Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Sabres were scheduled to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night at KeyBank Center in Downtown Buffalo. However, due to inclement weather as a result of the winter storm affecting Western New York, the game has been postponed until 7 p.m. EST on Thursday.
Western New York has been dealing with back-to-back lake effect snowstorms over the past week. It has ended up being a great hinderance for both Buffalo sports teams.
"It did impact us the other day, because we did not have a practice day before San Jose," said Sabres head coach Don Granato during his appearance on the "Jeremy and Joe Show" on Wednesday. "The scary thing from the coaching side is when the players have a day off, it usually takes until about the third or fourth drill in practice, which is about 15-to-20 minutes in, before they look like themselves. They're just clunky and the feel isn't there. They're out of rhythm."
Related
Last season, the Sabres were extremely close to making the playoffs, but missed out by just one point. Granato has stood by his team, though, and believes they can continue to perform at this level, so long as they remain focused on the task ahead.
"We needed to get to this level for this reason. We've got to learn to deal with that type of pressure and block it out, and know the only thing that really matters is what you can control, and that's the next game," Granato said with Joe DiBiase on WGR. "Lots of times you get distracted on that. You get too far ahead of yourself or you dwell on the last one."
One major positive for the Sabres this season has been goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luuukkonen. The 24-year-old has played 22 games this season and has gone 10-9-2 in the span, including a pair of shutouts - one of which coming Monday afternoon against the San Jose Sharks.
"Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been very good. This is a very young career so far, but he's progressively gotten better-and-better-and-better," Granato said. "We're seeing him probably at his best right now, and really the nice part is the consistency, which is a challenge for all young guys. To keep the throttle down and know how to prepare and re-prepare, not get too high and get ready for the next game, not get too low to get ready for the next game. He's done a very nice job of that."
Hear more from Granato's appearance during the "Jeremy and Joe Show" available in the player below:
