Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – At Friday’s practice in Downtown Buffalo, Sabres head coach Don Granato juggled the lines as they prepare to host the New York Islanders on Saturday.
One of the changes was moving Dylan Cozens to the right wing with Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway.
Cozens last played on the wing for Team Canada at the 2022 World Championship when Canada put him on the left wing with Los Angeles Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois. Cozens went on to lead the tournament in goal scoring.
The 22-year-old is just fine with this change.
"I’m comfortable playing center and wing, so I’m not too worried about it," said Cozens following Friday's practice. "I’m excited to go back there and to play with Tage and 'Greenie', but when we get back into the defensive zone, it’s whoever is back plays center anyways. It’s not going to be too much different."
For one game, the Sabres played just the way Granato wants them to defensively. They gave up very few chances to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and that’s their only win in four games.
Cozens knows the team need some more consistency.
"That was something we knew we needed to do against a team like Tampa, and it’s something we know we need to take the next step on is our defensive game," he said. "It’s not going to be perfect every night, but we just have to learn from it and take things one day at a time."
Sabres rookies Devon Levi and Zach Benson both missed Friday's practice with lower-body injuries. The Sabres don’t think it’s anything serious with either player.
Here's how the lines looked with Benson out:
Forwards:
Greenway - Thompson - Cozens
Skinner - Mittelstadt - Tuch
Girgensons - Krebs - Okposo
Peterka - Jost - Olofsson
Savoie
