Morning Skate | Cozens to return against Rangers

Dylan Cozens has skated in 14 games with the Buffalo Sabres but has yet to receive the true NHL experience. Tuesday will bring him closer.
Cozens and the Sabres will play in front of fans for the first time this season when they visit the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, which is open to a limited capacity of roughly 2,000 spectators.
The 20-year-old forward stayed measured in his excitement during his morning Zoom call with the media.

"Being in downtown New York City, it's pretty cool, getting to play in this rink," he said. "But at the same time, we're here on a business trip. We're here to win a hockey game."
Cozens was one of three players who were given rest days on Sunday while the Sabres hosted the Philadelphia Flyers, along with defensemen Jacob Bryson and Colin Miller. All three will be back in the lineup against the Rangers, coach Ralph Krueger said.
Krueger has said to expect days off, particularly for young players, as the Sabres navigate a tightly condensed schedule.
"I try to take advantage of those days as much as I can, whether it's just taking care of my body, letting my body rest a little bit," Cozens said. "Watching the games from up top you can learn a lot. It definitely helps going into the next game so obviously I try to take as much as I can and learn as much as I can."
Cozens has tallied four points (3+1) so far this season, earning praise from coaches and teammates alike for an attention to detail beyond his years. Krueger said he expects the rookie to be a difference maker as the Sabres look to rebound from back-to-back shutout losses to the Flyers over the weekend.
"We're not too happy with how our season's gone so far," Cozens said. "But we know there's a big opportunity for us to go out there and prove that we can be a real good team in this league."

Scouting the Rangers

New York is playing without forwards Artemi Panarin (personal reasons) and Kaapo Kakko (COVID protocol) and defenseman Jacob Trouba (upper body). Forward Filip Chytil is expected to play for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury on Jan. 24.
This will be the third of eight games between the Sabres and Rangers. The two teams split a two-game series at KeyBank Center in January.

"They're an attacking team," Krueger said. "Their D are as active as anybody in our division. We need to be aware of that. We need to defend really, really well today to neutralize that. At the same time, we see opportunity that we're going to try to expose them without the puck, because they do lean or their toes, they do take risks and are extremely skilled and talented while they do it."

Players to watch

Buffalo - Jacob Bryson
The defenseman has not lacked confidence through his first three NHL games, showing a willingness to use his skating on the rush and close gaps aggressively in the neutral zone.
"It was fun speaking with him today at the end of the skate," Krueger said. "He's never been in Madison Square Garden, and you could the eyes popping out of his head, and it is wonderful as a coach when you end up with those kinds of interactions. … I'm excited to see him with fresh energy and experience now after his three very strong games to build on that."
New York - Filip Chytil
The 21-year-old tallied three points (2+1) during the first five games before sustaining his injury.
"Just adding a guy with that type of speed and skillset certainly makes everybody a little bit better," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "We thought he was playing his best hockey of his career before he got hurt."

Tune in

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. You can listen to the game on WGR 550 with puck drop set for 7.