Zach Metsa was never expected to take on a significant role for the Buffalo Sabres this season. The defenseman emerged as a valuable cornerstone for the Rochester Americans, the team's AHL affiliate, but was only viewed as emergency depth from an NHL perspective.
Well, an emergency arrived. The Sabres were forced to overcome injuries to Michael Kesselring and Conor Timmins as well as ineffective play from Jacob Bryson, the club's longtime No. 7 blueliner who was ultimately dealt to the Winnipeg Jets ahead of the trade deadline.
It left Metsa as the next man up, and he went on the PDO heater of a lifetime.
The 27-year-old Wisconsin native owns the highest PDO, which is the total of a team's shooting percentage and save percentage when someone is on the ice, among all NHL players who've played at least 200 5-on-5 minutes this season at 1.135, according to Natural Stat Trick.
That's resulted in the Sabres outscoring opponents 23-2 with Metsa on the ice, a remarkable 92% goals for rate that's 17% higher than any other NHL player who's met the playing time threshold. The Philadelphia Flyers' Tyson Foerster is second at 75%.
The underlying numbers aren't nearly as impressive, though. Buffalo has generated just 46.5% of the expected goals and 45.1% of the scoring chances when the right-shot blueliner is out there, per NST.
Add in questions about how his size (5' 9'', 198 pounds) will translate in the postseason, and the Sabres have decided to test other options leading up to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Buffalo acquired Logan Stanley, who's trending toward becoming a lock on the left side of the third pair, and Luke Schenn for defensive depth before the deadline. Kesselring and Timmins are also back available as head coach Lindy Ruff determines his best options.
Yet, the Sabres' defense hasn't been nearly effective since Metsa was removed from the lineup. (He was subsequently demoted back to the Amerks on Thursday.) They've allowed 11 goals over the past three games en route to a 1-1-1 record.
Buffalo has just eight contests left to decide if the Quinnipiac University product gives it the best chance to win in the playoffs, or whether the coaching staff believes he was merely riding an unsustainable wave of good fortune that may not carry into postseason hockey.
Ruff has been testing the Stanley-Timmins pairing lately, and Kesselring probably deserves another opportunity to show he's overcome lingering injuries that have hampered him dating back to training camp. So, the stretch run is an ultimate proving ground for Blue and Gold defensemen.
If the results remain underwhelming, however, turning back to Metsa may be the Sabres' best bet when it's time to play Game 1 of the first round.
Meanwhile, let's take a look back at the team's 3-2 shootout triumph over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday for the latest edition of our Sabres player grades series.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen bounces back to lead Buffalo Sabres to a March 28 win over the Seattle Kraken
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 9 |
Peyton Krebs | 8.5 |
Jack Quinn | 8 |
Zach Benson | 8 |
Tage Thompson | 7.5 |
Logan Stanley | 7 |
Ryan McLeod | 6.5 |
Jason Zucker | 6.5 |
Bowen Byram | 6 |
Sam Carrick | 6 |
Conor Timmins | 5.5 |
Josh Norris | 5.5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 5 |
Owen Power | 5 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 5 |
Alex Tuch | 4.5 |
Josh Doan | 4 |
Tyson Kozak | 4 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 3.5 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Goaltending has been the Sabres' foundation of success this season, so there was some obvious concern when Luukkonen and Alex Lyon experienced a three-game lull. This is not the point in the campaign where the club wants to see a dramatic drop off between the pipes.
UPL bounced back in a major way Saturday by stopping 32 of the 34 shots (.941 save percentage) sent his way by Seattle. He came up with several key stops, particularly to help keep the Kraken off the board on their four power-play opportunities.
The 27-year-old goalie now owns a .920 SV% over his last 20 games dating back to late December, and he's starting to make a strong case to open the playoffs as Buffalo's No. 1 goalie, especially if Lyon isn't able to bounce back after two straight forgettable performances.
Sabres quick hits
- Rasmus Dahlin scored one of Buffalo's two goals on Saturday but it was still a rough night for the captain. The defender took two ill-advised penalties and he was on the ice for both of Seattle's goals. He's got to stay out of the penalty box in the postseason.
- Peyton Krebs netted the Sabres' other goal in the win. His outlook as a player would change dramatically if he could start converting his scoring chances at a higher rate. He's a low-efficiency player in the attacking zone.
- Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson both delivered strong finishes in the shootout.
- Zach Benson is always getting under the skin of opponents and it's a treat to watch.
- Sam Carrick won 14 of his 18 faceoffs against the Kraken. His scoring rate will dip from early in his Buffalo tenure, but he's still a weapon at the dot.
- The Sabres (45-21-8) are back on the KeyBank Center ice Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET) to face a desperate New York Islanders (42-27-5) group try to fight their way into the playoffs.