2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season was the 39th season of operation for the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League, their 38th season of play.

2008–09 Buffalo Sabres
Division3rd Northeast
Conference10th Eastern
2008–09 record41–32–9
Home record23–15–3
Road record18–17–6
Goals for250
Goals against234
Team information
General managerDarcy Regier
CoachLindy Ruff
CaptainCraig Rivet
Alternate captainsJochen Hecht
Teppo Numminen
Jason Pominville
Jaroslav Spacek
ArenaHSBC Arena
Average attendanceAverage: 18,533
Capacity: 99.2%
Total: 296,522
Team leaders
GoalsThomas Vanek (40)
AssistsJason Pominville (46)
PointsDerek Roy (70)
Penalty minutesCraig Rivet (125)
Plus/minusTim Connolly (+12)
WinsRyan Miller (34)
Goals against averageRyan Miller (2.53)

Pre-season

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In their second pre-season 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.[1]

Regular season

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Divisional standings

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Northeast Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 z – Boston Bruins 82 53 19 10 274 196 116
2 Montreal Canadiens 82 41 30 11 249 247 93
3 Buffalo Sabres 82 41 32 9 250 234 91
4 Ottawa Senators 82 36 35 11 217 237 83
5 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 34 35 13 250 293 81

Conference standings

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Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 z – Boston Bruins NE 82 53 19 10 274 196 116
2 y – Washington Capitals SE 82 50 24 8 272 245 108
3 y – New Jersey Devils AT 82 51 27 4 244 209 106
4 Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 45 28 9 264 239 99
5 Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 44 27 11 264 238 99
6 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 45 30 7 239 226 97
7 New York Rangers AT 82 43 30 9 210 218 95
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 41 30 11 249 247 93
8.5
9 Florida Panthers SE 82 41 30 11 234 231 93
10 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 41 32 9 250 234 91
11 Ottawa Senators NE 82 36 35 11 217 237 83
12 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 34 35 13 250 293 81
13 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 35 41 6 257 280 76
14 Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 24 40 18 210 279 66
15 New York Islanders AT 82 26 47 9 201 279 61

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


Schedule and results

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  • 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

Playoffs

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The Buffalo Sabres failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs.

Player statistics

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Skaters

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Goaltenders

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Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Ryan Miller 59 3443 34 18 6 145 2.53 1773 1628 .918 5
Patrick Lalime 24 1296 5 13 3 67 3.10 669 602 .900 0
Mikael Tellqvis 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.

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

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Records

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Milestones

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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 game
1st 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

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Trades

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June 20, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres
1st-round pick (12th overall) in 2008
To Los Angeles Kings
1st-round pick (13th overall) in 2008
3rd-round pick in 2009
June 21, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick (81st overall) in 2008
4th-round pick (101st overall) in 2008
To Los Angeles Kings
3rd-round pick (74th overall) in 2008
July 4, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres
Craig Rivet
7th-round pick in 2010
To San Jose Sharks
2nd-round pick in 2009
2nd-round pick in 2010
July 4, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick in 2009
2nd-round pick in 2010
To Vancouver Canucks
Steve Bernier
March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres
Mikael Tellqvist
To Phoenix Coyotes
4th-round pick in 2010
March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres
Dominic Moore
To Toronto Maple Leafs
2nd-round pick in 2009
March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres
2nd-round pick in 2009
To Edmonton Oilers
Ales Kotalik

Free agents

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Player Former team Contract Terms
Patrick Lalime Chicago Blackhawks 2 years, $2 million
Mathieu Darche Tampa Bay Lightning 1 Year, $500,000
Player New team
Dmitri Kalinin New York Rangers

Claimed from waivers

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Player Former team Date claimed off waivers
Matt Ellis Los Angeles Kings October 1

Draft picks

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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   Canada Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
1 26 Tyler Ennis C   Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2 44 Luke Adam C   Canada St. John's Fog Devils (QMJHL)
3 81 Corey Fienhage D   United States Eastview High School (USHS-MN)
4 101 Justin Jokinen RW   United States Cloquet High School (USHS-MN)
4 104 Jordon Southorn D   United States P.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL)
5 134 Jacob Lagace LW   Canada Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
6 164 Nick Crawford D   Canada Saginaw Spirit (OHL)

See also

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Farm teams

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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.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Montreal defeats Buffalo in Hockeyville, CA[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "NHL.com - Recap: Sabres @ Thrashers - 04/01/2009". Archived from the original on April 5, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  3. ^ "NHL.com - Game Boxscore: Sabres @ Capitals - 04/03/2009". Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  4. ^ "Sabres end 29-year affiliation with Rochester, switch to Portland". ESPN. ESPN. Associated Press. June 11, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.