On Saturday, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson missed his second straight game while forward Dylan Cozens also wasn’t in the lineup.
In last night’s loss to the Minnesota Wild, the Buffalo Sabres sat two key players in Mattias Samuelsson and Dylan Cozens. Two of the Blue and Gold’s better players, you may question why head coach Don Granato and company scratched the duo from the lineup.
We know how much value Samuelsson carries to the team, as the Sabres dropped yet another game in his absence. And we also know how good Cozens has been this season. With 43 points on the year, Cozens has been one of the Sabres best forwards and at 21, he will continue to hone his game.
So why did Granato hold him and Samuelsson out of the lineup when the team is so close to snagging one of the two wild card spots going into the All-Star break? The reason is simple: There is no need to rush anything at this point.
Buffalo Sabres smart to keep Cozens, Samuelsson out of the game
You can disagree with me all you want, or agree all you want. But with 33 contests to go in the regular season and the Sabres in wild card contention early, there is no reason to push anyone to play when it just isn’t necessary at this point.
The NHL isn’t the NFL, where you only have 17 games to qualify for the playoffs. With 82 contests, it’s easier to bounce back from a loss. And it’s even easier to bounce back from a loss that went to a shootout.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Granato held them out on Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes to give them a full two-week break, as the Sabres won’t play again until they host the Calgary Flames on February 11th. We will see what Granato decides to do, but as we saw last night, the Sabres handled themselves well despite missing two key players.
It’s a next man up mentality that should give us peace of mind that losing a player or two won’t sink this team. And that is yet another sign that the organization is pointing even farther north.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)
Article Source: Observations: Sabres earn another point, end ‘big road trip’ with shootout loss by Lance Lysowski
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