2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 April 2013 NHL 2008–09 2008 Buffalo Sabres Eastern 10th Northeast 3rd 41–32–9 23–15–3 18–17–6 250 234 Darcy Regier Lindy Ruff Craig Rivet Jochen HechtTeppo NumminenJason PominvilleJaroslav Spacek HSBC Arena Average: 18,533Capacity: 99.2%Total: 296,522 Thomas Vanek (40) Jason Pominville (46) Derek Roy (70) Tim Connolly (+12) Craig Rivet (125) Ryan Miller (34) Ryan Miller (2.53) The 2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season was the 39th season of operation for the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League, their 38th season of play. Pre-season In their second pre-season game, the Sabres played the Montreal Canadiens in Roberval, Quebec, the 2008 winner of the Kraft Hockeyville contest. In their newly renovated arena, Roberval hosted the preseason game on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. Montreal scored the first three goals, then held off Buffalo for a 3–2 win in at Benoit-Levesque Arena.Montreal defeats Buffalo in Hockeyville, CAJuly 2026 medicmedic 2008 Pre-season Game Log: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–0–1; Road: 1–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Recap 1 September 22 Buffalo 4–7 Toronto Enroth 18,819 0–1–0 2 September 23 Buffalo 2–3 Montreal† Dennis ? 0–2–0 3 September 27 Toronto 2–3 Buffalo OT Miller 14,629 1–2–0 4 September 28 Minnesota 2–1 Buffalo SO Lalime 17,311 1–2–1 5 October 1 Buffalo 2–3 Minnesota Miller 18,064 1–3–1 6 October 2 Buffalo 5–2 Columbus Lalime 11,314 2–3–1 7 October 5 Buffalo 0–3 Detroit Miller 15,983 2–4–1 †Game was played in Roberval, Quebec. Regular season Divisional standings BUF Conference standings BUF Schedule and results Green background indicates win (2 points). Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points). White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point). 2008–09 Game Log October: 6–2–2 (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 3–0–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 10 Montreal 1–2 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 1–0–0 2 2 October 13 Buffalo 7–1 NY Islanders Lalime 13,523 2–0–0 4 3 October 15 Buffalo 3–1 NY Rangers Miller 18,200 3–0–0 6 4 October 17 Vancouver 2–5 Buffalo Miller 18,449 4–0–0 8 5 October 18 Buffalo 2–3 Atlanta SO Lalime 14,091 4–0–1 9 6 October 21 Boston 2–3 Buffalo SO Miller 18,334 5–0–1 11 7 October 23 Buffalo 4–3 Minnesota OT Miller 18,568 6–0–1 13 8 October 25 Buffalo 1–2 Colorado SO Miller 18,007 6–0–2 14 9 October 27 Ottawa 5–2 Buffalo Lalime 18,690 6–1–2 14 10 October 30 Tampa Bay 5–2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 6–2–2 14 November: 5–7–1 (Home: 4–3–1; Road: 1–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 11 November 1 Washington 0–5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 7–2–2 16 12 November 3 Buffalo 2–0 New Jersey Miller 10,567 8–2–2 18 13 November 7 Atlanta 5–4 Buffalo OT Miller 18,466 8–2–3 19 14 November 8 Buffalo 1–3 Boston Miller 17,565 8–3–3 19 15 November 12 St Louis 3–4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 9–3–3 21 16 November 14 Columbus 6–1 Buffalo Lalime 18,690 9–4–3 21 17 November 15 Buffalo 2–5 Pittsburgh Miller 17,132 9–5–3 21 18 November 19 Buffalo 4–7 Boston Miller 15,623 9–6–3 21 19 November 21 Philadelphia 3–0 Buffalo Miller 18,256 9–7–3 21 20 November 22 NY Islanders 4–2 Buffalo Lalime 18,529 9–8–3 21 21 November 26 Boston 2–3 Buffalo Miller 18,326 10–8–3 23 22 November 28 Pittsburgh 3–4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 11–8–3 25 23 November 29 Buffalo 2–3 Montreal Lalime 21,273 11–9–3 25 December: 6–6–2 (Home: 3–4–1; Road: 3–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 1 Nashville 2–0 Buffalo Miller 18,690 11–10–3 25 25 December 4 Buffalo 1–2 Florida Miller 13,123 11–11–3 25 26 December 6 Buffalo 4–3 Tampa Bay Miller 17,154 12–11–3 27 27 December 8 Buffalo 4–3 Pittsburgh Miller 16,976 13–11–3 29 28 December 10 Tampa Bay 2–4 Buffalo Miller 18,431 14–11–3 31 29 December 12 Toronto 2–1 Buffalo Miller 18,211 14–12–3 31 30 December 13 Buffalo 4–2 New Jersey Lalime 15,713 15–12–3 33 31 December 17 New Jersey 5–3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 15–13–3 33 32 December 19 Los Angeles 0–5 Buffalo Miller 18,147 16–13–3 35 33 December 20 Buffalo 3–4 Montreal OT Miller 21,273 16–13–4 36 34 December 22 