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00:00Well, good luck on that for us.
00:01I'm rooting for you, Paul.
00:02Me too.
00:02We need you out there, Paul.
00:03We want you to be with this team on these trips when it's going as well as it's going.
00:08If you subscribe to the station in certain ways, you get an email every day.
00:12This is what we were talking about or writing about.
00:16And this latest one I got from WGR today includes the headline,
00:21Are the Sabres Still in Good Form?
00:23This might take me to a conversation, Paul, involving yourself.
00:27What's your answer to that?
00:28I mean, it's a win Saturday and then the loss to Washington before.
00:32Would you say they are still in good form?
00:34They got back to it third period against Toronto.
00:38They took Toronto 11 minutes and 41 seconds to get their first shot.
00:43They stopped turning the puck over, the Sabres, I mean.
00:47And, you know, we're killing plays.
00:49We're playing great D.
00:50I think they gave up two shots the whole period.
00:53The first shot was a great A, but Lyon made a great save on it.
00:57But that was the Sabres we'd been used to seeing for the past couple of months.
01:01Just, you know, have the lead.
01:03At the time, it was tied.
01:05Just, you know, don't give them anything and wait for your opportunity.
01:10And in this particular case, opportunity came in the shootout.
01:14So, that was more what we've been used to seeing is what we saw in the third period after, I
01:21would say,
01:21probably four games of turning the puck over and playing a little wild, a lot more wild than they had
01:27been playing.
01:28And I guess we learned on Saturday night that when the Leafs are this bad, this late in the year,
01:33that maybe some of those fans aren't going to make the trip, Paul, because it was the most pro-Buffalo
01:39Sabre Leaf game in many years.
01:42Their flights were all canceled.
01:44I could tell right away, like, when we were waiting for the Leafs to come on the ice,
01:50usually that's 30, 35, 40 rows deep where they come out.
01:55Yep.
01:56Up next to the glass, it was maybe five rows deep for this.
01:59I was like, said to Brian, where is everybody?
02:02Yeah.
02:02I said, usually this is mobbed in Leaf fans.
02:06People were in the building.
02:07It was a sellout, and I didn't see too many empty seats.
02:10But every time the Go Leaf got going, the Sabre fans drowned him out immediately.
02:16Their goaltender, Wool, said this is the first time in his career he has ever come to Buffalo,
02:21and it wasn't a home game for Toronto.
02:23He said, give the Sabre fans credit.
02:26He goes, it was their building for once.
02:27And he goes, it's the first time I've ever been in here where it's been their building.
02:31Well, long time coming, so at least, and we're done with that for the year.
02:35Toronto does not come here again, nor do the Sabres go there.
02:37They're done with the Leafs for the season.
02:41No Matthews, too, by the way.
02:43Right, right.
02:43So they, and Paul, it wasn't, we talked about this on Friday, like, I didn't know what to expect.
02:48I thought at least I'd get, like, the staged fight to start the game, or maybe a lot more than
02:54that,
02:54because the Leafs had spent the preceding 24 hours basically getting slogged for not responding
02:59when Matthews got cheap-shotted by one of the most notorious cheap-shot artists in league history,
03:04by the way, who does it matters, too.
03:08But there really wasn't much in the way of that.
03:11I mean, the Leafs just kind of wanted to get through the game, it seemed like.
03:14Well, there were a couple of fights.
03:16That's right.
03:17Shen fought.
03:18That's right.
03:18But it wasn't, it didn't look like they were trying to prove a point, I guess, is what I'm saying.
03:23It was early that the couple of fights came, maybe when they were trying to prove a point,
03:26and then they got away from it.
03:27They got back to being the Leafs.
03:30Well, they head out on this trip, Paul, and I think the big question,
03:34not to give us credit for talking about the thing that most Sabre fans are thinking the most about right
03:39now,
03:39but I feel like the decor and the makeup of the decor is really going to be interesting to follow
03:46here
03:46for the next, well, they've got 15 games left.
03:50Ruff sounds like he's not willing or looking to take Mezza out of the lineup with how he sounded Saturday
03:56night.
03:56He's played like he deserves to be in.
03:57And you've said similarly the last few times we've talked about him.
