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00:00Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, kind enough again to give us his time here
00:05on this momentous occasion, at least we hope so.
00:08Greg, we're in the arena already for Game 5.
00:11The Sabres have an opportunity they have not had in a long time,
00:14as you well know, tonight.
00:17Well, I certainly hope you're not singing shipping up to Boston
00:20after tonight's game.
00:21No, sir.
00:22Because that would be sad.
00:23Hey, listen, I've picked the Sabres in five, man.
00:26I'm all about the closeout tonight.
00:28My concern is that the Bruins really kind of hit rock bottom last game.
00:34You know, like the magnitude of the loss,
00:37Swainman yelling at the bench,
00:38McAvoy losing his mind in the locker room.
00:41Like, it's the kind of nadir effort that gives you a little bit of pause
00:47because Boston has a penchant for bouncing back
00:51after hitting rock bottom like that.
00:53So I'm a little concerned about a little thing called pride
00:57carrying the Bruins tonight, but we'll see.
01:00I think the Sabres have already proven they've got a bit of eye at the tiger
01:04in this series, and we'll see if that continues tonight.
01:08Yeah, I mean, they certainly are capable of regrouping
01:11and putting forth a better effort than they did on Sunday.
01:14I mean, they just, by midway through that game, Greg,
01:17I mean, they weren't even trying to forecheck.
01:19Heck, they were just hanging out like it was a tie game.
01:22And it was really, really strange.
01:24But, you know, yeah, maybe all the yelling will rectify that,
01:28or maybe if the Sabres score first, Boston will just want to get on the bus.
01:32Yeah, fold like a house of cards.
01:34Like, the thing about the Sabres right now is they are, I mean,
01:38and maybe part of this is the lackadaisical defense at times by the Bruins in this series,
01:44but the Sabres are just, like, destroying offensively.
01:48Like, they're shooting 14% at 5-on-5, which is an absurd number.
01:54Their expected goals at 5-on-5 per 60 minutes is around 2-8,
01:59and they're scoring around, like, 4.3.
02:03Like, every metric you can find right now,
02:05one, shows them absolutely schooling the Bruins in this series from an offensive perspective,
02:10and then also just being the best goal-scoring wagon in the league right now.
02:15So, again, all the metrics, everything points to it being tonight's the night.
02:21But, again, the Bruins will probably have to have something to say about that.
02:25You never know.
02:26So, we're well past the conversations about how big of a surprise this is, I suppose,
02:33although for me it still feels pretty recent that to make this all happening, you know,
02:39just sort of almost shocking.
02:40But, you know, you've joined us at other times leading up to this,
02:44and, you know, you've talked about sort of your, if you will, evolution coming to take the Sabres seriously,
02:51and not always were their numbers so promising.
02:54They do need to get the power play right eventually here, Greg.
02:57They do not have a power play goal.
02:58I mean, I think they do, right?
03:00Has anybody ever won a Stanley Cup without a power play goal, Bulldog?
03:03You would know.
03:04I mean, I think eventually they need to do that.
03:06But, like you're saying, otherwise things are looking good.
03:11I mean, the fact that it's April 28th, and we're on the radio talking about the Sabres,
03:15and none of us until this moment have mentioned the draft lottery tells you how surprising this all is.
03:22Like, no, man, you know, listen, the power plays are cyclical.
03:26I'm not too concerned about that.
03:28That's just going to be, you know, something where, you know, a week and a half from now,
03:31we're talking about how they've scored, you know, three times in their last eight power plays or some such.
03:36It's just, you know, the things that I was concerned about throughout the winning streak
03:41and earlier in the season, I'm less concerned about now because I think their numbers since the Olympic break
03:48were, I saw an uptick in some of those metrics that I was a little bit concerned about.
03:52But really, like, the things that they've done well this season have kind of held through the postseason.
03:58So, you know, when they've needed it, Alex Lyon puts on his superhero cape and flies in and saves the
04:04day.
04:05You know, the Tage Thompson line with Alex Tuck has been incredible.
04:10In fact, I was looking the other day, I don't think they have a goal against it, even strength, in
04:13four games,
04:14which is, I mean, they haven't been scored on, in other words, in four games, which is just remarkable.
04:20And the depth has sort of been flexed in this series as far as, like, what the, you know,
04:24the totality of the roster can do.
04:27And they've handled the rough stuff and they've handled adversity.
04:30I think the real, you know, the real moment for this team was game three,
04:35where we're all kind of wondering, okay, so the sugar high of the game one win
04:39followed by the disappointment of game two, you know, what are you?
