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00:00That is from the Sabres that 32-6-2 is the best mark over 40 games in the NHL for
00:08any team
00:09since 1995-96 Detroit. Last caller referenced that. I'm not sure it's the best ever, but that
00:16was the last team to do as well. That Red Wing team in 95-6 under Scotty Bowman finished with
00:24131 points, 62-13-7. And seven would have been ties? Simpler times? Yeah, I guess that's
00:36right. But the names on this roster, the caller before two or three times said, I know we're
00:45not that. And I'm thinking to myself both times he said it. I don't know that. You're
00:50probably right. I'm not sure I want to say that right now. But I mean, you have absolute
00:57goats. Federoff, Iserman, Coffey, Larionov, Lidstrom, a young 25-year-old Nicholas Lidstrom,
01:04Primo, Cicerelli, Konstantinov, whose career ended very sadly. I mean, just so many. Also
01:11Mike Ramsey is on that team. 95-6 Red Wings. Is he? They don't win the cup. That's
01:20Avalanche. Oh, right. Dom and Ra. Okay. No, that's not Dom either. That's Osgood. Yeah.
01:27Osgood, 39-6-5 that year for Detroit. They lost to Colorado. Wow. Yeah. All right. Maybe
01:35that's Cicerelli and Claude Lemieux. Yeah. Is that that year? 132 points. 131. 131. Sorry. Yeah.
01:42Wow. That's also... Let's not dwell on that. Let's stop comparing the Sabres to them right
01:47here because they didn't win the cup. You wouldn't take that? That's also Iserman's
01:52goal against St. Louis. Oh, the blue line that off the bar and in. Yeah. What a slap
01:57shot that is. Who's in goal? John Casey. I think it's John Casey. John Casey, pretty
02:02sure. Yeah. All right. Brian would know. He's just old enough. Brian Cozio with us. Talk
02:07some Sabres and some NCAA tournament. How far, Brian, are you going sort of in an optimistic
02:16way with this Sabres team? Like, are you willing to perhaps not entertain comparisons to the
02:2196 Red Wings, but I mean, are you willing to entertain a Stanley Cup?
02:28So, yes. And to follow up on your conversation, I'll answer your question in a minute here.
02:32The most wins in a 40-game span, you mentioned Detroit, 33 in the 95 season. Boston also did
02:40it in 1970-71. They also had 33. But the most ever was the Bruins in a season that I
02:50cannot
02:50give you much info on. 19-29-30 season. Oh, like you can't. Like you really can't tell
02:55us about that team. All right. We'll call Paul. We got to call Paul then. Yeah, we'll call
02:59Paul. He went to those games. 35 for the Bruins. Yeah. In 1929-30. And then Boston and Detroit
03:07had 33 and then Buffalo 32. And I always want to say, because the modern format sort of is,
03:14it helps the current teams because of overtime and shootouts. There aren't any ties anymore.
03:19But the Sabres have had so few games that they've won. I mean, they had the shootout recently. That's
03:26like their only one in months. Almost all their wins are regulation wins. So it's pretty, it's
03:32comparable to those kind of stretches. And we'll see if they can't give us something to work with
03:37over 50 games. So anyway. It's really, it's really amazing in that stretch. So when they went to shoot
03:43out the other night, I don't know, last week, I was like, holy cow. I have, I have my pad
03:50of notes
03:50from every game and I'm scrolling back. I'm like, when's the last one? When's the last one? When's the
03:53last one? And I literally, I'm like, all right, this is taking forever. So then I went in the game
03:56notes. They were, had only been in three shootouts all year up to that point. Right. And they
04:01were, they were three and oh, and now they of course are four and oh, but I mean, it's
04:05only being four shootouts in the NHL, like in a year like that. To me, that seems like
04:11a low number. And it obviously reinforces the regulation point that we've all been
04:15making. Like these aren't fluky wins. They don't have an insane number of loser points
04:20or they don't have, they're not winning 11 games in shootout or something like that.
04:24Like they're just legitimately winning these games in regulation.
04:27If it's 32, six and two, four of those wins are in overtime or shootout. One against
04:33the Leafs last weekend. The one before that was in December was before Christmas. So
04:38if you draw the line there, that's like most of the 10, that's seven wins of that block
04:43of wins is before Christmas, but, and three were overtime or shootout. But since then
04:49one win post-regulation, that was a Leaf game on a, what Saturday?
04:55Yeah. It was Saturday night. Yeah. So Brian, how high is the sky? How high is the ceiling?
05:02I, I mean, I got to think it's as high as you want it to be. I mean, somebody has
05:07to go
05:08and represent the East in the finals and why not Buffalo? I mean, they have everything that
05:14you would think that you would think about when it comes to playoff to me. Okay. Are
05:19they winning tight games? Yes. Are they getting out to lead? Yes. Are they holding on to these
05:26leads? Yes. The record going into the third periods are incredible because of how they're
05:30holding on. Are they getting amazing goaltending? Yes. I mean, Lukan and Lion's numbers during
05:36this stretch have been insane. Um, are they're even doing it in games like where it's kind
05:43of things are getting stifled and they're not getting a lot of shots or maybe they're not
05:46able to generate. They're just, yeah, we're going to win three, one, we're going to win
05:49two, one. And they, they seem almost comfortable doing it. Um, so it's not even, they're not
05:55even playing to me a style that like doesn't translate to sometimes what we see in the post-season.
