Buffalo Sabres: Don Granato got it wrong by scratching J.J. Peterka
By Sion Fawkes
Twice in the last eight days, Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato has made his fair share of head-scratching choices, like sitting J.J. Peterka.
Before last night’s loss vs. the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato had a decision to make with Jordan Greenway entering his second game with the team, and Tyson Jost returning to the lineup. Since the Sabres paid a fair price for Greenway, and Jost has been outstanding on the bottom six, Granato had to scratch someone.
Two names that came to mind were Vinnie Hinostroza, and Victor Olofsson. But with Hinostroza playing well since his recall and Granato going with the “hot hand” mentality, there was no way he was putting the forward into the press box. So that meant Olofsson would be a shoo-in for….wait a minute, what?
That was my initial reaction when Granato, for some reason known but to him, decided to scratch rookie J.J. Peterka instead of Olofsson, even if the latter’s game improved over the past week or so. Meanwhile, I don’t know about you, but over the past month, Olofsson has been nothing but detrimental to the Sabres on the ice, with a whopping 3 points, and a plus-minus of (-13) in that span.
Buffalo Sabres head coach should have played J.J. Peterka
Last week, I castigated Granato for pulling goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with six minutes to go in what became a humiliating 7-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. This week, I’m at a loss as to why, again, for reasons known but to him, did he sit J.J. Peterka?
And okay, Peterka has had his fair share of growing pains. He scored just one measly goal between December 15th and March 6th. But still, Peterka’s game has picked up, and you noticed him for better reasons than Olofsson, who in Monday’s loss vs. Edmonton, was caught out of position before he subsequently made a last-microsecond attempt to get a stick on a Derek Ryan goal.
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Overall, Olofsson should’ve been the one to sit last night, as Peterka has been the better player as of late. The rookie has seen his struggles, but Olofsson, who has a team-worst (-21) in the plus-minus, has been horrid, especially recently. The time has come to sit Olofsson.
Source: Tyson Jost to return to Buffalo Sabres lineup for Tuesday game against New York Islanders by Buffalo News, BuffaloNews.com.