The Buffalo Sabres were one of the biggest surprises in the NHL as their season ended in Game 7 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were able to get to that point by unexpected performances from players like Mattias Samuelsson.
The Sabres struggled early in the season but were able to turn it around to go on an incredible run that culminated with an Atlantic Division title. There is no question that players like Tage Thompson and his 40 goals were a driving force behind the success, but the Sabres also got unexpected performances along the way that helped them.
When looking back at the season, these are three players in particular who had some of the biggest surprises from the season.
Mattias Samuelsson silences critics with breakout offensive season
There may not have been a player who surprised fans more than defenseman Mattias Samuelsson. At this point last year, the discussion was whether or not the Sabres should buy out Mattias Samuelsson, who was entering only his third season of his seven-year contract.
Fortunately for the Sabres, they didn't go down that route as Samuelsson emerged as a key part of the team. The first thing was his ability to stay healthy as he had a career-high 78 games in the regular season while averaging the highest average time on ice of his career at 22:50.
However, the one thing fans will remember most is the offensive production, as he had 13 goals in the regular season with another three in the playoffs. It was remarkable the way he was able to contribute in the offensive zone after entering this season with only seven career goals over the first 212 NHL games of his career.
The offensive production was one of the big reasons that he led the team in +/- with a +41 and finished in the Top 10 in the entire NHL in the category.
The contract, which was once seen as a negative, is now looking like a bargain, and Samuelsson is a key part of the Sabres' blueline moving forward.
Josh Doan proves to be the steal of the JJ Peterka trade
When the Sabres traded away JJ Peterka last summer, the main piece seemed to be Michael Kesselring, while Josh Doan looked like a nice upside prospect that hopefully can develop into a good bottom-six forward.
Doan this past season, blew past those projections and played so well that general manager Jarmo Kekalainen had no concerns signing him to a seven-year extension in January. He finished his first season with the Sabres with 25 goals and 27 assists, with another 10 points in 13 playoff games.
He is the type of player who does all the little things that make a team successful with his hustle and his ability to forecheck. Similar to Samuelsson, the Sabres should feel very fortunate that Doan will be in Buffalo for a long time.
Alex Lyon saves the season during Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen injury
The Sabres signed Alex Lyon as a free agent, and the thought was that he could be a veteran backup who could split some of the work with starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. That idea changed really early in training camp when Luukkonen was dealing with injuries that would force him to miss the start of the season.
Lyon was able to step right in as the starter, and by the end of the season, it was a 1A and 1B situation with Luukkonen. He finished the season with the second-most starts in his career, with 34, and was one win shy of his career-best as he went 20-10-4 with a career-best three shutouts.
The Sabres' goalie rotation faltered in the playoffs, and they might need to go back to the drawing board. However, even in the playoffs, Lyon delivered some great performances and finished 4-3 with a goals against average of 2.59 and a save percentage of .904.
There are certainly questions coming out of the playoffs about the position, but the Sabres wouldn't have been able to end their playoff drought if it wasn't the performance of Lyon during the regular season.
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