Locked On Sabres - Daily Podcast On The Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres win streak extends to eight with a dominant win over the Boston Bruins, led by Mattias Samuelsson, who stepped up big time in Rasmus Dahlin's absence. Samuelsson continues to add offense, on top of his ability to shut plays down defensively. Owen Power also stepped up with a strong performance. The Sabres forward lines all played well, especially the line of Zach Benson - Ryan M...

The Buffalo Sabres host the Boston Bruins on Saturday night looking for an eighth win in a row in what is one of the biggest games played at KeyBank Center in years. The Bruins come into the game on a losing skid, making them the perfect team to play right now. What the numbers say about Boston is the Sabres should be able to score a bunch of goals in this one. Sneaky Joe takes a look at both team...

The Buffalo Sabres win streak has reached seven games after their win in Ottawa! Bowen Byram leads the way with two goals and an assist, including the overtime winner. Big contributions from Alex Lyon and Noah Ostlund helped lead the Sabres to their win, two players that have been phenomenal as of late. How real is this win streak the Sabres are on? Sneaky Joe breaks down some of the Sabres number...

The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators made a giant trade last season swapping Dylan Cozens for Josh Norris. So far, the trade has gone as expected. Josh Norris looks like the better hockey player, but he is the one with the significant injury risk. How has it gone for Cozens in his time in Ottawa? Where has Norris helped the Sabres the most when he's played? Sneaky Joe says he would not hit the '...

The Buffalo Sabres win streak has reached six games, winning a game having played the night before, on the road, against a very good New Jersey Devils team that had Jack Hughes back in the lineup. The second period may have been the Sabres best period of the season. How did they do it? Plus, Zach Benson using his IQ to score goals, Josh Norris continues to score, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gives the...

Everyone is wondering if John Tortorella is the next man to stand behind the Buffalo Sabres bench, should the team move on from Lindy Ruff as head coach. Does it make sense for the Sabres to hire an old school type of coach like Tortorella at this age? Sneaky Joe looks back on Torts' time both with Jarmo Kekalainen in Columbus, but also his most recent stop in Philadelphia. What went wrong for Tor...

The Buffalo Sabres are well rested, not playing since last weekend, are fired up from the GM news of the week, and play a very beatable opponent in the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. No excuses to get a win, and look good doing it in front of Buffalo Sabres fans. Sneaky Joe dives into the matchup with the Flyers, a team that lacks a superstar talent anywhere on the roster, but somehow find...

How does Columbus look back on the Jarmo Kekäläinen era during his 11 years as the team's GM? Sneaky Joe is joined by Jay Forster from Locked On Blue Jackets to take an in-depth look on new Sabres GM Jarmo Kekäläinen's time with the Blue Jackets. From big trades, to great drafting, Jarmo built a winning team in Columbus, the best the franchise has ever seen. However, there were certainly issues in...

The Buffalo Sabres got their GM in waiting in the boat when they brought Jarmo Kekäläinen in last spring, and it has resulted in a GM that has as good a background as the Sabres could have asked for. A deep dive into Jarmo's career in Columbus and St. Louis shows a great talent evaluator that drafted a contending team with the Blues, and then the Blue Jackets. Also, an aggressive trader that acqui...

Jarmo Kekäläinen met with the media for the first time as GM of the Buffalo Sabres and one of the biggest takeaways was he would not commit to Lindy Ruff and the coaching staff staying on or the present hockey department sticking around in it's current form. Will the Sabres make another move? Kekäläinen also had a lot to say on the future of Alex Tuch and his contract, his relationship with Terry...

The Buffalo Sabres have finally made the move fans were waiting for, firing GM Kevyn Adams after five and a half seasons leading the team's hockey department to zero playoff appearances. Jarmo Kekalainen has been promoted as his replacement from the seat of Senior Advisor. Adams from the outset appeared to be an underqualified man for the job and that definitely showed to be the case, with countle...

Noah Ostlund has had a very strong rookie season with a combination of strong defensive play, and an improving offensive game playing third line center. With the Sabres getting healthier, Ostlund has been sent to Rochester due to a numbers crunch. Should the Sabres have tried harder to find Ostlund a spot in the lineup? Sneaky Joe says Jordan Greenway should've been the odd man out, instead of put...

The Buffalo Sabres lost yet another game in which they outshot their opponent, this time to the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 4-1. What explains the Sabres playing so well and not getting the results? Sneaky Joe points to Lindy Ruff's system showing that it works, but not for the players Kevyn Adams has put on the team.  Josh Norris has his worst game as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, but there sho...

