Rochester takes on Toronto in Game 3 of their first round Calder Cup Playoff matchup
The Buffalo Sabres practiced in Boston on Saturday prior to Game 4 of their series with the Boston Bruins this afternoon, and it appears that head coach Lindy Ruff will be going with the same lineup that put Buffalo back into the series lead on Thursday. Center Josh Norris, who missed Game 3, did not participate on Saturday and remains listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
The bulk of the Sabres slow start this season coincided with Norris’s injury in the season opener in early October, and their rally starting in December with his return to the lineup in early December, but Buffalo was able to survive in Game 3 thanks to the contribution of rookie center Noah Ostlund, who scored an empty-net goal to ice the game away, as well as an assist on Bowen Byram’s tying goal in the second period.
Buffalo is expected to go with the same lineup on Sunday, but Ruff has tweaked the makeup of the club’s top power play unit, which has gone 0 for 14 in three games. Ostlund will replace Jack Quinn with the group that includes Rasmus Dahlin, Jason Zucker, Alex Tuch, and Tage Thompson. Quinn provided more of a second trigger man to take some of the onus off of Thompson, while Ostlund provides more playmaking and passing ability.
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The Rochester Americans bounced back from the brink of elimination in the opening round of the Calder Cup Playoffs against the Toronto Marlies on Friday. The Marlies won the first game of their best-of-three first-round matchup on Wednesday, shutting out the Amerks 5--0 in Toronto, but at home on Friday, Rochester turned the tables with a shutout effort of their own at Blue Cross Arena, with Devon Levi making 29 saves in a 4-0 win.
Konsta Helenius and Ryan Johnson led the Amerks with two points (1 goal, 1 assist), Vsevolod Komarov, and Carson Meyer added singles, and Anton Wahlberg added a pair of helpers. The series finale will take place on Sunday afternoon in Toronto, with the winner advancing to face Laval in the second round. If Rochester is eliminated, it is likely that several Amerks will be recalled to serve as “black aces”/reserves for the parent Sabres for the length of their participation in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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