Would Sabres season be different had Patrick Kane come home?

Would Sabres season be different had Patrick Kane come home?

Holy cow it’s been a minute but the Sabers for the first time in like a year that I’m talking to you are on a win streak over the Hurricanes we’ll talk that we’ll talk Patrick Kane and new Sabers news that fans are going to love coming up here in the lock on Sabers

Podcast you’re locked on Sabers your daily podcast on the Buffalo Sabers part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and thanks for making locked on Sabers your first listen every day we’re free and available wherever you get your podcast part of the locked on podcast

Network your team every day today’s episode of the show brought to you by sleeper download the sleeper app use the promo code locked on NHL to get up to a $100 match on your first deposit terms and conditions apply see sleepers terms of use for details the Sabers win 3-2

Shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes it is their first win streak of the entire season they have not been on a win streak since that last couple of weeks last year as Devon Levi showed up almost willed them to the playoffs they’ve not had a win streak since then

I’m at least using win streak to mean three games or more back-to-back wins twice in a row not counting for this so for streak of the year for the Savers and hopefully they string that together as they are about to play a brutal portion of their schedule but we’ll talk

About the game how the Sabers played it was more than just the win I thought they played extremely well and one line has stolen my heart for the Savers holy cow this pton Krebs Zack Benson and JJ petka line I got some numbers on how impressive they have been in only a

Couple of games so far also little bit later in the show I’ve seen this on social media a lot in the last 24 hours so I want to dive in a little bit on Patrick Kane who scored in overtime for Detroit last night in his return to

Chicago crazy moment he goes in on a breakaway he scores against his former team they give him a standing ovation as the game’s number one star after because it’s his first time home and the the Blackhawks are out of everything anyway so what do they care so the red are now

On a five game win streak want to talk a little bit about them but more so the what if game that I’m seeing a lot of of what if Kane had signed with the Sabers and revisiting my take on that and others takes on you know Kane and why

You know it was a risk but it’s paid off for the Red Wings all of that coming up you can join us on our subtext our locked on Sabers text line to sign up you go to join sub.com loock ons saers couple of things that I noticed on the

Text line over the last couple of hours um this was a commentary on the after the win last night if they somehow win their next two and Tampa bay loses both I’d start scoreboard watching again and consider them buyers that’d be seven points out with two games in hand at the

Deadline but if this team gets me to scoreboard watching again I swear to God I’ll be so mad uh that’s from one listener little bit wondering about the deadline I want to do a little bit more on that this week of how close do they have to be to the playoffs by deadline

Time to start to think about maybe not even buying but more maybe more so not selling um that listener also went on to say that they play better against better teams and they’re on the road Florida and Tampa this week Tuesday and Thursday the sa schedule both teams on the back

Toback when they get to Tampa which means no vasileski recall Levi that will be interesting to what I think think they do this weekend the sabes will have their first backto back in a long time they have actually that they’ve not had a back-to-back since January 23rd and

24th and Levi did play the second of those two games that was over a month ago and since Levi’s been crushing it in Rochester lucan’s been crushing it in Buffalo the two goalies are doing as well as you could hope in the last month given where they’re playing so we’ll see

I want to guess Levi gets one of the two on the weekend but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it the news of the day the Sabers announced something that we had heard about we had seen reported by Tim Graham of the athletic back in

The summer but now we got it official a new roof and a new scoreboard for the Sabers that investment coming from Terry Pula as ownership is on the hook for 100% of Renovations at the Sabers Arena that’s the lease that they signed way back when so Pula putting his own money

Into the arena building a new roof building a new scoreboard a lot of well what about the seats what about The Concourse there are other things that it sounds like they are going to tackle next but they can’t do it all in one offseason so what it sounds like to me

Is this offseason they’re going to do the roof which is maybe Priority One because it’s the infrastructure of the building itself they’re going to go after the scoreboard because that’s very outdated and then it’s I’m hoping that the next off season it’s going to be a little bit of The Concourse it’s going

