2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season was the 39th season of operation for the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League, their 38th season of play.

2008–09 Buffalo Sabres
Division3rd Northeast
Conference10th Eastern
2008–09 record41–32–9
Home record23–15–3
Road record18–17–6
Goals for250
Goals against234
Team information
General managerDarcy Regier
CoachLindy Ruff
CaptainCraig Rivet
Alternate captainsJochen Hecht
Teppo Numminen
Jason Pominville
Jaroslav Spacek
ArenaHSBC Arena
Average attendanceAverage: 18,533
Capacity: 99.2%
Total: 296,522
Team leaders
GoalsThomas Vanek (40)
AssistsJason Pominville (46)
PointsDerek Roy (70)
Penalty minutesCraig Rivet (125)
Plus/minusTim Connolly (+12)
WinsRyan Miller (34)
Goals against averageRyan Miller (2.53)

Pre-season

In their second pre-season game, the Sabres played the Montreal Canadiens in Roberval, Quebec, the 2008 winner of the Kraft Hockeyville contest. In their newly renovated arena, Roberval hosted the preseason game on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. Montreal scored the first three goals, then held off Buffalo for a 3–2 win in at Benoit-Levesque Arena.[1]

Regular season

Divisional standings

Northeast Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1z – Boston Bruins82531910274196116
2Montreal Canadiens8241301124924793
3Buffalo Sabres824132925023491
4Ottawa Senators8236351121723783
5Toronto Maple Leafs8234351325029381

Conference standings

Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1z – Boston BruinsNE82531910274196116
2y – Washington CapitalsSE8250248272245108
3y – New Jersey DevilsAT8251274244209106
4Pittsburgh PenguinsAT824528926423999
5Philadelphia FlyersAT8244271126423899
6Carolina HurricanesSE824530723922697
7New York RangersAT824330921021895
8Montreal CanadiensNE8241301124924793
8.5
9Florida PanthersSE8241301123423193
10Buffalo SabresNE824132925023491
11Ottawa SenatorsNE8236351121723783
12Toronto Maple LeafsNE8234351325029381
13Atlanta ThrashersSE823541625728076
14Tampa Bay LightningSE8224401821027966
15New York IslandersAT822647920127961

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Schedule and results

  • Green background indicates win (2 points).
  • Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
  • White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2008–09 Game Log

Playoffs

The Buffalo Sabres failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs.

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Ryan Miller593443341861452.5317731628.9185
Patrick Lalime2412965133673.10669602.9000
Mikael Tellqvis623021092.35125116.9280

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Sabres. Stats reflect time with Sabres only.
Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Sabres only.

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
PlayerMilestoneDate achieved
Jason Pominville100th NHL assistOctober 13, 2008
Thomas Vanek200th NHL pointOctober 15, 2008
Lindy Ruff400th NHL winOctober 15, 2008
Patrick Lalime400th NHL appearanceOctober 27, 2008
Mark Mancari1st NHL goalNovember 22, 2008
Nathan Gerbe1st NHL gameDecember 6, 2008
Nathan Gerbe1st NHL assistDecember 13, 2008
Chris Butler1st NHL game
1st NHL assist
December 19, 2008
Tim Kennedy1st NHL gameDecember 27, 2008
Derek Roy100th NHL GoalFebruary 13, 2009
Drew Stafford100th NHL PointFebruary 13, 2009

Transactions

Trades

June 20, 2008
To Buffalo Sabres
1st-round pick (12th overall) in 2008
To Los Angeles Kings
1st-round pick (13th overall) in 2008
3rd-round pick in 2009
June 21, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick (81st overall) in 2008
4th-round pick (101st overall) in 2008
To Los Angeles Kings
3rd-round pick (74th overall) in 2008
July 4, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres
Craig Rivet
7th-round pick in 2010
To San Jose Sharks
2nd-round pick in 2009
2nd-round pick in 2010
July 4, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick in 2009
2nd-round pick in 2010
To Vancouver Canucks
Steve Bernier
March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres
Mikael Tellqvist
To Phoenix Coyotes
4th-round pick in 2010
March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres
Dominic Moore
To Toronto Maple Leafs
2nd-round pick in 2009
March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres
2nd-round pick in 2009
To Edmonton Oilers
Ales Kotalik

