Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres are 4-1-1, which means the only time head coach Don Granato has had to change his defensive pairs is when Henri Jokiharju got hurt.
Robert Hagg and Mark Pysyk has been a pair since opening night and have been playing so well, that Granato gave them the assignment of playing against Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They did a great job, as Pysyk was on the ice for four Buffalo goals and none against.
When asked what makes the pairing so successful after Wednesday's practice in Buffalo, Pysyk didn't want to complicate the reasoning.
“I think it’s just keeping it simple with each other, being predictable with one another. Plus, we’ve developed a friendship as well," Pysyk said. "In practice, we’re pushing each other, having fun ,and it’s that level of comfort that if one of us makes a mistake, you’re not letting the other guy down.”
Hagg shares the same sentiment with Pysyk, saying the veteran defenseman always has a joke and is very funny.
“He’s fun to be around," Pysyk said of Hagg. "We’re friends and always joking on the ice, but he’s going to be there putting the work in for sure at all times.”
Defense just isn’t for the defensemen. If you’re going to be good at it, it’s a five-man unit. The Sabres are second in the league with a 1.83 goals-against average so far this season.
“We’ve done a good job of all five guys hounding the puck pretty much everywhere around the rink," Pysyk said. "I think for our gaps coming into the defensive zone, we’ve definitely limited the time we’ve spent strictly defending. That’s help us as [defense].”
Pysyk has a very even-keeled demeanor. It doesn’t get too livid when he makes a mistake, and he doesn’t start break dancing when he scores a goal. The 29-year-old said he’s always been like that, and he hopes he can be a calming influence.
“It's how I’ve always been. Calm, nothing too dangerous. it’s just get the job done simply, but I don’t know where it came from,” Pysyk explained.
To almost no surprise, Hagg believes in the same concepts as Pysyk does.
“We just try to keep it simple," Hagg said. "We try to move the puck up north as quick was we can and try to close plays in the [defensive] zone and not complicate it too much.
“As a player, he’s really underrated. He seems to always be in the right spot the whole time and it makes my game easier, because I know if I screw up, I’ll have him positioned behind me and he will help me to clean it up.”
It would be wise for Granato to have Rasmus Dahlin sitting right in-between these two players, because when he gets in trouble, he tries to complicate what should be an easy play.
As far as being with Pysyk for all six games, Hagg believes is helps develop good consistency.
“You practice with the same guy, you play with the same guy each day, so it helps you to build chemistry," Hagg said.
As the 2021-22 regular season was about to begin, Granato knew what he was doing when he put the pair together.
“They both have such great experience and that helps them," Granato said. "They see the game with a lot of experience in different situations and they play well together. Every situation that they’re in, they’re in it as a pair. So they’ve used some veteran savvy and they work.”
Cody Eakin didn’t practice on Wednesday before the team left for California, but Granato said he will be on the trip. Casey Mittelstadt’s rehab is, in Granato’s words, “encouraging,” and he hopes the center can integrate into practice when the team returns to Buffalo following their Nov. 4 game in Seattle against the Kraken.
Mattias Samuelsson still hasn’t been cleared to play, so he’s working out in Rochester with the Americans.
