Sabres keep focus forward after loss to Stars

DALLAS - Don Granato stressed the need to stay focused on development following another loss that contained its own ups and downs.
The Sabres took time to find their game against the Dallas Stars at American Airline Center and fell behind while weathering a first-period push. They went on to outshoot the Stars, 40-31, in what ended as a 4-2 loss on Sunday.
It was the fourth of five straight road games for the Sabres, coming on the heels of a tightly contested loss in St. Louis in which they generated 38 shots. Granato acknowledged the frustration of six straight defeats but urged his young team to stay focused on the big picture.

"We do feel that takes organizations out of it when you start overreacting to a loss or losses," Granato said. "We just have to keep plowing ahead and keep pushing each guy to be better, and we will continue to do that. We're as frustrated as anybody and I can't tell you I'm not frustrated.
"… You're allowed to be frustrated, but you can't act frustrated because you start making wrong decisions then, decisions with short-term focus. And I know it's hard. It's hard on our side right now, obviously, but we just can't have short-term focus when you're faced with the adversity we are now."

Granato described the start of the game similarly to the beginning of Wednesday's loss in Montreal, when he cited a lack of support in transition as a problem that fed the opposing forecheck.
The Sabres never found a rhythm against the Canadiens and lost, 4-0. They were able to correct course against the Stars, earning a 34-13 shot advantage during the final 40 minutes.
Tage Thompson put the Sabres on the board early in the second period, cutting a 2-0 deficit in half. The Stars were opportunistic in rebuilding their lead, responding first with a Michael Raffl goal (his second of the game) on the rush and then adding a power-play deflection by Denis Gurianov.

"First period, felt like we let them get set up too much and when we do that, they come at us pretty hard and it makes it difficult to make plays and find guys that are open," Thompson said. "I think we made that adjustment and the rest of the game I thought we played really well."
"... We on our heels a bit there in the first and now we're chasing game. Unfortunately that's why we got the result that way. Can't be chasing games."

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Thompson stays hot

Thompson's goal was his team-leading 22nd of the season and his eighth in February. He likened his personal run to the process the Sabres are currently in as a team.
"I like the direction our team's heading in," he said. "Obviously, the results aren't what we want but I feel like we're piecing things together right now and we've just got to find a way to have consistency. It's got to be that next step for us.
"And I think individually it's the same thing. Just finding a way to be consistent every night and contribute, whether it's on the score sheet off the score sheet, factors in every game. I think that's just the mindset you have to have coming into games. I think we've done a good job of that. I think there's always room for improvement and [it's] something we're striving for."

Eakin's line steps up

The trio of Anders Bjork, Cody Eakin, and John Hayden set the tone when it came to playing the simple game that was necessary to break through the Stars' structure.
Shot attempts were 12-7 in favor of the Sabres with Eakin's line on the ice at 5-on-5, according to the analytics website Natural Stat Trick. The trio was rewarded when Eakin scored Buffalo's second and final goal during the third period.

"As far as we're concerned, that's how we should play every game," Eakin said. "Sometimes when things don't connect or your passes are a little off, you get back to the basics and start doing that. Get their D men turning backwards and then the plays will start opening up."

Up next

The Sabres conclude a stretch of five straight road games in Toronto on Wednesday. Coverage on MSG begins at 7 p.m. The puck drops at 7:30.