Buffalo Sabres<\/a> are one of the top teams in the Atlantic Division, boasting 106 points this season. But despite their success, one surprising weakness remains, their power play ranks near the bottom of the league.<\/p>\nStill, Buffalo has found ways to win. Their strength at 5-on-5 and ability to generate offense in bursts has carried them through the regular season.<\/p>\n
Right wing Alex Tuch believes that identity will be crucial, especially in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive-on-5, it\u2019s going to be tight. It\u2019s going to be hard to score,\u201d Tuch said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re going to be hard to play against and not give up any chances, so when you get those chances on the power play and penalty kill, I think that\u2019s what makes the best teams in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the postseason approaches, Ruff has turned his attention to fixing the power play by simplifying and attacking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve been a little stubborn when it comes to shooting sometimes,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cBut we talked to the group this morning \u2026 about being a little bit more in the attack mode, being a little bit in that mode where, if we get a puck on the net, anything can happen after that. We can create a little bit of chaos \u2026 versus a little bit too much on the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been glimpses of success. The Sabres went 2 for 4 on the power play against the New York Islanders just six games ago. However, that production hasn\u2019t been consistent.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve since gone 0 for 17. That inconsistency is something Josh Doan addressed, stressing the importance of balance heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s something that for the playoffs is sometimes good because you can ride momentum,\u201d Doan said. \u201cBut at the same time you want to be consistent throughout the game. That\u2019s something that we\u2019ve been focusing on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doan added that relying too heavily on scoring bursts can be dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re holding the other team from scoring, then it\u2019s not a big problem,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you don\u2019t want to be dropping two goals and then hoping you score in bursts to get back in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffalo\u2019s power play will face another tough test against the Chicago Blackhawks, who rank second in the league in penalty kill percentage (84%). It\u2019s a matchup that could reveal whether the Sabres\u2019 adjustments are starting to click.<\/p>\n
With the playoffs looming, the Sabres know improvement is necessary. If their power play can complement their already strong even-strength play, Buffalo could become an even more dangerous contender.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sabres have stacked up 106 points and sit among the Eastern Conference’s best \u2014 but there\u2019s one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550721,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5100],"tags":[1107,229,5133,5,4,1108],"class_list":{"0":"post-550720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-sabres","8":"tag-buffalo","9":"tag-buffalo-sabres","10":"tag-buffalosabres","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-sabres"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116389010686920943","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}