1972–73 Buffalo Sabres season

1972–73 Buffalo Sabres
Division	4th East
1972–73 record	37–27–14
Goals for	233
Goals against	251
Team information
General manager	Punch Imlach
Coach	Punch Imlach
Captain	Gerry Meehan
Arena	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Team leaders
Goals	Rene Robert (40)
Assists	Gilbert Perreault (60)
Points	Gilbert Perreault (88)
Penalty minutes	Jim Schoenfeld (178)
Wins	Roger Crozier (23)
Goals against average	Dave Dryden (2.65)

The 1972–73 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' 3rd season in the National Hockey League. The Sabres finished 4th in the East Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 2.

Off-season

The Sabres added future Hall of Fame defenseman Tim Horton in the intra-league draft. In the Amateur Draft, the Sabres picked defenseman Jim Schoenfeld as their first-round pick, fifth over-all.

Regular Season

Final Standings

East Division

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	PTS
Montreal Canadiens	78	52	10	16	329	184	783	120
Boston Bruins	78	51	22	5	330	235	1097	107
New York Rangers	78	47	23	8	297	208	765	102
Buffalo Sabres	78	37	27	14	257	219	940	88
Detroit Red Wings	78	37	29	12	265	243	893	86
Toronto Maple Leafs	78	27	41	10	247	279	716	64
Vancouver Canucks	78	22	47	9	233	339	943	53
New York Islanders	78	12	60	6	170	347	881	30

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 8, 1972	5–3	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	1–0–0
2	W	October 11, 1972	7–3	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	2–0–0
3	T	October 14, 1972	1–1	@ Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	2–0–1
4	W	October 15, 1972	3–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	3–0–1
5	W	October 19, 1972	6–0	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	4–0–1
6	T	October 21, 1972	1–1	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	4–0–2
7	W	October 22, 1972	7–2	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	5–0–2
8	T	October 25, 1972	2–2	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	5–0–3
9	T	October 28, 1972	3–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	5–0–4
10	W	October 29, 1972	2–1	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	6–0–4
11	L	November 1, 1972	1–7	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	6–1–4
12	L	November 4, 1972	3–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	6–2–4
13	T	November 5, 1972	1–1	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	6–2–5
14	T	November 9, 1972	0–0	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	6–2–6
15	L	November 11, 1972	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	6–3–6
16	W	November 12, 1972	1–0	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	7–3–6
17	T	November 15, 1972	3–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	7–3–7
18	L	November 17, 1972	1–5	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	7–4–7
19	L	November 19, 1972	5–9	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	7–5–7
20	L	November 22, 1972	2–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	7–6–7
21	W	November 23, 1972	5–3	New York Rangers (1972–73)	8–6–7
22	W	November 26, 1972	9–2	New York Islanders (1972–73)	9–6–7
23	W	November 28, 1972	7–2	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	10–6–7
24	L	November 30, 1972	4–5	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	10–7–7
25	L	December 2, 1972	6–8	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	10–8–7
26	W	December 3, 1972	7–4	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	11–8–7
27	W	December 6, 1972	3–2	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	12–8–7
28	W	December 7, 1972	6–1	Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	13–8–7
29	W	December 10, 1972	4–2	Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	14–8–7
30	W	December 13, 1972	7–3	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	15–8–7
31	W	December 16, 1972	4–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	16–8–7
32	W	December 17, 1972	4–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	17–8–7
33	W	December 20, 1972	6–3	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	18–8–7
34	L	December 22, 1972	2–4	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	18–9–7
35	L	December 23, 1972	0–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	18–10–7
36	W	December 27, 1972	4–1	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	19–10–7
37	W	December 28, 1972	8–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	20–10–7
38	L	December 31, 1972	2–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	20–11–7
39	W	January 3, 1973	4–1	New York Islanders (1972–73)	21–11–7
40	L	January 4, 1973	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	21–12–7
41	W	January 6, 1973	4–1	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	22–12–7
42	W	January 7, 1973	2–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	23–12–7
43	L	January 11, 1973	2–4	New York Rangers (1972–73)	23–13–7
44	L	January 14, 1973	0–6	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	23–14–7
45	W	January 18, 1973	5–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	24–14–7
46	L	January 20, 1973	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	24–15–7
47	L	January 21, 1973	3–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	24–16–7
48	W	January 25, 1973	5–2	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	25–16–7
49	L	January 28, 1973	5–8	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	25–17–7
50	W	February 1, 1973	5–3	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	26–17–7
51	T	February 3, 1973	1–1	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	26–17–8
52	W	February 4, 1973	5–1	New York Islanders (1972–73)	27–17–8
53	L	February 7, 1973	1–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	27–18–8
54	W	February 8, 1973	4–0	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	28–18–8
55	L	February 10, 1973	1–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	28–19–8
56	L	February 11, 1973	2–5	Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	28–20–8
57	W	February 14, 1973	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	29–20–8
58	W	February 15, 1973	4–1	New York Rangers (1972–73)	30–20–8
59	T	February 17, 1973	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	30–20–9
60	W	February 18, 1973	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	31–20–9
61	W	February 22, 1973	3–1	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	32–20–9
62	L	February 24, 1973	2–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	32–21–9
63	W	February 25, 1973	2–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	33–21–9
64	T	March 1, 1973	4–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	33–21–10
65	L	March 4, 1973	2–4	Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	33–22–10
66	T	March 6, 1973	2–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	33–22–11
67	T	March 7, 1973	2–2	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	33–22–12
68	L	March 9, 1973	2–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	33–23–12
69	L	March 13, 1973	0–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	33–24–12
70	L	March 15, 1973	1–4	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	33–25–12
71	T	March 17, 1973	3–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	33–25–13
72	W	March 18, 1973	5–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	34–25–13
73	L	March 21, 1973	2–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	34–26–13
74	T	March 24, 1973	4–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	34–26–14
75	L	March 25, 1973	1–6	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	34–27–14
76	W	March 27, 1973	3–2	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	35–27–14
77	W	March 28, 1973	6–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	36–27–14
78	W	April 1, 1973	3–1	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	37–27–14

