The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is set to begin for the Buffalo Sabres against the Montreal Canadiens. They are coming off an impressive series win over the Boston Bruins and got big performances from players like Alex Tuch and Alex Lyon.
While there were notable positives, there were a few players who left something to be desired and didn't play at the level fans have come to expect. When looking ahead to this series with the Canadiens, these are three players that the Sabres are going to need to deliver if they want to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Tage Thompson
Tage Thompson was instrumental in the comeback win in Game 1 when he had two goals in the third period. In addition to the two goals, Thompson had five assists over the remaining games, and finishing with an average above a point per game is a great start to the playoffs.
However, the reason that Thompson is on this list is that the Sabres are going to need his goal-scoring, which wasn't really there after that opening game against the Bruins. One particularly notable trend was that Thompson was shooting less as the series went along.
In Game 1, Thompson had seven shots on goal and 11 total shots, but over the final five games averaged only 3.8 shots on goal and eight total shots per game.
When looking back at the regular season, Thompson had three goals in the four games against the Canadiens, and they are going to need more of that in this playoff series.
Jason Zucker
It is no secret that the Sabres' power play is atrocious and has been struggling for well over a month now. In the recent series against the Bruins, the Sabres converted only one of their 24 power play chances into a goal.
The Sabres are certainly going to find themselves in more power play chances against the Canadiens, and it is another opportunity to get back on track. In the playoffs, the Canadiens have a penalty kill percentage of 82.8%, which is 11th best among the playoff teams, and is a slight improvement over their regular season percentage of 78.2%.
If the Sabres want to get their power play back on track, there is no one better to do that than Jason Zucker. The Sabres forward has 21 power play goals over the past two seasons and is the only player with double-digit power play goals in each season.
Zucker isn't the only player to blame for their struggles, but he certainly has the skill set to pull them out of the slump they have been in.
Ryan McLeod
One area where the Montreal Canadiens have a clear advantage is in the faceoff circle, based on how the first series played out. The Sabres rank last of the playoff teams at 43.8% while the Canadiens are first among the remaining teams at just over 55%.
One of the players who can help minimize the advantage the Canadiens have entering this series is Ryan McLeod. The Sabres' center had a win percentage of 52.3% last season, but that dropped this season to 47.7%, with a slight increase in the first series against the Bruins at 48.2%.
Ryan McLeod is the type of player who can impact a game or series in different ways. He is a key part of the penalty kill for the Sabres and brings a lot of value to that part of the ice.
However, if he can improve specifically in the faceoff circle, it is something that might fly under the radar but could have a major impact for the Buffalo Sabres.
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