Confidence can be elusive, as we have seen with the Buffalo Sabres this season. But there is no question that the new coaching strategy of interim head coach Don Granato has allowed the team to gain it back over the last few weeks.
Not much was going right over the team’s 18-game losing streak, and it was very apparent that the blue and gold were suffering from a lack of confidence. Passing was an issue, defensive coverages were being missed, and the overall offense was non-existent on many nights over that stretch.
But now that the team is starting to win games and string together point streaks, we are starting to see a different team that can be competitive. They aren’t all of a sudden contenders in the East Division, but now are capable of overcoming in-game adversity.
Jeff Skinner was asked about the team’s newfound success, following the victory on Sunday over the Philadelphia Flyers.
"As the game goes along, it sort of tightens up and desperation levels sort of rise a little bit, and lately we’ve been able to find those plays and that’s what you need," he said. "I think late in games, especially, you need big plays at big moments.”
Granato has seen the same since taking over behind the bench.
"We’ve had a much better belief system progressively the last couple weeks, and it’s getting stronger," he believes. "You can feel that up-and-down the bench. More confident speak, less emotional speak, so [there is] a lot of subtlety but good signs.”
I have liked what I have seen game-in and game-out from the interim bench boss. Granato and his coaching staff have the players prepared, and I do not see the same mistakes being repeated period-after-period like they had been for the first two months of the season.
The defense has been noticeably better recently, with Rasmus Dahlin being one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new, more aggressive approach. Before being traded to the Florida Panthers, I thought Brandon Montour was also playing up to his potential. He was showing the attributes that we had heard about and seen from his time with the Anaheim Ducks.
Kyle Okposo has also seen a difference in the young defenders
"You look at the maturity with 'Dahls' [Rasmus Dahlin] and Henri Jokiharju over the past five, six, seven games and how they’ve been playing and how confident they are," he said.
Dahlin had a four-game point streak snapped in Sunday’s win. The defenseman had a goal and four assists in six games this month.
Jokiharju has been seeing more-and-more ice time this month. Each of the last two games, the rear guard has logged more than 20 minutes, while he was just seconds away eclipsing that mark against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, as well.
Tage Thompson is another young Sabres player that has exuded more confidence the last month.
"He did such a good job of winning so many little battles and creating things with his body, and he’s learning how to use his frame,” Okposo said of the 23-year-old. "A ton of our young guys are taking steps, and it’s good to see.”
The blue and gold have 15 games remaining in the 2020-21 season. If they continue to play with the same confidence and aggression over the season’s final month, Buffalo could have a say in who, ultimately, claims the final playoff spot within the East Division.