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Can the Buffalo Sabres sweep the 2023 Prospects Challenge tonight?

By Sion Fawkes

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JUNE 29: Ethan Miedema shakes hands with team personnel after being selected 109th overall by the Buffalo Sabres during the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft - Rounds 2-7 at Bridgestone Arena on June 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JUNE 29: Ethan Miedema shakes hands with team personnel after being selected 109th overall by the Buffalo Sabres during the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft - Rounds 2-7 at Bridgestone Arena on June 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Buffalo Sabres finish up their 2023 Prospects Challenge tonight at 5 p.m. against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Can they sweep the tripleheader?

The Buffalo Sabres have been stellar across Game 1 and Game 2 of the 2023 Prospects Challenge. We have seen them build an organizational identity, and if they keep up their high-octane pace at the prospects level, then they have a system that most NHL teams covet.

That can continue tonight against the relatively weak pool of players that the Pittsburgh Penguins offer. The Sabres, who have outscored opponents 10-5 so far, look like the far superior team on paper heading into this one, but don’t think for a single second the Pens won’t pose a challenge.

This matchup has all the makings of a “trap game,” and it will show us if some of the youngest players in the team’s system can take things one game at a time, or if they end up overlooking the Pens. Of course, if the Sabres keep doing what they’ve been doing, then they should take this one with little problems.

Buffalo Sabres face the Pittsburgh Penguins to close Prospects Challenge

This game has the perfect atmosphere for someone like Isak Rosen, arguably the team’s best player in the tripleheader, to take over. It also gives a few more prospects one last chance to increase their stocks before their respective camps commence.

Finally, it could foreshadow how long some of the bigger names will stick around at Buffalo Sabres camp. The goal is always the same: To find a spot on the big club, even if it’s virtually impossible for most of them this season.

Related Story. 3 Buffalo Sabres players who need a huge Prospects Challenge finale. light

But that doesn’t mean they can’t, or won’t, raise a few eyebrows and stick around for a while. Rosen is one player who may have put himself in such a position along with Matt Savoie. Give them one more stellar outing apiece, and it will be fun to see how long they can last before they are (most likely) assigned to their respective clubs.

Update: Isak Rosen, Jiri Kulich, Aleksandr Kisakov, and Viktor Neuchev ended up as healthy scratches for today’s contest. 

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