BUFFALO, N.Y. — Eric Comrie may have lost his first two preseason games for the Sabres, but neither he nor head coach Don Granato are worried about it.
"To be honest with you, I've never actually won a preseason game my whole life, so I thought I'd keep that consistent this year," Comrie told Spectrum News 1 sports reporter Rachel Hopmayer in jest on Saturday after the Sabres returned to town from their 7-1 loss in Pittsburgh. "For myself, it's just going out there and getting a feel for the game, getting used to it and getting back out there. Last night was a tough outing but I've been through a lot of them in my whole career. I've had a lot of games where you just want to be better, but for myself, it's just being out there the next day, just taking care of that next day. Every single day you're trying to get better and that's all my goal is, every single day. I'm not trying to worry about what I did yesterday. Just build off that and gain experience and get better for the next one."
Granato knew the preseason would be a challenge for Comrie -- because he asked for a challenge.
"We're putting him in a tough predicament,” he said. “I mean, we know we're going in to Pittsburgh, we knew their lineup ahead of time and we left our top four defensemen back. That's a tought situation for a goalie. But Com through camp, he wanted the road camps, and he said in his words, 'I want to play on the road, because it'll be against better lineups, and it's a tougher game, and it helps me get better for the regular season.' I don't know that I would have done that with a younger goalie, but having had that conversation with him, he was very comfortable with that and wanted that. He wanted more adversity."
Comrie's reputation preceded himself before even arriving in Buffalo, according to Granato, who fielded calls from around hockey world about their newest goaltender. Granato says Comrie has proven himself to the Sabres locker room and staff with his work ethic and how he supports his teammates.
"He is a worker. He's a relentless, tireless worker,” Granato said. “His teammates, former and present, love him, because he shows care for his team, he commits hard, he stays out. Just simple little things like staying out after practice for all of the shooters that want to stay out after practice -- that's actually a really big deal that want to shoot more pucks and try to work on scoring, is to have a goalie in net for them the whole time."
As the Edmonton native ingratiates himself with the Sabres locker room, Granato now faces the delicate challenge of balancing Buffalo's starting job between the 27-year-old first-time starter and veteran Craig Anderson, 41.
"You always have different concerns as a coach. So I don't want him overworked here," Granato said of Comrie. "I have a concern and thought, is there balance there? I haven't been around him enough but I keep hearing more about his reputation and watching him, about how hard this guy works, and I do believe you can work to exhaustion and that's not healthy, especially in a season like this. Then it's tough on the psyche, too, we all know that in real life. So is there a balance that needs to be met? I don't know yet, but I'm watching to make certain he's not overdoing it."
"It doesn't bother me. I'm just used to being ready when my name is called. That's what I'm going to do," Comrie said. "Come in here and be myself, make sure I'm ready when the time comes. He knows his body. He's an excellent goalie and he's been fantastic for every team he's played on so I'm excited to learn from him and gain knowledge."