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Buffalo Sabres Memories: The 2007 Sabres-Senators Brawl

By Sion Fawkes

BUFFALO, NY - APRIL 20: Jason Pominville #29 of the Buffalo Sabres is congratulated by Chris Drury #23, Maxim Afinogenov #61 and Adam Mair #22 after scoring in the second period against the New York Islanders during Game 5 of the 2007 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinal game on April 20, 2007 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won the game 4-3 and the series 4-1. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - APRIL 20: Jason Pominville #29 of the Buffalo Sabres is congratulated by Chris Drury #23, Maxim Afinogenov #61 and Adam Mair #22 after scoring in the second period against the New York Islanders during Game 5 of the 2007 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinal game on April 20, 2007 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won the game 4-3 and the series 4-1. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images) /
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The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators share a heated rivalry. And nothing epitomized it more than their brawl in February 2007. 

The 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres season was arguably the best in franchise history and it was full of memorable moments. Perhaps the most memorable of them all occurred on February 22nd, 2007 in a home game against the Ottawa Senators.

The bad blood started when Senators tough guy Chris Neil blindsided Sabres co-captain Chris Drury with a hit to the head. It was an unnecessary hit, as you can see in the video below where Drury passed the puck a fraction of a second before Neil even lowered his shoulder, which instigated what was to come later.

The Buffalo Sabres-Ottawa Senators brawl started when Chris Neil landed a late hit on co-captain Chris Drury.

The incident prompted Drew Stafford to go after and fight Neil. Head coach Lindy Ruff wanted an elbowing penalty for Neil, but the officials opted not to hand one out. This prompted him to send out three tough guys of his own – Adam Mair, Patrick Kaleta, and Andrew Peters.

Before the ensuing face-off, Kaleta was already going at it with Dany Heatley, but things calmed down enough for the puck to drop, with everyone in HSBC Arena (known in 2022 as the KeyBank Center) knowing what was about to happen.

As opposed to Kaleta, Peters caught up to Heatley while Mair looked to instigate something with Jason Spezza. The Senators center wanted no part of the action, but it didn’t stop Mair from raining a few blows while Anton Volchenkov joined in.

Things spiraled so far out of control even goaltenders Martin Biron and Ray Emery dropped gloves, despite the latter’s boxing background. Emery made quick work of Biron before Peters skated over and continued the fight. Earlier in the brawl, Peters lacked an opponent after the incident with Heatley, and he ended up on the winning side against Emery.

Of course, Sens coach Bryan Murray was not fond of the trio Ruff sent out solely to motivate the Sabres to stand up for Drury. As he yelled at Ruff from the opposite bench, Ruff retaliated with words of his own.

Sabres Good Season: Winning the 2007 Presidents’ Trophy. light. Related Story

This was a definite golden time to be part of such a huge rivalry, which saw the two teams meet up in the Eastern Conference Playoffs both the previous season and later in 2007. The Senators, unfortunately, won that playoff series, but lost four games to one to the Anaheim Ducks in the Stanley Cup Final.

Article Source: Inside the Sabres: Reliving the Senators brawl, 10 years later by John Vogl

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