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00:00is not only an old friend, but Bulldog's all-time favorite Sabre.
00:04Or has that changed with Samuelson's season, Danny?
00:09I should have asked Bulldog first.
00:12I like that Benson, Danny.
00:13I love Benson.
00:14Benson is a...
00:16Yeah, he's a beefy boy.
00:18Isn't he the best?
00:20First question for Danny Gary, isn't Benson the best?
00:24Hi, guys. How you been?
00:26Good, Danny. It's great to talk to you. Thanks for making time for us.
00:29Yeah, no problem.
00:31It's funny, you talk about Benson, about three years ago when they had the Prospects camp,
00:36there was myself and Rob Ray and Brian Duff and Marty,
00:41and they had the kids all in the Alexis room there at the arena.
00:46And I get up and I go, are there any British Columbia boys here?
00:51And he's sitting in the front row, this little guy, he looked a little like me.
00:54He jumps right up, me, I'm here.
00:56You know, I'm from British Columbia. I'm from Vancouver.
00:59I said, cool.
01:00And after it was over, he came right up to me.
01:02He says, can I get a picture? My dad was a big fan.
01:05He was a great kid. I just loved the way he plays, and he's been great for the team.
01:09So you knew he was on the team.
01:11You were tricked for a second that maybe he was a fan because of his stature.
01:16Or some kid who won a contest.
01:18He was actually on the team.
01:19You knew who he was.
01:22Chilliwack, British Columbia.
01:26Yeah, he's just, you know, he's got energy.
01:29He reminds me a little bit of myself, the way he plays.
01:31And I'm just happy for the team and him and the way that they're continuing this playoff push.
01:38You know, you mentioned that you see some of yourself in his game.
01:44Boy, something I hope he can really work on is his shot, Danny, because obviously you had an elite level
01:50wrist shot.
01:51And I feel like Benson, I'm thinking of Reinhardt.
01:55You remember Dan Bilesma talking about Reinhardt?
01:57When Reinhardt's shot developed like in his third or fourth year here, I think that lines up with Bilesma.
02:02He said his shot used to be a muffin.
02:04And now he can really shoot it, and he's become an elite goal scorer.
02:08I feel like Benson needs to spend a summer just hammering pucks against the barn door, I think.
02:13Not a bad thing.
02:14No, I totally agree with that.
02:16And you know what?
02:17And when you say that, you know, I was listening to you guys earlier about Swayman and the way he's
02:23been playing.
02:24And, you know, I went up against a lot of great goaltenders.
02:27But when you have great goaltending, you've just got to shoot more.
02:30You've got to have that shot mentality.
02:32And I'm yelling, you know, at the rink or at the TV, shoot the puck, shoot the puck.
02:38And you've got to get pucks to this guy because he's good, obviously, around the net.
02:42He doesn't give him any rebounds.
02:45He plays with that emotion.
02:46But you've got to take away his eyes and fire the puck wherever you're at.
02:51You know, point, side, top of the circle, wherever it is, and just continue to get pucks.
02:57Because that's, I feel, the only way you're going to beat them like they did in game four.
03:03Danny, you and I haven't talked in a while.
03:05I'm not sure about with Bulldog.
03:07But, like, this season overall, how shocking is it for you?
03:11It's been a fun thing to talk to different guests over the course of the year.
03:15Some would tell you they were not that surprised.
03:17EJ Raddick, for one, from NHL Network.
03:20He's like, I've always liked their roster.
03:21They just needed to come harder.
03:23And so that's one theory.
03:25Are you like that?
03:26Or are you more just kind of blown away that this was possible?
03:30Well, you know, obviously when they started this run in December, you know, I, hell, they were in last place
03:39in November.
03:40And, you know, I was just down and disappointed.
03:43But, you know, give the coaching staff, give the players the credit, you know, that they turned this thing around.
03:49But what I've noticed, Shopey, is that, you know, is their asset, is their speed.
03:55I mean, I've never seen how quick.
03:57Because I watch.
03:58I live in Tampa in the winter and I watch the Lightning.
04:01You know, I watch the Panthers.
04:02And they're Stanley Cup winning teams.
04:04And that big asset that they've had has obviously been speed and getting pucks through the neutral zone or the
04:11offensive zone and dictating the play.
04:13And controlling the play.
