BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres gave Noah Ostlund a shot on their top power play unit during practice Saturday, moving the 21-year-old center up alongside Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker as they looked for a jolt in a series that has gone flat with the man advantage.
Jack Quinn skated with the second unit, a change that came after Ostlund returned to the ice in Game 3 following almost a month out with an injury and quickly made an impact. He set up Bo Byram's second-period goal and later scored into an empty net, giving Buffalo at least one forward who has already shown he can turn limited ice time into production.
Ruff said Ostlund's read of the game is a major reason the Sabres are willing to try him in a bigger role. He said Ostlund sees the game really well, understands where people should be on different plays and has the kind of composure under pressure that helps him find the next play. Those traits matter now because Buffalo's power play has been the team's biggest weakness of late, and the numbers show why the staff is searching. The Sabres are 0-for-14 on the power play in the series, with four opportunities in Game 1 and 10 more chances over the past two games. Even so, the group has started to generate more quality looks, finishing with 20 scoring chances and eight high-danger scoring chances in the past two games after managing five scoring chances and two high-danger chances in Game 1.
The move to Ostlund is not a guarantee of a fix, but it is a clear sign the Sabres are willing to look beyond the familiar names. Buffalo has seen enough small signs of improvement to test a different look, and Saturday's practice suggested Ruff wants a player who processes the game quickly when the space disappears. For a power play that has stalled all series, that may be the most valuable trait left to try.
