Royal

As they often do, the Buffalo Sabres practiced their power play Tuesday at KeyBank Center.

In December, there was little continuity from one session to the next. Coach Lindy Ruff continued tinkering with his man-advantage units until something clicked.

It’s clicked in recent weeks as the Sabres have gone 9-for-28 (32.1 percent) on the power play since Dec. 21, sixth best in the NHL during that span.

Here are the familiar units Buffalo practiced with Tuesday:

Unit 1
 
 
 
17 Jason Zucker
 
22 Jack Quinn
72 Tage Thompson
77 JJ Peterka
 
26 Rasmus Dahlin
 
Unit 2
 
 
 
9 Zach Benson
 
24 Dylan Cozens
89 Alex Tuch
4 Bowen Byram
 
25 Owen Power
 

The second unit appears to be returning to a two-defenseman approach with forward Jiri Kulich, who usually sets up on the right flank, out with a lower-body injury. But predictability on Unit 1 has helped the group build and maintain its momentum during this latest hot streak.

“I just think chemistry as a unit,” Quinn said. “Just have to learn the players’ tendencies, what they like to do and where they’re going to be. So the more chemistry, the more you can think ahead for plays.”

Quinn scored a power-play goal – his second of the season – Saturday versus Seattle and now has seven total goals in his last 12 games.

“Seeing a couple go in goes a long way for confidence,” the 23-year-old said. “I just think I’m getting a few more looks now, few more looks on the power play. That translates – you need multiple looks to score. You’re not gonna score on every shot, so a few more looks and a little more confidence.”

Rasmus Dahlin, who has five power-play assists since his Dec. 23 return from back spasms, tallied the primary helper on Quinn's Saturday goal after holding the puck and teasing a shot attempt.

“He just opens up space,” Quinn said of Dahlin. “On that goal, he sells it pretty well that he’s gonna shoot, which kind of gives me an open net, even though it’s a tough angle. … Having him, it’s a lot of deception. Great power-play quarterback.”

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      Jack Quinn gives the Sabres a 2-0 lead

      Until recently, the left flank was home to Tage Thompson and one of the NHL’s hardest shots. Thompson still finds one-timer opportunities on the power play, but his movement to the bumper position has created space throughout the offensive zone.

      "That piece moving around – you’ve seen Tage score from the flank spot, you’ve seen a couple great opportunities from the bumper,” Ruff said. “You’ve seen the same thing out of Quinn where, if they want to try to get into the bumper and cover Tage, then Quinn is open. The fact that we’ve got more motion and pieces are rolling around, I think it’s really helped our power play.”

      “I think [Thompson] being in the middle has freaked out a lot of penalty kills,” Quinn added. “They’re really worried about him in there.”

      Buffalo’s power play will be tested Wednesday by a Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill converting at 85.0 percent this season – tied for the NHL lead.

      Here’s more from Tuesday’s practice.

      Tuesday's practice lines

      The Sabres rolled out the same lines in Tuesday's practice as in Monday's:

       

      Forwards  
      17 Jason Zucker24 Dylan Cozens72 Tage Thompson
      77 JJ Peterka71 Ryan McLeod89 Alex Tuch
      9 Zach Benson19 Peyton Krebs22 Jack Quinn
      29 Beck Malenstyn48 Tyson Kozak81 Sam Lafferty
        96 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
      Defensemen Goalies
      26 Rasmus Dahlin4 Bowen Byram1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
      25 Owen Power10 Henri Jokiharju47 James Reimer
      78 Jacob Bryson75 Connor Clifton 
      8 Dennis Gilbert23 Mattias Samuelsson 
       
       
       

      News and notes

      1. Owen Power remains paired with Henri Jokiharju, his partner for the last two games. He skated with Connor Clifton on Jan. 6 versus Washington, making it three straight games with a right-shot partner for the left-shot Power.

      With Power on the ice at 5-on-5 these last three games, the Sabres have outshot their opponents 20-19 and led 17-13 in scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

      Overall this season, Buffalo has better carried play when the former No. 1 overall pick is paired with a right-shot defenseman.

      “As a coach, I’m not real fond of the off-hand, just for the fact that you can’t shoot a lot of pucks coming off the wall,” Ruff said. “But I know [Power] can play either one, and he plays them both well.

      “Ideal partner? I don’t think we have that ideal partner, but I know he can play either side.”

      2. The Sabres spent much of Tuesday’s session practicing 5-on-5 offensive-zone work, continuing to prioritize interior plays and shot attempts.

      “We were trying to immediately get pucks to the net,” Ruff said. “… The purpose of the drill was to just create some predictability – know we’re getting the puck to the net there. I thought, and I’ll say this again about last game, we spent too much time hanging onto it around the perimeter. We needed to deliver it to the net sooner.”

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          Lindy Ruff addresses the media

          Up next

          The Sabres continue their homestand versus the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. Tickets are available here.

          Puck drop for Wednesday's nationally televised game (TNT, truTV, Max) is scheduled for 6 p.m.