Don Granato addressed the Sabres players on Friday morning, coming on the heels of consecutive losses that were different in nature but require similar responses.
The Sabres went 3-1-0 on their season-long, four-game road trip through Alberta and the Pacific Northwest, but it ended with a loss to the Seattle Kraken in which players agreed they had less than their best.
Their loss at home to Montreal on Thursday was another story. The Sabres generated a season-high 45 shots but lost on a late goal by Josh Anderson.
Both types of losses can be expected within an 82-game season. The response, Granato said, is what matters.
“What we just went through last night and went through in Seattle, those are natural occurring processes that you cannot replicate in a preseason, you can’t replicate it in the offseason,” Granato said. “So, we have to embrace it.
“Hey, we didn’t do as well as we wanted to last night. But if we react and overreact and react negatively, we’re just going to compound it. We’re going to compound the anxiety, tension, and more fatigue and more worry and more concern. … You’ve got to be able to come to the rink today and plow ahead and not carry any anxiety and any fear and drive forward.”
Here are notes from Friday’s session at LECOM Harborcenter.
Video: AFTER PRACTICE: Granato
1. Rasmus Dahlin was the first player on the ice, some 15 minutes before practice began. He spent the time shooting from the right faceoff circle – the exact location he shot from during the final seconds of the loss to the Canadiens, which goaltender Sam Montembeault saved.
“That exemplifies him,” Granato said. “He’s never satisfied. Certainly, when something doesn’t go the way, he wants it to go he addresses it the right way, and the right way would be on the ice early trying to correct it. And if it’s not there, it’s in film beforehand.”
2. Owen Power leads NHL rookies in average ice time (22:44). His responsibilities have only increased in response to recent injuries to Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju.
His ability to self-assess his game is part of how he’s earned that trust. Montreal’s first goal on Thursday deflected in off Power’s leg – a bad bounce, but Power was more interested in what had happened prior when he reflected Friday.
“I think there’s also some, some plays early in those shifts that I think if I cleaned up it could have prevented it,” he said. “So, I think there’s a lot that that came before and that kind of led to the goal. So just little things to clean up.”
Video: AFTER PRACTICE: Power
3. Granato likened the growth process Power is experiencing to what Dahlin, a fellow No. 1 pick, went through early last season. Granato thrusted Dahlin into high-leverage situations and encouraged him to play fearlessly and learn from mistakes. Dahlin responded with his first All-Star appearance.
“Owen works,” Granato said. “… He tries to find ways to get better. He tries to find ways of what are my responsibilities, what am I missing in responsibilities? So, he is so engaged at becoming a better hockey player and doing things for the right reasons that you respect the person, not only the player. You respect the person for that.”
4. The Sabres tweaked their defense pairs at practice, moving Jacob Bryson alongside Dahlin and Casey Fitzgerald alongside Power. Dahlin and Power played as a pair on Thursday.
Here’s how the group lined up in full:
| October 28 | ||
|---|---|---|
| LW | C | RW |
| 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch |
| 22 Jack Quinn | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 71 Victor Olofsson |
| 77 JJ Peterka | 24 Dylan Cozens | 29 Vinnie Hinostroza |
| 19 Peyton Krebs | 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 21 Kyle Okposo |
| 74 Rasmus Asplund | 8 Riley Sheahan | |
| LD | RD | G |
| 78 Jacob Bryson | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 41 Craig Anderson |
| 25 Owen Power | 45 Casey Fitzgerald | 31 Eric Comrie |
| 38 Kale Clague | 46 Ilya Lyubushkin | |
| 20 Lawrence Pilut | ||
5. The Sabres used the practice to break in the white pants and white gloves they will wear with their white Reverse Retro jerseys beginning next Wednesday against Pittsburgh. Paired with blue practice jerseys, they made for an interesting look:
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