Belt game 3,748 · December 16, 1976
Buffalo Sabres take the belt
Buffalo Sabres beat New York Rangers 7–2 at home to start reign 1,415 of the NHL belt, the 18th for the franchise.
New York Rangers had held it since December 12, 1976, with 1 defense over 4 days.
Buffalo Sabres held it for 16 days and 6 defenses, then lost it to Pittsburgh Penguins on January 1, 1977.
1,415Reign number
18Team's reign
6Defenses
16Days held
Box score
Buffalo Sabres
| Player | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | HIT | SV | SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Martin | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — |
| Jim Lorentz | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Gilbert Perreault | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Andre Savard | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Jerry Korab | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Craig Ramsay | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Rene Robert | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — |
| Fred Stanfield | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Danny Gare | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Don Luce | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| Terry Martin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Lee Fogolin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Jim Schoenfeld | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Gary McAdam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Brian Spencer | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Jocelyn Guevremont | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Bill Hajt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Gerry Desjardins | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 12 | 14 |
| Al Smith | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
New York Rangers
| Player | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | HIT | SV | SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Hickey | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Nick Fotiu | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Dave Farrish | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Dave Maloney | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Rod Gilbert | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Steve Vickers | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Wayne Dillon | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Bill Goldsworthy | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Don Murdoch | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Walt Tkaczuk | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Greg Polis | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Pete Stemkowski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Phil Esposito | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Ken Hodge | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Ron Greschner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Carol Vadnais | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Mike McEwen | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Doug Soetaert | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 12 | 12 |
| Gilles Gratton | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 21 | 28 |
Box scores: the NHL's own game center.