An additional hit of the year: the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres just revealed some terrible news regarding his…

An additional hit of the year: the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres just revealed some terrible news regarding his…

Why did the Buffalo Sabres begin the season with a 1-10-4 record after winning and 0-6-4 in their subsequent 10 games after winning before ending the run last night? The aforementioned records were dismal ones for a team that was expected to be in the playoffs, but like anything else involving failure, there were explanations for them.

However, precisely what were they? Did they stem from the team trying to do too much with the puck or from overconfidence? After the Sabres defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, head coach Don Granato offered the following insight:

I’ve been talking about this mindset for weeks now. It’s a swagger and a mojo, and the truth is, we played scared because we lacked it. And without that swagger and fearlessness tonight, you don’t win that game.””

Mike Harrington of Buffalo News, “Observations: Sabres overcome Pens and finally forge a two-game winning streak.”

On Saturday night, the Sabres faced a more formidable and seasoned squad that was sure to present them with a tough opponent. And in a game this competitive, they would have probably given up recently. It’s true that the Penguins outperformed the Sabres in almost every aspect of the game, save for the scoreboard’s final outcome, but that wasn’t always the case.

The head coach of the Buffalo Sabres is accurate about his team.
Granato is correct; the Buffalo Sabres displayed fearlessness in their play last night, especially considering that they were the team with the greater physicality overall—they finished with 25 hits to the Penguins’ 15. They also demonstrated tenacity on the penalty kill and, yes, even during the 5-on-3 in which they conceded a goal.

Pittsburgh only managed three shots on goal when they had the man advantage, a situation they encountered five times, so we know the latter to be accurate. Ultimately, Zemgus Girgensons’ goal proved to be the decisive factor when the Blue and Gold caused some chaos in front of the net.

Granato was therefore absolutely correct when he made his comments after the game. After a victory, his team appeared to be playing to avoid losing frequently, but that was not the case last night. Rather, they took charge, engaged in physical play with the Penguins, mostly recovered on the penalty kill, and emerged victorious despite the outcome being unappealing.