The Sabres return to practice Wednesday. Here’s what to watch as they continue playoff chase
The Buffalo Sabres resume practicing Wednesday, after the NHL's break for the Winter Olympics, and prepare to pursue a playoff berth.
Making the playoffs is a very real possibility for the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres who aren’t competing in the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, return to practice at 11 a.m. Wednesday at LECOM Harborcenter. The NHL resumes its schedule Feb. 25, and when the Sabres play the Devils in New Jersey, they’re in position to build upon the momentum they created in the first 57 games of the season.
The Sabres (32-19-6) are in the first wild-card spot in Eastern Conference with 70 points, one point ahead of Boston, and five points clear of Columbus and Washington, each with 65.
The Sabres now face their biggest fight: Earn a playoff berth in the final 25 games of the season and do it by creating separation in the conference and in the Atlantic Division.
Here’s who will help the Sabres after the Olympic break, what we learned so far this season and a prediction for the immediate future of the team’s playoff pursuit.
3 players to watch
Conor Timmins, defenseman: When Timmins returns to the lineup, the Sabres will get another physical defenseman whose forte is shot-blocking, and someone who will take the pressure of extra minutes off the top four.Timmins established himself as a physical presence who could block shots (70 in 33 games), before he sustained a broken leg Dec. 18 against Philadelphia. Timmins averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time a game, including nearly three minutes a game of short-handed ice time. By comparison, Rasmus Dahlin averages 24 minutes, 33 seconds of ice time per game, Mattias Samuelsson 23:03, Owen Power 21:40 and Bowen Byram 22:30.
Josh Norris, center: When Norris returns to the lineup, he’ll improve the Sabres’ faceoff proficiency – the Sabres are last in the NHL in faceoff percentage (44.7%, 1,459 wins and 1,808 losses) – and add depth and experience at center. Norris is expected to return from a rib injury, sustained Jan. 14 against Philadelphia.
Norris is at 49.2% (121 wins/125 losses) on faceoffs in 19 games. Ryan McLeod and Tage Thompson have handled the bulk of the faceoffs for the Sabres; McLeod is at 46.6% (430/492) and Thompson at 45.9% (294/346).
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, goalie: When Luukkonen returns, he will give the Sabres a No. 1 starter in goal. Luukkonen missed the last five games before the Olympic break with a lower-body injury sustained Jan. 27. He also didn’t play for Finland in the Olympics. There’s no clear timeline for his return, but when he returns, it will create a hierarchy among the three goalies, and could possibly make Colten Ellis trade bait, if general manager Jarmo Kekalainen decides to deal at the trade deadline at 3 p.m. on March 6.
The Sabres' Tage Thompson, left, celebrates his 30th goal of the season with Jason Zucker and Josh Doan against
the Penguins on Feb. 5 at KeyBank Center. Thompson leads the team in goals (30) and points (59). Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
2 surprises
Josh Doan, left wing: Acquired in June in a trade with Utah for JJ Peterka, Doan has already proven his worth – and was rewarded in January with a seven-year contract extension with an average annual value of $6.95 million. Doan is versatile, gritty and crafty, particularly around the opposing goal, and he has become an asset on the power play. Of his 18 goals and 21 assists, seven goals and 14 assists have come on the man advantage, and he has 35 takeaways and 53 hits in 57 games.Mattias Samuelsson, defenseman: Less than nine months ago, there was an outcry for the Sabres to buy out Samuelsson, who was painted as an underachiever after two injury-hampered seasons. Samuelsson came to training camp in September fully healthy with a stronger understanding of head coach Lindy Ruff’s philosophies and expectations, and has emerged as a physical defenseman who can block shots (112 so far), score goals and create plays (11 goals, 23 assists in 55 games – already a career best), particularly working on the Sabres’ top defensive pairing with Dahlin. He’s also a team-best plus-28.
Sabres right wing Alex Tuch takes a shot in the third period against the Canadiens on Jan. 31 at KeyBank Center.
Tuch is tied with Olympian Rasmus Dahlin for second on the team in scoring with 48 points. Joed Viera, Buffalo News
Leaders lead
Alex Tuch helped Vegas to lengthy playoff runs in 2018, 2020 and 2021, including a run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. Alex Lyon helped Florida start its current dynasty in 2023. Byram won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022. Jason Zucker has been on playoff teams nine times since he began his NHL career in the spring of 2011.There is not a lot of playoff experience on this team, so the majority of the roster will learn as it goes about how to navigate this process: carrying over all that consistency they created in the first 57 games of the season into the final 25 – after a break of nearly three weeks from the routine of games, practices, off-ice workouts, being at the rink and around teammates.
Dahlin, Thompson and Luukkonen haven’t been a part of playoff runs, despite having individual success with the Sabres. Tuch, Lyon, Byram and Zucker are the players who take the reins and say, “This is how it needs to be done.” Their leadership and experience will be vital to the success of this team.
Bold prediction
Don’t expect the Sabres to move Tuch at the trade deadline, especially if they're in contention for a playoff spot.Tuch doesn’t just want a playoff berth in Buffalo. The wing made a weighty statement after a 4-1 win Jan. 29 against Los Angeles.
“Everybody's coming in trying to prove themselves, and we're trying to prove as a team that we're legit. We're not just going to go for the playoffs. We're going to go for the (Stanley) Cup.”
Kekalainen, the Sabres general manager, is strategic. Consider this gambit from seven years ago in Columbus. The Blue Jackets kept goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and wing Artemi Panarin at the trade deadline in March 2019, rather than trade them – both became free agents that summer.
The Blue Jackets’ gamble: Make Bobrovsky and Panarin key cogs in a lengthy playoff run. Columbus swept Tampa Bay, heavy Stanley Cup favorites that year, in a first-round series but lost to Boston, who later lost to the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final that year. Still, retaining Bobrovsky and Panarin proved Kekalainen’s strategy.