Logan Stanley is settling into Buffalo, on and off the ice.
The 27-year-old had spent his entire professional career in the Winnipeg Jets’ organization before the Sabres acquired him March 6. Since then, he’s moved into a hotel, had his truck shipped in from Manitoba and made some trips to his hometown of Waterloo, Ontario, to see family. His girlfriend and daughter are in town visiting, too.
It’s a smoother transition because of the team he’s joined; vibes have been high as the tight-knit Sabres have soared to the Atlantic Division lead over the last few months.
“It’s an awesome group,” Stanley said after Tuesday’s practice at KeyBank Center. “Everyone’s kind of a similar age, and they’ve been really good to me and welcoming, and that’s made it easy, too.”
The Sabres play a faster-paced game than the Jets, defensemen included, which has taken some getting used to for the 6-foot-7 Stanley. But at its best, Buffalo avoids the high-event, chance-for-chance hockey seen in Sunday’s overtime loss at Anaheim.
“I was impressed by the attention to detail guys pay on the defensive side of it,” he said. “One of the things is, the less time you’re playing defense, the more time you have the puck and play offense. I think the guys have done a good job of buying into that motto: play hard D and go from there.”
A dependable third pair was a major need for Buffalo before the deadline, and Stanley and Zach Metsa have looked the part so far. They've passed the eye test, and their defensive numbers speak volumes.
In 43 minutes together at 5-on-5, they’ve allowed zero goals and just four high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick. And their matchups haven’t been pushovers. On Saturday in Los Angeles, they shut down the Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe line; Thursday in San Jose, they held up against the likes of Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.
