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The NHL has returned and it's time to get back to work. This is the Hockey show, not the intro. Not expecting that.
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Welcome to the Hockey Show.
C
Hello.
D
Hi, Roy.
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Hi. How you doing? David Drawer. The Hockey News Rose is in the shipping container. Ethan is in the video room. My name is Roy Bellamy. You can check out the Hockey show on YouTube at the Hockey Show DLS, on tick tock at the Hockey Show 7 and on X Instagram and threads at Hockey Show DLS. The big story this week is Sidney Crosby is going to miss a month minimum.
D
Congratulations, Roy.
A
I. I don't wish injury on anybody. This is massive for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He got checked by Racco Gutis against the checks during the quarters. It was during the quarters, correct?
D
Yeah. Because you missed the semifinal and then you missed the last two games.
A
Yeah. So it looked like a knee injury as a lower body is what the Penguins are saying. They have 25 game. 24 games left. No, 25 games left.
D
25.
A
And they ended up winning a game last night. And I should know because I had a bet on them to lose and that really was disappointing. But the Penguins are.
D
Did you not hit your ten leg parlay?
A
Hey, listen, you gotta do something with these $1 bonus bets. All right, all right, that's true. Yeah. So.
D
But Anyway, turn your dollar into a $50W.
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All right, so for the next month, the Penguins are going to be without the captain. What are we doing here? What's going to happen here? Because they are holding on tight to second place in the division.
D
Yeah.
A
And to a wild card spot. It's at. Before last night it was a point difference.
D
Still.
A
Still a point difference. What's going to happen here?
D
What's going to happen? Pittsburgh's going to have to dig deep. They're going to have to rely on their new goaltending star, Spencer Stinner. Spencer Skinner.
C
What about Spencer?
E
$5?
D
No. For some reason I've been thinking about Spencer Knight all morning.
A
Yeah. You know why? Because last night during the Star Spangled Banner during the Maple Leafs Panthers game for the first time, there was no night said during the night portion of the Star Spangled.
D
We all just looked at each other like, did that really just not happen?
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Can't believe that happened. I can't believe that happened. But anyway, as you were saying.
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But yeah, no, I mean, obviously Stuart Sinner has been lights out for the Penguins. They've got other players, players that have been playing well for them. If Danny Malkin obviously having a solid year for the Pens. But it's Tough, right? Because they've got 72 points, 71 points is Boston in the final wild card spot. And then there's a lot of teams that are making a charge right now. Washington, obviously trying to push up. Columbus is. Columbus and Buffalo could be playoff teams this year. Roy, like, what the hell is happening to the world right now?
C
I know now the Pens are so lucky they're in the Metro Division. Guys like, they are just the luckiest team in the world that they're in the Metro, because the Metro. If the Panthers were in the Metro, they would have, like, they would be in the playoffs, basically because of what's going on around there. The Pens are just. I don't know how they're going to survive without Crosby. Like, he's basically been lugging them into the. Into the playoff picture this year. But no, that was very unfortunate. And I was very surprised that the reception was so good for the Olympics, even despite. Hold on, let me rephrase that. What I meant to say is a lot of people during the Olympics were saying, oh, my God, NHL players are never going to go back to the Olympics again because Sidney Crosby is hurt. But I don't think I've seen a lot of reaction like that since coming out of the NHL. I think this was a major success despite the fact that Sidney Crosby got injured.
A
I really don't think the injury front in this situation was as bad as Four nations last year.
D
No. Well, comparable, I guess, because there are several guys that are a little banged up right now coming back from the Olympics. But, you know, kind of to Ethan's point, I don't think anybody cares. Like, it was just so awesome. The best on best. These guys knew what they were getting themselves into. So, you know, it. It is what it is. You. You got to deal with it. And I think that's better than not having it at all. But just interestingly, Ethan, as you talked about how Pittsburgh is so grateful to be in the Metro, you know, if they were in the Pacific Division, they'd be in first place.
A
Yep. Yep. The Western Conference outside of Colorado was bad.
C
Colorado, Minnesota, Dallas.
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Let's be clear.
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Those teams are awesome.
D
The Central Division is a gauntlet. The Pacific Division is a wild card division right now.
C
Yeah, the Panthers would be in a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Yes, they would be in the final wild card spot.
A
Are we expecting another Eastern Conference team to win the Stanley cup this season necessarily?
C
No, I don't think so. I mean, I think it's going to be.
A
It's not going to be a gauntlet in the west. So it's going to be a lot of weary teams out of the East.
