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00:00Are we going to need Paul to enlighten us on what the crowd was like?
00:06I could use some help because I have no idea.
00:11You have no feel for it from the broadcast, from the TNT broadcast.
00:15I couldn't tell you if anybody sang the anthem.
00:18I couldn't tell you if anybody chanted.
00:20I heard...
00:21I don't get that.
00:22It was a very strangely miked game.
00:26Game, Let's Go Buffalo, sounded like five people near the broadcast location.
00:34Like I'm at a game at Tacoma watching 10-year-olds play.
00:38And I'm sure it was the whole arena, but I never heard, you know what that sounds like.
00:44From being, even watching on TV, you can usually hear it.
00:49All I heard was like a group of people.
00:51The Canadian Anthem is being sung, and I'm really paying attention, and I can't hear anything.
01:00And then eventually, three-quarters of the way through a song, I hear someone just go,
01:05woo, in the crowd during the anthem, which I thought meant no one's singing, because I can hear that guy.
01:13Well, that's weird for me.
01:14I also watched on TNT.
01:16I could hear the fans sing the anthem.
01:18They sang, I thought, the Star-Spangled Banner louder, which I thought would happen.
01:22That's what I got on Twitter.
01:23I went right to Twitter, like, well, I was wrong about the anthem.
01:25I guess it's not going to stick.
01:27And people were like, what are you talking about?
01:29No, yeah.
01:29Well, her bike wasn't going to break.
01:31Right.
01:31No, I knew that.
01:32I just, you know, I couldn't tell.
01:34The audio was a disaster in this game last night, I thought.
01:37Paul, is this all news to you?
01:38A new story to cover?
01:39Paul doesn't care.
01:40Paul's at all these games.
01:41He doesn't care.
01:42Yeah, I was there.
01:43The audio was great for me.
01:44Right.
01:45Right.
01:46And whichever one of you just said, the anthem, the U.S. anthem was very loud.
01:53And so was the Canadian.
01:55I think they both were louder than you normally would get when Cammie is singing.
02:00You know, usually they listen to her.
02:02And so I thought, yes, definitely.
02:05As far, I thought the fans did a great job in Buffalo.
02:09Because usually there is about 70, 75% Montreal fans in there.
02:16And I would estimate maybe 10% to 15% this time.
02:21And they couldn't get going, the Montreal fans.
02:25They, anytime they might try, which was rare, they got drowned out by the Buffalo fans.
02:30And you didn't really even know they were there other than you saw their red jerseys scattered about a little
02:34bit.
02:35And so I thought, great job by Western New York, not only to keep your tickets and come to the
02:40game, but, you know, what they did once they got to the game.
02:44It was a Montreal game I was at, where you might have been the one to ask Darlene after the
02:49game about the makeup of the crowd.
02:51And he basically said, too much red.
02:53I hope it's not, yeah.
02:55Yeah.
02:55It was, I think, the last one, I think, if you're right.
02:57That's right.
02:58If I'm not mistaken.
02:58And he got his wish.
03:01He got his wish.
03:02Is he fine, Darlene?
03:04Yeah, yeah.
03:04I asked him today, and he said that it hurt.
03:08Because what, the concern I would have is he went down, walked it off, which often happens when you block
03:15a shot.
03:15It almost always happens.
03:17And came back to the bench and sat down, but never played.
03:21There was enough time for him to play because play went on after he sat down, and then there was
03:26a whistle, and then there was a timeout.
03:29So, it's not like he's winded or anything, and that's when he would have been on the ice normally, after
03:34the timeout, protecting a two-goal lead.
03:36Yeah.
03:37He wasn't, and didn't play the rest of the game.
03:40Now, Lindy Ruff did say, after the game, I had not, this is Lindy Ruff talking, he said, I had
03:45not talked to doctors, but I did walk by him, and he seemed fine, is how he put it.
03:51But stressed that he had not talked to doctors.
03:54And then I asked Darlene today, and he said, it hurt, but he said, I am not injured.
03:59Right.
03:59That's how he put it.
04:00And he was fine coming to the podium.
04:02Yeah.
04:03He didn't look like he was in stress or distress or anything like that.
04:07So, it seems like he's okay.
04:10Back of the leg?
04:11Like, back of the knee?
04:12Like, where did he get it?
04:13Yeah, no.
04:14He didn't say.
04:14No padding.
04:15He didn't want to say too much.
04:17Okay, yeah.
