The team plane was set to depart from Buffalo in approximately two hours, yet most of the Sabres’ players remained on the LECOM Harborcenter ice following practice Wednesday morning.
Tage Thompson and Casey Mittelstadt stood in their respective power-play spots to help each other practice one-timers. At the other end of the ice, a group tested goalie Dustin Tokarski in different situations.
Only four games remain in the 2021-22 season, continuing Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils in Prudential Center, and the Sabres aren’t simply playing out the string. Much of the team is expected to be back in the fall when training camp begins. The final two weeks present an opportunity to finish off an impressive run that dates to early March.
“It’s everything to have your players back the following year,” said coach Don Granato. “Kevyn (Adams) did an amazing job with setting us up for this as a coaching staff, to have guys that we know will return. Not a lot of activity as far as re-signing guys for the summer. There is some, but we know the guys want to be back and we know we’ll be able to get it done. As a coach, to be able to build, we’re having fun, they’re having fun now, but I can tell you there’s a long, long way for us to go because there’s so much room for us to grow.”
The Sabres, now 29-38-11 on the season, own a 13-8-3 record since March 2. They’ve defeated Toronto three times and Minnesota, Vegas, Calgary, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Carolina during that span. Owen Power, a defenseman drafted first overall by Buffalo in July, made his long-awaited debut in the most recent victory over the Maple Leafs.
Buffalo will use the final two weeks to develop, evaluate and build for next season. There are numerous reasons why these games matter. Here are several to consider:
1. Preparing Power for next season
At only 19 years old, Power has shown poise with the puck and attention to detail in all three zones. He’s listed at 6-foot-6, 213 pounds, yet he has the skating and agility of many smaller, elite offensive defensemen. Granato hasn’t sheltered Power, either. The fourth No. 1 pick in franchise history has averaged 22:02 of ice time in four games. There isn’t a star defenseman to bail out Power. His primary partner has been 22-year-old Henri Jokiharju.
There are going to be difficult moments for Power as he adjusts to the speed, strength and intelligence of elite NHL players. But the process will be expedited by his significant role and the remaining matchups, specifically next Thursday at the Bruins. Power, like Mattias Samuelsson last spring, will enter the summer knowing what he needs to work on to prepare for a full season in Buffalo.
2. Developing 5-on-5 offense
The Sabres have shown rapid growth on both sides of the puck since a victory over Jack Eichel’s Vegas Golden Knights on March 10, ranking 13th and 15th, respectively, in shots allowed per game and goals per game during that span. Buffalo has four players with at least 20 goals – Tage Thompson (36), Jeff Skinner (31), Kyle Okposo (20) and Victor Olofsson (20) – for the first time since 2017-18.
There’s another level the Sabres can reach on offense in 5-on-5 situations. Granato has implemented some subtle changes recently to try to bolster that area and even changed the lines to see how his club would respond.
3. Building the power play
Surprisingly, we haven’t seen Power on the Sabres’ power play. Both units are performing so well that Power can immerse himself in 5-on-5 and penalty-killing situations. Since March 1, Buffalo’s power play ranks fifth in the NHL with a conversion rate of 28.6% across 24 games. Olofsson’s return to full health from a wrist injury has bolstered the second unit. Finally, the Sabres have two groups that can score. Casey Mittelstadt has been an important playmaker for the top unit. Continuity will help the Sabres develop an identity on the man-advantage.
“We hope to have these players for a long time,” said Granato. “We have so many players who are under 100 games in the league or under 150 games in the league that when you compare, especially power-play units, you look at the best power plays in the league, they’ve been together for five years, eight years or more.”
4. Getting Mittelstadt to a good spot
Mittelstadt was the Sabres’ top player in training camp before suffering an injury that kept him out of the lineup for 37 of the club’s first 41 games this season. He won’t be fully recovered until the summer, but he’s shown improvement every game over the past month. Mittelstadt, 23, is hanging on to the puck longer and winning more one-on-one battles. He’s a very important part of the club’s future. The final four games will help Mittelstadt improve his game and gain confidence entering the summer.
“Yeah, it’s been a tough year,” Mittelstadt said of his season. “Especially for me, I felt like I had a really good camp, I had a really good summer. Obviously, these things happen. I understand that. I think I’m definitely going to have some motivation going into this summer and next year.”
5. Leaning on the Samuelsson-Dahlin pairing
Another intriguing development that came out of Power’s arrival was Granato’s decision to pair Samuelsson with Rasmus Dahlin on defense. The move shifted Dahlin to the right side, where he played the bulk of his career before his selection by Buffalo first overall in 2018, and allowed Granato to play his top four defensemen 20-plus minutes each game. Samuelsson looks like the perfect complement to Dahlin. At 6-foot-4, Samuelsson is a shutdown defenseman who blocks shots and frustrates opponents with his physical play. He uses his long reach to kill rush attempts with his stick. Dahlin can join the rush and take more risks offensively with Samuelsson on the ice.
The pair is using this time to learn each other’s intricacies and develop chemistry. They have the potential to be an outstanding long-term top pair for Buffalo.
"It's been a ton of fun playing with him," Samuelsson said. "It makes my job a lot easier. Just give him the puck. But he's an incredible player."
6. Evaluating for next season
There are three players on the roster that can use this time to audition for roles next season. Defensemen Jacob Bryson and Casey Fitzgerald, who are 24 and 25 years old, respectively, have skated together on the third defense pair recently. They have different skill sets and have the potential to remain in those spots next season. If Bryson and Fitzgerald prove ready, the Sabres can use their cap space in other areas, whether it’s contract extensions or for a veteran goalie to pair with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Winger Anders Bjork is back in the lineup after he was scratched for 17 consecutive games. Bjork, 25, has played 207 games in the NHL, but he hasn’t seemed to develop an identity at this level. We saw Sunday in Philadelphia that he can make an impact as a checking-line forward. His speed is an asset on the forecheck and he has an above-average shot to capitalize on scoring chances. The problem is he plays too much on the perimeter.
Remember, Bjork was very good for Buffalo upon joining the team from Boston in the Taylor Hall trade last April, but he hasn’t been able to make a consistent impact this season. He’s under contract next season with a cap hit of $1.6 million.
7. Thompson can reach 40 goals
Thompson can become the sixth different Sabres player in the last 30 years to total 40 goals in a season. The others to achieve the feat are Alexander Mogilny, Pat LaFontaine, Thomas Vanek, Mirosalv Satan and Jeff Skinner.
The milestone would cap a breakthrough season for Thompson, who has completely changed the franchise’s outlook at forward.
