Power confident Sabres are ready to compete for Stanley Cup

BRAMPTON, Ontario -- Owen Power is confident in himself and in what he feels the Buffalo Sabres are capable of this season.

"I honestly think we can go for a (Stanley) Cup, so I think that's the attitude everyone has got and the attitude we have to have," Power said Wednesday during Hockey Night in Brampton, a charity game that raised $1 million toward William Osler Health System building a new hospital. "It starts with getting better every day and then we will be in a good spot at the end of the year.

"With how young we are, we have the potential to get better throughout the year. So going in every day, getting a little bit better and focus on the present and not get too far ahead of ourselves."

The Sabres (42-33-7) finished one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, extending their postseason drought to 12 seasons. However, their 91 points were 16 more than they had in 2021-22 (32-39-11).

Buffalo scored 293 goals last season, third in the NHL, and was the only team in the top-12 in scoring that missed the playoffs. That's in part because they allowed 297 goals, the seventh most in the League.

To that end, the Sabres focused on adding depth and experience at defenseman during the offseason, signing Connor Clifton to a three-year, $9.99 million contract ($3.33 million average annual value) and Erik Johnson to a one-year, $3.25 million contract July 1.

"I think the team as a whole is confident coming into this year," Power said. "I think with us for how young we are, we're going in with the goal to get better every day. And if we do that, we'll be in a good spot at the end of the year."

The 20-year-old, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, led NHL rookie defensemen last season with 35 points (four goals, 31 assists), was a plus-10, averaged 23:48 of ice time in 79 games. He was third in voting for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, behind Seattle Kraken forward Matty Beniers and Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner.

Power believes having the experience of playing a full NHL season has him more confident compared to where he was last offseason, when he played eight games at the end of the 2021-22 season after signing his three-year, entry-level contract April 8, 2022.

"With some more games under my belt, it's been nice coming into the summer and knowing what I need to work to get out of the gates running this year," he said. "It's for sure helped a lot having a year of experience."

Getting to watch teammate defenseman Rasmus Dahlin every day also has helped. Dahlin, who the Sabres selected with the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, tied for fifth among NHL defensemen last season with 73 points (15 goals, 58 assists) in 78 games.

"It's been awesome," Power said of learning from Dahlin. "He's someone I've been able to watch and try to steal a lot of stuff from his game and try and add it to mine. I'm lucky to have a guy like that who has been through the same thing, just a little further down the road. I've been lucky to be able to come in, play with him and see him work every day."

While Power's expectations are high for the Sabres, he understands it will not be easy to make the playoffs in the Atlantic Division, with the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, each of whom has made the playoffs the past two seasons, and the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, who improved 13 points and six points in the standings, respectively, from 2021-22 to 2022-23. But he is ready to embrace the challenge.

"It's going to be fun," Power said. "Any time you get to play against the best teams in the League and compete for a playoff spot, it's a lot of fun. I'm excited and I know our whole team is excited for the challenge."