Toronto, ON (WGR 550) – Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato didn‘t baby Owen Power in his NHL debut, and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft was up for it.
In the first period, three Sabres played 12 shifts, while Power had 11. He even got ice time at the tail end of a penalty kill, giving him 6:24 of ice-time in the period.
Granato started his prized prospect for the opening faceoff, and Power quickly moved the puck up to Zemgus Girgensons, which got the Sabres set up in the zone.
Twice on that shift, Power circled in the left circle, as you could tell he wanted to be part of the offense. But on both occasions, he thought better of it and backed off.
Right away, the 19-year-old showed very good awareness, not forcing plays and calmly going D-to-D when nothing was there.
Power was out with Rasmus Dahlin on a 4-on-4, and wound up doing a terrific job breaking up a 2-on-1 led by Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano.
Power got tangled with Mitch Marner after doing a good job breaking up a stretch pass. That fall led to a great chance for Auston Matthews, but Craig Anderson came up with a huge save.
What I noticed in the first is Power really wants to jump up in the play.
It’s something he did a lot of at Michigan, but he has to get comfortable with it the NHL level when determining it is the right time to do it. I thought his instincts were superb, and he was very poised.
Power didn’t play as much in the second period. There was a play early where he stepped up at the offensive blue line. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that play go bad, but just when it looked like the Leafs were going to get past him, he recovered and just retreated with the puck, not turning it over.
Power played eight shifts in the second for 5:32.
In the third, he seemed to get his stick in the passing lanes more-and-more, using that reach of his. He got a second chance to go out on the penalty kill, and was on the ice for two of three Buffalo goals in the period.
Power played fewer shifts, but more minutes in the third, going nine shifts for 7:54.
For the game, the rookie played 28 shifts for 19:50. Power blocked one shot and was plus-2. I really enjoyed watching him play, and he had very few errors.
“Oh yeah, smooth, poised. I mean, right away there was no panic in his game," said Alex Tuch after the win. "I feel like he’s been in the league 10 years already. He made a really nice play on the 2-on-1 early on, and he just moved the puck really well.”
Power's head coach liked what he saw as well.
“He was great," Granato said following the win. "I had no doubt he was rehearsed in his mind being in this building many times, and it looked like it. He looked very natural."
Following the game, Power says there were some nerves, but he was pretty calm.
“I think it’s a good start, but I think I have a lot of room to expand my game," said the defenseman. "For me, it was a good start, but I think definitely I can be a lot better.”
I thought all four guys that Granato put in the top-four played well.
Henri Jokiharju pretty much had his best game of the season, and Mattias Samuelsson and Dahlin were stellar.
As for Dahlin, he played very well on the right side, which was a big change from when he tried it early in the season.
In four games this season, Matthews had just a goal and an assist against Buffalo.
The Sabres limited chances against the second-highest scoring team in the league, and finished their gauntlet of six games against the league’s best going 2-4-0.
Buffalo hosts the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
***Photo: Micheline Michaelina (@MiMiV4682)
