Pittsburgh, Pa. (WGR 550) – I’m really not all that concerned about the Buffalo Sabres' 7-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
They were horrendous in the defensive zone in all areas, as the defensemen would turn with the puck and had nowhere to go, because the forwards had either blown the zone or were running around.
If I took one thing out of the game, it was JJ Peterka started playing better starting in the second period. His line had the best shift of the night in the middle frame, and it was him in on the Pens, fast and causing turnovers.
His center, Dylan Cozens, led the team in preseason scoring with five points in four games.
Eric Comrie asked head coach Don Granato to play him in the road games, because he wanted harder games. He certainly got them, giving up 11 goals in two games.
It was obvious the team didn't play well in front of him, but the bottom line is, he lost both his starts badly and in my opinion, Craig Anderson has won the job for now.
The Sabres won four of their first five preseason games and I liked how they found ways to win games with different players in the lineup. I know, the games don’t count, but I think it’s important for young players to learn how to win.
I think Cozens had a great preseason, and he showed me he could be on the verge of a breakout season.
I’m very concerned about Casey Mittelstadt. When he played, he was hardly noticeable, and that included Friday night. He probably is still trying to find his stride, but if you want to rank centers, I would call Cozens their No. 2 center.
Granato and his staff have to find a way to keep Henri Jokiharju from starting slowly like he has the last two seasons. In both years, he came on strong and played well after the holidays, but that just can’t be his way every year. He was not good in training camp, and he must shake it now, not in December.
The good news is if it does happen, they have quality depth in Casey Fitzgerald.
Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Jeff Skinner and Jack Quinn all looked good throughout training camp. They looked ready to go.
I’m sure some players hate that it’s still six days until opening night on Oct. 13. Granato, on the other hand, is a coach and he will find plenty of things to work on to get ready for the Ottawa Senators.
There really is only one roster spot in question. In my mind, either Riley Sheahan or Anders Bjork has to go on waivers and be sent to the Rochester Americans or another team.
I think Bjork has done nothing to make the team, while Sheahan can do more things and is more versatile.
