Locked On Sabres - Daily Podcast On The Buffalo Sabres

If the Buffalo Sabres walk away from an Alex Tuch extension, there are very few players they could acquire to replace his production. St. Louis Blues winger Jordan Kyrou would be one of them and there is reason to believe he is available for trade. Kyrou and the Blues may have animosity that makes him available. A 28 year old, three time 30 goal scorer, that is under contract for 5 years at $8.1 million is the perfect guy to play on the Sabres top line going forward. Is Kyrou still that player after a down year of just 18 goals? A lesser role...

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 be acquired by the Sabres, they would be Stanley Cup favorites, in at least the Eastern Conference. Despite three Vezina Trophies and a Hart Trophy, there...

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 seemingly eliminate the possibility that the Sabres revisit the Colton Parayko trade that they nearly completed at the trade deadline. Plus, what will Zach Be...

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 trio? Could Colten Ellis matter more to the combo next season? And what it sounds like will happen with Devon Levi, who will need to clear waivers next sea...

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 stretch, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ended his season with an all too familiar soft goal. How at fault was UPL for the loss? Rasmus Dahlin and Ta...

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 line of Benson-Josh Norris-Tage Thompson. Lindy Ruff decided to mix up the lines, and it worked expertly. Zach Metsa entering the lineup also was a good sign. With Lyon having s...

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 does. Allows a couple soft goals that makes you not want to trust him. How are the Sabres even still in this series with their top l...

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 staying in? Lindy Ruff could return to a goalie rotation, but it will be hard not to play Luukkonen in Game 5.

Going through the three Sabres goals, it's clear you have to live and d...

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 Zach Metsa in. Also, why Beck Malestyn did absolutely nothing wrong on his collision with Jakub Dobes, getting steered into the goalie by Zac Bolduc. And...

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 Alex Newhook, which made it 3-0. Zach Benson was the only Sabre to show up in this game. There are so many examples of h...

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 results were not as bad as you'd think. Plus, will Tyson Kozak come out for Sam Carrick in Game 2 after an excellent game? And Rasmus Dahlin is a...

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 different ways. Depth for the Sabres, an elite top-line for the Canadiens. Will Canadiens fans be able to fill up KeyBank Center at all? T...

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 even with them. Which line should the Sabres match up with them? How about Zach Benson and Josh Doan? Plus, the Sabres powerplay heads into this series ranking far below the...

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 19 years and no longer have the longest playoff series win drought in the NHL.

Plus, Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs' roles during the series...

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 the Sabres out to a lead the Bruins couldn't make up. Byram, with another great game, has been amazing all series long, earning the nickname from Joe of "...

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 the right buttons? Or die trying? Jack Han, author of Hockey Tactics 2026 and former coach, joins Sneaky Joe to look at the strategies that are being d...

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 Josh Doan that had struggled in the first two games of the series. Meanwhile, in goal, Alex Lyon responded really well making big saves after he had allowed a soft goa...

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 change. With Josh Norris unavailable due to injury, Noah Östlund re-enters the lineup, and as a center between Zach Benson and Josh Doan. Sabres fans should be confident Östlund can give the te...

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 Noah Ostlund return to the lineup in Game 3? Who will he go in for? Will Alex Lyon start in goal?  

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 either? Is it nuts to throw Josh Dunne out there just for the faceoff? Sneaky Joe explores what they could do that they haven't tried yet.

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 Sabres fan ever. All the festivities outside at Party in the Plaza and at Canalside only added to the legend of this game. Plus, why the...

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 more advantages then the Bruins, including the Bruins inability to stay out of the penalty box, and a powerplay that has been struggling as of late. What are our...

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 Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and even Jonathan Aspirot will be more challenging.

Plus, what we learned from the Sabres regular season finale against the Dallas Stars...

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 can match him, Boston will have a tough time advancing. Where do the Sabres have the advantage? There are many areas where the Sabres are the better team, including depth at fo...

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 accomplishments in franchise history. Now that the division is decided, we know the Sabres will either play the Senators or the Bruins. Sneaky Joe pushes for rooting for the...

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 for the postseason. Josh Doan was also excellent on the night, with an incredible goal off a steal, and another showing off chemistry with Zach Benson and Josh Norris.<...

The Buffalo Sabres had an up and down performance against the New York Rangers, but were able to come away with the win. That could also describe the performance of Michael Kesselring, who made some mistakes early in the game, but played better as the night went on. Kesselring's speed and size showed that him playing well is the best possible outcome for the Sabres blueline. Conor Timmins did not look as impressive in his return to the lineup. The Sabres played a horrific forty minutes and looked totally undeserving of beating the Rangers, but found a way to...

After Wednesday night's results, the Buffalo Sabres are now in a three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic with the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The standings are set up with tiebreakers so that if the Sabres get six points in their final four games, it will likely come down to how many regulation wins they get to determine if they win the division. Looking at the opponents of each team in their final four games makes it look like the Sabres have the advantage. Plus, Michael Kesselring returns to the lineup against the New York...

The Buffalo Sabres win their third game in a row against the Tampa Bay Lightning! This game had lots of action and fighting early on, but the Sabres were able to shut down Tampa when they needed to in the third period to get the win. The Sabres proving they are not just a 'River Hockey' team on this night. Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram were two of the best players on the ice for either team, but all the top players on the Sabres showed up in this one. Including Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen outplaying Andrei Vasilevskiy. The game is...

