Once again, the Buffalo Sabres’ defense is front and center, and not in a good way. The defensive corps has continued to struggle as the 2023-24 campaign enters its third month despite being expected to improve after the signings of Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton in free agency. As a result, the team as a whole has stumbled.
More frustrating is that these are the same problems as last season. The Sabres are still overcrowded on the blue line and have been undone by slipshod, disorganized play. It’s been an incredibly unwelcome occurrence given they’re expected to be a postseason team this year, and while they still very well could be, a fix needs to be found before it’s too late.
New Season, Same Frustrating Sabres
The theme this season has been inconsistency. The Sabres haven’t been playing outright badly and have turned in several very impressive performances, none more than a stunning three-goal rally in the third period on Nov. 24 to knock off the Pittsburgh Penguins. The problem is that the team hasn’t been able to build any sort of momentum and has won consecutive victories only once. There are many reasons for that, but poor defensive play is unquestionably the biggest.
To give credit where it’s due, Buffalo’s defense has improved slightly this season, as Johnson and Clifton have provided the unit with the veteran experience it desperately needed. But though they appear to be more coherent now, the rest of the unit isn’t playing very well, and no one is entirely free of blame.
Rasmus Dahlin continues to be the anchor and is averaging 25 minutes per game, but his play has been messier than normal, and his minus-10 rating (despite 21 points) is a testament to that. His partner, Mattias Samuelsson, normally provides a great balance, but his strong positional play has gone MIA, and his minus-three is a stark about-face from the plus-14 he posted in 2022-23.
It might be tough for some to stomach, but Owen Power may be the worst offender. As impressive as his skating and offensive abilities are, the sophomore continues to show weakness in his own zone, as he often gets caught up ice and gives up costly turnovers. Partner Henri Jokiharju has helped make up for it, and his plus-two rating is tied for best on the team, but Power’s tendency to overcommit frequently results in odd-man rushes against.
The arrival of Ryan Johnson has been something of a boost. It was beginning to seem like the 31st selection from the 2019 Draft wouldn’t join them after playing out the entirety of his collegiate eligibility at Minnesota. However, he signed in May and made his long-awaited debut on Nov. 4. He’s appeared in 13 games since and has helped ease some of the woes, playing to a plus-one.
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Further complicating things is that Buffalo’s high-powered offense has gone stone-cold. The Sabres scored the third-most goals in the NHL last season, and it was often enough to compensate for their abysmal defense, but this season, the script has flipped. Tage Thompson’s three-week absence was a factor, but many forwards are underperforming, and the goal-scoring machine that the team was last year has ground to a halt. Without the offensive boost, the problems of the defense have become even more evident.
Goaltending Continues To Languish
Buffalo’s defensive issues last season were compounded by the additional problems they endured in goal. A strong defense can compensate for weak goaltending and vice-versa, but when both are bad, it’s very difficult to hide. Likewise, it’s been more of the same in 2023-24.
The Sabres’ situation in net is more volatile than ever after they elected to start the season with 21-year-old Devon Levi as the number one, and their poor defense has wreaked havoc on those plans. The rookie struggled heavily at times and received very little assistance in front of him. The team made the wise choice of demoting him to the minors before any damage would become permanent, though he was recalled on Tuesday after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen came down with an illness.
The problems on defense were never more glaringly evident than in Tuesday’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Eric Comrie was torched for four goals as his blueliners were constantly out of position and failed to clear traffic from the front of the net. The Sabres did score three straight to make it a one-goal game, but the rally fell short. Comrie played well, all things considered, and made several big stops to prevent the game from becoming a blowout, but, once again, the team couldn’t pick its goaltender up (from “Observations: Sabres still trying to solve ‘frustrating’ starts after another brutal loss,” The Buffalo News, 12/6/23).
The only thing that’s taken any pressure off of the poor defense is the emergence of Luukkonen as their top goaltender. His strong play is reflected by his 2.81 goal-against average, but the lack of offensive support has wasted many of his efforts, and his record stands at just 6-5-1.
Where In The World Is Jacob Bryson?
If anyone had forgotten that Jacob Bryson exists at this point, it would be understandable. The 26-year-old has become a pressbox regular this season and has appeared in just three games. The new additions have made him an afterthought, and it’s become obvious that he’s no longer a priority to the coaching staff, as he started the campaign as the seventh defenseman and became the eighth after Ryan Johnson arrived. At this point, the Sabres need to either use him or lose him.
Over the last two seasons, head coach Don Granato frequently shuffled the defense in an attempt to find the best possible top six. This season, he’s largely stuck to the same names, and while that’s good from a continuity perspective, it’s a bit puzzling given how much some of them have struggled. Bryson would have the opportunity to be a spark if he were added to the mix again. He’s proven himself as a serviceable stay-at-home defender, and he’s a good enough skater to occasionally carry the puck up ice to help create opportunities. With how bad things are already going, there’s little risk in giving him a shot.
If Bryson no longer factors in and the team doesn’t intend to use him, he needs to be traded. He’d be an easy, inexpensive option for a team looking for a third-pairing or depth defender, and Buffalo could command a future fourth or fifth-round pick in return. He does the Sabres no good being a healthy scratch night in and night out, and moving him would free up cap space that they’ll need more and more of going forward. It would also allow Ryan Johnson to take the seventh defenseman spot and develop at a slower, more manageable rate.
Sabres Must Make Adjustments Across The Board
It goes without saying that the Sabres will need several adjustments to alter their course, but that still can’t be stated enough. Granato has made efforts to change his team’s philosophy, but to this point, nothing has worked, and much more will be required. For starters, the team as a whole needs to be more hardnosed, something Dylan Cozens has directly alluded to.
“We need to finish more checks, be harder to play against, stronger on puck battles,” he said after a 6-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last Saturday. “We need to kill plays in the defensive zone. We’ve got to be way harder to play against.”
The blueline corps, in particular, has been bullied by opponents due to their unassertiveness. Dahlin and Erik Johnson never shy away from throwing checks, and it’s a major reason for their success, but the rest of their compatriots seem to not notice. Power, in particular, is frequently beaten in one-on-one battles due to his apparent reluctance to engage physically. At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, he shouldn’t be getting out-muscled in any situation and needs to start taking more advantage of his hulking physique.
What’s strange is that while the defense is often passive when it comes to hitting, they’re also too aggressive in their game plan and need to simplify their approach. They’ve frequently been caught out of position from chasing the puck in the defensive zone and have left their goaltenders out to dry. A more conservative mentality and letting the play come to them instead could prevent a lot of mistakes.
Over-aggressiveness can also be attributed to their sudden issues with turnovers. Perhaps in an attempt to compensate for the lack of production on offense, the defense has made a habit of trying to hurry the puck up ice and going for long, homerun passes that are usually either intercepted or result in icings. Samuelsson has struggled with this, in particular, and has looked downright clumsy at times, a far cry from the normally smooth and collected presence fans have come to know. Sometimes, the safe play is the right play, and the Sabres need to embrace that after becoming far too daring in their decision-making.
As of Thursday, the Sabres are 10-14-2 with 22 points, putting them third-last in the Eastern Conference. However, they’re only six points out of a playoff spot, showing they can easily get back into the race if they can get hot and start piecing victories together. Alas, they haven’t been able to do that, and the defense has been the biggest reason why. If the issues they’ve had aren’t addressed, their chances will continue to slip away.
