Hall, Cozens make debuts | 5 takeaways from the Sabres' season opener

Taylor Hall and Tobias Rieder scored goals in their Sabres debuts, but early rust proved insurmountable in a 6-4 loss to the Washington Capitals inside KeyBank Center on Thursday.
The Sabres played their first game in 312 days, after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the 2019-20 season to an abrupt halt following a shootout win over the Capitals on March 9 of last year. They did their best to simulate game action with a pair of intrasquad scrimmages, but coach Ralph Krueger was expecting an acclimation period in their first experience against a true opponent.

"We expected rust and there was rust, and we expected an adjustment to the physicality and the speed," Krueger said. "For me, actually, the compete level as it evolved and then the way we competed from the third, there was some breakdowns on their part, too.
"They gave us chances. Even in the first period, we had six or seven pretty good chances. It just seems like it might be like that for the next few games. But we need to simplify with the puck. We need to make sure that are more compact defensively. We were a little hesitant. Our defensive game needs to take away the gaps and we need to attack quicker. I thought we were a little bit soft defensively as a group. We kind of fell back. We need to get back on our toes tomorrow."

Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson, and Brenden Dillon scored goals to give the Capitals a 4-1 lead in the second period. The Sabres twice cut the deficit to one goal in the third but were met with a quick response from the Capitals on both occasions, including an empty-net goal from Garnet Hathaway with 1:03 remaining.
In addition to Hall and Rieder, Jake McCabe and Victor Olofsson scored goals for the Sabres. Carter Hutton made 22 saves.
"I think you can take solace in the fact that we were able to come back and make it close," Hall said. "Obviously, we've got some guys offensively who can put it in the back of the net and force the issue that way.
"But it seemed like we were playing catchup all night, which is a tough way to play against any team but a team like Washington, a veteran team, that's going to be a tough night. So, we were behind the eight ball kind of right from the start of the game and weren't able to get out in front of things."
Here are five takeaways from the game.

Staal exits with injury

Eric Staal left the game in the third period after he took an elbow to the head from Capitals forward Nic Dowd in the neutral zone. Dowd was given a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head.
"We're just assessing him," Krueger said. "It's one of those where it's definitely in a day-to-day status and we'll see how he is in the morning. No update at the moment. Quite surprised that a hit to the head gets two minutes but it is what it is, and we're disappointed with that finish stretch there for sure."

The hit prompted post-whistle activity between the two teams, with McCabe fighting Dillon later in the period.
"I didn't see the hit itself," McCabe said. "I just saw Eric do a helicopter, which is usually a sign of a hit to the head. As we all saw on the replay, it was definitely to the head and pretty dirty."

Cozens impresses in NHL debut

Dylan Cozens skated 12:09 and tallied the first point of his NHL career on Rieder's goal in the second period. Cozens was involved in a scrum in front of the net and helped free the puck to Rieder, who evaded a defenseman to score on a wrap-around shot.

"Dylan played a very good first game, very calm," Krueger said. "He never looked overwhelmed. I saw even a situation in the third period, he got hit by (defenseman Zdeno) Chara, no problem, he bounced right back at it.
"It was definitely an excellent debut from Dylan Cozens coming from junior hockey to the pace that was played here today. We're really pleased with his game."
The 19-year-old Cozens, Buffalo's first-round pick in 2019, spent the elongated offseason adding muscle after a prolific season with Lethbridge of the Western Hockey League. He felt the difference during his recent stint at the World Junior Championship, where he led Team Canada with 16 points.
In his first regular-season game against NHL players, he felt he was able to hold his own.
"I put in a lot of work this offseason to gain weight, get stronger so I can battle with guys at this level," Cozens said. "I think I did pretty good out there. Obviously, guys are bigger, stronger. But I think I held my own in battles."
The trio of Rieder, Cody Eakin and Cozens was Buffalo's best in terms of 5-on-5 shot attempt differential. The count was in Buffalo's favor, 9-4, with Cozens on the ice according to Natural Stat Trick.

An early strike for the power play

The Sabres finished the game 1-for-3 on the power play but showed a glimpse of their potential on the first attempt of the night, which ended with Hall's goal.
Hall joined a top unit consisting of Rasmus Dahlin at the point, Jack Eichel and Olofsson on the half walls, and Sam Reinhart in front of the net.
"There's guys that are really comfortable in their places and I'm there to add support all over the ice and when I can, it's time to strike and put pucks in the back of the net," Hall said.
The goal, scored just 18 seconds into the power play, began with a feed through traffic from Eichel to Olofsson. Olofsson pump faked from the right circle and stepped up, seemingly with a passing lane to Reinhart at the back door. Hall jumped on the pass in the slot and buried it.

"That was a good first night with our power play," Hall said. "Even our second unit had some really good zone time, some good chances when they were out there so we got to keep that going."

The new normal

The game was played without fans in attendance, a new experience for the majority of Sabres players. Artificial crowd noise was played in the arena and frontline workers introduced the team on the videoboard.

"It's definitely strange," McCabe said. "When you think of opening night, it's exciting. After a long layoff you can't wait to get in front of your hometown fans and hear their noise and have them rooting you on, having a loud building. It's definitely interesting with starting lineups and the anthems in an empty building. However, once the game starts, you're right back into it."

Right back at it

The Sabres and Capitals play again Friday night, another new normal for 2020-21. The 56-game schedule is broken up primarily into two-game series, with one three-game series with New Jersey in March.
Buffalo will seek to simplify its game after puck mismanagement through the neutral zone led to time spent in its own end Thursday.
"I thought we were too complicated in the neutral zone and that gave them opportunities, and they kept it very simple," Krueger said. "They made very experienced simple plays early and then they came with two-man hard pressure.
"I would say that part of that was us setting it up but with the puck, we just didn't have our timing early. Like I said, everything came at us quickly, we needed to make quicker plays. What I was pleased with … is that we started adjusting to it as the game progressed."
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop set for 7.