Offensively what’s been clicking throughout the season for you yeah I think I’m making the most of my opportunities and you know putting myself in good situations um it’s always special to play in Montreal so you always want to play well there I think the three other guys that are from
Montreal you know we want to play well in that City it’s always means a little bit more uh to play in the hometown but you know it’s good to get a win there as a team but I think for my personal side you know it’s Puck hasn’t really gone in
Frequently or a lot of post this year but it’s always nice to get one at home new talked a little bit this morning and I know you weren’t here last year at the club but Buffalo kind of did Detroit a number last season a few times what
Needs to happen tonight for you guys to have a good game yeah keep uh keep playing like we have been lately uh starting off good you know getting the momentum going and playing our game and um I think the results I’ve speak for themselves all year long when when we
Play well we get what we deserve and when we don’t play well we get what we deserve as well so we’re going to have to put a good 60 minutes together here in Buffalo last one for me um you guys have been a strong start since coming
Back from Sweden news’s talked a lot about the competitive drive and compete level from this group with all these veterans here as well has that been pretty easy to kind of rise up and build from within that way yeah for sure I think uh the Sweden trip you know was it
Was a good trip but uh not the results we wanted and uh we talked about when we got back and I think we made some changes on uh how how to get into the game quicker and you know can’t fall behind every time and that was something
That was going on and I think we uh we took that to heart and it’s been showing uh since we got back Kane is out yeah we’ll get a practice tomorrow uh and we’ll get a feel for Thursday see how he responded uh his body responds so I think progressing well but definitely
Out tonight you touched on it yesterday the way went against Buffalo last year what do you have to do to to flip that we just didn’t defend very well against them really really bothers me how easy offense we gave them and a team like that the high-end Talent
Um they just are going to make it pay and they did they’re their Elites high-end Talent so um yeah we we will need to be a lot better tonight uh to have some success I I’m assuming the answer is going to be both but is that more Puck management or
Zone coverage a little bit of both it was Puck management but just we were again you give that type of skill time and space I know I made the comment yesterday I feel I should invoice some of those guys and those huge contracts they got because it felt like we were
Part of a lot of that success so just got to be uh harder to play against you know on the inside a little bit more they they really had their way against us last year and that was a little disappointing you get Thompson back in tonight for Buffalo I mean what’s the
Challenge he wanted to I’m sure this is the game he wanted to come by again I joked uh I had Alex tuck at World Championships last year and obviously we would have Lov to have um Tage with us but he was you know going through some injuries like like just tell him he’s
Playing the Red Wings the entire time the World Championships so come so he’s just a special player I think he’s good for them 47 goals last year he’s just a unique he’s a unicorn I mean he’s with that size with that skill it’s just a really good player you can’t give
Him time and space and that’ll be a goal tonight power play go against Montreal I believe that’s six straight with a power play goal what’s found its Groove as a late simple we’re retrieving pucks uh uh we’re shooting pucks um you know it’s anytime the power play is usually going
Well it’s just it’s a simple part of it you’re you’re getting good entries you’re retrieving pucks you’re winning the face off and it’s a huge B for us I don’t think these these two 5 in one runs we’ve had I don’t think it’s any mystery it’s it’s correlates r with
Successful power play so hopefully you keep that going Derek Buffalo is built obviously mostly through their own prospects their own draft you guys have built a lot of guys from the outside what’s it like putting a team together with so many guys I I like new faces I
Think there’s an energy to it I know Steve mentioned it last year uh obviously this the struggles we had against Buffalo you know Buffalo some guys teams within their division have just drafted longer and higher than us have done a really good job with it so
We’ve had to build a little bit from the outside so uh I think Steve’s done a really good job with it he’s got the right pieces uh some guys maybe within their career hungry you know trying to help us build something so I I I think
I’m excited when I get new faces and uh new Personalities in the room what’s it like for them to become a team how does that process work yeah just you know just buy into what we’re trying to do and you know um yeah I think when you
