Ryan McLeod showing with Sabres that he can be more than a shutdown center

Mavrik Bourque, a top prospect learning on the job with the Dallas Stars, tried to catch Ryan McLeod as the Sabres center skated to the front of the net during the second period Tuesday night.

Bourque must have realized after a few choppy strides that he was in trouble.

McLeod created several feet of separation, collected the 2-on-1 pass from his linemate, Jason Zucker, and snapped the puck past goalie Jake Oettinger to give Buffalo a two-goal lead en route to a 4-2 win in KeyBank Center.

His speed is obviously a huge factor, Zucker said after practice Wednesday.

He pushes defensemen back and gives us wingers a lot of time with the puck on the wall when he has that much speed going through the middle.

Sabres center Ryan McLeod tries to stop a pass by Stars center Logan Stankoven during Buffalos win on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center.

Few in the NHL can match McLeods speed, one of several attributes that led the Sabres to acquire him from the Edmonton Oilers for one of their top prospects, Matt Savoie.

McLeod has eclipsed 20 mph 32 times through eight games, according to the NHLs Edge data.

Only five skaters have reached that mark more often: Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Roope Hintz, Brayden Point and Quinton Byfield.

McLeod used that elite speed to carve out an important role with the Oilers during each of their last three playoff runs, including last season when they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final.

The 6-foot-3 center was asked by Edmonton to shut down the opponents top players, which allowed McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to take advantage of their matchups, and he was an exceptional penalty killer.

Theres more to McLeods game than defense, though, and hes proven that by producing four goals and five points during a five-game point streak.

Watching him when he was in Edmonton, going to the Cup final, its obviously a different kind of hockey and I think when you gain that experience, you develop certain habits that translate, said Sabres center Tage Thompson.

For him, how intense he is all the time faceoffs, in the (defensive) zone.

Obviously, the first thing that sticks out is his speed.

He has a lot of skill, and he can finish plays off, too.

Hes a complete 200-foot player and someone thats not easy to play against every single night.

It gives us good momentum when he gets out there and he can hand shifts off to the next line and get the other team on their heels.

The doomsday theorists need to be reminded the Sabres have seven points and nobody else in the Atlantic Division has more than nine.

We're a week before Halloween and the season stretches to April.

Right now, you just pick up points and stay in the mix.

McLeods line with Zucker and Jordan Greenway ranks third in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, according to Evolving-Hockey.

The trio has combined to produce six goals and 14 points, an important source of secondary scoring for the Sabres (3-4-1) as they wait for Dylan Cozens and his linemates to break through offensively.

General manager Kevyn Adams saw that another experienced center was needed after the Sabres traded Casey Mittelstadt to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Bowen Byram in March.

The club finished last in the NHL in faceoff win percentage, a weakness Lindy Ruff planned to address when he took the job as coach, and it needed someone who could provide versatility.

Not only did Mittelstadt develop into a top-six center, he was comfortable playing on the wing and seemingly in every situation.

McLeod can do the same.

Last season, McLeod won 50.8% of his faceoffs, including a remarkable 67.5% in 43:50 of power-play ice time, and he shifted to the wing on Edmontons second line to give Draisaitl a reliable defender and playmaker.

McLeod helped the Oilers overcome a 2-9-1 start and finish with 104 points, second in the Pacific Division, before their 24-game playoff run ended with a 2-1 loss to the Panthers.

He shared lessons from that experience with his teammates in Buffalo, especially as the Sabres were trying to recover from an 0-3 start.

Anything can happen, McLeod told The Buffalo News after the Sabres morning skate Saturday in Chicago.

There we had a couple long postseasons where we maybe came into the next year thinking it was going to be a little easier than it was and we got a little reality check.

We just got back to the basics, working hard and sticking to those details.

It went a long way for us.

I think if we do that here, get back to playing hard and playing with a lot of pace and details, it will help us a lot.

Ruff has awarded McLeod and his linemates with more ice time as theyve emerged as the Sabres second-best trio.

McLeods 16:04 average ice time is almost two more minutes than he averaged in 81 regular-season games with the Oilers in 2023-24.

He ranks third among Buffalos forwards in shorthanded ice time, and the Sabres have outscored opponents 7-4 with McLeod on the ice at 5-on-5, even though the 25-year-old leads the team in defensive-zone faceoffs.

The Sabres gradually have expanded McLeods role, and hell earn time on the power play if he begins to win more faceoffs than Peyton Krebs, whos also left-handed and has won 65% of his 28 attempts in the dot.

Adams didnt plan for McLeod to be a stopgap until a prospect is NHL ready.

Though McLeod is a restricted free agent this summer, hes an experienced player who can grow with the franchises core players and possesses a skill set unlike any other on the roster.

One of the things we put a lot of value in is versatility, Adams said of McLeod during a one-on-one interview with The News earlier this month.

We felt that we had a hole after trading Casey (Mittelstadt), and we needed to address it.

He clearly fit what we were looking for, and I love his versatility.

You can put him on the wing, he kills penalties, hes got great speed and hes experienced now.

He just went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and, our players, you feel that.

Hes fit right in.

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