Randy Ireland played the third period of an 8-1 loss in Montreal on December 2, 1978. The Sabres were already down 7-1 to start the third, so my suggestion above that Ireland played a big role in Inglis becoming coach was off. To explain: the Sabres were 8-9-6 after the loss in Munreal, and they lost again to the Habs the next day, a Sunday, in Buffalo. Gilbert Perreault had asked to be traded earlier in the season, and the lockerroom was reported to be an interpersonal mess. So that was it for GM Punch Imlach and coach Marcel Pronovost, who got canned the next morning in the so-called Monday Morning Massacre. (Paul Wieland claims in his book that the real reason for the firing was that Imlach had booked Memorial Auditorium on a certain day, paying out of his own pocket, so the Sabres couldn't host another Soviet team, against Seymour Knox's explicit wishes.)
Inglis, a scout and original Sabre who helped out with practices as a quasi-assistant coach, got the job. Inglis told the press after his debut that he wore a brown suit so no one would notice if he crapped himself. The Sabres briefly picked up the pace, going 5-0-2 in Inglis' first seven games before cooling off, removing "interim" from his business card. On February 4, 1979 the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHL traded Rick Dudley to whence he came (another report says the Sabres signed Dudley as a free agent with Cincy "selling off assets" due to their not being included in the upcoming WHA-NHL merger). The Sabres beat St. Louis that night at the Aud, and I think I remember that Dudley played in that game (he didn't; he debuted after the break and scored in a 2-1 win on Long Island). I recall the excitement on the postgame show on GR as the Sabres put together a winning streak for the first time since Inglis' hot start.
That brought the All Star break, and two days later new director of player personnel John Andersen, acting as interim GM, traded Gary McAdam to Pittsburgh for Dave Schultz! It was an interesting time to be a fan as the 70s powerhouse team tried to keep itself going and stay relevant with the fans, who were suffering from core-itis and playoff frustration long before 2008-2020 (apparently there might also have been a notion that the Sabres were too soft). They went 14-9-5 to end the season, and Budd Bailey wrote in his 20th anniversary book that Buffalo had the third-best record in the league after the Massacre. Three times in the final 15 games they put up nine goals — including twice on the dastardly Bruins.
But in the first round of the playoffs, in a dreaded best of three series, the Sabres, as was their wont, choked in the postseason. In a series-deciding overtime at the Aud in Game 3, Pittsburgh's George Ferguson did his best Darius Kasparaitis impression and did in a season and an era. April 14, 1979 was a momentous day for a young generation of Sabres fans. Everything was about to change.
And did change that summer as the first decade of Sabres' hockey started winding down. In the end, Ireland also played a small role in bringing Scotty Bowman to Buffalo. In return, he never played another game in the National Hockey League.
Now you know... the rest of the story.
It was a slash.