C
I do agree with you, Roy, that there is like there's going to be a bit of a gauntlet, especially in that Central Division. Right. But I think whoever comes out of that will be so battle tested that they'll be like they should be the favorite no matter what. First of all, they're the three best teams in the league, basically by points percentage, except for Carolina and Tampa, like they're three of the five best teams in the league. And I think once you get through that gauntlet, like we've seen with the Panthers the last few years, going through Tampa and Toronto and Boston and New York, like the most battle tested team is the one that I think should be the favorite going into the Stanley cup final. And you know, you see with Carolina, when they have these cakewalks through the Metro, they end up, you know, going through the team in the Atlantic and they get swept. Like I think the west should be the favorite. I think the Stanley cup champions coming out of the west this year. If it's not the Florida Panthers just
A
gotta get out of the division, the two divisional rounds and get into the conference final and there you go, the
D
playoffs this year, I mean it's still, you know, he still got 25 games left, but just looking right now like if the playoffs started today at all, the teams that are in that have not been in in a while and vice versa, like Seattle, Utah, Anaheim, Buffalo, Islanders, like those would all be playoff teams right now. Montreal, who hasn't, you know, they squeaked in last year. Detroit, who hasn't been in the playoffs like what, seven or eight years. So it's going to be fun, it's going to be non traditional, which is what we like when we just see some, you know, we might actually not see the Oilers and the Kings, which I think based off last night would be good for.
A
Yeah, that'd be good for everybody, wouldn't it?
D
To one last night.
C
Can we please get the Oilers and Ducks? I don't know if you guys watched that Oilers Ducks game or if you saw the highlights the other night. Those two teams. I love watching those two teams, they're such high event teams. And I love watching the Ducks. Please give me the Ducks and the Oilers in the playoffs this year started
D
today, you'd have it.
A
Yeah, yesterday we saw a lot of apologies or attempts at justification for laughing or reasoning following that stupid joke that the President made. I refuse. I can't believe I said that. Oh, my goodness. The president. Anyway, that Trump. The joke that Trump said following the gold medal win for United States. I'm on the side of the women. The men screwed up, in my opinion. And now Brady Tkachuk is looking like a complete fool as the White House kind of retweeted a AI video saying that Brady Tkachuk said some things like maple syrup drinking.
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Negative things.
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Negative things about Canadians where he lives.
D
And he's a captain of the Canadian.
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Yeah.
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Team of the Canadian capital.
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Yeah. And that's what happens when you are a pawn in a political game and you revert yourself. Whatever. I'm on the side of women. But another complete embarrassment. Reporters because they asked some stupid questions. And we'll get to one later in wins and fails. But this particular question, a couple of doozies went towards Macklin Celebrini, and this is how it sounded.
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Would you do it again in four years? Would I go back to the Olympics in four years?
D
Nah. Yeah. What?
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No, no, no. That. That.
C
That's.
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That's just. That's just dumb. There's another video.
D
I hope there was context to that question.
A
I'm sure there was, but there's. There's another question that was levied to Macklin celebrity, and this is how that sounded. Do you have any empathy for United States having won since 1980? Miracle on Ice? So it's a lot of excitement here in the United States that that happened at your expense.
C
No.
D
I mean, no, no.
A
What. What are we doing here?
D
I. I saw a picture of the scrum in San Jose that was taken by one. I think somebody in their front office posted it, that there's usually like two or three people, but there was like a good eight or nine at that scrum. And I, you know, we saw the first practice back at the Panthers facility that we were there for. We. There was a lot of people at that one as well. But I. You don't have to force feed these guys these questions. Like I get trying to get good answers out of players. And I think you're going to kind of poo poo on me later on for something that I did in the locker room recently. But I just like this. Is he 18 years old still?
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Yeah, it's 19.
D
19 years old. Thank you. Yeah. Old enough to drink in some countries also.
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Old enough to drink in Italy.
C
Would you want to do the Olympics again? Is the most ridiculous question to ever ask an Olympian. I don't care if he had a heartbreaking loss in the overtime like the. These Kids have been dreaming of this their entire lives. The kid is 19 years old. He's in the second year of his career. He's going to be the star or one of the stars, because McDavid and McKinnon will probably still be there in 2030 in the French Alps. He will be one of the stars once again of Team Canada. Oh, and Connor Bedard and Matthew Schaefer. We cannot forget about Matthew Schaefer as well. Hopefully, Jacob Chickren will be there as well. But anyway, Sam Reinhardt as well. Hopefully he'll get more of a fair shake if Canada goes in a different direction from John COOPER and in 2030. But I mean, to ask the kid who's 19 years old, if he wants to play in the Olympics again, like, and then, do you have any empathy for the United States? Like, no, of course not. I just got my heart ripped out. Like, that's the most. It's like asking a guy that just got broken up with, do you have any empathy for your ex? Like, no, I'm good, dude. My heart is out of my chest right now. Like, unless he pass. Unless you cheated.
D
You know who you asked that question to? You asked it to, like, Dr. Ray Gun. Do you ever want to go back to another Olympics again? You asked it to that steer who liked, I cheated on my girlfriend. My heart.
C
You ask Lindsey Vaughn. Do you want to go back to the Olympics?
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No.
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Well, she retired, though.
C
Can I just go back to the men's and women's team thing real quick? Roy, I just want to give you
D
real quick, but go ahead.
