The Buffalo Sabres, new to the playoff scene, have a problem on their hands.
The Buffalo Sabres have built their arsenal of players over the course of their 14-season-long playoff drought. However, their arsenal is full and surpassing expectations as a team that’s just holding their own in the playoffs is proof of that.
As much as people focus on who’s actively playing on the ice, sometimes it’s easy for the healthy scratches to get overlooked. In the case of the Sabres, what happens when there’s great talent on and off the ice?
The talent could wait for the opportunity to hit the ground running, or there could be stakes. The Sabres had their regulars like Zach Benson and Mattias Samuelsson on the ice for all four games of the first round of the playoffs.
On the other hand, as much as the Sabres had their three-goalie rotation, there had also been other fresh players on the ice.
Tyson Kozak stepped into the limelight on April 23 for Game 3 against the Boston Bruins. He was swapped in for Josh Dunne and played in Game 4 as well. No injuries surrounding Dunne have been reported at this time.
Previously out due to an upper-body injury, Noah Östlund made his first playoff appearance in Game 3. He was swapped in for Norris, who sustained an injury and is considered day to day. Östlund, much like Kozak, played in Game 4.
Other than the scratches and the injury mentioned, the Sabres have more healthy scratches in their back pocket.
The Sabres have Tanner Pearson and Luke Schenn, who were acquired during the trade deadline. The depth duo made an appearance during the regular season but haven’t been seen on the ice since.
It will be interesting to see what Lindy Ruff does with them, given that both have made playoff appearances in the past. Pearson won a cup in his rookie season with the LA Kings back in the 2013-14 season. Additionally, Schenn won a cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021.
Both players have playoff experience and a Stanley Cup under their belt. It appears Lindy Ruff might be waiting for the right opportunity to put them in, and swapping in Kozak and Östlund could be just the start of moving players around.
Another healthy scratch is Zach Metsa. For reasons unknown, Metsa was removed from the picture toward the end of the Sabres regular season. The defenseman was recalled back in October and was often paired with newcomer Logan Stanley.
On the other hand, it wasn’t until March that Metsa was sent back to Rochester, and Conor Timmins took his spot. Timmins played in all four games of Round 1 so far in the playoffs.
The others, Colten Ellis and Michael Kesselring, seemed to fade just like Schenn and Pearson.
Ellis is the third in the goalie trio. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had been the Sabres’ starter and alternated with Alex Lyon during the regular season.
Ellis had played 16 games in the Sabres’ season, one being the first shutout of his NHL career. Even with his talent, Ruff had put him on standby, and the playoffs are no different.
As of now, there is obviously less focus on him but more on who will continue to be the Sabres starter, Luukkonen or Lyon.
Kesselring has been a coin toss ever since the Sabres acquired him from the Utah Mammoth in July. When the 2025-26 season started, he was injured and didn’t play until October 28.
Even with his injury, Kesselring hasn’t really shown signs of trade bait, even though he didn’t sign a six-year extension like Doan. Kesselring should be a player the Sabres let stick around.
The team finally has the physicality they’ve been lacking for years.
Much like Stanley, Kesselring is notable for collecting penalty minutes. Unfortunately, his time in the spotlight was short-lived, seeing as he became a healthy scratch toward the end of the season.
Stanley and Kesselring have played as a duo for a short time during the regular season. But with both of their physicality, it would be really entertaining to see them play on the same line together at a playoff level.
The only way of seeing these scratches make the lineup would be injury, or Ruff deciding to give them more ice time, as he did for Kozak.
The Sabres are at the point where everyone on the roster deserves to be there and has something to contribute, including the third and fourth lines. Regardless of whether they have playoff experience, they’ll have to wait their turn to play like any other healthy scratch.
Ruff is focusing on what he already has now and what’s happening organically instead of throwing players with experience into the mix right away. This really goes to show the faith he has in his team, including his goalies.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Coaches go with whatever goalie is the hottest at the time. In the first two games of round 1, the Sabres had Luukkonen as their starter. However, it was in Game 2 that he was a little bit shaky. Even in Game 1, he held his own, but there were some goals that he definitely wanted back.
Enter Lyon, the veteran. Between the pipes, he remains collected regardless of the circumstances of the game. This even applies off the ice. Having a hot streak and being the backup for Luukkonen, when he got the shakes in Game 2, Lyon was in the net in Game 3.
There has been debate leading up to Game 3 about the transition messing with Luukkonen’s psyche. It was quite clear that Luukkonen really got into his own head in Game 2, and that came out in his performance. So, would Lyon being in net Game 3 and 4 challenge Luukkonen in the right way?
That question still lingers, as Lyon nearly had a shutout in Game 4.
Ruff appreciates having three goalies and clearly goes with whoever’s on a high and puts them in the net. That’s a foundation that can be understood.
With the veteran experience Lyon has, would it be so bad if he were in the crease moving forward?
Looking at the big picture, it can go one of two ways: Luukkonen getting fired up about Lyon being in the net suddenly, especially with the playoff stakes, and that hunger comes to life. Or, Lyon stays in net a majority of the playoffs, and Luukkonen takes notes. Anything can happen with goalies.
It’s not a terrible position to be in as a goalie. Ruff believes in them, and the Sabres have a veteran goalie that the other two can learn from.
With that said, Luukkonen played in two playoff games thus far and is currently sitting as a backup. Playoff experience is playoff experience, regardless of whether you’re on the ice because the team is still in it.
The Sabres are approaching Game 5. If they keep playing like they’re playing now, strong and consistent, there’s a possibility of more hockey left for them. This can mean that the scratches might be able to make an appearance, but it’s risky. Either way, the Sabres continue to be unshaken.
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