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Buffalo Sabres (NHL, 1976-77)

1976-77 Sabres Yearbook

      This isn't a program, it's a yearbook from the 1976-77 Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres were in their seventh season of operation in NHL, playing at the 16,325-seat Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Floyd Smith was head coach while ex-Leafs coach Punch Imlach was General Manager.

     The 1976-77 Sabres finished with a 48-24-8 record, good enough for second place in the Adams Division, just two points back of Boston and 23 ahead of third place Toronto. Future Hall-of-Famer Gilbert Perreault led the team on offense with 39 goals and 95 points. René Robert (33) and Rick Martin (36), Perreault's French Connection line mates, were the other 30-goal scorers on the Sabres. As a team, the Sabres scored 301 goals, fourth most in the NHL. Attendance for Sabres games was 16,433 per game (101% capacity).

     The Sabres were also fourth-best on defense, surrendering just 220 goals. Of all the players the Sabres used that season, just five had a negative +/- rating. Jerry "King Kong" Korab led the defense in scoring with 14 goals and 47 points in 77 games, to go along with 120 minutes in penalties. Captain Jim Schoenfeld (on the cover of this yearbook) added 7 goals and 32 points in 65 games. Buffalo used four goaltenders this season. Veteran Gerry Desjardins played in 49 games, finishing with a 31-12-6 record with 3 shutouts and a 2.63 GAA. His main backup was rookie Don Edwards, who was 16-7-2 with 2 shutouts and a 2.51 GAA in 25 games. Al Smith (7 games, 0-3-0, 4.30 GAA) and Bob Sauve (4 games, 1-2-0, 3.59 GAA) were the other two net minders. Desjardins and Edwards drew the net minding assignment for the playoffs.

     In the preliminary round, Buffalo made quick work of the Minnesota North Stars, sweeping them aside in two straight (best-of-three), out scoring the North Stars 11-3 in the process. In Round 2, the Sabres ran into the New York Islanders, a rising power in the NHL by then. The Sabres were downed in four straight, but it was a close series, as every game was decided by 1-2 goals. 

     I found this yearbook with a 1976-77 NHL Media Guide at Goodwill in (of all places) Mount Pleasant, Michigan, this past summer. The yearbook is 50 pages long, all in color. There's a team photo in the center, listing all the players on the team roster and their stats for 1975-76. Articles include bios for Punch Imlach and Floyd Smith and one about the French Connection Line. Advertisements include Quasar color televisions, Hockey Digest, Koho Sporting Goods and LNB Liberty National Bank and Trust. 

References:

National Hockey League Regular Season Statistics: 1976-77, from hockeydb.com

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