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I can make it quick. I just want to cut the men's team a little slack. Like, the.
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The.
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I mean, I don't. Because it was an ugly look for them, of course, but I. I think that I don't want to make the men the victim here. Inevitably, their actions have them in this situation. But it felt a lot to me like a bunch of guys laughing at a boss's shitty joke. And they've done a really good job. Not a real. Not a great job, but I think Jeremy Swayman, Charlie McAvoy, Jake Sanderson, some of the guys have done a really nice job of saying, we're sorry. We should have acted better. We shouldn't have done that in that moment, you know, and. And we apologize, looking back at it, But I think I want to shift the focus now to the women and the men and what their achievement was. And Hillary Knight and Taylor Highce and Megan Keller and so many of the girls on the team. Abby Murphy, have said we want to focus on what we did, what we accomplished together. And these teams accomplished something amazing together. We should focus on that.
A
Yeah. Have fun at Flavor Flav's party. You guys deserve it and you guys are going to have fun.
D
Props to Flav, by the way.
C
Flav is the best.
D
Like, that was really cool.
A
Absolutely.
D
Like getting everybody to come together, make something happen for the late. That was pretty cool. Good on you.
A
Flav is going to be much better than eating McDonald's in a shoddy.
D
No. I heard the women had like fresh pasta with Stanley Tucci. Like, you can't beat that.
A
All right, it's time for the Panthers then. The Panthers won 5 to 1 against Toronto.
D
Yes, they did.
A
It was a complete travesty out in that ice for the Maple Leafs. They did not deserve to win that game. Although they were on the tail end of a back to back. They lost in Tampa. Now they lost to Florida. Now they get to go back home and face the wrath of Maple Leafs fans. The Panthers will have played the Buffalo Sabres tonight and then they will go on a four game road trip. Starting on the 1st, they played the Islanders Devils Blue Jackets in the right wings before returning home. Brad Marchand had two goals, two assists for Anton Lindell. Sergey Bobrovsky, 29, 28 saves on 29 shots. And your boy, Evan Rodriguez a goal and assist. Nine shots on goal. Seven of those shots in the first period. He had more shots in the Maple Leafs in the first period.
D
Yeah, and credit to Bob, the only goal that got past him was kicked in by Gus Forsling like he was, he was a brick wall yesterday. So good on Bob. Just good to see the Panthers jump out there and do what they did. This has got to be the theme for the rest of the season. Like 24 games to go. You know, they got to do this like 18, 19 times. Like this has got to be Panthers hockey for the rest of the way if they want to really make a run at this. But good on them. I feel bad for Toronto, Roy and. And for their captain, Auston Matthews, who's really kind of gone through, gone through the shitter a little bit. Got really reamed by his hometown paper for being American and being the captain of Team America. But, but they're going, they're home tomorrow for Ottawa. So Matthews, Brady, like they're all going to be together in Canada. Oh, that's going to be. That could be toxic.
A
Speaking of the Olympics, a reporter from the Hockey News asked Brad Marshan what he thought about the Olympics and Coming back. And this is what happened your mind
D
before the game when they were honoring the Americans and you guys are just kind of watching your teammates.
B
Yeah.
D
I mean, obviously it's, you know, you're
C
happy for guys to have success and
E
so it's good, good kind of celebration for them.
A
You made him sad.
D
I felt really bad too, like after watching it back last night and you guys all kind of giving me shit at the bar for it. But look, Brad Martian is one of the most professional hockey players that I've been around the last couple of just the last year. But you know, he gives great answers. He understands the back and forth that needs to happen between the media and a player. So I felt pretty comfortable in trying to get what his emotions were in that moment. Curious to what he would have to say. And then watching it back, like he really looked sad. And I felt really bad about that. Like I didn't want to make him sad. I thought he would just kind of give a good professional answer, like, yeah, you know, it, it hurt. But that's hockey and I'm a sat, you know, whatever you might say. But no, dude, I, I genuinely still feel bad and I don't like that you're shaming me for it, to be honest.
A
I mean, he looked completely broken. I'm sorry.
C
It wasn't, it wasn't quite as bad as the celebrity question or the question we're going to talk about in Wins and fails, Dave. But it was not your finest moment. I want to talk about one thing from this game though, real quick from the pre game celebration for Team usa. Danny, we have this picture. If you can throw it up here. Look at this look that Bill Zito is giving Auston Matthews. He can kind of gave him a little bit of a wink, Roy. And let me tell you, if you're a Maple Leafs fan, if you're a fan of a team that isn't the Florida Panthers, and you notice that Austin Matthews contract is up in two years and all the noise that's going around in the Toronto media right now after he won a gold medal as the captain in Team usa. Boys, two years from now, Auston Matthews is free agent. Two years from now, that cap is going to keep going up.
D
Two years from now, Austin is going
C
to planting the seeds, baby. Planting the seeds.
D
Do you think that Austin Matthews is going to take less than the 13.25 million that he makes right now to play for the Panthers?
