1996–97 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1996–97 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' 28th season in the National Hockey League. The Sabres allowed the fewest shorthanded goals (4) and scored the most shorthanded goals (16) in the league.
==Offseason==
===NHL Draft===
==Regular season==
===Season standings===
===Game log===
No.	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	L	October 4, 1996 	3–4 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 	0–1–0
2 	L	October 6, 1996 	0–3 	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 	0–2–0
3 	W	October 9, 1996 	2–1 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 	1–2–0
4 	L	October 12, 1996 	1–6 	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 	1–3–0
5 	L	October 15, 1996 	0–4 	Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 	1–4–0
6 	W	October 17, 1996 	4–1 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	2–4–0
7 	W	October 18, 1996 	4–1 	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 	3–4–0
8 	W	October 24, 1996 	6–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	4–4–0
9 	W	October 26, 1996 	6–3 	Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 	5–4–0
10 	L	October 27, 1996 	4–6 	@ New York Rangers (1996–97) 	5–5–0
11 	L	October 30, 1996 	0–2 	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 	5–6–0
12 	W	November 1, 1996 	4–2 	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 	6–6–0
13 	T	November 2, 1996 	0–0 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 	6–6–1
14 	L	November 7, 1996 	2–5 	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 	6–7–1
15 	L	November 9, 1996 	3–4 OT	@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 	6–8–1
16 	W	November 11, 1996	3–2 OT	Florida Panthers (1996–97) 	7–8–1
17 	L	November 12, 1996	0–3 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	7–9–1
18 	W	November 14, 1996	5–4 	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 	8–9–1
19 	L	November 19, 1996	3–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 	8–10–1
20 	W	November 21, 1996	6–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 	9–10–1
21 	W	November 23, 1996	3–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	10–10–1
22 	L	November 26, 1996	3–4 	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 	10–11–1
23 	W	November 27, 1996	3–0 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 	11–11–1
24 	W	November 29, 1996	3–0 	Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	12–11–1
25 	W	November 30, 1996	3–2 	@ New York Islanders (1996–97) 	13–11–1
26 	L	December 4, 1996 	6–7 OT	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 	13–12–1
27 	T	December 6, 1996 	1–1 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 	13–12–2
28 	L	December 7, 1996 	4–6 	@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 	13–13–2
29 	W	December 11, 1996	3–2 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	14–13–2
30 	L	December 13, 1996	0–3 	New York Rangers (1996–97) 	14–14–2
31 	W	December 14, 1996	4–0 	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	15–14–2
32 	W	December 18, 1996	5–3 	Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 	16–14–2
33 	W	December 20, 1996	6–2 	Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 	17–14–2
34 	W	December 21, 1996	3–2 	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	18–14–2
35 	T	December 23, 1996	0–0 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 	18–14–3
36 	W	December 26, 1996	5–1 	Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 	19–14–3
37 	L	December 28, 1996	0–2 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	19–15–3
38 	W	December 31, 1996	6–5 	New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 	20–15–3
39 	T	January 3, 1997 	2–2 OT	St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 	20–15–4
40 	W	January 5, 1997 	5–1 	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 	21–15–4
41 	T	January 7, 1997 	1–1 OT	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 	21–15–5
42 	L	January 9, 1997 	3–6 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 	21–16–5
43 	L	January 10, 1997 	2–5 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	21–17–5
44 	W	January 12, 1997 	3–2 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 	22–17–5
45 	W	January 15, 1997 	2–1 	@ New York Islanders (1996–97) 	23–17–5
46 	W	January 20, 1997 	2–1 	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 	24–17–5
47 	W	January 22, 1997 	6–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	25–17–5
48 	L	January 24, 1997 	1–3 	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 	25–18–5
49 	L	January 25, 1997 	1–5 	Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 	25–19–5
50 	W	January 29, 1997 	3–1 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	26–19–5
51 	W	January 31, 1997 	3–1 	Dallas Stars (1996–97) 	27–19–5
52 	T	February 2, 1997 	2–2 OT	Washington Capitals (1996–97) 	27–19–6
53 	T	February 4, 1997 	1–1 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 	27–19–7
54 	T	February 6, 1997 	1–1 OT	Florida Panthers (1996–97) 	27–19–8
55 	W	February 8, 1997 	3–1 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 	28–19–8
56 	W	February 9, 1997 	2–1 	Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	29–19–8
57 	T	February 12, 1997	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	29–19–9
58 	W	February 16, 1997	6–2 	San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 	30–19–9
59 	T	February 18, 1997	5–5 OT	Calgary Flames (1996–97) 	30–19–10
60 	W	February 21, 1997	5–2 	New York Islanders (1996–97) 	31–19–10
61 	W	February 23, 1997	5–1 	Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	32–19–10
62 	L	February 27, 1997	1–4 	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 	32–20–10
63 	W	March 1, 1997 	3–1 	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	33–20–10
64 	W	March 5, 1997 	4–2 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	34–20–10
65 	T	March 8, 1997 	3–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	34–20–11
66 	L	March 9, 1997 	1–4 	New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 	34–21–11
67 	W	March 11, 1997 	3–2 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 	35–21–11
68 	W	March 15, 1997 	7–5 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 	36–21–11
69 	W	March 17, 1997 	5–1 	Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	37–21–11
70 	L	March 18, 1997 	3–5 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	37–22–11
71 	W	March 21, 1997 	4–1 	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 	38–22–11
72 	L	March 22, 1997 	2–3 	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 	38–23–11
73 	L	March 26, 1997 	2–3 OT	New York Islanders (1996–97) 	38–24–11
74 	L	March 28, 1997 	1–2 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 	38–25–11
75 	L	March 30, 1997 	2–3 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 	38–26–11
76 	T	April 1, 1997 	1–1 OT	@ New York Rangers (1996–97) 	38–26–12
77 	L	April 2, 1997 	0–2 	Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	38–27–12
78 	W	April 4, 1997 	5–1 	New York Rangers (1996–97) 	39–27–12
79 	L	April 7, 1997 	2–4 	@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 	39–28–12
80 	W	April 10, 1997 	5–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	40–28–12
81 	L	April 12, 1997 	0–1 	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	40–29–12
82 	L	April 13, 1997 	3–8 	Washington Capitals (1996–97) 	40–30–12
==Playoffs==
The Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators in the first round, but lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round.
