BOSTON – Noah Ostlund figures by the second time the Buffalo Sabres recalled him this season, he started feeling comfortable in the NHL.
Not that that rookie looked out of the place in those early-season outings and during an eight-game look late last year, his first taste of the big leagues.
But after the Sabres summoned Ostlund from the Rochester Americans again in early November, he started scoring and earning more ice time. By later that month, it was clear he was one of their 12 best forwards and he would keep earning regular duty.
“(I) feel like I belong here now,” Ostlund said following Saturday’s practice in TD Garden.
Other than a one-game trip to the AHL in early December to meet NHL transaction rules, the Swede stayed in Buffalo the remainder of the season. He will likely never play a game in the minors again.
On Sunday afternoon, Ostlund, 22, is expected to center the third line and skate on the top power-play unit as the Sabres try to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven opening-round series against the Bruins.
In his NHL postseason debut in Game 3, Thursday’s 3-1 win, he made an immediate impact, creating the Sabres’ first goal with a nifty feed from below the goal line and scoring an empty-netter by beating two Bruins to the puck.
Ostlund, the 16th overall pick in 2022, said he usually doesn’t feel nervous before games. Still, before his first playoff appearance – he missed 12 contests with an upper-body injury before returning – he felt some nerves.
“I’m sure I’ll be a little bit nervous before tomorrow again, but, yeah, I know what’s coming,” he said.
Ostlund has emerged as a huge piece of the Sabres’ present and future.
By late last season, as developed into one of the AHL’s elite scorers under Amerks coach Mike Leone and his staff, it was clear he would spend time in Buffalo this season.
That scoring ability helped him morph into one of hockey’s top two-way forward prospects.
“He was really highly thought of with the way he played in Rochester,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “Mike down there just said, ‘This guy does a lot of great things, plays well defensively, his reads and his playmaking ability are real good.’”
“So I think the first 10 games I really got an appreciation for the way he played. … I just was pleasantly surprised how well and how consistent he played after that.”
Ostlund’s hockey IQ makes him what Ruff called “a coach’s dream.”
“Those are the type of players you don’t really have to coach,” he said. “He pretty well knows where he’s going almost every time. Very few times in the D-zone does he get out of position. His reads, his coverage, or part of our scheme are always really good.”
Ruff said when a player does the right thing like Ostlund 90 percent of the time, “You get pretty effective lines, and you get pretty effective centermen.”
“He sees the game really well,” he said. “I think he understands where people should be on different plays, and his ability a lot of times to make the plays under pressure and find the next player are good.”
Ostlund’s ability to process the game can’t be taught. You either have it or you don’t.
“That’s who I’ve always been,” said Ostlund, who registered 11 goals, 27 points and a plus-11 rating in 60 regular-season games. “Yeah, I lean a lot on my smartness. I’m not the fastest skater, but I try to read the plays out there.”
Sabres winger Josh Doan, Ostlund’s linemate, often compares the youngster to midfielder in soccer.
“He’s always in the right area,” he said. “He’s a true center. I think that’s the only way to put it. He reads the play unbelievably well. He’s always supporting the puck really well.”
Ostlund will likely be handing the puck a bit more Sunday afternoon. Ruff promoted him to the right flank on the top power-play unit during Saturday’s practice.
He skated on the second unit in Game 3. Winger Jack Quinn moved to the second unit.
The Sabres must try different things to break the power play out of a zero-of-36 funk, including 15 attempts in the postseason.
Ruff said Ostlund, a left-handed shot, moved up because of “the hands match-up, his playmaking ability.”
“We had some great opportunities last game that, I think, we have to bury our opportunities,” he said. “But just another try of maybe catching a little bit of fire.”
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Ruff said center Josh Norris, who missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury, is still day to day. Norris did not practice Saturday.
Noah Ostlund, 3-1 ENG #LetsGoBuffalo #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/v1MoYyxbDG
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) April 24, 2026