The Buffalo Sabres finally got into the win column on Wednesday night when they would win 8-4 over the Ottawa Senators. The offense finally came alive in the second period with five goals, and they would surpass their season total in the first three games in just that period.
It was a night where almost everyone got involved as 13 players had at least one point and eight had at least two points. However, when looking back on this game, these are three players who really stood out from their performance against the Senators.
3 Buffalo Sabres who stood out against the Ottawa Senators in their 8-4 win
Ryan McLeod
Ryan McLeod was one of three Buffalo Sabres who scored two goals. However, it wasn't just the goals but when he was able to score that made him the first player mentioned. The Sabres and Senators were tied at 1 after the first period, and Ottawa would actually take the lead early in the second.
The momentum was clearly swinging in favor of Ottawa after they scored the power play goal and the Sabres were called for two more penalties, one due to a failed challenge by Buffalo and then Alex Tuch for slashing. However, McLeod would respond during Tuch's penalty and score a short-handed goal that would tie the game up and be the first of four straight goals by Buffalo in the period.
Entering the third period, the Sabres had a 5-2 lead, but the Senators battled right back and scored two quick goals in the period to cut the lead to one. The Sabres called a timeout, and shortly after that, Ryan McLeod once again came up with a timely goal.
That would be the first of three consecutive goals and put the game out of reach for the Senators. McLeod might not lead the Sabres in goals, but he certainly has some of the biggest in the early part of the season.
Josh Doan
Over the first four games of the season, Josh Doan might be the most consistent forward the Buffalo Sabres have had. He has put in solid performances game in and game out but this one against the Senators was his best.
In this game, Doan finished with three assists and was only behind Zach Benson, who led the team with four in his season debut.
Due to injuries, the Sabres have had to move Doan around and regardless of which line he was on, he would deliver. In the game against the Senators, the Sabres made some in-game adjustments and settled on a line of Josh Doan-Ryan McLeod-Alex Tuch. They finished with the most ice time of any line and had the best xGF at 0.67.
It remains to be seen if this will be a permanent line but it at least gives Buffalo options during a game to try this line out when they need a spark.
Jason Zucker
The Buffalo Sabres needed something to go right for them on the power play and got that in a Jack Quinn goal that bounced off the back of the Senators' goalie after hitting the glass for their first power play goal of the season.
Not every power play goal will happen like that, but it seemed to take some pressure off the Sabres and their power play really settled in later in the game. One of the players who helped do that was Jason Zucker, who would have the other two power-play goals in the game for Buffalo.
Zucker was the most productive player on the power play last season for Buffalo with 11 power-play goals, and was the only player with double-digit power-play goals. There is still work to do for this group, but if Zucker can continue to deliver, it will be a big boost for the Sabres' special teams.