How McLeod and Greenway Can Help Get Dylan Cozens Going

Thursday’s practice saw a change to the middle-six forward lines of the Buffalo Sabres, with Dylan Cozens taking rushes on the right wing next to Ryan McLeod and Jordan Greenway. Consequently, Jack Quinn practiced alongside Peyton Krebs and Jason Zucker. The move keeps Buffalo’s original first and fourth lines from training camp and the start of the season intact.

Jiri Kulich worked as the extra forward and Zach Benson did not practice with the team as he remains on injured reserve. This indicates that Kulich will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game as he still attempts to earn a consistent spot in the lineup.

Read More: What Sabres Should Do With Jiri Kulich

Cozens’ move to the wing is the biggest takeaway from practice, as head coach Lindy Ruff continues to try to get him and Quinn going offensively. Cozens has yet to score this season and has only three points in 10 games.

Whether playing with McLeod and Greenway will help his offensive game remains to be seen, but there are some hints early in the season that the duo can.

McLeod and Greenway Offense Metrics

On the surface, McLeod’s five points and Greenway’s four in 10 games aren’t exactly eye-popping numbers. When looking into their other metrics, however, the offense starts to show through.

Outside of the Sabres’ top line of JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson, and Alex Tuch, Greenway has the highest rate of goals scored when on the ice of any forward. The Sabres have also created higher-quality chances when Greenway is on the ice than any forward besides Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Thompson.

Buffalo’s shot rates have also been fairly high when Greenway and McLeod have been on the ice, ranking as the third and sixth-best forwards in that department.

All of this is occurring despite McLeod and Greenway drawing the most faceoffs in the defensive zone. The duo has been deployed as the Sabres’ shutdown line, playing against top opponents. Dylan Cozens is embracing the challenge of raised responsibility.

“Obviously, those two guys are unbelievable defensively,” Cozens said. “I take pride in that. I pride myself as a player who can play two ways.”

Related: Evaluating Newest Sabres Forward Ryan McLeod

Cozens’ Fit

The PuckLuck WAR model is a great way to isolate player performance from team performance. The even-strength offensive and defensive metrics aren’t exactly flattering for Cozens early in the season compared to the rest of the league. He ranks in the 43rd percentile in offense and 28th percentile in defense.

Historically, Cozens has struggled defensively in tough matchups with the Sabres but projects to finish in the 85th percentile offensively. This mirrors the performances from McLeod and Greenway so far this season.

Over the first 10 games of the season, McLeod ranks in the 70th percentile in even-strength offense and 27th in defense before adjusting for opponent. Astoundingly, Greenway ranks in the 92nd percentile in offense and 39th in defense at even-strength.

As far as offensive WAR goes, only Rasmus Dahlin and Thompson rank higher than Greenway on the Sabres.

With Cozens’ historical and projected WAR metrics looking fairly similar to the two, McLeod and Greenway shouldn’t skip a beat. With eased defensive responsibility on the wing, Cozens is also in a position to exert more energy into utilizing his speed, shot, and offensive ability.

As the 23-year-old will be the first to tell you, it’s tough to remain positive when the pucks aren’t going in the net. With a new challenge and opportunity, Dylan Cozens is poised to finally break out for the Sabres this season.