’74-’75 Buffalo Sabres (49-16-15, 113 points (1st in Adams), Lost in Stanley Cup Final) ’98-’99 Buffalo Sabres (37-28-17, 91 points (4th in Northeast), Lost in Stanley Cup Final) ’79-’80 Buffalo Sabres (47-17-16, 110 points (1st in Adams), Lost in Semifinal) ’06-’07 Buffalo Sabres (53-22-7, 113 points (1st in Northeast), Lost in Conference Final) ’05-’06 Buffalo Sabres (52-24-6, 110 points (2nd in Northeast), Lost in Conference Final) ’97-’98 Buffalo Sabres (36-29-17, 89 points (3rd in Northeast), Lost in Conference Final) ’75-’76 Buffalo Sabres (46-21-13, 105 points (2nd in Adams), Lost in Quarterfinal) ’76-’77 Buffalo Sabres (48-24-8, 104 points (2nd in Adams), Lost in Quarterfinal)

The ’79-’80 Buffalo Sabres were the 23rd seed in the inaugural Ultimate NHL Playoff and they reached all the way to the Semifinal Round. They didn’t even lose a game in the tournament until the Quarterfinal Round. They swept the 42nd-seeded ’25-’26 Pittsburgh Pirates in the First Round and then they swept Pittsburgh’s current team, the Penguins, the 10th-seeded ’12-’13 Penguins, to be exact, in the Second Round. In the third Round, they swept the 39th-seeded ’78-’79 Atlanta Flames, who were the inaugural tourney’s Cinderella. Then, in the Quarterfinal Round, they defeated the ’06-’07 Anaheim Ducks in five games to reach the “Final Four.” In the Semifinal Round, they matched up against the 19th-seeded ’88-’89 Calgary Flames, but fell down 3-0 in the series. They were able to fight their way back and force a Game 7, but their tournament would end in that seventh game. They had an incredible tournament and defenseman John Van Boxmeer won the UNP James Norris Memorial Trophy for best defenseman.

Players to Watch:

C – Gilbert Perreault – The first draft pick in the franchises history turned out to be the best player to ever wear a Sabres jersey. The Hall of Famer and legend of the game centered one of the greatest lines the league has ever seen, “The French Connection Line.”

– The first draft pick in the franchises history turned out to be the best player to ever wear a Sabres jersey. The Hall of Famer and legend of the game centered one of the greatest lines the league has ever seen, “The French Connection Line.” G – Dominik Hasek – More commonly known as “The Dominator.” He was one of my favorite goalies to watch and he is certainly the best goalie in Sabres history, in my opinion.

– More commonly known as “The Dominator.” He was one of my favorite goalies to watch and he is certainly the best goalie in Sabres history, in my opinion. W – Rick Martin and Rene Robert – Yeah, the other two members of the vaunted “French Connection Line.” I couldn’t leave these two out, but I also didn’t wanna leave out Hasek.