The Hockey Show: Talk Dirty To Me About John Tavares

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" – Episode: "The Hockey Show: Talk Dirty To Me About John Tavares"

Episode Details:

• Title: The Hockey Show: Talk Dirty To Me About John Tavares
• Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz
• Release Date: March 21, 2025
• Description: From the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and their team share unique perspectives on sports, pop culture, and more. This episode focuses on hockey, featuring in-depth discussions on player performances, team dynamics, and league developments.

---

1. Introduction and Guest Appearances [01:15]

The episode kicks off with Roy the Homie introducing the show's format and welcoming guests. Adnan Virk, a regular contributor from "Prime Monday Night Hockey," joins as a guest co-host alongside ESPN Radio's John Denzaslo. The team sets the stage for a deep dive into current hockey topics, particularly focusing on John Tavares.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs & Auston Matthews' Performance [01:42]

Adnan Virk provides an update on the Toronto Maple Leafs, highlighting the team's struggles with only one win in their last six games. He expresses concern over Auston Matthews' dip in performance:

"Auston Matthews, who has had a precipitous decline..." [01:42] Virk compares Matthews' decline to legends like Bossi, Gretzky, and Lemieux, noting that such a drop is unprecedented for high-scoring players.

3. The 10-Point Game Record: Daryl Sitler [03:14]

The conversation shifts to the remarkable achievement of Daryl Sitler's 10-point game. Virk shares his interview with Sitler during intermission:

"When I think back at that moment, that game, what do you think about it? He goes, honestly, I'm shocked." [03:14] The team debates whether this record will ever be broken, with Ethan humorously suggesting no hopes: "No 10 points in a game? No, I hope not." [03:16]

4. Lanny McDonald's Iconic Mustache [03:27]

Adnan recounts his conversation with hockey legend Lanny McDonald about the star's signature mustache:

"It's my signature mark. I can never get rid of it." [04:22] The hosts marvel at McDonald's commitment to his distinctive look, drawing parallels to other recognizable figures in hockey.

5. Playoff Race: Capitals vs. Jets [06:23]

The discussion moves to the ongoing playoff race, focusing on the Capitals and Jets, both of whom have clinched playoff spots with 100 points:

"Do you think they did enough?" [06:56] Adnan expresses admiration for Connor Helleck's leadership and the Jets' solid defense, while David Zaslow commends the Capitals' consistency throughout the season.

6. Fan Honors: Alexander Ovechkin's 888 Goals [09:08]

Roy introduces a video segment featuring fans celebrating Ovechkin's milestone of 888 career goals:

"Alexander Ovechkin scored last night. He now has 888 goals in his career." [09:46] The hosts humorously discuss the improbability of Ovechkin reaching Gretzky's record, highlighting the fans' dedication: "If he does break that record tomorrow, what would that be?..." [51:23]

7. NHL Safety Measures: Cut-Resistant Gear [22:03]

A serious topic arises as Tom Fitzgerald, GM of the Devils, discusses the need for cut-resistant protective gear following accidents involving players' family members:

"Tom Fitzgerald has made an impassioned plea to institute cut-resistant protective gear for the players." [22:32] The team debates the practicality and players' resistance to adopting new protective measures, emphasizing the importance of safety in the high-impact sport.

8. NHL Rule Changes and CBA Negotiations [26:13]

The conversation shifts to potential rule changes and the status of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA):

"They want to be obviously cognizant of how to protect these guys on a regular basis." [23:36] Adnan discusses the reluctance to alter fundamental aspects of the game, such as overtime formats, citing the league's preference for maintaining the status quo to preserve rivalries and viewership.

9. All-Star Weekend and International Flair [28:39]

The hosts speculate on the future of the NHL All-Star Game, considering international elements due to the upcoming Winter Olympics:

"There will be an All Star weekend." [28:42] They anticipate a shift towards a more globally influenced event, possibly incorporating aspects of the Four Nations tournament.

