2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season not only saw the team advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2000–01 season, but saw them advance to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Sabres were one of five teams to reach the century mark in power-play goals during the regular season, scoring 101. In their playoff run, they scored 5 shorthanded goals in 18 games.

Playoffs
The Buffalo Sabres earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Eastern Conference quarter-finals: vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers
The Sabres faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.

Eastern Conference semi-finals: vs. (1) Ottawa Senators
After disposing of the Flyers, the Sabres advanced to play the #1 seed in the Conference, their Northeast Division rivals, the Ottawa Senators.

Eastern Conference finals: vs. (2) Carolina Hurricanes
The right to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals was on the line as the Sabres squared off with Southeast Division champion Carolina.

Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes


 * Note: Goaltenders are not assessed plus/minus ratings.

Goaltending
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

* Mika Noronen was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on March 9. Stats reflect games played with Buffalo only.

Draft picks
As there was no 2004–05 season to set the order for the draft, a lottery was held in which teams were assigned a number of balls, between one and three, based on the number of playoff appearances the team had had in the past three seasons. As the Sabres had missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons, they were one of only four teams which had the full allotment of three balls in the lottery. Despite this advantage, the Sabres only ended up with the 13th overall pick.

Buffalo's picks at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario: