Every NHL team’s most iconic moment in franchise history

Buffalo Sabres: Jim Lorentz Sends Them To The Stanley Cup Final

The Buffalo Sabres have yet to win a Stanley Cup since they joined the NHL in 1970. However, they’ve been to the Stanley Cup twice. The first time was back in 1975 when the Sabres eventually lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. However, the journey there was a great one.

The highest of highs during that journey came in the Eastern Conference Final, where the Sabres were squaring off against the Montreal Canadiens, who were in the middle of a dynasty, having already won two Stanley Cups in the 1970s.

Though Buffalo entered Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead, the odds were against them. The game was being played in Montreal, where the Sabres were outscored by an aggregate score of 15-2 in Games 3 and 4.  Game 5, however, would be different. The Sabres jumped out to a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. Jim Lorentz made it 4-1 in the second period.

Lorentz’s tally wound up being the difference maker, as the Canadiens got third-period goals from Guy Lafleur and Peter Mahlovich, but came up just short, losing 4-3 to the Sabres. Gerry Desjardins was outstanding in net for Buffalo, keeping the NHL’s highest-scoring team to just three goals on 32 shots.

The Sabres also went to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999, but we’ll get to that defining moment later. Sabres fans might want to completely skip over the Dallas Stars slide. I’m just saying.