04:17He said, more than Carrick, or not Carrick, I can't remember the injured player.
04:23Norris?
04:24Yes.
04:24He said, more than Norris did.
04:26Right.
04:26But he just said, look, it hurt, but, you know, he goes, I am not injured.
04:34The bottom line is, he's fine.
04:35I didn't see the contact, but I did notice him right away, like, flexing his leg, and the play went
04:40on for a little bit.
04:41And when he hit the tunnel, I said to my wife, he's walking that off.
04:44Like, it never scared me.
04:46Maybe if they're up one goal, he's back on the ice.
04:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:49It is amazing how you can just walk that off.
04:52It feels like you've, like, broken 25 bones when it happens.
04:58And then you go down the tunnel or wherever, and you walk for a bit, and it doesn't feel great,
05:04but it feels good enough that, you know, that the sting and the hurt go away enough that you can
05:09function after that.
05:11And, you know, yeah, you've got a big bruise.
05:13You've got a spectacular bruise, yeah.
05:15Yeah, yeah.
05:16But it's just amazing how it, when it first happens, you feel like you're going to be out for the
05:21next three years,
05:22and then you can walk it off a little bit, and you're going to be fine.
05:26My experience with that bruise is, like, there's almost, like, you can almost see the mark where the puck actually
05:32hit you.
05:33That's not bruised, and then everything around it is discolored, and there's purple, and there's, like, yellow, and it's just
05:40all just gross.
05:41Well, look, you should see the shin pads.
05:43Well, I still have them, but I don't play hockey anymore because of concussions, but they're cracked from where pucks
05:48have hit them.
05:49I mean, it's just like they're almost shattered because I've been wearing them since I was, like, 18 years old,
05:56and the elbow pads are falling apart, the same thing.
05:59But, yeah, it really does a number.
06:02I never got a clear look at it.
06:03I only mentioned back of the leg where there's no padding because I think that's what they said on the
06:07broadcast, on the telecast,
06:09that they thought that's where he got it.
06:10Maybe Pang said that he was between the benches.
06:12So, anyway, Norris Trophy finalist, Paul.
06:17I don't love his chances to win it, but it's a step toward winning it, to me, to get nominated
06:23as a finalist.
06:24And so I'm excited to see him get that kind of recognition here.
06:29I know it's up against McCarr, but really, after Pronger made his comments, it kind of woke me up to
06:38opinions across the hockey world.
06:40I mean, people were agreeing with Pronger, you know, and, you know, saying how much he deserves it and everything.
06:46And I guess I just needed to be slapped across the head a little bit to realize, you know, as
06:53far as what he was doing compared to others.
06:57So, you know, you know me, I'm not going to predict who's going to win and who's not.
07:00But, you know, I think he's got a chance.
07:03Sure.
07:04Especially just, as I said, hearing a lot of what was said after Pronger and Elliott Friedman said what they
07:10said.
07:11Well, I think you could win.
07:12What's that?
07:13I think you could win, too.
07:14Yeah.
07:14We had a clip of Kevin Bieksa on Sportsnet or the CBC, whatever, prominent Canadian telecast of this game last
07:20night,
07:22talking about him, like, he thinks he should win it.
07:25So that's another guy, former defenseman in the league, sort of lining up with Pronger.
07:30So, yeah, I don't hate that.
07:31I just think he's in tough with those other two guys being a first-time finalist.
07:34But, yeah, he certainly could win it.
07:36I think what Bieksa said, not to split hairs, is that he might have predicted that he would win.
07:41Maybe not that he would have voted for him or he thinks he should.
07:44Okay.
07:44But that, like, he used the term, it's kind of his year.
07:49And, you know, that narrative stuff goes a long way with these things, right?
07:52He's the captain of a team that came out of nowhere and won the hardest division in hockey easily.
07:59And he had a point per game, almost, Darlene.
08:02Like, there was nothing, maybe some of the other metrics, or maybe Makar is just, like, too much of a
08:08wow factor.
08:09I mean, he's got the numbers, too.
08:11But Darlene is an easy story, plus his personal life.
08:14Right.
08:15But Captain, I mean, just all of it kind of lines up well.
08:19That doesn't mean he has to win, but I wouldn't be surprised if he won.
08:21I think when you bring in the personal life might be why he could be maybe the favorite for the
08:25Masterton.
08:26Yeah.
08:26How he's handled everything and just, you know, the way he is.
08:32What I like about him and Makar is they're complete defensemen.
