3 Sabres Who Need to Step Up in the Second Round vs the Canadiens

The Buffalo Sabres made their way out of the first round in dramatic fashion when they bested the Boston Bruins and won the series 4-2 last week. As they look ahead to the second round against the Montreal Canadiens, they will be in for a much more even matchup, as their Canadian counterparts play a much more similar game to their own, compared to the Bruins. If the Sabres want to find the same kind of success in the second round, they will need a few players in particular to step up and be much better than they were in Round 1.

Jason Zucker

It was odd to see such a struggle out of Jason Zucker, especially considering how consistent he was throughout the regular season. After posting his second consecutive 20-plus goal season and being one of their best power-play producers, he was poised to be a big part of the Sabres’ scoring efforts in the first round. Unfortunately, he was as invisible as ever, posting only a single assist.

For Zucker, it was not for a lack of trying. He was still doing all of his usual things on the ice: shooting the puck, pressuring on the forecheck, blocking shots, and battling on the boards. The problem was simply with his finishing. He even said himself in multiple postgame interviews that he was a bit snake bitten when asked about it, but he also said that with it being the playoffs, it’s something that can just happen. Zucker, being one of the few legitimate scoring threats that the team has on the man advantage, does not have time to be snake bitten anymore. He needs to start putting the puck in the net because if he lays another goose egg in the goal column, the Sabres will struggle.

Ryan McLeod

“Painful” is the right word to describe how watching Ryan McLeod was in the first round. He just did not look like himself. He was not doing well on faceoffs (despite being called on many times in pressure situations), he was not shooting the puck (seven total shots in six games), and he was not driving his line to success like he had been for the majority of the season. With him, Zucker, and Jack Quinn functioning as Lindy Ruff’s second line for most of the season, having a combined zero goals among the three of them was rough to see, especially when McLeod was the center of it all, and wasn’t being a good enough playmaker like he has shown he can be.

His only saving grace was that he was skating hard, but even that was not enough most nights. He was caught out of position a lot, and it hurt him (showing in his team-worst minus-4 plus/minus… the next two lowest being Quinn and Zucker at minus-1 each). The Sabres need all the firepower that they can get, and having McLeod back on track to being a scoring threat is paramount. They need him to do what he does best: using his speed, making good plays, and being defensively sound. If he can get back to his usual rhythm, he will match up well against the Canadiens and their top six forward group.

Josh Norris

It is a bit tougher to assess the first round of Josh Norris since he was out for half of it, but judging the games he was in, there was a lot left to be desired from him. Norris is the Sabres’ highest-paid forward, and while he will likely not be their highest-scoring player because of it, he still needs to be much better than the third-line minutes he is getting. On top of that, he needs to be producing at a much better rate than he is. His lone playoff goal this season has been an empty-netter, and he has not had much of a presence outside of that goal.

Norris has only managed four shots in the three games he has played, and that just is not enough for a player of his caliber. With him slotted to have wingers like Zach Benson and Josh Doan flanking him, there are plenty of good options for him to set up and to get set up by. He is a smart and efficient player that has some really good goal-scoring talent, and the Sabres will need that to match what the Canadiens are bringing to the table. If anyone needs a hot and fast start to this series, it’s Norris.

The Sabres as a whole need these three to be on their “A-game” because the series will likely become a barn-burning scoring fest if either defense falters even a little bit. The key is to have consistent scoring and get the cold players rolling.