'Those are the moments' | Prow, Tuch make memorable debuts against Devils

Ethan Prow and JJ Peterka stepped onto the KeyBank Center ice for their rookie hot laps, the culmination of two very different journeys to their NHL debuts.
Prow is 29, Peterka 19. Peterka is in his first North American pro season; Prow has played 283 professional games spanning seven seasons and three leagues. They did share one bit of ironic serendipity: The two were teammates last season in Germany, albeit for different reasons.
Peterka was born in Germany. He spent last season in Munich eagerly awaiting the chance to begin his career in the United States. Prow, a Minnesota native, had gone overseas after bouncing around the minors without ever getting the call to the NHL.
Still, the dream persisted.

"That's why I came back, I guess," Prow said. "There's always that thing in the back of your mind that wants to play in the NHL. Today, it came true."

The call finally came Wednesday for Prow, who joined the organization on a one-year deal during the offseason and has spent the past three months as an alternate captain in Rochester. He was initially added to Buffalo's taxi squad in the morning, then found out he would be in the lineup after defenseman Jacob Bryson was placed into COVID-19 protocol.
By the end of the night, he had added an NHL goal to his resume. Prow drifted low into the offensive zone and buried a rebound late in the third period, briefly igniting a comeback that ultimately fell short in a 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Prow described the day as a whirlwind.
"Obviously, it was great to get a callup and be able to be in the lineup," he said. "You never expect to get your first one and first goal as well. So that's just the cherry on top, I think."

The moment was not lost on the Sabres' bench. Assistant coach Matt Ellis - filling in as head coach for Don Granato, who is in COVID protocol - played four pro seasons before getting his NHL shot. He could empathize with the emotions Prow must have been experiencing and felt players did, too.
"Those are the moments there," Ellis said. "We talked about Ethan's journey this morning, just how long he's had to grind and work and persevere. At that stage along the way, you're just kind of holding out hope for that opportunity. For him to come in, I thought he played fantastic.
"Obviously getting rewarded with his first NHL goal is certainly a special moment. I know even just seeing our guys rally around that and kind of embracing that, understanding what he's been through, those are the things in the game you don't take for granted. Definitely a big moment for him."
Such was the story inside KeyBank Center on Wednesday. The Sabres played their first game in 12 days without the services of six players currently in COVID protocol. The group included their second- and third-leading goal scores in Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens, their alternate captain in Zemgus Girgensons, and one of their ice time leaders in Bryson.
Peterka and Prow made their NHL debuts. Casey Fitzgerald was recalled to play his second NHL game on defense. Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs both made their Sabres debuts.
All those factors - combined with a well-manned opponent in the Devils - made for an inconsistent performance from an execution standpoint. The Sabres were outshot 11-3 during the first period and 42-22 overall. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 38 saves.
But the effort never waned. Tage Thompson scored a pair of goals early in the second period to erase a 2-0 deficit. When the Devils responded with two more goals in the third, Prow found the back of the net and gave the Sabres a chance to tie it late.
"Looking back on some of the games that we've had success as a group, we've been able to find that rhythm and play a certain way," Ellis said. "Tonight, it felt a little bit off. But the battle level was there, the compete was certainly there."
For Prow, Peterka, Krebs, and Tuch, it was a game they won't soon forget.
"It was fun I think for everyone, in particular just for everyone to be back at the rink after a long break," Thompson said. "You get some new guys in the room, guys that have worked extremely hard to get where they are now, it's nice to see them get rewarded for that."

Thompson takes command

One promising aspect of the game was the performance of Thompson, who turned in his third multi-goal outing of the season between a pair of new linemates in Peterka and Tuch. He ended a 10-game run without a goal, increasing his team-leading total to 12.
The trio came out in the second period with a commanding shift, which ended with Tuch taking a shot from the point that Thompson tipped for Buffalo's first goal of the night.
"That's what we talked about," Tuch said. "We weren't happy with that first period. We got outshot by a lot. Down 2-0, kind of shake it off. Like I said, getting the jitters out of the way. We just wanted to go in there and try to work and we were able to."

Thompson added another goal less than three minutes later. Rasmus Dahlin lofted a pass from the Buffalo zone through the air to set Thompson loose on a breakaway with Tuch trailing behind him. Thompson shot high to beat goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.

Ellis saw the sequence as a moment of leadership from the 24-year-old Thompson.
"I think part of his presence now, doing what he did in the second, is kind of fitting into that mold like, 'You know what, I'm going to grab ahold of this, I'm going to embrace this and I'm going to bring everybody else along with me,'" Ellis said. "You've definitely seen that there."

Tuch's debut

Tuch had waited more than five months since playing his last game due to offseason shoulder surgery. He had waited even longer to play for the Sabres, his childhood dream while growing up a fan of the team in Syracuse.
He said wearing the jersey was every bit what he expected, save for the outcome.
"Better than expected, honestly," he said. "It was a dream come true. But, you know, we didn't get the result we wanted tonight and that was my biggest concern, not only playing for the Sabres but trying to get a win with the guys in the locker room."

In addition to tallying an assist, Tuch showed glimpses of his combination of size and speed, be it winning races in small areas or backtracking to force turnovers in the neutral zone. He led Sabres forwards in ice time (18:27) and played in all situations.
"You see what makes Tuchy a special player, his ability to track pucks, get above pucks, big body with speed that's able to hang onto things," Ellis said. "You can see some of those attributes build and I think him alongside Tommer showed glimmers of that."

Up next

The Sabres travel to Long Island to play the New York Islanders on Thursday. Coverage on MSG begins at 7 p.m. The puck drops at 7:30.