overtime. The Sabres then lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games in the second round.
Schedule and results
Regular season
|- |1||October 4, 1996||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) ||0–1–0 || |- |2||October 6, 1996||0–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) ||0–2–0 || |- |3||October 9, 1996||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) ||1–2–0 || |- |4||October 12, 1996||1–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) ||1–3–0 || |- |5||October 15, 1996||0–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||1–4–0 || |- |6||October 17, 1996||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||2–4–0 || |- |7||October 18, 1996||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) ||3–4–0 || |- |8||October 24, 1996||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||4–4–0 || |- |9||October 26, 1996||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||5–4–0 || |- |10||October 27, 1996||4–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1996–97) ||5–5–0 || |- |11||October 30, 1996||0–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) ||5–6–0 ||
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Playoffs
|- | 1 || April 17, 1997 || 3–1 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators || Sabres lead 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 19, 1997 || 1–3 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators || Series tied 1–1 || |- | 3 || April 21, 1997 || 3–2 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators || Sabres lead 2–1 || |- | 4 || April 23, 1997 || 0–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators || Series tied 2–2 || |- | 5 || April 25, 1997 || 1–4 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators || Senators lead 3–2 || |- | 6 || April 27, 1997 || 3–0 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators || Series tied 3–3 || |- | 7 || April 29, 1997 || 3–2 OT|| align="left"| Ottawa Senators || Sabres win 4–3 ||
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Player statistics
Scoring
- Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
-
- = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.*
-
- = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.*
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Playoffs | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | C | 82 | 27 | 26 | 53 | 14 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 4 | |||
| 19 | C | 81 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 9 | 54 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −3 | 8 | |||
| 28 | RW | 73 | 28 | 22 | 50 | −6 | 48 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −3 | 6 | |||
| 27 | C | 79 | 20 | 29 | 49 | 26 | 80 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 8 | |||
| 17 | RW | 81 | 22 | 26 | 48 | 14 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 6 | |||
| 15 | RW | 79 | 13 | 32 | 45 | 17 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 | |||
| 36 | RW | 68 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 16 | 249 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 36 | |||
| 3 | D | 71 | 4 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 102 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 | |||
| 18 | LW | 82 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 25 | 71 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 8 | |||
| 44 | D | 80 | 7 | 28 | 35 | 10 | 95 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −9 | 16 | |||
| 12 | LW | 55 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 17 | 20 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 2 | |||
| 42 | D | 62 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 19 | 43 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 8 | D | 82 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 112 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −1 | 8 | |||
| 4 | D | 77 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 51 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 81 | LW | 12 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | |||
| 32 | RW | 82 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 286 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 28 | |||
| 74 | D | 43 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 16 | C | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −8 | 4 | |||||||||
| 38 | LW | 31 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 18 | |||||||||
| 6 | D | 77 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 225 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |||
| 37 | C | 28 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 18 | |||||||||
| 10 | LW | 42 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −8 | 106 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 32 | |||
| 76 | C | 45 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 64 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 | |||
| 93 | C | 25 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −3 | 2 | |||||||||
| 5 | RW | 18 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 6 | |||
| 39 | G | 67 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| 22 | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | |||||||||
| 40 | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| 31 | G | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |||||
| 30 | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 25 | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Goaltending
| No. | Player | Regular season | Playoffs | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Dominik Hasek | 67 | 37 | 20 | 10 | 2177 | 153 | 2.27 | .930 | 5 | 4037 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 68 | 5 | 1.96 | .926 | 0 | 153 | ||
| 31 | Steve Shields | 13 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 447 | 39 | 2.96 | .913 | 0 | 789 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 334 | 26 | 2.74 | .922 | 1 | 570 | ||
| 30 | Andrei Trefilov | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 98 | 10 | 3.78 | .898 | 0 | 159 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0 | 5 |
Awards and records
Awards
| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref | League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (annual) | League | ||||
| (in-season) | |||||
| Hart Memorial Trophy | Dominik Hasek | ||||
| Frank J. Selke Trophy | Michael Peca | ||||
| Jack Adams Award | Ted Nolan | ||||
| Lester B. Pearson Award | Dominik Hasek | ||||
| Lester Patrick Trophy | Seymour H. Knox III | ||||
| Pat LaFontaine | |||||
| NHL First All-Star team | Dominik Hasek (Goaltender) | ||||
| Vezina Trophy | Dominik Hasek | ||||
| [NHL All-Star Game](1997-national-hockey-league-all-star-game) selection | Dominik Hasek |
Milestones
| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref | First game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rumun Ndur | November 9, 1996 |
Draft picks
Buffalo's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Erik Rasmussen | University of Minnesota (WCHA) | |
| 2 | 27 | Cory Sarich | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) | |
| 2 | 33 | Darren Van Oene | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) | |
| 3 | 54 | Francois Methot | Saint-Hyacinthe Laser (QMJHL) | |
| 4 | 87 | Kurt Walsh | Owen Sound Platers (OHL) | |
| 4 | 106 | Mike Martone | Peterborough Petes (OHL) | |
| 5 | 115 | Alexei Tezikov | Lada Togliatti (Russia) | |
| 6 | 142 | Ryan Davis | Owen Sound Platers (OHL) | |
| 6 | 161 | Darren Mortier | Sarnia Sting (OHL) | |
| 9 | 222 | Scott Buhler | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
Notes
References
References
- National Hockey League. (2010). "The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011". Triumph Books.
- "Top Orlando News, Weather, Sports, Entertainment".
- "1996-97 NHL Schedule and Results".
- "1996-97 NHL Summary".
- "1996-97 Buffalo Sabres Schedule and Results".
- "1996-97 Buffalo Sabres Schedule".
- "Hart Memorial Trophy".
- "Frank J. Selke Trophy".
- "Jack Adams Award".
- "Ted Lindsay Award".
- "Lester Patrick Trophy".
- "Postseason All-Star Teams".
- "Vezina Trophy".
- "1997 NHL All-Star Game Rosters".
- "1996-97 NHL Debuts".
- "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com".
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