"I think just keeping a lot of movement out there, making sure we're playing with a fast pace, keeping our speed up," Thompson said. "And he stresses offense quite a bit. I think that's something we've been struggling with. We've got to find ways to score. Hopefully that's something we can add to our game."
Granato sought to up the pace during practices on Friday and Sunday, both up-tempo sessions that ended with competitive battle drills. Carrying that speed into games will be an area of focus, though it will require a level of connectivity that has been absent of late.
Girardi - who joined the organization as a development coach earlier this season - said he noted disjointedness while watching games of late. The goal beginning Monday is to restore of a level of predictability among the five players on the ice.
"We're really going to focus on the team aspect of the game," Girardi said. "Being fast, taking angles, being hard to play against. Eliminate the time and space that teams have been getting against us, being able to make plays. We're just going to really focus on that.
"From that we can really, after tomorrow's game, really assess, how are the individuals playing within the system we have? What changes can we make?"
The task will be finding a way for players to maintain an aggressive, offensive mindset within a predictable, connected framework.
"We want our entire team to be offensive when there's offensive opportunity," Granato said.
Here are more notes from Sunday's skate at KeyBank Center.
