The Buffalo Sabres' power play went from ice cold to red hot when it mattered most. After a frustrating first-round series against Boston where the man advantage converted just 1 of 24 opportunities—a staggering 4.2% success rate—the Sabres finally found their groove in a 4-2 victory over Montreal to open the second round.
Facing the Canadiens on Wednesday night, Buffalo's power play clicked at a 2-for-3 clip, completely flipping the narrative. Forward Ryan McLeod was the catalyst, scoring on the Sabres' second power-play opportunity before setting up Bowen Byram's goal on the next one to build a commanding 4-1 lead.
"Maybe keep asking, if we're going to keep scoring now," McLeod joked with reporters after the game. "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 turnaround was especially dramatic given the context. Buffalo's first-round power-play conversion rate tied for 865th out of 897 teams with 20 or more opportunities in a playoff series since 1978. The struggles extended back to the regular season's final seven games, where the Sabres went 0 for 22 with the man advantage.
"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 explained.
While Buffalo's top unit—featuring stars like Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin—struggled to generate offensive-zone pressure against Montreal's penalty kill, the second unit delivered in a big way. Doan set the tone by winning a puck battle in front of the Canadiens' net, pushing the puck to an open spot where teammate Zach Benson immediately fed it through the crease to McLeod for a 2-0 lead at 13:26 of the first period.
McLeod returned the favor early in the second period, batting down defenseman Mike Matheson's clearing attempt before chasing down the puck and feeding Byram for a goal from between the circles at 9:01.
The Sabres now look to build on this momentum when they host Game 2 of the series on Friday night. For a team that rediscovered its power-play touch at the perfect time, the message is clear: keep asking those questions, and keep scoring.