Buffalo Sabres can fix power play tonight vs. Minnesota
The Buffalo Sabres power play continues to struggle as mid-November approaches, but tonight, they can fix it vs. the Minnesota Wild.
With a 12.82 conversion rate, the Buffalo Sabres power play ranks 27th in the NHL, and it is the third-worst in the Eastern Conference in front of only the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers. But the Blue and Gold are facing a team in the Minnesota Wild whose penalty kill is one of the league’s worst, fending off just 65 percent when they are a man down.
In fact, Minnesota’s meager PK unit is the worst in the league, and nearly FIVE PERCENT behind the 31st-ranked Nashville Predators. So if the Sabres would like to fix their man advantage, they have a chance to in front of their home crowd. It’s also worth noting that it will also give them momentum heading into tomorrow night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team whose penalty kill ranks 11th in the NHL at 82.5 percent.
Buffalo Sabres power play can claw out of its slump tonight vs. Wild
If the Sabres want to score, then they need to consistently find a way to get into establish themselves in the offensive zone, something that the Carolina Hurricanes rarely allowed earlier this week. The result? Three shots on goal, but hey, at least the Sabres scored one goal on the man advantage, right?
All jokes aside, the Blue and Gold need to learn to accept that if something isn’t working on the power play, or offensively in general, then they need to stop trying the same thing. For the most part against Carolina, tried to maneuver the puck into the offensive zone, pass it around about a thousand times, then set up the perfect shot on net.
That’s a good plan if everyone handles the puck well and the opposing PK unit refrains from getting a stick on it. But therein lies the problem: The Buffalo Sabres have mishandled the puck far too often, and opponents have taken advantage of that mishandling.
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In short, the Sabres need to find a strategy that works, stick to it until Minnesota shows they can stop it, make adjustments, and stop passing the puck so much. If they take shots that the Wild’s PK unit will inevitably give them tonight, they will score multiple times on the man advantage assuming they have multiple scoring chances.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)