Sign with us you you’re signing up for trying to build something you obviously can see a decent young core and I think they en Vision themselves in part of this so I think they want to be here uh even Patty want to be here to Brink get
Jeff Petri in the offseason through some trades I think that speaks volumes of what we’re trying to build and do but like we’re playing well right now any team that’s playing well winning it usually comes from a good structure and right now uh we’re playing with some pretty good structure and further to
That your pass the quarter mark season now how would you characterize kind of how it’s gone and where the team is at now after maybe some ups and downs yeah obviously we’re ecstatic I mean I don’t I think many people saw us being in this position beginning of the year which is
Understandable uh but it’s just a quarter Mark and we got there through doing some things the right way uh and we’ll have to continue to do that I’m sure you’ve been asked this but it’s is there a challenge to adding a a player of the caliber P to this to this yeah
You know I know because I mean he’s got a unique skill set to him even watching the practice he was actually disappointed with his practice yesterday I couldn’t I’m like he looked pretty good to me but that’s a standard a guy playing over that but he just we foresee
Him helping their power play you know one of the reason he probably shows us probably sees himself helping our power play helping our top six so of course there’s going to be a challenge bringing anyone in um you you see that at deadline times and things but I’m very
Comfortable with how he’ll acclimate but Jake bman what have you seen with his Evolution since you joined the club and he’s really taken off yeah I still think um you know Jake obviously he’s I think he’s leading our plus minus uh he’s producing some offense but I think you
Know people when Jake’s has best he’s defending very well uh he’s defending quickly in tight little areas um the moving the puck his skating ability um his shots are all impressive but I think when he’s committed to playing the right way I think overall game just kind of
Blossoms is there with Patrick is there like an expectation that you have to try to maybe put your back pocket knowing how he was yeah I think it’s a reality you know we we’ll we’ll we’ll try to put him in position to be successful and you know even if Thursday’s the game or
Saturday even after that we’ll be smart about minutes but we’ll also be smart about who we playing with an opportunity to succeed so uh of course I mean I I think we’re all curious and how it’s going to look uh I think there’s a part of my excitement
Is you know with all this the bottom line is he’s still bet on himself um to come to Detroit U on the term he did for one year which that excites me I just I’m really impressed with him as a kid just talking hockey um had some Buffalo
Bills chats so there’s a little of that so I just just been very impressed with him as an individual and excited to hopefully get him going how cool a scene is that going to be to see him at home fan reaction to everything yeah I think
It’s very cool I just I think that you know says something about him and what he’s done over his career and um obviously being original six team I think is is pretty exciting too so I’m excited also is this a special stop on the NHL circuit for you I think it’s not
Too far from where you’re from right yeah no this is I’ve got a lot of Western New York buddies I went to college right down the road out here uh I love my New York routes um as you all know my Buffalo build’s been a very emotional roller coaster this year it’s
I’ve had two passion teams growing up it’s funny I never had a hockey team I love the Montreal Expos and the Buffalo Bills the Expos aren’t there for me right now so all my energy goes into the Buffalo Bills uh so of course family here friends uh grow up watching a ton
Of Sabers and TV I mean every we’d get Montreal the Rangers and buffalo we get every game so we grow up yeah yeah this is this is very cool F so what’s it like being a Bills fan this year emotional there’s been some highs and lows uh so
Uh we’ll not give up on that group ever so we’ll see how it goes what are the pros and cons of having the three goali like the Savers have done it yeah it can be challenging I think uh the guys have handled it extremely well uh I think the
Positive is all three have gotten the net quite a bit and I just you look at the position on a ho um we went through a stretch there where we just getting okay goal tending but right now we’re getting really good goal tending and just as a group you know those numbers
Are starting to creep into the top half of the league with safe percentage and goals against so it’s a positive but there there’s some challenges there I think it takes the right individuals and those three hand very well
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