Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - After a bit of a slow start to the 2024-25 season, the Buffalo Sabres have finally started to find a way to string together some consistent performances to put themselves in a decent spot in the Atlantic Division through the first 10 games.
Buffalo was even able to string together a three-game winning streak recently, which was a rarity over the course of last season under the leadership of head coach Don Granato.
That winning streak came to an end on Monday night when the Sabres welcomed the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers for the second time in two weeks. Despite fighting back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the second period, the Sabres could not hold off a strong Panthers lineup in a 5-2 loss at KeyBank Center.
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One element to take away from Buffalo's performance Monday night was the team's effort to play close to the same fast, physical style of play the Panthers have played for years. This style of play is something that has echoed around the Sabres locker room for much of the early part of this season.
"We're on our way toward being that, and that's the goal. And it doesn't happen overnight," said Sabres assistant coach Seth Appert during his appearance on WGR on Tuesday. "They're years into that, we're 10 games into trying to play the style that Lindy [Ruff] wants us to play. Fast, competitive, hard on the puck, getting to the blue paint offensively. We've taken big steps in that regard, and there was a lot of that last night. But we just need to keep building on what we've done so far."
The Sabres' power play had some major struggles early this season, but it seems like both units have recently started to head in the right direction. Over the last few games, the Sabres have been able to create more high-danger scoring chances while working with the man advantage.
That work has paid off with the first two power play goals of the season, both coming courtesy of winger Jason Zucker.
"We were seeing a good process that we were seeing in practice, it was coming out in game. We had about three or four real good efforts before we finally got the results," Appert said with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase. "Even in the Dallas [Stars] game, we only had one power play. We didn't score, but we created a ton of momentum because the scoring chances that were created off of it. That positive momentum then led to us scoring two 5-on-5 goals to break that game open a couple minutes later. That's the power play. You want to create momentum for your team. Certainly you want to score, which we did [Monday] night, but you want to create positive momentum with the process, with the habits, with the work ethic that goes into it."
The Sabres will return to game action on Friday night when they host the New York Islanders on Hockey Fights Cancer Night at KeyBank Center. Faceoff from Downtown Buffalo is slated for 7 p.m. ET, with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.