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00:00Progress, too.
00:01But Washington landed there and does not get in.
00:04What a weird year.
00:05East versus West.
00:07Here we go.
00:08Regular season in the books.
00:1050 wins.
00:11The Sabres losing a shootout last night to Dallas.
00:13Fun night.
00:14Paul Hamilton with me now.
00:16Bulldog is off today.
00:17Paul joins me.
00:18I'm Mike Shope here on the West Her Hotline.
00:21How was last night for you, Paul?
00:22Was it strange just with everything mixed together?
00:25Stars not playing.
00:27Not Dallas Stars.
00:28But our Stars not playing.
00:30The lack of really any incentive to win.
00:33The playoffs on the horizon.
00:35It's not a preseason game.
00:36It's April, not September.
00:38I don't know.
00:38Last night was, I loved it, but it was a little different.
00:41Yeah, well, you know me.
00:42I just enjoy being in front of hockey, so that was good.
00:45But even a little test the Sabres had in a game that basically is a preseason game,
00:51they still, Dallas had their guys.
00:54Buffalo did not.
00:56And they said Darlene and Thompson, and you know the list.
01:00But yet, Buffalo dominated the first period, I think played very well, and just showed us again that if they
01:06play the game the right way,
01:07even missing those guys, they're competitive and really could have won the game.
01:16Pearson was right on the doorstep with a few seconds left.
01:19That could have won the game.
01:21And had Alex Tuck scored on his shootout, that would have won the game.
01:26So, they were right there.
01:28So, it again tells us how good they are as a team, that they've learned that if you play the
01:34right way,
01:35you always have a chance to play, even if you're missing some guys.
01:38Paul, I just so loved the Benson shorthanded goal.
01:42I mean, I said earlier, it's like he was doing a Herbie drill all the way down, gets blasted, gets
01:48up all the way back.
01:49You know, then here comes the puck all the way down.
01:52He had enough of a lead on his breakaway to be able to get there.
01:57But just, I love this player.
01:59And that goal for me was just one example of what he does so well.
02:04Yeah, and it also tells me, too, that I may not be far off, because he's only 20 years old.
02:11And I've said all along, do I think he's going to score 35 goals?
02:14Probably not, but he was a point-getter in junior.
02:19Very often that translates, and I'm not willing to say he's not going to be a point-getter in Buffalo.
02:25I mean, he's on this streak right now of consecutive games.
02:30I think it's seven points in five consecutive games he's been scoring.
02:35He's scored probably three or four highlight reel goals in the NHL, and I'll include that one.
02:41And that's Ottinger you're coming down on, and you picked the top corner on him.
02:45I mean, with a good shot.
02:48And I just think there's more there that we're going to see, you know, before he's said and done.
02:54I mean, you know, I don't think 20 is out of the question.
02:57And I just think the talent is there, and he's done it before at every level he's been at,
03:03that I just think there's more to come from an offensive standpoint with him.
03:07And to your earlier point, or points, just about the Sabres' depth without their top guns in the lineup last
03:14night,
03:15on display last night, and that for me, Paul, would be an important edge against the Bruins,
03:21from what I know against the Bruins, where you have some stars,
03:24but you might just have better in terms of depth than Boston.
03:29Do you think that?
03:29Yeah, and the Sabres just have to do a better job on Pasternak and Geeky.
03:33They both have killed them this year, but it's very hard to judge because, you know,
03:38the two games in Boston were in October.
03:40Well, neither team is even close to what they were then.
03:44You know, so it's hard to tell where they are against each other.
03:50You know, Boston with Swayman, and I talked to Tate Thompson about him today
03:54because, if you recall, they were teammates on Team USA at the World Championship,
03:58and Swayman was one of the big reasons they won.
04:01Last year.
04:02Yeah, he was great in goal.
04:04So, you know, Tate has been teammates with him and knows him very well.
04:09And, you know, if Boston wins this series,
04:12I think that's probably what we're going to be looking at.
04:14Two things.
