2011–12 Buffalo Sabres season

The Sabres signed several free agents. This was due to the new ownership giving permission to the managing staff to bid for free agents. The previous ownership allowed free agents to leave rather than pay for free agent contracts. The Sabres home also underwent a makeover. The interior of the arena was painted Sabres colors, blue and gold. The players locker rooms also received an extensive multimillion-dollar upgrade.[3] The naming rights were transferred from HSBC to First Niagara Bank and the arena took on the name First Niagara Center. [4]

The Sabres participated in the 2011 NHL Premiere, playing their first two regular season games in Europe. After a 2–0 start in Europe, the Sabres returned home and continued to play well. They had a record of 10–5 going into a November 12 game against the Boston Bruins,[5] where, in the first period, Ryan Miller left his crease to play a puck and was hit by the Bruins' Milan Lucic. Miller suffered a concussion and neck injury on the hit and would go on to miss nine games. Lucic was penalized for charging on the play but was not suspended or fined by the League.[6] During the middle part of the season, injuries plagued the team. By the All-Star break the Sabres sat in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and had 225 man-games lost to injury.[7] Jason Pominville was the only Sabre named to the All-Star Game roster.[8] Luke Adam was one of 12 rookies selected to participate in the All-Star Skills Competition.[9]

During the 33 game stretch from the Bruins game (November 12) to January 24, the Sabres had a record of 9–19–5. The poor play included a team record 12-game road losing streak and a run of five consecutive regulation loses on a single road trip.[10]

Things then began to turn around with a shootout win at the New Jersey Devils on January 24, the final game before the All-Star break.[11] The Sabres then went on an 18–5–5 run, going from 14th in the Eastern Conference back into the eighth and final playoff position on March 24 with a 3–1 win at home against the Minnesota Wild.[12] On March 27, the Sabres faced the Washington Capitals for a pivotal game for the final playoff position. The teams entered the game tied at 84 points, with the Capitals holding the tie breaker advantage. The Sabres won the game by a convincing 5–1 score.[13] In the second period of the game, the Sabres were ahead 3–1 and down injuries to two defensemen. Christian Ehrhoff and Andrej Sekera were both injured in the period and the Capitals were going on the power play when Robyn Regehr took a hooking penalty. The penalty left the Sabres with only three available defensemen. On the ensuing power play, Alexander Ovechkin bobbled a pass at the blue line, where Jason Pominville took the puck and scored a short-handed goal to put the Sabres up 4–1. Ryan Miller made 44 saves, improving to a personal record of 8–0–2 in his last ten games and 14–1–3 in 18 games. The win put Buffalo in sole possession of the eighth playoff spot and even in games with Washington.

The Sabres' position in eighth place was short lived, however, due to two consecutive regulation losses, first at home to Pittsburgh and then at Toronto.[14][15] At home on the back end of the home and home with Toronto, the Sabres fell behind 3–0 in the first period and 5–3 in the third. The Sabres then rallied to score two goals in the final five minutes of the third to tie the game at five. In overtime, Dion Phaneuf took a delay of game penalty, where Derek Roy ended the game on the ensuing power play with his second goal of the game. The win pulled Buffalo even in points with Washington at 88.[16] Washington still held the tie breaker advantage, with each team having two games left to play.

The Sabres would go on to pick up only one point in their final two games, ultimately failing to make the playoffs.[17]

On April 3, 2012, following their final regular season home game, the Sabres announced a new record for average paid attendance of 18,272 per home game.[18]

The Sabres attempted to qualify for the playoffs. The attempt fell three points short and the Sabres finished in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

Updated April 7, 2012[25]

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#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
22		Brad Boyes	RW	R	38	2011	Mississauga, Ontario
33		T. J. Brennan	D	L	31	2007	Willingsboro, New Jersey
10		Christian Ehrhoff	D	L	38	2011	Moers, West Germany
37		Matt Ellis	C	L	39	2008	Welland, Ontario
63		Tyler Ennis	LW	L	31	2008	Edmonton, Alberta
1		Jhonas Enroth	G	L	32	2006	Stockholm, Sweden
82		Marcus Foligno	LW	L	29	2009	Buffalo, New York
42		Nathan Gerbe	C	L	33	2005	Oxford, Michigan
55		Jochen Hecht	LW	L	43	2002	Mannheim, West Germany
19		Cody Hodgson	C	R	30	2012	Toronto, Ontario
36		Patrick Kaleta	RW	R	34	2004	Buffalo, New York
23		Ville Leino	LW	L	37	2011	Savonlinna, Finland
3		Jordan Leopold	D	L	40	2010	Golden Valley, Minnesota
8		Cody McCormick	C	R	37	2009	London, Ontario
81		Brayden McNabb	D	L	30	2009	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
30		Ryan Miller	G	L	40	1999	East Lansing, Michigan
57		Tyler Myers	D	R	31	2008	Katy, Texas
29		Jason Pominville (C)	RW	R	38	2001	Repentigny, Quebec
24		Robyn Regehr	D	L	40	2011	Recife, Brazil
9		Derek Roy (A)	C	L	37	2001	Ottawa, Ontario
44		Andrej Sekera	D	L	34	2004	Bojnice, Czechoslovakia
21		Drew Stafford (A)	RW	R	35	2004	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
52		Alexander Sulzer	D	R	36	2012	Kaufbeuren, West Germany
26		Thomas Vanek (A)	LW	R	37	2003	Baden bei Wien, Austria
6		Mike Weber	D	L	33	2006	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2011–12 season:

Buffalo's picks at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	16	Joel Armia	Right Wing	Finland	Assat (SM-liiga)
3	77	Daniel Catenacci	Center	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
4	107	Colin Jacobs	Center	United States	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
5	137	Alex Lepkowski	Defense	United States	Barrie Colts (OHL)
6	167	Nathan Lieuwen	Goaltender	Canada	Kootenay Ice (WHL)
7	197	Brad Navin	Center	United States	Waupaca High School (USHS-WI)

• 2011–12 NHL season