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00:00the playoffs old friend of mine from our dnc days in rochester and it is uh my failure i'm not
00:07going
00:07to blame bulldog for this because it wouldn't be fair it is my failure uh to not have bugged kevin
00:13at least tried to book him once during the season but we're happy to have him now right before the
00:21playoff start i guess it's the best possible timing very exciting times here kevin how's life
00:26life is fine and it's uh yeah usually usually you're calling this year to talk some america
00:31playoffs and they're well into the kind of well into their playoffs but but now the the big teams
00:38gets to enjoy i guess we could do that too right well the america aren't in yet i mean they're
00:44they have they need a point their last three games it's i i think it's a foregone conclusion but
00:51you know they should they should get that point or utica should lose a point so i mean they'll get
00:56in but to predict or to say they will go very far would be i don't know um more of
01:04a dream than it
01:05would be a reality okay well they're a decent team but they're not you know they're just not
01:12they're not what they were the last few years and they they put together some nice runs they
01:16they didn't win a calder cup they did make you know the concert finals one year but they've they've
01:21at least established that you know the playoffs are again something that happens often here and
01:26there's been you know a good pipeline of young talent so in that regard they've sort of restored
01:31tradition i will want to ask you about the sabers chances of doing that thing here as we talk but
01:38the first question for you has to be like like it really i want it to be for everybody that
01:44we
01:44hook up with during this uh sabers experience here kevin how surprised are you that this happened
01:53uh i gotta admit i'm in one way in one way you think of it and you go how is
02:00it possible in the
02:02the way the playoffs are set up in the format like how could any team miss the playoffs for 14
02:08years
02:08that's not possible right you wouldn't think and it wasn't possible till this franchise was able to
02:14do it but you know watching the first few months it was sort of well maybe they can get things
02:21rolling
02:21i just don't quite understand what happened like you know i don't i know they changed gms but a lot
02:27of
02:27this team is is what kevin built um it's it's weird and i think lindy had said in a post
02:36game and it's
02:37been brought up you know they went on that west coast trip and they're in alberta and it was noticeable
02:41like guys just they got back they were busting to get back and play defense and they blocked shots and
02:49they there was just so much more desperation than was usually seen and yeah they blew a lead but they
02:56you know come back they they end up winning in overtime and that road trip continues and they
03:00keep winning and i don't know i mean i don't know if it was just that they all of a
03:05sudden realized
03:06you know maybe we maybe we are pretty good but something clicked because ever since then they've
03:12just been one of the best teams in the nhl record wise and you know it's hard to argue that
03:17they aren't one of the best teams it's been so much fun to watch and to talk about and to
03:21talk about
03:22it takes a while to try to make sense of it to try to explain what may have happened i
03:28mean it would
03:29vary person to person player to player but i think a lot of things are true and from my perspective
03:35about you know all of this starting with what you said you know and effort and desperation the top
03:42players in this organization kevin were two things one they were good themselves individually
03:49doleen thompson you know like that the top of the lineup is pretty strong talent wise and the other
03:55except for talk everybody was like sort of locked down here where where were you going you you could
04:02pout and maybe talk your way into a trade or something we've had plenty of that through this drought but
04:10as much as it is narrative driven sometimes there's truth in it and you win a few games and you
04:18start to
04:18look around like we're not going anywhere we might we got more than half the season left we might as
04:23well dig in and i mean then you win 10 straight and you're right in the mix and you don't
04:29have to
04:30reflect on or listen to how bad you've been or anything negative like that you start to win people over
04:36so i think a lot probably went into it um but but some of it maybe a lot of it
04:42is just mental
04:44and effort related yeah and and maybe part of it is just you know what let's you know i don't
04:53know
04:53if anybody really ever had to say it maybe they did you know maybe it was out after a game
04:57or on the
04:57way to whatever but somewhere they said you know what we're we're not that bad why don't we just
05:02you know let's let's just prove to the world that we are a pretty good team here that and the
05:08tampa game
05:08with all the brawls a month ago that was to me there were so many times in that game well
05:17you
05:17know they had the big lead and all of a sudden they're behind it's like okay well now they're
05:21back to reality i can imagine people were saying that but yet every time they they managed to tie
05:27it go back ahead and end up winning and they make another statement game against tampa and yet you look
05:33at the draft king odds or whoever and you know tampa's like the third favorite team and the
05:39sabers nobody gives them much of a chance and and i think it was tj oshi or somebody was somebody
05:45was
