Buffalo looks to move to within three points of a playoff spot with a win over the Islanders
Buffalo looks to move to within three points of a playoff spot with a win over the Islanders
The Buffalo Sabres have not resembled the team that early in the season that crumbled after allowing the first goal or that lost to the likes of the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets. In their 7-3 win over Detroit on Tuesday, the Sabres were unfazed after Tyson Jost’s first-period goal was taken off the board due to a video review for offsides and quickly responded with Bowen Byram scoring moments later and scoring two more times before the end of the period.
"They look fearless. That's the difference." Sabres head coach Don Granato said about his club's performance of late. "You harbor fear that manifests in hesitation. You identify with your vulnerabilities and that's fear. You identify with your strengths (and) that's confidence."
The Sabres have improved their defensive play and received steady goaltending from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, which has decreased their goals against 3.65 goals per game last season to 3.00 so far this year.
That has helped Buffalo climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, but the corresponding decrease in their offense from 296 goals scored in 22-23 (3.61 goals per game) to 196 goals through 66 games (2.96 GPG) has called into question whether the club can do both at the same time.
"The last couple of years. It was kind of our MO, as we needed guys to believe they were powerful and could score in the NHL. Now we've had to revert them back to say, 'okay, you can score...now you got to learn the other side a little bit more.' " Granato said, "As we bring young prospects in, it's gonna be the opposite way of developing. We needed to score over the last couple of years.....now we need to become a better team. There's a process to it. We've stuck to it the whole way and we'll continue to stick to it."
The Sabres have a chance to close the gap in the playoff race to three points with a win over the New York Islanders and could draw even closer with another win against the Wings in Detroit on Saturday, but with just 16 games to go, Buffalo may have found the winning formula too late.
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