Pittsburgh 4–3 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 16–13–5 37 35 December 26 Buffalo 2–3 Washington Lalime 18,277 16–14–5 37 36 December 27 NY Islanders 3–4 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 17–14–5 39 37 December 30 Washington 4–2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 17–15–5 39 January: 9–4–0 (Home: 3–0–0; Road: 6–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 January 1 Buffalo 4–1 Toronto Miller 19,176 18–15–5 41 39 January 3 Buffalo 4–2 Boston Miller 17,565 19–15–5 43 40 January 6 Ottawa 2–4 Buffalo Miller 18,443 20–15–5 45 41 January 9 NY Rangers 1–2 Buffalo SO Miller 18,385 21–15–5 47 42 January 10 Buffalo 1–3 Detroit Miller 20,066 21–16–5 47 43 January 14 Buffalo 1–4 Chicago Lalime 21,684 21–17–5 47 44 January 15 Buffalo 5–4 Dallas SO Miller 17,339 22–17–5 49 45 January 17 Carolina 1–3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 23–17–5 51 46 January 19 Buffalo 3–2 Florida SO Miller 12,480 24–17–5 53 47 January 21 Buffalo 3–5 Tampa Bay Miller 15,611 24–18–5 53 48 January 27 Buffalo 10–2 Edmonton Miller 16,839 25–18–5 55 49 January 28 Buffalo 2–5 Calgary Miller 19,289 25–19–5 55 50 January 31 Buffalo 2–0 Phoenix Miller 16,253 26–19–5 57 February: 5–6–2 (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 1–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 2 Buffalo 2–3 Anaheim Lalime 16,874 26–20–5 57 52 February 4 Toronto 0–5 Buffalo Miller 17,355 27–20–5 59 53 February 6 Montreal 2–3 Buffalo Miller 18,161 28–20–5 61 54 February 7 Buffalo 2–3 Ottawa SO Miller 18,452 28–20–6 62 55 February 11 Ottawa 3–1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 28–21–6 62 56 February 13 San Jose 5–6 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 29–21–6 64 57 February 15 Carolina 3–0 Buffalo Miller 18,690 29–22–6 64 58 February 17 Buffalo 4–1 Toronto Miller 19,287 30–22–6 66 59 February 19 Buffalo 3–6 Philadelphia Miller 19,642 30–23–6 66 60 February 21 NY Rangers 2–4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 31–23–6 68 61 February 24 Anaheim 3–2 Buffalo Lalime 18,690 31–24–6 68 62 February 26 Buffalo 1–2 Carolina SO Lalime 18,219 31–24–7 69 63 February 28 Buffalo 0–2 NY Islanders Lalime 14,198 31–25–7 69 March: 6–5–1 (Home: 5–1–1; Road: 1–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 4 Montreal 1–5 Buffalo Lalime 17,745 32–25–7 71 65 March 6 Phoenix 1–5 Buffalo Lalime 18,690 33–25–7 73 66 March 7 Buffalo 3–6 Ottawa Lalime 18,444 33–26–7 73 67 March 10 Buffalo 2–5 Philadelphia Lalime 19,421 33–27–7 73 68 March 12 Florida 1–3 Buffalo Lalime 18,690 34–27–7 75 69 March 14 Atlanta 4–3 Buffalo SO Lalime 18,690 34–27–8 76 70 March 17 Buffalo 2–4 Ottawa Tellqvist 20,053 34–28–8 76 71 March 20 Philadelphia 6–4 Buffalo Lalime 18,690 34–29–8 76 72 March 21 Buffalo 3–5 NY Rangers Lalime 18,200 34–30–8 76 73 March 25 Florida 3–5 Buffalo Tellqvist 18,690 35–30–8 78 74 March 27 Toronto 3–5 Buffalo Miller 18,620 36–30–8 80 75 March 28 Buffalo 4–3 Montreal SO Miller 21,273 37–30–8 82 April: 4–2–1 (Home: 1–2–0; Road: 3–0–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 76 April 1 Buffalo 2–3 Atlanta OT Miller 15,038 37–30–9 83 NHL.com - Recap: Sabres @ Thrashers - 04/01/2009 https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-atl/2009/04/01/2008021145 https://web.archive.org/web/20090405062031/http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008021145 April 5, 2009 live April 2, 2009 mdy 77 April 3 Buffalo 5–4 Washington OT Miller 18,277 38–30–9 85 NHL.com - Game Boxscore: Sabres @ Capitals - 04/03/2009 http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008021160 https://web.archive.org/web/20090406015217/http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008021160 April 6, 2009 dead May 9, 2009 mdy 78 April 4 New Jersey 2–3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 38–31–9 85 79 April 6 Detroit 1–4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 38–32–9 85 80 April 8 Buffalo 3–1 Toronto Miller 19,516 39–32–9 87 81 April 9 Buffalo 5-1 Carolina Miller 18,513 40–32–9 89 82 April 11 Boston 1-6 Buffalo Tellqvist 18,690 41-32-9 91 Playoffs The Buffalo Sabres failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Player statistics Skaters Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Derek Roy 82 28 42 70 −5 38 Jason Pominville 82 20 46 66 −4 18 Thomas Vanek 73 40 24 64 −1 44 Tim Connolly 