The 1998–99 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' 29th season in the National Hockey League. Miroslav Satan scored 40 goals and the Sabres would add influential centers Stu Barnes and Joe Juneau from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, respectively. Michal Grosek had the best season of his career, and the team finally returned to the Stanley Cup Final, which was a losing effort against the Dallas Stars. Off-season In the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the Sabres picked Dmitri Kalinin with their first-round pick, 18th overall. Regular season Season standings Schedule and results Playoffs 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Eastern Conference semifinals Eastern Conference finals The Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres met in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals. The Maple Leafs were coming off a six-game series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Sabres were coming off a six-game series win themselves, over the Boston Bruins. Toronto was having its best playoff since 1994, when they last made a conference final series. Buffalo, on the other hand, was in the third round for the second consecutive year. In Game 1, Dwayne Roloson filled in for injured Sabres goaltender Dominik Hasek at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Leading 3–2 midway through the game, Toronto appeared to be in control, but Stu Barnes tied the game for Buffalo at 14:37 of the second period. The Sabres went on to score twice in the third period, on goals by Curtis Brown at 5:21 and Geoff Sanderson at 11:02. Steve Thomas' goal with 6:01 remaining in the game brought Toronto to within one, but Buffalo held on to win 5–4. Roloson impressed the critics, stopping 28 of 32 shots. In Game 2, the Maple Leafs scored two goals 18 seconds apart in the first period, as Steve Sullivan scored at 10:28 followed by Sylvain Cote at 10:46. With just over ten minutes to go in the game, Toronto held a 4–3 lead with Buffalo pressing. Steve Thomas' goal at with 7:43 to go gave the Maple Leafs a 5–3 lead and Garry Valk sealed the 6–3 win with an empty-net goal at 19:30. With series tied at 1–1, the two teams traveled south to the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo for Games 3 and 4. Dominik Hasek returned for the Sabres in game three, but it was the away team that netted the first goal, as Maple Leafs forward