The 10-game win streak is over, and for the Buffalo Sabres, the mission has shifted from chasing history to avoiding a slide. For head coach Lindy Ruff and the players, the focus is no longer on the win streak but rather ensuring they don't start a losing streak.
After the game against the Blue Jackets, Lindy Ruff was asked how the Sabres can get their power play going. He talked about how the Sabres did have some chances early, but overall, it just wasn't a good night for this group, which had five power-play opportunities.
Ruff did mention that now that they are heading home, they are going to look at the power play with Jason Zucker set to return. "We will look at it now that Zucks [Zucker] will be ready to go back in the lineup," Ruff said. "He was good on the power plays, good around the front, and could be the piece missing for us."
Jason Zucker's return should help the Buffalo Sabres but that can't be the only change
Jason Zucker suffered an injury on December 8th that has kept him off the ice for the past few weeks. He has only played in 21 games so far this season, but currently leads the team in power play goals with five.
Prior to the injury, Zucker was making a big impact on the power play in particular, as he had three straight games with a power-play goal prior to the Calgary Flames game where he got hurt. In the past 10 games, the Sabres have gone 3 for 27 on the power play and haven't had a power play goal in six straight games.
The return of Zucker is going to help, especially if he can pick back up from where he left off prior to his injury. However, the Sabres probably need to make more changes than just putting Zucker into the power play unit.
Buffalo Sabres need to move Josh Norris down to the second power-play unit
The top power play unit since Zucker's injury has primarily been Josh Doan, Tage Thompson, Josh Norris, Zach Benson, and Rasmus Dahlin, while the second power play unit has been Alex Tuch, Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram.
The two players who have been on the top unit that would be in jeopardy would be Josh Norris and Zach Benson. However, Benson has been the most productive over these last 10 games with one power play goal and one power play assist, and the only Sabres player with more than one point.
Norris, at times in his career, has been very productive on the power play as he had 23 power-play points during the 2021-22 season. The reason that Benson gets the nod over Norris is more so because he would be needed on the second power play to take faceoffs.
This season, that has fallen on Ryan McLeod, but he has not been able to do much of anything on the power play. According to Natural Stat Trick, McLeod has the sixth most power play minutes over the past 10 games, but has only one shot and no scoring chances.
The addition of Zucker on the top power play unit and Norris replacing McLeod shouldn't be the only changes. The coaching staff should look to get another forward on the ice instead of two defensemen for that second unit.
Buffalo Sabres should give Noah Ostlund a chance to show what he can do
Over the past 10 games, Byram has been slightly better than Power and should get the nod. By only going with one defenseman, the Sabres then open up the opportunity for Noah Ostlund on the second power play unit. Ostlund hasn't played much on power play this season, with just over 27 minutes of ice time, but does have a power play goal.
On top of that, Ostlund was good last season for Rochester on the power play and had four power-play goals.
These changes should give the Sabres more balance and more scoring talent on the ice when they have the man advantage that hopefully translates to more goals.