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3 major areas the Buffalo Sabres must improve for Week 2

By Sion Fawkes

ELMONT, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 14: Kyle Okposo #21 and JJ Peterka #77 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against the New York Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena on October 14, 2023 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
ELMONT, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 14: Kyle Okposo #21 and JJ Peterka #77 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against the New York Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena on October 14, 2023 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Oct 14, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt (37) celebrates with defensemen Mattias Samuelsson (23) and Rasmus Dahlin (26) after scoring a goal in the third period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /

2 – Power play

Ironically, the Buffalo Sabres penalty kill has been magnificent, stopping six of seven attempts in the season’s early going. However, their power play has been non-existent, going 0 for 5 in two games, being one of just seven teams in the NHL yet to score on the man advantage as of Sunday morning.

When the Sabres primary scorers find their groove, the power play should improve as a unit, so this isn’t something you need to be particularly worried about yet. If it’s not looking good by the end of the month, then we can start panicking.

In the 2023-24 season’s early going, this is the complete opposite of what we saw last year, when the penalty kill was the problem and the power play was a top ten unit. Ideally, we’ll look for the PK to hold while the power play looks to find its rhythm.

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