04:15That, that Swayman was fantastic,
04:19and the other would be Boston took the penalties like they always do,
04:24and Buffalo didn't make them pay for it.
04:26You know, they didn't.
04:27The power play didn't come through.
04:28They've got to make them pay for those dumb penalties that they take
04:32if they take them in the playoffs, and I don't see why they wouldn't.
04:35It's their thing.
04:37But they've got to make them pay with the power play.
04:40So those are the two things to me that I think are really key in this series.
04:43We've talked about it already since knowing the Sabres would play the Bruins, Paul,
04:47but to sort of set up the same maybe commentary,
04:51you can't complain about this, I think, if you're the Sabres, with who you drew.
04:56It's not always going to be true when you win your division
04:59or finish as a top seed that you like your matchup, given other possibilities.
05:05But I think the Sabres probably would, and I think the Bruins probably would.
05:10You know, they're playing against a team that has no playoff experience to speak of
05:14and is not, you know, perfect in every way.
05:17So I bet both teams are pretty confident.
05:20Well, in this particular case, if you rank the Eastern Conference one through eight,
05:25the Sabres would have got the Penguins.
05:27You know, that could be a problem, too.
05:29You mean by points?
05:30Yeah.
05:30I mean, that could have been a problem, too.
05:32Sure.
05:32Had two gone against seven, which would have been Pittsburgh,
05:37and now you're going up against Crosby and that group.
05:40So for Buffalo, you know, and, you know, Carolina would not have gotten Ottawa.
05:47They would have gotten Philadelphia, you know.
05:50So that would be the biggest difference.
05:52The biggest difference comes in the second round, where if Buffalo advances,
05:56they get Montreal or Tampa Bay.
05:59That's where the biggest difference would be, you know,
06:01that you wind up with the three or four, you know, if, you know, which, well,
06:07let's think about it.
06:08If one through four gets through the end, they would have wound up with three.
06:12So it's just the same thing, probably, that you would have gotten in the second round.
06:17But that would be the difference.
06:18Instead of Boston, you would get Pittsburgh.
06:21I don't know if that's what you'd sign up for.
06:23No, that's my point, that if you just went by points,
06:27it doesn't mean that you would rank those teams in terms of quality the same way.
06:32And I think they would be happy to get the Bruins versus –
06:35I think the Bruins are an easier beat than the Penguins would be,
06:38and you don't have to agree with that.
06:40No, I do, other than in goal.
06:42The goal would be different, but Crosby and Malkin –
06:45I mean, Malkin got real hot at the end of the year.
06:49And from an offensive standpoint, you know, they got some points from Carlson,
06:56you know, from the point.
06:57But you can also take advantage of him defensively, too,
07:00which the Sabres, I think, could do.
07:02So what did we learn today, or what did you learn today, about game one
07:08and how the Sabres want to set things up?
07:09Anything?
07:11Well, they didn't find out until the middle of practice what day they're even playing on.
07:16You know, so Lindy Ruff was going by, all right, well, we got to go by.
07:20We're playing Saturday because we have no choice because we might be playing Saturday.
07:24If we're playing Sunday, we'll pivot, which is now what they'll do.
07:29But they went with the idea, we're going to play Saturday.
07:32I think, had they known last night that they were going to play Sunday,
07:36I think today would have been a day off instead of practice.
07:41But, yeah, it's – but they knew the opponent.
07:45Of course they practiced the power play.
07:47The only difference I saw in the lineup was the third pair.
07:52Timmons right now is on it, not Metza.
07:56I did see Metza's Amherst bag bouncing around the hallway.
07:59I don't know if that means anything or not.
08:02May mean nothing.
08:04May mean that somebody from the Amherst is showing up
08:07and they're going to give him the bag back.
08:08I don't know.
08:10But, you know, so – and I really think Metza, the last little bit,
08:15hasn't looked anywhere near as good as he did for most of the season.
08:21But, still, that's not the move I would have made.
08:24Well, they gave him a new partner, you know,
08:26and I'm not saying it's all Stanley's fault or anything like that.
