Buffalo Sabres vs. Canadiens: Post-Game Opinions – Prospects Challenge

The Buffalo Sabres faced the Montreal Canadiens to kick off the 2022 Prospects challenge and they took it, 4-3 in a comeback win. 

The Buffalo Sabres prospects pool lived up to their name in a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens prospects. As projected, first overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky made his presence known, but the Sabres kept him in check for most of the contest, though it took them about a half period to get it together.

Below, you will find a breakdown of what caught my eye throughout the event – the good, bad, and the ugly. But for this game, mainly the good.

Defense passes the test following a poor start

Beck Warm allowed two goals in the first period, but impressed overall over his 30 minutes in the net, saving 22 of 24 shots for a 0.916 save percentage. Tomas Suchanek looked great in his first ten minutes, and finished the game helping the Sabres kill not one, not two, but three penalties. He did allow one goal in the third, but had a good showing overall.

Oskari Laaksonen needed a big game defensively, and he showed up, looking confident, cool, comfortable all evening. As the Rochester Americans have a logjam in the defensive rotation, nothing helped him more than a strong showing.

Yes, he was one of the more experienced players on the ice and it was a game where he should have shined. Overall, he passed the test and I’m looking forward to him not only continuing to play a sound defensive game, but to continue displaying his ability to lead.

Overall, the Sabres stepped things up on defense from the tenth minute in the first period-onward. They didn’t match Montreal’s physicality overall, but the physical play picked up in the third. Especially from Zach Berzolla, who also logged an assist, a minor, and a fight.

Seventh-Round Picks Shining – Kozak and Weissbach

Linus Weissbach was busy proving himself with an assist in the first and a near-assist later. Like all Buffalo Sabres prospects, he wanted to catch the coaching staff’s eye and to remove the ‘prospect’ label. While he will likely wind up back in Rochester, he is off to a strong start.

The Mats Lindgren-Tyson Kozak Connection was my favorite goal of the evening. Lindgren pulled off a perfect pass to Kozak, who sat just in front of the net and did the rest.

Kozak looked comfortable in front of the net, and it’s where he can score a lot this season when he (most likely) returns to the WHL. Later in the game, Kozak increased the Sabres lead to two when he scored a shorthanded goal.

Improvement Still Needed for the Buffalo Sabres

Isak Rosen showed off some speed and had a nose for the puck, but he needed to read the ice better and looked responsible for several plays breaking down. Despite this, his agility was bar-none, and if he finds a way to get rid of the puck sooner, he will be a playmaker in the AHL this season. Expect it to come with time.

Montreal outshot the Sabres 42-27, and I would have liked to see the Sabres to have seen more time in the offensive zone. As mentioned earlier, I wasn’t too hot on their lack of physicality at times, but this grew throughout the contest. In Game 2, I’m looking for 60 minutes of physical play.

Josh Bloom left the game early with an upper-body injury. He collided with two players, one of whom was his own. He immediately went to the locker room and did not return, so hopefully it’s not too serious.