"It's one thing to implement systems," Housley said. "They're trying to buy into what we're doing and they're working hard at it. But if you want to separate yourself from other people on the team or the totem pole, you've got to do the things that require hard work ethic. Maybe it's blocking shots, maybe it's taking hits to make plays, maybe you're first on the forecheck."
Finding ways to get noticed has been even more difficult given an influx of penalties and thus a lack of 5-on-5 opportunities. It's been difficult for players to establish flow to their games, especially for those who aren't playing special teams.
In this area, Justin Bailey has looked to turn an undesirable situation into a positive by trying to standout on the penalty kill. At Penn State on Tuesday, Bailey was part of a unit that went 7-for-9 against the Pittsburgh power play.
"I think it's been a weird preseason with a lot of penalties," Bailey said. "For me, I've found success on the penalty kill and that's something that I'm trying to add to my game. If I'm going to play here, that's something I want to do. I'm just trying to improve on that."
For all the time the Sabres have spent in the box over the past two games - they surrendered nine power plays again in Toronto on Friday night - they've been successful on the kill, allowing just three goals on 18 tries. Bailey said they've been instructed to play aggressive when shorthanded.
"I'm a big guy and I have a long reach with my stick and one of my best assets is my legs, so whether it's a loose puck or a rebound or anything like that they want us to be going hard and physical at the guy," he said. "That's just what I'm doing, I'm getting my stick and trying to use my legs to limit the amount of time their power play has."
After tonight, Bailey will be one of a small handful of players to have played three preseason games, along with Victor Antipin, Nicolas Deslauriers, Seth Griffith, Johan Larsson and Matt Tennyson. Other roster hopefuls, like Hudson Fasching and C.J. Smith, will be making their second appearance against Toronto. They've been working to stand out in practice and in scrimmages.
"Making plays hard and crisp, not really lagging out there," Smith said. "Just working as hard as I can. It doesn't really matter who I'm with or where I'm at. I'm given an opportunity, so I'm trying to do the little things right and be really sharp on my habits."
