BUFFALO – This one couldn’t be taken away from Sabres rookie Tyson Kozak, right? No one interfered with the goalie. No one was offside.
Early in his second NHL game Saturday afternoon, Kozak, 21, zoomed to the net and redirected linemate Beck Malenstyn’s pass behind Utah Hockey Club goalie Karel Vejmelka.
“I had a pretty good feeling it wouldn’t (be disallowed),” said Kozak, whose go-ahead goal in his big league debut Thursday was called back because Malenstyn interfered with the goalie.
When Kozak returned to the bench Saturday after celebrating with his teammates, one of the officials told him the goal was under review.
“Then he said he was just kidding,” he told the Times Herald following Sunday’s practice in KeyBank Center. “So it was kind of a sigh of relief for me. So it felt good.”
Kozak’s first NHL goal felt especially good because he shared it with his mother, Michelle, who stayed in town after his father and sister returned to Manitoba following Thursday’s game.
“Very special moment for me,” the center said after the Sabres, who have lost six straight games (0-4-2), prepared for Monday’s home game against the Detroit Red Wings.
Kozak, a seventh-round pick in 2021, has fit in nicely with the Sabres, showcasing the same aggressive game that helped him stand out with the Rochester Americans and develop into a notable prospect.
“Just trying to play the same way,” he said. “I think, obviously, it’s been working for me, just playing that hard 200-foot game, getting to the dirty areas, finding loose pucks.”
Malenstyn said the newcomer showcases a “really simple” style.
“He’s really showing he belongs,” he said. “Just playing north and south, making simple, right plays all the time. Hard on the forecheck, good in the D-zone. Nothing but great things.”
Kozak’s linemates – Nicolas Aube-Kubel skates at right wing – play a heavy, predictable style that complements his game.
That has helped him transition to the Sabres after suffering a lower-body injury in the Prospects Challenge rookie tournament and missing all of training camp. When the Sabres recalled him, he hadn’t even practiced with new Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.
“So coming here I was pretty nervous because I wasn’t involved in camp, I wasn’t getting familiar with all the systems and stuff like that,” the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Kozak said. “But it’s a similar style, kind of, to what we play in Roch, so the transition wasn’t that difficult.”
The Sabres are hopeful winger Jordan Greenway, who has missed the last 10 games with a mid-body injury, can return Monday.
Greenway, who had to be evaluated following Sunday’s practice, skated at left wing alongside center Jiri Kulich and Dylan Cozens.
Winger JJ Peterka, who has scored just one goal in his last 11 games, also took reps in Greenway’s spot. He could be the odd man out if Greenway returns.
Meanwhile, Peyton Krebs practiced at left wing alongside top center Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.
On defense, Ryan Johnson practiced alongside Bowen Byram, a sign he could make his NHL season debut tonight. Johnson played 41 games with the Sabres as a rookie last season.
Defenseman Dennis Gilbert could be pushed out of the lineup.
Captain Rasmus Dahlin, the Sabres’ top defenseman, watched Sunday’s session from the bench as he recovers from a back injury. The Swede has missed the last two games.
