'He was ready' | Cozens matches up with McDavid, scores twice in win

Don Granato sat down to watch video clips with Dylan Cozens early in the week on the heels of what he felt was a strong (but fruitless) performance from the 20-year-old against the Washington Capitals on Monday.
Once the session was over, Granato asked Cozens if he was prepared to match up with the NHL's reigning Hart Trophy winner.
"I watched his body language," Granato said. "If his body language was different, he wouldn't have got that matchup. I liked what I saw and felt he was ready for the challenge, whichever way it went."

The matchup went decidedly in the Sabres' favor during a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers at KeyBank Center on Friday. Cozens scored a pair of second-period goals - his first multi-goal performance in the NHL - to erase a 2-1 deficit and Dustin Tokarski made 14 of his 35 saves in the third to preserve the victory.
Cozens counted nine family members in attendance for Buffalo's first home game since the Canadian border opened on Monday. His parents flew in all the way from The Yukon while his grandparents, cousins, and uncle drove from their home just over the border.
The family was treated to what was perhaps the best game of Cozens' young career. He took the opening faceoff against Connor McDavid and went on to skate 12:16 at 5-on-5. He shared the ice with McDavid for 9:16 and with Leon Draisaitl for 6:10, according to Natural Stat Trick.

It was vindicating for Granato, who gave Cozens his first experience facing opposing top lines after taking over as head coach in March of last season. Granato stuck with Cozens at center as he felt his way through the start of his second season, with five points (1+4) during the first 12 contests.
"He had an amazing game," Granato said. "My trust in him has always been there, definitely long term. But even in the short term … He's never been far away from success even though it's sometimes elusive to him. It's just part of him gaining experience.
"But the biggest thing with me is I want to see him play with confidence. It's exciting for everybody here to watch him when he plays with confidence. And it's the way to maximize it. His ceiling, I can't tell you where his ceiling is. It's high."
Granato challenged all of his players to attack without fear against the Oilers, who entered as the NHL's most prolific scoring team at 10-2-0. The Sabres started well at 5-on-5 and even earned the first goal when Anders Bjork beat goaltender Stuart Skinner on a breakaway early in the second period.
Frequent trips to the penalty box eventually caught up to them. The Sabres took six minor penalties, resulting in 7:32 of ice time for the vaunted Edmonton power play. Draisaitl finally capitalized with his NHL leading 13th and 14th goals on the Oilers' fourth and fifth power opportunities.
It was Cozens' speed that brought the Sabres back. Drake Caggiula intercepted a pass through the neutral zone intended for McDavid - his former teammate in Edmonton - and made a quick feed to Cozens, who turned up ice and pulled away from three Oilers before burying the tying goal.

Cozens buried the winner with 49.9 seconds left in the second period. This time, he outskated Draisaitl to pounce on a rebound after a Vinnie Hinostroza breakaway.

"He's got every tool in the toolbox and it's just a matter of time before he breaks out and is a star in this league," Caggiula said of Cozens. "He's a great player and when he's playing on his game, he's a tough player to play against. I've had a blast playing with him. He does a lot of things really, really well."
Cozens admitted that he might have felt overwhelmed had he been told a few years ago that he would one day be matched up across from McDavid in their first head-to-head meeting. That he felt confident on Friday was a testament to his development under a coach who's unafraid to challenge young players.
"It's a big confidence boost, for sure, to go against one of the top players in the world," Cozens said. "I was excited. I wanted to be up for the challenge and it's not just me, though. The whole team played a great game."

Bringing it home

The Sabres held the Oilers without a shot on goal for nearly eight minutes to begin the third period. Edmonton made a push from that point on, finishing with 14 shots on 18 attempts.
Buffalo held strong thanks in part to Tokarski, whose highlight reel included one-time saves against Jesse Puljujarvi and Draisaitl with under six minutest to play.

The Sabres also felt they stuck to their identity in front of Tokarski on the heels of recent losses to Los Angeles and Detroit in which they surrendered third-period leads.
"We're not carrying the last couple games … as we can't tomorrow, unfortunately," Granato said. "But they just were in the moment and the moment called for buckling up."

Up next

The Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. It will be the first meeting between the two rivals since Feb. 16, 2020.
Tickets are available here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.