05:45talking about you know if there's going to be an upset in the first round who could it be
05:49well you know boston probably has the best chance so they still aren't really getting that respect
05:55from national or nationally that maybe you would expect them to have earned no doubt that win over
06:02the lightning kevin was the highlight of the season for a single game and i think as we're talking
06:08about this talking this through they'd already become a team that probably felt like it could
06:14make the playoffs or even definitely would make the playoffs and then you know maybe sky's the limit
06:20but maybe that is the day where they realized they could beat out tampa just they beat them head to
06:26head they went to tampa and beat them before that game and then later they would beat them again
06:31and whether it's about the lightning or not first place becomes more and more realistic
06:36and to whatever extent that was a goal i mean of course they uh they got there so how do
06:42you how do
06:42you see it going maybe they're still lacking a certain respect like you said but you sound like you
06:47wouldn't be surprised if they went deep in their favor i mean every you know yes they're good and
06:52people know that but maybe you know they're still there still is that rallying cry in the room and
06:56lindy can you know use that as motivation if you want i mean there probably is some of that and
07:02whatever it takes i think i mean i think the biggest difference the the most important things
07:08happened at the trade deadline when they got bigger and stronger um and again i'm referencing tj
07:14he's on last night with scott badpelton they're just talking about the playoffs and how different it
07:18becomes and why it's so tough maybe for the president's trophy winner to advance in the playoffs
07:24and only three you know i think three in the last 25 years or something have ended up winning the
07:29stanley cup but they you know teams have it wrapped up but they coast a little bit down the stretch
07:35and
07:35all of a sudden the playoffs begin and just every hit there's so much more ferocity than there is in
07:41the regular season and it's not when you're on the boards it's when you're near the boards you're
07:46going to get hit and then you get punched in the face and then the sabers address that though they
07:51added some size and now they have some depth and they're they have a lot of guys who aren't used
07:56to
07:56playing that way and i thought and said often the last couple years well even if they did make the
08:01playoffs where were they going to go they weren't built for it and i couldn't imagine them playing in
08:07the type of series that tampa and florida played now you can and i'm i'm just kind of anxious to
08:15see how
08:15that does go i'm sure you know boston is going to bring the physicality to a level the sabers haven't
08:21seen for a long time and i think the sabers can match it yeah we've seen them be willing to
08:28do that
08:29and also be able to do it fighting i'm just talking about every hit and puck going to the corner
08:35and
08:35every time the puck's dumped in whatever it is there's a hit and it's just how the playoffs have
08:41become and that's what the standard must be in the eyes of everyone for a team to advance and you
08:49know whoever's left standing at the end is usually the winner long time hockey writer in rochester
08:54kevin oklubja my guest bulldog is off today i'm mike shope and this is wgr well to hone in on
09:01that
09:01piece the deadline was what they bring in logan stanley and also luke shen stanley's been a regular
09:07so far shen is a depth piece it would seem zach metza became some somewhat of a talking point here
09:13because he had this insane season where they never got scored on when he was on the ice
09:17and then after the deadline shortly after the deadline he's back in rochester he's been
09:22in and out of the sabers lineup since you sound like you know you're on board with the sabers getting
09:28bigger what they did at the deadline can metza fit into that is it timmons instead what would you do
09:35um i think metz is the depth person and if there is an injury if somebody can't go then i
09:42think
09:43you know they they turn to him but you know right now i do see it more of uh what
09:50they've been going
09:50with recently maybe that's testing you know that's the lineup they want to use but i kind of sense he
09:57would be the number seven um you know depending on what's happening um how about the guys who've
10:05come through rochester that's a view from afar i mean i'm not you know i'm not in buffalo watching
10:11practice anymore skates but i mean that's kind of what i sense yes there there is a piece of this
10:18roster that came through rochester they've been the sabers i mean famously just always sort of
10:24rebuilding and young trying to get a pipeline going cool leak so prominent in that has not been
10:30around for almost the entire season with his health issue roseanne not really and then you know there
10:35are trades so it's different from 2006 when such a big part of the sabers success was players who had
10:42just been with the americs you've got a little bit of that here though yeah and i mean in the
10:49in the
10:49that you know that oh four oh five lockout that group grew together and became you know the the
10:56foundation of those sabers teams with miller and commonville and vannick and roy and and players
11:02like that um but yeah it's it's been good the pipeline has been good and there's players that
11:09yeah i don't i don't think people envision josh dunn being an nhl player but you know although he has
11:16a
11:17great here you're here you know last year um shows what he is then has a great camp and all
