Becoming the danger

Sabres wins on the road in Boston and Washington show that what they are now is the first draft of what's to come

The Sabres came away with four of a possible six points on a three-game road trip that took them through Boston, Ottawa, and Washington. With a road trip like that following on the heels of an emotional 6-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings in their first game after the deadly blizzard that killed at least 40 people in Buffalo, it was set to be a real gut check for Buffalo.

They headed out while riding high in the middle of a winning streak but had to deal with Boston first. They’re the best team in the NHL and have an electric goal scorer like David Pastrnak to set their offense on fire at any time, never mind having Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, too.

Before the team left Buffalo for the trip, I asked Don Granato after practice about what goes into preparing for teams that have such setups. Whether it’s a dynamic trio in Boston or a Great Eight in Washington, it creates an extremely well-known challenge in those games and trying to contain or control great players is pretty freakin’ difficult. Granato sees a challenge like that at a micro level rather than macro.