Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres have gotten off to a sour start early on this season with a record of 2-4-0 through six games.
The team has struggled to consistently score throughout games, especially at even-strength. Buffalo has combined for just 13 goals in six games, which is down 10 goals from last year at this time.
Sabres head coach Don Granato knows the offensive output from his group is not up to where they need to be early on in the season.
"We continue to push and press for more traffic at the net, more direct players going to the net, greater shot mentality. Those are things that are tangible, physical things you can pluck out on video that are real strong indicators of aggressive play, assertive play," said Granato during his weekly Tuesday appearance on the "Jeremy and Joe Show" on WGR. "You tend to push that way where you can connect it visually, and results typically follow."
One player that has yet to make an impact offensively in the early going is forward Alex Tuch. Granato feels this isn't normal for him, but is also confident he can snap out of it and help the team.
"[Tuch] has not looked like himself," Granato said with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase. "I think 'Tucher' will resolve it, get back to a simpler game, a little bit more direct game. But it's nothing that's not within his capabilities. I think he'll be able to correct it and help us."
While the Sabres have been struggling early on, the rest of their division is starting to pull away. Despite this, Granato is not worried about what his team can do.
"We still expect that we'll get a playoff spot. There's 82 games, I'm certainly not panicking at this point," he said. "We've gotten better in lots of different areas that we needed to be better in, but we haven't scored, it's just that simple. The things that we're actually proven to be really good at have been the only thing that's been missing, really. That would have been the difference maker."
Hear more from Granato's appearance during the "Jeremy and Joe Show" available in the player below:
