On the outside looking in of the Stanley Cup Playoffs the Buffalo Sabres need these three things to happen ..."/> On the outside looking in of the Stanley Cup Playoffs the Buffalo Sabres need these three things to happen ..."/>
Fansided

Heres’s what the Buffalo Sabres need to do to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs

By Derek Grochowski

CALGARY, AB - JANUARY 16: Buffalo Sabres Defenceman Marco Scandella (6) high-fives Defenceman Jake McCabe (19) after beating the Calgary Flames 4-3 in overtime on January 16, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - JANUARY 16: Buffalo Sabres Defenceman Marco Scandella (6) high-fives Defenceman Jake McCabe (19) after beating the Calgary Flames 4-3 in overtime on January 16, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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BUFFALO, NY – JANUARY 3: Rasmus Dahlin #26 of the Buffalo Sabres skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers during an NHL game on January 3, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – JANUARY 3: Rasmus Dahlin #26 of the Buffalo Sabres skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers during an NHL game on January 3, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Youth Movement

Coming into the season the Sabres boasted two of the most talked about rookies in the league. Number one overall pick Rasmus Dahlin carried with him a crazy amount of hype and center Casey Mittelstadt had a fair amount of buzz after a strong introduction to the league at the end of last season. Mittelstadt has yet to really break through consistently this season, Dahlin has been as advertised but it is easy to see his game is capable of reaching another level.

Rasmus Dahlin has already shown the league he is capable of making highlight reel plays and has been a game changer for a Buffalo defense that was so poor last season at transitioning the play out of their zone. Night in and night out he continues to get better and look more comfortable, the Sabres need that development to continue so he can carry some of the lesser performers on the blue line.

Some nights Dahlin can take a game over and look like the most lethal player on the ice, including the forwards. Can he be expected to do that at the age of 18 every game? No. But if he can consistently keep raising his game and have more games like that it can get the Sabres over the playoff line.

Moving on to the curious case of Casey Mittelstadt. His six-game preview with the Buffalo Sabres at the end of last season couldn’t have gone better. He picked up five points and looked like a player capable of playing center in the NHL right away. It no doubt made Ryan O’ Reilly more expendable in the offseason but with limited success this year the job may have been given to Mittelstadt a little too early.

There are things to like about Mittelstadt’s game so far this season. He has been steady in the defensive zone, where many thought he would struggle. He has shown he has the hands to make goalies and defenseman look lost but the points just aren’t there. Developing any type of consistency to Mittelstadt’s game when it comes to point scoring would be phenomenal and help give the Sabres the second line of attack they will need when competition picks up down the stretch this season.

When talking about the youth movement of the Buffalo Sabres players like Tage Thompson and Lawernce Pilut cannot be discounted either. Like Mittelstadt, both have not put up a crazy amount of points this season but look to be on the edge of breaking out. Thompson has the size and shot that can make him lethal in the offensive zone. He struggles to get him into proper positioning in the offensive zone to use his shot but had been playing his best hockey of the season leading up to the break. Pilut has been a revelation on the back end for the Sabres. He brings a calming presence with the puck on his stick breaking out of the zone. While rarely making a bad pass.

Looking even deeper into the organization for an injection of youth, players like CJ Smith, Victor Olofsson and Alexander Nylander all will likely see time with the Sabres by the end of the season. All three are enjoying good seasons with the Rochester Americans and could provide that spark the Sabres need in the bottom half of their lineup to bolster their offense. Relying on the younger players in the organization could pay dividends not only now but in the future as these prospects turn into everyday NHL players.

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