C
You know, when you bring logic.
A
All right, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna cut you off right there. You are crazy.
C
Florida Panthers, it's time for.
A
It's time for puck luck. It's brought to you by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours. David. Make some money, please.
D
Yes, sir.
A
Thank you.
D
Yes, sir. All right, so this week for puck luck, only four or five games tonight. So we're going to tackle the Panthers and the Sabres. We talked a little bit about it. First we're going to take Sam Bennett over two and a half shots on goal. Buffalo gives up the six most shots in the lead, Roy, and they give up ten and a half shots per game to centers, and that is the position that Sam Bennett plays. So Bennett over two and a half shots. He also had four shots in his last game against Buffalo. Gonna add Carter Haiti over one and a half shots just to give a little bit of juice to the parlay. He's hit that nine of his last 10 and he's averaging 4.4 shots over his past five games. Jack Eichel, the Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights tonight, taking Jack Eichel over three and a half shots, has hit that in four straight. It's his first game back after the Olympics, so I would imagine he's gonna be pretty juiced up. And if you're looking for a side bet, maybe Jack Eichel at +200 for an anytime goal. Rounding out the parlay in that same game, Alex Ovechkin, anytime point. He hasn't gone two straight games without a point since the first two games of 2026. Roy, he didn't have a point last night. I think he's in a. Not two nights ago, rather. I think he's going to pick one up tonight. Vegas just flew cross country after giving up four goals to the Kings on Wednesday. So, yeah, I'm taking Ovech. Going to get a point parlay odds plus 528. Let's make some money tonight.
A
All right, it's time for Rose in a minute. Actually, she's doing the Spanish version for her, so it's Rosa and un minuto.
D
All right.
A
All right, you guys, I'm not going
B
to do the Spanish. I'm going to do the English because we don't have time.
A
So we know that's the whole point,
B
is let me give you just the Spanish to learn Spanish. Okay? Detroit Con Larkin, Heroico and oil tea. Pittsburgh, Minnesota. Olympico, Matt Baldidos, Gorizia San Luis, two hat tricks. The hallway.
A
All right, it's time for Rosie in a minute. Rosie, go ahead.
B
Oh, my God.
A
Okay.
C
Fire Jim Hiller.
A
Please fire Jim Hiller. Oh, wow.
D
Hey.
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This one minute evacuate with Rose post Olympic return. Hey, kids. The medals are over and the NHL cast is back. Florida came back with attitude. Marchand scored two and the Panthers crushed Toronto 5 1. Yes. Olympic celebration and then goals to the face. Boston already came back. Sharp adventure with two goals. The Islanders winning in overtime with Pergo. Detroit getting a heroic OT moment from Larking and Pittsburgh winning even without Crosby. Carolina stays in the story mode. 11 straight games with points after beating Tampa 5 4. Minnesota didn't lose its Olympic rhythm. Matt Baldi, 2 goals, 2 assists. St. Louis had a Holloway hat trick. Calgary won behind cadre double and attention. Hamilton Destroyed the Kings 8 1. McDavid hit 100 points again in Los Angeles. They were chanting fire healer. Yes. They each back with emotional violence. This was when minute of hockey with Rose because the Olympics were elegant, but the league came back merciless.
D
She's got her shit down, man. That was good. Rose, you have good information in there.
A
Thank you. Very quick as well. Very good job. Very good job there, Rosie. It's time for wins and fearless. David, what you win?
D
My win of the week. We've got a new goalie celebration and it is spectacular. Let's see. Do we have the video, guys? Happened. There we go.
A
Oh, he's sitting on top of the net.
D
He's sitting on top. I don't. First of all, is this the North Carolina state hockey team? I don't know how he got his goalie ass on top of the net like that. That's hard. That's four feet in the air. You're wearing all that gear. So I don't know how he got himself up there, but then he used his stick and he reeled in his team as they came to the net to celebrate the win that he just gave to them. That might be my new favorite goalie celebration of all time. It's better than the Astarov branch passing the net. I love it. I love it. I love it.
A
All right. My win of the week comes from the Olympics. In the gold medal game. The United States men's hockey team played in memory of Johnny Goudreau. As you know, we tragically lost him and his brother Matthew in a car accident while they were riding the bikes. And they managed to make it. They managed to win the gold medal. And the team, not only did they do a victory lap around the ice with Johnny's jersey, they also brought Johnny's children out onto the ice. And in the team photo, the United States ended up taking a picture with Johnny's children. And that is clutch. That is very emotional, and I'm actually getting choked up thinking about it right now. I mean, that. That. That is absolutely crushed. Clutch.
D
Yeah.
A
So the children are in the team photo, and that is going to last forever. That is an awesome thing to see. Good job by United States, men. And Ethan, what is your win?
C
My win of the week, guys, goes to Alexander Barkov. This week, he spent some time at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, and he's. He's just the best. He cemented himself once again as a South Florida legend, as talked about on the show this week, making a seven figure donation to the Barkov sports medicine program. He was up there crying at the podium. It was just a beautiful moment. And he just continues to be the absolute best and cement himself as such. So shout out to Alexander Barkov, my win of the week.
