“It’s Nice to Score Some Goals” | Don Granato After 7-0 Win Over Kings

“It’s Nice to Score Some Goals” | Don Granato After 7-0 Win Over Kings

Like the messages received by your players they did everything you asked them to do basically or were wanting them to do when we spoke after the last game they yeah I I don’t know if it’s necessarily message received they they knew I mean they know

Um and uh you know it’s nice to score some goals what did the first shift of the game the middle stat line do for your entire Club you know you go into every game and and you you don’t know where the bar is going to be set who’s setting it which

Team’s setting it the energy levels um and you know you do all the preparation but you don’t have the answer until you see the first few minutes of the game and get a feel for uh your bench and the engagement of your guys um you know just

By the virtue of their chatter and you know U body language and movement are they fresh are they not uh uh and there was no question you could see that are they in sync are Five Guys in sync moving up up and down the rank thinking

The same way tonight that sort of thing and uh the first shift you’re looking for those barometers um and that first shift was was one that showed that what was the key for you guys to just keep the foot on the gas pedal there were no moments really where there were dips or

Laws like you guys were playing you played your game consistently throughout yeah I I think um you know we skated well we we tracked well we you know we refilled the middle well we um we took that to heart you know I know Paul I think was probably referencing shots and

Going that that his messages you know big message for us was uh defend quick defend quick and defend hard uh and and um you know I thought the end of the game was very indicative of that obviously guys fighting to block shots I think we had three guys block shots in

The last 30 seconds cousins uh Eric Johnson in Greenway um you know and to preserve a shut out for upie it’s no question they did that and finish the right way the right the way they started like the way Zach’s been playing but for him to get rewarded

Finally just like how happy are you that he was able yeah he works hard he gets a lot of detail to his game Benson um and you know virtue of that it certainly is nice see him score and it was a you know it was uh nice play all around all the

Way up the ring so that kind of the mystery of this team I you’ve had a lot of games this year where you played well seems like a lot of them on the road and games certainly that you haven’t been happy with I mean you’re never

Going to play 82 great games but is that the big mystery just why you don’t see more of this kind of play on a consistent basis yeah I mean there’s major components that are a mystery of it I think the pattern is um unfortunately the outer situation of

Urgency um we respond to that so how can we create our own urgency before the we’re we’re pressed to it by by virtue of maybe a poor performance or two or you know so so the urgency you know can we create that urgency for ourselves I think that’s been our challenge it’s

Been our challenge it’s been our Challenge from day one of the start of the year um but but once the outside Dynamics push that urgency um that locker room tends to respond pretty consistently well uh it’s can we create that urgency uh without the outside without and I don’t the outside of

Forces of of not playing well a previous game or two a difference in any of your players by getting that first goal absolutely that is a major I mean just look at the data in the league um even the you know the winning percentage of the teams that score the

First is insane in this league and it has been for for year after year after year so the first goal is huge but yes it it was big for our guys you can tell out on the bench to give credit to his teammates all the time when he has performances

Like this but what is he doing that’s allowing him to just stay calm through all of these games whether it’s a shutout or not well he’s just gotten better and better and better um what is he doing in game I think he he’s really in sync with how we play the shot

Selection that’s coming at him uh positioning defenseman you know where he can make a save and he knows rebounds might be covered um where shots are being forced uh lots of shots being contested even though they’re shot or or limiting Second Chances and you could see he’s playing um he’s way more calm

With pucks even around him to just position knowing that he doesn’t have to worry about everything just uh um but but way more calm in his game obviously experienced now he’s he’s gaining he’s gained experience I think it’s a credit to him and his dedication his work ethic

I think Mike Bells has done a really nice job with him um and I do believe that uh you know Devon in here and pushing him you know seeing another young guy here uh over the last you know the end of last year and this year you

Know he we we had great mentorship and Craig Anderson and older goenda came in and they have Devon Levi around I think uh that was great for both of those guys it bumped him to a whole another you know I mean to that point in op’s career he he felt like

This young guy that was my My Success is off in the distance maybe years from now uh but when you see another cave goal tender at 20 years old you realize oh H I better do it now and I think that that was a nudge too that uh you know we felt

Uh was important with for both of those guys and I think uh they’ll thrive in that situation those lead black shots and Jordan green they’ve actually talked about before that shift finishing the right way what’s it say about those guys you think that at the moment that much

To them yeah the Greenways are very good exam very good role model for our guys he has a great sense of objective knowing okay here’s very aware of the situation the amount of clock time on the clock obviously killing a penalty a dzone face off and the fact that you got

To shut out at that point for Opie so um you know he he factors all those things in some guys don’t they think it’s a face off just like a face off and I’m i’mna go try to score um but but he knew uh you know and Eric Johnson out there

Too and I think you know that’s great influence uh and Dylan feeds off of that cousins he we’ve seen him grow immensely uh in the penalty kill role specifically just in the last month and a half I mean he he wasn’t on it and he he was in and

Out during the you know first 25 30 games of the year and he is now um you know fast becoming a very very good penalty killer in this league which was not the case prior um um and I think it’s through some great leadership of guys around him thank You

Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato speaks to the media after a 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings. He discusses the strong play from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen who finished with his fourth shutout win of the year. Granato talks about the importance of the quick start and the hard work from the team until the end.

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