Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres fell to 0-2-0 in the Sabres Prospects Challenge on Saturday after losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-5, at Harborcenter. Buffalo has been outscored 11-7 in the two games.
The Blue Jackets are 1-1-0, and have been outscored 13-9.
There are obvious reasons the Sabres lost, despite outshooting Columbus, 47-33. The Blue jackets scored on all four of their shots in the third period, one was an empty-netter, as 2024 seventh-round pick Ryerson Leenders gave up six goals on 32 shots.
Last season, Leenders was in net for a 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils. The Devils scored two empty net goals, as Leenders allowed three goals on 14 shots. He also played the third period in an 8-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In those 20 minutes, he allowed three goals on 12 shots.
In three games over two years, the 19-year-old is 0-2-0 with a 5.21 goals-against average and .793 save percentage.
There were things to like in this game, but a few other things need to be said.
Over the last two Sabres Prospects Challenges, Buffalo's prospects have lost four-straight games by a combined score of 24-14, and five out of six by a combined score of 28-17.
Maybe this team’s prospects aren’t as good as management thinks they are.
I also want to be fair. College players are already in class and getting ready for their seasons, they and aren’t playing in this tournament. Buffalo has some of their top prospects playing in college, including Adam Kleber, Brodie Ziemer, Luke Osburn, Maxim Strbak and Gavin McCarthy.
Meanwhile, Prokhor Poltapov is playing in the KHL in Russia, while Viktor Neuchev is still recovering from surgery.
This is Isak Rosen’s fourth pro season, and needed to dominate in this tournament. However, he has been invisible.
The one positive is after Konsta Helenius was hit with an extremely dirty and dangerous hit on Saturday, Rosen and Noah Ostlund jumped in for their teammate immediately.
The chances of Rosen becoming an NHL player, at this point, are dwindling with each opportunity he gets.
The other thing that’s very alarming is Columbus came in after getting blown out the back door of the arena by the Devils on Thursday, 8-2. The Blue Jackets also had eight invitees dressed for this game, all of them playing junior hockey last season. They dressed no first-round picks, and only had one second-rounder in the lineup.
On paper, there is no reason whatsoever the Sabres, with four first-round picks and a lineup with no invitees, should lose a game like this.
Let’s look at what happened on Saturday.
For 40 minutes, I would estimate Buffalo outchanced Columbus by a 3-to-1 margin. The Sabres were all over goalie Nolan Lalonde, but they missed the net with many of their Grade-A opportunities.
To me, that was the No. 1 problem for the Sabres, missing the net.
Buffalo was playing a back-to-back, while Columbus hadn’t played since Thursday. That really started to show up in the back half of the second period when the Sabres looked exhausted. The Blue Jackets were a step ahead, and just blowing by Buffalo defenders.
Columbus netted six goals in the final 40 minutes of play. Buffalo did out shoot Columbus, 19-4, in the third period, but the Blue Jackets scored on all four of their shots, and Lalonde made some great saves.
Ostlund scored a highlight-reel goal in the second period to make the game 2-2.
One of the players acquired in the Conor Timmons deal, defenseman Isaac Belliveau, made a really nice stretch pass to spring Ostlund in alone. He put a nifty move on Lalonde, and used the backhand to tuck the puck under the cross bar.
If I was picking stars, Ostlund wound have been No. 2, but facts are facts, and the big-three for Buffalo - Ostlund, Helenius and Rosen - have one goal and no assists in two games.
Red Savage was signed by the Rochester Americans out of Michigan State University. He was all over the ice, and along with another Rochester signee, Matteo Constantini, had a goal and an assist each.
Constantini is from St. Catharines and played for the Jr. Sabres. He was also a fifth-round pick of Buffalo in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Riley Fiddler-Schultz has played well in both games for the Sabres, and scored two goals on Saturday.
After five season in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Hitmen, Fiddler-Schultz had to sign minor league contracts to play. Over two seasons, he scored 23 goals and 20 assists for 43 points in 51 games with the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL, and 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 65 games, including playoffs, with the Rochester Americans.
It was his tenacity and leadership that earned Fiddler-Schultz an NHL contract with the Sabres this season.
Fiddler-Schultz is the nephew of former NHLer Vernon Fiddler.
This year’s first-round pick Radim Mrtka has a goal and an assist, and has played some good hockey, using his speed. However, with any 18-year-old, he’s had some hiccups along the way too.
Here is Buffalo's scoring through the two games of the Sabres Prospects Challenge:
Riley Fiddler-Schultz: 2-0-2
Radim Mrtka: 1-1-2
Red Savage: 1-1-2
Matteo Constantini: 1-1-2
Simon-Pier Brunet: 0-2-2
Matous Kucharcik: 1-0-1
Noah Ostlund: 1-0-1
Nikita Novikov: 0-1-1
Noah Laberge: 0-1-1
Ryan Rucinski: 0-1-1
Vsevolod Komarov: 0-1-1
Isaac Belliveau: 0-1-1
Melvin Novotny: 0-1-1
Olivier Nadeau: 0-1-1
Goalies:
Topias Leinonen: 0-1-1 record, 4.00 GAA, .852 save %
Ryerson Leenders: 0-1-1 record, 7.12 GAA, .813 save %
The players that should be carrying the Sabres get one more chance on Monday when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the final game of the Sabres Prospects Challenge.
Join Brayton Wilson, Owen Parker and myself at 12 p.m. for all the action on The Bet 1520.
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