NHL History: 30 best teams to not win the Stanley Cup: 10. 2007 Sabres
It’s hard to believe the Buffalo Sabres were once one of the most feared franchises in the league, but at times during the 90s and 2000s it seemed inevitable they’d finally win a Stanley Cup. Fans were forced to watch Dominick Hasek leave and win a Cup with the Red Wings, but through the early 2000s the Sabres were once again building a contender. Then, in 2006-07, it seemed like everything was falling into place.
The Sabres were as starstudded as anyone this season. Daniel Briere, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, and Chris Drury were a four-headed offensive monster nobody wanted to deal with. Ryan Miller was coming off a stellar rookie season, and he was looking to be even better this year. (He was slightly worse but still one of the better goalies in the league.)
The season started off on fire. The Sabres won its first 10 games of the season. That would show what’s to come, as the team just kept winning. Four players would score 20 goals before the All-Star Break. Sabres fans were ready to get to the playoffs after winning the Northeast Division with 113 points. Unfortunately, it appears they should have relished in the success a little more.
The Sabres made pretty quick work of both New York teams, beating the Islanders in five and the Rangers in six. It led to a showdown between division rivals. The Sabres would need to get past the Ottawa Senators if they were going to go to the Stanley Cup Final.
Ottawa gave the Sabres no shot. They won the series in five, and it never felt close. It looked like a completely different Sabres team on the ice. Stay-at-home defenseman Henrik Tallinder was their second-leading scorer in the series. Vanek got injured and only played two games while the rest of the offensive stars were no shows. Miller tried to carry the team with a .923 save percentage, but it wasn’t enough and the Senators were the team that got to play for Lord Stanley’s Cup.