Sabres rediscover their power play in 2nd-round series-opening win over Montreal
BUFFALO, N. Y. (AP) — Sabres forward Ryan McLeod didn’t mind fielding questions about Buffalo’s power-play production on Wednesday night.
A unit that converted just 1 of 24 opportunities in its six-game first-round playoff series against Boston went from being anemic to prolific in a 4-2 second-round series-opening win against Montreal . Buffalo finished 2 of 3 with the man advantage against the Canadiens. McLeod scored on the Sabres’ second opportunity before setting up Bowen Byram’s goal on the next one to build a 4-1 lead.
“Maybe keep asking, if we’re going to keep scoring now,” McLeod said with a laugh to reporters. “Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t. But it’s a process of building it and getting your look.
So I think, we got them tonight. ” The Sabres host Game 2 of the series on Friday night. Buffalo’s power play was so bad in the first round, the Sabres’ 4.
2% conversion rate was tied for 865th out of 897 teams that had 20 or more opportunities in a playoff series since 1978. The struggles actually carried over from the final seven regular-season games during which the team went 0 for 22. “It was hit or miss throughout the last couple of games there, and tonight was one of those nights where we had to get more pucks back in retrievals,” Josh Doan said.