“He Looks Ready” | Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Don Granato On Zemgus Girgensons, Bruins Game

“He Looks Ready” | Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Don Granato On Zemgus Girgensons, Bruins Game

And uh you mentioned zus might be ready around today or soon when the last time we spoke with you is he going to be able to play tonight or is he he he won’t play tonight um he he looks ready we’ll have another conversation when I say

That just having three days off um not ideal to put him in tonight um unfortunately if had we practiced I think the last three days uh he would probably be good to go so he’s very very close how difficult for every team the league is this game tonight just in

Terms of knowing what you’re going to get from your guys it’s a different different uh game for everybody all coaches all management uh players you know that’s these guys don’t have breaks like this um so it’s I think it’s good for the entire league to have that break

I think everybody will you know enjoyed a couple days and some downtime that you don’t get um Extended downtime and yet on the other side of it is a great unknown how how each guy’s going to feel lots of travel lots of different things

Going on um so time will tell how we how we feel about it with every team not practicing for the last what three days now might we see some sloppy hockey in the NHL today just because you nobody’s practiced I mean until the morning skate Paul you see Sloppy hockey in the NHL

All the time so yeah yeah I’m sure I’m sure there’ll be moments of uh of that but it it’s there I mean it’s it’s a fast-paced game and you know there’s uh there’s things you can say are sloppy every single night because of the pace

Of the game it’s not a set play and you don’t have a minute uh to to to design a play its flow and go and fatigue enters it uh quite a bit uh when you see mistakes in the NHL and um tonight again who knows you need to do back to that maybe

He he didn’t show the last couple weeks yeah I think it’s less of what he needs to get back to and more of consistently what he can do really well uh when he’s when he’s on his game the consistency you know his his challeng is consistent consistency and doing what he does at

His best consistently hitting the repeat button on it not having lapses um so you know he’s he’s moved along in his career uh quite a ways now he’s not a young guy anymore he’s a young guy but he’s not a he’s got a lots of experience now and um you know for

Him what he does well if he does it really consistently well he’s he’s one heck of a hockey player in tonight he is not I was talking to Dylan cousins you know you’re starting to get some points out of him now on a regular basis but he

Admitted that the contract was on his mind and he had to stop worrying about those things and you’ve got a lot of guys who sign these deals and just I think you expected as a group that maybe that would impact some guys but has it been more of a factor than you thought

With some of them or you know so many guys signing big money deals at the same time it’s new territory it’s for for the entire group um and the organizations territory you know you’re the expectation have risen to a level the group in there you know was was the

Reason they they elevated the expectations and now it’s new territory for everybody to manage uh and yes um I think that I don’t mean yes to your question but to the point of guys feel differently you know it’s the first time these guys have been on you know

Long-term deals that signify okay you’re here and you’re here because we believe you can win I think everything before that it was an evaluation do you give a guy a long-term deal and what type of deal and yes we have several guys that that entered this year uh the first year

Of significant deals and feel pressure I mean you could you could look at Conor Clifton and put him in the same boat I know Connor very well I know you know there was there’s added pressure on him this is his first new organization with greater expectations uh in in a contract that

Goes with it so you have him Thompson uh Samuelson um obviously cousins you mentioned and more what have you seen from cage as he’s returned from injury and just to given the nature of the injury a guy who puts a lot of pressure on himself to

Produce how have you seen him work his way back to just being sort of in mid-season form it’s tough to get out of the lineup for a few weeks then you add on everything else all the other factors yeah I think he’s still getting back to

That only because of the injury I think he you know like these these guys him and tuck you come back way before you’re healed but you can play and so now you’re playing at a percentage of your game you know we saw it a year ago with with

Victor Olson or two years ago where he you know he had at that time he had a wrist injury and it was undisclosed it was an upper body but he couldn’t shoot a puck and he’s not the way he Victor Olson could so you know these guys come

Back and they’re only at a percentage uh but they’re doing their best to help us and you know for T I think just in the last I think this break was really helpful and will be helpful for T um and other guys that are nursing nagging things but but tommer came back before

He was 100% I think now he’s finally just getting to 100% And that is going to be and I can see that I can see him feeling better he can feel the puck better obviously he had a hand injury you lose some fuel with the puck when you’re you’re wearing different

Mechanisms on your hand to protect it until you’re fully healed and uh now he’s finally got that opportunity and I can you can see he’s he’s much better as a result we all know how good ruins are but the game in Boston you were the

Better team and you won the game I mean you guys did very very well why were you guys the better team what did you guys do in that game that made you play so well well I I mean I think it’s it’s we need to play our game every night and I

Think when you do you can you can kind of set the pace um you know if we’re on our game we’re the ones setting the pace I felt we did that uh you know um very well you’re not going to dominate 60 full minutes against anybody let alone

Uh you know the top teams in the league um but you can you know we need to establish uh you know our Pace our style of game and usually the team that is able to do that is feels good about things um and uh you know we we had good

Jump and good legs that night and uh it worked out well team is trying to wait you out and trying to wait for you to make a mistake how do you when you try to push that pace on them how do you how do you do that without doing it pushing

The button at the wrong time well number one you got to be aware of who’s on the ice you know they’re they’re top scorers and the guys that can convert mistakes and and with that manage the puck well take care of the puck very well um you

Know patient teams wait for you to make a mistake and most of the times you make it with the puck um you know turnover and it’s hard to defend you know for one or two seconds right after a turnover you’re you’re compromised you thought you were on offense and you’re three or

Four other guys that didn’t have the puck or going and thinking offense and it’s a turnover so you really you know it’s not a it’s it’s not a defensive breakdown it’s an offensive breakdown um and you want to avoid those uh against anybody you know the other night paner

And have been a Jed uh you know they’re they’re lurking for those and feed off of mistakes um so no different tonight and no different really uh any night in this league um with the salary cap you have superstars on every team now and uh you want to avoid uh giving them anything

Easy any difference in how the BRS I mean we’re through half the season now without berson and C have they been a a different team at all in that respect they the style and the system they play is is still virtually the same I mean if they’ made tweaks it’s uh you

Know the foundation is still the same so uh they’re the same team um you know diff few different pieces I guess uh but the same style of play and you know they they they’re they have a group of very competent defenseman and and obviously the goal tending has continued to be

Strong and they’re they’re built on that Don what have you made of Jack Quinn since since he’s returned to the L uh he’s uh first of all what he does for everybody um he he’s very good on the penalty kill uh very good on the power

Play and he he really gives us depth now cousins and petka have such chemistry with with Jack and that is something we didn’t have that depth um you know you you now have three line depth that can score and that now allows you to have a scoring line against third pairing D in

The NHL and that is enormous uh if you want to be successful in this league if you can have that offset and he’s really uh he’s you know he he’s good outright but but he also helps the team in adding you know more healthy bodies back in uh

That that changes the dynamic of everything uh for us and team that’s playing against us uh but very intelligent player makes others better and plays in all situations uh does it five on five penalty kill and power play thank you guys

Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato spoke with the media ahead of the team’s game against the Boston Bruins on December 27, 2023. He gave an injury update for Zemgus Girgensons, the starting goaltender, and more.

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