Buffalo will open their first round series against Boston on Sunday
Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmi Kekalainen held court prior to their 4-3 shootout loss to Dallas on Wednesday and their first playoff series in 15 years. The Sabres are practicing at LECOM Harborcenter on Thursday in preparation for the start of their first-round series with the Boston Bruins. The NHL released the schedule that Game 1 of the series will be on Sunday, April 19, but has not determined the time of the contest.
What were your feelings when the Sabres clinched the Atlantic?
Just real happy for the whole team, everybody around and the people who have worked for the organization for a long time, I think it means a lot they get rewarded for the hard work that they've done all year, and it's great to see.
Thoughts on the way Lindy Ruff transitioned the club from a struggling squad to a division champion:
I think the whole coaching staff has done a great job. The message has been same. They've been emphasizing it takes a lot of repetition and a little bit of success to have the buy in. And once they started seeing the success, I think the confidence grew and the belief in what we're doing, that it's working, and it's been snowballing ever since.
How much did the message you sent when you took over for Kevyn Adams have an impact on the club?
I hope that it did some, but I think the answer is always in the room, and the coaches are working with the team the whole time. The leadership group, those are the guys that have to (lead) by example and showed everyone around them that they're not just the star players, but they're guys that put everything into it every day, whether it's practice or gym or game, and that's where it starts. But we need everybody, and we've had a lot of guys that don't get a lot of accolades; they don't show up a lot on the scoreboard.
I could mention Beck Malenstyn, for example, a great guy that drives the culture, blocks shots, works his spot off every night, every day in practice. Peyton Krebs (is) another one that doesn't necessarily show up as a leading scorer, but is just a hard working guy. We've talked about it all along, that we have so much skill on this team, but now that we were competing hard and working hard and get contributions from guys like I mentioned, I think it drags everybody into the battle.
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There are veterans in that room who have won Cups, who have made deep runs, but others who have never played a playoff game, what is going to be the message from management, from coaches, from their teammates to some of those guys to kind of ride the wave of what's going to happen here in the next little while?
I think part of our strength is that we kind of play free, you know, we trust our instincts, and we have so much skill, and it takes over. But at the same time, when you get into the playoffs, the margins are so small, and they really need to buy into the system and know the clock, know the score, the situational awareness I always talk about, and you want them to play free and keep that same freedom that gave them success in their career, not only this year, but before, but at the same time, they also have to learn that when's the right time, what's the right play at this time, at the right time, and what do I need to do right now to win the game, not to score the next goal.
Can you appreciate how important breaking the playoff drought means to the city?
It's pretty easy to see actually what it means to the fan base, and it's been incredible to experience for me, even just like thinking of the April 6 game against Tampa, that felt like a playoff game already. So I can't wait to see if that can be even elevated for the playoffs, because it surely felt like a playoff game already. They've been so supportive, so intense. It's definitely like seventh player on the ice, the support that they give our players, and I think they all appreciate it.
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