Locked On Sabres - Daily Podcast On The Buffalo Sabres

There are going to be big trade ideas for the Buffalo Sabres in the summer of 2026, but none will be bigger than trading for Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. There is plenty of reason to believe Hellebuyck wants to be done in Winnipeg and wants to go somewhere where he can win the Stanley Cup. The Sabres should be one of the teams on the list. Sneaky Joe believes if Hellebuyck were to b...

Alex Tuch is the big story of the offseason for the Buffalo Sabres, but he might not be who GM Jarmo Kekäläinen is prioritizing first. With reports that Jarmo and Bo Byram's agent will meet next week to talk extension, it's time to figure out what a long-term deal looks like for Byram. Should Byram want to stay in Buffalo as a second pair defenseman for the long haul? A Byram extension would seemi...

The Buffalo Sabres lost their series to the Montréal Canadiens in large part because their goaltenders got out played. Will the Sabres bring back all of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis next season? Both Jarmo Kekäläinen and Lindy Ruff sounded like that is their plan in their end of season press conferences. Is this the right move? Are there ideas this summer to improve on the tri...

The Buffalo Sabres dream season has finally come to an end at the hands of Alex Newhook and the Montréal Canadiens in overtime of Game 7. A total heartbreaking end to a season no one will ever forget. The Sabres were the better team in Game 7, dominating play for at least 50 minutes, but once again in this series it was goaltending that made all the difference. Jakub Dobeš made big time saves down...

The Buffalo Sabres facing elimination go to Montréal and stampede the Canadiens with an 8-3 win. It was arguably the most complete playoff game the Sabres have played all playoffs, with the only negative being Alex Lyon in the first period. Led by a five-point night by Rasmus Dahlin and another stellar performance from Zach Benson, the Sabres new look lineup came to play. Especially the new top li...

Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Four guys that are expected to be the best at their positions on the Buffalo Sabres. Four guys that all let the team down in some way in a 6-3 Game 5 loss to the Montréal Canadiens. Tuch has some of the worst numbers for the series that you could possible imagine. Tage and Dahlin continue to take dumb penalties. And UPL does what UPL d...

The Buffalo Sabres had to battle horrible officiating, a bad overturned goal, a rockus atmosphere, and still came away with a massive Game 4 win over the Montréal Canadiens. With lots of changes to the lineup, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Konsta Helenius entered the series and both played fantastic. Helenius earned staying in the lineup going forward, almost scoring multiple times. Did UPL earn stayin...

The Buffalo Sabres got run out of the Bell Centre in Game 3, losing 6-2 to the Canadiens, getting thoroughly outplayed once again. Why are the Sabres getting dominated over the last two games? Is there any hope going forward in the series? A breakdown of the goals against shows big warts by Logan Stanley and Conor Timmins. It may be time to sit one of the two third pair defensemen down and put Zac...

The Buffalo Sabres came out with one of their worst efforts in a long long time in Game 2 against the Montréal Canadiens, led by one of the worst games we've seen Tage Thompson play in his career. Thompson was turning the puck over, failing to get anything going offensively, and simply falling down. Not to mention, Rasmus Dahlin was also at the scene of the crime on a horrific goal to give up to A...

The Buffalo Sabres take Game 1 at home over the Montréal Canadiens, scoring four times, showing off their depth of offense. An incredible outing from the likes of Zach Benson, Jordan Greenway, and Bo Byram leads the way, while the Canadiens couldn't get much from their top line. What did Lindy Ruff do to limit Montréal's top guys? The Tage Thompson line may not have appeared to play well, but the...

What to the Buffalo Sabres have to do to advance past the Montréal Canadiens? From line matchups, to the goaltending battle, to special teams, Sneaky Joe and Ian Boisvert from Locked On Canadiens get into all the nooks and crannies of this matchup, which is as close to even as it gets. A look back on how both these teams got here shows two very similar style teams, that get to that style in differ...

The Buffalo Sabres and Montréal Canadiens meet in Round 2! A series everyone is excited for, filled with speed and skill. The Sabres have advantages in the depths of their forward group and the top of their blueline, but what disadvantages will they have to overcome? Sneaky Joe points to shutting down the Montréal top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovský or even just breaking e...

The Buffalo Sabres are headed to the second round! A Game 6 win in Boston clinches the series, led by two DAWG efforts by Josh Doan and Zach Benson, who connected on a huge goal in the 3rd period. The Sabres showed once again that they are were the better team in this series, outplaying the Bruins once again, dominating possession even while leading in the 3rd. The Sabres win their first series in...

