NHL.com’s fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at the Buffalo Sabres defenseman trio of Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Bowen Byram.
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For much of the Buffalo Sabres’ Stanley Cup Playoff drought (13 seasons; longest in NHL), their defensive play, scoring depth at the position and possession metrics have been lacking. But this season looks to be much different with their defenseman trio of Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Bowen Byram making waves with offensive prowess and strong advanced metrics.
Per NHL EDGE stats, the Sabres are tied for third in defenseman goals (14) behind the Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken (15 each). They also rank among the leaders in high-danger shots on goal (19; tied for third; Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators have 21 each) and high-danger goals (three; tied for second behind Florida Panthers’ four).
As a team, Buffalo has the 10th best shot attempts percentage at 5-on-5 (51.6) in the League, a strong indicator of a team’s playoff chances. Dating back to and including the season of Buffalo’s last postseason appearance (2010-11), its best finish in shot attempts percentage over that span was 13th in 2018-19 (50.0), and there were a number of bottom-five finishes in the category over that span.
The Sabres are one of four teams with at least three defensemen having double digits in points this season:
1. WSH: John Carlson (14), Jakob Chychrun, Rasmus Sandin (11 each), Trevor van Riemsdyk (10)
T2. BUF: Dahlin (19), Power (15), Byram (13)
T2. VGK: Shea Theodore (17), Alex Pietrangelo (14), Noah Hanifin (12)
T2. EDM: Evan Bouchard (15), Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse (10 each)
After two combinations of Avalanche defenseman trios (49 and 48 points) involving Cale Makar, the NHL’s points leader at the position (30 in 22 games), the Sabres have the next-highest scoring trio at the position in the League (47 points).
Buffalo has leaned on its defenseman group during the injury absence of elite center Tage Thompson. The Sabres, who have the highest percentage of their points coming from defensemen (32.2) this season, are 4-1-0 in Thompson’s absence, including a three-game road winning streak with victories at the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.
Dahlin is an NHL EDGE stats standout, ranking among the leaders in total skating distance (78.95 miles; 98th percentile), top shot speed (96.34 miles per hour; 91st percentile) and offensive zone time percentage at even strength (46.6; 95th percentile). Dahlin is tied with Power for seventh among defensemen in high-danger shots on goal (six) and tied for eighth in long-range shots on goal (30).
Power is quietly second among NHL defensemen in even-strength points (15) behind only Makar (16). In terms of total skating distance, Byram (69.79 miles; 87th percentile) and Power (68.14 miles; 86th percentile) join Dahlin in ranking highly. This trio is also helping Buffalo improve on the defensive end under new coach Lindy Ruff; they are allowing 7.19 high-danger shots on goal per game this season compared to 8.29 last season.
The Sabres have a viable No. 1 goalie in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (.910 save percentage in 68 games over past two seasons combined) and will benefit from Thompson (18 points in 16 games; expected to return Wednesday) rejoining a forward group that also features high-scoring wings Alex Tuch (21 points in 21 games) and JJ Peterka (16 points in 19 games). But if Buffalo’s long playoff drought finally comes to an end this season, its defenseman trio will need to sustain its strong play on both ends of the ice relative to the rest of the League.
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