Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres just had three days in-between games, but one of the hardest parts of their schedule begins Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. During this upcoming stretch, Buffalo will play 13 games in 22 days.
Sabres head coach Don Granato gave the team off on Wednesday, and then held practice on Thursday and Friday. Granato knows what’s coming up, and he knows it’ll pretty much be games with no practice.
“We know we’ve been a much better team, and a different team when we’ve been fresh. So this is a tricky one,” said Granato on Saturday. “We will absolutely practice less, and be more concerned with where we can get rest in a very tight schedule.”
With postponements to their schedule, the Sabres have games in-hand with all the teams they're around in the Eastern Conference.
Buffalo has won seven out of eight games, and are 12-4-2 in the 18 games since ending their eight-game losing streak.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has played nine of the Sabres’ last 13 games, and will be in net once again against the Wild.
Luukkonen has won his last five starts, and seven of his last eight. Overall, he’s 8-3-1 this season with a 3.39 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage.
Buffalo’s power play hasn’t been as good over the last five games, going 2-of-15. Tage Thompson did score a power play goal in the last game against the Washington Capitals, but four of those games came after the team hadn’t practiced for a week due to the blizzard.
Granato feels that’s what suffered the most by not being on the ice.
“It’s as simple as that,” he said. “They were frustrated. We come off a 10-day break and you’ve got to get five guys back into a rhythm with zero practice.
“We almost had two in the Detroit [Red Wings] game, but then we started pressing. When you do that, frustration ensues, and we went through that cycle.”
Earlier in the season, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn got hot when Dylan Cozens became their center. Peterka had points in six out of seven games scoring three goals and three assists for six points. Quinn had points in seven out of eight games scoring three goals and five assists for eight points.
Since then, Peterka has no goals in seven games and one goal in 11. Quinn has no goals in 11 games and has only scored in one game out of his last 14.
Granato isn’t worried about either player, knowing the ups-and-downs that young players have in their rookie years. He said they’re doing the right things to work out of their slumps.
Henri Jokiharju returned to practice on Saturday. Granato says it’s pain tolerance for him, and if all goes well, he’s maybe a week away.
The Wild have been on a very good run as of late. Minnesota has won 9-of-11 games, and are 15-5-0 in their last 20 games.
Kirill Kaprizov has turned into a star for the Wild. He’s scored 22 goals with 25 assists for 47 points in 37 games. Mats Zuccarello has 40 points in 37 games.
Minnesota is 11-5-4 in its last 20 games against the Sabres.
Join Brian Koziol at 6 p.m. EST for pregame coverage on WGR when you’ll hear from Granato, Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin.
Losi and Gangi
