Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After a successful Western road trip, taking six out of eight possible points, the Buffalo Sabres are now back home for a four-game homestand, starting Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center.
Despite an ugly 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday to wrap up the road trip, Sabres head coach Don Granato was happy to see his group picking up the points against some tough opponents along the way.
“I thought the guys competed very well,” said Granato on Thursday during his weekly appearance on the "Howard and Jeremy Show" on WGR. "I thought they were challenged, enough adversity to continue to grow, and it was a good trip in that regard."
The Sabres went through some injuries on the blue line during their road trip, with both Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju ending up on Injured Reserve. To fill the void, the Sabres were forced to call up Lawrence Pilut from the Rochester Americans, while Casey Fitzgerald dressed for the first time after starting the year as the seventh defenseman.
With the injuries on the blue line, that has left more minutes for Rasmus Dahlin, who has to use a lot more energy now that his minutes are going up.
“Dahlin loves the challenge of taking the pucks away from people, closing out people,” Granato said with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase. "His offensive game has just gone to another level."
Related
Dahlin was the NHL’s First Star of the Week for his play last week, and has produced five goals to start the season. The 22-year-old has started the season looking like one of the top defensemen in the NHL.
Granato says he is finding creative ways to get his game better. With such a young team in Buffalo, Granato likes this as a great opportunity for development among the players.
Coming back home for the first game after a long Western road trip, Granato thinks it will be a challenge having to deal with time changes, as they go up against Montreal.
“We do have to beat those elements that are a factor," Granato said. "We have to make them not be a factor. It’s just a part of the 82 games and how the schedule lays out."
Hear more of Granato’s appearance during the “Howard and Jeremy Show” in the player below:
