Matthew Barnaby quickly became a fan favorite when he played for the Buffalo Sabres, as it brought a level of toughness that was needed for the team. He would play for seven teams over 14 seasons and averaged over 250 penalty minutes per season, including leading the league twice in that category (once in 1995-96 with the Buffalo Sabres and once in 2000-01 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning).
That toughness was what helped him have the NHL career that he did because he was never really known for his offensive prowess. He never had a season with 20 or more goals and finished his career with an average of 29.5 points per season.
While he might not have been known for his offensive game, he certainly had the skill set and showed it off during the 1998 playoffs for the Sabres.
Matthew Barnaby helped the Buffalo Sabres reach the Eastern Conference Finals that season
That season, the Buffalo Sabres were the sixth seed and had a first-round matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sabres would score the upset by advancing with a 4-1 series win, and Barnaby was a big part of that with a point in every game (1 goal, 4 assists).
The next series, the Sabres faced the Montreal Canadiens, and it was more of the same as Buffalo would sweep the Canadiens in that series. Once again Barnaby continued the offensive production with four goals and one assist, including a hat trick in Game 2.
The Cinderella run for the Sabres would end against the Washington Capitals as they would lose in six games. However, Barnaby was productive once again with two goals and an assist to finish the playoffs with seven goals and six assists in 15 games.
In his career, Barnaby would play in 62 playoff games, but he would have only nine points total in the other 47 playoff games. Even more notable was the fact that this playoff run was the only time he would score a goal in the playoffs.
The Sabres wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without the surprising offensive production of Matthew Barnaby that year.