Sabres game day: Aiming to not have too much respect for star-studded Oilers

Radio: WGR 550

Back on Oct. 25, when the Buffalo Sabres were overwhelming opponents with their speed and had balanced scoring, coach Don Granato delivered an intermission speech with his players trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The gist: stop respecting the Lightning too much. The Sabres took control of the game and defeated the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, 5-1. A similar mindset will be needed Friday night with Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers coming to KeyBank Center.

Draisaitl and McDavid are atop the league in points with 26 and 24, respectively. Draisaitl's 12 goals lead the NHL, while McDavid has nine. They spearhead a top-ranked power play that's converting at a rate of 44% and the club has scored the third-most goals.

Over his last five games, Draisaitl has seven goals and 13 points. McDavid, meanwhile, has a 12-game point streak to start the season. Their combined 50 points almost match the 59 produced by the 12 forwards projected to be in the Sabres' lineup.

The Sabres will face a similar challenge Saturday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I think it’s a fine line between giving them respect and knowing they’re a good team but not giving them too much respect," said Sabres center Tage Thompson. "Obviously, they’ve got a lot of talented players, both teams. But at the same time, you can’t sit back and kind of just watch them do their thing. You’ve got to go after them, like I said, with a little confidence, a little swagger like we know we’re better than them. So, it’s just something we’re going to take into the game and not give them too much respect.”

Lineup: Defenseman Will Butcher is expected to draw back into the lineup for the Sabres with Christian Wolanin a healthy scratch. Based on defense pairs in the morning skate, Butcher will be paired with Robert Hagg.

Granato will use the same forward lines as the loss Monday night in Washington:

Sabres’ line/pairings at the morning skate:Skinner-Thompson-AsplundGirgensons-Eakin-OkposoCaggiula-Cozens-HinostrozaBjork-Ruotsalainen-HaydenDahlin-PysykBryson-MillerButcher-HaggWolanin the extra.

— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) November 12, 2021

Goalie: Dustin Tokarski will make his seventh start of the season for the Sabres. He has a 1-3-2 record and .902 save percentage, losing each of his past five starts in regulation or overtime. Those losses aren't on Tokarski, though. Four of the five goals against Monday night came on deflections. He isn't receiving much support from his offense, either.

Edmonton is expected to start rookie goalie Stuart Skinner, who allowed three goals on 38 shots in a loss at Detroit on Tuesday.

Skid: The Sabres are winless in five straight and their 22 goals against during that span is the third-worst mark in the league since Oct. 31.

Trending up: Anders Bjork is coming off two of his best games this season for the Sabres. Bjork, a 25-year-old winger, didn't eclipse 13 minutes of ice time in either game, but he scored his second goal of the season Monday night and is starting to make more of an impact every shift. He's using his speed to strip pucks in the neutral zone, leading to transition chances for his line. 

Confidence was the issue, Granato explained. But Bjork is starting to get more involved and is capable of being a threat offensively for the Sabres.

"I think Bjork was searching for his game and he lost a feel of what he did," said Granato. "He lost a little bit of energy and passion, was in sort of a phase of doubt and couldn’t figure things out why he might not be playing well. Now we just feel he’s playing more assertive, more aggressive. He was a guy that even (Wednesday) texted me, ‘Can we watch film today?’"

Standings watch: The Sabres are tied for fourth in the Atlantic Division, 10 points behind first-place Florida. Edmonton is first in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of second-place Anaheim. 

Special teams: The Oilers' power play is converting at a rate of 45.5% on the road this season. Buffalo, meanwhile, has the sixth-best penalty kill in the league. One situation to watch is how Edmonton deploys its personnel. Coach Dave Tippett will put his top line on the ice as soon as an unsuccessful power play ends. The speed of McDavid, Draisaitl and Jesse Puljujarvi overwhelms tired opponents.

The Sabres' power play was a disaster Monday night in Washington, recording zero shots on goal in its two opportunities through two periods. It was the first time in three games that Buffalo didn't score on the man advantage. Sloppiness was an issue. The Sabres had trouble entering the offensive zone.

"We need more speed," said Granato. "The entries at the line of entry is not as much of a challenge as the ability to push depth once we enter. We’re losing that battle because we’re just giving up momentum. So any depth into the zone, we should be first to puck and we should have numbers at the puck once we enter. And we’ve given up, we haven’t had real good timing to hit that line with speed and numbers."