10. Power Plays and Penalty Trends [29:37]

Roy cites an article highlighting a significant drop in power plays, attributing it to fewer penalties being called:

"There have been 747 fewer power plays this year than last year." [29:37] The team explores potential reasons behind this trend, including consistency in refereeing and its impact on game dynamics.

11. Canadian Teams in the Playoffs [31:53]

Ethan points out that all seven Canadian teams are either in playoff spots or within two points of them, discussing the heightened excitement among Canadian hockey fans:

"How long has it been since..." [32:19] The hosts analyze the varied levels of optimism across different Canadian markets, noting that cities like Ottawa, Calgary, and Montreal are particularly hyped, while Vancouver and Toronto remain more pessimistic.

12. Panthers Recap and Future Outlook [42:13]

The episode concludes with a detailed analysis of the Florida Panthers' recent performances, injuries, and prospects for the remainder of the season:

"The Panthers played at Montreal. And that was terrible." [42:13] The hosts critique the team's defensive lapses, especially in light of injuries to key players like Aaron Ekblad, and discuss the implications for their playoff chances.

13. Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts [56:00]

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reiterate key insights from their discussions, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of the NHL playoffs and the importance of player health and team chemistry.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Adnan Virk on Auston Matthews: "Auston Matthews, who has had a precipitous decline... [01:42]"
• Ethan on 10-Point Games: "No 10 points in a game? No, I hope not. [03:16]"
• Adnan on Lanny McDonald's Mustache: "It's my signature mark. I can never get rid of it. [04:22]"
• Roy on Ovechkin's Goals: "Alexander Ovechkin scored last night. He now has 888 goals in his career. [09:46]"
• Tom Fitzgerald on Protective Gear: "Tom Fitzgerald has made an impassioned plea to institute cut-resistant protective gear for the players. [22:32]"
• Adnan on Overtime Formats: "We would have to wait and see... [28:39]"

---

Conclusion: This episode of "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" offers a comprehensive exploration of current NHL dynamics, player performances, and league developments. From analyzing Auston Matthews' struggles to celebrating iconic moments like Ovechkin's 888 goals, the hosts provide insightful commentary complemented by engaging discussions on safety measures and rule changes. Fans of hockey will find this episode both informative and entertaining, capturing the fervor and unpredictability that defines the sport.

Transcript

[Host]

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[Roy]

Welcome to the Hockey Show. My name is Roy the homie. David Droik is to my left. He works for the Hockey News. Ethan is in that chair over there in the shipping container. Joining us is John Denzaslo as our guest co host ESPN radio and Zaslow show 2.0. And also joining us and an from prime Monday night hockey. He's going to join us here for the first segment segment. So Antnan, where were you last week and where you going this week?

[Adnan Virk]

Roy, great to see you. And friends, Dave, Zaz, Ethan, good to be back here. My monthly appearance here on the Hockey show was just back home in Toronto for the Leafs and the Flames and God, I got to tell you guys, everyone's feeling a little tight up there in Toronto. Everyone's getting a little nervous. Only one win the last six games. Talking to Craig Bruby at morning Skate. Oh, you know, just gotta get the puck in there, get going a little bit. And they looked great. Auston Matthews, who has had a precipitous decline, as you guys know from 69 goals a season, you go to 24 entering Monday's play. I know he missed 15 games but still hasn't been the same guy. If you look back at Bossi, Gretzky, Lemieux, Stamkos, anybody who scores 60 plus, they don't have that kind of a drop. So it's been concerning what happens. Matthews scores two, Leafs scored three on the power play. I love Ryan Huska along with Paul Maurice, one of my favorite coaches to talk to. But God, the Flames don't have much offensive talent Love Nas as well as we continue right now in Ramadan, one of my few Muslim brothers in the league. Nas, by the way, was great against the Rangers the next day. Goal and assists. A good win for the Flames, but I don't, I just don't think the Flames have enough talent honestly, offensively to compete. And Wolf, who's been such a great story, guys, as you know, he's in the Calder mix, unfortunately, got blitzed. Wasn't really his fault, just the Leafs looked really good. What I want to throw to you guys, though, especially since you mentioned Dave's bonafides with the Hockey News. I get to interview Lanny McDonald and Daryl Sitler at the intermission. Now think about Sitler, 10 point game. And I said to him, you know, when you think back at that moment, that game, what do you think about it? He goes, honestly, I'm shocked. No one's broken it. I said, what, you think someone's gonna have a 10 point camp? He said, I'm just at some point, Gretzky, Lemieux, Ovechkin, somebody would have done it. So I want to throw out to you guys. First off, do you think anyone will ever break Sitler's 10 point record? Then I got a Hockey news thing for David in second. Sitler first. What do you got?

