1988–89 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1988–89 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' 19th season in the National Hockey League. The Sabres finished 3rd in the Adams Division and lost in the Division Semi-finals to the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1.
==Regular Season==
===Clint Malarchuk Incident===
On March 22, 1989, a horrific incident occurred during a game between the Sabres and the St. Louis Blues at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, when Buffalo goaltender Clint Malarchuk had his jugular vein severed by the skate blade of the Blues' Steve Tuttle during a goal mouth collision. According to reports, eleven fans in the stands fainted, two more had heart attacks, and three players vomited on the ice. The Sabres' training staff was immediately on the scene, and Malarchuk eventually needed 300 stitches to close the wound. Astonishingly, he spent only one night in hospital before returning to practice four days later.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	W 	October 6, 1988 	3–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 	1–0–0
2 	L 	October 8, 1988 	2–6 	@ Washington Capitals (1988–89) 	1–1–0
3 	L 	October 9, 1988 	3–4 OT 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) 	1–2–0
4 	W 	October 12, 1988 	8–5 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) 	2–2–0
5 	W 	October 14, 1988 	5–4 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1988–89) 	3–2–0
6 	L 	October 16, 1988 	3–5 	Quebec Nordiques (1988–89) 	3–3–0
7 	L 	October 19, 1988 	2–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) 	3–4–0
8 	W 	October 21, 1988 	5–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 	4–4–0
9 	L 	October 22, 1988 	3–4 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 	4–5–0
10 	W 	October 25, 1988 	7–4 	@ New Jersey Devils (1988–89) 	5–5–0
11 	L 	October 26, 1988 	1–7 	Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 	5–6–0
12 	T 	October 29, 1988 	3–3 OT 	@ Boston Bruins (1988–89) 	5–6–1
13 	T 	October 30, 1988 	3–3 OT 	Boston Bruins (1988–89) 	5–6–2
14 	W 	November 2, 1988 	6–4 	New York Rangers (1988–89) 	6–6–2
15 	L 	November 4, 1988 	3–7 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) 	6–7–2
16 	L 	November 5, 1988 	0–9 	@ Calgary Flames (1988–89) 	6–8–2
17 	W 	November 9, 1988 	3–2 	Calgary Flames (1988–89) 	7–8–2
18 	W 	November 12, 1988 	3–0 	@ New York Islanders (1988–89) 	8–8–2
19 	L 	November 13, 1988 	4–5 OT 	Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) 	8–9–2
20 	L 	November 16, 1988 	2–3 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) 	8–10–2
21 	L 	November 19, 1988 	4–5 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) 	8–11–2
22 	L 	November 22, 1988 	2–4 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) 	8–12–2
23 	W 	November 25, 1988 	5–4 OT 	Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) 	9–12–2
24 	W 	November 27, 1988 	7–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) 	10–12–2
25 	W 	November 30, 1988 	6–2 	Quebec Nordiques (1988–89) 	11–12–2
26 	L 	December 2, 1988 	1–6 	Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 	11–13–2
27 	L 	December 3, 1988 	2–3 OT 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 	11–14–2
28 	L 	December 6, 1988 	0–9 	@ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 	11–15–2
29 	W 	December 8, 1988 	4–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1988–89) 	12–15–2
30 	L 	December 11, 1988 	4–6 	Washington Capitals (1988–89) 	12–16–2
31 	L 	December 14, 1988 	3–4 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) 	12–17–2
32 	T 	December 15, 1988 	2–2 OT 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1988–89)	12–17–3
33 	T 	December 19, 1988 	5–5 OT 	Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) 	12–17–4
34 	W 	December 21, 1988 	5–2 	@ New York Rangers (1988–89) 	13–17–4
35 	W 	December 23, 1988 	5–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) 	14–17–4
36 	W 	December 26, 1988 	2–1 	Boston Bruins (1988–89) 	15–17–4
37 	W 	December 28, 1988 	4–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) 	16–17–4
38 	L 	December 30, 1988 	3–5 	@ Washington Capitals (1988–89) 	16–18–4
39 	L 	December 31, 1988 	2–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) 	16–19–4
40 	L 	January 4, 1989 	4–5 OT 	Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 	16–20–4
41 	L 	January 6, 1989 	4–5 	@ New Jersey Devils (1988–89) 	16–21–4
42 	W 	January 7, 1989 	6–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) 	17–21–4
43 	W 	January 12, 1989 	6–5 	Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) 	18–21–4
44 	T 	January 14, 1989 	1–1 OT 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1988–89) 	18–21–5
45 	W 	January 15, 1989 	3–2 	Calgary Flames (1988–89) 	19–21–5
46 	T 	January 18, 1989 	3–3 OT 	Minnesota North Stars (1988–89) 	19–21–6
47 	W 	January 21, 1989 	6–5 OT 	@ Boston Bruins (1988–89) 	20–21–6
