After a ugly stretch of 18-consecutive winless games, the Buffalo Sabres finally got off the schneid last Wednesday in a big way with a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at KeyBank Center.
Over the last four games, the Sabres have played relatively well with points earned in each of those contests. Although the point streak started with Buffalo's 4-3 overtime collapse to the Flyers last Monday, the Sabres have managed to earn a pair of wins, including a 3-2 shootout win on home ice over the New York Rangers on Saturday night.
The Sabres will look to extend their point streak and earn a second-straight win on Tuesday night in Newark, New Jersey against the Devils at the Prudential Center. So far this season against the Devils, Buffalo has gone 3-2-1 in six games played, including two wins on the road in New Jersey.
Part of the reason for Buffalo's sudden turnaround and improvement in play has been the leadership of interim head coach Don Granato.
Since taking over on an interim basis on March 17, Granato has led the Sabres to a 2-4-2 record. While Buffalo remains in the basement of the NHL standings at 8-23-6 overall and just 22 points, the team has started to play more to their strengths, which has led to much more complete efforts on a nightly basis.
Granato took some time on Tuesday to join the Howard and Jeremy Show for his weekly appearances on WGR. He spoke about his team's mentality following the grueling losing streak, the confidence of his young players on the roster, and much more.
Here is some of what he had to say:
Granato on the team's mentality following the 18-game losing streak:
"I think you're going to feel the effects of some success, and it certainly helps to put that streak behind. We did our best to block it out and stick to the task at hand, being the next game or the next practice, but when that ends, there is a relief that you can't quantify. In this business, the one thing that never ever changes is it's day-to-day. That streak lingered and kept trying to rear its head in to disrupt the day, and winning can do the same thing. It feels nice to win, it feels nice to be in a different spot, but when you play a game this evening against any team, you've got to be ready, and you're focus and that need for intensity is definitely there."
Granato on being thrust into the head coaching role on the fly:
"Every coaching job is interim. It's just the way the business is. Really every job is interim, it depends on how you want to look at it. Again, the intensity of our business is you have to win, and because of that, you have to focus on that each day. It's a little trickier in the middle of the season, because you can only implement things very incrementally. You don't want to disrupt a foundation or pieces that are in place to implement maybe what you want, your style. That's a little tricky, but I've been through it enough to be very comfortable with it."
Granato on getting one player back on track to help get more team wins:
"Each player has a capacity at a very high level. There's a range; guys are different. [Rasmus] Dahlin's capacity is probably higher than another guy's, and you look at that and you evaluate that as a coach thinking if we get this particular guy more towards his capacity, it may be more impactful right away. Dahlin was one of those guys. Dahlin was a priority for us, for me specifically. I've fortunately worked with and had a lot of good defenseman his age. From Quinn Hughes to Charlie McAvoy to Zach Werenski and many others, these are guy's I've had and worked with for a couple of years at the [U.S.] National Team [Development] Program that they're in his age bracket. I was really, really excited to work closer with Rasmus for that reason and many more."
Granato on what he sees in Dahlin and what he's been working on with him:
"He is untapped potential. That is an exciting player to have within your group. He engages so well, he wants more. He seeks me out; I will do a meeting and he'll engage me afterwards very inquisitive and excited, seeing things as an opportunity - the next shift, the next game, the next practice he views as an opportunity. When you have a player that has a ceiling as high as he does and he approaches it that way, that's pretty exciting. He's a fast learner. The more situations we can get him in... my confidence in Rasmus is he will re-calibrate very fast, and when you do that, his confidence will grow. We want his confidence to grow, and that's really the biggest focus of all."
Granato on having the younger players on the roster playing with more confidence:
"I think the biggest underlying theme is confidence. We want to make certain that these guys are confident and playing confident, regardless of the mistakes. Mistakes happen, but they shouldn't force you to lose confidence in your ability, your potential. With Casey [Mittelstadt], as with Tage [Thompson] and any other player, even veteran players are subject to bounces in confidence, that is a big part of it, and that's the way we approach it."
Granato on Jack Eichel's role with the Sabres going forward:
"Jack has played through some aggravations, injuries, and that's tough in this league. It's tough when you have the demand on you that is on Jack and is on a star player. That's a lot. First thing's first: He needs to get healthy. As a coach, I had Jack with the [U.S.] National Team, and loved every game I had him, and look forward to the opportunity of being with him again as the head coach for many, many reasons. But I do feel his style would fit and does fit with exactly with what we're moving towards here."
Granato on the latest injury update for both Dylan Cozens and Will Borgen:
"I didn't get information back from [yesterday's] skate, but we don't need it yet. [Cozens] is going to get a couple skates in and we'll see where he's at, where those two players are at. I would think Dylan is a little bit ahead of Will, so maybe a week. Dylan may come on the next road trip with us, that's the hope. It would be in more of a practicing capacity, but at that point, he'd be very close to playing."
You can listen to the entire interview below:
