4. Buffalo Sabres
For over 30 years, the Senators have had intense playoff meetings and memorable moments to develop a rivalry with the Buffalo Sabres.
The two teams met each other three times in nine years in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from 1997-2006. The results were the same as the Sabres won all three of the playoff meetings. However, 2007 would be when the hatred between the two teams picked up.
In a February 2007 game in Buffalo, all Hell broke lose. The Senators and Sabres would get in a huge brawl. The brawl was capped off by goaltenders Ray Emery and Martin Biron fighting each other, which later on Buffalo's Andrew Peters jumped in and fought Emery. Senators head coach Bryan Murray and Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff can be seen screaming heavily at one another.
Because the hockey Gods love giving the fans what they want, the two teams would meet in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. Unlike the past three playoff meetings, the Senators knocked off the 2007 President's Trophy-winning Sabres in five games to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history. 2007 will forever be iconic between the two teams.
The distance from Ottawa to Buffalo is around 5.5 hours, so fans from each team at times will make a road trip to the cities for a game. To add more motivation for the two teams, both teams are also seeking to end their current playoff droughts.