[Roy]

No 10 points in a game? No, I hope not.

[Ethan]

As a goalie, I sure hope not.

[Adnan Virk]

By the way, the closest to it. This is crazy. Jagger had a seven point game. Sam Gagne had an eight point. Came back in 2012. Shout out to his father, Dave Gandhi. I loved him.

[Ethan]

On the North Stars, great Panthers, Dave Gaga.

[Adnan Virk]

Some good years, Dave. On the. On the topic of the Hockey News, I'm talking to Lanny McDonald and of course, I'm just staring at the Stash. And I said, Lanny, I gotta tell you. I said, I read your book, by the way. Back when I was like 9 years old in 87, I saw the COVID Lanny, and I said, that mustache, you got to tell me about the Stash. And you know, what was the first time that you grew it? And he goes, well, I don't know the first time, but I've had a lot of lucrative offers to shave it along the way. And I said, I remember, I said, I have a Hockey News, like from years ago. It's literally just your face. And it's like, you know how you have an outline of somebody, you could tell who it is. It was just the mustache and like the bucket helmet. It's so amazing. And he goes, it's my signature Mark. I can never get rid of it. It makes me think about guys. Barry Melrose for years at espn. I told him, why don't you ever cut the mullet? He goes, I tried to. And they told me I couldn't. I said, why? Because he goes, I was just going to go get a haircut. And I go, I'm tired. It's been 20 years. Whatever. They go to know that's part of your look, that's your signature. Give me a beg. Your signature than Lanny McDonald. That stash?

[Ethan]

Yeah. I mean, I'm thinking like silhouettes. Like Mark Messier comes to mind. Like a recognizable.

[David Zaslow]

But like Jonathan Zaslow in the backwards cap.

[Ethan]

Yeah. Well, I'm curious now, how much was he getting offered to shave that mustache? Because like, at what point do you really have to start considering these offers? Like five figures, six figures? Like what are we talking here? That's, that's the follow up question that I have for Lenny McDonald.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, we have to find out because he, Thomas Hickey, of course, is part of our Amazon Monday Night Crew. Grew up in Calgary, so I still have vivid memories of listening to whatever Khmer's was GMC and the way would end would be. And tell him Lanny sent you. And I said to Lanny, I go, like, what would happen if I did that? Like I went to an auto dealership in that era and go, hey, Lenny sent me. Am I getting 10% off tires? Am I getting free oil changes or what? Give me an answer.

[John Denzaslo]

And then talking about Toronto, you know, Toronto and Florida are tied at the Atlantic Division right now. And you mentioned the season that Auston Matthews is having. Obviously not anywhere near the year that he had last year. What's like the tenor in Toronto surrounding Auston Matthews? And of course, you know, you remember this past, you know, when we're in the, the, the, the Four nations, you know, you can look at his performance there as well. Like, how are they feeling about him right now?

