Going into their third year of existence as an NHL expansion team, not a whole lot was expected of the Buffalo Sabres in the fall of 1972. Despite the presence of two rising young scoring stars in Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin, each of whom had been named NHL rookie of the year, the Sabres figured to be lagging well behind in the powerful East Division of what was then a 16-team league.
Instead, the Sabres gave their growing legion of passionate fans a season that no one has ever forgotten. The 1972-73 team did what the hockey gods said would be next to impossible when the season began - it qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This is the story of that overachieving team, complete with a month-by-month synopsis of the season and profiles of the key players who became so beloved that when the final seconds ticked off the clock in Game Six of the first-round playoff series against Montreal, a sellout crowd at Memorial Auditorium stood as one and repeatedly chanted "Thank You Sabres."
