In the first round of the playoffs, the Islanders made a comeback from 3-1 in the series and played really well in game 7.  It took a goal from Blake Wheeler at 7:38 of the 3rd period to allow the Sabres to move on to the second round.

 

In the second round, the Sabres were down 3-2 in the series against last year's Stanley cup finalist, the Detroit Red Wings, then Jonathan Gibson and the PP unit made the difference for the Sabres.  Gibson blocked 63 shots in game 6 and 7 with 0.938 and 0.935 save percentages, and the Sabres scored two power play goals in each game including  Drew Doughty's overtime goal in game 7.  This series have been a really tight one as six of the seven games have been one-goal games.

 

In the eastern conference final, the Sabres played against the Florida Panthers.  After fighting until the end the make the playoffs, the Panthers defeated two very good teams in round one and two, by winning each series in five games against the Penguins and the Caps.  Unfortunately for the Panthers, they struggled to stay out of the penalty box as they gave up 30 power plays to the Sabres in four games.  The Sabres only took seven penalties in that series.

In the Stanley Cup final, the Sabres faced the Edmonton Oilers.  The Oilers had a great year this year after finishing the regular season second in the league with 115 points.  Only seven points behind the Sabres.  In the first game, Mike Smith continued his stellar play in the playoffs by stopping 33 of the 34 shots he faced and the Oilers beat the Sabres 2-1 in Buffalo.  Then the Sabres solved Smith by winning the next four games, outscoring the Oilers 17 to 7.  In those four games, Jonathan Gibson outplayed Mike Smith with 0.958, 0.962, 0.870 and 0.923 save percentages compared to 0.778, 0.893, 0.886 and 0.750 for Smith.  The power play have also been a big factor in those games as the Sabres scored 10 goals in 22 attempts!

 

This season has been an incredible year for the Sabres, their best ever with 122 points, winning the President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup.

 

After leading the charge during the regular season, Panarin, Johansen, Wheeler and Drouin continued to play really well in the playoffs but the big story all year long in Buffalo has been John Gibson.  He is the main reason why the Sabres won it all this year.

 

Gibson put up a MVP caliber season with a 52-15-6 record, a 2.04 GAA and a 0.928 SV%.  His amazing numbers were way ahead of the competition as the goaltenders who finished 2nd in both categories ended up with a 2.52 GAA (Rinne) and a 0.913 SV% (Hellebuyck).

 

Good luck to all teams for the offseason.  Let's make some trades :)

 

Go Sabres Go!