06:00Um, it is, it's really, really impressive. So I don't see any reason why you, you couldn't
06:06sit here and argue the Sabres as equally as any other top team to say that, yes, they
06:12could win the Stanley cup. Um, the last two times against Tampa, obviously one of them
06:16extremely memorable. They figured out ways to win, even when they played Carolina last
06:20and it was that two, one loss that they had. Um, I mean, I thought they were the better
06:24team that day. That was Buffy. Who just got was amazing in net. So, um, I, I don't see
06:30any reason why we can, why we shouldn't sit here and say that they have as equal a chance
06:35as any other team that you would want to argue, if not better than almost everybody
06:39in the league right now is just how they're playing.
06:41Yeah. Last night was, was one of these games, Brian, I don't know how you felt about it
06:46as it was unfolding, but I didn't think they were very good at all for the first, like
06:49the front half of the game. And then suddenly in a minute and a half or so minute 42 or
06:54whatever
06:55it was, they're up three, nothing. And it's like, turn out the lights. We're done. It was,
07:00it was kind of amazing. Um, cause I felt like it was just like a, I didn't think they really
07:05had it last night. Right. The, the first, the first period and a half or so was like
07:09a lot of giveaways and passes weren't connecting and even passes they were attempting seemed
07:14like prayers. They were throwing up the ice and it just didn't look, you know, I was like,
07:19uh, well, you know, you're not going to win them all is what I'm thinking as the front
07:22end of that game is going on. And then like you go to the John for five minutes and go
07:26back
07:26and it's three, nothing. It's kind of incredible how they are able to just flip a switch.
07:33You are describing exactly what almost all of the players and Lindy said after the game
07:37last night is that they said there, they, they took a little longer than they wanted
07:42to, to kind of figure it out. But once they got the, once they got the lead, it was like,
07:46you're right. It was just a switch. They scored the three goals in less than two minutes.
07:50And then all of a sudden they're like, okay, now we were fine here. And again, they handled
07:54it really, really well. And the sharks seem to even maybe go away a little bit at that
07:58point. And then the savers didn't feel pressed even like they had to take chances. Uh, maybe
08:04the occasional turnover here or there that might come when you feel like you need to press.
08:08They didn't need to, because they were up three, nothing all of a sudden. So, um, it's something
08:12maybe, you know, a little as of late, I think, you know, Lindy has said it, Hey, over these
08:17last handful of games, there's been some, a little, there's been a little bit excessive
08:22amount of turnovers here and there. But he said, the thing that he's actually proud about
08:26in the sense is that, okay, we're not playing as maybe as perfectly as we did even earlier
08:32in this stretch, but we're figuring out ways to even deal with that within before it comes
08:38back to bite us. Even in games where we're sitting here saying, Oh, we're making a few
08:41many turnovers, or we're not necessarily maybe being around the net as much as we need
08:45to be, or we don't have the shot mentality, all these things that he has said that has made
08:49them successful during this threat. They're figuring it out before it comes back to burn
08:54them. They still aren't surrendering leads. They still aren't getting behind. They still
08:59not really having to change their strategy. We sit here and go into every third period
09:04and they're still up. And Paul and I, during the second intermission, we, we, we literally
09:09have had fun with it. I'm like, Oh, Paul, here I go again. I'm going to ask you another
09:12question about how could the savers handle this lead. And we kind of laugh about it because
09:16I feel like we've been saying the same thing since December now with how they've handled
09:20third period so well going into the, with leads. And I, you know, it's, it's just impressive
09:25even when they're not playing what they think is the style that they want to, that they're
09:29able to adjust, handle it, get a lead and then get it done. Like they have been so much
09:33here.
09:34So dare I say it or ask it for balance, if they get beat, how do they get beat? Is
09:41it
09:41that they don't have enough guys that they can count on to score in the tough, tougher
09:47playoff game? I might say that is the goaltending. I don't, I wouldn't say the goaltending is
09:51a fluke beyond the point that most league goaltending is kind of a fluke, but it could
09:58slip like it's like anybody's could, you know, year to year, there's all kinds of variants
10:02power play. You know, you get to the playoffs and you know, if you give up, you know, one
10:08that you, you know, even on special teams, I feel like their power play, Brian will be
10:14a lot of a big talking point. Of course it is for any team going into the playoffs, but
10:21they've been sort of fits and starts, right? They have these streaks. We joke about it
10:25with Paul all the time. Like, oh, they scored power play goals in six straight games, but
10:30we hate their power play, right? Like, um, and they're not on a streak like that right
10:34now. I'm just saying like at different times that's happened. Um, I feel like that's an
10:38area that if, if, if they, you know, they get into a series and they're all for seven
10:44or eight through two or three games, they could be in trouble.