08:35I can't stand the offensive Paul Coffey, Carlson, you know.
08:41I loved it when Lidstrom basically dominated the award because what a defenseman he was.
08:47He could do anything.
08:48He could play D.
08:49He could play on the offensive end.
08:52I just might have been one of the best defensemen I've ever seen.
08:55I won't say he's the best defenseman ever because I didn't see Doug Harvey play or, you know, anything like
09:00that.
09:00Come on.
09:00You can admit it.
09:01It's kind of like I always say O.J. Simpson is the best running back I've ever seen.
09:05I didn't see Jim Brown.
09:07So, you know, I don't know.
09:08But, you know, so I always do that.
09:11It's like, well, the best one I've ever seen, whether he's the best one ever, I don't know.
09:15I wasn't born when some of these guys were playing.
09:17Those elbow pads you talk about that are cracked, they were Doug Harvey elbow pads, weren't they?
09:24When you went over to Kupalo's and bought those as a young lad.
09:28Yeah, really.
09:29Makar did not blow Dahlien away on the regular hockey card stats.
09:3479 points in 75 games.
09:36He's got 20 goals.
09:37The same.
09:38But, yeah, it's a very comparable year.
09:41You know, Wierenski, I think, is the one whose production, I've got to look his numbers up here.
09:46Again, just the, you know, straight counting stats, 81 points.
09:50All the same.
09:50Yeah.
09:51And you don't see Hughes here.
09:52I thought there was somebody that, you know, had elevated to the point where it was, you know, statistically like,
09:57oh, yeah, that guy's obvious.
09:59And Hughes is another one that can play at both ends of the rink.
10:02Oh, he's dynamite.
10:03I just can't stand the, I don't care Carlson or 100 points or whatever.
10:07He's not a complete defenseman.
10:09And it just bothers me when somebody like that wins the award.
10:13Hughes also almost identical.
10:1476 points in 74 games.
10:16But he doesn't make the finalists list.
10:19And speaking of narratives, that's an easy one with how the Olympics went.
10:22Right.
10:23He was traded, which maybe doesn't help him, but he's not a contender anymore for the Norris Trophy.
10:29Were you?
10:30Rasmus Dallin did say today, he goes, when you're on a good team that starts winning, you start getting things
10:36like this.
10:37Mm-hmm.
10:38Indicating that.
10:40Now, Wierenski's not on a team that's winning.
10:42But still, I think he's got a point in some of these awards.
10:46Sure.
10:47You know, your team starts winning and you're a big part of that.
10:50These things start coming your way.
10:52And Hughes won the award two years ago when playing for Vancouver.
10:56And Vancouver had a good year that year, didn't they?
10:58Yeah, Tockett is their coach.
10:59They were a playoff team.
11:01They were really good.
11:01And then the bottom just fell out amidst all this J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson nonsense season before last.
11:08And then this year, yeah, Hughes put a gun to the head and they had to get rid of him.
11:12Were you with Dallin when the news had broken yet or did it break after?
11:18No, we were talking to Lyon when it broke.
11:22He came first.
11:23All right.
11:23So, we were talking to Lyon.
11:25And then, you know, remember last year, they didn't have an award ceremony.
11:30Didn't they, like, go to each person's home?
11:32Like, they went to a lake and handed them, oh, you just won the Norris Trophy or you just won
11:36this trophy or whatever.
11:38They didn't have an award ceremony last year, did they?
11:40I was drafting.
11:42I don't know.
11:42I don't remember.
11:44I just remember them going to, like, they're standing on a pier and you guys in a boat.
11:49And here's your award.
11:50You just, you're the MVP.
11:52Hi, Connor Hellebuck.
11:53I think that's the one I'm thinking of.
11:55Oh, yeah.
11:56I don't recall now.
11:57Here you go.
11:58So, I think, I mean, I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's how they
12:03did it last year.
12:04They ought to do that with the Stanley Cup.
12:06Just award it.
12:07The Sabres are a great story.
12:09Go to the lake.
12:10Get a picture of the falls, all lit up, blue and gold.
12:13One idea.
12:14Paul Hamilton on the Western Hotline.
12:16How about last night's game, Paul?
12:18How would you describe it?
12:19I agree with Lindy and St. Louis.
12:22It wasn't either one of the team's best efforts, but it wasn't awful.
12:27I mean, you know, Lindy said maybe there was a little bit of rust or whatever, but, you know, they
12:33know how to win hockey games.