A
Rosie, what is your win of the week?
B
My win of the week comes from yesterday game. I don't know if it was yesterday games, actually, but play that. Play the clip. E. You're going to see that is from yesterday's game. Okay. I think it was beautiful that. That fall and everything was cinematic. So, yeah, that's how you do it.
A
It would be even more cinematic if the goal counted. That goal was offside, and they.
D
It wasn't offside. It was just Matthew Tkachuk didn't leave his foot on the ice long enough. It wasn't, you know, the offside was like a silly offside. But I love the fact that the hockey world is still playing that video for us, even though it was on a play that didn't count.
A
All right, David, what's your fail other
D
than that play by the Maple Leafs? My fail is poor Connor McDavid. I have a little sympathy for Connor McDavid. He got asked the pretty. Pretty bad question as we talked about it. So let's play that first and then we'll talk about it.
A
This is a hard question, but, you know, Stanley Cups found Gretzky and Crosby and those guys and gold medals, and you've been in. Put yourself in position and it's not finding you. Did you think it would be this hard? That's a nice question.
D
Thank you.
A
That's a dumb question.
D
Credit to McDavid. He actually went on to give a really good answer because he's McDavid McJesus. He's good at everything he does, I guess, other than eating ketchup and winning.
A
Well, he hasn't been yeah. Other than winning. Yeah. He hasn't won.
D
Won a lot of MVPs, but he's starting to make me, like, when this. When this got played for me the other day, the first name that popped into my head, and I hate to say this, is Dan Marino.
A
Yeah.
D
But Marino only played in One Super
A
bowl, two Stanley cup finals for Conor
D
McDavid, back to back. And he's still young.
A
Yeah.
D
So McDavid's gonna get asked these questions his whole career, like, yeah, you're the best. You get paid, like, the best, but are you on the best team? And he's gonna have to start to evaluate, I think, like, do I want to continue to demand that big of a chunk of a salary cap on a team sport where I keep getting asked these questions about not winning? So I feel like there's going to be some existential inner workings. He's going to have to figure that shit out because he's just. I'm sure he doesn't want to live dealing with this and hearing these questions for the rest of his career.
A
The always the bridesmaid joke has not just landed on top of Leon Draisid, it was also landed on said Connor McDavid as he was named MVP of the Olympic tournament by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Obviously, it's kind of hella buck. I mean, like, what are we doing here? And he should have been mvp, was the best goaltender in the entire tournament. But anyway, McDavid, of course, earned the silver medal. It's the second time that he's won an MVP trophy and his team did not win said championship. So, yeah, he probably leads to the league in that. But not only that, he earned zero points in the gold medal game. Now, let's push aside the Four nations, all right? The last three want to take all games that Connor McDavid has been in and sports. And the score ended up posting this tweet before deleting it. I don't know why he didn't. Why they did that. But anyway, so the last three games, let's start with 20, 24, game seven. Zero points in the previous Stanley cup final. The last season Stanley Cup Final, zero points in game six. And in the gold medal game, no points in that game as well. So, yeah, it's been kind of a rough pass through three seasons for Connor McDavid all three of those games.
D
By the way, his team scored exactly one goal.
A
Okay, Ethan, quickly, what is your fail?
C
Really quick, Nathan McKinnon, this quote was very loser blood. You be the judge of who was the better team today after losing the gold medal match to the United States. Nathan McKinnon played a huge part in giving up the gold to the US and then John Cooper just being a loser as well. Talking about three on three, bad loser blood from Team Canada after losing to Team USA.
A
All right, for those of you watching on DraftKings Network, please check out the YouTube page because coming up next is our guest is Jonathan Zaslow from Zaslow Show 2.0. That's coming up next.
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E
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A
Foreign. We are joined by Jonathan Zaslow of Zaslow Show 2.0. We are going to talk about the Panthers in a second, but first, let's start with Team USA and criticize them because the men really screwed up this time. I mean, what are we doing? You have to defend your women. You what? I lied to the women during their portion of the tournament. And then you get a call from the president through the FBI director's phone. He makes a stupid joke, and you laugh at the joke, disparaging the women. You don't come to the defense of the women. And then you. And then the president expects the women to show up to either the State of the Union or the White House willingly? I don't think so. Should the men be criticized? And I know the answer is yes, please say yes.
E
I mean, should the men be. I don't think it's that simple.
D
All right.
