# 1994–95 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1994–95 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' 25th season in the National Hockey League. The season was marked by injuries to star forwards Dale Hawerchuk and Pat LaFontaine, who each missed over half of the lockout-shortened season. Donald Audette, Alexander Mogilny and Wayne Presley filled the offensive hole left by the absence of LaFontaine and Hawerchuk, as Audette led the team in goals (24), Mogilny led in assists (28) and points (47) and Presley led in shorthanded goals (5). Thanks to Presley's contribution in this offensive category, the Sabres tied the Washington Capitals with the most shorthanded goals scored by any team during the regular season (13). Dominik Hasek led all goaltenders in save percentage with .930, goals against average with 2.11 (tied with Rick Tabaracci of the Washington Capitals/Calgary Flames) and shutouts with 5 (tied with Ed Belfour of the Chicago Blackhawks). The Sabres were one of only three teams (the other two being the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Quebec Nordiques) not to be shut out in any of their regular season games or playoff games.
The team's playoff run was brief, as they were eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.

## Regular season

On April 4, 1995, the Sabres scored three short-handed goals in a 6–3 home win over the Hartford Whalers.
The Sabres scored the fewest even-strength goals during the regular season (72).

### Season standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Quebec Nordiques | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 185 | 134 | 65 |
| 2 | 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 181 | 158 | 61 |
| 3 | 4 | Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 150 | 127 | 57 |
| 4 | 7 | Buffalo Sabres | 48 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 130 | 119 | 51 |
| 5 | 10 | Hartford Whalers | 48 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 127 | 141 | 43 |
| 6 | 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 125 | 148 | 43 |
| 7 | 14 | Ottawa Senators | 48 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 117 | 174 | 23 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Quebec Nordiques | NE | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 185 | 134 | 65 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 48 | 28 | 16 | 4 | 150 | 132 | 60 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 181 | 158 | 61 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | NE | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 150 | 127 | 57 |
| 5 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 121 | 52 |
| 6 | Washington Capitals | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 120 | 52 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 48 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 130 | 119 | 51 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | AT | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 139 | 134 | 47 |
| 9 | Florida Panthers | AT | 48 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 115 | 127 | 46 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 48 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 127 | 141 | 43 |
| 11 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 48 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 125 | 148 | 43 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | AT | 48 | 17 | 28 | 3 | 120 | 144 | 37 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 48 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 126 | 158 | 35 |
| 14 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 48 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 117 | 174 | 23 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1994–95 regular season :
January: 3–2–1 (home: 1–1–0; road: 2–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WJanuary 20, 19952–1@ New York Rangers (1994–95)1–0–0Recap
2WJanuary 22, 19955–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)2–0–0Recap
3WJanuary 25, 19952–1New Jersey Devils (1994–95)3–0–0Recap
4LJanuary 27, 19953–7Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)3–1–0Recap
5TJanuary 28, 19952–2 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)3–1–1Recap
6LJanuary 31, 19951–2@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)3–2–1Recap :
February: 4–5–2 (home: 2–3–1; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
7WFebruary 2, 19951–0@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)4–2–1Recap
8LFebruary 4, 19952–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)4–3–1Recap
9WFebruary 5, 19952–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)5–3–1Recap
10WFebruary 7, 19952–1Washington Capitals (1994–95)6–3–1Recap
11LFebruary 11, 19951–2@ New York Islanders (1994–95)6–4–1Recap
12LFebruary 12, 19951–2Boston Bruins (1994–95)6–5–1Recap
13LFebruary 15, 19951–2New York Rangers (1994–95)6–6–1Recap
14TFebruary 19, 19953–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)6–6–2Recap
15TFebruary 22, 19953–3 OTNew York Islanders (1994–95)6–6–3Recap
16WFebruary 25, 19953–1@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)7–6–3Recap
17LFebruary 26, 19952–4New York Rangers (1994–95)7–7–3Recap :
March: 7–5–2 (home: 6–2–0; road: 1–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
18WMarch 2, 19956–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)8–7–3Recap
19TMarch 4, 19951–1 OT@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)8–7–4Recap
20WMarch 5, 19954–1Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)9–7–4Recap
21TMarch 8, 19952–2 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)9–7–5Recap
22LMarch 11, 19952–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)9–8–5Recap
23WMarch 14, 19952–1 OT@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)10–8–5Recap
24WMarch 16, 19956–3New York Islanders (1994–95)11–8–5Recap
25LMarch 18, 19953–4 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)11–9–5Recap
26LMarch 19, 19951–6Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)11–10–5Recap
27LMarch 21, 19952–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)11–11–5Recap
28WMarch 24, 19953–0Florida Panthers (1994–95)12–11–5Recap
29LMarch 26, 19951–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)12–12–5Recap
30WMarch 28, 19955–3Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)13–12–5Recap
31WMarch 30, 19957–0Ottawa Senators (1994–95)14–12–5Recap :
April: 6–7–2 (home: 4–2–0; road: 2–5–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
32WApril 1, 19955–1@ New York Islanders (1994–95)15–12–5Recap
33WApril 4, 19956–3Hartford Whalers (1994–95)16–12–5Recap
34TApril 6, 19951–1 OT@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)16–12–6Recap
35LApril 8, 19952–4@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)16–13–6Recap
36LApril 9, 19955–6Boston Bruins (1994–95)16–14–6Recap
37LApril 12, 19951–3@ New York Rangers (1994–95)16–15–6Recap
38LApril 14, 19952–5@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)16–16–6Recap
39WApril 16, 19952–1Ottawa Senators (1994–95)17–16–6Recap
40LApril 18, 19951–2Hartford Whalers (1994–95)17–17–6Recap
41LApril 19, 19951–4@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)17–18–6Recap
42WApril 23, 19954–2Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)18–18–6Recap
43WApril 24, 19953–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)19–18–6Recap
44WApril 26, 19955–0Florida Panthers (1994–95)20–18–6Recap
45LApril 28, 19951–5@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)20–19–6Recap
46TApril 29, 19953–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)20–19–7Recap :
May: 2–0–0 (home: 2–0–0; road: 0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
47WMay 1, 19952–0Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)21–19–7Recap
48WMay 3, 19955–4New Jersey Devils (1994–95)22–19–7Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1995 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Philadelphia Flyers – Flyers win 4–1
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LMay 7, 19953–4 OT@ Philadelphia FlyersFlyers lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 8, 19951–3@ Philadelphia FlyersFlyers lead 2–0Recap
3WMay 10, 19953–1Philadelphia FlyersFlyers lead 2–1Recap
4LMay 12, 19952–4Philadelphia FlyersFlyers lead 3–1Recap
5LMay 14, 19954–6@ Philadelphia FlyersFlyers win 4–1Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## 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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 89 | Alexander Mogilny | RW | 44 | 19 | 28 | 47 | 0 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −6 | 2 |
| 28 | Donald Audette | RW | 46 | 24 | 13 | 37 | −3 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 4 |
| 16 | Pat LaFontaine | C | 22 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
| 13 | Yuri Khmylev | LW | 48 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 8 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 8 |
| 26 | Derek Plante | C | 47 | 3 | 19 | 22 | −4 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Doug Bodger | D | 44 | 3 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Wayne Presley | RW | 46 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 5 | 41 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Dale Hawerchuk | C | 23 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 14 | Dave Hannan | C | 42 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 3 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 43 | Jason Dawe | RW | 42 | 7 | 4 | 11 | −6 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 6 |
| 17 | Craig Simpson | LW | 24 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −5 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Richard Smehlik | D | 39 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 46 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 3 | Garry Galley† | D | 14 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −3 | 4 |
| 20 | Bob Sweeney | C | 45 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −6 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| 44 | Alexei Zhitnik† | D | 21 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −3 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −7 | 14 |
| 27 | Brad May | LW | 33 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 87 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Charlie Huddy† | D | 32 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −1 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Craig Muni | D | 40 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −4 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | Philippe Boucher‡ | D | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Petr Svoboda‡ | D | 26 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −5 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Mark Astley | D | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 29 | Scott Pearson† | LW | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −3 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| 6 | Doug Houda | D | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Ken Sutton‡ | D | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Brian Holzinger | C | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −3 | 2 |
| 32 | Rob Ray | RW | 47 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −4 | 173 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 36 | Matthew Barnaby | RW | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 116 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Curtis Brown | C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | Viktor Gordiouk | LW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 76 | Wayne Primeau | C | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | Peter Ambroziak | LW | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Grant Fuhr‡ | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Dominik Hasek | G | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 44 | Doug MacDonald | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Dean Melanson | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Robb Stauber† | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Denis Tsygurov‡ | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* † = 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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 39 | Dominik Hasek | 41 | 19 | 14 | 7 | 1221 | 85 | 2.11 | .930 | 5 | 2416 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 131 | 18 | 3.50 | .863 | 0 | 309 |
| 35 | Robb Stauber† | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 150 | 20 | 3.79 | .867 | 0 | 317 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Grant Fuhr‡ | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 85 | 12 | 4.00 | .859 | 0 | 180 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

