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00:00things that are all here to talk about hockey's first so let's jump into that sure so we've got
00:06some updates from practice today uh according to our own paul hamilton there was uko peka
00:13lukinen in the starters net so it appears that the goalie rotation is back and here to stay for now
00:20um and we'll i'll run through this stuff and then we'll we can kind of pick where we want to
00:24sit
00:25and and and discuss uh so there's lukinen in tonight it looks like kulik looks like he's
00:31going to be in for mcleod who is one of the two players i came in yesterday really kind of
00:36hot
00:36about after the really disappointing loss to the senators on wednesday uh wednesday night uh so i'm
00:43i'm pleased to see that i mentioned yesterday i'm always pleased when it feels like lindy ruff agrees
00:49with something i'm thinking and clearly he was also frustrated with with ryan mcleod and he paul's
00:56got a quote here said he understands why he's out of the lineup and quote from mcleod yeah knows he
01:01hasn't been good enough in both ends of the ice they're gonna you know they they gave him some
01:06stuff to work on and he's gonna try and figure it out um so that's that's there i think that's
01:11a
01:11positive and we've also got connor timmons re-entering the lineup in the place of louis crevier
01:17tonight um i think crevier's had a bit of a rocky start it hasn't been great they did sign him
01:23to a
01:24four-year deal before he ever played a minute for the team which is not looking great right now but
01:29it's it's it's a deal that's never really going to kill you anyways so i'm not that worried about it
01:33so timmons in for crevier that's big uh and then there was also norris was discussed and lindy talked
01:41about how he needs to see his chances go up and there's a better there's a better josh norris
01:47in there um which is the other guy that i came in here yesterday really hot about you started on
01:53norris more and then mcleod got some of the yeah well after but but it's the it's the salary there
01:59right it's like these are the two guys that are killing me and one of them is the highest paid
02:03forward so he he took the brunt of it but you seem like you'd be satisfied with this this move
02:10right yes i i am because i think with mcleod he has been i think actively hurting you more
02:17than norris has norris has just been a zero whereas mcleod has actively like harmed the team
02:24in some ways and so i think it's easier just because of that to get to norris and then you
02:30also add in that he's your highest paid forward and it's a lot easier to get to like all right
02:35we're
02:36gonna put mcleod up there so i'm gonna you know i'm gonna see mcleod walking around the press box
02:40there's nothing jarring about that to the team the franchise the fan base nothing so yeah mcleod's
02:45not playing tonight that's fine yeah that makes sense when you do that to norris that's a bigger
02:49statement so that's right this is what you try first right and yeah exactly that's right you you
02:53try this first you get whatever i don't know how many games it'll be if it'll be one or if
02:57it'll be
02:58five we have no idea i think it depends on how the team plays um but if if you do
03:03that and it
03:04doesn't work and norris is still struggling that's when you might go like all right we tried the other
03:09guy it's your turn you've been a disaster and and by that point you're deeper into the year and like
03:16that's when you send that message of like listen come on with this with the two and that's to the
03:22whole group yeah that's to everybody and so that's one of the things like i i i found myself really
03:30thinking about yesterday as i drove home after we did the show i was thinking a lot about
03:36how this year has gone and how it's sort of it's it's strange you're getting jumps from guys you
03:43wanted jumps from you are getting a a rise in play like zach benson has i would say matched his
03:50his
03:51play from last playoffs like he is great team mvp at this point maybe right pretty close close
03:58forward mvp forward mvp absolutely yeah i mean i would definitely say and and he's only what two
04:03goals but that's not the point at all tons of assists just everything and so impactful up and
04:09down the ice he's he's unbelievable it's like you're you're getting what you wanted out of benson
04:13you're also i would say getting what you wanted out of osland most of it because he's been really
04:18good i maybe i'd like him to have another goal or two but like i if you had told me
04:23this is what
04:23osland would be for me heading into the year i'm like signing up right because he's been 10 years
04:29of this he's been their best 200 foot forward yeah benson i think has been the most impactful
04:34in terms of generation and like he impacts the game a lot but osland is just as steady as they
04:41come
04:41so you're getting that like check check on those two which i i think is big like those are the
04:48two
04:48biggest young guys aside from doan i would say that you needed to come through this season
04:54but you're not getting anything from your veterans which is what everybody was worried about losing
05:00everybody was freaking out about like how they're young again they're so young again and the two most
05:07frustrating forwards right now are two of your most veteran guys in norris and mcleod and that
05:16it's really i think it's really surprising and it's probably really frustrating to be in that
05:21organization and know like we made this bet that these kids were going to work out and some of them
05:26are working enough of them are working out that they should be working but our guys that are supposed
05:30to be pros are the assumptions that we made right yeah that's not like what do we do come on
