As we continue with our series on the most pivotal goals in the history of the Buffalo Sabres, my friend Chuck Bender and I have selected a moment early in the franchise’s history that began their long running rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers.
#14 – “The Eliminator… - Gerry Meehan’s Game Winning Goal vs Philadelphia (4/2/1972)
The 1971-72 season was arguably the worst in Buffalo Sabres history. The franchise that entered the league in 1970 in the second wave of expansion along with the Vancouver Canucks had reasonable success in their inaugural year with 63 points, but took a step backwards in their sophomore season, with only 16 wins in 78 games.
Contributing to the decline was the loss of Head Coach and GM Punch Imlach, who suffered a heart attack in early January and passed the coaching duties on to Joe Crozier.
Even with all the disappointments of the season, 1971-72 was a key year in the development of the club, as 1971 first round pick Rick Martin led the club with 44 goals in his rookie season and formed a dynamic offensive pairing with 1970 first overall pick Gilbert Perreault. The pair were joined by winger Rene Robert midway through the season after he was acquired from Pittsburgh for Eddie “The Entertainer… Shack and former the French Connection, one of the most dominant scoring lines of the 1970’s.
The Sabres building process was slow and deliberate, as Imlach made deals and drafted young players that would be integral to the club that made the Stanley Cup Final three years later.
Besides exchanging an aging Shack for the future All-Star Robert, the Sabres picked up 24-year-old Jim Lorentz from the New York Rangers for a second-round pick. Center Don Luce and defenseman Mike Robitaille were acquired from Detroit in May, 1971 for 37-year-old goaltender Joe Daley, and flipped journeyman blueliner Chris Evans to St. Louis for a 1972 second round pick (Larry Carriere).
The drafts of 1971 and 1972 yielded building blocks Martin, Craig Ramsay, Jim Schoenfeld, Bill Hajt, Carriere and Peter McNab.
Entering the final game of the regular season, the Flyers held the fourth and final playoff spot in the NHL’s Western Conference with 66 points. Pittsburgh trailed the Flyers by two points but held the tiebreaker with more goals for and hosted St. Louis, while Philadelphia played the Sabres for the second time in four days after beating them 3-1 at the Spectrum three nights before.
After tying the Penguins the night before, the Flyers needed only a tie Buffalo or have the Blues win or tie to secure a post-season berth, but received no help from St. Louis as the Pens cruised to a 6-2 victory.
The boys from Broad Street took care of business early, as Bobby Clarke and Rick Foley gave the Flyers a two-goal cushion, but the upstart Sabres refused to roll over and tied the game with goals from Perreault and Robert.
The game remained deadlocked into the final minute, when Sabre forward Gerry Meehan took a shot from just inside the blueline and beat Philadelphia goalie Doug Favell with four seconds remaining.
The Flyers missed the playoffs for the second time in three years and in heartbreaking fashion, which the impetus for Philadelphia GM Keith Allen to make dramatic improvements to their club.
One year later the Flyers shipped Favell to the Maple Leafs for goalie Bernie Parent, who did not want to return to Toronto after jumping to the WHA in 1972.
Buffalo had given their fans a glimpse of their future success, but three years later Philadelphia exacted a bit of revenge, as they defeated the Sabres in the 1975 Stanley Cup Final in six games, with Parent winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.
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