# 1972–73 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1972–73 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' third season of operation in the National Hockey League. The team made it to the playoffs for the first time, but lost in the first round to Montreal, four games to two.

## Offseason

The Sabres added future Hall of Fame defenseman Tim Horton in the intra-league draft. In the Amateur Draft, the Sabres picked defenseman Jim Schoenfeld as their first-round pick, fifth over-all.

## Regular season
### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 52 | 10 | 16 | 329 | 184 | +145 | 120 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 51 | 22 | 5 | 330 | 235 | +95 | 107 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 78 | 47 | 23 | 8 | 297 | 208 | +89 | 102 |
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 37 | 27 | 14 | 257 | 219 | +38 | 88 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 37 | 29 | 12 | 265 | 243 | +22 | 86 |
| 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 27 | 41 | 10 | 247 | 279 | −32 | 64 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 22 | 47 | 9 | 233 | 339 | −106 | 53 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | 78 | 12 | 60 | 6 | 170 | 347 | −177 | 30 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 8, 1972 | 5–3 | Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 11, 1972 | 7–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | T | October 14, 1972 | 1–1 | @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | W | October 15, 1972 | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 3–0–1 |
| 5 | W | October 19, 1972 | 6–0 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 4–0–1 |
| 6 | T | October 21, 1972 | 1–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 4–0–2 |
| 7 | W | October 22, 1972 | 7–2 | Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 5–0–2 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1972 | 2–2 | Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 5–0–3 |
| 9 | T | October 28, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 5–0–4 |
| 10 | W | October 29, 1972 | 2–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 6–0–4 |
| 11 | L | November 1, 1972 | 1–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 6–1–4 |
| 12 | L | November 4, 1972 | 3–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 6–2–4 |
| 13 | T | November 5, 1972 | 1–1 | St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 6–2–5 |
| 14 | T | November 9, 1972 | 0–0 | California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 6–2–6 |
| 15 | L | November 11, 1972 | 1–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 6–3–6 |
| 16 | W | November 12, 1972 | 1–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 7–3–6 |
| 17 | T | November 15, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 7–3–7 |
| 18 | L | November 17, 1972 | 1–5 | @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 7–4–7 |
| 19 | L | November 19, 1972 | 5–9 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 7–5–7 |
| 20 | L | November 22, 1972 | 2–6 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 7–6–7 |
| 21 | W | November 23, 1972 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1972–73) | 8–6–7 |
| 22 | W | November 26, 1972 | 9–2 | New York Islanders (1972–73) | 9–6–7 |
| 23 | W | November 28, 1972 | 7–2 | @ New York Islanders (1972–73) | 10–6–7 |
| 24 | L | November 30, 1972 | 4–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 10–7–7 |
| 25 | L | December 2, 1972 | 6–8 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 10–8–7 |
| 26 | W | December 3, 1972 | 7–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 11–8–7 |
| 27 | W | December 6, 1972 | 3–2 | @ New York Rangers (1972–73) | 12–8–7 |
| 28 | W | December 7, 1972 | 6–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 13–8–7 |
| 29 | W | December 10, 1972 | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 14–8–7 |
| 30 | W | December 13, 1972 | 7–3 | Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 15–8–7 |
| 31 | W | December 16, 1972 | 4–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 16–8–7 |
| 32 | W | December 17, 1972 | 4–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 17–8–7 |
| 33 | W | December 20, 1972 | 6–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 18–8–7 |
| 34 | L | December 22, 1972 | 2–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 18–9–7 |
| 35 | L | December 23, 1972 | 0–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 18–10–7 |
| 36 | W | December 27, 1972 | 4–1 | @ New York Rangers (1972–73) | 19–10–7 |
| 37 | W | December 28, 1972 | 8–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 20–10–7 |
| 38 | L | December 31, 1972 | 2–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 20–11–7 |
| 39 | W | January 3, 1973 | 4–1 | New York Islanders (1972–73) | 21–11–7 |
| 40 | L | January 4, 1973 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 21–12–7 |
| 41 | W | January 6, 1973 | 4–1 | @ New York Rangers (1972–73) | 22–12–7 |
| 42 | W | January 7, 1973 | 2–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 23–12–7 |
| 43 | L | January 11, 1973 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (1972–73) | 23–13–7 |
| 44 | L | January 14, 1973 | 0–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 23–14–7 |
| 45 | W | January 18, 1973 | 5–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 24–14–7 |
| 46 | L | January 20, 1973 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 24–15–7 |
| 47 | L | January 21, 1973 | 3–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 24–16–7 |
| 48 | W | January 25, 1973 | 5–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 25–16–7 |
| 49 | L | January 28, 1973 | 5–8 | Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 25–17–7 |
| 50 | W | February 1, 1973 | 5–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 26–17–7 |
| 51 | T | February 3, 1973 | 1–1 | @ New York Islanders (1972–73) | 26–17–8 |
| 52 | W | February 4, 1973 | 5–1 | New York Islanders (1972–73) | 27–17–8 |
| 53 | L | February 7, 1973 | 1–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 27–18–8 |
| 54 | W | February 8, 1973 | 4–0 | California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 28–18–8 |
| 55 | L | February 10, 1973 | 1–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 28–19–8 |
| 56 | L | February 11, 1973 | 2–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 28–20–8 |
| 57 | W | February 14, 1973 | 3–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 29–20–8 |
| 58 | W | February 15, 1973 | 4–1 | New York Rangers (1972–73) | 30–20–8 |
| 59 | T | February 17, 1973 | 3–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 30–20–9 |
| 60 | W | February 18, 1973 | 4–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 31–20–9 |
| 61 | W | February 22, 1973 | 3–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 32–20–9 |
| 62 | L | February 24, 1973 | 2–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 32–21–9 |
| 63 | W | February 25, 1973 | 2–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 33–21–9 |
| 64 | T | March 1, 1973 | 4–4 | @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 33–21–10 |
| 65 | L | March 4, 1973 | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 33–22–10 |
| 66 | T | March 6, 1973 | 2–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 33–22–11 |
| 67 | T | March 7, 1973 | 2–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 33–22–12 |
| 68 | L | March 9, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 33–23–12 |
| 69 | L | March 13, 1973 | 0–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 33–24–12 |
| 70 | L | March 15, 1973 | 1–4 | Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 33–25–12 |
| 71 | T | March 17, 1973 | 3–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 33–25–13 |
| 72 | W | March 18, 1973 | 5–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 34–25–13 |
| 73 | L | March 21, 1973 | 2–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 34–26–13 |
| 74 | T | March 24, 1973 | 4–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 34–26–14 |
| 75 | L | March 25, 1973 | 1–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 34–27–14 |
| 76 | W | March 27, 1973 | 3–2 | @ New York Islanders (1972–73) | 35–27–14 |
| 77 | W | March 28, 1973 | 6–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 36–27–14 |
| 78 | W | April 1, 1973 | 3–1 | St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 37–27–14 |