The Buffalo Sabres ran the Boston Bruins out of their own building with a 6-1 blowout in Game 4! The win gives the Sabres a commanding 3-1 series lead, which they can close out on Tuesday night in Buffalo. The Sabres first period was arguably their best period of the season, scoring four goals and outshooting the Bruins by a crazy amount. Peyton Krebs, Josh Doan, Zach Benson, and Bowen Byram got t...

The Buffalo Sabres lead the Boston Bruins 2-1 in their playoff series after Lindy Ruff pushed the right buttons for his team to win Game 3 in Boston. The Sabres were able to break down the Bruins in the neutral zone and get out with speed to create chances. Lindy is making another tweak to the powerplay with Noah Östlund, while Marco Sturm is making two changes to his lineup. Will Sturm now push t...

The Buffalo Sabres grab the series lead back from the Boston Bruins in their first road game of the playoffs, led by great first games by Noah Östlund and Alex Lyon. In Östlund's first career playoff game, he was creating chances, playing responsible defensive hockey, and sealed the win with as impressive an empty net goal as you'll ever see. Östlund's game re-ignites a line with Zach Benson and J...

Lindy Ruff preached confidence and calmness after the Buffalo Sabres Game 2 loss to the Boston Bruins, but the lineup is going to see big changes going into Game 3. Starting with the goaltender. Alex Lyon will indeed get the start over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Lyon gives the Sabres a stable veteran who has had an incredible season, over UPL coming off an incredible shaky game. Lyon isn't the only cha...

The Buffalo Sabres were riding high after a Game 1 comeback win, but that all came crashing down in Game 2. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen let the team down in a big way, allowing one of the worst goals you'll ever see. But it wasn't just UPL, the Sabres offense had very few chances and didn't create the way they did in the third in Game 1.   Where had the Josh Norris and Ryan McLeod lines been? And will No...

In Game 1 against the Boston Bruins, the Sabres went 0 for 4 on the powerplay, which now makes it 0 for 26 in the month of April. The Sabres can beat the Bruins without a powerplay this series, but if they advance, they will absolutely need it to give them something to make a deep playoff run. Zone exits and faceoffs appear to be the biggest issues with their man advantage. Is there a fix for eith...

The Sabres couldn't find a way to beat Jeremy Swayman through 50 minutes in Game 1 on Sunday night, but went nuts with four goals in under seven minutes to win the first game of the series in regulation! Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson led the way with all-time nights for the Sabres. The crowd and atmosphere in the Sabres first playoff game in 15 years made Sunday night one of the best to be...

A full series preview for Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs! Sneaky Joe DiBiase and Ian McLaren from Locked On Bruins dive into the matchup and all the advantages both teams have. From the Sabres speed, to the Bruins experience and goaltending, it could very well be a competitive series, but could the Sabres make quick work of Boston? The Sabres seem to have m...

The Boston Bruins have give up as many high danger chances as almost any team in the NHL this season. The Sabres, meanwhile, are a team built on the quality of their scoring chances. Seems like a good matchup for Buffalo! A look at which defensemen give up the most shows Nikita Zadorov, Andrew Peeke, and Mason Lohrei are the three defensemen the Sabres could take advantage of the most. While Charl...

The Buffalo Sabres have their first round playoff opponent! Many fans were hoping for the Boston Bruins, and indeed it will be the Boston Bruins. Our first look at the Bruins shows an inferior roster, carried by one superstar forward and one star defenseman in David Pastrňák and Charlie McAvoy. However, Jeremy Swayman is a goaltender that could steal a series on his own. If Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ca...

The Buffalo Sabres are your 2025-26 Atlantic Division Champions! The Sabres needed a regulation win in Chicago, combined with the Lightning going to overtime. Thanks to a Red Wings comeback in Tampa and a dominant 2nd and 3rd period effort by the Sabres, they leave the Windy City as division champions. Going from last to first in the division in just a few months is one of the most incredible acco...

The Buffalo Sabres had a tremendous night led by an unexpected shutout performance by Colten Ellis, in his first start in over two months! Ellis was tracking the puck, making diving saves, and surviving some chaos... of course. Ellis' game should give Sabres fans, players, and coaches some confidence if he had to play due to injury in the playoffs, now that Alex Lyon is not expected to be ready fo...