2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season was the 38th season of the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League.
==Pre-season==
In their second preseason game, the Sabres played the Montreal Canadiens in Roberval, Quebec, the 2008 winner of the Kraft Hockeyville contest. In their newly renovated arena, Roberval hosted the preseason game on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. Montreal scored the first three goals, then held off Buffalo for a 3-2 win in at Benoit-Levesque Arena.Montreal defeats Buffalo in Hockeyville, CA
2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)	2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–4–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap 	
1 	September 22 	Buffalo 	4–7 	Toronto 	 	Enroth 	18,819 	0–1–0 	 	
2 	September 23 	Buffalo 	2–3 	Montreal† 	 	Dennis 	? 	0–2–0 	 	
3 	September 27 	Toronto 	2–3 	Buffalo 	OT 	Miller 	14,629 	1–2–0 	 	
4 	September 28 	Minnesota 	2–1 	Buffalo 	SO 	Lalime 	17,311 	1–2–1 	 	
5 	October 1 	Buffalo 	2–3 	Minnesota 	 	Miller 	18,064 	1–3–1 	 	
6 	October 2 	Buffalo 	5–2 	Columbus 	 	Lalime 	11,314 	2–3–1 	 	
7 	October 5 	Buffalo 	0–3 	Detroit 	 	Miller 	15,983 	2–4–1 	 	
†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. 	†Game was played in Roberval, Quebec.
==Regular season==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
===Game log===
* Green background indicates win (2 points).
* Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
* White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log 	2008–09 Game Log
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October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)	October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–2)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 10 	Montreal 	1–2 	Buffalo 	SO 	Miller 	18,690 	1–0–0 	2 	
2 	October 13 	Buffalo 	7–1 	NY Islanders 	 	Lalime 	13,523 	2–0–0 	4 	
3 	October 15 	Buffalo 	3–1 	NY Rangers 	 	Miller 	18,200 	3–0–0 	6 	
4 	October 17 	Vancouver 	2–5 	Buffalo 	 	Miller 	18,449 	4–0–0 	8 	
5 	October 18 	Buffalo 	2–3 	Atlanta 	SO 	Lalime 	14,091 	4–0–1 	9 	
6 	October 21 	Boston 	2–3 	Buffalo 	SO 	Miller 	18,334 	5–0–1 	11 	
7 	October 23 	Buffalo 	4–3 	Minnesota 	OT 	Miller 	18,568 	6–0–1 	13 	
8 	October 25 	Buffalo 	1–2 	Colorado 	SO 	Miller 	18,007 	6–0–2 	14 	
9 	October 27 	Ottawa 	5–2 	Buffalo 	 	Lalime 	18,690 	6–1–2 	14 	
10 	October 30 	Tampa Bay 	5–2 	Buffalo 	 	Miller 	18,690 	6–2–2 	14 	
==Playoffs==
The Buffalo Sabres failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs.
