Top 5 moments in Sabres history

[Billssabres33]

A little more nostalgia is just what this off-season is calling for!  Could be on or off the ice. My top 5 in no particular order would be:

1. May Day goal and call.  Beat the bruins and just damn exciting  

2. fog/bat game.  Announced the arrival of the Buffalo Sabres

3. Alex Mogilny’s defection  opened the flood gates to a giant pool of hockey talent

4. acquisition of the Dominator  started an era of domination  

5. Black Sunday (I think) July 1 2007. Started the great slide

 what are yours?

[Zamboni]

When Rigas was sentenced. Scum bag.

When Sabretooth used to repel from the rafters.

When Golisano bought the team.

When Knox brothers did what they did in the late 60’s to secure a team in Buffalo.

Going to any game with my uncle and sneaking in a back entrance to go stand in the standing room area at the Aud.

… good times good times 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1)  Eleven reaching 500 goals.

2) Gare in OT against the Habs in 1975 semi-final game 1.

3) May Day !!

4) All the games I attended at The Aud.

5) Any win that eliminated the dastardly Flyers or the dastardly Bruins from the playoff.

[K-9]

The spin of the wheel. 

Perreault winding up in his own end.

12-6 over the Soviet Wings.

Trading for Hasek.

Trading away Eichel.

[Taro T]

1.  The Knox Brothers buying into the Seals. Set the stage for us getting our own team.

2.  Signing Imlach.  Set the stage for us having an actual HOCKEY team rather than an expansion team.

3.  Imlach putting on his glasses and getting us Bert on that lucky 11.

4.  Fleecing Chicago for Dom for only Ruuttu and the pick that turned out to be Daze.  (No, the trade in reality wasn't Beauregard & a pick for him.  That's the lazy way of looking at it.  Kind of like saying we traded Reinprecht to land Drury.  Sabres obtained Steve strictly to land Chris.  Same durn situation.)

5.  70 saves to go back to Joisey.

[Billssabres33]

8 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

1)  Eleven reaching 500 goals.

2) Gare in OT against the Habs in 1975 semi-final game 1.

3) May Day !!

4) All the games I attended at The Aud.

5) Any win that eliminated the dastardly Flyers or the dastardly Bruins from the playoff.

I agree with 5…beating bruins or flyers is always fun!

[tom webster]

6 hours ago, Taro T said:

1.  The Knox Brothers buying into the Seals. Set the stage for us getting our own team.

2.  Signing Imlach.  Set the stage for us having an actual HOCKEY team rather than an expansion team.

3.  Imlach putting on his glasses and getting us Bert on that lucky 11.

4.  Fleecing Chicago for Dom for only Ruuttu and the pick that turned out to be Daze.  (No, the trade in reality wasn't Beauregard & a pick for him.  That's the lazy way of looking at it.  Kind of like saying we traded Reinprecht to land Drury.  Sabres obtained Steve strictly to land Chris.  Same durn situation.)

5.  70 saves to go back to Joisey.

This is pretty much my list with two honorable mentions.

1) Robert overtime goal in fog game

2) The Shoney 3 fight game against the Bruins but not because of the fights but because, for me, it was the moment I knew that the Sabres were good.

[HoosierDaddy]

How about that time John LeClair got a goal by shooting it through the side of the net. That was fun.

[That Aud Smell]

Not sure of my entire top-5, but Pominville in OT to dispatch the favoured Senators is definitely in there. My fandom really took hold in middle school (Bowman-era), so I don't have clear memories of the Philadelphia finals or arguably the greatest Sabre team of all time (1979-1980).

[mjd1001]

Fight game vs Ottawa.  Not sure WHERE I'd put it, but it goes in the top 5 for me (my Sabres viewing history/memory starts about 1980)

As some on here may know based on arguments with me. I dislike fighting in hockey...going forward I would be OK with zero fights.  I do not need any future memories like the fights in that Ottawa game. However, that doesn't mean that I still don't put that at or near the top.

Edited August 11, 2022 by mjd1001

[Stoner]

Interesting twist. Not greatest or worst, just moments.

Challenging.

[Pimlach]

15 hours ago, Billssabres33 said:

A little more nostalgia is just what this off-season is calling for!  Could be on or off the ice. My top 5 in no particular order would be:

1. May Day goal and call.  Beat the bruins and just damn exciting  

2. fog/bat game.  Announced the arrival of the Buffalo Sabres

3. Alex Mogilny’s defection  opened the flood gates to a giant pool of hockey talent

4. acquisition of the Dominator  started an era of domination  

5. Black Sunday (I think) July 1 2007. Started the great slide

 what are yours?

Making the playoff in year 3 playing in the tough East division.  The “thank you Sabres” year. 
 

