Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato joined the "Howard and Jeremy Show" on Thursday for his weekly appearance on WGR.
The NHL is in the All-Star break, and Granato won’t see his team again until Tuesday afternoon. With the Sabres just past the halfway point of the 2021-22 season, they’re in 28th place with a .389 points percentage.
“I still like all the young talent we have, because they keep getting better," Granato said with Howard Simon and Jeremy White. "But the hope is that you get more guys healthy and we can play more with the group that we actually have in town.”
The Sabres have had a slew of injuries this season, and Granato says it’s interrupted what he’s been trying to accomplish with this group.
“You’ve already targeted progress that you think you can make, and then you start having to deal with injuries and you get sidetracked. You’re almost in survival mode," he said. "For me, I hope we can get more consistently healthy, so with what we’re targeting, we can be more consistent with it.”
Buffalo just got Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski both back in goal, and Granato believes Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be back at practice after the All-Star Break.
“I think the potential is there to win more consistently, and obviously Craig Anderson coming back is a huge key in that as our No. 1 goaltender," Granato said. "Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be back after the break joining us in practice, so Craig’s our No. 1 goaltender and you have 'UPL' playing the way he’s playing, looking much less like a prospect and closer to that legitimate NHL goaltender. So that’s fun to see.”
Peyton Krebs has played center some since being recalled from the Rochester Americans, but he’s recently been playing at left wing.
“Where he fits in is his versatility," Granato said of his long-term outlook with the Sabres. "I spoke with him early on and I said, ‘Peyton, I need you to play wing. I know you can play center and the more that we can get you reps at the wing, the more you add to your portfolio.’ So then I can shift him to wing on [Dlyan] Cozens' line or [with Casey] Mittelstadt or [Tage] Thompson.
“If I look at our centermen, Tage Thompson has emerged as an NHL top centerman. He had never played center, only wing, so that was a pleasant surprise that he’s been able to do that and establish himself. Mittelstadt is a good fit there, and then Cozens we had on the wing, but shifted him to center last year. If you have those three centermen, that might mean Peyton would be the fourth center, and he’s really not a fourth center. So the more minutes he can get on the wing to get comfort there, the better it is for everybody.”
Granato also said that Zemgus Girgensons will be back after the break, while he’s hoping Mittelstadt will be too. Vinnie Hinostroza is going to try to skate with the team when they come back, so Granato said they’ll see how that goes.
Meanwhile, Friday night will see defenseman Rasmus Dahlin taking part in the Accuracy Shooting event of Friday’s NHL Skills Competition, which is part of the NHL All-Star Game festivities in Las Vegas.
