The Buffalo Sabres have historically had a tough time winning in Carolina, and in fact, they currently are in the midst of a 10-year drought with their last win coming during the 2015-16 season. They would end up seeing one of their seasons end in Carolina in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals but injuries might have been the biggest determining factor, and not necessarily the location.
In 2005-06, the Sabres were one of the best teams in the NHL with 110 points, and after beating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, they would beat the Presidents' Trophy winning Ottawa Senators in five. It would set up a showdown with the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The series was pretty evenly matched throughout as the two teams traded wins through the first four games before the Hurricanes won Game 5 in overtime to take a 3-2 lead. However, the Sabres responded to win Game 6 in overtime and set up a winner-take-all Game 7 in Carolina.
Unfortunately, the Sabres would be dealing with a mountain of injuries on their blueline that ultimately cost them the game, series, and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Buffalo Sabres were forced to lean on inexperienced players in a pivotal game
Entering Game 7, the Sabres were without four of their Top 6 defensemen due to injury, and it was a group that included Teppo Numminen, Henrik Tallinder, Dmitri Kalinin, with Jay McKee being the latest to suffer an injury. McKee would play in Game 6 but ended up with an infection in his leg that forced him to go to the hospital and miss Game 7.
The Sabres would still have Brian Campbell, Rory Fitzpatrick, and Toni Lydman, but the remaining three had very limited experience. In fact, the trio of Doug Janik, Nathan Paetsch, and Jeff Jilson had combined for only three regular season games that year. Paetsch was the least experienced, as he had one career NHL regular season game and made his career playoff debut in Game 7.
Even with the injuries piling up, the Sabres remained competitive and had a 2-1 lead going into the third period of that game. Unfortunately, it was just too much to overcome as Doug Weight tied it up less than two minutes into the period before Rod Brind'Amour scored a power play goal to take the lead. It would be Justin Williams in the final minute of the period that put the game out of reach and gave the Hurricanes a 4-2 win.
The Buffalo Sabres haven't been to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1999, and the untimely injuries they had in 2006 were a big reason for costing them a trip back. It will be interesting to see just how much longer they will have to wait, and until that time, this Game 7 will be one of the franchise's biggest 'what ifs?'.
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