04:42And then they come out and win that game and then, you know, put the Bruins down in game four
04:46to be on the precipice of winning the series.
04:48And that's just a really impressive amount of maturation when you look around the league
04:53and see what other teams aren't doing, like the Flyers, who built a 3-0 lead
04:57and are struggling right now to close out the Penguins, and Utah, who had a chance
05:01to put the Golden Knights on the mat and then couldn't do it.
05:04Like, there are other inexperienced teams in this league that have shown how hard it is
05:09to try to do the things the Sabres are doing in the playoffs, and Buffalo's the one doing it.
05:13Yeah, you know, speaking of their depth, Greg, it's a pretty rare feat to be able to pull off
05:19having your highest-paid forward not be able to play and have a rookie go in
05:27and then have that highest-paid forward cleared to return, and you're like, yeah, no, we're okay.
05:34Oslin stepped into that Norris role, and Norris, my guess is Norris played the second two periods
05:40of Game 2 with the injury that kept him out of Games 3 and 4, and I suspect it was
05:46a head injury
05:46based on how he fell, but I don't know, and you know how they are in the playoffs.
05:52So, you know, his performance might have been, you know, mitigated to some degree
05:56by an injury that he tried to play through for two periods of Game 2,
06:00but the point is, Oslin just showed up and is like, oh, here's an assist through the trees
06:06for the first goal of Game 3, and oh, here's like a highlight reel worthy empty netter.
06:13How many of those do you ever get in your life?
06:15And that line was buzzing all game on Sunday.
06:19Yeah, and if you look inside the numbers, I mean, the Norris, Benson, and Doan
06:24played around the same amount of ice time as Oslin, Doan, and Benson,
06:30and the differences are stark insofar as the amount of puck possession that Oslin's had
06:35with that line versus what Norris got out of them.
06:38Like, all of the sort of underlying numbers and what they've been able to do
06:40at 5-on-5 with Oslin completely eclipsed what they've been able to do with Norris.
06:44So, you know, is that a temporary high?
06:47I don't know, maybe, but he's certainly come into the lineup
06:50and really, you know, created a pretty formidable trio in a very short amount of time.
06:56With Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, Mike Schopen, the Bulldog at Key Bank Center.
07:00Well, you talked about Boston a little bit already
07:03and what they might have left in Game 5.
07:07Is there anything, well, let me preface the question with this.
07:10A couple of times, listening to Marco Sturm talk about him,
07:14and I kind of like this about him because he's pretty blunt, I would say.
07:18Before the series, he talked about the Bruins being more physical,
07:22which I don't think was provable, but at least he said it, he tried that.
07:25Then, at some point over the weekend, he talked about, well,
07:28something to the effect of, we don't have the high-end skill to play,
07:31you know, a certain way, the way the Sabres do or whatever it was.
07:34And I tweeted sarcastically during a timeout Sunday,
07:38like he's reminding them of that right now at 3-0 down.
07:40They're not good enough.
07:42I don't know.
07:43Do they have a move tactically that you see?
07:47Yeah, the move should be they break up their top line.
07:49Like, at this point in the series, you have to say that Linholm,
07:54Pasternak, and Geeky aren't doing what they should be doing
07:57as a trio against the Sabres.
07:59Like, you know, they're getting crushed in puck possession.
08:02They're not, you know, producing all that much, you know,
08:06insofar as, like, expected goals of five-on-five.
08:08Like, they're getting run out of the series right now.
08:12So, like, spread the wealth.
08:13He should probably break up that line, you know,
08:15move Linholm somewhere else or maybe Geeky somewhere else.
08:20And then, you know, like you said, I mean,
08:22if we're going to believe the premise that the Bruins are at a complete talent
08:28deficit in this series, well, then don't put all your talent on one line.
08:32That's kind of the life lesson I would have for Marco Sturm.
08:36But I think the biggest, again, like I said,
08:38the biggest thing for this game is going to be attitudinal.
08:41They've got to tighten up defensively.
08:42They've got to be smarter with their decision-making.
08:46And as you said, I mean,
08:48they've got to certainly have a better start because if the Sabres get out to a
08:52lead in this game, it could be over pretty quickly considering the damage psyche
08:58of the Boston Bruins at this point,
08:59which is not something that you often associate with the Boston Bruins.
09:03How much friction do you think there could be or do you know if there is any
09:07around how Swayman handled himself on Sunday?
