One of the major flaws of the Buffalo Sabers last season was their lack of depth, but with the addition of a few veteran forwards this summer and the contribution of some of their younger prospects, the Sabers were able to survive the absence of main contributors Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway.
With Thompson and Greenway out, Buffalo was saved by its secondary scoring. Veteran Jason Zucker was expected to be primarily a supporting player when he signed a one-year, $5 million deal in July, but the 32-year-old was slotted into the Sabres’ power play in trouble and was opportunistic when elevated to the top. -six.
The well-traveled winger scored Buffalo’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Los Angeles on Wednesday and scored again late in the second period Saturday to tie the game in Anaheim after the Sabers took a 2-0 behind.
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Center Ryan McLeod exceeded expectations offensively after being acquired from Edmonton, scoring six goals and taking on an offensive role with Thompson out and Dylan Cozens struggling. Rookie Jiri Kulich was used primarily on the wing early in the season before being demoted to Rochester earlier this month, but since his recall he has played middle for the first time, and coach -head Lindy Ruff showed confidence to put the 20-year-old player in and it paid off with an overtime game-winner against the Ducks on Friday.
“If you look at his play and where he was on faceoffs, he deserved to be there,” Ruff said after Friday’s win.
The Sabers are 3-1 since Thompson was injured against Montreal and are tied for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo went 3-5-1 without their leading scorer last November, which helped land them in an early-season hole they couldn’t climb out of. If they can get the big center back on Saturday or before Thanksgiving, it could go a long way toward their playoff aspirations.
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