04:02I know Stanley and Shen are together because there was an injury, and, you know, that probably isn't in the
04:08cards.
04:09But how do you think they will end up handling the decor overall?
04:13Like, will Mezza get maybe a more elevated role, and they'll space the top four out a little bit?
04:18What do you think they're going to do with the D moving forward?
04:22They should, but practice did not tell me that that's what they're going to do.
04:26Practice told me that Stanley and Shen are going to stay in the lineup, and Mezza will not,
04:33because it looks like Samuelson has a pretty good chance of being back.
04:37And Mezza did a fine job filling in, playing with Darlene, had the most minutes he has played all season
04:44or in his NHL career, and didn't get scored on, hasn't been scored on since October.
04:52He has been on the ice for 19 goals, four and two against, and both were in October.
05:01And Lindy Ruff said, you know, I kind of thought they might send him down to hang out with the
05:07Amherst
05:07until they needed him or something like that, but he said, no, he's earned the right to be here.
05:11And he said, we're going to address the lineup that we think is going to give us the best chance
05:15to win.
05:16I said, does that include him?
05:17He goes, absolutely it could.
05:20And in my mind, it should.
05:22To me, he's their number five defenseman.
05:25I put him ahead of all those guys.
05:28And Timmons, Kesselring, Shen, Stanley, all of them.
05:34And to me, he'd be in my lineup every night, and then you could alternate the number six guy if
05:39you wanted to,
05:40or if you wanted Stanley in because you might start a riot every game, you're fine.
05:46Have him play with Metza, and that's your pair, and the rest of them wait until there's an injury or
05:52something.
05:53So, you know, that's how I would do it, but I'm not getting the impression that's how Lindy Ruff's going
06:00to do it.
06:00Where would you slot Timmons in all this?
06:02He's been out a long time.
06:05They miss him on the penalty kill.
06:06He's a really, really good penalty killer.
06:09He was a shot-blocking machine.
06:12Never really turned the puck over penalty killing, but five-on-five, he turned it over a lot.
06:17His five-on-five was totally different than his penalty kill, which, again, makes me, all right.
06:24You know, I probably would have him ahead of Shen, probably.
06:33Kesselring, I know he's playing injured.
06:35He said so himself.
06:38I have seen some better games out of him, but still, you know, you can tell he's not 100%.
06:46So, I guess if I was going to say, all right, dress your best six, I guess my third pair
06:53would be Stanley and Metza.
06:55I wonder if we'll get that, when we'll get it.
07:00I wonder if it maybe waits until even the playoffs get here, Paul.
07:04I mean, I'm just really curious to see how they dole that out.
07:07The thing that I think, and please correct me if I'm mistaken here, but I don't think Metza plays any
07:13special teams, right?
07:15I mean, he's outranked on the power play for sure, obviously, by Power and Dahlien and probably even Byram, too,
07:20for that matter.
07:22So, if they wanted to go three deep on a D-man there, and occasionally they've used Power and Byram
07:27as a pair on that second power play unit.
07:30But nonetheless, he's not doing that, and he's not killing penalties for you, and maybe that makes it tough to
07:37keep him in if you're going to shelter him,
07:39and he's not giving you anything on either of the special teams units.
07:43Look, he certainly can kill penalties.
07:45At least I just think they like the guys that they have doing it, because they're doing a really good
07:49job of it, for the most part.
07:52So, I think, you know, they just like him.
07:54But he could, definitely.
07:56I mean, I think he would do a fine job if he had the opportunity, just because of the way
08:01he plays.
08:02You know, he doesn't get himself into trouble, and he doesn't put the puck in places that gets him in
08:07trouble.
08:08And that's why he plays so well.
08:10So, you know, I think he could if called upon, but you're right, that hasn't been something that Wendy Ruff
08:18has called upon him to do.
08:20And he played 15 minutes just fine the other night when he was with Darlene for a lot of the
08:25time.
08:26He doesn't need to only play eight minutes, but that's how they get the ice time up on the other
08:30four.
08:31Because when, like, Metz is dressed with Kesselring, Metz and Kesselring never play together.
08:36Like, Metz doesn't play a shift on the left defense.
08:38He doesn't work.
08:40So, what happens is when each one gets a shift, one might go out with Darlene.