05:35i needed i
05:36was counting on you mcleod norris like i i really was banking on you working because we let one guy
05:43go
05:44and we're banking on all these kids and the kids are coming through some of them i don't again i
05:48want
05:48to qualify that it's not over the top success but it's all right if i would tell you that if
05:53you told
05:54me if you sat me down before the season started and said this is the level of play you're going
05:59to
05:59get out of benson and ostland both i would tell you i think that they're all set because i would
06:04be
06:04making the same assumption that josh norris isn't nobody and ryan mcleod isn't actively harming the
06:11team every night but they are and that makes the forward group feel a lot less deep and have a
06:17lot
06:17less room for error in goaltending in defensively and in all these other places that i think it's
06:24it's making it really difficult so while we're aware that mcleod will not play tonight i would like
06:29you owen parker to yell at him some more he's already in timeout sure um but i would like you
06:35to
06:35yell at him some more about what you mean when you say actively hurting the team because you have
06:40said that 20 times in the last three days about one player who lindy ruff agrees it's time to put
06:48him in the press box for a night so tell me what you mean by actively harming the team well
06:53uh let's
06:54start in the ozone i'll start there he is not ever shooting the puck he has never shot the puck
07:00and that's frustrating but that is something you sort of understand with this player but when you
07:05compound that with poor puck decisions when he's electing not to shoot the puck that are turning
07:11into giveaways and 50 50 battles that don't need to be that that's a big problem that is you're
07:18blowing up offensive possessions which is a big part of what makes this team good is holding the puck in
07:24the ozone creating chaos letting the d fly around and he's getting the puck on his stake and it's it's
07:30going to the other team way more often than it should uh neutral zone wise it feels at times like
07:37he's lost to me he doesn't he does not like play his role necessarily it depends on where you are
07:43in
07:44the four check but there are often times where i feel like i'm watching him do a job that somebody
07:48else on the ice is already doing and that gets you into trouble in transition where you can get beat
07:54an odd man rushes and it's too easy to gain the blue line on you and that that flips the
08:00game in a
08:01quieter way but in a very impactful way and then in the d zone i mean the the face-off
08:08play that ties
08:09the game against ottawa he loses a draw stands there and watches his center beat him to the net
08:19doesn't get a stick on the guy on a rebound and watches him bury the puck and like that's happened
08:25too much he's not doing the 200 foot thing that you expect of him and that it comes with him
08:33as advertised that's the job that's what he needs to do and he's not and that kind of thing where
08:39he
08:39like not only do you lose the draw okay but stay with your guy not only do you not stay
08:44with your guy
08:45okay you're behind him at least have your stick near him to try to take a hook and call something
08:51and you're not even there you're you're you're watching the play and just and then your head
08:57goes up and you're skating like that and i've seen him do that 20 times this season and that
09:04once your head's up your speed isn't there and that's the best thing he's got is he's super duper
09:08fast yeah and like the speed when he's carrying the puck with speed he's often like just carrying it
09:14into defenders and just losing it and like the all the good stuff is not there with him right now
09:20and it's it's getting egregious and that's why he's going to be in the press box watching the game
09:24tonight where i am and that gets coolie back involved which is cool because um he's on that
09:32list of the young players we trust to take the next step and blah blah blah um despite the fact
09:38that
09:38he wasn't a part of it last year because he was out um but he's back and i mean nothing
09:45nothing has
09:46really happened with him yet this year but i still i like the vibe i like the look of him
09:51being a part
09:52of this roster and you know maybe maybe it starts ramping up tonight maybe that's the move but i mean
09:58he's got the ability to keep either keep mcleod out or find somebody else that needs to be out but
10:06he's got the ability to keep himself he's in he's got the ability to stay in that's right um he's
10:11he's
10:12here to play he's not here to sit especially you know young player does not belong in the press box
10:17um so he you know i'll certainly have my eye on him tonight same and and him more than anybody
10:25else
10:25for me has got like i i was ready i was ready for him to take some time because he
10:33missed all last
10:34season and that can really derail you and so i i came into this season like i need benson to
10:40be good
10:40right away i kind of i i need ostland to be good right away i need doan to be good
10:45right away and i
10:46need that that's really it those three i needed to be good right away and kulik i i said like
10:53that
10:53would be great if he gets there i don't think he's going to start there no we've got time for
10:58that he kind of did start hot like he scored in early on in the season and like was playing
11:03well
11:03he's got right back onto the first line maybe three games into the year and then it kind of
11:09faded a bit and then he got hurt and it was like okay well this we'll see you we'll see
11:14you later
11:14we'll talk about this and so that's one guy i've got some hope for that and they they talked i
11:21i
