Wallaceburg’s Seth Griffith is getting another opportunity tonight to prove he belongs with the Buffalo Sabres.
Griffith is set to be in the lineup when the Sabres host the New York Islanders in hteir final pre-season game of the year.
“You want to have your best game tonight,” Griffith told Sabres.com.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Griffith has skated in three exhibition games so far with Buffalo, scoring once and adding one assist.
Sabres head coach Phil Housley said the 24-year-old forward has the ability to make plays when he has time and space.
“The big thing for me is him using that speed to provide that area of his game where he can get his head up and survey the ice a little bit,” Housley said.
“I really like the way he gets on the forecheck and using his speed that way. Those are things we’re going to look at as we evaluate this last game.”
It appears as if Griffith and Justin Bailey are competing for a spot on the right wing alongside Sam Reinhart.
Bailey played alongside Reinhart in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, while Griffith will have an opportunity to solidify the spot on Friday.
“I think the competition is good for camp,” Griffith told Sabres.com.
“It keeps the pace up for practices. I thinks sometimes when you go into camp you kind of know where everybody’s penciled in. This year there were some question marks up in the air so I think it just pushed everybody that much harder.”
The team’s first regular season game is on Thursday, Oct. 5 at home against Montreal.
The puck drops for Friday’s pre-season finale at 7 p.m.
– Photo credit: Bill Wippert/Buffalo Sabres
