The Sabres had a bye in the first round of the playoffs and then met the first round victor Chicago Black Hawks in the quarter-finals. In the first game of the series, the Sabres were the beneficiaries of an 18–2 penalty minutes differential and won 4–1. Although the Black Hawks scored in the first minute of game two, the Dudley scored a pair of goals on the way to a 3–1 Sabres victory. In game three, the Black Hawks took a one-goal lead four times and the Sabres tied the score each time, which led to sudden death overtime in which Chicago came out on top. The Sabres scored five times in the third period to post a 6–2 victory in game 4. The Sabres won the series 4–1, with Robert scoring the series clinching goal after getting into fisticuffs with Pit Martin and third man Phil Russell (who got ejected) earlier in the clinching game.