04:14And that's what I see with this team at their best.
04:18And that's what their M.O. is, is getting pucks through and getting them deep and then controlling play.
04:24And the speed is a big part of it.
04:26And obviously, you know, their back end helps that, too.
04:29I think their offense from the back end is good.
04:31And the goaltending's been good.
04:33So, yeah, I've been amazed by that.
04:37I'm excited.
04:37I talked to Lindy before the series.
04:40And he, you know, he just, I said to him, I said, well, Lindy, what was it that turned it
04:45around?
04:46And he looks at me and goes, you know, my nickname's Tickets.
04:48He goes, Tickets, just good coaching.
04:53That sounds like him.
04:55Right, right, of course.
04:57Right.
04:58Well, you know, it is right to say that, like Mike mentions EJ Raddick, that the roster has been good.
05:06I feel like a lot of us have felt that for a while, but it just, the switch wouldn't flip
05:11or whatever it was.
05:13Right, right.
05:14And I don't know.
05:15We've heard a few different stories about the season, and I won't go all into them because none of them
05:19to me are verified.
05:20I don't trust any of them enough to really know.
05:23But the timing of Adams' dismissal is inescapable.
05:26I mean, it was percolating that it was going to happen, and then it happened after they got back.
05:31In fact, they won three games on that West Coast trip to close out that trip and then came home
05:36and won seven more.
05:38And, you know, Adams was dismissed.
05:41And I felt like, Danny, the fresh air that that would have brought into the house had to do a
05:47world of good
05:47because I would understand these guys feeling kind of beleaguered because Adams had been on the job for so long,
05:53and he seemed beleaguered.
05:56Yeah, you know, I mean, Kevin, I have a great respect for him.
06:03Unfortunately, you know, when he was dismissed, Yarmo, who he brought in, who I've known for a while,
06:10and Yarmo's a no-nonsense type guy.
06:14And he also brought in another guy that I coached, Mark Bergeman, who was the general manager.
06:19And these guys are, you know, they're legit general managers.
06:23Not that Kevin wasn't, it's just that Kevin maybe didn't have the experience at the time
06:27and how to, you know, finish it off or whatever.
06:30But, I mean, the thing is that I think when Yarmo went in and talked to the players
06:35and gave his viewpoints about what the situation is and where he stands with every player and so forth,
06:42it gave him and the coaching staff, I think, a little leg up as to, hey, boys, this is real
06:49now,
06:50and let's get it together.
06:52And they did.
06:53Did you say you coached Bergeman?
06:56I did in Tampa, yeah.
06:58In Tampa.
06:58Wow.
06:59Yeah, he was our, actually, he was our fourth, fifth defenseman my second year in Tampa.
07:06Yeah, second and third year coaching with Terry Crispin.
07:10But he was a great guy.
07:11I mean, he's an absolutely great player at the time.
07:14And after he retired, he went into scouting for the Blackhawks and then moved up the ladder
07:21and became the general manager along with a couple of my other teammates, Rick Dudley and Larry Carriere.
07:27And he's quite a comical guy, but he's very serious and knows the game very well.
07:33So that's in, like, the early 90s with Crisp?
07:36Yeah, it would have been 93, 94, yeah.
07:40Okay, when they were pretty new.
07:42Yeah, we started, they started the franchise in Tampa at 92, they got the franchise with Esposito.
07:51Yeah.
07:51Very good.
07:52With Danny Gare.
07:53We've talked about Benson, so maybe the answer is Benson.
07:56If it's not, who's your favorite player on this team to watch?
08:01Oh, you know, I'm a big Tuck fan.
08:04I mean, I like the way he plays the game.
08:07He plays it hard.
08:08He seems to find what's needed and when needed.
08:15Obviously, Tate Thompson scores goals.
08:17I love goal scorers.
08:19And you mentioned Samuelson and Darlene, obviously.
08:23And the other kid that I really like, another British Columbia boy is Bo Byron.
08:27This guy has been unbelievable for them.
08:30And those are probably the guys that I look at.
08:33I mean, there's other guys, too.
08:35The role players, Zucker and Krebs and Malenstein.
08:39So, no, I think they've got a real good bunch of guys as far as fits go for the team.
08:45Like, each guy has a role, goes out and does it.
08:48And I still feel, I mean, I don't know.
