What if the 2005-2006 Sabres Were not so Unlucky

no question that buffalo would’ve won this series against the hurricanes with a healthy club, but injuries are apart of the sport. I hate thinking about that year’s end.

Also don’t forget that some random Senators jerk broke Tim Connolly.

If we’d also managed to injure roloson, we’d have won the series easy against the oilers.

Being as the backup goalie (markkenen?) Never played in the NHL again, it’s a fair bet that is why the oilers lost.

Though, admittedly, Nathan Paestch played very well in Game 7.

05-06 was the last season that i got to attend sabres games more than once a year and you’re absolutely right there was a very special feeling about that team and while i usually don’t like to do the whole “what if…” arguments i think most reasonable people would agree that without so many injuries the sabres would have most certainly beat the canes and very probably won the cup. Here’s to hoping that we can get that feeling again soon.

but still, what is the point of bringing this up 4 years after the fact? This was arguably the hardest pill to swallow in Buffalo Sabres history. I’m generally not one to dwell upon the past so perhaps that is why I don’t fully understand the point of this post. You can post “what if, what if this, what if that” until the cows come home but what does it do now? Absolutely nothing. What if the Bills had won ONE of the 4 straight Superbowls? What if Brett Hull’s goal had been waved off? What if Buffalo was awarded an MLB franchise in the early 90s? No offense whatsoever because I love this blog but lets try and move on rather than living in the past, still dwelling upon one of the most heartbreaking and painful memories in Buffalo sports history.

- Bucky Gleason

No doubt about it we win the Cup that year. That was one of the most special teams Ive ever seen in my life. Just unbelievable… DAMN STAPH INFECTION!!!!

I definitely think we would have been able to win against Carolina and beat Edmonton for the cup. Our team came into the playoffs playing the best hockey of the year that season, as opposed to what happened in 06-07 where the Sabres floated through the playoffs (mind you with great moments), but then were outed by an Ottawa team that was playing better hockey.

i think the injury that hurt us the most during that series was Jay McKee because he was such a stud that series. I remember thinking for years that he was a good defenseman, but that the ’06 playoffs made him a great defenseman due to his physical play and shot blocking capabilities. Once game 7 started with Rory Fitzpatrick, Jeff Jillson, Nathan Paestch, and Doug Janik as four of our six defenseman, I just hoped that we would have an offensive explosion so that we could make the Cup.

As for this feature, I think it brings up some good talking points for the summer months until we have our big free agent signings to talk about :-p.

Rory Fitzpatrick, Jeff Jillson, Nathan Paestch, and Doug Janik

And that cost us the cup. Absolutely no doubt about it. Sigh….

I would have made a spoof of those “History will be made” commercials that the NHL has been running.

Shot: Theme music plays. The camera pans on a banner from the bottom on up. As the camera pans up you see the wording “Stanley Cup Champions – 1998-1999”

Voiceover: “What if ‘No Goal’ had been ruled ‘No Goal’?”

Shot: The camera continues to pan up and instead of the Dallas Stars logo you see the “goathead” logo of the Buffalo Sabres.

Voiceover: “History will be manufactured. Watch the NHL Playoffs and see who the league marketing executives choose to win.”

I was living in Carolina as it happened. I had just graduated high school and moved away from Buffalo because there were no jobs. I hated the fact that I had to move. Then all of a sudden the Sabres go on a blitzkreig of the NHL and I could, for once, feel pride from being a WNY’er AND express it out of town without being laughed at. I was far away from home, but I was beaming proud because of my Sabres.

They were rapeing other teams left and right, every guy on the team could score, Grier was fast (really, he used to be fast), Miller was looking like our potential next Hasek, Dumont was our go-to guy, Connolly was turning d-men into pretzels and cranking out ESPN Top-10 highlight reel goals every couple of weeks.

Then the Sabres match up against the hated Flyers in the first round and all I could think about was the beat-down we gave them a few years earlier in the playoffs (remember that 8-0 game?). Then this happened:

“… Flyers, looking to respond-oooooooOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAMPBELL JUST DESTROYED UMBERGER!!!!!!!” followed by sick goals by Connolly and Briere to take a 1-0 series lead. Then the Sabres go on to rape Philly with humiliating goal totals, what, 8-1, 7-2? Including one of the sickest goals I’ve ever seen from Tim Connolly, going end to end and causing people in the stands on TV to laugh in shock at what they just saw.

A week later and I’m at work in Charlotte bragging about the beat-down my Sabres gave the Flyers, AGAIN. The thought had entered my head, “When is the heartbreak going to come?” because the Senators looked frightening that year and the thought wasn’t that far off as the Senators piled up 5 goals against the Sabres in Game 1. But, my scary good Sabres piled up 6 to WIN the game, including another end-to-end by Connolly that featured him causing Alfredson to tear his jock and putting the puck in the net unassisted, as well as Connolly’s game-tying goal with 10.7 seconds left.

A couple days later and it was all over. Somehow the Sabres beat a Sentors team that looked unbeatable. The Cup was ours, who the hell could beat us now if we just destroyed probably the best team in the league in 5 games? I went to work and found out from my co-workers that their Canes were going to pummel my Sabres in the next round. You couldnt have scripted it any better, somehow I move to NC and my Sabres end up facing off against a NC team in the Conference Finals. My co-workers, like most people from NC were arrogant and obnoxious, but I knew we had the advantage. I knew what my 2006 Sabres were capable of; I had just watched them slaughter the previous two teams and I knew the Canes were about to meet the same fate…

Putting an even more interesting perspective on things, I bought ECF tickets the DAY OF THE GAME and laughed because I realized if I can buy tickets to an ECF’s game the same day, then these people dont even deserve a team. I even saw people walking around with Panthers (NFL) jerseys on and thought, “These people dont even deserve to sniff the Stanley Cup Playoffs panties, let alone go to the Finals!” There was no way the hockey gods would reward such a lame fanbase of apathetic losers, over a diehard 30-something year old true northern franchise.

Sure enough, the Sabres took Game 1, just as they had taken Game 1 in the Finals against Dallas in 99 and just as they had taken Game 1 against Boston this year. Then they took a 2-1 lead and the series was “in the bag”. Bank on it. Sabres in the Finals, probably the Cup year, the end of the curse, people hugging and crying tears of joy in the streets all over Buffalo and tons of transplants coming home to witness the biggest, most deserved heart-felt celebration in human history.

Then the sick stench of the curse rose up once again. It couldnt let the good, hard working, loyal people of Buffalo get a break. No way, not allowed. The bad guy has to win. The Sabres lost an unheard-of 2 whole defensive lines and a star center to injuries. Game 7, 3rd period, Sabres ahead with 18 minutes to go…
…18 minutes later, I’m throwing my Sabres jersey in the trash and considering quitting my job to avoid going to work with all those Canes “fans” the next day, humiliated. A week later I’m watching the Hurricanes lift the Stanley Cup after intentionally injuring the Oilers goalie, just as they had intentionally injured our players and, as Brindadouche raises the Cup, I kick my TV set clean off the TV stand and punch 2 holes in the living room wall.

2 weeks later, after patching the holes and painting the wall, I sub-leased my apartment out, quit my job, packed all my belongings in my car and got the hell out of North Carolina. I went on to watch the Sabres choke in 07 (which I know Canes fans loved every minute of) and miss the playoffs 2 straight years before being humiliated by the Bruins this year. And here we are, Flyers in the Finals and the Sabres golfing…

Well, that’s my 05/06 story! Yay!