12:35And even in the third period, they got one shot, but I wouldn't say they got run over.
12:40Or they're lying to say they're bacon.
12:42It surprised me when I heard they only had one shot in the period.
12:45I wasn't paying attention to the shot clock, and it didn't feel like a period where they'd only had one
12:49shot.
12:50Well, Bulldog, when I thought about it, remember that Zucker made the great play to Quinn in front.
12:55He missed the net.
12:56Yep.
12:56And I think there might have been a couple of blocked where they, you know, earned some offensive chances.
13:02They got blocked.
13:04So it just didn't seem like they were getting run over by any means.
13:10They know how to finish games like that, and I never thought to myself, uh-oh, this is getting close.
13:16They better watch themselves here.
13:17Yeah, the scariest part of the game, I would say for me, with that in mind, was near the end
13:23of the second period.
13:24After the dock goal, it made it 4-2, I thought Montreal was really buzzing at the end of the
13:30second period,
13:31and I was feeling all kinds of like, oh, don't get me to 4-3, go into the room.
13:36Like, hang on to this two-goal lead, and they managed to do that.
13:41But that was the most, I think, on their heels, I think, the Sabres looked to me all night, was
13:46late second after it became 4-2.
13:48And the other thing was, and I talked to Lindy Ruff about this, and he kind of disagreed with me
13:54somewhat.
13:55I was, there was no disagreement for whatever reason.
13:59Thompson line was going against the Suzuki line, and Lindy is the last change.
14:03And he said, that wasn't my plan.
14:05That's not really what I wanted.
14:07But he goes, I stayed with it.
14:08And I think he stayed with it, because I thought that, what I thought was, and the question I asked
14:16was,
14:16did those two lines cancel each other out, because they did a really good job defending against each other?
14:22I didn't really remember a lot of chances 5-on-5 for either line.
14:26And then Lindy goes, well, I'll disagree with you a little bit here.
14:30And then he went over a couple of chances by the Thompson line.
14:33And then he said, but that wasn't when Suzuki was on the ice.
14:36He said that twice.
14:36And I'm thinking, well, yeah, that's what I'm pointing out here.
14:39Right.
14:40And then I asked him, we were done, and he was walking off, and I said, well, answer me this.
14:45I said, did you feel the Thompson line did a good job defending the Suzuki line?
14:51He goes, yeah, I did.
14:52He goes, they gave up, I think, one scoring chance to him, you know, when they were together, you know,
14:57on the ice.
14:58So it was an interesting choice by Lindy Ruff, I thought, to do that.
15:03I agree.
15:03But they both, I thought, defended each other.
15:06And I still kind of think they kind of eliminated each other by doing that.
15:10I want to try this on you and you as well, Mike.
15:13I wonder, I mean, it's the playoffs, but it's game one of a series.
15:18And I know Mike and I were like-minded, and Paul, I'm sure I brought you into this.
15:22Like, I love the idea of how they started the game with Benson, Doan, and Norris against that line, right?
15:28They got last change, so Montreal turns in their lineup.
15:31They're starting that line.
15:32Okay, this is our matchup.
15:34And right away, power play.
15:35And then five minutes later, it's the first goal of the game.
15:38And that is that same matchup, and they just boat raced him up the ice.
15:43You know, it's fortunate that Hudson lost his balance and fell on the play to create the odd man rush.
15:49But nonetheless, like, that looks like the matchup.
15:51And then as the game went on, like you're saying, it was, you know, Thompson.
15:54And I wonder if Lindy didn't maybe look at it as, well, I know, I trust this Benson line.
16:02I'm going to call it the Benson line, even Norris is the center.
16:06I trust that line.
16:07Again, it's a long series.
16:08I'm not going to have last change up in Montreal, right?
16:12I may have to get used to settling for, like, what's my second choice?
16:17And you might want to find out as early as you can what that looks like and what that feels
16:21like.
16:22And again, I know it's dangerous to be experimenting in a playoff game like that, but you've got to find
16:27out, right?
16:28So I thought maybe that was a little bit what was going on.
16:31Like, how is this going to work for me when I don't have a choice?
16:33And I think maybe it wound up that way for a shift or two, and he thought, well, yeah, this
16:38went all right.
16:39Right.
16:39All right.
16:39If they want to do this, I'm not going to go against it.
16:43And the only, the really biggest mistake was Thompson turned it over, but that was against Doc.
16:48That wasn't against the Suzuki line.