To be the seats they already did the food a little bit last off season so all that ahead but this is good news the scoreboard will be more uh I think visible to fans I mean the roof’s gonna be visible but the scoreboard will look more like the one you’ve seen in Toronto

It’s not going to be this Mega scoreboard jumbo toron like they have in Tampa that stretches for like the whole ice um and looks like just four monster flat screen TVs it is going to be more of the square shape but it looks like it’s LED all the way around and

Something that I will appreciate and I know some fans that sit a little bit down low will appreciate often is they’re going to put TV screens the big screens under the Jumbotron pointing down angled down at the fans that are sending really low so it’s not like if

You want to see the replay you got to stare straight up like you’re in the front row of a movie theater so scoreboard is going to be nice it’s not gonna be the best in hockey but it’s going to be severely updated based on where they’re at right now I saw one

Texter text in a funny comment that this team basically went the entirety of that that jumbot tron’s history without making the playoffs I think it was only one or two times that they made the playoffs with that Jumbotron which is pretty incredible um the roof I don’t

Know that you you’ll probably notice a difference I mean I don’t know what color it’s going to be on the inside I don’t know if it’s going to be lower I think it might be a good idea to lower the ceiling so that it gets more it’ll

Push the sound down and also it might feel a little bit more I don’t know like that Madison Square gardenesque feel I mean you’re not going to get that but maybe some version of that I don’t know that they plan doing anything different there we didn’t see any details on the difference

Of the roof but this might be an opportunity for them to change that up a little bit if they want the other thing that was sent out in this release there was a letter it was it was the announcements and a letter sent to fans season ticket holders by Terry Pula and

Kevin Adams expressing their disappointment with the season it’s not where they wanted to be yada y y in that they announced the scoreboard they announced the new roof and they said that the Sabres will be involved Buffalo will be involved not not Buffalo I think he said the Sabers

Organization will be involved in a NHL tent pole event that will be announced in the in a in the coming weeks what could that mean NHL tent pole event because what I’ve seen for years is that Buffalo doesn’t have the hotel space and the recent track record of the allstar

Game is that to get players to go more they want it in either me big cities or warm weather climates so I doubt that it’s going to be the All-Star Game personally it probably won’t be the draft I guess it could be again the draft what took place in Buffalo in 2016

So eight years ago um I guess they could send it back here uh I the only thing though is it’s already going to be at the sphere uh in 2024 and I haven’t seen listed anywhere 2025 I guess that’s what they could they could announce the 2025 draft but I

Doubt that too because they’ve done the draft and they’ve done it recently other tent pole events Stadium Series I don’t I don’t think that’s it because my guess is they’re waiting for the new bill Stadium to become AA aable and open and then they’ll do the Winter

Classic Ora Stadium Series at the new bill stadium so I don’t think it’s that either well what’s left tent pole event here’s my best guess my guess is that in future weeks they’re going to announce Buffalo as one of the host cities of the four nations Faceoff that the NHL is holding next

Spring now the one thing thing now it doesn’t sound like it would be the actual tournament though which I think kind of stinks and I’m only guessing at that because it was reported a couple of weeks ago that the two cities that would play host to the NHL four nations

Faceoff which is next year’s tournament between Team USA team Canada Finland and Sweden it was reported it would be Montreal and Boston but when the NHL unveiled the official uh announcement of the tournament there was no mention of Montreal or Boston all it said was that there would be two North American cities

One in Canada one in the United States so maybe there is still a chance that one of those could be Buffalo instead of Boston I love that idea because I think you could put USA versus Canada in Buffalo and you could get the best possible atmosphere imaginable where you

Could have a a portion of the crowd be Team U uh us fans and a portion of the crowd be Canadian fans I experienced this when I went to The Outdoor World Junior game at then Ralph Wilson Stadium or maybe it was newer field then and it

Was probably like 7030 Canadian fans to American fans but having both there was really cool um and I think that would be really cool element for this so they’d have to go back on that report for Boston my other guess is maybe it would be like a pre-tournament game between

Team USA and somebody else um I don’t know they’re going to do pre-tournament games I might guess that they do because they typically do with International tournaments so I don’t know I want I’m kind of want to believe has something to do with international hockey also