08:51This team, I said to Lindy before the series started, you're the better team.
08:55Yeah.
08:55And he agreed.
08:56And they are.
08:57They're the better team.
08:58It's just that, again, I think in game five, what I saw a lot of was the Bruins trying to
09:05slow the team down to the neutral zone,
09:07and clogging up the zone.
09:08Like a rope-a-dope style.
09:10So, they can't get their feet moving.
09:12And I think that that's something they have to get back to.
09:16And, obviously, they did that in game three and more in game four in Boston.
09:22But, again, they just have to get back and go play the game and don't overthink it.
09:26You mentioned liking the goal scorers, Danny, and Tage Thompson specifically.
09:32And I mentioned already the great shot you were blessed with and worked to have.
09:37I shouldn't say blessed like you just showed up and had it.
09:39Or maybe you did.
09:40I don't know.
09:40But I'm sure you worked at it.
09:42How much do you think that part of the game, shooting the puck, has changed since you were playing?
09:49Like, I was, you know, a little kid when you played.
09:52And so, I don't, you know, and plus, you know, this wasn't all the analysis that we have now.
09:57But part of this is with my kid having been a goalie at the junior hockey level that he was
10:03and talking to him about shooters and the things the goalie has to process.
10:08And you hear so much now, at least I do anyway, I read about it, I seek it out.
10:12But, like, changing the angle of the shot just subtly to try to throw the goalie off because the goalie's
10:18so good.
10:18And what they're doing is reading, they're reading your hands and they're reading your stick blade and trying to compute
10:24what angle that shot is coming at rather than just wait and react to it.
10:28Because if they do that, they're dead.
10:30Was it like that in the 70s?
10:32Or did you just let it rip?
10:33Yeah, no, definitely.
10:35I mean, I was the right winger.
10:37And when I was a kid, just to let you know, I was 12, 13, and underneath my sun deck,
10:42my dad was the athletic director of the university there.
10:45And he played.
10:46And he said, Sonny, in order for you, you're small, in order, you know, for you to get better, you've
10:50got to shoot two, three hundred pucks a day.
10:52So I'd wax down, you know, a piece of plywood and then shoot into an old archery net that was,
10:59you know, about 40 feet away.
11:01And I'd shoot two, three hundred, you know, pucks a day before school or after school.
11:06But the one thing I, when I, when I used to do that, I used to play around with a
11:09puck a little bit.
11:11And what I found is when you can pull the puck towards you, like I was a right winger, you
11:16know, when I was going at the top of the circle down on a goaltender, if you change the angle,
11:22they had to move.
11:23You know, they had to move.
11:25The element of error for them was to move.
11:27And any time if I hit the net that was on the low left post or the right post, and
11:32if it hit their skate or the stick, you know, all that they had as protection to stop the puck
11:39was their stick and skate.
11:40And they would be moving.
11:41So there was always a possibility of if it was, you know, a good hard shot, it would go in.
11:47Or you'd get a rebound to loose and Ramsey, you know.
11:49So it was, get the puck to the net, move it, change the angle a little.
11:53And you see that a lot with these guys now.
11:56I mean, Paige Thompson, he dangles that puck like crazy.
11:59But he can zip it, too, with these new graphite sticks.
12:02And gosh, I got to tell you something.
12:05I don't get it, but these sticks are breaking like crazy.
12:08All the time.
12:10My son has pointed it out to me in these playoffs, right?
12:13Yeah.
12:13I thought there might have been 15 broken sticks in our game on Tuesday.
12:17I don't know if that's close.
12:19Yeah.
12:20It's just crazy.
12:21But, I mean, we went through a couple dozen every four months, but those were wood, and they lasted longer.
12:28Yeah.
12:28Last night I kept noticing that, too.
12:30I wonder how big a topic that is.
12:33I'm glad you noticed that, Danny.
12:35With Danny Gare.
12:37So, I mean, you're talking to Lindy Ruff.
12:40We've had a great ride here on the show this year, just watching this sprout and become the season that
12:47it's become.
12:48I just refuse to worry about, and have been this way, their relative lack of playoff experience.
12:57I just, I mean, you've been on teams that were new to it and maybe not new to it.
13:01Maybe 75 versus 80, for example.
13:04And whether it was a different.
