Buffalo Sabres' power-play woes should land Seth Appert on the hot seat

Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen demanded accountability from the roster and made it clear no player was untouchable after taking over the team's front office last month.

Now it's time to do the same thing with the coaching staff, and it should start with asking more from assistant coach Seth Appert and his underwhelming power-play tactics.

The Sabres failed to convert on either of their PP opportunities in Monday night's 4-3 loss to the Atlantic Division rival Florida Panthers. The special-teams unit is now mired in a 1-for-21 slump and has dropped to 22nd in the NHL (17.8%).

Those struggles were often overshadowed by Buffalo's recent run of improved play, which included a 10-game winning streak, but they took center stage in a key loss to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.

Appert was promoted to the Sabres' staff when Lindy Ruff returned to the franchise in 2024. He'd previously served as head coach of the AHL's Rochester Americans, and it seemed like former GM Kevyn Adams viewed him as Ruff's heir apparent.

The 51-year-old Minnesota native has struggled to get the power play to show any semblance of consistent progress, though. Buffalo finished 24th in that key category last season (18.8%), and the same unsuccessful plans of attack are on display this year.

As it stands, the Sabres seem to have a single idea: a drop pass in the neutral zone to hopefully gain the line, which frequently fails against opponents playing high in their defensive zone, and even if they're able to get established in the zone it's a lot of perimeter passing hoping to create a Tage Thompson one-timer. Maybe they'll get lucky with a bounce in front once in awhile.

The lack of movement in the attacking zone with the man advantage is baffling, and there's zero creativity in terms of set plays to generate prime scoring chances. Quite simply, it's not good enough.

Perhaps none of it should be a surprise. In Appert's final season in Rochester, the Amerks finished 20th in the AHL on the power play with a 17.9% conversion rate, nearly identical to what Buffalo has produced in 2025-26.

So, as Kekalainen attempts to establish a winning culture based on holding everybody in the organization to a higher standard, it seems reasonable to put Appert on the hot seat and potentially make a coaching change if the PP results don't improve in the near future.

Meanwhile, let's dive into the newest edition of our Sabres player grades series following a key defeat at the hands of Florida.

Tage Thompson continues strong play amid rough night Buffalo Sabres' depth players in Jan. 12 loss to the Florida Panthers

Sabres player grades

Buffalo Player of the Game: Tage Thompson

Thompson continues to build toward his Team USA assignment at the 2026 Winter Olympics with a strong run of play. He assisted on Zach Benson's second-period goal and he was the Sabres' most active forward in a game where the offense was often muted by a well-structured Panthers defense.

Along with the helper, the 28-year-old Arizona native finished the contest with five shots on goal, two blocked shots and nine faceoff wins (out of 15 draws). After some sluggish play early in the campaign, his game-to-game performance has been exactly where Buffalo needs it in recent weeks.

If there's any area where he can improve, it's cutting down on the turnovers or just the loss of possession in general. It'll be difficult to eliminate that completely given how often the 6-foot-6 forward has the puck on his stick, though.

In all, Thompson finds himself on pace for 78 points (41 goals and 37 assists) this season.

Sabres quick hits

• Colten Ellis' baseline numbers against the Panthers were fine (28 save on 31 shots), but he was battling the puck all night. He rarely made a clean stop with small rebounds leading to countless scrums for loose pucks at the top of the crease.

• Benson joined Thompson and Josh Doan on the top line and almost instantly scored as Lindy Ruff finally showed signs of moving away from the Peyton Krebs experiment.

• Krebs should head back to the fourth line, which is struggling lately. It's probably time to give Jordan Greenway a breather as his 5-on-5 skating is a serious problem at the moment.

• Jason Zucker has failed to make an impact since his return from injury. His only goal over the past four games bounced off his back and into the net.

• In general, it wasn't a terrible performance from the Sabres despite the loss, but understanding the need to play competitive hockey for every single shift across 60 minutes in these crucial games will be a learning experience for a young roster.

• Buffalo (24-16-4) continues its five-game homestand Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. ET) when it welcomes the Philadelphia Flyers (22-14-8) to the KeyBank Center for another important Eastern Conference clash.