3 major improvements Buffalo Sabres must make in final stretch
The Buffalo Sabres may have won big against the Anaheim Ducks last night, but they still have a lot of work to do if the plan on snagging a playoff spot.
The Buffalo Sabres remain in playoff contention, but if they want to sneak into the postseason, they need to play better overall hockey. While it’s true the Blue and Gold are better this season than they’ve been in years, they still lack consistency.
There have been times where they looked like the best team in hockey, like during their seven-game points streak and five-game winning streak last month. But this group has also looked terrible at times, with their eight-game losing streak in November 2022 setting the precedent.
How can this team get more consistent? Here are three areas of the game the Buffalo Sabres must improve on.
1 – Second period woes
Until Peyton Krebs put a stop to it, the Sabres were victims of an 11-0 run in the second period over their previous three games. It started against Calgary, where the Blue and Gold got off to a remarkable run against one of the NHL’s better teams, only to allow four goals in the second frame.
The same thing happened against the Los Angeles Kings after Buffalo matched them stride for stride in the first. They took another 2-0 lead against Anaheim before they found themselves down 3-2 after the second frame’s first seven minutes.
What’s more? These woes occurred against three different goaltenders. While Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is a rookie and will see his fair share of struggles, Craig Anderson likely winding down as the season reaches well into its second half, and Eric Comrie looking mainly like a backup, there’s a disconnect when this occurs when there are three different men minding the net.
Now, I will concede that Anderson especially had a bad game on Monday nigh against the Kings, and Buffalo played better defensively than the final score otherwise indicated. But overall, they have been out of position, and it happened on at least two of those goals allowed last night. If the Sabres continue to allow between 3-4 goals in the second, they won’t win many more games.
2 – Special Teams
After enjoying one of the better power plays earlier in the season, the Buffalo Sabres have since stagnated in the department. It was so good earlier that they’re still miraculously in the top ten in overall conversions, fifth as of Wednesday night.
Although the Sabres converted a power play goal in their win over Anaheim, they had five opportunities, giving them a conversion rate of 20%, five points below their season average of 25%. While they looked better at times in Wednesday night’s win, Buffalo, overall, was still sloppy on the man advantage.
The penalty kill unit had an easier time, killing off both of Anaheim’s power plays. But with a PK% of 72.44, the Sabres rank 30th in the league, above only the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, making them the worst in the Eastern Conference in the category.
Once again, it comes down to positioning. Too often, the Sabres leave opponents wide open, and they also let them screen the goaltender as players are routinely out of position. Other times, they’re not clearing the puck, preventing themselves from making much-needed line changes.
3 – Physicality
The Buffalo Sabres let opponents bully them far too often. They don’t finish checks, they ease up before going to battle along the boards, and they have a tendency to skate away from opponents to avoid confrontations.
Okay, so there are a few, like Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens, who don’t. But Buffalo needs to elevate their level of aggression to match that of Dahlin’s and Cozens’s. Despite landing just seven hits in last night’s win over Anaheim, the Sabres were ironically more physical, and more than a few scuffles broke out during and between plays.
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But this must become the norm sooner than later. This isn’t a plea to play so angry that you forget what you’re doing on the ice, but the Sabres need to stand up for themselves more often than they have. And they also need to get inside their opponents heads more often.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)
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