News emanating from the Buffalo Sabres is slowing to a crawl, as teams not in the playoffs turn their attention on evaluating their prospects still playing in the CHL or AHL Playoffs and making determinations on those eligible for the NHL Draft in Philadelphia two months from now.
With that being the case, my good friend (and lifelong Sabre fan) Chuck Bender and I have assembled a list of 16 pivotal goals in the history of the Buffalo Sabres. The list includes goals scored by and against Buffalo throughout their 44 year history and are ranked in order of historical impact on the franchise.
*******
#16 - “May Day… Brad May’s Overtime Goal vs. Boston, Game 4 First Round (4/24/1993)
The reputation of the Buffalo Sabres up until 1993 was that of a club that had consistent regular season success, but tended to fold in the playoffs. After losing to Philadelphia in the 1975 Stanley Cup Final, the Sabres advanced past the second round only once(1980) and their post-season success was limited to ousting bottom feeders in short, opening round series.
Between 1975 and 1993, the only victory that the Blue and Gold managed without home-ice advantage was a three-game sweep of the Montreal Canadiens in 1983, with Bob Sauve recording two consecutive shutouts against the Habs at the old Montreal Forum. The next nine years saw the club making the playoff seven times, but never advancing past the first round.
The 1992-93 Sabres skidded into the playoffs losing their last seven games, finishing fourth in the Adams Division with 86 points behind Boston, Quebec and Montreal, who all exceeded the 100 point plateau.
Buffalo faced the first place Bruins in the opening round and won the first two games in Boston, as well as a 4-3 overtime victory at Memorial Auditorium in Game 3, but there continued to be some residual fear that the club could find a way to lose the series, as they had found so many ways to disappoint in their recent history.
Game Four did not start off very favorably for Buffalo, as starting goalie Grant Fuhr allowed four first period goals and was replaced by then backup Dominik Hasek. Boston led 5-2 early in the second period and looked capable of extending the series to a fifth game and potentially beyond, but Buffalo rallied with goals from Donald Audette, Alexander Mogilny and Yuri Khmylev to send a third game of the series to overtime.
Less than five minutes in, Pat LaFontaine made a perfect pass to linemate Brad May, who put the puck between the legs of Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, faked the shot and waited for Bruins goalie Andy Moog to go down before firing the puck into the gaping Boston net, sending the 16,433 fans at the Aud into a jubilant frenzy.
Buffalo did not ride the success of the series victory over Boston to greater accomplishments, as they did not win another playoff series until Derek Plante’s overtime winner against Ottawa four years later. The “May Day… goal was a brief shining moment in time for the Sabres franchise, but it really did not change anything.
For Those on Twitter: Follow @mikeinbuffalo