Spin the wheel, lands on 11, draft Gil Perreault

 

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

1.  The Knox Brothers buying into the Seals. Set the stage for us getting our own team.

2.  Signing Imlach.  Set the stage for us having an actual HOCKEY team rather than an expansion team.

3.  Imlach putting on his glasses and getting us Bert on that lucky 11.

4.  Fleecing Chicago for Dom for only Ruuttu and the pick that turned out to be Daze.  (No, the trade in reality wasn't Beauregard & a pick for him.  That's the lazy way of looking at it.  Kind of like saying we traded Reinprecht to land Drury.  Sabres obtained Steve strictly to land Chris.  Same durn situation.)

5.  70 saves to go back to Joisey.

Correct.  

[That Aud Smell]

33 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Interesting twist. Not greatest or worst, just moments.

Challenging.

I like it. There’s a temptation to curate a top-5. But how about the 5 moments/games/events that stick with you the most? That’s often different.

[Weave]

Tough one.  I guess I’ll use the perspective of moments that captured my attention.

I was too young to appreciate the spin that resulted in Perreault, so I can’t list that one.

The announcement that Alex Mogilny defected with the help of Sabres mgt

The downfall of the Rigas’.

Sabres beating the Soviet Wings

Golisano buying the team

May Day

No Goal needs to be in there somewhere, but I can’t pick one to remove in its place.

Edited August 11, 2022 by Weave

[Billssabres33]

5 hours ago, Weave said:

Tough one.  I guess I’ll use the perspective of moments that captured my attention.

I was too young to appreciate the spin that resulted in Perreault, so I can’t list that one.

The announcement that Alex Mogilny defected with the help of Sabres mgt

The downfall of the Rigas’.

Sabres beating the Soviet Wings

Golisano buying the team

May Day

No Goal needs to be in there somewhere, but I can’t pick one to remove in its place.

I thought about no goal too.  That was painful

[Stoner]

I have to cop out and do two lists... off ice and on ice moments.

I think we're looking for fairly objective moments here, not favorites. A top 5 moment can't be that time you took a girl to a game and she got so excited by a shirtless Rob Ray that she became amorous in the postgame show.

Off ice:

No particular order.

Rick's banner night... Rigas perp walk... Spin of the Wheel... Pegula Presser... Closing the Aud

Would have included the decision to tank but that probably wasn't a discrete moment.

HM: Landing Bowman?

Edited August 12, 2022 by PASabreFan

[Weave]

Closing the Aud, how could I not have included that one?  Good add, PA.

Edited August 12, 2022 by Weave

[GASabresIUFAN]

1) Getting a team

2) Making the Cup finals early in franchise history

3) Beating the Soviet Wings 12-6 (1976), one of the only 2 games the Soviets lost in 1976 out of 8 games.  

4) Beating the Red Army 6-1 (1980).  

5) Pominville's SH OT winner

HM: The day RK got fired.

Edited August 12, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[bob_sauve28]

1) Bob Sauve's twin shut outs in Montreal in 1983 

2) Pominville's goal in ot eliminating Ottawa 

3) That 1981 trade 

4) Dave Hannan's goal 

5) Eichel Trade 

 

On 8/11/2022 at 10:30 AM, Weave said:

 

No Goal needs to be in there somewhere, but I can’t pick one to remove in its place.

For sure! 

[Stoner]

On ice:

Dom's 70 saves... Plante's OT goal... winning the Border War in Tronno... beating the Habs in Montreal to make first final... losing to Pittsburgh in opening round in 79.

Plante>May bc the former really kicked off a glorious era whereas May turned out to be of singular importance (esp for his banking account). Pens bc it was a distinct end of an era and brought Scotty and massive change.

HM: Malarchuk (but not significant enough for a list like this); LaLa trade (but ultimately not "on ice").

Edited August 12, 2022 by PASabreFan

[Buffalonill]

One of my favorite moments .

 

 

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

One of my favorite moments .

 

 

I'm so glad the NHL doesn't allow that crap anymore. 

[Billssabres33]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

On ice:

Dom's 70 saves... Plante's OT goal... winning the Border War in Tronno... beating the Habs in Montreal to make first final... losing to Pittsburgh in opening round in 79.

Plante>May bc the former really kicked off a glorious era whereas May turned out to be of singular importance (esp for his banking account). Pens bc it was a distinct end of an era and brought Scotty and massive change.

HM: Malarchuk (but not significant enough for a list like this); LaLa trade (but ultimately not "on ice").

When you break it down this way, I can remember the mystique of playing Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver in the mid 80’s.  I remember when Darren Puppa got the call and I think it was his first appearance with the Sabres and he shut out the oilers 2-0 maybe. I thought that was so cool. 

[IKnowPhysics]

On 8/10/2022 at 8:44 PM, Taro T said:

3.  Imlach putting on his glasses and getting us Bert on that lucky 11.

This was the first one that came to my head.  Such a perfectly doofus story in NHL management history on the part of Clarence Campbell.  This is also the reason Gilbert Perrault wore #11, which is, of course, now in the rafters.

 

[Buffalonill]

1 hour ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I'm so glad the NHL doesn't allow that crap anymore. 

Why? You like fake staged fights