CHICAGO – Don Granato was raised in Downers Grove, Illinois, a village about 20 miles west of United Center. His parents, Don and Natalie, had their first date at a Chicago Blackhawks game.
Granato even worked for the Blackhawks himself, having spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the franchise before joining the Sabres in the same role in 2019.
Yet for all his history in Chicago, Granato was firmly in the present after the Sabres’ 6-5 win on Monday.
“I will tell you with all honesty, I love Chicago, it’s where I grew up,” he said. “But as I said over the summer when there were other job openings, I wanted to be in Buffalo. And I told our players that after the game. I feel like we all belong in Buffalo.”
Video: BUF@CHI: Sabres earn a wild comeback victory
Granato’s first game as an NHL head coach in his hometown began as a blowout and ended up an epic. The Sabres completed one of the largest comebacks in franchise history by erasing a 4-0 deficit, only to then fall behind again in the third period.
They still won in regulation. Alex Tuch buried a pass from Victor Olofsson, who also contributed two goals, to tie the game with 2:14 remaining. Tage Thompson‘s stick exploded into pieces as he took the winning shot with 10.6 seconds on the clock – more on that in a bit.
It was the latest example of a team learning to compete regardless of the circumstances. The Sabres are now 4-0-2 during a six-game point streak. They are 8-3-1 since the beginning of March.
“I said it in the locker room after,” Thompson said. “We’ve got a really special group. I think people outside the locker room are starting to see it. You know, it would have been very easy for us to fold the tent after the first period, just kind of pack it in and give up.
“But our guys in the room like to compete for each other. We take a lot of pride in the culture we’re building and what we want to be in the future. I think we’re trending in the right direction and that game was just a product of work.”
Let’s break it down, piece by piece.
The comeback
Chicago went ahead 3-0 during the first period on goals from Calvin de Haan, Sam Lafferty, and Jonathan Toews, all scored within a span of 8:58.
That hole looked even more insurmountable when Seth Jones buried a shot on the rush less than two minutes into the second period. The Sabres – who erased an early 2-0 deficit in New York on Sunday – stayed calm and went to work.
“We went within ourselves and competed harder and worked harder,” Granato said. “The chatter on the bench was great. Nobody was feeling sorry for anyone else. Nobody was getting mad at anybody else. We were right on the cusp of that and then the compete gear kicked in.”
Olofsson buried a one-time shot on the power play to put the Sabres on the board, then added another one-time goal less than six minutes later. He upped his total to seven goals in 13 games in March.
Video: BUF@CHI: Olofsson unloads a one-timer for a PPG
Kyle Okposo scored next for the Sabres, ending a long shift in the Chicago zone when a Dylan Cozens shot redirected in off his skate. The comeback was complete at 2:39 of the third period, when Vinnie Hinostroza buried a rebound in the blue paint.
It was the third time in franchise history that the Sabres erased a four-goal deficit, the last having come in a 6-5 win in Boston on Jan. 21, 1989.
“It just shows great character,” Olofsson said. “We never gave up.”
The tying goal
Chicago pulled back ahead with 9:04 remaining on a power-play goal from Alex DeBrincat.
The Sabres responded once again, this time when Olofsson delivered a spinning pass to Tuch as he cut in front of the Blackhawks’ net.
Video: BUF@CHI: Tuch chips home a pass in tight to tie it
“I knew he was there somewhere, and I heard him screaming for the puck,” Olofsson said. “So, I just kind of sent it where I thought I heard him. It worked out pretty good.”
The winner
The Sabres went back to the power play with 1:09 remaining, setting the stage for Thompson’s winning goal.
Thompson wound up in the left faceoff circle as Rasmus Dahlin slid a pass in his direction. His one-time shot snapped his stick in half, the lower end traveling with the puck toward the end boards.
Thompson immediately turned and skated toward the Sabres’ bench, unaware of the fortuitous path his shot would take.
“He’s at the red line by the time it went in,” Tuch said. “And he was so mad because his stick had broken.”
The puck caromed off the end boards and into the net off the skate of goaltender Kevin Lankinen, who slammed his own stick against the post in frustration.
Video: BUF@CHI: Thompson’s shot bounces off end boards an in
“When it went off that back wall, it does click in your mind as you watched it,” Granato said. “It can bounce back and back in. We had talked about lively boards this morning.”
Jeff Skinner, closest to the Blackhawks net, was first to realize the puck had crossed the goal line, followed by Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt.
When they caught up to Thompson, he asked them who scored.
“Pretty unfortunate your stick breaks, but not when it goes off the end wall, off their skate and in – I’ll take those bounces,” he said.
Up next
The Sabres return home Wednesday to host the Winnipeg Jets. Tickets are available here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.