Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – In the first five games of the 2023-24 season, Connor Clifton, as a right-handed shot, has been playing left defense with Erik Johnson, also a right-hander, on the right side.
This has been an adjustment for the former Boston Bruins defenseman, because he doesn’t have a lot of experience with it.
"Well, let’s see, six games to start," Clifton said jokingly.
"A couple of years ago, we had a lot of injuries and I played a little left with [Brandon] Carlo for less than 10 games, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. I felt a little better the last couple."
"Defending, it’s the same. It’s just when you get that puck, you don’t want to make a backhand play to the middle," Clifton said. "Sometimes it’s a little hard to get your head up, especially in heavy pressure in the D-zone."
Sabres head coach Don Granato wanted to use two left-handed shots in Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson together, which meant the two righties had to be together too. Granato thinks it’s gone pretty well to this point.
"He’s getting more and more reps, and he does not look unnatural, that’s for certain," said Granato of Clifton.
"The way we play in retrieval, a lot of times it’s the weak-side defenseman that’s been going back for a puck. It favors you when you’re on your off side."
Granato is confident as Clifton gets more reps playing left defense, he’s getting greater comfort every day.
Following Monday's morning skate, Granato said neither Devon Levi nor Zach Benson are 100% yet, so they won’t play on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, and he’d prefer not to play them Tuesday as well in Ottawa against the Senators.
That means Eric Comrie has earned his second-consecutive start in goal. In his first game of the season on Saturday, he stopped 24-of-25 New York Islanders shots and won, 3-1.
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Buffalo has killed 18-of-19 penalties this season. That’s a 94.7% conversion rate, which is fifth in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens are 15th at 79.2%.
The power play is another story, though, as the Sabres are 1-for-16, which is 29th in the league at 6.3%. The Habs are 23rd at this time at 11.8%.
In the first five games, Buffalo has fallen way off in their goal scoring. Last season, Buffalo was in the top-three for most of the season, but now they’re 24th, averaging just 2.40 goals per-game. Their goals against is 3.00, which is 13th.
Join Schopp and the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET when you’ll hear from Granato, Clifton and Dahlin.
