Since Lindy Ruff returned to Buffalo, the Sabres have been near the bottom of the league in terms of power play. They are hoping that can change this season and are taking steps to get better when they have the man advantage.
After finishing 9th in power play percentage for the 2022-23 season, the Sabres finished 29th, 24th, and then 20th this past season with a power play percentage of 19.5%. The frustrating part for the Sabres' power play was that it was inconsistent and showed flashes of being a productive unit but they couldn't sustain that success.
"We had some highs; we had some lows, obviously," Ruff said the day before training camp about the power play. "The Boston series, I thought we were a little snake-bit, but the Montreal series our power play was clicking along really good."
Buffalo Sabres hope to make changes with new coach and establishing their power play early
Ruff mentioned that they had taken the offseason to look at some of the best power play units in the league to see what they might be able to learn and apply to their power play. One of the first things he mentioned was that some of the best were together for a period of time, and for that reason, the Sabres' head coach wants to establish his top power play unit early.
"I think with injuries and what we went through the year, shuffling of players, wasn't the best for our group. I think our play is to try and lock in the five guys even before camp gets started here."
The other thing he noted is that he noticed other successful power plays do a great job of getting lower in the zone.
"Some of the traits are getting the power play lower on the ice and not above the circle type power play, getting below the hash marks, and getting more people closer to the net."
Two players who certainly can help in that are Josh Doan and Zach Benson, who were specifically mentioned by Ruff ahead of training camp after they saw more power-play time in the Montreal series. The Sabres want to establish their power play, and it makes sense that both of those players will be in the top unit with Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson.
That final spot on their first power play unit isn't as obvious but it might be a chance for a younger player like Konsta Helenius, who was excellent on the power play during his time in Rochester.
The Sabres seemingly want to make several changes to their power play and have brought in Eric Staal to help in this area. He joined the Sabres as an assistant to the general manager in May 2025, but Ruff confirmed he will be like an assistant coach in a consulting-type role.
Staal played 18 seasons in the NHL, including half a season with the Buffalo Sabres in 2020-21, and knows what good power plays look like. In his career, he scored 133 power-play goals, including six straight seasons with 12 or more power-play goals.
There is no guarantee that the Sabres are going to have an improved power play unit but they certainly have the talent to be one of the top teams in the league with Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson. It is great to see them at least trying something different because if there is improvements, there is no reason they can't finish as one of the highest scoring teams in the league after finishing fifth last season with a subpar power play.
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