15 long years are over! The Buffalo Sabres are headed back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011! What ended up being an incredible and emotional day for Sabres fans everywhere was a long time coming, as the Rangers win over the Red Wings made it official. The Sabres came from the bottom of the standings to give their fans this day, which will be remembered forever. The day of celebrating did not carry over into the game on Saturday night in Washington DC, as the Sabres were walloped by the Washington Capitals. A look at losing...

The Buffalo Sabres get the win over the New York Islanders in a 4-3 win at KeyBank Center led by a dominate performance from especially Tage Thompson, who was a man possessed on the night, and Peyton Krebs who scores another critical goal in the 3rd period. The Sabres outplayed the Islanders with all four lines, and made star rookie Matthew Schaefer look human, constantly pressuring the New York defensemen. Will Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen continue to start after another strong performance?

Plus, the Zach Metsa - Logan Stanley pairing continues to look like the Sabres best third pair...

As the Sabres approach the playoffs, one player that has started to perform poorly is center Ryan McLeod. In the last couple of weeks, McLeod's offense has gone dry, with lots of turnovers and mistakes on the penalty kill to go with it. How concerned should we be with McLeod's play? A look back on his playoff experience with the Edmonton Oilers shows some weaknesses to his game, but also reason not to panic. Plus, the Sabres match up with an angry Islanders team who were just destroyed by the Penguins. Ilya Sorokin getting pulled against Pittsburgh could be...

The Buffalo Sabres salvaged their weekend with a comeback win over the Seattle Kraken, in part due to a very strong effort by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. That performance, combined with a couple poor Alex Lyon games, has Lindy Ruff looking to switch up the goalie rotation with UPL likely playing the Sabres' next game against the Islanders. If Lyon starts stacking bad game after bad game, he could be in danger of falling out of the rotation for the playoffs.

Goaltending has come back down to Earth in the last couple weeks, but what about the rest of...

In what world is Jon Cooper more deserving of the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year over Lindy Ruff? The Buffalo Sabres are still above the Tampa Bay Lightning for first in the Atlantic Division, the Sabres have more man games lost this year to injury than Tampa, and don't have the likely MVP and best goalie in the world like Tampa. Soooo, why is Cooper getting attention over Lindy? There's a real chance voters turn the Jack Adams into a lifetime achievement award instead of coach of the year. Also, comparing Lindy's case to Dan Must...

The Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins face-off in what could be a playoff preview, as the two teams would meet in the first round if the season ended today. Nothing about the Bruins should be looked at as a significant advantage over the Sabres, from goal scoring, to defense, to even goaltending, despite Jeremy Swayman's stellar season. Swayman's numbers are comparable to Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as a tandem. The Bruins biggest problem appears to be defense. They cannot stop other teams from getting any chance they want. Boston has the highest expected goals against in the...

With the Buffalo Sabres racing towards the playoffs and potentially an Atlantic Division crown, the Alex Tuch contract situation has taken a back seat. However, there are reports that the two sides are still communicating and that there was a "budge" on the Sabres end after Jarmo Kekäläinen took over as GM. Two signs that the chances of a contract extension at some point are strong. How much impact has this run made on whether Tuch stays? It can only increase the chance of a deal getting done and ideally on a bit of a discount. With mo...

The Buffalo Sabres finished their West Coast road trip with seven of eight points, following a victory in LA over the Kings, and a comeback OT loss to the Anaheim Ducks, which keeps them four points up on the Lightning with just a few weeks to go in the season. The win over the Kings was super impressive, but what about the OT loss to the Ducks? It's as good as you should feel about a loss. The Sabres were playing the second of a back to back, were down by two in the third period, and the Lightning...

The Buffalo Sabres are playing like the best team in the NHL when on the road, winning 19 of their last 22 away from KeyBank Center, gathering points in 11 of their last 12, and Alex Lyon has his own road win streak going with 10 (one off the NHL record). It's the second game in a row where the home team couldn't score a single goal on the Sabres, as Lyon shuts out the San Jose Sharks, in a game he was tested early. Lyon gave the Sabres enough time to find their groove, and once they got going, it's was over for...

While the Buffalo Sabres have been hot, the Carolina Hurricanes have been playing .500 hockey, allowing the Sabres to catch up to them for first place in the Eastern Conference. What will the the Sabres need to finish above the Hurricanes? Finishing in first place would give the Sabres home ice advantage through the entire East playoffs, and would decrease the odds of a playoff matchup with Montreal in the first round. Plus, why the San Jose Sharks are an easier matchup than it may appear, as they're basically a one man team led by Macklin Celebrini. Plus, why Joe...

The Buffalo Sabres won their first game of the western road trip in Vegas, on the back of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen getting his first shutout of the season, in one of the greatest games of his career. UPL was dialed from the beginning, stopping point blank shots on Jack Eichel and others, stopping one timers across the ice, and even stopping pucks that were deflected. He was flawless. UPL's game now puts the Sabres duo of he and Alex Lyon atop the league as, statistically, one of, if not the best goalie tandem in the NHL. If they both continue...