Player Stats

Regular Season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Perreault, GilbertGilbert Perreault C 78 28 60 88 10 11 8 0 7 Robert, ReneRene Robert RW 75 40 43 83 83 16 9 0 6 Martin, RickRick Martin LW 75 37 36 73 79 4 11 0 4 Lorentz, JimJim Lorentz C/RW 78 27 35 62 30 6 11 0 5 Meehan, GerryGerry Meehan C 77 31 29 60 21 4 3 1 6 Luce, DonDon Luce C 78 18 25 43 32 7 0 3 2 Harris, HughHugh Harris C 60 12 26 38 17 9 0 0 0 Hillman, LarryLarry Hillman D 78 5 24 29 56 -3 2 0 0 Ramsay, CraigCraig Ramsay LW 76 11 17 28 15 13 0 1 1 Mickey, LarryLarry Mickey RW 77 15 9 24 47 -6 1 0 2 Robitaille, MikeMike Robitaille D 65 4 17 21 40 9 0 0 0 Schoenfeld, JimJim Schoenfeld D 66 4 15 19 178 12 1 0 0 Atkinson, SteveSteve Atkinson RW 61 9 9 18 36 -5 2 0 1 Horton, TimTim Horton D 69 1 16 17 56 12 0 0 0 Pratt, TracyTracy Pratt D 74 1 15 16 116 9 0 0 0 Gratton, NormNorm Gratton LW 21 6 5 11 12 0 2 0 1 Carriere, LarryLarry Carriere D 40 2 8 10 52 -1 1 0 0 Terbenche, PaulPaul Terbenche D 42 0 7 7 8 7 0 0 0 Wyrozub, RandyRandy Wyrozub C 45 3 3 6 4 -1 0 0 2 Rombough, DougDoug Rombough C 5 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 Deadmarsh, ButchButch Deadmarsh LW 34 1 1 2 26 -3 1 0 0 Dudley, RickRick Dudley LW 6 0 1 1 7 -2 0 0 0 Gould, JohnJohn Gould RW 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Busniuk, RonRon Busniuk RW 1 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 McKay, RayRay McKay D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Richer, BobBob Richer C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Farr, RockyRocky Farr G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dryden, DaveDave Dryden G 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier G 49 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier 2633 49 23 13 7 121 2.76 3 Dryden, DaveDave Dryden 2018 37 14 13 7 89 2.65 3 Farr, RockyRocky Farr 29 1 0 1 0 3 6.21 0 Team: 4680 78 37 27 14 213 2.73 6

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Perreault, GilbertGilbert Perreault C 6 3 7 10 2 1 0 1 Robert, ReneRene Robert RW 6 5 3 8 2 1 0 1 Martin, RickRick Martin LW 6 3 2 5 12 2 0 0 Schoenfeld, JimJim Schoenfeld D 6 2 1 3 4 0 0 0 Lorentz, JimJim Lorentz C/RW 6 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 Luce, DonDon Luce C 6 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 Ramsay, CraigCraig Ramsay LW 6 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 Mickey, LarryLarry Mickey RW 6 1 0 1 5 0 0 0 Carriere, LarryLarry Carriere D 6 0 1 1 8 0 0 0 Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier G 4 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 Gratton, NormNorm Gratton LW 6 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 Horton, TimTim Horton D 6 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 Meehan, GerryGerry Meehan C 6 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Atkinson, SteveSteve Atkinson RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Harris, HughHugh Harris C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hillman, LarryLarry Hillman D 6 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 Pratt, TracyTracy Pratt D 6 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 Robitaille, MikeMike Robitaille D 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Terbenche, PaulPaul Terbenche D 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dryden, DaveDave Dryden G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier 249 4 2 2 11 2.65 0 Dryden, DaveDave Dryden 120 2 0 2 9 4.50 0 Team: 369 6 2 4 20 3.25 0

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records

• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Gilbert Perreault

Gallery

One of four points by Bobby Orr, November 30, 1972.

Wayne Cashman is checked through the Zamboni doors by Jim Schoenfeld, December 13, 1972.

Bobby Orr scores a 200 foot goal, March 15, 1973.

Video

Eight minutes of the second period of the Atlanta Flames first ever game on October 8, 1972 versus the Buffalo Sabres.

1972 73 Atlanta Flames vs Buffalo Sabres hi-lites of 2nd period

Six minutes of highlights of the Buffalo Sabres last regular season game of the 1972-73 season in which they earn their first playoff berth with a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Buffalo Sabres First Trip to the Playoffs (1972-73 )

See Also

• 1972–73 NHL season