BUFFALO – In watching Bowen Byram elevate his play and morph into one of the most dynamic performers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin has noticed the defenseman possesses a special attitude.
“You just see he’s got that F-you mentality on the ice,” Dahlin said. “He’s a hell of a competitor. … He just goes in to every game with no respect, just doing his own thing, and team is kind of feeding off that, too. It’s fun to watch.”
Lindy Ruff often says players must raise their game – “The guys that stand out are the guys that reach a level above where they’re usually at,” the coach said – to meet the demands and rigors of the postseason and excel.
Well, consider Byram, 24, a prime example. He enjoyed a splendid regular season, setting career highs by scoring 11 goals and 42 points in 82 games while also assuming more responsibility.
Entering Friday’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center, Game 2 of the Sabres’ second-round series, he had scored four goals and six points in the first seven playoff games. That goal total was tied with Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar, his former teammate, for most by a defenseman this postseason.
It also tied the franchise record for most goals by a defenseman in a single playoffs. Mike Ramsey (10 games in 1982-83), Jason Woolley (21 games in 1998-99) and Alexei Zhitnik (21 games in 1998-99) also scored four times.
Byram scored three goals in the Sabres’ opening-round win over the Boston Bruins.
That unique mentality Dahlin described – “It starts with preparation, starts with a mindset,” Byram said – has done wonders for the fourth overall pick by Colorado in 2019.
“This is the time of year everyone should have that mentality,” Ruff said. “Bo, every shift he takes he tries to make a difference. He wanted more of a penalty-killing role this year, he wanted to be involved in some of that, and he did. …
“He’s a gamer. He wants to make every shift count.”
When the Sabres acquired Byram from Colorado prior to the 2024 trade deadline in exchange for forward Casey Mittelstadt, he felt he was ready for a larger role like he has enjoyed in Buffalo.
“I just want to always push to try to be better, continue to improve,” said Byram, who clearly doesn’t like to talk about himself.
While he has developed into a high-end defenseman, team success eluded him in Buffalo until this season.
Byram, remember, won the Cup in 2022, playing all 20 games during Colorado’s run.
“Definitely missed it,” he said of the playoffs. “But when I got to Colorado, I was kind of already drafted to a team that was in a position to compete and be in the playoffs every year.
“Then coming here, just a different experience trying to build something that the guys that have been here longer than I have started and have been trying to do.”
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If the Sabres had a seventh and deciding game on Friday, you would’ve likely seen center Sam Carrick return from his left arm injury.
“I think you’d look at it that you’d probably put him in,” Ruff said.
But it’s still early in the series. Tyson Kozak, 23, has filled in splendidly in Carrick’s place pivoting the fourth line.
Ruff has the luxury of giving Carrick, 34, extra time to recover from the injury that has sidelined him the last 15 games. Carrick started practicing again on Tuesday.
“Will and can he use the extra days? For sure,” Ruff said. “He’s really not going to tell me exactly how he feels. He just wants to play. The type of injury he’s dealt with, if I can give him a couple extra days, I think we’ll get rewarded for it.
“He played incredible for us. Do you want him back in the lineup? Damn right we do.”
While Ruff did not specifically say Kozak has keeping Carrick out, he likely hasn’t wanted to mess with a winning lineup.
Kozak, who’s participating in his first postseason, has stood out alongside Jordan Greenway and Beck Malenstyn, showcasing his usual willingness to get to the net.
“Kozy does a lot of good things,” Greenway said. “He plays a hard game. There’s a lot of things that truly probably go unrecognized, but being his linemate playing with him as long as I have, he definitely makes the game a little bit easier.”
Kozak helped create Greenway’s goal in Wednesday’s 4-2 win by flash screening goalie Jakub Dobes.
“Just trying to drive the net for him, trying to create some sort of screen if I could,” Kozak said.
Ruff said Kozak’s ability to drive to the net draws attention and creates extra scoring chances.
“You look at a couple of the opportunities in last game, even Dahlin, the two chances he got, he was right in front of the net,” Ruff said. “Dahlin’s backhand, he was still there.”
In Game 5 of the Sabres’ opening-round series, Kozak’s backhander at the net nearly won the contest.
“Getting to the net is something he’s been good at,” Ruff said. “His skating, I think, has really shown. I think he’s a tremendous skater. There’s one thing to say, ‘Get to the net.’ You got to have the legs to get there, the drive, will. He’s got that.”
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Starting next season, the Sabres will be wearing a sponsor’s patch on their white away jersey.
Stark Energy, a Buffalo-based company, will be the first sponsor’s logo the Sabres sport.