==Player stats==
===Skaters===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
Regular season	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	+/−	PIM
 	82	28	42	70 	-5 	38
 	82	20	46	66 	-4 	18
 	73	40	24	64 	-1 	44
 	48	18	29	47 	+12	22
 	80	8 	37	45 	+2 	38
 	79	20	25	45 	+3 	29
 	56	13	19	32 	-7 	28
 	71	17	14	31 	-4 	56
 	62	12	17	29 	+4 	108
 	70	12	15	27 	-9 	33
 	73	12	15	27 	0 	20
 	64	2 	22	24 	+4 	125
 	80	3 	20	23 	0 	70
 	48	6 	14	20 	-7 	20
 	75	8 	11	19 	+4 	95
 	69	3 	16	19 	-11	22
 	57	2 	15	17 	-4 	22
 	66	1 	11	12 	-2 	36
 	45	7 	5 	12 	+4 	12
 	51	4 	5 	9 	+1 	89
 	23	2 	4 	6 	+3 	25
 	47	2 	4 	6 	+11	18
 	18	1 	3 	4 	-1 	23
 	7 	1 	1 	2 	-4 	4
 	10	0 	1 	1 	+3 	4
 	28	0 	1 	1 	-2 	81
 	4 	0 	0 	0 	+2 	2
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	7 	0 	0 	0 	-3 	19
===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
Regular season	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	TOI 	W 	L 	OT	GA 	GAA 	SA 	SV 	Sv% 	SO
 	59	3443	34	18	6 	145	2.53	1773	1628	.918	5
 	24	1296	5 	13	3 	67 	3.10	669 	602 	.900	0
 	6 	230 	2 	1 	0 	9 	2.35	125 	116 	.928	0
†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===
===Milestones===
Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season
Player 	Milestone 	Date achieved 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Jason Pominville	100th NHL assist 	October 13, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Thomas Vanek 	200th NHL point 	October 15, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Lindy Ruff 	400th NHL win 	October 15, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Patrick Lalime 	400th NHL appearance 	October 27, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Mark Mancari 	1st NHL goal 	November 22, 2008	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Nathan Gerbe 	1st NHL game 	December 6, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Nathan Gerbe 	1st NHL assist 	December 13, 2008	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Chris Butler 	1st NHL game1st NHL assist	December 19, 2008	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Tim Kennedy 	1st NHL game 	December 27, 2008	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Derek Roy 	100th NHL Goal 	February 13, 2009	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Drew Stafford 	100th NHL Point 	February 13, 2009	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Transactions==
===Trades===
June 20, 2008	To Buffalo Sabres First-round pick (12th overall) pick in 2008 (Tyler Myers) 	To Los Angeles Kings First-round pick (13th overall) pick in 2008 (Colten Teubert)Third-round pick in 2009
June 21, 2008	To Buffalo Sabres Third-round (81st overall) pick in 2008 (Corey Fienhage)Fourth-round (101st overall) pick in 2008 (Justin Jokinen)	To Los Angeles Kings Third-round (74th overall) pick in 2008 (Andrew Campbell)
July 4, 2008 	To Buffalo Sabres Craig RivetSeventh-round pick in 2010 	To San Jose Sharks Second-round pick in 2009Second-round pick in 2010
July 4, 2008 	To Buffalo Sabres Third-round pick in 2009Second-round pick in 2010 	To Vancouver Canucks Steve Bernier
March 4, 2009	To Buffalo Sabres Mikael Tellqvist 	To Phoenix Coyotes Fourth-round pick in 2010
March 4, 2009	To Buffalo Sabres Dominic Moore 	To Toronto Maple Leafs Second-round pick in 2009
March 4, 2009	To Buffalo Sabres Second-round pick in 2009 	To Edmonton Oilers Ales Kotalik
===Free Agents===
{|class="wikitable"	 	
Player 	Former team 	Contract Terms
Patrick Lalime	Chicago Blackhawks 	2 years, $2 million
Mathieu Darche	Tampa Bay Lightning	1 Year, $500,000
===Claimed from waivers===
{|class="wikitable"	 	
Player 	Former team 	Date claimed off waivers
Matt Ellis	Los Angeles Kings	October 1
==Draft picks==
Buffalo's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa • Ontario. 
Round	Pick	Player 	Position	Nationality	College/Junior Team
1 	12 	Tyler Myers 	D 	 	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
1 	26 	Tyler Ennis 	C 	 	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2 	44 	Luke Adam 	C 	 	St. John's Fog Devils (QMJHL)
3 	81 	Corey Fienhage 	D 	 	Eastview High School (Minnesota)
4 	101 	Justin Jokinen 	RW 	 	Colquet High School (Minnesota)
4 	104 	Jordan Southorn	D 	 	P.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL)
5 	134 	Jacob Lagace 	LW 	 	Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
6 	164 	Nick Crawford 	D 	 	Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
==Roster==
Updated March 6, 2009.
|}
==See also==
*2008–09 NHL season
==Farm teams==
On June 11, the Buffalo Sabres signed a three-year deal with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, ending a 29-year affiliation with the Rochester Americans.
==References==
Category:Buffalo Sabres seasons
Category:2008 in hockey
Category:2009 in hockey