08:46Then the next one goes out with Byram.
08:47And then they sit for a while.
08:49And then, all right, it's time to give them a shift.
08:51And one of them comes out with Darlene.
08:54And that's kind of the way they've done it.
08:57Now, when the third pair was a lefty-righty, when it was Bryson-Metza, they would come out together.
09:02And I thought, quite honestly, Bryson was having his best year and Metza was Metza.
09:07So, that's the reason why they would play as a pair.
09:10But with two righties, they haven't.
09:12How much time do you think is reasonable to give any of these guys?
09:16Stanley, I guess, is the one that I'm most curious about, Paul.
09:19Because I think he was the one acquired with the most expectation.
09:24You know, like, I sort of feel like from talking to you and just following it and knowing these players'
09:30careers,
09:30I feel like they got Stanley to be a third pair mean guy, cross-check people, you know, be physical,
09:35use his length, all that.
09:37Hard to play against.
09:39And Shen's a spare part with experience.
09:41So, if you need to lean on him, hopefully you can get through it.
09:45But, like, I don't feel like he really figures in prominently if they're all healthy.
09:50Stanley, I think, does.
09:53How long do you think it should take him to sort of acclimate and sort of find someone,
09:59whether it's eventually Timmons or Kesselring or Metza, like you're saying,
10:03that they can have some chemistry with and feel like the coaching staff can trust them?
10:10To be fair, I thought the two of them were a little bit better as the game went on against
10:14Toronto.
10:15Of course, they had that big turnover that tied the game at one right in front of the net.
10:20And they probably had to start their careers in Buffalo, probably went together maybe four and a half,
10:28really, really tough periods.
10:30And then I thought they improved.
10:33You know, maybe about the middle of the second period on from that point.
10:38And the third period, again, they weren't turning the puck over.
10:41They weren't stressed in their own zone or any of that kind of stuff.
10:46So, it seemed like – and Lindy Ruff said the way the Sabres play is different from the way the
10:51Jets play.
10:52So, he said he's got to kind of get the Jets game out of them and the Sabres game into
10:56them a little bit.
10:58And so, that's how Lindy Ruff explains it and maybe the reason that they've had problems in his mind.
11:04Only their fourth shootout of the year and their first in three months, almost, late December, was their last shootout.
11:11And they've won them all.
11:13And it's been three different goalies.
11:15Heard the name Colton Ellis today.
11:17I'm like, oh, yeah, still a part of this thing.
11:20And Quinn really –
11:21Do you realize –
11:21Go ahead.
11:22In Lyon's case, do you realize he's only led in three shootout goals in his career?
11:27Didn't know that.
11:28I mean, is there a lot of –
11:29Entire career.
11:30Is there a lot of –
11:31It's 14-17.
11:33That's crazy.
11:35Six and one this year.
11:36One goal against him.
11:38Lucan in 5-0.
11:39Stopped five or, you know, no goal anyway.
11:41Sometimes shots go wide.
11:43So, Quinn is the one.
11:45Three.
11:45Had the hat trick, of course, last week.
11:47And then shootout goal against the Leafs.
11:50He's three.
11:51And a power play goal against the Leafs.
11:52And a power play goal.
11:53Three for four on the year in shootouts.
11:55What's his secret?
11:57He's money.
11:58I mean, it's just –
11:59He has so much confidence when he gets to certain spots in front of a goaltender.
12:04And he doesn't –
12:05You know, five on five, he's trying to get there.
12:08But he doesn't always get there.
12:09But when he does, he's money.
12:10That's when he just rips the shot by.
12:13And Lindy Ruff explained it a little bit.
12:15He kind of said to me, he goes, well, did you ask him?
12:18I go, yeah.
12:19He goes, well, what did you say?
12:20And I told him.
12:21And then Lindy Ruff kind of explained a little bit that, you know, Quinn does, you know,
12:25watch the goaltenders and for a couple of shootouts where he's been successful,
12:29he's gone to the blocker side and over the blocker.
12:33So now he's going to anticipate the goaltenders who watch film of him,
12:38they know that's what he's done for the past two or three shootouts.
12:41So what does he do?
12:43He goes under the blocker, you know, and scores the goal, knowing that that's what they –
12:47So it's almost like point-counterpoint.