Because I don’t know what else it could be I don’t think it’s draft I don’t think it’s All-Star game I don’t think it’s Stadium Series the other thing is global series but wouldn’t that be weird in like an NHL in an arena press release hey here’s this press release about the

Arena oh by the way uh two of our games are not going to even be at the arena they’re going to be off in Germany I I guess maybe that could be it twoo but it would be weird to me if that was the part of the press release either

Way just doing the best we can to guess here I’m hoping and praying that that report about Boston is wrong and that USA vers Canada will be in Buffalo because that would be awesome although fans would have a dilemma on their hands because saber fans would have to decide

Whether or not they want to Boo or cheer Jack eel if he scored a game winning goal for Team USA so just mentally prepare uh for that if we uh if we get the game one other news item to get to before we get to Savers and can and

Hurricanes the injury to Jeff Skinner that happened at practice on Monday morning don’t know the severity of it he’s getting Imaging one sign that it might not be great is that they’ve already recalled Tyson Joost from Rochester to go on the trip to Florida with them don’t know if Skinner’s on the

Trip or not we’ll see probably won’t get an update until they at least land in Florida and maybe after the fact it’s worth noting Skinner’s approaching his 1000th game and by the current math if he were to miss six more than six games his 1000th game would come next

Season and if he misses less than six games his 1000th game will come at the end of this season so we’ll see what we get time out here Savers beat the Hurricanes we’ll talk about it when we come back here on the locked on Sabers podcast we are presented by Camino Consulting

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Better at the end of the year one and week uh and year one so contact kamino Consulting at Cino Consulting . CA and get on the fast track to understanding sney Jody biosi back here on the locked on Sabers podcast the Sabres win 3-2 over the Montreal or

Montreal keep doing that the Carolina Hurricanes the canes the canes are from Carolina obviously a shootout win how about Uka lukanin the guys learned everything over the offseason he’s been awesome the sabes I saw have the fewest goals allowed since January first and that’s thanks in large part to UPL the

One thing he was horrible at in the past that I thought he might never learn is shootouts and here he is in this shootout the Hurricanes go 0 for four one of those did Miss but part of that is maybe Lucan and positionally too taking less away whatever Lucan and did

Great throughout the game 30 saves on 32 shots it’s another strong performance from UPL if they want to make any sort of run he’s going to need to keep playing like this but he has been playing like this uh so super impressed by him the Sabers in this game so I

Actually thought they played really well I didn’t think it was gonna happen though at the beginning of the game it’s Carolina it’s a team that has dominated the Sabers it’s one of the best possession teams in hockey one of the most consistent teams in the league for

Five years running and there they are 240 into the game scoring a tic-tac-toe goal by Anthony De Angelo that slides under Lucan in which is a save he probably should have made even though it was a great scoring chance and it’s oh here we go one nothing already this

Game’s gonna get out of hand the boob birds are going to be out and from really that moment on I thought the Sabers hung in there and played stride for stride with Carolina from minute three of the game to minute 65 of the game and they got on the scoreboard the

Couple of times they needed to defensively I thought they were even really strong at limiting Carolina’s chances they were getting some of their own Skinner scores in this game on the power play some nice movement the Sabers power play has been a little bit better in the last couple of weeks so Skinner

Got his 19th against his former team he scored a couple of goals recently that Montreal game got him going Martin NIS on the power play himself with about five minutes to go so this is where I think saber fans thought oh here we go Dalene crashes the net like you’d want

Every player to do go hard to the net take the puck to the front be willing to take a hit and try to create a goal well here’s Dalene doing that driving to the net like a power forward and trying to create a goal he gets shoved a little

Bit from behind and he goes into the Carolina goenda uh Martin Spencer Martin in this game he gets a a penalty Dalene and I didn’t like that at all I thought that there should have probably been no call because both guys had some responsibility maybe you even call them

Both there either way should not have had a Carolina power play with five minutes to go refs are at or the crowds after the refs and pretty early on in that power play Carolina scores to make it two to one and you might have expected the Sabers were just gonna fold

