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Sun. Oct 6th, 2024

Sabers depth chart: How a new fourth line was built to change Buffalo’s identity

Sabers depth chart: How a new fourth line was built to change Buffalo’s identity

PRAGUE — Connor Clifton knows what a fourth line can bring to a hockey team.

When Clifton played with the Boston Bruins during their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, Boston’s fourth line included Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly and Noel Acciari, with Chris Wagner joining the team. This was a group that wore teams down, facing the top of the line and never giving up. Clifton starts talking about a situation where in the playoffs the expected goals share was 54 percent at five-on-five.

“His invaluable for the team,” Clifton said. “They just kept grinding, didn’t miss opportunities, finished well and played hard.”

Clifton sees similar traits in his three new teammates who make up the Buffalo Sabres’ fourth line. Within a week this summer, the Sabers traded Beck Malenstyn and then signed Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel in free agency. All three will earn a combined $3.8 million this season. They may not get a ton. However, it didn’t take long for them to show what they could add to Buffalo’s lineup. During the preseason, this trio was the Sabres’ fastest and most physical line. Lindy Ruff likened it to playing soccer on the run because it can wear down opponents.

“You can’t measure it,” Clifton said. “The way they play is contagious. You want to emulate guys like that. Because of this, you want to play a little more physical and faster.

“They clear the puck low, get it to the net, and it really makes it difficult for the other team. This is huge. It’s exhausting. It’s like, man, I want to stay away from this line. They are exactly like that. They have great speed and they just play the right way. It’s a lot of fun to watch these three work like this.”

The line dominated the two preseason games. When they were on the ice together five-on-five, the Sabers had nine high-risk chances to win and just two against. Buffalo’s expected goal percentage in these situations was just under 80 percent.

“They were abusing the guys there,” Clifton said. “They are going to finish the hits. They will make D look twice or thrice. Perhaps these defenders will go a different route where they won’t have to take such hard hits. Then they’ll win some puck battles and keep the pressure on the O-zone. I think they’ll be great for us and they’ll be a lot of fun to watch.”

Rasmus Dahlin played against all three of Buffalo’s new additions and laughed as he said he was happy to be on their team now. He said they do everything right on the ice and that makes life difficult for defenders.

“When you’re on the ice, it’s always in the back of your mind,” Dahlin said of their physicality. “You skate more thinking about it than you do resting and playing your game. It’s hard to play against these guys because when they’re on the ice, you’re in your head.

At the March 2023 trade deadline, Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams asked then-captain Kyle Okposo if he thought the Sabers were being pushed around by other teams. Adams’ response then was to trade for Greenway, a physically imposing forward who led the team in goals last season. However, the Sabers still weren’t a strong team last season, ranking near the bottom of the league in scoring. When Ruff joined Buffalo’s staff, he, Adams and the Sabers front office went through a roster evaluation process. Three things stood out.

“We identified speed, size and physicality,” Adams said Athlete before a recent Sabers practice in Prague.

It took a week to add these three players to the squad, but it felt like it took years because they needed players like them. According to MoneyPuck, the Sabers have finished at the bottom of the league in scoring each of the last four years. All of Buffalo’s forwards who played a game last season combined for 991 hits last season. Malenstyn, Lafferty and Aube-Kubel had 592 goals between them. All three led Sabers forwards in scoring last season.

Often, Don Granato and his assistants would sit in the office before a game and consider who to face against another team’s top team. The Sabers’ top two lines were deficient defensively. The fourth line was responsible defensively, but lacked the speed to match the league’s best players. Buffalo started the games slowly, in part because it didn’t have a power line to set the tone. Too often, teams entered the KeyBank Center feeling like they could bully the Sabers.

“I felt like watching last year. “I wouldn’t say we were pushed, but I didn’t think we tired the teams enough,” Adams said. “I didn’t feel like we had enough guys like that on the roster where when they’re on the ice, the other team knows they’re on the ice. The puck goes deep, they’ll start working, they’ll finish checks, they’ll hang on to pucks, and they’ll really tire teams out.

Adams knew Ruff wanted to play the way he wanted to add players with the speed and physicality of Malenstyn, Lafferty and Aube-Kubel. All three were among the fastest players in the NHL last season, according to NHL Edge.

