Montreal Canadiens rookies David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux experienced a bevy of nerves as they donned the historic CH jerseys for the first time in Buffalo on Friday night.

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Habs Open Tourney

"I just tried to act normal," said Montreal defenseman David Reinbacher following his first game in a Habs jersey. But it was not a normal day.

The Canadiens rookies opened the 2023 Prospects Challenge on Friday night with a 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Xavier Simoneau, Miguel Tourigny and Joshua Roy were the goal scorers for Montreal.

Jakub Dobes got the start for the Canadiens. Dobes played all three periods giving up five goals on 27 shots. The 22-year-old goaltender had a strong first period making 12 saves on 13 shots but was done no favors by his teammates playing in front of him for the final 40 minutes.

The line of Owen Beck, Emil Heineman and Roy were particularly noticeable all game long. While not wearing a letter on this night, Beck looked confident and every bit the leader of this squad. Roy picked up his goal crashing the crease early in the third period.

Habs fans in the building had their eyes on Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux. Neither distinguished themself on this night with nerves perhaps playing a factor. Both players struggled with the speed of the skilled Sabres forwards.

After the contest, Reinbacher admitted that he experienced nerves putting on the Canadiens jersey for the first time. While Reinbacher enjoyed the experience, he acknowledged that the talent of the players and the size of the rink were factors in his play.

Matty Savoie, Buffalo's first round pick, ninth overall in 2022, was the best player on the ice on this night. Savoie was joined by a talented group of prospects for the Sabres including Jiri Kulich, Zach Benson, Isak Rosen, and Nikita Novikov. The Canadiens had few answers.

Florian Xhekaj was a pleasant surprise playing physical and not missing an opportunity to disrupt top Sabres like Kulich, Novikov and Ryan Johnson. Jan Mysak also played the role of a disruptor in a much more cerebral way by being strong on the forecheck, making strong defensive plays and being effective at the faceoff dot.

Canadiens players of the game: Owen Beck, Florian Xhekaj, Jan Mysak

Forward Lines / Defence Pairs / Goalies

On Friday, the Canadiens rookies played game one of the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo. 27 players traveled to the Queen City to take part in the tournament from September 15-18.

William Trudeau was named the captain for this game with Jan Mysak and Xavier Simoneau serving as alternates.

These were the forward lines, defence pairings and goaltenders for the Canadiens 6-3 loss on Friday:

Emil Heineman - Owen Beck - Joshua Roy 
Sean Farrell - Riley Kidney - Filip Mesar
Xavier Simoneau (A) - Jan Mysak (A) - Cedrick Guindon
Florian Xhekaj - Jared Davidson - John Parker-Jones

William Trudeau (C) - David Reinbacher
Chris Ortiz - Logan Mailloux
Stanislav Demin - Miguel Tourigny

Jakub Dobes - Quentin Miller

Scratches for the Canadiens for this game were: Jakov Novak, Isaac Dufort, Ty Smilanic, Jayden Struble, Noah Laaouan, Riley McKay and Jan Spunar.

Post-game Comments

NEXT GAME: MTL @ BOS (Rookie Tournament)

The Montreal Canadiens rookies will play the second of a three-game schedule on Saturday afternoon as they take on the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens are one of six teams (BUF, BOS, MTL, NJD, OTT, PIT) participating in the Prospects Challenge hosted by the Sabres at the Harborcenter Rink in Buffalo.

Puck drop is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. on Saturday September 16th at the LECOM Harborcenter.

All games are livestreamed on the Canadiens website and digital media platforms.