[Adnan Virk]

It's a great question. Sass. He's one of those guys, he's kind of like the golden boy. Like he, he is above reproach. You know, having been born in Toronto and growing up in Ontario, a lot of those horrible 80s Leafs teams, no matter what, they just adored Wendell Clark because he was the one guy that was tough, that would fight, could score. And he was hurt a lot of times, a terrible back injury. But Wendell was that guy. So I thought with this Leafs team, they, they kick the crap out of Mitch Marner, they'll beat up on him. They'll beat up on their goaltending, their defense, whatever it is, but generally they're always favorable towards Austin Matthews. So I haven't heard much criticism at all while he was there. The whole thought is he's much more hurt than you think, like he's playing through an injury. So rather than why is this guy, relatively speaking, stinking up the joint? It's what a tough guy. Clearly he's not 100%. He's still playing. By the way, they always beat up on Marner. He's on pace for 101 points, which would be a career high. And we all know the rumors, the fact they apparently went to him allegedly trying to trade him for Rantin Jason Demers. My my podcast co host Unscripted said if he was mar he would not return to Toronto. Nylander still having another wonderful season, but no specifically to Matthews.

[David Zaslow]

They love AM34 and then I want to ask you right now, the Caps just became the first team to clinch a playoff spot last night. They're on 100 points. The jets are also on 100 points. It's going to be an epic battle down the stretch to see who wins the President's Trophy. But neither of these teams really did a whole lot at the deadline. And I know sometimes we kind of get caught up in who made the splashy acquisitions at the deadline and whatnot. Do you think they did enough? Do you think too many teams around them not so much better that they might not be serious candidates to go deep in the playoffs anymore?

[Adnan Virk]

So, Ethan, I always worry about it. I look at the Carolina Hurricane specifically and I say, you know, they're one of those teams. They're always B plus, A minus, but come playoff time, they can't elevate, they can't get to the next level. And that's why I did love the rants and a move. I said no, he's a superstar that can transcend. Of course they could have done their due diligence and matrix, you want to sign a long term deal, but regardless, you pivot, you do what you got to do. To your point with Winnipeg, and by the way, I'm going to be making my fourth trip to Winnipeg coming up here. Yeah, I know, right? Thankfully, home game this Monday, by the way, we got Canucks, Devils, we build it as the Hughes bowl. And then Jack Hughes got hurt, but at least we get to see Quinn Hughes. So I'll just be driving to the Meadowlands. You're 35 minutes in Newark. But the week after that, Denver can't wait to see the avalanche. But kidding McCarr up close and personal. Then we've got Winnipeg and Edmonton to close the close the Amazon schedule. Kings, Oilers, as you guys know, the final game. But Ethan, to your point, Jets. I'm going to watch them again April 7th and everything I keep saying about them is Halbrook's about to win his third. Vesna, they've got three great lines, solid defense. I love Morrissey. I think He's a top 10 defenseman. Scheifele, Connor obviously lead the attack. Power play's been a little quiet recently and you wonder how important that is come playoff time because you know you have to score goals at 5 on 5. You can't just rely on penalties. Less penalties are called in the playoffs. But I think it's a fair point. I was talking to Mark Parish yesterday on NHL Network. I'm with Kevin Weeks today.

[Ethan]

Another former Panthers.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, exactly like we love the part. Exactly. Good call, Dave. If I said you know who's. Who's coming out of the Central. No one's saying the jets like I me and Perry both said the Stars, Demers and Weeks, he said the Avalanche like no one's going like yeah, Winnipeg's a tdp, they're going to win the division and everyone's going eh. I want to see what Halbuck does in the playoffs. Like he has yet to prove that to me and made some mistakes.

[Ethan]

Are they like Toronto of the Western Conference? Are they good as hell in the in the regular season but nobody thinks they're going to do it in the playoffs.

[David Zaslow]

Are they actually the best team in the West? Because look how good as far as points are concerned. But look how good Colorado looks right now. They're to me they're terrifying. McKinnon A car the way Natures has been playing since he's gone over there. Like they've been. They've gotten better since they traded ran in, which is an insane thing to say. And their lines after the trade deadline, you look at them and they're as deep as anybody in the league right now.

[Adnan Virk]

And the single best reason to watch the NHL playoffs is going to be that series. Dallas, Colorado, like it's, it's maddening to me because either of those teams could be co favorites when the Stanley cup and one of those two teams is going to be out after the first round. Amazing.

