The Buffalo Sabres are wasting no time digging into one of their biggest problem areas. Early in training camp, the power play is already getting attention, and Lindy Ruff says Eric Staal will have a bigger hand in coaching that group.
On Friday, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic posted the two units the Sabres were using in practice, and the first group jumped out immediately:
Sabres working on some special teams on day two of camp.
PP1 is Thompson, Dahlin, Doan, Benson and Quinn
PP2 is Power, Kulich, Norris, Ostlund and McLeod with Helenius mixing in.
- Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) September 18, 2026
That top unit is especially notable because it’s the same five Buffalo rolled out in the playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens. That group helped the Sabres find real traction on the man advantage, as they scored nine power-play goals in seven games against Montreal after managing just one in the series against the Boston Bruins.
Five of those nine goals came from that first unit. Jack Quinn scored twice, while Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Zach Benson each chipped in once. With that kind of production, it makes sense for Buffalo to keep the group intact and lean on the chemistry it already built in that series.
The second unit, though, is where the bigger reshuffling is happening.
Buffalo lost both Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram over the offseason, so those spots had to be filled somehow. The Sabres are looking at Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund and possibly Konsta Helenius to help handle that load, while Owen Power is back in the mix after a limited role last season and is taking Byram’s spot.
There’s also the Jason Zucker factor. He’s sidelined after offseason surgery and is expected to miss the start of the season, which leaves another hole to sort through. Zucker has been a major part of Buffalo’s power play over the past two seasons, leading the team in both of them and standing as the only player with double-digit power-play goals in that span.
It’s still early, and plenty can change before the Sabres settle on a final look. But the plan is already clear enough: keep the top unit together, then try to patch up the second group in a way that gives Buffalo a better shot at finally moving the power play in the right direction.
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With Quinn now entering the final year of his contract, the timing matters as much as the performance. The Sabres are looking for more offense and more consistency from the lineup, and Quinn appears to be pushing his way toward a larger opportunity in both the everyday rotation and special teams. For a player trying to turn a strong camp into a bigger season, the next question is how much of that expanded trust he can turn into real game-time responsibility. [Read more 🡒]