10:48I think you guys are probably correct. If I was going to answer you about that, I
10:53think it's more on the office offensive side. If you say, how do they get beat? I
10:58feel like that's the spot that I would be more comfortable answering. I just, I don't
11:02see both goalies falling off. I don't see all of a sudden, all the defense that
11:08has been just so good and played so smart, all of a sudden reverting back to what we
11:14saw in previous seasons. I think they've all matured. They figured out ways now to
11:18play. I love what Beck Malenstein said a few weeks ago. He was asked by, um, the
11:24opposition team media. He's like, listen, we're seeing this that you were seeing you
11:27guys for the first time here. You know, can you give us a little on what is working
11:32so well? And he said it was twofold. He said in the defensive end, he said the
11:37entire team now seems to be able to know what decision to make with the puck when
11:42we're under adversity, when we're facing pressure. And I think that has been a
11:45total one 80 than what we've seen where they definitely in the past were making
11:49terrible decisions with the puck when they were hit with pressure on their own
11:52end. And then the other thing he said, it's the commitment to be around the net.
11:56And he said, this is still something that they have to keep harping on is that
12:00on the offensive side, bodies to the net talks to the net. He's like, it's very
12:04cliche, but he said, we didn't commit to it all the time. Even last night, you saw
12:07Darlene going to the net. Zucker found him like that was an example of that play
12:11where it doesn't necessarily even always have to be the forward that's doing
12:14that. Um, but if, if, if we were going to say like, how did they get beat? I think
12:19you're right. I think it's power play because it's on the, on the nights or on the, on
12:24the attempts where it hasn't been pretty, it has been, it feels really ugly to the
12:29point where that's where that's within our head, even though at the end of the
12:32night, you might say, Oh, they went one for four and say, well, that's a successful
12:35night, but there's probably two and a half of those other three power plays that
12:39were just downright awful where they were giving up shorthanded chances. So yeah,
12:43maybe it's special teams, um, that don't come through on the offensive side, but I
12:47just, I don't see it on the backend. I just, I can't see them facing an opponent
12:52that just all of a sudden gets them to unravel on their own end. I just, I feel like they've
12:56matured so much. And now we've seen such a large sample size here. We just spent five
13:01minutes talking about a 40 game stretch. I just, I don't see it all of a sudden just
13:05flipping just because it is the post season.
13:08Ditt, Clapper, and the 1930 Boston Bruins, they were tough. They start, Bulldog, you know
13:14this. They started 35, four and one. It was 44 game season.
13:18You grow up with a name like Ditt, you gotta be tough.
13:20That is so right. And they also, they lost in the playoffs. It's tough. Uh, it's tough
13:26to win a racket. And it was also from that team, Cooney Whelan, who was great. Uh, he
13:33would have won the art Ross trophy as the league's leading scorer had there been
13:38one, but it was so long ago that art Ross was his coach. So they didn't have an award
13:43named for him yet as he was the coach of the Bruins. How do you like this guy over
13:48here? I mean, it's all from Paul. Paul just said all that to me just now in a, in
13:52a page. He paged me.
13:55The goalie for that team, you would love his name.
13:57I know it.
13:57Tiny Thompson.
13:59Tiny Thompson.
14:00He won, he won the Vezina.
14:01He was, he was six, nine. He was a sumo wrestler actually.
14:05Tiny Thompson was not six, nine. He was five, 10, but somehow went by tiny. That
14:09doesn't seem that short for the day.
14:10Right. Brian Kozio on the Western hotline. Um, is there a team in the East you want in
14:19round one? Is there a team that scares you in round one?
14:24Um, probably Detroit. I think that's a popular answer of who I would want to play. I just think
14:31to me, maybe the, the least consistent, the goal differential may also indicate that they're
14:37maybe not as bad, as good as these other teams. So, um, I think I would be extremely easy to
14:44get
14:44up for Boston because I think like instant hatred there right away. When I was a youngster growing
14:50up and falling in love with the Sabres, it was all these Adams division first round matchups with
14:54Boston. It felt like for such a long, long time with Adam Oates and Cam Neely and Ray Bork and
15:00Andy
15:00Moe. Like that was the group that I started watching the Sabres in the playoffs every year. So,
15:04um, I think for, I think on paper, I would say out of the, if you're asking me these group
15:10of teams
15:10with Columbus, Boston, Detroit, the Islanders, and maybe the senators, I think I would want to
15:15pick Detroit. Um, in terms of it being maybe the most scary, I don't know if Montreal fell back into
15:22the wildcard position where Buffalo had to play them. Uh, I think I would probably choose them the
15:26least. I just think they have some speed. They have clutch goal scoring. Caulfield has just been
15:31absolutely money in pressure spots this year. They've played really tight games when they've
15:37met head to head. So I think that's the team I'd like to avoid if maybe they fall back into
15:41a wildcard
15:42spot and that's who Buffalo would get.
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