[Roy]

All right, let's get to the video portion of this segment. We have a video of two fans at a Capitals game from 20 years ago and most recently so These fans were kids when they showed up to this capital 2005 with foam eights on their head. And 20 years later, as grown ass men, they showed up to a Capitals game. Now those foam eights have autographs on them, and they are celebrating Alexander Oveskin. Now, Alexander Oveskin scored last night. He now has 888 goals in his career. That's seven away from breaking the record. 888 goals for the grade eight.

[Ethan]

Is he gonna hit a thousand?

[Roy]

No. This. This.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

He can still play for a few more years if he wants to.

[John Denzaslo]

Do we know yet when Gretzky is going to start following the Capitals?

[Roy]

I think he's starting.

[Adnan Virk]

I think it was five goals to go.

[Roy]

Oh, I think he's gone.

[Ethan]

Yeah, I guess as soon as you're in the realm of. He could do it this game. Which five goals in a game isn't that crazy for a guy like Ovechkin? So, yeah, that would make sense.

[John Denzaslo]

All right. Hopefully, I mean, gets it done in a timely fashion. I don't know. Gretzky wants to be spending two, three weeks on the road with the cap.

[Ethan]

Imagine if he drags it out.

[Roy]

He's got his own private jet in Utah. Apparently, Mikhail Sergachev has a chicken farm and he's given eggs.

[Ethan]

It's a smart guy.

[Roy]

Yeah. He's given eggs to his teammates in a tweet from Bel Frazier, who's in the locker room. I just have a lot of eggs. Once we hit like 24, 30 eggs, I start giving them away to my teammates. Obviously, I. Well, I take care of them. Now there's a shortage of eggs, so guys appreciate it more. Now, eggs are expensive.

[Ethan]

If there was anywhere this was going to happen, though, Utah.

[Roy]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

Communal, kind people, from what I've been told. I haven't been there, but seems like a happy place, right? I don't know. Correct me if I'm wrong, fellas, but it seems like this is like Winnipeg.

[Roy]

Maybe all of Canada.

[David Zaslow]

Calgary, Edmonton. I don't know. Anan would know Canadian geography better than we would.

[Adnan Virk]

Well, I'll tell you this right now, here in New Jersey, I can tell we have an egg shortage. It's just unbelievable. I mean, we don't need to get political and to hold terrorists right now, but God, we can't even get enough eggs here in New Jersey. Forget about back home in Canada. And I will tell you, speaking back home to Canadians, there's people. My best friends will not buy strawberries. It's. What do you mean? He goes to My local grocery store. It's only from America. I said, that's going too far. A man needs his strawberries.

[Roy]

There was another tweet from that presser. Nick Buckstead apparently had a comment that another former Panther.

[Adnan Virk]

Respected by chickens like that.

[Roy]

Yeah. Brooks said to him about his circus chickens potentially having bird flu. You should check that. Said, it's insane.

[Ethan]

Chickens.

[Roy]

He disrespected my chickens like that. I still gave him eggs because he said his wife went to the store and there were no eggs.

[John Denzaslo]

That is disrespectful to claim that his, his, his birds have bird flu.

[Ethan]

Right?

[Roy]

Yeah, that's. That's, that's bad. He's doing a service to everybody, too.

[Ethan]

Yeah. You know, that's a knock on wood joke. You don't do that right now.

[Roy]

Yeah, not right now. And I'm going to extend my Allenders shit talk streak on this show. Even though I was wondering if you.

[Ethan]

Were going to get to that.

[Roy]

Yeah, I got. I got no choice. I got to continue to streak no matter what happened with the Panthers this week. But here's a video. And there's sound on this, by the way. Here's a video of an Islanders fan chirping at John Tavares, who made his return on the island.

[David Zaslow]

Hey, Jordan, you're a traitor, a liar.

[Host]

A snake, a fake. You should have told us.

[Roy]

We would have got pitched for you, you phony fake.