There and there’s my guy Payton Krebs ready to to make a play he goes in he gets the puck behind the net with only you know only a minute after the nich’s goal and he holds he holds he he waits for guys to drop down he finds an open

Owen power puts it right in his wheelhouse and Power in his first game back from injury puts it past Martin on the blocker side to tie the game at two and Krebs in that line have to me been the biggest difference in this team in the last week that’s a real legitimate

Third line that is playing I think better than any Sabers third line of the season if you look at there was the the game the other night where they were their best line here’s another one where they’re on the ice for 11 minutes of five on five time they had 17 shot

Attempts the opponent had 10 they had uh expected goals uh 53% they had seven scoring chances to the opponent’s three in this one high danger it was two to one they outplayed their opponent every stretch of the way they had the best numbers top to bottom of all those Sabers and when I’m

Watching them it’s the speed but it’s that all three just kind of have this this way of playing off one another they’re always moving their feet and that’s Krabs and petka are very active players kind of like the combo those two are active and are very quick they are

Agile Benson I feel like has still got a ways to go with his skating but Benson plays angles well and Benson uses space well so when you get two quick guys all three know how to pass really well and that is a big key here is all three are

Great passers and it’s rare to me when you watch them they’re putting one in the skates it’s easier to lose the puck it’s easier to turn it over when you throw a pass in a guy skates and now he’s got to stop he’s got to Corral it

And then he’s got to look up and by that time because the NHL is so fast the guy’s already taken it from you or he’s hit you or he’s put you in a spot where you’re about to turn it over these guys are efficient these guys put it on the

Tape they know where each other are going I think you keep rolling with it they didn’t look great I think in the first game of the that they played together but in the couple since I think they have been the saber’s best line and I would hope that they keep that line

Together and maybe it could even be a line for the future right Krebs could kind of help push middle stat out the door because if you’ve got Thompson up top at line Center Center one you’ve got cousins at Center two and if Krabs continues to show I got the third spot I

Didn’t you didn’t I should have never been a fourth line Center I’m good as a third line Center if that’s the case middle stat is still very good on the wing but you don’t value him as much because you don’t need him to play center for you and there are other teams

Out there that will value him as a top six centerman and that’s where you would want to cash in if kevs continues to show I got this you don’t even need Kik who’s gonna show up at some point you don’t even need seavoy I got this to be

Your third de line Center on this young line maybe I went too far on Twitter comparing them to Roy vanck and a fenov but I see comparables in all three pka’s got a lot of ainan off on him in him it’s up and down the ice Tons of Speed

Tons of chances Roy to Krabs you know little uh Roy was this more so at the beginning little bit of a a scrappy player a good two-way centerman but also really small but kind of plays above his weight a little bit and a good playmaker

Roy to KBS right that’s a good one and then you’ve got Benson de vanic I mean Benson has got a long ways to go but you know well I’ll just say that I’ll leave it at that he’s got a long ways to go to be the vanic part of that but I think

That line has you know some traits that remind me of uh of that amazing kid line from 0607 so uh by the way expected goals for percentage on the season for all of these lines um among lines that have played a significant amount together it’s like one of their best three lines

On the season in fact actually of lines that have played 30 minutes or more together a five on five ice time they’re the best line of the season the they expected goals four they have not had a better line all year than Krabs Benson and PCO when we come back Pat Kane

Should we be doing any looking back at that after the the Run he’s had here with Detroit we’ll talk about it next here on the locked on Savers podcast we are presented by sleeper it’s and you know nearing the end point of that uh of the regular season and things are not

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Terms R views for details and locational availability final segment here in the lockdown Sabers podcast thanks for making us your first listen every day let’s play the whatif game why not what if the Savers had signed Patrick Kane and the reason we are playing this game today is because Kane went back to

Chicago scored overtime great moment it was the moment of the league that uh um on Monday night or um Sunday night Kane now this season after months and months of everybody it almost everybody um most including myself at least questioning if not doubting whether he could ever get back