48 	W 	January 22, 1989 	6–4 	Boston Bruins (1988–89) 	21–21–6
49 	W 	January 25, 1989 	6–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) 	22–21–6
50 	W 	January 27, 1989 	4–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 	23–21–6
51 	L 	January 28, 1989 	1–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 	23–22–6
52 	W 	January 31, 1989 	5–3 	@ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 	24–22–6
53 	L 	February 2, 1989 	3–7 	@ St. Louis Blues (1988–89) 	24–23–6
54 	L 	February 4, 1989 	3–5 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) 	24–24–6
55 	L 	February 9, 1989 	2–5 	@ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 	24–25–6
56 	L 	February 10, 1989 	4–5 	Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) 	24–26–6
57 	W 	February 12, 1989 	5–2 	St. Louis Blues (1988–89) 	25–26–6
58 	L 	February 14, 1989 	3–7 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) 	25–27–6
59 	W 	February 15, 1989 	5–3 	New Jersey Devils (1988–89) 	26–27–6
60 	W 	February 17, 1989 	5–1 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) 	27–27–6
61 	W 	February 19, 1989 	8–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) 	28–27–6
62 	W 	February 22, 1989 	7–5 	New York Islanders (1988–89) 	29–27–6
63 	W 	February 24, 1989 	5–4 	Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) 	30–27–6
64 	L 	February 25, 1989 	1–6 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 	30–28–6
65 	L 	March 1, 1989 	4–5 	Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) 	30–29–6
66 	L 	March 4, 1989 	2–6 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1988–89) 	30–30–6
67 	L 	March 5, 1989 	2–8 	Quebec Nordiques (1988–89) 	30–31–6
68 	W 	March 8, 1989 	2–0 	@ New York Rangers (1988–89) 	31–31–6
69 	T 	March 11, 1989 	6–6 OT 	@ Boston Bruins (1988–89) 	31–31–7
70 	W 	March 12, 1989 	3–2 	Boston Bruins (1988–89) 	32–31–7
71 	W 	March 16, 1989 	6–1 	@ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 	33–31–7
72 	L 	March 18, 1989 	0–3 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1988–89)	33–32–7
73 	W 	March 20, 1989 	4–1 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) 	34–32–7
74 	L 	March 22, 1989 	1–2 	St. Louis Blues (1988–89) 	34–33–7
75 	W 	March 24, 1989 	5–2 	Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) 	35–33–7
76 	L 	March 25, 1989 	1–4 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1988–89) 	35–34–7
77 	W 	March 28, 1989 	4–2 	Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 	36–34–7
78 	L 	March 30, 1989 	2–4 	Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 	36–35–7
79 	W 	April 1, 1989 	4–3 	@ New York Islanders (1988–89) 	37–35–7
80 	W 	April 2, 1989 	4–2 	Quebec Nordiques (1988–89) 	38–35–7
==Playoffs==
===Boston Bruins 4, Buffalo Sabres 1===
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
April 5 	Buffalo Sabres	6 	Boston Bruins 	0 	
April 6 	Buffalo Sabres	3 	Boston Bruins 	5 	
April 8 	Boston Bruins 	4 	Buffalo Sabres	2 	
April 9 	Boston Bruins 	3 	Buffalo Sabres	2 	
April 11	Buffalo Sabres	1 	Boston Bruins 	4 	
==Player Stats==
===Forwards===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Pierre Turgeon 	80	34	54	88 	26
Christian Ruuttu	67	14	46	60 	98
Dave Andreychuk 	56	28	24	52 	40
Mike Foligno 	75	27	22	49 	156
Benoit Hogue 	69	14	30	44 	120
John Tucker 	60	13	31	44 	31
Ray Sheppard 	67	22	21	43 	15
Scott Arniel 	80	18	23	41 	46
Rick Vaive 	28	19	13	32 	64
Mark Napier 	66	11	17	28 	33
Kevin Maguire 	60	8 	10	18 	241
Jeff Parker 	57	9 	9 	18 	82
Adam Creighton 	24	7 	10	17 	44
Mike Hartman 	70	8 	9 	17 	316
Mike Donnelly 	22	4 	6 	10 	10
Ken Priestlay 	15	2 	0 	2 	2
Scott Metcalfe 	9 	1 	1 	2 	13
Jan Ludvig 	13	0 	2 	2 	39
Mikael Andersson	14	0 	1 	1 	4
Trent Kaese 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
Darrin Shannon 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0
===Defencemen===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Phil Housley 	72	26	44	70 	47
Doug Bodger 	61	7 	40	47 	52
Uwe Krupp 	70	5 	13	18 	55
Lindy Ruff 	63	6 	11	17 	86
Mike Ramsey 	56	2 	14	16 	84
Calle Johansson	47	2 	11	13 	33
Shawn Anderson 	33	2 	10	12 	18
Grant Ledyard 	13	1 	5 	6 	8
Joe Reekie 	15	1 	3 	4 	26
Larry Playfair 	42	0 	3 	3 	110
Richie Dunn 	4 	0 	1 	1 	2
Bob Halkidis 	16	0 	1 	1 	66
Mark Ferner 	2 	0 	0 	0 	2
Steve Smith 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0
Brad Miller 	7 	0 	0 	0 	6
===Goaltending===
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player 	GP	W 	L 	T	SO	GAA
Daren Puppa 	37	17	10	6	1 	3.36
Jacques Cloutier	36	15	14	0	0 	3.63
Clint Malarchuk 	7 	3 	1 	1	1 	2.39
Tom Barrasso 	10	2 	7 	0	0 	4.95
Darcy Wakaluk 	6 	1 	3 	0	0 	4.21
Darren Eliot 	2 	0 	0 	0	0 	6.27
1988-89 Buffalo Sabres at Hockey Reference
==Awards and Records==
*The Sabres did not win any awards this season.
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
==Farm Teams==
==See Also==
*1988–89 NHL season
==References==
Category:Buffalo Sabres seasons
Category:1988 in hockey
Category:1989 in hockey