48 18 29 47 +12 22 Jaroslav Spacek Jaroslav Špaček 80 8 37 45 +2 38 Drew Stafford 79 20 25 45 +3 29 Ales Kotalik Aleš Kotalík‡ 56 13 19 32 −7 28 Clarke MacArthur 71 17 14 31 −4 56 Paul Gaustad 62 12 17 29 +4 108 Jochen Hecht 70 12 15 27 −9 33 Daniel Paille 73 12 15 27 0 20 Craig Rivet 64 2 22 24 +4 125 Toni Lydman 80 3 20 23 0 70 Maxim Afinogenov 48 6 14 20 −7 20 Adam Mair 75 8 11 19 +4 95 Andrej Sekera 69 3 16 19 −11 22 Teppo Numminen 57 2 15 17 −4 22 Henrik Tallinder 66 1 11 12 −2 36 Matt Ellis Matt Ellis (ice hockey) 45 7 5 12 +4 12 Patrick Kaleta 51 4 5 9 +1 89 Nathan Paetsch 23 2 4 6 +3 25 Chris Butler Chris Butler (ice hockey) 47 2 4 6 +11 18 Dominic Moore† 18 1 3 4 −1 23 Mark Mancari 7 1 1 2 −4 4 Nathan Gerbe 10 0 1 1 +3 4 Andrew Peters 28 0 1 1 −2 81 Marc-Andre Gragnani Marc-André Gragnani 4 0 0 0 +2 2 Tim Kennedy Tim Kennedy (ice hockey) 1 0 0 0 0 0 Mike Weber 7 0 0 0 −3 19 Goaltenders Regular season Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO Ryan Miller 59 3443:25 34 18 6 145 2.53 1773 1628 .918 5 Patrick Lalime 24 1296:42 5 13 3 67 3.10 669 602 .900 0 Mikael Tellqvist† 6 229:45 2 1 0 9 2.35 125 116 .928 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Sabres. Stats reflect time with Sabres only. ‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Sabres only. Awards and records Records Milestones Regular Season Player Milestone Date achieved Jason Pominville 100th NHL assist October 13, 2008 Thomas Vanek 200th NHL point October 15, 2008 Lindy Ruff 400th NHL win October 15, 2008 Patrick Lalime 400th NHL appearance October 27, 2008 Mark Mancari 1st NHL goal November 22, 2008 Nathan Gerbe 1st NHL game December 6, 2008 Nathan Gerbe 1st NHL assist December 13, 2008 Chris Butler 1st NHL game1st NHL assist December 19, 2008 Tim Kennedy 1st NHL game December 27, 2008 Derek Roy 100th NHL Goal February 13, 2009 Drew Stafford 100th NHL Point February 13, 2009 Transactions Trades June 20, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres 1st-round pick (12th overall) in 2008 To Los Angeles Kings 1st-round pick (13th overall) in 20083rd-round pick in 2009 June 21, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres 3rd-round pick (81st overall) in 20084th-round pick (101st overall) in 2008 To Los Angeles Kings 3rd-round pick (74th overall) in 2008 July 4, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres Craig Rivet7th-round pick in 2010 To San Jose Sharks 2nd-round pick in 20092nd-round pick in 2010 July 4, 2008 To Buffalo Sabres 3rd-round pick in 20092nd-round pick in 2010 To Vancouver Canucks Steve Bernier March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres Mikael Tellqvist To Phoenix Coyotes 4th-round pick in 2010 March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres Dominic Moore To Toronto Maple Leafs 2nd-round pick in 2009 March 4, 2009 To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2009 To Edmonton Oilers Ales Kotalik Free agents Player Former team Contract Terms Patrick Lalime Chicago Blackhawks 2 years, $2 million Mathieu Darche Tampa Bay Lightning 1 Year, $500,000 Player New team Dmitri Kalinin New York Rangers Claimed from waivers Player Former team Date claimed off waiversMatt Ellis Los Angeles Kings October 1 Draft picks Buffalo's picks at the 2008 NHL entry draft in Ottawa, Ontario. Round Pick Player Position Nationality College/Junior Team112Tyler MyersDCanadaKelowna Rockets (WHL)126Tyler EnnisCCanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WHL)244Luke AdamCCanadaSt. John's Fog Devils (QMJHL)381Corey FienhageDUnited StatesEastview High School (USHS-MN)4101Justin JokinenRWUnited StatesCloquet High School (USHS-MN)4104Jordon SouthornDUnited StatesP.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL)5134Jacob LagaceLWCanadaChicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)6164Nick CrawfordDCanadaSaginaw Spirit (OHL) See also 2008–09 NHL season Farm teams On June 11, the Buffalo Sabres signed a three-year deal with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, ending a 29-year affiliation with the Rochester Americans.https://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=3436329&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines ESPN ESPN June 11, 2008 June 11, 2008 Associated Press Sabres end 29-year affiliation with Rochester, switch to Portland References Category:Buffalo Sabres seasons B Buffalo Buffalo