Sam Carrick brings a pivotal element to the red-hot Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres won 28 of the 47 faceoffs in Thursday night's impressive 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It represented a rare strong night in the faceoff circle for the emerging Eastern Conference contenders.

Buffalo ranks last in the NHL at 45% on faceoffs this season, which is over a full percentage point worse than any other team.

Enter Sam Carrick. The Sabres announced Friday morning they acquired the 34-year-old center from the New York Rangers in exchange for two picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, a Buffalo third-rounder and a sixth-rounder via the Chicago Blackhawks.

Carrick has won 53.8% of his faceoffs in 217 appearances over the past three seasons with the Rangers, Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers. He also succeeded at a 53.3% rate at the faceoff dot across 10 playoff games for the Oilers in 2024.

Faceoffs aren't valued as much as they were in previous decades. Teams with a good forecheck, like the one the Sabres have showcased this season, can often overcome lackluster performance in that category.

They aren't meaningless, though. That's especially true in the defensive zone, where gaining immediate possession to start a counterattack remains a valuable resource. The same goes for the penalty kill, where a faceoff win can burn 15-20 seconds of the opponent's power play.

As a result, Carrick should a full-time member of Buffalo's fourth line and penalty kill moving forward. It's a savvy move by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who also added defensemen Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley from the Winnipeg Jets early Friday morning.

The Blue and Gold have bolstered their depth. Now it's time to see whether Kekalainen makes a blockbuster splash before the 2026 trade deadline arrives Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, let's jump into the newest edition of our Sabres player grades series after the club kept the good vibes rolling with the blowout of Pittsburgh.

Owen Power, Josh Norris, UPL shine as Buffalo Sabres pick up key March 5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins

Sabres player grades

Buffalo Player of the Game: Owen Power

The NHL may actually be in trouble if Power starts to find his offensive game. Point production was the one aspect lagging behind for the 2021 No. 1 overall pick this season, but he's shown signs of life as of late, tallying four points (two goals and two assists) over the last three games.

Power finished Thursday's triumph over the Pens with a goal, a helper, a hit, a blocked shot and a plus-three rating. He's starting to show far more confidence with the puck, both in terms of carrying up the ice and making the right decisions in the attacking zone.

Even with the additions of Schenn and Stanley, who will compete with Michael Kesselring and, once healthy, Conor Timmins for ice time, the Sabres are going to lean heavily on their defensive top four of Power, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Bowen Byram.

That quartet is arguably the most important reason Buffalo has skyrocketed up the standings to enter the conversation as the best team in the East.

Sabres quick hits

• It's impossible to overstate how important it is for Josh Norris to stay healthy if the Sabres are going to threaten a deep postseason run.

• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon keep chugging along as a well-oiled machine between the pipes. UPL stopped 27 of Pittsburgh's 28 shots on Thursday.

• It's time. Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff rarely juggles his lineup amid a winning streak but with new additions from the trade deadline, Zach Benson should return to the first line and Peyton Krebs needs to drop back to the fourth.

• Josh Dunne may be heading for the press box after the arrival of Carrick, but he's held his own when called upon and is a highly dependable 13th forward.

• The Sabres (37-19-6) are next on the ice Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET) when they welcome the Nashville Predators (28-26-8) to the KeyBank Center.