11:22of a
11:23sudden lindy says yeah i like this guy and then he's not a regular in the lineup but he's another
11:26one of those guys who fits in and and he plays a playoff style kind of every night of the
11:32season so
11:33if there's an injury and if they you know maybe that's a direction you know they can go but i
11:39got
11:39to tell you it's very confusing josh jone josh dunn wait a minute who was that you struggle with that
11:44you're not watching necessarily and just have it on in the background and you're turning away who
11:48who is no so anyway yes what about uh ausland for you he might not be physically ready by sunday
11:56but
11:57bulldog thinks he's a big piece if he's healthy i just think he's he you know he doesn't fit the
12:04mold
12:05of the necessarily that you know that playoff type player he's not a big guy but the first it probably
12:12maybe three weeks into seeing him play last year it was very evident just how smart he is like he's
12:18so smart and he's seemingly always where he needs to be and has a really good just anticipation and
12:27sixth sense of all right well this is this guy's going here and that's where the puck's gonna he i
12:31just i think the guy's really good i i'm very very impressed with his it's not just his talent but
12:36his you know ability to understand what's happening hope to see him back will happen did benson ever get
12:43to rochester for a stretch he did not never and i couldn't figure i'll be honest i couldn't figure
12:49out why it's like you know this is one of those guys who probably should have been here in the
12:54beginning rather than all he did he couldn't be right i contend he scored the greatest first
12:59first career goal of anyone in nhl history um but i you know i he's he's he's a player now
13:09he's not
13:09probably gonna ever score 30 but maybe he will but man he his contributions they're they're pretty
13:17considerable man that goal against dallas kevin i mean it was a meaningless game but
13:23shorthanded breaks in gets taken out gets wrecked on the boards you know fans start to boo a little
13:29bit wanting a call gets up last man back but he's busting it puck pops out right back the other
13:35way
13:36and alone and scores i mean like doing herbies with the game happening uh benson super cool i mean i
13:42just
13:42i love watching him yeah and he's not afraid of anyone and he's always got his nose in in somebody's
13:50face and and in the crease and in the you know i i just he adds an element that again
13:56the the
13:57opposition doesn't ever like but you know and he's not marchand but he's got some of those qualities
14:03he's he's maybe trending in that direction in a couple years he might be more of that for sure
14:08kevin how about um helenius who's down there i was disappointed to see him sent down i mean they
14:15only have so much room it's already six or seven extras here to begin with um what do you think
14:21of
14:21him as a player uh i like him i i can't i i haven't totally figured out what his what
14:29he'll be in the
14:31nhl like i don't know if he's necessarily top six but i'm not sure he's bottom six is there like
14:37a
14:37middle six there should be middle three something i mean he's kind of i can see him in that type
14:43of
14:44of spot you know you know second line third line he's he's feisty he's got an edge to him um
14:52he'll
14:53he'll go at someone but he also again very good vision of the ice um smart with the puck probably
15:02more
15:02of a passer than he is a scorer but since rosean left he's understood somebody has to score goals
15:08for this team and and he's kind of picked that up but i think he's you know still he hasn't
15:13he made
15:13did he turn 20 today yesterday next week he's on the verge of turning 20 and has scored more points
15:20than any teenager in america history this year so oh he's he's done some things that haven't been done
15:25here who had that record um uh joseph tierney in 92 93 okay 50 55 or 57 points 52 he
15:39played with uh
15:40he played on jody's line for a good part of that year and that team did go to the call
15:45to cup finals
15:45is he from czechia c-i-e-r-n-y tierney well something like that time he was from the
15:52czech republic i'm not
15:53sure which party was from and how it's divided now um remember the name a little bit he did come
15:58back i thought very interesting for you know someone who spent a year here and then uh played
16:03in maybe san diego or edmond they get traded to edmond and um i thought it was interesting when
16:12the pool was came back and remember they bought the franchise and both you know they're they invited
16:18anyone back to start the year they wanted to come back that played and joseph journey said yeah i'd love
16:22to come back so here he is from you know the czech republic showing up in rochester for a little
16:28reunion a couple minutes left with kevin oklovja what do you think of lukonen's chances of getting
16:33it done here i mean goalies at the risk of sounding like i'm copping out on it i i never
16:37want to try to
16:37predict it and i i don't in a betting sense i'd rather bet against the teams that are thought to
16:43have the better goalie it's so close and it's there's so much randomness in it do you trust lukonen to
16:49hold up to rise to this occasion oh that's a good question that's that's the to me that is the
16:57unknown
16:58um i didn't know where he stood coming into the year i've been impressed with how
17:03he's developed how he's played and the confidence but i don't know that's you know having never seen
17:11these a goalie in buffalo in a playoff situation that's it really is the unknown factor so um that's
17:21yeah i i guess i would i would be i would tending if somebody said here here's uh you know
