Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres haven't been able to get their 2023-24 regular season started off on the right foot.
After opening the year with a flat performance in a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center, the Sabres responded will on Saturday night on Long Island against the New York Islanders, but still came up short in a 3-2 loss.
If there some optimism heading into the upcoming week, it's that the Sabres will remain home for a four-game homestand, starting Tuesday night when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. They will also play the Calgary Flames on Thursday, the Islanders again on Saturday before closing out the homestand Monday night against the Montreal Canadiens.
While this might not have been the start the team wanted, Sabres head coach Don Granato isn't worried about where the group is at. He says the team will continue to grow as the season goes on.
"We're 0-2 to start, but I don't see it as any bad thing at all," said Granato during his Tuesday appearance on the "Jeremy and Joe Show" on WGR. "We've shown massive growth since a year ago. I think it's just a matter of time before we get in sync here and get moving."
The Sabres have struggled putting the puck in the net through two games so far. Granato feels the team is very focused on improving and creating more scoring depth throughout the lineup.
"The NHL stats, when you score first, it's incredible, the winning percentage of that. That's why over the years, I've talked about the need to develop offense, because very few teams outscore their mistakes, and very few teams come back from a deficit," Granato said with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase. "If we can split [Tage] Thompson and [Alex] Tuch on two different lines, who do you match the top [defense] against? If you have more depth and scoring right now; the [Casey] Mittelstadt line is going real good, now if you go into a game, do they put the top [defense] against the Mittelstadt line, or do they put it against the Thompson line? Or do they put it against the [Dylan] Cozens line if we get them going? Our depth, I think, is going to be the key for us in the future."
One major bright spot so far for the Sabres this season has been the emergence of standout rookie forward Zach Benson. While the play of the 2023 first-round pick on the puck has been great, Granato is more so focusing on what he does away from the puck.
"We talked to guys a lot about controlling your momentum, not letting your momentum control you. You'll see guys try to keep their momentum in the game, because you get up to faster speed quicker if you have a little bit of momentum, but they overskate good areas of the ice where the puck might jump out to. Zach does a tremendous job of not allowing his momentum to control him," Granato explained. "He keeps himself in really optimal position for where the puck is gonna pop out, and he just does that extremely well."
Hear more from Granato's appearance during the "Jeremy and Joe Show" available in the player below:
