James Nichols
An undersized No.86 flying around the ice making impact plays with the puck on his stick? That must be Jack Hughes, right? Actually, it’s Buffalo Sabres rookie, Noah Östlund.
When the Sabres learned they were losing Josh Norris to injury in Game 3, it instilled a bit of trepidation.
Buffalo is quite high on Östlund, who they selected 16th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. However, a rookie making his playoff debut in place of a proven impact NHL forward is a big ask.
Despite early nerves, Östlund didn’t let the magnitude of the moment weigh him down.
“Maybe a little bit (of nerves) in the first couple shifts,” Östlund said with a smile. “But it goes away pretty quick, too.”
After a scoreless first period on Thursday night, the Boston Bruins took a 1-0 lead on the stick of Tanner Jeannot just over three minutes into the middle frame.
The Sabres didn’t bend, however. And eventually responded.
About seven minutres after the opening goal, Östlund carried the puck through the neutral zone and over the Boston blueline for a clean zone entry. He slipped below the Bruins defense and goal line with the puck, and fed Bowen Byram at the top of the right circle for a one-time chance that beat goaltender Jeremy Swayman to tie the game at one.
Östlund’s elusive playmaking certainly took the unsettled Swayman by surprise. Yet, he stunned Byram with the pass, too.
“Honestly, he kind of surprised me a bit there,” Byram said. “I wasn’t sure he was going to get it through to me. Unreal pass by him.”
Whereas the Sabres rookie turned some heads with his vision and playmaking, Östlund brushed it off as just another play.
“I saw him all the way, and then [Josh Doan] did a good job driving the net,” he said. “So that lane opened up.”
The Sabres rookie put the nail in the coffin to solidify their 3-1 victory on Thursday to take a 2-1 series lead. After Alex Tuch scored the game-winning goal earlier in the third period, Lindy Ruff iced Östlund late in the third period when the Bruins pulled Swayman for the extra attacker.
“For a first playoff game with us, he gets an A-plus,” said Ruff.
Östlund deposited the empty-net goal—his first-ever in the playoffs—as the clock ran down to take Game 3 at TD Garden.
Östlund had a promising rookie season. He scored 11 goals and 27 points in 60 games. After he was pointless in his first eight games when he debuted in 2024-25, it’s evident Östlund is reaped the benefits in his development as the Sabres surged.
However, his best game to date was probably Thursday night.
The Östlund-led line flanked by Zach Benson and Jack Quinn led the Sabres in the expected goal share all night with an 89.98 xGF%, according to Natural Stat Trick.
In fact, during 5-on-5 play, they didn’t allow a single scoring chance against with Östlund and Co. on the ice.
Before last night, Östlund hadn’t played in a game for nearly a month after suffering an upper-body injury—ironically against the Sabres on March 25th.
Yet, his immediate impact when returning to the lineup blew his teammates away, singing his praises in the locker room Thursday night.
“I mean, jumping right in, he hasn’t played a game in a couple weeks, it’s his first-ever playoff hockey game in his rookie year, and the guy gets (a goal) and (an assist). That’s special,” said Tuch. “I mean, the hockey IQ’s off the charts. But honestly, the compete, he went in there every single shift, made a difference every single shift, and he was phenomenal.”