13:05We have the Bills, who are in the playoffs every year, but when we get to the playoffs, we're like,
13:09oh, no.
13:10And, you know, here was something that just came out of nowhere.
13:15Am I naive to think that when these guys take the ice tomorrow, any of these playoff games, that they're
13:22just going to kind of be loose?
13:24Is that something you have to work at?
13:28I think the game, when you play, Mike, 82 games or whatever it is, I mean, these guys, you know,
13:36they're programmed.
13:38I mean, they know hockey players, you know, are creatures of habit, and they know every game is every game,
13:44even though I know it's the playoffs.
13:46But they're conditioned that way to go out and be prepared to play the best they can.
13:51And this is just no different, even though it's, you know, it's obviously the playoffs, which I don't think it's
13:58– it was exciting to me.
14:00I mean, my first year I went in, my rookie year, I mean, gosh, the place was nuts in the
14:06odds, much like it is here at Key Bank.
14:09And why wouldn't you be excited about playing around?
14:12I mean, I'm sure there's nerves, obviously, but those are positive nerves.
14:16Those are good butterflies, if you want to call it.
14:19But, yeah, I think this team is, you know, has got the – I don't want to say a swagger,
14:25but a confidence right now that they can win anywhere, anytime, any game.
14:30That's a good point to bring up, 75, because you're a rookie.
14:35You score the game winner in game one in overtime against Montreal to get that series rolling.
14:41And everybody else on that team that would have been there even – all they would have had is that
14:46one series in 73.
14:48Right.
14:48So it's not like they were, like, long in it.
14:50And they – you know, it was only three rounds to get – well, two rounds to get to the
14:53final then.
14:54But still, like, the lack of experience didn't stick to them, really.
14:58Versus the Canadians.
14:59Right.
15:00Right.
15:00Versus, like, a team with, like, ten Hall of Famers on it.
15:04Yeah, no, it was – it was exciting.
15:06And when you get – that's what you – you know, you grow up as a kid to play for.
15:09And when you get the opportunity, it just raises the bar.
15:13I mean, it's just like – this is exactly what you dreamed of all your playing career to get into
15:19the Stanley Cup playoffs.
15:20And here they are.
15:21I just think that, you know, like I said, you just don't overthink it.
15:26You just go out and play the game.
15:27And they're a confident group.
15:28I mean, you saw that the last three, four months.
15:30They've beaten teams, any team, any given night.
15:32So good teams on the road, at home, whatever.
15:36But, yeah, I'm looking forward to game six.
15:39I think, you know, it's going to be – obviously, they get tougher as the series go on.
15:44But I think that the big thing is, is that, you know, the room, you know, the players, the coaching
15:49staff understands what the situation is.
15:52And then you go out and just play it and let it roll.
15:56But I think a big part of it is I don't see the Bruins – they don't want to get
16:01into a track meet with this team, you know,
16:04because they're going to rope a dope this type game again and try to slow it down, slow it down,
16:09slow it down.
16:10And, you know, you've got to give the pass and that kudos on the goal.
16:14I mean, Faber's had numerous chances, you know, to tie it up.
16:19But Swayman was there, and that's part of playoff hockey.
16:23But this guy, he's a world-class player, and he scored a great goal.
16:26So you move on.
16:28That's the end of the night.
16:30How about the beginning of the night with the Oh, Canada moment, Danny?
16:33Yeah.
16:34I mean, I was so moved and so proud of the whole thing.
16:40Me too.
16:40You know, being born up in Canada, I had so many people texting me because, you know, in Canada.
16:46You know, and it's funny because when I played back, you know, we had 30%, 40% of our, you
16:54know, our fan base.
16:55And still, I don't know how many are there now, but we're Canadians.
16:58And given the American people and the Buffalo fans that were there, you know, they knew the anthem.
17:07And God bless them, and they sang it.
17:08And I thought it was awesome.
17:10It was just, that's what Buffalo fans and Buffalo people are about.
17:14They get it.
17:15They know when to jump in and save the day.
17:19Someone on social media, I don't think they, it was directed to me, but I came across it, said it
17:24was like 19,000 people getting out of their car to help someone stuck in the snow.
17:29Right.
17:30Exactly.
17:30There you go.
17:31Which is something that I think the area is, you know, known for and pretty boastful about.
17:36Neighborhood.
17:36Neighborhood.