12:50It's like, okay, you know, I've shown the goaltenders this a little bit.
12:54They scout two.
12:55So they're going to probably be expecting me to do this.
12:58So I'm going to switch it up a little bit.
13:00And, you know, and he just has that pinpoint shot when he gets in there
13:05and is able to score.
13:07Thompson's percentage isn't all that great.
13:09But Lindy Ruff, you will lead off with him usually, let him go,
13:13and then let Quinn go second.
13:14And he said Tuck likes to go third, so he lets him go third.
13:18The only thing about it, he goes, the problem with Tuck going third
13:22is sometimes he doesn't get to shoot.
13:24That's possible.
13:24So he said – and then Ostland would have been fourth
13:27because Ostland in Rochester was really good at it,
13:31and he put on a really sweet move, the first NHL one he got.
13:37It was a really, really good move.
13:39And the second one, the goaltender, I believe, Polk checked him,
13:41and he wasn't expecting it.
13:43But Ostland probably would have gone fourth.
13:46He just said it was between him and Norris to go fourth
13:49if that would have come up.
13:51Norris has a shootout goal this year for them himself.
13:54Some interesting team shootout stats.
13:56Sabres 4-0, New Jersey is 4-0, Anaheim is 8-0 in shootouts,
14:02which is why they've been in first place.
14:03I'm not sure if they are right now,
14:05but they went to the top of a really tight division
14:07on the strength of winning every one of their eight shootouts.
14:11They're a point ahead of Vegas and two ahead of Edmonton.
14:15Rangers 3-0, Ottawa 3-0 in shootouts.
14:19Utah has not had a shootout, 0-0.
14:23So the Sabres should go to a shootout against Anaheim on Sunday.
14:26That should be exciting.
14:27And break the tie.
14:28And Pittsburgh is 1-10.
14:32Wow.
14:33That's interesting.
14:34And they're still in the playoff spot.
14:35I mean, it's 10 loser points or whatever.
14:37Right, right.
14:381-10, if you split those, they were in really good shape.
14:41Remember, Yager basically refused to take shootouts after a while?
14:44Yes, right.
14:44He just wasn't good at it, and he just said,
14:47have somebody else do it.
14:48There's no point.
14:49Well, I have to mention Jeff Skinner here,
14:52because he's maybe gone a decade.
14:55He was really bad for the Sabres,
14:57and people would be, why isn't Skinner shooting?
14:59If you look at his percentage,
15:01it's like, other than the guys who are 0-1,
15:04it is just not good.
15:05It's not his thing.
15:07I always wondered if it was, like, the policy after a while.
15:11It's just like, not in his contract necessarily,
15:13but there's an understanding here.
15:17And then I always wanted that we had to bet, Joe and I,
15:19on whether he would ever take another one,
15:21even on another team.
15:22And it hasn't happened.
15:23Is he still playing?
15:25He got waived.
15:26He's not caught on anywhere, I don't think.
15:27He's nowhere.
15:28Yeah, the Sharks waived him to release him,
15:30and he did not catch on before the trade deadline.
15:33Man, I'm just going to have to settle up with Joe
15:35across the board here and just get a few of those bets.
15:37Yeah, Skinner's career might be over.
15:40Yeah.
15:42No, Bulldog and I talked about this earlier, Paul.
15:45Lying another win after the loss to Washington with Lucanen, 2-1.
15:49No reason to change the rotation here, right?
15:52No, I don't think so.
15:53I mean, typical hockey.
15:57Lucanen lets in seven and wins,
15:59and then he lets in two as a great game and loses.
16:02I mean, it's just crazy.
16:05But Lindy Ruff talked about it, too, and I agree with him.
16:08In the seven goals, he said his teammates were awful around him.
16:12He goes, five of them, nobody's stopping.
16:14He goes, if you want to argue about one or two of them
16:18that maybe can get a big save, maybe.
16:20But he said the other five, he goes, I'm not blaming him at all.
16:23He goes, I actually wanted to keep him in the fight
16:26because his team was fighting to win that game.
16:29And he goes, I wanted him to fight.
16:30And he goes, he did.
16:32He goes, I liked the fight I saw in him.
16:34And then he came back with a really good game against Washington.
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