09:11Because certainly on one hand, you can go this completely justified, you know,
09:15because they were DOA in the game.
09:18And, you know, he's stuck there in the net bearing the brunt of it.
09:21And it's, you know, 6-0.
09:23And they went to a TV timeout, you know, 30 seconds after the sixth goal.
09:28It almost looked to me, Greg, like maybe he pulled himself out going over there
09:33to talk to Corpo Salo.
09:35And then the yelling at his teammates, I don't know,
09:38could there be any residual there?
09:40Or do you think to a man the team would feel like, yeah, no, that's just, you know,
09:44we had it coming.
09:45Heat of battle.
09:45Yeah.
09:46Yeah, it could be we had it coming.
09:48It could be he's right.
09:49It could be, hey, this guy is a main reason why we're even in the playoffs.
09:53It could be a lot of those things.
09:55I'll admit I don't have any inside information on this because I've been
09:58traversing the state of Pennsylvania for the last week or so covering the
10:02Flyers-Penguins series for ESPN.
10:04But, you know, it could also just be him trying to fire up his team.
10:09And there could be a net positive to him barking at the bench and knowing where
10:13the TV cameras are when he barks at the bench.
10:16But it could also just be, you know, hey, buddy, hold up your end of the
10:20bargain.
10:20You know, like it's not all on us in this game.
10:23You've got a little bit of responsibility on it, too.
10:27Greg, I indulge myself by asking you this.
10:29We've talked to other guests and friends around the country, around North
10:33America that have totally kind of fallen for what the Sabres vibe is here in
10:39Buffalo of late.
10:40I'm not expecting you to say you're falling for them.
10:42But I want to think that you think it's coming across pretty well.
10:47Oh, God.
10:48No, we've been waiting for this moment forever.
10:50We've talked about this before.
10:51Like, the idea that the minute the Buffalo Sabres return to the playoffs, you
10:57know, there was going to be interest.
10:58The minute they manifested as a contender, I mean, everybody who kind of, like,
11:04left the fold during the dark days was going to come back and throw on their
11:09ill-fitting jerseys and celebrate this team's resurgence.
11:12And that's exactly what we've seen, not only in Buffalo, but obviously they've
11:16traveled to Boston.
11:17I imagine whoever they play in the next round, you're going to see a lot of
11:20Sabres fans there.
11:21I saw a Sabres hat in the Pittsburgh airport this morning, which, you know, okay.
11:27Okay.
11:28That's what we're dealing with now.
11:30It's not a shock to me that this is what's happening or that the enthusiasm on the
11:35ground, whether it's the Blade Gang or, you know, the way the fans are showing up
11:38early for games or what have you is just off the charts right now.
11:42And it's exciting and it's awesome.
11:44And, you know, it also reminds me that, like, it's not just simply winning, it's
11:50how they win.
11:51You know, they're a very exciting team.
11:52It reminds me of when the Capitals, you know, first got Ovechkin and it wasn't
11:57simply like the team became successful again.
11:59It was just like, it was fun to be a fan of that team.
12:02It was fun to root for that style of hockey and the way they played.
12:06And so, you know, it's not the 95 Devils right now.
12:09So, like, being a Sabres fan and getting on this bandwagon also means that you get
12:15to, you know, lose your mind when they score a goal because they score a lot of
12:18them.
12:19And that's part of the fun, I think, is the way that they're winning these games.
12:23Greg, do you have any thoughts on how the Sabres have handled goaltending here?
12:28Toward the end of the regular season, we speculated about whether they would want
12:32to pick one or the other because they really had a hard alternating system all year
12:37long and even, you know, a third guy at times, Colton Ellis, who served them well
12:42when they needed it.
12:44We thought they would want to settle on a guy.
12:46They did.
12:47It was Lukanen and he had an awful second period in game two and Lyon has gone in.
12:54And I guess right now it feels to me like Lyon's net until, you know, I don't know
12:59if he gives, we certainly don't want to bet on him giving up a 100 footer like
13:02Lukanen did, but until something derails it, it looks like it's Lyon's net.
13:08How do you feel about how they've handled the goalies?
13:11I think they've, I think he's handled them well.
13:13I mean, like you said, you know, Uka Pekka Lukanen, and I just wanted to say his
13:17full name to let you know that somebody can say his full name.
13:19As an ESPN employee, we appreciate you.
13:23You know, rightfully, I think, gets the first look.
13:26But I mean, it's been a tandem all year, like you said, and, you know, they've both
13:30contributed to the Sabres having the third or fourth best goal setting in the league.
