Amerks' latest high-stakes playoff game an opportunity for Sabres' prospects to grow (2024)

A sellout crowd will fill Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena.

Chants will echo throughout the building as the Buffalo Sabres’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans, prepares for opening puck drop Friday night against the Syracuse Crunch.

The winner of Game 5 will advance to the Calder Cup Playoffs’ North Division final to face either Cleveland or Belleville. The loser’s season will end. It’s the type of high-stakes scenario that the Sabres want their prospects to experience each spring.

The Amerks are in position to win a playoff round in three consecutive years for the first time since 1989-93, when the club lost in the Calder Cup final in three out of four years. Their season would have ended Saturday night in Syracuse, though, if they did not rally from a 3-0 deficit in the third period to win, 4-3, in overtime and force a winner-take-all game.

“We’re a resilient group,” said Amerks coach Seth Appert. “We’re not going to give up on each other. And we’ve had our backs against the wall and responded. We’ve been in elimination games and responded.”

Older, experienced players willed the Amerks into another elimination game. Brandon Biro scored twice, including the tying goal with 5:12 left in regulation. Brett Murray won it in overtime after an injury forced him to miss the first three games of the series. Their leadership, along with other players such as Michael Mersch and Joe Cecconi, guided a team that’s dotted with top prospects who were drafted the past few summers.

And, though Russian defenseman Nikita Novikov assisted on Murray’s game-winner, no prospect has made a greater impact in the series than Devon Levi. The 22-year-old goalie has a remarkable .938 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against average in four playoff games. He has totaled 101 saves over his last two starts, both of which ended in overtime, and he has faced an average of 44.3 shots per game.

The moment has never seemed too big for Levi. He’s accustomed to those situations. His exceptional play in goal for the Sabres late last season had them pushing for a spot in the playoffs until the 80th game. Levi also had a record-breaking performance at the IIHF World Junior Championship and helped Northeastern win the Beanpot in 2023.

“I think it’s just hockey,” Levi said April 28 after Game 2. “It’s the same game. I think people make it out to be playoffs (like) it’s a whole different game. You got to do this, do that, change this. But, you know, I think being yourself just playing your game is the most important whether it’s a playoff game, whether it’s a regular season game, exhibition game, kind of just treating them all the same. Just being able to stay even-keeled.

“If you put too much importance on a game, you know, you’re up two, you go down one, it’s hard to kind of keep it together and keep your focus. So, you know, just that happy medium.”

The Amerks need their top young forwards to start producing. Jiri Kulich, their leading goal scorer in the regular season for a second consecutive campaign, has only one assist and 14 shots on goal in four games. He and 2021 first-round draft pick Isak Rosen have combined for a minus-7 rating. One of Rosen’s two goals was scored during a penalty shot in Game 3 that helped Rochester force overtime. Anton Wahlberg, a 2023 second-round pick, does not have a point since scoring an impressive goal in Game 1.

Noah Ostlund and Viktor Neuchev were scratched in Game 4 as Appert preferred to add savvy veterans to face the Crunch. Defenseman Ryan Johnson, a first-round pick in 2019, has struggled throughout the series. Novikov and Lukas Rousek have played the best among the prospects drafted by the Sabres, as the latter leading Rochester with five assists in four games. Tyson Kozak has also been an important defensive-minded forward and penalty killer. The 21-year-old center was a seventh-round pick in 2021.

Rochester has been better than Syracuse on special teams. The Amerks’ power play has converted on 28.6% of their opportunities, the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference during the playoffs, and their penalty kill has been among the best in the league during the postseason by allowing a goal on only 8.3% of the Crunch’s man-advantage chances.

One problem, though, is the Amerks aren’t drawing enough penalties or getting enough calls from officials. They’ve had five fewer power plays than Syracuse, which has gone just 1 for 12 against Levi.

It’s not the first time this season, or during any of Appert’s four years as head coach, that some of his best players have struggled. He and his staff challenge prospects such as Kulich and Rosen to make the necessary adjustments to help Rochester win. The group will have to avoid the defensive mistakes that led to a 3-0 deficit midway through Game 4.

“I believe firmly in this that I can be extremely demanding with players if they believe that I care about them and I’m invested in their personal success,” said Appert. “If they only believe I’m interested in team success and us winning and me bettering my career, I cannot be as demanding on them, and I can’t be as hard on them and I can’t be as honest in some hard conversations.”

Success in Rochester is an important part of Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams’ plan to build a Stanley Cup contender in Buffalo. Not only does winning with the Amerks help with player development, but it creates a standard and expectation within the organization. Previous Amerks such as Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka grew through their playoff run in Rochester two years ago. Kulich and Rosen have been difference-makers in each of the past two postseasons.

Regardless of the result Friday night, a win-or-go-home game is another learning experience for the Sabres’ prospects and an opportunity for Adams to see how each responds in a raucous environment against an older, physical opponent.