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	82	27	26	53 	24 	14 	5 	0 	6
 	C 	81	22	29	51 	54 	9 	2 	2 	6
 	RW 	73	28	22	50 	48 	-6 	8 	0 	5
 	C 	79	20	29	49 	80 	26 	5 	6 	4
 	RW 	81	22	26	48 	32 	14 	4 	1 	3
 	RW 	79	13	32	45 	36 	17 	1 	2 	4
 	RW 	68	19	24	43 	249	16 	2 	0 	1
 	D 	71	4 	34	38 	102	10 	1 	1 	1
 	LW 	82	15	21	36 	71 	25 	1 	0 	2
 	D 	80	7 	28	35 	95 	10 	3 	1 	0
 	LW 	55	10	21	31 	20 	17 	1 	3 	0
 	D 	62	11	19	30 	43 	19 	2 	0 	1
 	D 	82	4 	19	23 	112	23 	1 	0 	1
 	D 	77	2 	9 	11 	51 	13 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	12	8 	2 	10 	4 	1 	2 	0 	1
 	RW 	82	7 	3 	10 	286	3 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	43	1 	9 	10 	35 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	2 	6 	8 	4 	-8 	1 	0 	0
 	LW 	31	2 	6 	8 	18 	1 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	77	1 	7 	8 	225	12 	0 	0 	0
 	C/LW	28	4 	3 	7 	18 	4 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	42	3 	4 	7 	106	-8 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	45	2 	4 	6 	64 	-2 	1 	0 	0
 	C/LW	25	2 	4 	6 	2 	-3 	1 	0 	1
 	RW 	18	1 	4 	5 	11 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	67	0 	3 	3 	30 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0 	0 	0 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	13	0 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	4037	67	37	20	10	153	2.27	5 	2177	2024	.930
 	789 	13	3 	8 	2 	39 	2.97	0 	447 	408 	.913
 	159 	3 	0 	2 	0 	10 	3.77	0 	98 	88 	.898
Team: 	4985	82	40	30	12	202	2.43	5 	2722	2520	.926
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	12	4	6	10 	4 	4 	1 	0 	2
 	RW 	11	4	5	9 	6 	-3 	3 	0 	0
 	C 	12	2	5	7 	8 	-3 	0 	1 	0
 	LW 	12	5	1	6 	2 	-5 	3 	0 	0
 	LW 	12	3	3	6 	8 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	12	0	6	6 	14 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	12	2	3	5 	8 	-1 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	2	3	5 	6 	2 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	8 	0	4	4 	36 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	11	2	1	3 	6 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	10	1	1	2 	32 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	10	0	2	2 	8 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	12	0	2	2 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	6 	1	0	1 	6 	-1 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	12	1	0	1 	16 	-9 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	11	0	1	1 	9 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	0	1	1 	28 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	10	0	1	1 	2 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	3 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	9 	0	0	0 	6 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	7 	0	0	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	10	0	0	0 	9 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	570	10	4	6	26	2.74	1 	334	308	.922
 	153	3 	1	1	5 	1.96	0 	68 	63 	.926
 	5 	1 	0	0	0 	0.00	0 	4 	4 	1.000
Team: 	728	12	5	7	31	2.55	1 	406	375	.924
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; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage; 
==Awards and records==
*Dominik Hasek, Hart Memorial Trophy
* Dominik Hasek, Lester B. Pearson Award 
* Dominik Hasek, Vezina Trophy
* Dominik Hasek, NHL First Team All-StarNational Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 237, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
* Seymour Knox, Lester Patrick TrophyCollins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.426, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
* Pat Lafontaine, Lester Patrick TrophyCollins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.426, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
* Mike Peca, Frank J. Selke Trophy
NHL All-Star Game
*Dominik Hasek, Eastern Conference
==References==
* Sabres on Hockey Database
</div>
Category:Buffalo Sabres seasons
Buffalo Sabres season, 1996–97
Buffalo Sabres season, 1996–97