“Buffalo Sabres” 2005-2007 failed to gain the Cup they deserved. What has happened to the well-respected squad?
What they achieved: “President Trophy”, two seasons with 50 wins.
Buffalo became one of the few in the NHL who managed to survive the lockout without significant lineup losses. Her speedy tech kids were built for a new league, and their head coach Lindy Ruff was preparing for this.
During the strike, he did not sunbathe on the beach but went to the Rochester games in the AHL, where he looked after the future of the club and studied the rules that were being tested for the NHL. Even then, Raff knew not only what he wanted to play, but also who he could rely on.
The pride of the Buffalo of those years was an attack that blew the roof off all rivals. In the spring of 2006, the team had 10 players who scored more than 15 goals in a season, and just imagine how difficult it was to defend against the Sabers if the Vanek-Roy-Afinogenov link was nominally the third.
Why they didn’t win the Stanley Cup?
The favorites took the lead in the series 2-1 when suddenly injuries fell on them.
With a full defense, they would not have missed the victory in the fifth match, leading 3:1. And there would be no Game 7 with Brian Campbell and Tony Ludman on the ice with Rory Fitzpatrick, Doug Jenick, Nathan Pash, and Jeff Gillson.
Hurricanes’ young forward Justin Williams simply could not miss the opportunity to score.