So Ruff shouldn’t have the same problem with game planning this season. He recently talked about the depth of the team and talked about the fourth line as the final result, but stopped short.

“I don’t even know if I should talk about the final score,” Ruff said. “They play in the bottom position, but they play like they are at the top. I think any coach is happy when all four lines play the same, are determined to play as well offensively and away from the puck as the other lines.

The third line also became faster and better defensively with the additions of Jason Zucker and Ryan McLeod joining Greenway. Greenway may have been Buffalo’s best defensive forward last season. Now they have four other contenders for that title.

The fact that Ruff values ​​it so much energizes the new incoming players. Malenstyn was having breakfast with his in-laws when he received the news that the Capitals had traded him to the Sabers in exchange for a second-round draft pick. He was shocked. Malenstyn, a restricted free agent at the time, knew his offseason wouldn’t be entirely uneventful. He just didn’t expect it.

Talking to Buffalo staff reassured him. Ruff made it clear that he had a clear vision of the role he could play and that this role was important. Malenstyn, who is 6-foot-10 and 200 pounds, led the Capitals in hits and blocks while playing a key role in taking penalties.

“It’s a brand of hockey that not everyone wants to play and it’s not always the prettiest,” Malenstyn said. “It’s easy to walk away from it because you want to score a goal. It’s amazing to be able to swallow that pill and be proud of your role and then see it and appreciate it from the other side by the coaching staff.

Malenstyn became even more excited about the Sabers deal when he got a call from Aube-Kubel, his Washington teammate. Shortly after the start of free agency, Aube-Kubel called Malenstyn and told him he had seen two apartments next to each other in Buffalo, then informed him he had signed with the Sabers. Not only were Malenstyn and Aube-Kubel linemates last season, but their wives are close and their sons are about the same age.

This familiarity helped on the ice. And Lafferty was a perfect fit in the middle. Malenstyn said their mission as a line is to “suffocate” teams with pressure. Aube-Kubel said that every time he is on the ice, he wants to influence the game with his body. Lafferty described what they bring to the game as “tilting the ice” when they can get to the ball before attacking.

“Coming to play for the Sabers was a big plus for me,” Lafferty. “Looking at their squad and playing with them over the years, you understand the firepower and skill they have. They just needed a little more depth and energy in their lineup. I felt I could contribute.”

In recent years, the Sabers’ bottom two lineups have been filled with players who have had to adapt to that role. Okposo was once a top power play player and goal scorer who had to play on the fourth line. Peyton Krebs was a prolific junior shortstop and first-round pick who learned to hit and tackle just to play a regular role. Zemgus Girgensons seemed to be the only natural fourth player in this group.

But all these new additions come from this work. As a child, Lafferty was coached by his stepfather, and his main coaching tenet was to give his all on every shift, regardless of the result. Malenstyn said he had only ever played a physical style and knew as a junior that would be his path to the NHL. Aube-Kubel seemed almost surprised when asked how he developed this physical style of play.

“It’s always been part of my game,” he said with a shrug.

Adams wanted players who were at a point in their careers where they knew who they were. He didn’t want the third and fourth lines to simply be filled with players who had been pushed down by other talented players.

“It’s kind of happened (over the last few seasons), but it’s not what we wanted,” Adams said. “That’s why we spent the summer focusing on the third and fourth lines.

“I think it sends a message to the guys in the locker room when everyone is in the game and playing the same way every time they are on the ice. I think it will lift the spirits of the rest of the guys.”

How much growth there will be remains to be seen. However, early signs indicate that this could be significant. Players have been raving about this line since the beginning of camp. Everyone can stand a little taller, knowing that the group is coming up to the boards and setting the pace. Last season, a player like Dylan Cozens felt the need to fight, to be a scorer and an energetic player. He didn’t hesitate to express the fact that the Sabers needed more pushback in their play. He was smiling from ear to ear as he talked about the way the line plays and how they help the Sabers build their identity as a team.

“I loved watching these guys play,” Cozens said. “Everyone is just flying up and down the ice and blowing guys up. They really have an identity. It’s great to watch and I can’t wait to see them play against real NHL teams and just beat them. They all love what they do and it will be fun to watch them fall on the court, circle around the ice and be difficult to play against. I wouldn’t want to play against them.”

(Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)

By meerna

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