Dominik Hasek was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy.
| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy | Pat LaFontaine |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star team | Dominik Hasek (Goaltender) |
| League (annual) | Vezina Trophy | Dominik Hasek |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Dean Melanson | February 19, 1995 |
| First game | Peter Ambroziak | March 4, 1995 |
| First game | Brian Holzinger | April 16, 1995 |
| First game | Curtis Brown | May 3, 1995 |
| First game | Wayne Primeau | May 3, 1995 |
| 400th goal | Pat LaFontaine | April 14, 1995 |

## Draft picks

Buffalo's draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft in Hartford, Connecticut.
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 17 | Wayne Primeau (C) | Canada | Owen Sound Platers (OHL) |
| 2 | 43 | Curtis Brown (LW) | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 3 | 69 | Rumun Ndur (D) | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 5 | 121 | Sergei Klimentiev (D) | Ukraine | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 6 | 147 | Cal Benazic (D) | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 7 | 168 | Steve Plouffe (G) | Canada | Granby Bisons (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 173 | Shane Hnidy (D) | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 7 | 176 | Steve Webb (RW) | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 8 | 199 | Bob Westerby (LW) | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 9 | 225 | Craig Millar (D) | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |
| 10 | 251 | Mark Polak (C) | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 11 | 277 | Shayne Wright (D) | Canada | Owen Sound Platers (OHL) |