Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres have had up-and-down start to their 2023-24 season, sitting with a 10-10-2 record and not developing much consistency with their overall game in the first quarter of the year.
The Sabres won big in New York City on Monday night over the New York Rangers by a score of 5-1. Alex Tuch netted two goals, while J.J. Peterka, Kyle Okposo and Casey Mittelstadt also added to the goal scoring, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned the win in goal with 25 saves.
This game was a drastic change from the awful 7-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night in Newark.
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Sabres head coach Don Granato loved the response he saw from his team on Monday night against the NHL's No. 1 team overall.
"We obviously win Friday at home against Pittsburgh [Penguins], and come back with a lot of excitement, but Saturday's game was just flat out bad," said Granato on Tuesday during his weekly appearance on the "Jeremy and Joe Show" on WGR. "There's lots of ways to describe it in New Jersey. We had 48 hours to look at it. I was happy with the way our guys competed, they seemed to respond very well to that. They have historically, and it's a credit to them. We still work to find our way in this new territory, you have a little bit more pressure, but guys are finding ways to rise, and that's a good thing."
One of the main problems for the Sabres right now are injuries to some key contributors to the lineup.
Forward Jack Quinn has been injured since the offseason and has yet to play this year, while forward Tage Thompson is expected to be out of the lineup for about a month. Meanwhile, the Sabres have dealt with a number of other injuries that have seen some players needing some time to recoup and get back to 100%.
While Granato realizes this is a difficult issue to deal with, playing an untraditional style with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the lineup has proven to work well for the team in recent games.
"It is a challenge, and I'd say just about everything is a challenge right now," Granato said with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase. "You're in a new territory here where you do feel every point matters, and you're trying to make certain you're giving yourself the best shot at every point. The positive of this, beyond potentially getting points, is I do think it helps our guys get in a rhythm. Your top guys get in a rhythm when you rotate three instead of four lines more often. The players learn to play a little bit more efficiently, because they're not taking those chances and risks."
For the past two seasons, the Sabres have had a crowded goaltender room, but it appears one netminder is starting to rise above the rest. Luukkonen has improved his game in recent weeks, putting up a 6-3-1 record, a 2.54 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and a shutout.
The 24-year-old's recent play has impressed Granato so much so that he will likely see an increase in playing time as the season continues to progress.
"He is earning more time, and he will get more time because he's earning more time," Granato said. "Based on the last little bit, 'Upie' has definitely risen. We will make any adjustments necessary from that based on that really. It's a great thing to see, that's what we were hoping for. Anytime you have internal competition, it's a major bonus to coaches and management. That's what you want. You want these guys to be pushing each other. That works a lot better than us trying to push them."
Hear more from Granato's appearance during the "Jeremey and Joe Show" available in the player below:
