The Buffalo Sabres have been going through a lot of changes over the past week regarding their blueline. The coaching staff has been trying to work Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn into the lineup after they were traded for at the trade deadline.
On top of that, the Sabres were without Mattias Samuelsson against the Maple Leafs due to injury, who has been arguably one of their most consistent defenseman this season. The coaching staff is probably going to continue to make changes to this group. However, the question is no longer who is going to be their third pair but rather who is going to play with Zach Metsa on that third pair.
Metsa has been in and out of the lineup for most of the season but has played in 34 games this season, marking his first stretch of NHL hockey. Through 34 games, he has two goals and two assists, with an impressive plus-minus of +16 in limited minutes, averaging just under 10 minutes per game.
The impact he has made has flown under the radar a bit due to the limited ice time, but against the Maple Leafs, he was asked to play a much bigger role. Entering the game, the Sabres had Metsa paired with Rasmus Dahlin on that top line, and he delivered with a career-high in minutes of 15:32.
More importantly, the extra ice time didn't diminish the level of play, and he finished the game with the second-best Corsi For % on the team at 76%. After the game, Lindy Ruff had this to say about Metsa:
"I thought we got a real good game and maybe one mistake, but I thought again he deserved to be in the lineup for how well he's played," Ruff said. "I thought tonight he played well again. He handled the puck well, was in on some offense for us, and read the game really well."
Zach Metsa has earned a permanent spot in the Buffalo Sabres lineup
The Buffalo Sabres now have unbelievable depth on their blue line with the recent additions of Stanley and Schenn, along with Conor Timmins, close to returning from his injury, alongside Metsa and Michael Kesselring. The coaching staff essentially has five players to pick from for two spots on that third pair.
However, Metsa has proven he should have one of those spots and the coaching staff should be looking for out of the remaining four, which plays best next to Metsa.
This is also not just a one-time thing for Metsa, and he has been solid for a while now. In fact, according to Natural Stat Trick, over his past 21 games, he has not been on the ice for a single goal against while the Sabres have scored nine times.
The Sabres are set to kick off a four-game road trip and hopefully, Samuelsson will be back in time to return to the ice during that stretch. This will be a boost for the defense, but also put Metsa in his idle spot on the third pair and strengthen a part of the roster that has been inconsistent this season.