08:29Well, that went well for the first half of maybe their time together,
08:33and then it didn't go well after that.
08:35How many games is that?
08:36And then, you know, you can trace some of the goals back to Metza.
08:40The goal against Dallas off the back wall.
08:43Metza didn't pick up the guy on the post.
08:44That's his guy.
08:45He wasn't even close to him.
08:46I mean, you can't let that guy be standing there
08:49just in case the puck comes off the backboard.
08:51The goaltender has to know you've got that guy.
08:54You know, so, you know, there's one right there
08:57that has nothing to do with Stanley.
08:59I think Stanley takes more heat, you know, because people love Metza.
09:04So, every goal that goes in from the pair, you know,
09:07it's suggested that, well, look who he's playing with type of a thing.
09:10And sometimes that is true.
09:13And other times I don't think it is.
09:15Well, that's fine.
09:16I mean, that's fair.
09:17I just think probably there would be an adjustment no matter who it is.
09:20And it wasn't that he was playing with the same partner every game anyway
09:25before the deadline.
09:26I mean, there were different combinations.
09:27But there's always going to be some adjustment.
09:29And often during the game, they'll mix it up.
09:31Like, all of a sudden, Darlene will be out with Metza.
09:34Or Byron will be out with Stanley.
09:36You know, so they'll mix it up during the game, too,
09:39to get some of those guys more ice.
09:41What about Alex Lyon, Paul?
09:44Looks like he'll be back at practice tomorrow.
09:46Ellis is day-to-day with whatever that is.
09:50I mean, injuries will be very brief now because we're going into the playoffs.
09:55Tuck, basically, since he played last night and didn't get the day off like the others did,
10:00Berlindy Ruff gave him the day off today.
10:03So, you know, he'll be back tomorrow, I would assume.
10:07And Lyon will be back tomorrow.
10:10As far as Ostland goes, he's doing well.
10:14Lindy Ruff said there's a good chance that he will play in the first-round series.
10:20Carrick will not.
10:24I would be surprised.
10:26I still say that, and I, of course, know a doctor.
10:28But I still believe I would be surprised if Carrick, we see him at all.
10:33I mean, that just looked like a really bad injury, quite honestly.
10:38You know, he said about Ostland, a definite possibility was his quote.
10:43And Carrick is out for the first round.
10:46So, we don't know what it is, but the way he went down on that arm, wow.
10:53It would be a miraculous recovery, I think, if we see him again this year.
10:57It would be a couple of weeks before there's any talk about it at all,
11:00if they make it that far from what was said today.
11:03Alex Tuck getting his 200th goal before the buzzer goes on the regular season.
11:08Good for him.
11:09Yeah, and I mean, Thompson got his 40th before his season was over.
11:13And Tuck gets his 200th goal.
11:16So, you know, before his season's over.
11:19What I think about a lot is you know how in the playoffs for the successful teams,
11:24there's always the one guy who is the big part of the team.
11:29That, you know, that guy had five goals this year.
11:32He's got nine in the playoffs already.
11:34You know, and I'm trying to think, who is that guy on the Sabres?
11:37Is it Benson?
11:38You never know.
11:39Is it Malenstein?
11:41You know, who might that guy be?
11:43Krebs?
11:43Well, Krebs, Benson, and Norris have been scoring recently.
11:48Quinn, I thought, had a great first period last night.
11:51He had seven shot attempts.
11:53Unfortunately for him, five of them were over the net.
11:55But he was getting himself loose and playing a really good period.
12:00He just couldn't get the puck on net.
12:02It was over the net or wide.
12:04But he certainly was getting himself open.
12:07My friend last night at the game said at one point during all that,
12:11he's going to score tonight if it kills him.
12:14And he did score in the shootout, which, you know, as you put it once,
12:18he's pretty money in those spots.
12:20I think your friend just described how he played.
12:22He was great.
