Buffalo Sabres Capture 2006-07 Presidents' Trophy
NEW YORK (April 7, 2007) -- The Buffalo Sabres have captured the 2006-07 Presidents' Trophy, awarded to the club finishing the regular season with the League's best record. The Sabres (53-21-7, 113 points) clinched the trophy today for the first time in franchise history following their 2-0 victory over the Washington Capitals. The Presidents' Trophy winner is guaranteed home-ice advantage throughout its participation in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With the victory, the Sabres established a franchise record for wins in a season, surpassing the previous mark of 52 set last season. Buffalo also tied the franchise record for points in a season, matching the 113 in 1974-75, and can set a new mark with at least one point in its final game of the season, tomorrow at Philadelphia.
With Tuesday's 4-1 win at Pittsburgh, the Sabres clinched their first division title since 1996-97 and the fifth division crown in franchise history. The win also clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference -- the last time Buffalo entered the postseason as a number one seed was in 1979-80.
Today's win capped an outstanding campaign that began with the club tying a National Hockey League record for consecutive victories to start the season (10), matching the mark set by the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sabres did not go more than three consecutive games without collecting a point.
The Sabres are the NHL's highest-scoring team with 305 goals and feature a League-leading four 30-goal scorers (Thomas Vanek, Chris Drury, Jason Pominville, Daniel Briere) and seven 20-goal scorers (Vanek, Drury, Pominville, Briere, Dainius Zubrus, Maxim Afinogenov, Derek Roy).
Buffalo will face the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs or New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning next week.
Reference:
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=298676&page=NewsPage&service=page
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