[David Zaslow]

You suck.

[John Denzaslo]

Always sucked in.

[Ethan]

Alex, you'll always be a loser.

[David Zaslow]

Always.

[John Denzaslo]

I love you.

[Ethan]

Always.

[Roy]

And you know what I'm saying?

[Adnan Virk]

You should have told him, you stay 45.

[David Zaslow]

I used to love you.

[Ethan]

Oh, man.

[Roy]

I used to love loser mentality.

[Ethan]

The lady in the background is. The guy's going off. You can hear her. She's like, I love you. That was like, I used to love you.

[David Zaslow]

I think what she's saying.

[Ethan]

No, no. She was saying that to the guy who was screaming at.

[David Zaslow]

Oh, my God.

[Ethan]

She was saying it to the guy. He's like ripping Tavares a new one. And she.

[John Denzaslo]

Thank you for speaking for us.

[Ethan]

That guy is getting laid. Or he got laid that night for sure. Loser. Islanders talk dirty to me in bed about John Tavares.

[Roy]

Lose a team, lose a fan base. Islanders this season, I'll change my mind.

[Ethan]

Acquisitions.

[Roy]

Oh, yeah, yeah. As soon as that one acquisition now would. Well, as soon as that one release I should say happens, I will be on that ass.

[Ethan]

I saw him. He got stretched recently or was held out of practice.

[Roy]

And he deserves it. Freaking. He had two assists last game by the Way. So, yeah, there's that too. So. But I guess he's.

[David Zaslow]

Does Tavares still scar, you guys from 2016?

[John Denzaslo]

I mean, TroCheck was tripped. Everybody knows that Everybody knows that Everybody.

[Roy]

Knows Everybody knows that except for the referee.

[Ethan]

Everybody knows that it's okay now stand the cup.

[Roy]

All right, Wins of the week, David.

[Ethan]

My win of the week goes to a young man in the ohl by the name of Jake Carabella. This young man had something happen to him the other night in a game against the Flint Firebirds. He lost his cup, and there it is. If you're watching on YouTube, the cup's just kind of hanging out in the ice, and the first guy they show is a guy named Wang, which is just hilarious. But anyway, so the ref goes and grabs the cup, picks it up, takes it over to the bench, gives it to Carabella, and you know what he does? He says, thank you, and he shoves it right back in his pants. That one of the most hockey things I've seen all week.

[Roy]

Yeah. He used a towel. He used the towel to give it.

[Host]

Back to.

[John Denzaslo]

Properly that it's falling out like that. Like, I used to do that when I was 10 years old and we wanted to be super lazy in Little league where you wouldn't wear the entire jock strap and you just wear the.

[Ethan]

Coffee cup in your.

[John Denzaslo]

It's very dangerous.

[Roy]

No, I was a catcher, so I had to make sure that was maintained properly.

[Ethan]

Tin cup over, they'd be like, roy.

[Adnan Virk]

Let me hear it. You start banging on your cup. Otherwise can't give you that mitt.

[John Denzaslo]

Yep.

[Roy]

Yeah, just like that. My win of the week. Earlier this week, the Seattle Kraken held what they called an oops all goalies game. And their goaltender, Joy Dracord, dropped the ceremonial first puck. Now it's really a. A real sight to behold to see dozens of fully padded goaltenders out there playing like the position players. It was a. It's a beauty, man.

[Ethan]

If I got to do that, I would just hit guys.

[Roy]

You want to check?

[Ethan]

Yeah. What else am I going to do? I'm not going to try to score on like 25 other goalies. I just want to go out there and bang around.

[John Denzaslo]

It doesn't look terribly organized.

[Adnan Virk]

Everyone loves a good goalie fight. You gotta drop the gloves, just start fighting every goalie you could. That'd be awesome.

[Ethan]

I don't want to fight. I just want to be a troll. I just want to go out there and hit people.

[Roy]

That's hilarious.