11:21don't know if i've ever you know i haven't been doing this that long brad but i haven't ever seen
11:26a team push out that they love a guy as much as the sabers pushed out that they love kulik
11:32this
11:33summer i heard it all the time non-stop from sources telling me that people telling me that they had
11:40other people tell me that social public every everybody that you could ask that had any connection
11:46to the sabers was like yeah they really like kulik they think kulik's gonna be awesome and there's
11:51some part of me that is skeptical of that because i'm like are you saying that because you really want
11:58him to feel confident right there is a are we encouraging him or or do you actually believe
12:03that he's that good but i think both can be true because he was their first line center between
12:09benson and thompson at the end when he when he went out of the lineup with the blood clots right
12:15and so like they they he is capable of playing that high in their plan and they like him there
12:21and so you know i believe that part of it and that's great so i i think that he's a
12:26guy that
12:27could very quickly all of a sudden be like oh there we go there's there's a guy to score and
12:33really
12:34how much further are they away than one guy other than quinn and thompson getting hot from this team
12:41feeling great right that's really it it's a player or it's the power play which seems to be
12:47in a better i know two to one no good it's getting there but two games in a row where
12:51it was like oh
12:52that's right it is easier to score when we have five and you have four and that should be obvious
12:58and
12:58that should happen all the time but it it just hasn't been that way from the start of the season
13:02but
13:02uh kind of falling into that and you're right finding one other dude who is hey look at this guy
13:09he he scored you know three goals in the last two games or whatever where it's not just tage and
13:15it's not just uh jacklin right and i i think that that's exciting so there's a lot going tonight for
13:23them seven o'clock face off against the columbus blue jackets that's a big one we're going to talk
13:28to sal coming up here at 12 30 get get his thoughts on everything going on the bills really long
13:35injury
13:35report which we've got to kind of dig into and see what what is really early injury report too like
13:41it's because it's a monday game like we're on friday and we're talking about a thursday thing
13:46that should be a wednesday thing and wednesday injury reports are kind of bloated if you will
13:52so that's what we're dealing with right now the new one won't be out until probably after the show
13:56is over that one came out at like five o'clock yesterday so right um that's what we'll uh we'll
14:01deal
14:01with um yeah i don't i are they fine are the sabers fine fine is the right word because we're
14:12like
14:12fine is right they are far removed from the hell of a conversation we did the dylan larkin thing for
14:19a couple days and that still is i mean it's still there but we're not living in the world where
14:25here's what they need to do what yeah they need to scratch mcleod and bring back coolique and see
14:30how that works because they're fine so they get a little bit better than fine then they're very
14:35very fine right like it'll it but it's it's a confusing team to watch and follow and interpret
14:45at this point in the season because they win more than they lose and often when they lose
14:52you still get a point like that's happened so they're like they're all right yeah i get out of
14:58that get out of that and when does that start hopefully over a three-game home stretch where
15:02i know they've been better on the road than home but i don't know it seems to make sense you
15:07want
15:07to fix it you want to establish home ice though like that's that matters and so you you want to
15:13you want to get that on track um yeah fine fine is right they're not terrible they're not even really
15:21bad they're they're in a really tough division that makes it feel like what they're doing is bad
15:26and that that that can mean that it's bad because that's how you make the playoffs but this early i
15:35think you are fine with where they're at and there's been buzz still about like i saw a report from
15:41chris
15:41johnston that like yarmo's out there looking at stuff he's made a lot of calls uh there's some stuff in
15:47columbus like yarmo i guess was in columbus and there's been a couple of weird uh ahl moves like
15:55sending guys down calling guys up that typically indicate precursors to trades um so there's a very
16:02small part of me keeping an eye on that and maybe that's why mcleod's out tonight but i was gonna
16:06ask
16:06if there was any part of it that crossed your mind yeah it definitely has crossed it's definitely there i
16:12i think it's likely just he's stunk so he's scratched tonight you were screaming for him to
16:17not play now he's not playing so you're gonna be like what's going on here yeah exactly but i think
16:21that there are there's smoke like there's stuff going on in columbus there's reports about yarmo
16:26making a lot of calls right now i i think they are still looking for a scoring winger like i
16:31i still think
16:32they're on the hunt for that um and and columbus has a guy like that vronkov is a is a
16:37player that
16:37they're trying to move actively and they haven't been able to find a deal for but it you know that
16:44could make sense mcleod for that guy would you know be a somewhat sensible deal i don't think that
16:51that's coming though i haven't heard rumblings about it myself necessarily but there's like i said
16:56there's smoke um but yeah they're they're fine they're fine um if you want to disagree 8030550 please
