The 1996–97Buffalo Sabresseason was the 27th for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. The season was the first season in the newly constructed Marine Midland Arena. The Sabres also underwent a drastic uniform change, replacing the blue and gold colors and classic crest with a black and red color scheme and new white buffalo-head logo. The Sabres won their first Northeast Division title, their first division title in 16 years.
On January 12, 1997, Jason Dawe scored just ten seconds into the overtime period to give the Sabres a 3–2 road win over the Phoenix Coyotes. It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1996–97 NHL regular season. The Sabres allowed the fewest shorthanded goals and scored the most shorthanded goals in the NHL. The Sabres' power play struggled, as they finished 26th in power-play percentage, with 13.19%. The Sabres were also shut out a league-high 10 times during the regular season.
Season standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
The Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators in the first round. The series was played to overtime in Game 7. Derek Plante scored the series clinching goal in overtime. The Sabres then lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games in the second round.
Player statistics
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;