[David Zaslow]

Ethan Adnan mentioned Connor Hellebuck Earlier. This guy's pretty amazing. Win of the week from the Jets Canucks game last week. We went with a goalie. We're going back to the goalie. Well, here again, watch this save that Connor Helbuk makes. Comes out of his net, dives all the way back with his stick out. This guy's unbelievable. Look at how close that puck is to going in right there. Unbelievable. Adnan, could this guy legitimately win the heart trophy this year? Not just the Vesna.

[Adnan Virk]

You know, I looked at the odds Ethan yesterday and Dry settle is the favorite. Halibuk is second right now, which I was amazed because I actually thought McKinnon, if you just said to me off top here, my God, McKinnon for the heart. No, right now it's dry settle. Hellback then McKinnon and Hellback I think is going to get nominated. Could he win? Absolutely. I mean if the jets end up winning the Preston's trophy and he's the biggest reason why Andy's going to win his third best and we've seen it before. Josiah Theodore, Kerry Price, Dominican Buck's been an incredible story. I mean he's a triple crown. Categories wins, goals against, shutouts.

[Roy]

I mean, regardless of if the jets win the President's trophy, the way the all the Oilers played this season, I mean they're pretty low in the standings right now. I mean really, I don't know if.

[David Zaslow]

Any skater should win it, it should be McKinnon. He's going to lead the league in points again for the second straight year. He's been the best player in the league. This year his team is going to be, you know, one of the main contenders to win the Stanley cup. Way more than Edmonton is this year. And we all know that as great as Dry Saddle is, he's not the best player on his team. So it's like, can you be the mvp?

[Roy]

He is this season though, by the.

[Adnan Virk]

Case of dress off, 49 goals, 11 more than any other skater. So yeah, insane.

[David Zaslow]

Yeah. His goal scoring numbers this year are insane.

[Roy]

Fails of the week, Dave.

[Ethan]

My fail of the week is us as a collective hockey community, what I do for our collective lack of an understanding of the man that is Matt Rempe. No, what are we doing with this guy? Is he, is he a lug on the ice that just like runs into guys and gets called for penalties? At this point, that's not interference. He's got speed, he's got hands. We just can never see them because he's out there like a friggin Frankenstein on The ice.

[Adnan Virk]

He can't.

[Ethan]

Like, look at this, look at that. Look how quickly he gets up the ice. Like there is still with this guy. And we can't really see it because he's been branded, and partially rightly so, but I just feel like there's more to the man than what we see. And now he's like the referees. Every time he sneezes or he looks at a guy, he's getting called for a penalty. I don't know.

[Roy]

Yeah, he's getting penalties called on him that are not actually penalties because he is who he is.

[Ethan]

So I just think there's more to Matt Rempe that meets the eye. And I think maybe we're starting to really push him into a corner and maybe unfairly so. I don't know.

[Roy]

My feel of the week comes from Avalanche Maple Leafs referee Kelly Sutherland.

[Ethan]

Oh, no.

[Roy]

Wrong place, wrong time. He fell. He fell forward and the puck stopped.

[Adnan Virk]

Oh, no.

[Ethan]

Fast.

[Roy]

And that's not the worst case because.

[David Zaslow]

Former Panther Stephen Lawrence came in and scored.

[Roy]

Former Panther show on Mackenzie Blackwood.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah. Fighting with the stars for second place. Essential. Imagine if they fall by two points, the Stars get home ice because of Kelly Sutherland's boo. Boo.

[David Zaslow]

This was a huge game for the Panthers. This tied the division. This tied the Atlantic Division because the Leafs won this game.

[Roy]

Well, I mean, the Panthers won after the Maple Leafs one, so technically, nah.

[John Denzaslo]

But still, you'd like to be ahead by two.

[Roy]

Yes, absolutely. But of course, this road trip did not help the Panthers not.

[John Denzaslo]

Got one more. Got one more tomorrow.

[Roy]

Yeah, I got one more tomorrow.

[John Denzaslo]

You feel good about the road trip? You win at Washington, you'll feel good about it.

