The Buffalo Sabres are off to one of the best starts of the past decade, and that is due in large part to a 10-game win streak that they are hoping to extend to 11 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Over the first half of the season, the Sabres have gotten some big performances, and some of those performances have come from unexpected players.
When looking at the first half of the season, several players are on pace to set career highs in specific categories. Meanwhile, there are two players who already have set career highs and are only going to add to their totals.
Bo Byram - On pace to set a career-high in goals
Bo Byram has been inconsistent through most of the first half of the season, but as of late has been much better. One area where he really has turned it around is with goals, as he has three in just the past four games.
On the season, he now has nine goals and is only two away from his career high of 11, which he set during the 2023-24 season. That was the season that Byram was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Buffalo Sabres, and he had eight through 55 games with the Avalanche and another three in 18 games with Buffalo.
If he keeps this pace, he has a chance to get close to 20 goals on the season.
Zach Benson - On pace to set a career-high in points
Zach Benson had bad luck early in the season as he would miss several games at the start of the season due to an injury suffered in the practice before Opening Night. However, he got off to a fast start, as he had four assists in his first game back on the ice.
He has continued his strong play over the season and through 26 games has four goals and 13 assists. The Sabres have 43 games left, and taking his points per game average, he would finish with 45 points.
Benson's previous career high in this category was 30, which he set as a rookie during the 2023-24 season.
Jack Quinn - On pace to set a career-high in points
Another player on pace to set a career high in points is Jack Quinn, who was entering a pivotal season. The former first-round pick hasn't really lived up to expectations to this point, but after 39 points last season, he is on pace to surpass that total this season.
Through 39 games, Quinn has 22 points with seven goals and 15 assists, with four of those assists coming in the past five games. Similar to Benson, if Quinn can keep his points per game average over the remainder of the season, he will break last season's total and finish with 46 points.
Josh Norris - On pace to set a career-high in assists
One of the big reasons for the Buffalo Sabres' recent success has been the return of Josh Norris, who missed a majority of the season after suffering an injury on Opening Night. However, he is averaging a point per game over the 12 games since he has returned with five goals and seven assists.
The big question for Norris is whether he can stay healthy, as this has been an ongoing struggle throughout his entire career. However, he is showing that when he is on the ice, he is a difference maker for this Buffalo Sabres team.
If he plays the remaining 43 games this regular season, Norris will finish with 30 assists on the season and that would be 10 more than his previous career high. He set that back in 2021-22 with the Ottawa Senators when he had 35 goals and 20 assists.
Josh Doan - Already set a career-high in goals, assists, and points
There is no question that Josh Doan has exceeded almost everyone's expectations in his first season with the Buffalo Sabres. When the Sabres made the trade with the Utah Mammoth that brought back Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan, Kesselring was considered the big piece in that trade.
However, Doan has been one of the best players on the Sabres, or at the very least the most consistent. Through 39 games, Doan has 11 goals and 15 assists, with both of those totals already surpassing his previous career high when he had seven goals and 12 assists last season.
He is currently on the top line with Tage Thompson and Peyton Krebs, and if he remains there, he certainly has a chance to finish the season with over 50 points. Although if the Sabres shuffle their lines and move Doan off that top line, he has already shown that, regardless of where he is on the ice, he is going to make plays.
Mattias Samuelsson - Already set a career-high in goals, assists, and points
During the summer, Mattias Samuelsson was considered a potential buyout candidate for the Buffalo Sabres. The team has to be thankful they didn't go that route because Samuelsson has arguably been the team's best defenseman this season.
He started out the season on the third pair but has since been moved to the top pair with Rasmus Dahlin and has found an offensive game that he hasn't shown in his entire NHL career. Through 37 games this season, Samuelsson has six goals and 13 assists while already surpassing his previous career high in both categories of four goals and 10 assists.
The goals in particular have been a big surprise as the six goals he has this season is only one less than his career total entering the year of seven, which he scored in 212 games.
It will be interesting to see if he is able to keep this pace up but if he can, it just adds another dynamic to this blue line that makes them tough to play against.