17:03i i would love to hear why you think they're not or why you think they're better
17:06um i i don't know how you make that case right now but i i think that they're okay and
17:12they've
17:12just gotta they've gotta get this all the way on track and all that takes is is a good two
17:17weeks
17:18and that can start tonight so you've got to find your way to finding consistency and finding your
17:26identity which we know lindy ruff talked about being a thing that he was thinking about for this team
17:33and i i think that wednesday night he sounded really frustrated because i think he would like
17:40a part of their identity to be being able to defend leads and they have not been able to do
17:45that this
17:46year and that that i think really frustrates him um and it would frustrate anybody but i think it's a
17:52real problem uh and and they got to figure that out too it's a upl night right yeah upl i
17:57think all
17:58i didn't like the look on your face when you said yeah well you know i'm not he was great
18:02in la in
18:03his last outing i'm not i just i think that all like just about 99 of us out there you
18:08hear upl's
18:09in tonight and there's some part of you that is bracing for impact you're bracing for the bad game
18:14it's a less exciting answer that's that's right could something happen to change it well maybe
18:21if it's ellis playing or if lion's back or whatever when it's upl like all right okay good luck like
18:28it's not even bracing for impact it's i don't even know what the upside is and this is not me
18:35bashing
18:35him just like from a mental standpoint when i know that it's a colton ellis night like all right this
18:41could be a thing that changes the trajectory of this whole situation and when it's a upl night
18:48i hope he plays really well but i also don't want that to mean okay he's gonna play five straight
18:53games like he did a couple weeks back um but yeah i mean he's it's his turn he's gonna play
19:01turn and
19:02it seems like that's gonna be where we're at uh that gets a lot more difficult when when lion returns
19:07because you can't go you know lucan and lion ellis lucan and lion no no that's not feasible no all
19:13three of them well i've been using what you said to me on the air or maybe it was off
19:18it's probably
19:18on the air but i've been using it in real life conversation when people ask me what's going on
19:22with the sabers and i i refer to owen said but i think this is right right now upl and
19:31ellis are
19:33competing to make sure that they're not the one who loses a start to alex lion when alex lion comes
19:40back
19:40and i think that's exactly the right point to make nobody is winning this job full time
19:47right now no it's not now with lion coming back right i'm sure lindy would love to fall into a
19:54thing where it's like well clearly this is my guy and he's going to play 70 of the games and
19:59my
19:59backup's going to play 30 of the games he would love to fall into that yeah but until further notice
20:04that is a pipe dream like that is so far away from what's actually happening so the reality is
20:11these two dudes are competing with each other to hold off the possibility of alex lion starting
20:18over them when he's ready to return because as soon as he's ready to play he's playing a game
20:24but is he playing on a you what should be a upl night or what should be an ellis night
20:29and i i am
20:30taking that until proven false i am using your idea there and presenting it not as my own but presenting
20:39it as a fully formed opinion by a smart hockey goalie guy that i hang out with for 10 hours
20:45a
20:45week well thank you very much i appreciate that and yeah i think that that's to me that's pretty
20:50clear um that those two are fighting to figure that out and we'll see we'll see i think ellis was
20:56great the other night so lucan and you're up to bat beat him out go win a game tonight and
21:02maybe you
21:02can pull ahead in the race again but if you don't then guess who comes back on sunday
21:08colton ellis right he comes back on sunday almost no matter what barring a shutout but i i would say
21:14i would even ask i'd be like a great shutout right not even just a shutout a real one yeah
21:19i think he's
21:20got to play really well in order to earn that this this this weekend so we'll see we'll see where
21:25that
21:25ends up uh it is pizza friday here at wgr it's pizza friday on wgr 550 brought to you by
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21:37joey's pizza buffalo.com and click code wgr25 at checkout they don't even talk about this in their
21:44commercials but they have like a nine dollar lunch special like two slices and a drink this and it's
21:49awesome yeah um and it's halfway between my house and here that's good however since i've started
21:56doing this show the full four hour thing because i was doing one to three so i was driving here
22:01starving
22:02every day now it's like breakfast time so i haven't been stopping since i started doing the thing at 10
22:08o'clock but i went there twice in like six days because it was a surprise well they just opened
22:15i was
22:16check this place out and then it was a nine dollar delicious surprise then i had to do it again
22:20a few
22:21days later and then my my time switched so now i'm here yeah i'm not going there at 8 30
22:26in the morning
22:27you know um but i would and pizza friday is awesome it's all here it is awesome quick time out
22:32it is
22:33middays with brad tim and owen driven by norhtown automotive and brought to you in part by tim hortons
22:39the official coffee of the morning show and of wgr tailgates and kind of the whole station
22:45but that's not what they asked me to say so i just say it sometimes but i shouldn't i break
22:50i break
22:51rules i'm i'm not good at this uh we'll be right back it's middays on wgr
22:55you