17:37I was home sick yesterday, and I watched the whole thing 50 times.
17:41Bulldog and I are shown in the one Sportsnet coverage of it.
17:45And I wanted to show my wife that and went to YouTube and found a CTV news report on it.
17:52And I think it reflected how a lot of Canadians felt like, wow, I mean, just in the States this
17:58happened.
17:59Really cool.
18:00And one of the women on the panel, and I did not grow up in Canada, but as a hockey
18:06fan who watched CBC, she spoke to me because she said,
18:11I learned, oh, Canada, but the middle part in French.
18:15And I always love it when I'm watching a game and that middle section is in French because I can
18:18sing along with it.
18:19I don't know the whole song in two languages, but I know that middle part because you would get that
18:24from the forum.
18:25Right.
18:25Ottawa sometimes.
18:26Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:27Yes.
18:27And another woman on the panel said she grew up out west and they never learned the French version of
18:32it.
18:33But so that's our next goal somehow if we can pull it off, Bulldog, if it happens again.
18:38Well, if they play it in French.
18:39If they play Montreal, maybe they should.
18:41We'll get practice hearing them do it and then maybe we have to figure out how to do it ourselves.
18:46Speaking of that, Danny, I don't know how much of that you got to see.
18:49I mean, that series has been just one goal game after one goal game here five times now, three of
18:55them in overtime.
18:57So, I mean, really tight.
18:59I don't know.
18:59What do you – it's – I don't know.
19:02You know, we don't want to jinx anything but, like, looking ahead, right?
19:05We close out Boston.
19:07Who do you – who's the tougher out there?
19:08I feel like it's flip a coin.
19:09Those two teams are so, so good.
19:13Montreal, Tampa.
19:15No, I agree.
19:17You know, I don't know.
19:19I mean, Montreal obviously winning last night and, you know, they're, you know, going back up to Montreal, which is
19:29always a difficult place to win.
19:32I mean, I remember in my first year, we beat them in game six up there, which never happens.
19:40You know, most of the times you were winning at home because home ice was really big back then.
19:46But I see Tampa, you know, they're a veteran, talented team, good coach, well coaching.
19:54And then you've got a young up-and-start coming team like Marty St. Louis got in Montreal.
20:00And they've got some players too.
20:01But either way, I mean, you're looking at, you know, 100-point teams, you know, going into the next round.
20:08And they're all like, everything's the same.
20:11I mean, I mean, they're all capable.
20:12Everybody's good, right.
20:13Yeah, everybody's good is right.
20:16All right, Danny.
20:17Any questions for us?
20:20No, can you just help me with the weather a little bit?
20:24You know, I came up, it was 75, but I got one day of golf in with my old buddy
20:29Darren Pang on Monday.
20:31But the weather here, wow.
20:33Yeah, I hear you.
20:35Don't look at the 10-day because next week, I think we're pretty clean on the weekend.
20:40And then I see, like, rain every day next week.
20:43Oh, no.
20:44Yeah, well, it's Buffalo, but it's just the springtime.
20:48So we've got hockey.
20:49That's all that matters.
20:50That is right.
20:51We do have that.
20:52Yeah.
20:52We were so – well, I don't want to – it's the opposite of spoiled.
20:55We've become so accustomed.
20:56This is for Bulldog to tell you, so accustomed to the Sabres not being in the playoffs.
21:01I mean, I do a fantasy football podcast on Tuesday nights, and I missed this one because of game five.
21:06And I'm thinking, like, if we're lucky, I'm going to miss a bunch of them.
21:09And here's Bulldog who plans a trip to Montana.
21:12He's in Montana for game one.
21:15I mean, that's just – you forgot about the possibility.
21:18It was dead to me.
21:19I booked the trip in November.
21:20Like you said, Danny, they're in last place in November.
21:22Like, I'm going to Montana.
21:24There it is.
21:27They had the game out there.
21:28It was fine.
21:30Go Sabres.
21:31I think, you know, we'll wrap it up here this – obviously, Friday or Sunday.
21:36I mean, either one.
21:37They're in the driver's seat.
21:39Thanks, Dan.
21:39Always great to talk to you.
21:41Good talking to you guys, too.
21:42Thanks a million.
21:43You're the best, Danny.
21:44Danny Gare on the West Her Hotline.
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