12:23I mean, if you're picking stars at the end of the first period,
12:25even though he's missing the net,
12:26I probably might have picked him as the first star.
12:29Or at least the third star,
12:30because Norris and Benson also played very well in that period.
12:35But, yeah, he was doing well.
12:37I mean, if he plays like that in the playoffs, you know, he's going to score.
12:41There's just no question.
12:42So quickly to wrap here on Lion Paul, is this ahead of schedule?
12:46What did Ruff say about him like a week ago,
12:49his chances of being ready for the playoffs?
12:50He said, well, let's give him a week and we'll go from there.
12:54So, in other words, don't ask for a week.
12:57He's going to be out a week.
12:59And then let's talk about it.
13:00Okay.
13:00And we're just over a week, you know.
13:04So, I would say at least they had this on their mind that it could be around now.
13:11So, it looks like if he's going to be at practice, that's going to turn out to be right.
13:16Good sign.
13:17Do you have anything to say about the schedule stuff?
13:20It is an embarrassment.
13:22An absolute – well, this league embarrasses itself almost on a daily basis.
13:27I mean, it's an absolute embarrassment.
13:29I mean, I feel like saying, just let us know by noon on Sunday what time you want us to
13:34be at the rink.
13:35How's that?
13:36You know, it's just so stupid.
13:39I mean, the problems, whatever they are, people say, well, they're arguing with Sportsnet.
13:43Okay, fine.
13:44But you have to figure it out, right?
13:46Why can't you figure it out two days ago or three days ago?
13:49The argument was going on then.
13:51So, why does it have to go on until now to figure it out?
13:56And then you put out the thing, but you can't put out times.
13:59Really?
14:01Look what the NFL does.
14:03Not that they're perfect by any means, but the playoff schedule is out sometimes at halftime at the last game
14:08on Sunday night.
14:10Definitely out by the end of that game.
14:13Yep.
14:13You know, and people know what's going on.
14:15I mean, the Boston Bruins didn't know if they had to be here yet by tomorrow until the middle of
14:22today.
14:23People like, and I know nobody cares about the media, but the Boston media, they didn't know.
14:30Do we have to be in Buffalo tomorrow?
14:32They don't know.
14:34And now they know now, but they didn't know at noon if, well, they may have to be in Buffalo
14:40tomorrow.
14:41Nice.
14:41Well, what I was saying last night to people was, we don't know yet, but the team probably does.
14:47And I think that was wrong.
14:49You're right, it was wrong.
14:50They didn't know.
14:50That's what's interesting is, you know, the media, sure, and the fans, that matters a lot.
14:55But it seems that the teams didn't know.
14:58No, I know for sure they didn't know.
14:59They couldn't have.
15:00No, they didn't.
15:01So, I mean, when the Sunday announcement came out, you could tell that that was not what had been, you
15:07know, expected.
15:07Which means the Sabres had to schedule, or the Bruins had to schedule a charter for tomorrow and for Saturday.
15:13So, they're covered.
15:14Well, those are cheap.
15:16That shouldn't be anything.
15:18They can cover that.
15:19Yeah, get your jet ready.
15:20Thank you, Paul.
15:21Take care.
15:22Paul Hamilton on the West Her Hotline.
15:25The Sabres and Bruins open their playoff series on Sunday.
15:29My guess is 7 o'clock at night, but I'm, you know, maybe out of guesses.
15:35That's what it looks like to me.
15:37We will kick off, sorry, our pre-draft special coming up at 4.
15:43Sal Capaccio, the first to join.
15:45You can watch our conversations, Sal, Nate Geary, Jeremy, and Joe, throughout the afternoon on YouTube if you want.
15:53Last year, like, oh, don't forget, you're on camera for the pre-draft special.
15:57Now it's every day.
15:58So, it wasn't even like I dressed up or anything.
16:02No visor, though.
16:05We went with, I got a haircut.
16:07I feel like when you get the haircut, the visor is almost an insult to the person who cut your
16:12hair.
16:12So, I didn't want to do that.
16:13I was happy with her.
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