E
You know, if you want to criticize men, that's. That's fine. Like, obviously, the reasons are valid, why you want to be critical of them, because in a perfect world, you would like them to, you know, not laugh in that spot and stand up immediately for their friends. And, and also, I think it's important to point out that. And the players have talked. A few of the players have talked about this over the last couple of days since they've gotten back to their club teams, and they've been asked about it by the media. Their actions over time with the women's hockey team have shown like. Like those. It's. It's most important for those players on the women's team to feel that they are supported by the men's team. And I would imagine if you ask them to a man or to a woman, do they feel supported? They would all say yes, because apparently the relationship between those two teams is very, very tight. And the men do support the women. So there is, like, I do feel that the women's team very likely feel very supported by the men's team. But I think. I think the men are in a really difficult spot when what went down went down. You know, for one, like, I, like I saw. I think it was like I saw on Twitter yesterday or a couple of days ago where Megan Rapinoe was talking about how if it was our team, I never would have allowed Cash Patel to come into the room. Well, congratulations. You're a lot smarter and a lot more with it than all of those guys on the US Hockey team. Well, women usually are because they're not thinking about that stuff in that moment. Like, this really is one of those cases. Like, I know, you know, the right wing will do a lot of the shut up and dribble. I do think there's plenty of guys on that hockey team. Like, they're just hockey players. Like, that's, that's their main thing. But, but, but the point that I want to make there is this is where whoever is in charge of that scene in the locker room, that situation, right? It's, it's not on those players, first for one of them to say, Cash Patel, we don't want you here. But besides that, that's like a really rude thing to tell anyone in the room. We don't want you here. Someone who is in charge of that scenario, standing on the outside of the dressing rooms like, hey, this is just for the boys. Somebody has to protect them so that they are not put in that situation. And we saw what that situation then led to.
A
So as far as the phone call is concerned, is it one of those things where it's the quote unquote, leader of the free world and he makes a stupid joke so you're forced to laugh at it? Is it that situation or is it. Or obviously is nothing else.
E
Oh, it's all of it. Like, I'll start with the, you know, the joke on the phone.
D
You know what?
E
It's akin to, to me, it's like when you have, when you have the player, you know, whatever sport, and, and he's, he's got the scrum of the media around him and he makes, he makes a joke, makes even an off color joke and you get the laughter from the reporters, even though it wasn't even funny at all. It's just like, like there's this uncomfortableness. Oh, all right. He made a joke. So let's not be rude and let's laugh, you know.
A
Well, not only that, I mean, he says that, oh, I might be impeached. It would be the third time.
D
Yeah.
E
So it's like, let's not be rude and let's laugh. And I think that there's a lot of that. Like they're all excited. They're having such a great time as one. It's maybe the best moment of their lives. A Lot of these guys, nothing right now in this environment is going to make us upset. This is a great, great time. And the president just tried. Tried to make a joke. So we're going to give that. This is the tenor of. This is the temperature right now.
A
All right?
E
He made a joke. Whether they get funny or not, even let out a chuckle, you know, because that's the current temperature in the room. So there's that. There's that part of it, the second part of it, which really bothers me. And this happened yesterday, right, where Brady Tkachuk was met by the Ottawa media. And so it's. It's Brady's turn to, you know, have his feet held to the fire, because it's the first time that they're getting to talk to him, and they're going to do the whole thing about, you know, should you have defended the women in that spot?
A
And this is massive because he's the captain of that club.
E
Yeah, yeah. And. And. And the part that really bothers me is. And I think anyone who. Who, you know, if you watch DLS and certainly if you listen to Zaslow Show 2.0, I think I do a really good job at staying out of the political stuff. It's not really my thing. But. But this bot. This part bothers me where apparently I'm not on TikTok. I don't really know how TikTok works, but apparently the White House TikTok, like the official White House TikTok account, and we know that even, like the White House Twitter account. Like, weren't they the ones who put out the video with the apes and the Obamas? You know, there's some wacky stuff going on there, too, but on the. On the tick. Right, right. And the TikTok account for the White House put out a video that was AI generated from the four nations last year, right? And it's the two Tkachuk brothers, and it's Brady Tkachuk muttering under his breath something about maple syrup ass, you know, pansies or something, you know, and the White House. The official White House Twitter account put that out there. And so now, because it's. And it's AI. It's not real. And so Brady Tkachuk is forced to answer question, answer for that and say, like, it wasn't my voice. It's not me. I would never say that. I don't like being depicted that way. And it's like, how does. How is that okay? It's. It's. The official account of that account represents the White House, like And now one of your players, who the White House is, is very proud, you know, and like, are they using the men's team for the good publicity? I mean, yes, but it just. It just shows. It's. It's like, do you care about these players at all then? And you could say no or whatever because easily because. Because this player now who apparently you're so happy with and happy for them, win gold, you just threw him in this shitstorm that he now has to answer to because you made a fake AI post. And it's like, why are you doing that?
A
But they, they even. I mean, they're being used as pawns and they reaped what they sold.
D
No, but they're not looking at it like they're putting him in a bad position.
E
Like, I would not know that.
D
I think my opinion is that they're looking at it from their own perspective, which is they basically put out any piece of information or video or whatever they want. Fake, real, whatever. Most lately there's been a lot of fake videos that have been coming out of that area. And whatever they just say, yeah, it was this guy. No, it was that, like, they can literally say anything they want and they have no repercussions. Brady Tkachuk does not have that luxury. He's not afforded that because he has to answer actual questions.
