Sabres’ Owen Power quietly developing into special defenseman

BOSTON – Sometimes, Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff explained, a defenseman plays so well you hardly notice him.

Ruff mentioned that in response to question about Owen Power’s performance in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Bruins, and if it ranked as perhaps his best outing this season.

Power, 23, hardly stood out in Game 5. His four-game assist streak ended. He registered just one shot on goal in 23 minutes, 21 seconds of ice time.

Like he has often in his fourth full NHL season, he just kind of blended in, playing an efficient, mostly mistake-free game.

“His consistency in his game, his defending in his game has really come a long way,” Ruff said earlier this week in KeyBank Center.

The Sabres on Friday advanced to the second round of the playoffs by beating the Bruins 3-1 in Game 6 in TD Garden.

The development of a puck-moving defenseman can be long and arduous. The 6-foot-6, 226-pound Power made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2022-23, playing hard minutes normally reserved for an established veteran.

Then his defending seemed to plateau for a couple of years, and he often struggled. Last season, he registered an ugly minus-13 rating. This year, he improved to plus-9.

“I really feel that he’s elevated his game,” Ruff said. “His game has gone in the right direction from the start of the year until now.”

Most numbers, however, don’t illustrate Power’s growth; the eye test does.

His point total dropped from 40 to 29 in the regular season and his assist total fell from 33 to 21. Both are career lows. His even-strength point total, 26, matched his total from his first two years.

For the first time in a full season, he did not have any power-play points.

But he looks confident and can be a bear to play against. He has clearly earned Ruff’s trust. His defensive-zone starts shot up to a career-high 54 percent this season, up from 48.5 percent last year.

“I definitely think this year has probably been my best year,” Power told the Times Herald following Thursday’s practice in Buffalo. “I think numbers-wise, it’s probably not.

“But how I feel and how I’m playing, I think it’s definitely been my best year. Coming into the playoffs, I felt good about my game. I’ve been happy with the start.”

In his first taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Power has thrived, becoming just the third defenseman in NHL history to register an assist in each of his first four games.

Power said a lot of his success “comes with my feet.”

“From there kind of comes everything else,” he said.

“I think my defending’s been a lot better, and that comes, in my opinion, strictly from me moving my feet and me being more confident in my feet,” he said.

Ruff believes Power, who no longer quarterbacks the second power-play unit, will generate points if he keeps showcasing the same style.

“If I look at his five-on-five play right now, it’s in a real good place,” Ruff said. “I thought the last game, there was a couple opportunities where he just missed out on delivering and creating better opportunities when he had the puck up top.

“But when you look at his game in whole, it’s in a good place.”

Power said he’s confident more points will materialize.

“I’m not too worried about it,” he said. “I know if I keep creating chances, I know they’re going to come.”

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Sabres defenseman Logan Stanley, who has been sick, skated in Friday’s pregame warm-up but was replaced by Michael Kesselring.

Kesselring, 26, became the 14th Sabres player to make his postseason debut in the series.

“When the (lineup) sheet goes up, he understands that there’s a good opportunity for him to play,” Ruff said.

Kesselring, who battled injuries early in the season, had sat out 20 of the last 22 contests as a healthy scratch, including all five games in the playoffs. He rotated in alongside different defensemen.

“Really worked hard,” Ruff said. “He’s done a lot of work post-practice, during practice, really liked how he’s skating. Probably skating as well now as he skated post-all the injuries he dealt with.”

Since training camp, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Kesselring has battled a knee injury and a high ankle sprain he re-injured. He has said the knee injury will nag him all season.

Before the Sabres acquired Stanley and defenseman Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets before the trade deadline, Kesselring found a bit of a groove.

Kesselring hadn’t played since April 15, the regular-season finale.

“I thought his game was getting to a better place, for sure, and we got to see that in those last few games of the season,” Ruff said.

In other lineup news, center Josh Norris replaced rookie Noah Ostlund, who suffered a lower-body injury on Tuesday.

Norris missed two games with an upper-body injury but was available to play in Game 5.