The Buffalo Sabres had an incredibly frustrating night against the Philadelphia Flyers that featured it's best two players both dropping the ball. Tage Thompson had maybe the worst effort play of his entire career, while Rasmus Dahlin was ejected for a dirty hit from behind on Trevor Zegras. How much criticism do the Sabres' best two players deserve, not just for this game, but for the entire seas...

The Buffalo Sabres are within shouting distance of both second place and third place in the Atlantic Division, despite winning just six of their last ten games. As the Sabres have picked up 12 of a possible 20 points, that has been good enough to gain ground on everyone in the division, except Tampa.   Sneaky Joe dives in on the standings, how bad the Bruins, Red Wings, and Canadiens have looked,...

Josh Norris made his return to the Buffalo Sabres lineup against the Winnipeg Jets and put on a show with two goals and an assist, including a sick breakaway goal. Norris' return was a display of what the Sabres could be getting in their highest paid forward, IF he stays healthy going forward. The Zach Benson - Josh Norris - Tage Thompson line played exactly the way Lindy Ruff had been envisioning...

The Buffalo Sabres are getting their #1 center, at least on paper, back into the lineup in time to play the Winnipeg Jets. Josh Norris has played just four games for the Sabres, but is stepping right into a big role at the top of the lineup as he comes back from injury. What Norris returning does though, is moves Tage Thompson back to the wing, which Sneaky Joe does not believe is his best positio...

The Buffalo Sabres were embarrassed at home with Terry Pegula in attendance by a score of 5-0 to the New Jersey Devils. A sellout KeyBank Center crowd was left to chant to "sell the team" and "fire Adams" as the team was getting routed. Despite severely outshooting New Jersey and having the better of the chances, Jake Allen outplayed Alex Lyon by a lot and the Sabres couldn't get the goals they ne...

The Buffalo Sabres went into Sidney Crosby's house and outplayed the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, thanks to another poor performance from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, the Sabres lost the game. UPL getting himself out of control on a couple of different plays cost the Sabres two goals that they could not afford to give up. Sneaky Joe campaigns for this being the final straw for UPL's Sabres career. Howev...

The Buffalo Sabres are looking to gain ground in the Eastern Conference and they're going to have to do it on the road, with 8 of their next 10 away from KeyBank Center. First up, a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins who are finding success this season behind a rejuvenated Evgeni Malkin and a still great Sidney Crosby. Sneaky Joe lays out why he believes if the Sabres simply avoid taking penalti...

The Buffalo Sabres have now won four of their last five games after a win over the top-seed Carolina Hurricanes, led by a tremendous performance from the line of Jason Zucker - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn. Plus, a strong performance from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was critical in the Sabres win. However, we'd be crazy to not gush over Beck Malenstyn's highlight reel goal which gave the Sabres a 3-1 lead in...

The Buffalo Sabres bounced back from their worst game of the season with their best game of the season, scoring NINE GOALS against the Chicago Blackhawks. Big games from Josh Doan, Alex Tuch, Mattias Samuelsson, and many others showed up with big performances. Sneaky Joe explains why he does not believe the Sabres are unique in looking terrible on one night, and looking amazing the next. In this g...

The Buffalo Sabres found a way, not just to lose, but to be blown out by the worst team in the NHL, the Calgary Flames, who had played the night before. In the most embarrassing effort of the season, Sneaky Joe says this is a day to fire GM Kevyn Adams, even though we don't expect it to happen. Plus, what Mattias Samuelsson had to say calling out some teammates for being passengers. Samuelsson had...

The Buffalo Sabres have been searching for a #1 goalie since Ryan Miller was traded over a decade ago. Is it possible they have one in Colten Ellis? Lindy Ruff is presently treating Ellis like a #1, as he gets his fourth start in five games against the Calgary Flames. The matchup with Calgary is a must-win, as the Sabres get the worst team in the NHL, at home, against a backup goalie, with Calgary...

In what was probably the most complete effort of the season, the Buffalo Sabres blowout the Edmonton Oilers with a 5-1 win at Key Bank Center, led by a two-goal night from Noah Ostlund. Are Ostlund and Isak Rosen playing well enough to warrant keeping them in the lineup permanently? Lindy Ruff will have tough decisions to make when Jason Zucker, Zach Benson, and Josh Norris return. Plus, how the S...