Granato - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres could turn to goalie Aaron Dell against Maple Leafs

BUFFALO – A few days into training camp, Sabres coach Don Granato acknowledged that if the season started tomorrow, goalies Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell would rank first and second on the depth chart.

Dell, who might start tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, had a leg up in the competition with Dustin Tokarski for the backup job. But in the preseason, Dell posted ghastly numbers – a 5.57 goals-against average and an .838 save ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Dylan Cozens scores twice in ‘amazing game,’ stops Connor McDavid

BUFFALO – Earlier this week, Sabres coach Don Granato sat down with Dylan Cozens and watched some video clips. When they finished, he asked the second-year center if he felt ready to shadow Connor McDavid, hockey’s biggest superstar.

“I watched his body language,” Granato said after Cozens starred in Friday’s 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, which ended a five-game winless skid. “If his body language was different, he wouldn’t have got that matchup. I ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Gritty goal shows Anders Bjork starting to find game

BUFFALO – For a few weeks, Sabres winger Anders Bjork often looked invisible. The American couldn’t score. He dropped down the lineup, losing ice time.

“Bjork was searching for his game and he lost a feel of what he did,” Sabres coach Don Granato said.

So Granato said the Sabres let Bjork, 25, experience that rough phase before he and his staff started working with him more often and pinpointing things in his game.

“(We) ... Read the full article

Leon Draisaitl as dynamic as Connor McDavid; Sabres to make one change

BUFFALO – Forget about Connor McDavid for a moment. The Edmonton Oilers have a player with more points than the superstar. Through 12 games, Leon Draisaitl has amassed a whopping 12 goals and 26 points, both NHL highs.

So far, McDavid, 24, has scored nine goals and 24 points.

Draisaitl, of course, is usually overshadowed by McDavid, a center widely considered hockey’s most dynamic talent.

But coach Don Granato, whose Sabres face the Oilers tonight ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tage Thompson starting to realize potential: ‘Grown tremendously’

BUFFALO – Sabres coach Don Granato could see Tage Thompson possessed confidence. It was just that the talented center believed he would eventually reach his potential.

Granato wanted Thompson, 24, to understand the opportunity he had right now.

“I talked to him a lot in the last year about I know you are confident about success, but that confidence is somewhere off in the future, I’m going to be able to become the player ... Read the full article

Sabres coach Don Granato wowed by Connor McDavid’s talents

BUFFALO – The most scintillating goal of superstar Connor McDavid’s career, the one in which he split four New York Rangers on Saturday, reminded Sabres coach Don Granato of a psychology study he once read.

“Fifty people see an incident, no one calls 9-1-1 because they think the other person’s going to call 9-1-1,” Granato said following Thursday’s practice. “That’s what it made me think of when I saw that.”

For the first time since ... Read the full article

Veteran Mark Pysyk playing prominent role again for Sabres: ‘He wants more’

BUFFALO – Mark Pysyk hasn’t enjoyed a prominent role like this in years. For two seasons, the Sabres defenseman moved around and out of the lineup, often moonlighting as a winger when he wasn’t scratched.

Pysyk, 29, signed a one-year, $900,000 contract to return to the Sabres, in part because he wanted to play defense regularly again. So far, he has played all 12 games this season on the blue line, averaging 18 minutes, 20 ... Read the full article

Victor Olofsson to miss another game; Aaron Dell could face Maple Leafs

BUFFALO – Winger Victor Olofsson’s soft tissue injury will likely sideline him for the fifth consecutive game Friday against the Edmonton Oilers, Sabres coach Don Granato said.

Olofsson, 26, did not practice Wednesday. When the Swede missed his first game Oct. 28 against the San Jose Sharks, the Sabres believed his absence would be short.

Granato said when the Sabres returned from their four-game western road trip, imaging told them Olofsson is still considered day ... Read the full article

Sabres battle back after slow start, fall to Capitals: ‘I liked the fight’

The Buffalo Sabres’ torrid start is starting to feel like a distant memory. Monday’s 5-3 road loss to the Washington Capitals was their fifth consecutive setback.

On Oct. 28, after their 4-3 overtime victory against the Anaheim Ducks, the Sabres ranked second in the Atlantic Division, just three points behind the Florida Panthers. Today, they stand fifth in the division, nine points behind the first-place Panthers.

On Monday at Capital One Arena, the Sabres fell ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Arttu Ruotsalainen developing into different type of scoring threat

BUFFALO – In trying to evolve and score more goals, Sabres center Arttu Ruotsalainen has embraced a saying from his native Finland.

Ruotsalainen, 24, understands he can’t simply rely on his lethal shot from the perimeter. What worked in Europe and during his brief stint in the AHL won’t translate to success in the NHL.

To consistently score, the 5-foot-9, 187-pound rookie knows he must go to the net and battle for “dirty goals.”

“We ... Read the full article