16:51And that wound up in the net.
16:53Other than that, you know, I thought the Thompson line did very well defensively.
16:57And, hey, Thompson's human.
17:00I mean, everybody turns the puck over.
17:02Everybody makes a mistake.
17:03But overall, I think they did a nice job against the Suzuki line.
17:08Rough now up to 76 playoff wins as a coach.
17:12Fourth most among coaches who do not have a Stanley Cup to their credit in order by wins.
17:19Pete DeBoer is number one.
17:21Then it's the late Pat Quinn and Elaine Vigneault.
17:25Rough can catch and pass Vigneault for playoff wins if the Sabres win this round.
17:29Paul Hamilton on the West Hur hotline.
17:32If Carrick is ready, does he go in 100%?
17:35That's interesting.
17:36No, I wouldn't say 100%.
17:39Just because they won the game, and I really like Kozak.
17:43I thought that line performed very well.
17:45That was by far Greenway's best game.
17:47And I'm not just saying it because he scored.
17:49He had five hits.
17:50He was great on the wall.
17:51He won battles.
17:54The whole line.
17:55I mean, on his goal.
17:58I mean, first of all, Greenway did a great job to set up Carrier to screen the goaltender.
18:02And then you've got Kozak taking Matheson to the net, and he got a flash screen right there
18:07that just had gotten by Dobish when the shot was coming.
18:11But I'm sure it distracted him.
18:13And when the shot was coming off the stick, he couldn't have seen.
18:16But it had gone by him where maybe the puck is on its way.
18:20But by that time, he's screened by the defenseman.
18:23And the puck kind of hits his glove.
18:25And you could see him look over to the left as it's kind of hitting his glove.
18:29And that was one thing I wanted to talk to Owen about because he was talking this morning
18:33that goaltender can't give that up.
18:35And I didn't have a chance to elaborate with him.
18:38And my thought was, what does he mean?
18:39Does he mean a screen goaltender should maybe have his glove up further?
18:44And he didn't have the glove in the right position to give him the odds to make the save,
18:49even though he can't see it.
18:51So, you know, I'm sure I'll have an opportunity to talk to him about that, you know, probably tomorrow.
18:57But, yeah, you look at – I don't really blame him for any of the goals.
19:01I mean, the bang-bang plays that are basically going into the empty net on tic-tac-toe.
19:06And you've got two screens.
19:08Don't screen on the Byram one, too.
19:11So, you know, I really wouldn't blame Dovish on any of the four goals.
19:16I like this, too.
19:18The leader in ice time for the Sabres, I believe, was Samuelson at about 21.30, maybe 21.35.
19:26Hudson was almost 27 minutes.
19:29It's – like, the Sabres really didn't have to strain at all in this game.
19:33I mean, they played with the lead.
19:35Yeah.
19:35And there's no 25- to 30-minute –
19:37Even though they were without Stanley for, like, the back half of the first period.
19:41Right.
19:42And Lindy said he likes the fact that he can basically roll his lines.
19:46He goes, it's very comforting to know that.
19:48Because he's not afraid to put the Kozak line out against maybe the other team's best line.
19:53That does not faze him at all.
19:56He thinks they're good enough defensively that it's fine if it winds up being that.
20:00So, he said he likes the fact that he can just roll his lines and not be extremely worried about
20:06who's out against who and that type of thing.
20:08Because he trusts them all the way.
20:09And I didn't finish with Kozak.
20:11I just thought he was around the net all night.
20:13He was laying in the crease one time.
20:15I thought he was great on the four check.
20:17So, to say that Carrick is definitely going in if he can, I don't know what Lindy would think.
20:24Because it wasn't the team's best game.
20:26It wasn't like the Boston game six where you wouldn't have wanted to change anything.
20:31But they did win.
20:32And they won at home.
20:33Yeah, right.
20:34Right.
20:35So.
20:35And it wasn't that stressful.
20:37Right.
20:38On the scoreboard.
20:39All right, Paul.
20:40Well, thanks for taking our questions.
20:41And we'll talk tomorrow.
20:44We should do it at a podium if I'm taking questions.
20:47I mean, come on.
20:48I imagine you at a podium right now.
20:50That's how I've been picturing this.
20:53That backdrop behind you with the sponsors, even though we can't see it.
20:55Right.
20:56They're not getting their money's worth.
20:57No.
20:57Well, it just says Ralex Honda.
21:00Ralex, we got this.
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