E
Yeah, that bothers me. That bothers me.
D
So it puts him in a really tough spot. And my question to you guys was like, well, the Tkachuks are very buddy, buddy, seemingly with the White House, with the President. They seems like they're, you know, cut from the same cloth or whatever. They're birds of a feather, right? Is this put drive a stake into that relationship at all? Is Brady like, wow, why would they do this to me? Or is it like, yeah, it's just something cute that they did?
E
No, my guess is that Brady could. Chuck would be like, wow, whoever runs the White House official social account, like, that person sucks. And it was super poor judgment. And I'm really annoyed with that. I'm sure, you know, President Trump doesn't run the White House TikTok account. That that's probably the angle that they take. But, yeah, they clearly, they're. They're fans of the President. Very clearly. And that is what it is. You know, look, there's a lot of people obviously in this country who are fans of the President, you know.
D
Yeah.
E
And. And the Chucks. And the Chucks, they're. They're fans the President. And I really do believe, like, we would like our athletes to stand up for. For social issues every now and then. But it's also really possible that those guys in that room on USA Hockey, like, they're just hockey players.
D
Well, that's it. Over the last few days that they've had to deal with the repercussions of that. Some of them have come out and they've been very apologetic and they've kind of taken the responsibility. Like, you know what? Yeah, in the moment, maybe I made a mistake. I'm sorry. And some guys are just like, yeah, whatever. Yeah.
E
I don't.
D
Yeah.
E
And again, like, I don't think they made a mistake. I don't think there was any mistake. They were in a bad. They were in a bad. They were in a spot where maybe they were being used, and it ended up looking poorly for them. And I don't think they deserve to be looked poorly at. It's a lousy situation they were put in.
A
Like I said, political pawns. That's all they are.
D
It puts them in a spot where they can't just go on with their lives. They have to acknowledge it one way or the other, because we're all. I say we, the media, they're getting asked about it.
E
I don't think it's realistic for when the president makes the joke. Like, I don't think it's realistic that you want one of those players to, like, stop right there and then chastise the president in that moment.
D
That's why I think that's not reality for the people who are upset about it would be for them to say something after the fact. As I agree with you, in that moment, it's really hard reality.
E
Yeah, it's not going to happen.
A
Ethan, what do you have to say?
C
Yeah, I think guys have kind of done that. Like, first of all, there was Jeremy Swayman and Charlie McAvoy and Jake Sanderson who have, like, directly apologized. But I do think that the narrative from the guys and from the women as well has just been, we respect each other so much. There's such a respect between these groups. We celebrated together. We had great times together after that comment was made. And they kind of want to shift the focus back to what these teams did. Right. And Abby Murphy was on spit and Chiclets this morning, and she talked about how there's another part of that video is that there's a guy in the back going, two for two, two for two. Like, it wasn't just about what the men did, and the men weren't just celebrating what the men did. They celebrated what the women did, and they did lift up the women in. In. In the moment at the Games and since. And, yeah, it was a shitty spot that they were in. Right. The president makes a joke. It kind of felt to me like my boss just made a really bad joke, and I kind of have to laugh at this. You know, that was the vibe I got from the video, right?
E
Totally.
C
It's like, my boss made a shitty joke, and I've got to laugh at it. And I think the guys have had the right response. Would I like some more direct apologies from the guys? Yes. That's just also because I'm a huge supporter of the women's team, but I do think that the guys and the girl, the women as well, have handled this well in terms of being like this. Let's refocus here on what we did, which is the men won a gold medal for the first time in 46 years. The women won a gold medal for the first time in eight years and cemented themselves as the dominant hockey country in the world right now on the women's side. And I think both sides have done a really good job of kind of reshifting the focus back to let's talk about the hockey and what went on on the ice and how amazing of an accomplishment this was.
A
All right, real quick. Quick. The Panthers won 5 to 1 against Toronto and Toronto, like, last night. What do you think about this next 24 game stretch starting with Buffalo tonight?
E
I'm trying to go tonight. Everybody knows that.
C
Good.
A
Just get a credential.
D
You can't just get in the house, dude.
E
No, I'm gonna go. No, I'm gonna go with the whole family. I want to.
A
The whole.
E
The whole crew. All right, we're all gonna go, the four of us. But look it. This right now is the healthiest they've been all year, minus Set Jones. So, you know, you. You think about how back in 2023, there were much fewer than 24 games remaining, and they were also eight points out and they made the run and they made the postseason and went to the Stanley Cup Final. And this is a much more talented team. This is a better team than that was. It's a super steep mountain for them to climb, but two points at a time. Like, I don't even care so much. Oh, they didn't gain any ground last night. Okay, 24 games left, two points at a time.
A
And tonight's game is massive against a team that's in a playoff spot. In the Buffalo Sabres, Jonathan Zaslow. Zaslo2 Zazlow Show 2.0. Thank you for joining us.
