St. Paul, Minn. (WGR 550) – Before the Buffalo Sabres left for Minnesota on Friday, they practiced with some new lines.
Peyton Krebs found himself centering JJ Peterka and Zach Benson. Krebs is 23-years-old, while Peterka is 22 and Benson is 18.
Ever since Krebs was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights as part of the Jack Eichel trade, he’s been learning the game in a defensive role, and it’s usually with Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo. Sabres head coach Don Granato says he’s earning more responsibility.
"When I think about Peyton, I think about our team. We know Peyton has a lot of talent, and we have a lot of respect for that," said Granato on Friday.
"Peyton has worked on his game, adding detail that underlies. When he came in, he’s a scorer and a very talented guy. But he had to learn the game of the NHL, how to defend, situational awareness and reads. I’ve had talks with him to stay focused on this foundation, because when it’s all in place and it’s in your subconscious and automated, all that skill you had is going to come back, and the game is going to be much, much easier for you."
Granato feels he's seeing that skill starting to come back for Krebs, and he's not alone.
"Everybody has seen that for the last month or so in bits and pieces," Granato said. "You say, 'Wow, that’s some offensive brilliance there.' It’s a little spot here and a little spot there, and then it becomes more-and-more consistent, because he has to worry less about defending because it’s more natural now."
In his last three seasons of junior hockey with the Kootenay and Winnipeg Ice, Krebs had 68 points in 64 games, 60 points in 38 games and 43 points in 24 games.
With the Rochester Americans, Krebs had 15 points in 18 games, and then had 11 points in 10 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs. He feels just because he’s playing with two players with skill, doesn’t mean he’ll change.
"It doesn’t matter who I’m going to be playing with, to be honest. I’m going to play the same way," said Krebs following Friday's practice. "I think I’ve worked really hard this whole year, and I’m just trying to get better each and every day. I’m going to do my thing and get them the puck."
Krebs is very proud of the fact he’s earned everything that he’s gotten.
Peterka possesses great speed and has an excellent shot, which has gotten him 19 goals in just 53 games this season. In that Calder Cup run, where Krebs had 11 assists in 10 games, he centered Peterka, who had seven goals and 12 points in his 10 games.
Krebs feels that chemistry with Peterka will carry over.
"In [those] playoffs, we played together and had some good chemistry there," he said. "His speed up-and-down the ice is unreal, and it’s going to be fun to feed him the puck."
Granato admits he didn’t think of Krebs and Peterka playing together in Rochester.
"Those three are more of a peer group, and they have a new, fresh, excited perspective," Granato said. "You could see them flying out there today, but yes, these guys have been through things together. You know they can communicate things out."
Granato was asked about Krebs playing a fourth line role ever since he got here. In 173 games with the Sabres, the 23-year-old has 19 goals and 39 assists for 58 points. Granato says Krebs knows total defense isn't him.
"Behind the scenes, I’ve been telling him that he’s not a fourth line guy. As a head coach, I think that’s important," he said. "I had Tage Thompson in the [U.S.] National Program, and I told him every day he’s not a fourth line guy and he was on the fourth line. Peyton was playing in that role, but even nights where he got skipped over in a third period, I would either text him or talk to him, and reassured him that maybe this may be the situation you’re in today, but I know your future is different. It’s not going to be confined to this, and he’s been outstanding."
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was back at practice on Friday, and there’s a very good chance he’ll play Saturday in Minnesota against the Wild.
With that, Dustin Tokarski was returned to Rochester before practice.
In addition, Kale Clague was called up from the Amerks to give the Sabres one extra defenseman.
FRIDAY'S LINES:
Forwards:
Skinner – Thompson – Tuch
Mittelstadt – Cozens – Greenway
Benson – Krebs – Peterka
Olofsson – Girgensons – Okposo
Robinson
Defense:
Dahlin – Jokiharju
Bryson – Clifton
R. Johnson – E. Johnson
Clague
