The Sabres then went on to have only eight regulation losses out of their next 50 games; by March 16, 2006, they had improved to 44–16–5 to move within one point of the Northeast Division-leading Senators.
The Sabres were one of five teams to reach the century mark in power-play goals during the regular season, scoring 101.
[4] [5] Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
A total of three victories in the series came in overtime, including the series-clinching Game 5, which was won on a short-handed goal by Jason Pominville to send Buffalo to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes.
As the Sabres had missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons, they were one of only four teams which had the full allotment of three balls in the lottery.