E
Thanks, guys.
A
Thanks to Jonathan Zaslow for joining us today. We really appreciated him talking about the US Team and. Okay, you just played that sound over like. I was not disgusted. I was not disgusted at all about what we talked about today. Today was a good show, in my opinion. Do you agree? Anybody? Please, please agree with me.
D
I agree that it's a good show. But you definitely got disgusted at points.
A
I mean, I got disgusted at the behavior of the United States men's team.
C
I got disgusted at the behavior of David's work in the locker room last night.
A
But you really, you really made Bret Marshan sad.
D
I'm sorry, Brad.
C
I love you, Dave. I wasn't disgusted, buddy. Disgusted is strong.
D
I want to take a moment if I can get the camera for a second. Brad Marchand, if you are watching this, I do apologize. I. I don't. Did not mean to make you sad.
A
I'm sure Adeline's showing this video to Brad right now.
B
Come on, Addy.
C
It takes strength to do that, Dave. It takes strength.
A
Yeah. None of the. None of the hockey players on Team USA other than Jeremy Swayman did that.
D
So I'll take a punishment. I'll. You know.
A
Yes.
D
Figure something out. You want to take a wrist shot at me when I'm not.
B
Put your hands on ice for two minutes.
D
No. Shut up, Rose.
A
All right.
D
What are we doing?
A
Come on, man.
E
All right.
A
Thanks.
D
Don't listen, Brad.
A
Thanks to Danny as the video director today. Thank you to Rose and Ethan for doing everything to make us sane and actually professional today. That was clutch.
D
Now you're off next week. But we're still gonna have something for everyone, right?
A
Yes. We have the lead actor to the reimagination of Youngblood. If you remember the 80s movie Youngblood starring Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, there's a remake of the movie and starring Ashton James and he's going to join us and we are going to air that interview next week as that movie is released on March 6th. So that was great.
B
Don't miss. Ethan's question was the best one.
A
Yes.
C
Also thank you to Percy. She's under the desk. Thank you to her as always for working so hard on the show. Taking a well deserved nap.
A
That's great. So should I. I'm trying to. Thank you, David. My name's Roy. We will not see you next week. We will return sometime in March. I don't. I gotta look up the day. We will return March 13th.
D
Another Friday the 13th. I the hell's wrong with this year?
A
I don't like it. That's back to back months. We will see you if we don't get killed by Jason Voorhees.
Date: February 27, 2026
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
This episode of The Hockey Show dives deep into the latest NHL news, Olympic fallout, and South Florida hockey. Hosts Roy Bellamy, David Dwork, Ethan, Rose, and guest Jonathan Zaslow bring signature irreverence and insight as they cover Sidney Crosby’s injury, the postseason outlook, the Olympics’ impact, awkward media moments, and a full Panthers recap. Amid the hockey analysis, the crew explores the political and cultural tensions surrounding the U.S. Olympic teams, offering sharp takes, comedic moments, and heartfelt tributes.
Wins:
Fails:
On NHLers in the Olympics:
David: “It was just so awesome. The best on best. These guys knew what they were getting themselves into...I think that's better than not having it at all.” (03:42)
On the Metro Division
Ethan: “The Pens are just... the luckiest team in the world that they're in the Metro...” (02:43)
On asking Macklin Celebrini if he’d do the Olympics again:
Ethan: “Would you want to do the Olympics again is the most ridiculous question to ever ask an Olympian...The kid is 19 years old... He's going to be the star or one of the stars... to ask the kid ...if he wants to play in the Olympics again... do you have any empathy for the United States? Like, no, of course not. I just got my heart ripped out.” (09:37)
On the men’s Olympic team laughing at the President’s joke:
Ethan: “It kind of felt to me like my boss just made a really bad joke, and I kind of have to laugh at this.” (38:03)
On media coverage of McDavid’s career so far:
David: "He's going to get asked these questions his whole career... do I want to continue to demand that big a chunk of the salary cap... where I keep getting asked these questions about not winning?” (22:50)
On White House AI video scandal:
Zaslow: “The official account of that account represents the White House... And now one of your players... you just threw him in this shitstorm.” (33:30)
Roy’s win of the week:
Roy: “That is clutch. That is very emotional, and I'm actually getting choked up thinking about it right now.” (20:38)
David apologizing to Brad Marchand:
David: “Brad Marchand, if you are watching this, I do apologize. I did not mean to make you sad.” (40:34)
This hockey-centric episode exemplifies the Le Batard brand: a blend of sharp sports analysis, irreverence, emotional moments, and cultural commentary. Highlights include:
Listeners get a full sense of hockey’s current landscape, the complexities facing U.S. Olympians, the Paris in the NHL, and the personalities at the core of the sport.
“That is clutch. That is very emotional, and I'm actually getting choked up thinking about it right now.”
– Roy Bellamy on Team USA’s tribute to Johnny Gaudreau’s family (20:38)