'No panic in his game': Power's debut impresses Sabres

Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch found the perfect two words to describe defenseman Owen Power's NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

"Smooth. Poise," Tuch told reporters after the Sabres' 5-2 victory. "Right away, there's no panic in his game. I feel like he's been in the league for 10 years already in his first game. ... It seems like a really easy game out there for him."

Power admitted he had to shake off some nervousness under the bright lights of Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, but the 19-year-old said it went away pretty quickly.

"I knew it (the NHL) was obviously going to be a step, but I think at the end of the day, it is just hockey but against better players," he said.

Power played almost 20 minutes against the high-flying Maple Leafs and spent a sizeable portion of that time matched up against the league's leading scorer, Auston Matthews.

The 2021 first overall pick showed off his poise when he defended a two-on-one between Matthews and blue-liner Mark Giordano in the first period.

"It was super nice to see, I can tell you that," head coach Don Granato said of Power's timely play. "Was I surprised? No. Was I happy? Extremely happy."

Granato noted he felt "no anxiety" when entrusting Power with some tough assignments.

"He was great. Tremendous job. ... I had no doubt he's rehearsed in his mind being in this building and in this league many times and it looked like it," Granato said. "He looked very natural from the drop of the puck."

With one win already under his belt, Power's next chance to impress will come Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.

"I think it's a good start. I got a lot of room to expand my game. … I think I definitely could be a lot better," Power said.