13:36And, you know, what you're saying is true.
13:41Teams that have a successful tandem in the regular season usually do settle on one guy
13:46in the playoffs.
13:46That's traditionally how it's been done.
13:48I've never really actually been a fan of that.
13:50I think it's fine to bounce back and forth and play the hot hand.
13:54And if one guy needs bailing out, you can bring in the other guy.
13:59Like, I don't understand why teams are so married to the idea that you need someone
14:02to play all seven games of the series.
14:04Because, frankly, a series can have a lot of, you know, rollercoaster moments.
14:09And sometimes to help with those, you know, ebbs and flows, it's good to kind of change
14:13up your goalie.
14:14And if both guys can exist without ego and both guys can know that, all right, this is
14:18just going to be how it is, then I think that's a very effective way to handle things.
14:23And, again, in a proactive way.
14:25Like, the Edmonton Oilers have had goalie tandems over the last few years because both
14:29their goalies suck.
14:30And if you've got two good goalies, then you can be proactive about it and just know,
14:35you know, if one guy has a rough night, you can bring in the other guy.
14:37And that doesn't mean the other guy that you replaced just appears into an abyss.
14:42Greg, while we have you, you say you're covering the Flyers-Penguins series, Pittsburgh back
14:47in it, going home down 3-2.
14:49By the way, Bulldogs saw Saber's hat, not in the Pittsburgh airport, but in the Bozeman,
14:53Montana airport last weekend.
14:56So your point is corroborated in that front.
14:59That series looks like it's live again.
15:02Thoughts on Tampa-Montreal, too?
15:04Four beauties so far.
15:06Yeah.
15:07In Philly's case, it's a young team that is not meeting the moment right now.
15:13Like, you know, it's hard to close out a team in four straight.
15:17It's really hard to close out a team that has Sidney Crosby on it.
15:20They're kind of figuring that out right now.
15:21Pittsburgh's gotten better goaltending.
15:23They're finding their game.
15:24I still think the Flyers closed it out in six.
15:28I didn't think that they were going to – I thought they'd lose last night, and they did.
15:31I kind of think going home, two games of understanding how you need to play to close out a series,
15:37I think they'll do it.
15:38And then this Tampa-Montreal series is fascinating because I swear, like, the Lightning have, like, four guys.
15:44And they're all playing really, really well.
15:46And when they need one of them to make a play, whether it's Kucherov or Hagel or Vasilevsky, like, you
15:52get a play out of them.
15:53And, you know, Montreal's good, and they're very talented, and it wouldn't shock me to see them win this series.
16:00But that rally in game four was such a declarative statement for the Lightning that, like, hey, you know, this
16:06is our ring.
16:07This is what we do.
16:08Like, you guys are the playoff newbies.
16:10We've done this before.
16:11We've got guys that have lifted the cup multiple times.
16:14And that was just a really, really impressive win.
16:16And I think it kind of set them on the right course this series.
16:20I think Tampa's gotten better as the series has gone on.
16:23And I don't know if you can say the same for Montreal.
16:26Yeah.
16:26Boy, back to Philly-Pitchburg, the worst sign for Philadelphia's perspective, anyway, about last night's game is that it was
16:32entertaining.
16:34Right?
16:35Like, because the first couple games of that series, I mean, if it was game one or game two, I
16:40know midway through the second period, Pittsburgh had, like, four shots or something.
16:44It was just like, wow.
16:46I mean, I didn't know Philly was capable of playing that much of a buckle-down defensive game.
16:51But they did not find it last night.
16:53That game was – there was a lot more action in that game than I'm sure they wanted.
16:58They're actually a pretty stout defensive team.
17:00They're one of the best defensive teams in the league after the Olympic break.
17:03Like, Tockett had them playing really well, sometimes to the detriment of their offense.
17:09But, you know, I think they wouldn't mind entertaining if it's entertaining like game three, where there's a fight after
17:16every whistle,
17:17and Gritty is throwing a Pittsburgh Penguins dummy off the second balcony of the arena.
17:22Like, that's the kind of entertaining the Flyers want, and it's not the kind of entertaining the Penguins have been
17:28willing to allow them to have.
17:30And that's why the series has turned.
17:32I think Crosby and those veterans said, hey, look, we can't engage on their terms like that.
17:37But, and ever since then, plus some good goaltending, they've really kind of, you know, gotten back into the series.
17:45Thank you, Greg.
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