17:27here's
17:2850 go to del lago or go to you know whatever your sports book you have if you have an
17:32app or whatever
17:33i'd probably take the bruins and you know because of the goaltending but i do think i do think the
17:39givers will win the series but the goaltending is an interesting part of the equation yeah you
17:44disagree with me maybe just in sort of like philosophy i hated algebra in school i've never
17:49used algebra ever since that i know of but you know this is that somewhere that actually why but
17:54somewhere it's part of that equation that i don't have an answer there's an axis there are lines there
17:59are there's a there's a spreadsheet there's a z there's a pie chart maybe all i know is there'd be
18:05no math so i said okay i'll i'll write um so you're saying you you do like the sabers in
18:12the
18:12series right in the end there you did say that i do i do um you know i i think
18:18it i think it'll be
18:20i think it'll be close i mean i think the bruins will give them a battle but i do like
18:24i do like
18:26the way they're playing every time i think they're they've slipped every time i think okay they're back
18:32to reality i think right this is the reality for what it seems so yeah that's been the challenge
18:39if it's that this season to try to decide whether to buy into it but they were 11 and 18
18:45and finished
18:4750 and 32 putting the losses together what is that 39 and 14 several of those losses coming in overtime
18:52uh as well so hard to argue with the uh results what kind of what if you thought about it
18:58what kind
18:59of playoff do you see upsets not really um to some degree um it's so i mean you can you
19:10come i think
19:11i think people come to expect upsets in hockey i just think it's the norm i don't like the playoff
19:16format i really don't i don't know now it it was more it was easier to argue that wild should
19:24not be
19:25playing stars in the first round um a month ago the way the wild finished the season yeah i think
19:31it was they they deserve to be playing i mean they're more in that fit right now but you know
19:36there's there's teams that you can say geez how was that the matchup in the first round but
19:41i i would like the format change but i maybe they like it maybe it's what what maybe it's what
19:47they
19:47want i don't know would you like one to 16 back one versus eight conference one day i'd like one
19:54to
19:54eight in each conference um the one the one to 16 was a weird one that was that was uh
20:00that was
20:02odd you had some matchups that you know somebody somebody needs playing vancouver in the west it was
20:07that early first round it was that one never made sense to me but that was the sabers once playing
20:12the canucks do you have enough pull do you have enough pull to help me get my dream to have
20:17people
20:18the top teams pick their opponents in the playoffs through do you know somebody the league sounds
20:22very happy with its with this format by the way but that's how they tend to sound about everything
20:27i shouldn't have said that maybe that's how they want this is how they want this is what they say
20:31apparently like that's what it is so there's that and you you can't get gary bettman to say
20:37anything about his league isn't just what he wants just what it should be never does that
20:42everything's exactly right always that's the that's a good point there was a reason for that
20:470405 lockout so i guess well it was but you know anyway if they went it wasn't bad apparently for
20:53the game as it turned out i don't know i guess if they went one versus 16 this year i
20:58think there
20:58are four teams in the west that would make it
21:03versus 12. vegas would be like the 16 seed
21:10i guess i guess i hadn't looked at that uh in that in that way yeah let's take a look
21:16at it
21:16i'll see how that shakes out washington won 37 games in regulation with 95 points and missed
21:23whereas la won 22 games in regulation and made it that's fewer than toronto so it was extremely
21:33one-sided this year in the league east versus west to pick out a couple examples there's a lot
21:38of teams in the west that aren't that good yes or so we so we think now but again playoffs
21:45are can be a
21:46different animal like they're they you know somebody can surprise and and get on that run kevin where
21:52are you writing these days i am uh well my real job is still with the rochester business journal i
21:58i
21:59pretended i knew something about hockey for like 30 some years now i pretend i know something about
22:03business so that's even harder to pretend uh but i do still do some america and other uh sports stuff
22:09for pick and splinters the website pick pick and splinters.com i told us the america now i was
22:15they they the mayor of rochester uh gave don stevens the key to the city today and the uh malik
22:21evans and
22:22uh the county executive adam bellow proclaimed today uh don stevens day in monroe county so very nice
22:28congrats to him america's broadcasting don's getting showered with accolades and awards and
22:34he deserves it including this mention on this show that's right 40 years 40 years of the america
22:41broadcast pretty good long time it's kind of like rick generant not quite but didn't quite not quite
22:47that long but kevin great to uh same way by america fans great to talk to you again you too
22:55mike
22:55enjoy the uh enjoy the playoff run yes likewise there there i made a prediction it will be a run
23:02let's hope thanks kevin kevin oklubja on the western hotline sabers and bruins game one in buffalo
23:08sunday night next ej
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