As the Buffalo Sabres season wrapped up last night, it’s time to reflect back on the season past — starting with some NHL (and Sabres) firsts.
As the season progressed, multiple players made their NHL debuts, hit other first NHL milestones or otherwise made their debut with the Buffalo Sabres.
Here’s how it went down.
October 9, BUF vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
- 2014 2nd-overall draft pick Sam Reinhart makes his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres, skating 13:37 ice time. He would appear in nine NHL games total.
- Multiple players acquired in the offseason make their respective debuts with the Buffalo Sabres organization, including:
- Rochester, NY native Brian Gionta (15:39 TOI)
- Defenseman Andrej Meszaros (20:25 TOI)
- Defenseman Andre Benoit (20:59 TOI)
- Defenseman Josh Gorges (22:03 TOI)
October 14, BUF vs. Carolina Hurricanes
- Defenseman Tyson Strachan makes his Buffalo Sabres debut, skating 15:52 in the 4-3 shootout win.
October 25, BUF vs. San Jose Sharks
- Reinhart notches his first NHL point, a secondary assist on a goal by Nicolas Deslauriers.
November 29, BUF vs. Montreal Canadiens
- Tim Schaller makes his NHL debut, skating 11:52 in the 4-3 shootout win.
December 20, BUF vs. Colorado Avalanche
- Johan Larsson scores his first NHL goal, mere hours after being recalled from the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
December 21, BUF vs. Boston Bruins
- Schaller scores his first NHL goal. It was also Schaller’s first NHL point.
December 23, BUF vs. Detroit Red Wings
- Joel Armia makes his NHL debut, skating 14:47 in the 6-3 loss. It would be Armia’s lone game with the Buffalo Sabres before he would eventually be traded to the Winnipeg Jets.
January 13, BUF vs. Detroit Red Wings
- Zac Dalpe makes his Buffalo Sabres debut, playing 8:00 in a 3-1 loss.
February 15, BUF vs. Philadelphia Flyers
- Zach Bogosian makes his Buffalo Sabres debut, instantly stepping in and playing big minutes (24:49) in his first game with his new club.
March 3, BUF vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
- Anders Lindback makes his debut with the Buffalo Sabres, stopping 32 of 35 shots faced in a 3-0 loss.
- Jerry D’Amigo makes his debut with the Buffalo Sabres, playing 10:36 in the loss.
April 4, BUF vs. New York Islanders
- Andrey Makarov makes his NHL debut, stopping 33 of 36 shots faced in the 3-0 loss.
This season saw a lot of call-ups from the AHL, particularly due to trades and injuries toward the tail-end of the season.
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A handful of players made their NHL debuts or scored their first NHL points.
Andrey Makarov finally got his first NHL game under his belt after having previously dressed for several games as a backup, but never actually seeing ice time.
Sam Reinhart made his anticipated NHL debut, and a handful of new guys simply made their debut with the Buffalo Sabres organization.
What do we have to look forward to next season?
Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel likely making their NHL debuts with the Buffalo Sabres – and as a result, scoring their first NHL points. Reinhart likely notching his first NHL goal, other new additions making their Sabres debuts, and more.
There are exciting times ahead for the Buffalo Sabres — stay tuned to see what ‘firsts’ will happen next season.
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