Sabres' response to Krueger firing discussed on 'NHL @TheRink' podcast

The Buffalo Sabres shouldn't be judged on results in the second half of the season but instead on effort, Sabres TV analyst Martin Biron said on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Wednesday.

The former NHL goalie and current studio analyst for Sabres games on MSG-Buffalo was a guest with co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke on Wednesday, the day the Sabres fired coach Ralph Krueger and replaced him with assistant Don Granato.
The Sabres have lost 12 games in a row (0-10-2) and have been outscored 49-19 in that stretch. They are last in the NHL with 16 points (6-18-4).
"I'm not looking at numbers, what I want to see is urgency, speed, relentless pursuit of pucks," Biron said. "Nothing against Ralph and former assistant] Steve Smith and the coaching staff, but I was at the morning skate Monday morning and I've been at a lot of morning skates. I watched the morning skate and it was the same morning skate they've done for the last year and a half. I'm thinking, 'You've lost 10 in a row, maybe the morning skate needs to be changed.'
"And then the Washington Capitals came on the ice right after and in their first drill of a morning skate, which was just 3-on-0 down the ice, it looked to me like they had more jump, more intensity and more urgency in that one drill than I had seen in the 40 minutes before that with the Sabres. That's what I want to see. … I need to see a battle. I need the guys to be engaged in the fight. Then I will see a step forward."
Rosen and Roarke were also joined by NHL.com deputy managing editor Brian Compton, who covers the New York Islanders.
Compton talked about the Islanders dealing with losing captain Anders Lee to season-ending knee surgery and the potential of adding a forward before the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline on April 12.
Lee is tied with center Brock Nelson for the team lead with 12 goals.
Compton also discussed the Islanders' recent nine-game winning streak, which ended in a 3-1 loss against the Capitals on Tuesday, and if they are the best team in the MassMutual East Division.
The co-hosts also dove into a discussion on the trade deadline, went through some of their favorites for postseason awards at the midpoint of the season, and talked about Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin's latest achievement, moving past Phil Esposito and into sixth place on the NHL goals list with 718.
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