Practice report | Appert talks about the progression of the power play

According to Buffalo Sabers assistant coach Seth Appert, strong play this year has been a “slow, steady step.”

Over the past two games, however, the pace of that march has picked up.

After starting the season 0-for-22 with the extra man on the ice, the Sabers scored twice on the power play in their last two games, both goals coming from Jason Zucker.

Appert shared the progress of the power play after practice at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, attributing the recent success to improved pieces that have complemented the Sabres’ skill set.

“It’s been a slow, steady step to how we go in, how we rebound pucks, how we attack rebounds, how we take pressure off rebounds, and all those things have to be in order for the players to then let their skill shine.” , – said Appert.

“I think we did it better. Not ideal. We have a lot of work to do. And I think in the last five or six games we’ve been turning all of that into scoring opportunities, and then a few of them started scoring.”

According to Natural Stat Trick , the Sabers have created 11 scoring chances in six power plays over the past two games. Zucker buried the rebound of Tage Thompson’s shot against Detroit on Saturday and then hit Thompson’s aerial shot against Florida on Monday.

Owen Power, most recently a second-unit defenseman, pointed to the Sabres’ ability to win puck battles and maintain possession after missed shots as a key area of ​​growth since the start of the season.

“When you can get a few possessions on the power play and kind of wear them down, you’re going to create a lot more and eventually the pucks will go,” Power said.

In the Sabres’ second power play against the Panthers, they had several scoring opportunities despite not burying one of their former goaltenders, Serhiy Bobrovsky. Dylan Cozens and JJ Pieterka each had one deflections, while Thompson had a backdoor shutout.

“I think before when we didn’t score a lot, it just gave the other team momentum and we didn’t really create a lot of chances, especially early in the year,” Power said. “I think both goals help a lot and it all depends on the results. But even when we don’t score, I think we’re better at creating chances and somehow turning the moment around.”

The process of trying to improve power play performance on the ice also happened off the ice. Appert credited the Sabres’ leaders with helping to keep the confidence alive as the group worked to improve the unit both in practice and in the video room.

“If you believe in what you’re doing and the players are interested in what they need to do, I believe the results will follow,” Appert said. “But yes, it could be a try. I give credit to our guys, especially the leaders, Dahlin, Thompson, Tuch and guys like that, coming out and continuing to attack some of the problem areas.”

Here’s to more Tuesday workouts.