The Buffalo Sabres‘ special teams have been horrific in the first month of the season. That recently changed for the power play.
If the Sabres want to officially turn their postseason appearances into more than a one-season outlier, their special teams must get better. While the penalty kill remains historically bad as the second month of the season starts, the power play has at least seen a glimmer of daylight.
In the first two games of Buffalo’s road trip, the man advantage was more of the “same old, same old,” with the Sabres going 0-for-5 against the Washington Capitals and San Jose Sharks.
Against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings?
They went 2-for-3 in both games and 4-for-6 overall. Heading into their games against Anaheim and Los Angeles (both wins), the Sabres were 4-for-41 on the power play, good for just a 9.7 percentage. Add in the two games against the Ducks and Kings, and Buffalo’s power play percentage now sits at 17.02.
Sabres’ Power Play Pointing North At The Right Time
While two games are just outliers, they could kickstart the man advantage as the season nears the quarter-way mark. This is when the early playoff race starts taking shape, and fans start glancing at the wild card standings.
For the Sabres and the entire Eastern Conference, early returns this season indicate that the East will be a tight race — both in the Atlantic Division and those two wild card spots. If at least the power play can match Buffalo’s 5-on-5 play, then the race will get that much easier to manage.
At 5-on-5, the Sabres have converted 9.0 percent of their shots into goals; their expected goals for (xGF) is 29.0, their actual goals scored is 29, scoring chances for sits at 293, and 98 high-danger chances for. Those are all solid numbers that hover around the league average, neither too high nor too low.
But it shows that the power play would become a much-needed supplement to their scoring if things keep trending the way they have been. If the Sabres’ power play can even convert 20 percent of its chances, on average, moving forward, they will threaten to break into the top-15 in scoring this season.
Penalty Kill Remains A Work In Progress
While the power play looked better, the Sabres must figure out their anemic penalty kill. So far, it has posted a 68.63 percentage. That is by far one of the worst in hockey and nearly 10 percent below the league average. Overall, it ranks 28th in the NHL.
Still, the Sabres have held up defensively in many categories. That included blocking 30 shots in Sunday’s win over the Kings. Now, it’s all about translating solid 5-on-5 play defensively to their penalty kill. It will be a top priority starting on Nov. 4 when the Sabres face the Ottawa Senators on their home ice.
Should the power play and penalty kill get consistent, the Sabres will be a dangerous playoff contender for the second straight season. Now that it is November, the urgency must start sooner rather than later.
Sabres’ Power Play Flipped The Script On Road Trip