Belt game 4,142 · January 26, 1981
Buffalo Sabres take the belt
Buffalo Sabres beat New York Islanders 5–3 on the road to start reign 1,546 of the NHL belt, the 27th for the franchise.
New York Islanders had held it since January 17, 1981, with 3 defenses over 9 days.
Buffalo Sabres held it for 24 days and 9 defenses, then lost it to Montréal Canadiens on February 19, 1981.
1,546Reign number
27Team's reign
9Defenses
24Days held
Box score
New York Islanders
| Player | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | HIT | SV | SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Trottier | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Mike Bossy | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Clark Gillies | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Stefan Persson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Dave Langevin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Garry Howatt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Wayne Merrick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Bob Bourne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Steve Tambellini | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Bobby Nystrom | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| John Tonelli | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Anders Kallur | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Butch Goring | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Bob Lorimer | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Denis Potvin | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Ken Morrow | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Gord Lane | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Glenn Resch | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 28 | 33 |
| Billy Smith | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
Buffalo Sabres
| Player | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | HIT | SV | SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Savard | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Craig Ramsay | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Ric Seiling | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| John Van Boxmeer | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — |
| Tony McKegney | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Alan Haworth | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Danny Gare | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Derek Smith | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Lindy Ruff | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Jean-Francois Sauve | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Rob McClanahan | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Gilles Hamel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Richie Dunn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Mike Ramsey | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Jim Schoenfeld | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Bill Hajt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Larry Playfair | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Don Edwards | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Sauve | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 22 | 25 |
Box scores: the NHL's own game center.