Free agents

PlayerFormer teamContract Terms
Patrick LalimeChicago Blackhawks2 years, $2 million
Mathieu DarcheTampa Bay Lightning1 Year, $500,000
PlayerNew team
Dmitri KalininNew York Rangers

Claimed from waivers

PlayerFormer teamDate claimed off waivers
Matt EllisLos Angeles KingsOctober 1

Draft picks

Buffalo's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College/Junior Team
112Tyler MyersD CanadaKelowna Rockets (WHL)
126Tyler EnnisC CanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
244Luke AdamC CanadaSt. John's Fog Devils (QMJHL)
381Corey FienhageD United StatesEastview High School (USHS-MN)
4101Justin JokinenRW United StatesCloquet High School (USHS-MN)
4104Jordan SouthornD United StatesP.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL)
5134Jacob LagaceLW CanadaChicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
6164Nick CrawfordD CanadaSaginaw Spirit (OHL)

Roster

Updated March 6, 2009.[4]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
61 Maxim Afinogenov RW L 41 1997 Moscow, Soviet Union
34 Chris Butler D L 34 2005 St. Louis, Missouri
19 Tim Connolly C R 39 2001 Baldwinsville, New York
37 Matt Ellis LW L 39 2008 Welland, Ontario
28 Paul Gaustad C L 38 2000 Fargo, North Dakota
55 Jochen Hecht (A) LW L 43 2002 Mannheim, West Germany
36 Patrick Kaleta RW R 34 2004 Angola, New York
40 Patrick Lalime G L 46 2008 Saint-Bonaventure, Quebec
5 Toni Lydman D L 43 2005 Lahti, Finland
41 Clarke MacArthur C L 35 2003 Lloydminster, Alberta
22 Adam Mair C R 41 2002 Hamilton, Ontario
30 Ryan Miller G L 40 1999 East Lansing, Michigan
17 Dominic Moore C L 40 2009 Thornhill, Ontario
27 Teppo Numminen (A) D R 52 2005 Tampere, Finland
38 Nathan Paetsch D L 37 2003 Leroy, Saskatchewan
20 Daniel Paille LW L 36 2002 Welland, Ontario
76 Andrew Peters LW L 40 1998 St. Catharines, Ontario
29 Jason Pominville (A) RW R 38 2001 Repentigny, Quebec
52 Craig Rivet (C) D R 46 2008 North Bay, Ontario
9 Derek Roy C L 37 2001 Ottawa, Ontario
44 Andrej Sekera D L 34 2004 Bojnice, Czechoslovakia
6 Jaroslav Spacek (A) D L 46 2006 Rokycany, Czechoslovakia
21 Drew Stafford RW R 35 2004 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
10 Henrik Tallinder D L 42 1997 Stockholm, Sweden
32 Mikael Tellqvist G L 41 2009 Sundbyberg, Sweden
26 Thomas Vanek LW R 37 2003 Vienna, Austria

See also

Farm teams

On June 11, the Buffalo Sabres signed a three-year deal with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, ending a 29-year affiliation with the Rochester Americans.[5]

References

  1. Montreal defeats Buffalo in Hockeyville, CA
  2. "NHL.com - Recap: Sabres @ Thrashers - 04/01/2009". Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  3. "NHL.com - Game Boxscore: Sabres @ Capitals - 04/03/2009". Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  4. "Buffalo Sabres – Team – Roster". Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2009.
  5. "Sabres end 29-year affiliation with Rochester, switch to Portland". ESPN. ESPN. Associated Press. June 11, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
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