To 80% of the player that he used to be so just to hit the rewind button for a moment to rewind back to September and uh October when we would have talked about this my reasoning for saying no to Patrick Kane would have been and by the

Way I’m not the sabes the Sabers wanted Kane the reason I said no was two things one hip injury that nobody’s come back from the sample the history of that hip injury and surgery that c had says you’re never getting back to playing at the same level and you’re

Probably not playing at all because guys like Ed Janowski Ryan Kessler Nicholas Backstrom if Backstrom is indeed done which it sounds like he is all three of those guys and others have had their careers ended by that injury and that surgery all three tried to come back and

Play none of the three were able to do it Backstrom again started the season couldn’t do it two if Kane was going to be useful the thing you could trust the most to be useful was the power play and give me a little bit of slack at the time right at

The beginning of the season I don’t think we had the worries with the power play that we certainly do now I mean hindsight’s 2020 I yeah Kane would have helped them especially because their power play has took a big D you know Kane though as a power play

Specialist I mean they’re third from the bottom would Kane have had them in the top five probably not that much of an impact but could he have gotten them to the middle of the pack what about even 20th instead of 28th how about just a little bit more on the power play this

Season that alone would have would have been useful from Patrick Kane he’s got 28 points points in 27 games he is scoring goals he is at a 14% shooting percentage that is the highest of his career since 2016 highest in seven years is really the way I should have put that

He’s playing 18 minutes a night so he’s playing a solid amount of minutes not the 22 he once played in Chicago but a good amount and Detroit’s winning they are fifth uh they won five uh straight games and if you look at how they’re winning they’re getting saves little bit

Unsustainable but for now they’re getting saves Alex lion is playing a lot and they’re scoring on the power play and Kane’s not all that Kane’s actually been a good five on five player too I don’t want to make it sound like he’s a one-dimensional player that’s what we

Thought he would be he’s giving that power play production and he’s helping out five on five on top of that so yeah looking back he would have helped the Sabres this year he definitely would have Ali Crow on that I doubted that he could come back from

That injury but he has and good for him he is on a line that is really helping him with Dylan Lin and Alex to Brink it he wanted the play to Brink it so the Sabers never had that in the first place and let’s be real like I saw one comment

Yesterday which is understandable that we should despise him because he’s from Buffalo and he chose against the sabes timing hurt the Savers here maybe if the injury hadn’t B is longterm for Kane or if he had started the process if he had got surgery at the deadline last

Year instead of after the season and he’s ready for the beginning of the year maybe he’s a buffalo saber all year long but he got to see a month of the year Pat Kane got to see one month of hockey before making his decision and how can

You blame Patrick Kane for watching the first month of the saber season and going yeah I don’t think so I’m not really confident this is going to work how could you blame him it didn’t look good and for a team that’s been so poor for 13 years I would understand why he

Wouldn’t think that this was going to happen here Detroit played better the first month of the year and they’ve maintained that he’s helped it along so where would he have played even uh that’s a good another good question that you could ask yourself I’m thinking maybe like cousins and P he could have

Filled in for Jack quinnn All Season again it’s not the sab’s fault they tried to sign him but they needed to have a better first month and maybe they would have been able to pull it off and he probably would be helping them a lot right now would he get them in the

Playoffs probably not but they might actually be in the race who knows all right that’s goingon to do it for us today here on the locked on Sabers podcast we’ll keep you updated on whatever this tent pole event is that the Sabers got going on be sure to make

Uh lock on sports today your your next listen here on the lock do podcast Network the first ever 247 streaming Channel on YouTube it’s now available as well on Amazon Fire TV and the free Fire TV channels app next up Sabers at panthers in Florida we’ll talk about it

Next time here in the locked on Sabers podcast join our group chat go to join sub tex.com loock ons saers we’ll talk to you tomorrow here on the lockon saers podcast

The Sabres are on a three-game win streak, their first of the season, after beating the Hurricanes in a shootout! Sneaky Joe talks Benson-Krebs-Peterka, which has been the Sabres best line for a week.

Plus, the Sabres are getting a new scoreboard and roof, and would the season have been any different if Patrick Kane had come home?

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