It was a tough weekend for the Buffalo Sabres after two disappointing losses in different fashions. The Sabres came up just short on Saturday in a hard-fought effort against the Colorado Avalanche at KeyBank Center, but then laid an egg the very next night in a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Despite the two losses, one player that has come on red-hot for the Sabres is forward Tage Thompson, who managed to notch his first-career hat-trick on Saturday, and then score once again against Columbus. So far this season, the 24-year-old has already established career highs in goal (20), assists (18) and points (38) in just 47 games played.
While the emergence of Thompson has been surprising to many people, Sabres head coach Granato has seen how much progress his center has made in his play this season.
“He’s become such a great player, because of his precious and methodical approach to training,” Granato said during his weekly appearance on the "Howard and Jeremy Show" on Tuesday.
Granato also put Alex Tuch’s name into consideration on Tuesday as someone who is discovering just how good of a player they are.
One area of concern coming from Sunday's game in Columbus was the absence of defensemen Rasmus Dahlin, as he missed the contest due to a lower-body injury. Granato says the 21-year-old may jump on the ice on Tuesday to test his injury, but he is not expected to practice. Despite that, though, that doesn't mean he will not play on this upcoming three-game road trip, starting Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.
“We just don't know enough yet, but it was a positive that there was no extended damage,” Granato said with Howard Simon and Nate Geary of Dahlin's status.
You can listen to Granato’s entire interview during the “Howard and Jeremy Show” below:
