Buffalo N.Y. (WGR 550) - After one of the worst losses of the season last week Tuesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Buffalo Sabres are now back in the playoff mix with three-straight wins. Buffalo managed to grab those wins over three fellow contenders in the Eastern Conference, knocking off the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals.
Buffalo will now look to build on the last three wins on Tuesday night when the Sabres host the Columbus Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center.
As the NHL Trade Deadline approaches on Friday at 3 p.m. EST, the Sabres have already made one move to boost their defensive depth, acquiring Riley Stillman from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for prospect forward Josh Bloom.
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Sabres head coach Don Granato likes what Stillman could potentially bring to the table once he hits the ice with his new teammates.
“He will give us more depth and experience, and grit on the backend. He fits very well with his attributes and projection,” said Granato during his weekly appearance on the "Howard and Jeremy Show" on Tuesday.
Granato says they want to integrate Stillman at a pace he can absorb what they need him to.
The Sabres are possibly going to be without one of their top goal scorers for the rest of the regular season after Alex Tuch was placed on Injured Reserve on Sunday. Tuch suffered a lower-body injury late in their win Friday night against the Florida Panthers.
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In their win on Sunday over the Washington Capitals, rookie winger Jack Quinn was placed on the top line along with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner. Granato feels this is a good opportunity for Quinn to fill in for Tuch, and he plans on keeping him on that line on a day-by-day basis.
“It’s a lot of pressure to be in that spot, because you've got a guy who is prolific scoring right now, as Thompson is, and playing at the level that Skinner is,” Granato said with Howard Simon and Joe DiBiase.
In this recent run, the Sabres still don’t have a goaltender that has taken over in the No. 1 role in Buffalo. While Granato has talked about the possibility of giving 41-year-old Craig Anderson a bigger workload, he says it is tricky and unpredictable with what will happen in goal.
“The other two goaltenders are sitting there watching it and soaking it in," Granato said. "One factor we can look at is 'UPL' [Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen] has been able to soak in others' performance and experience."
Hear more from Granato’s appearance during the “Howard and Jeremy Show” available in the player below:
