Buffalo Sabres History: The Big Hit — Ten Years Ago
Can you believe it?
Ten years ago, on April 22, 2006, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell threw *THE* hit – the hit that’s still infamous to Buffalo Sabres fans, even to this day.
Even ten years later, whenever anyone mentions Campbell, this is of the memories that stands out the most.
(And the same can be said of R.J. Umberger, the recipient of the hit.)
It was a crushing hit that absolutely leveled Umberger – and it was completely legal.
For a little refresher – and a little trip back in time – here’s the hit, that happened ten years ago today.
For those who might not recall, it was game one of the playoff series between the Buffalo Sabres and the Philadelphia Flyers – and that hit happened in overtime, no less.
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The Buffalo Sabres would end up winning not only the game, but also the series – the first en route to their appearance in the Eastern Conference Final.
For a little more of a throwback: the Buffalo Sabres won that game 3-2 on goals by Tim Connolly, Jay McKee and Daniel Briere. Mike Knuble and Simon Gagne scored for Philly.
Taking it into present terms: Connolly hasn’t played since 2013, McKee not since 2010. Briere, of course, retired this past August.
Looking at the rest of that year’s Buffalo Sabres team, none of those players are skating with the organization anymore – and many haven’t played anywhere, according to HockeyDB, in years.
Teppo Numminen hung ’em up in 2009; Chris Drury and Mike Grier, 2011. Toni Lydman, 2013.
Many of the Buffalo Sabres players from that game’s roster haven’t played in the NHL recently, but are still playing elsewhere.
That includes Dmitri Kalinin, who last played in the NHL in 2009 but still plays, including this season with St. Petersburg SKA in the KHL, and Maxim Afinogenov, whose last NHL game came in 2010; he spent this season with Chekhov Vityaz of the KHL.
Jochen Hecht, Henrik Tallinder and Derek Roy all currently play overseas, while Ales Kotalik and J.P. Dumont hung up the skates in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
It’s been a long time since Campbell’s infamous hit on Umberger, and safe to say a LOT has changed since then with the Buffalo Sabres.
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But no matter what…. we’ll always remember that hit.