### Playoffs

The 1972–73 season saw the Sabres qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time. The team would ultimately lose to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens in 6 games. After falling behind three games to none the Sabres won two straight to earn a final home game that was memorable for the "Thank you Sabres" chant from the end of the game.
* Scorer of game-winning goal in italics
* *Denotes if necessary

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Gilbert Perreault | C | 78 | 28 | 60 | 88 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| Rene Robert | RW | 75 | 40 | 43 | 83 | 83 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| Rick Martin | LW | 75 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 79 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Jim Lorentz | C/RW | 78 | 27 | 35 | 62 | 30 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 5 |
| Gerry Meehan | C | 77 | 31 | 29 | 60 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Don Luce | C | 78 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Hugh Harris | C | 60 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Hillman | D | 78 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 56 | −3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Ramsay | LW | 76 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Larry Mickey | RW | 77 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 47 | −6 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Robitaille | D | 65 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 40 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Schoenfeld | D | 66 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 178 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Atkinson | RW | 61 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 36 | −5 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Tim Horton | D | 69 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 56 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tracy Pratt | D | 74 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 116 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Gratton | LW | 21 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Carriere | D | 40 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 52 | −1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Terbenche | D | 42 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Wyrozub | C | 45 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Doug Rombough | C | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Butch Deadmarsh | LW | 34 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 | −3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Dudley | LW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gould | RW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Busniuk | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Crozier | G | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Dryden | G | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rocky Farr | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray McKay | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Richer | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Roger Crozier | 2633 | 49 | 23 | 13 | 7 | 121 | 2.76 | 3 |
| Dave Dryden | 2018 | 37 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 89 | 2.65 | 3 |
| Rocky Farr | 29 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6.21 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 37 | 27 | 14 | 213 | 2.73 | 6 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Gilbert Perreault | C | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rene Robert | RW | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Martin | LW | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Schoenfeld | D | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Lorentz | C/RW | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Luce | C | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Ramsay | LW | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Mickey | RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Carriere | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Crozier | G | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Gratton | LW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Horton | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Meehan | C | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Atkinson | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Dryden | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hugh Harris | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Hillman | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tracy Pratt | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Robitaille | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Terbenche | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Roger Crozier | 249 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 2.65 | 0 |
| Dave Dryden | 120 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4.50 | 0 |
| Team: | 369 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 3.25 | 0 |
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals  MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Awards and records

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Gilbert Perreault

## Transactions
### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 6, 1972 | To New York Islanders7th-round pick in 1972 (Don McLaughlin) 8th-round pick in 1972 (Rene Levasseur) 9th-round pick in 1972 (Bill Ennos) 10th-round pick in 1972 (Rene Lambert) | To Buffalo Sabres Islanders promised to not draft certain players in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft |
| June 8, 1972 | To Montreal CanadiensCash | To Buffalo SabresRon Busniuk |
| February 14, 1973 | To Atlanta FlamesButch Deadmarsh | To Buffalo SabresNorm Gratton |

### Lost via retirement

* Player
* Dick Duff

### Lost in the Expansion Draft

| June 6, 1972 | To New York IslandersTom Miller |
| June 6, 1972 | To New York IslandersKen Murray |
| June 6, 1972 | To Atlanta FlamesRod Zaine |

### 1972 NHL Intraleague Draft

| June 5, 1972 | From Pittsburgh PenguinsTim Horton |

## Draft picks
### NHL draft

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 5 | Jim Schoenfeld | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA) |
| 2 | 25 | Larry Carriere | Canada | Loyola University (CIAU) |
| 3 | 37 | Jim McMasters | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 4 | 53 | Rychard Campeau | Canada | Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 69 | Gilles Gratton | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |
| 6 | 85 | Peter McNab | Canada | U. of Denver (WCHA) |

## Farm teams

The 1972–73 AHL season was a successful one for the Sabres' AHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Swords. The Swords would finish first overall in the regular season with a 54–17–5 record. They would go on to win the Calder Cup in the playoffs losing only 3 games in the 3 round best-of-7 event. It would be the only championship won by the team in its short existence.