Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After more than two months of struggling to find some consistency in the win column, the Buffalo Sabres were finally able to string a pair of victories together this past weekend on the road.
The Sabres are now looking to build on that back on home ice when they kick off a six-game homestand on Tuesday night in Downtown Buffalo against the Seattle Kraken.
Day-to-day operations are certainly different between home games and road games, but Sabres head coach Don Granato feels being home for the next two weeks will be a huge help for his group.
"Travel, obviously, is a grind. You're getting different hotels every day, different cities, obviously getting back late at night or traveling after games. To not have to do any of that is a plus," said Granato on Tuesday when he joined the "Jeremy and Joe Show" for his weekly appearance on WGR. "Hopefully the continuity will help us, obviously, on the side of performance."
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Tage Thompson has been one of the Sabres' biggest producers over the past few seasons, but this year has seen his share of injuries to start the campaign. Granato feels that Thompson is close to fully healthy once again, and it's only a matter of time seeing him get back to his regular level of play.
"He did deal with an injury that prolonged it. I think he's back full now," Granato said with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase. "Just in the last couple of weeks, maybe the last five games, he's actually been a full go, where he's got full mobility and mechanics are back to normal. So I do think we will see a surge. I think there's high potential for a surge for him right now."
Young goaltending is something the Sabres have had to look forward to over the last couple of seasons. However, at times, the young goalies haven't been able to help enough in net to keep Buffalo in games.
Lately though, the Sabres defense, mixed with their goaltending, has worked on minimizing high danger chances that have been a problem in the past.
"I'd say No. 1, the goaltending has been excellent, which is what you need," Granato said. "When a goaltender can rise, any team is going to be successful. Those guys (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon levi) have been really good. I do think shot selection or second chances have been contested better and minimized, and that's something you have control over. They've risen well there. I don't know if we necessarily minimized it, because mistakes happen, but we've minimized the second chances or contested more shots with a little bit more structure. That's been nice."
Hear more from Granato's appearance during the "Jeremy and Joe Show" available in the player below:
