2011 – 12 Buffalo Sabres season The 2011 – 12 Buffalo Sabres season was the 42nd season of operation ( 41st season of play ) for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22 , 1970 . Their season began October 7 , 2011 against the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki , Finland . In Helsinki the team named Jason Pominville the 13th full time captain in team history . Pominville filled the vacancy left by Craig Rivet who was traded to Columbus during the previous season . Off - 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 multi - million dollar upgrade . The naming right were transferred from HSBC to First Niagara Bank and the arena took on the name First Niagara Center . Regular season . 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 . In the 1st period of the game 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 . 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 . Jason Pominville was the only Sabre named to the All - Star Game roster . Luke Adam was one of twelve rookies selected to participate in the All - Star Skills Competition . 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 5 consecutive regulation loses on a single road trip . Things then began to turn around with a shootout win at the New Jersey Devils January 24 , the final game before the All - Star break . The Sabres then went on a 18 – 5 – 5 run going from 14th in the Eastern Conference back into the 8th and final playoff position on March 24 with a 3 – 1 win at home against the Minnesota Wild . 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 . 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 power play Alex Ovechkin bobbled a pass at the blue line . 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 8th playoff seed and even in games with Washington . The Sabres time in 8th place was short lived due to two consecutive regulation loses first at home to Pittsburgh and then at Toronto . 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 5 minutes of the third to tie the game at 5 . In overtime Dion Phaneuf took a delay of game penalty . Derek Roy ended the game on the ensuing power play with his second of the game . The win pulled Buffalo even in points with Washington at 88 . Washington still held the tie breaker advantage . Each team had two games left . The Sabres would go on to pick up only 1 point in their final 2 games ultimately failing to make the playoffs . 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 . Playoffs . The Sabres attempted to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season . The attempt fell 3 points short and the Sabres finished in 9th place . Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / − = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime Losses ; GA = Goals Against ; GAA = Goals Against Average ; SA = Shots Against ; SV = Saves ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; SO = Shutouts " 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 . Awards and records . Records . On October 25 , 2011 , Brad Boyes played in his 500th consecutive NHL game , becoming the 20th player in NHL history to reach that mark . This streak ended at 513 when he was injured in the November 23 game . Final roster . < br > Transactions . The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2011 – 12 season : Draft picks . Buffalo ' s picks at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft .