The Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres have a long history between them. All-time, these two clubs have played since 1979 when the Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL. For their part, the Buffalo Sabres joined the NHL in 1970. That makes the all-time mark between the Avalanche and Sabres 69-62-20-2, giving the Avalanche a slight edge over the Sabres.
However, if we look at just the Colorado Avalanche era, Colorado has a decided 25-12-2-2 mark over the Sabres. During that span, the Avalanche have scored 131 goals and surrendered 105. They’ve also scored 34 tallies with the man advantage, good for a 20.2% rate. Meanwhile, the Avs have killed off 136 of 160 penalties for an 85% penalty kill rate.
Lastly, the Avs have generally outplayed the Sabres, outshooting them 1,289 to 1,177 since their first meeting during the 1995-96 season.
It’s also worth pointing out that the Avs have won three Stanley Cups since beating the Sabres 5-4 on October 27, 1995, the two teams’ first-ever matchup. The Sabres, unfortunately, are one of a handful of franchises that have yet to win a Cup.
In fact, the Sabres have the dubious distinction of currently holding the longest playoff drought at 13 seasons. But, things are looking up for the Sabres as they are on the fringes of the postseason race in the Eastern Conference this season. As such, the team could break the streak, landing a playoff spot for the first time in nearly a decade and a half.
Colorado Avalanche gear up for 42nd all-time meeting with Buffalo Sabres
Tuesday night’s matchup will be the 42nd time the Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres meet during the regular season. It’s worth mentioning that these two clubs have never met in the playoffs as they play in different conferences.
Thus, the only way the Avalanche and Sabres could meet in the playoffs is during the Stanley Cup Final. That would be something, wouldn’t it?
The last time the Sabres went to the Stanley Cup Final was in 1999 when they lost to the Dallas Stars on a highly controversial goal by Brett Hull.
So, the 41 previous meetings between the Sabres and Avalanche have all taken place during the regular season. Joe Sakic is the Avalanche’s all-time leading scorer against the Sabres, notching 28 goals and 47 assists for 75 points in 68 games played. Sakic played a bunch of those games as a member of the Quebec Nordiques, eventually becoming part of the Avalanche.
Nathan MacKinnon leads the current squad with nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 16 games against the Sabres. Mikko Rantanen has seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 13 games. Both players will be looking to add to those totals on Tuesday night, as the Avs look to climb back into a playoff spot.
NOTE: All stats provided by StatsMuse.