Back in 1997, I flew from New York and saw the Sabres open the season in Edmonton (4-3 loss in which Miro Satan scored the winner) and Calgary (3-0 loss). Thinking about it now, I'm tempted to say Pat LaFontaine got a concussion in the first game. The third game on the trip was Vancouver but that was three days away and I didn't want to extend the trip (went alone) and of course they won that one 5-2.
The highlight for me was doing an 11 mile run alongside and over a number of Bow River bridges - I remember there's some island right in the middle of the river also in the center of the city...