[Roy]

Back to backs to away and home. That's ridiculous. What are we doing?

[Ethan]

Well, they got what, three back to backs in the next two weeks? Because I think they. They got a road trip coming up where it's a back to back, two days off and then another back to back. The very strange what the schedule makers have done to the Panthers.

[Roy]

So stupid. Ethan.

[David Zaslow]

Guys, the Buffalo Sabers are really bad. And anytime you lose to the Buffalo Sabers, it's really bad. But this is one of the worst ways you can lose to the Buffalo Sabers. Here Tomas Hurdle has a breakaway with an empty net, tries to dump it back to Jack Eichel. For some reason, not really sure why, puck goes the other way. Sabers score to tie the game with like, less than a minute left. We go to a shootout, no goals in overtime. Here comes Alex Tuck. I think this is. Beats him for the winner Sabers win. They had an empty net goal to put it away. My fill of the week goes to the Vegas Golden Knights.

[Roy]

And just to tell you how bad the Sabres season has been, there was an own goal on a delayed penalty when Sabres played the Utah Hockey Club.

[Ethan]

And it didn't even go to the goalie. Like if you score on yourself, the other goalie should get credit.

[Roy]

No, it was a bad pass that went across the length of the ic.

[David Zaslow]

I think that's how the Utah Hockey Club scored their first ever goal in the preseason this year. It was a goal that was a bad pass into an empty net on a delayed penalty in the preseason.

[Ethan]

That's very appropriate for the former Coyotes.

[Roy]

That's. That's ridiculous.

[Adnan Virk]

By the way, a good reminder for all the sports media out there. Like Ethan pointed out, Bruce, Cassie afterwards was asked by a reporter who simply said empty netter. A couple guys in the ice there didn't score the goal. And Bruce paused and goes, is there a question in there? Always ask a question, especially to a pissed off coach minutes after they should have buried an empty netter.

[Roy]

Not great. Not great at all. And thank you for joining us, prime Monday night hockey, Adnan Burke.

[Adnan Virk]

Thank you so much, fellas. Appreciate it. I'll see you guys again soon. I can't wait for the playoffs.

[Ethan]

Be well, brother.

[David Pinotta]

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[Host]

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[David Zaslow]

Yep.

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[Roy]

David Pinata joins us from the fourth period. And the GM meetings has wrapped up this week and they were talking about league business and whatnot and maybe some rule changes, maybe not, who knows? But yeah, the general managers gathered together in Florida to talk about what's going on in the league. But there was a major issue that came from the Devil's gm, Tom Fitzgerald. His son Casey was cut under the chin by another former Panther. Yeah, another form of Tom Fitzgerald. Another huge goal.

[John Denzaslo]

Game 796, gigantic goal.

[Roy]

But his son was slit by a skate in a freak accident. He luckily made it to a medical facility and got stitched up. He is okay. Also, what happened with the Canadians and the Senators? Josh Anderson was wearing cut proof skates, socks and the back of his leg got slit. Luckily the sock saved him. Shane Pinto, as you can see in this video right there. Oh, that could have been career ending. That was right.

[John Denzaslo]

Did that happen to Huberto a few years ago?

[Ethan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. In a preseason game.

[Roy]

Yeah, that, that was that. That could have been, yeah.

[Ethan]

Cut his Achilles or some crazy. Oh, God.

[Roy]

So Tom Fitzgerald has made a impassioned plea to institute cut resistant protective gear for the players. You know, kind of grandfather them in, kind of like the visors and whatnot. So what are we hearing from the GMs? Is there any traction on this happening? David?

[Host]

Seems like there is. You know, they want to be obviously cognizant of how to protect these guys on a regular basis. And you know athletes, they're creatures of habit. So any type of adjustment or change and they're going to go, whoa, whoa, I don't like this. Hold on. Sometimes you got to force the issue. And you know, even when you show them these types of videos and you show them what happened to other guys, some guys are stubborn. So from a GM's perspective, they want to make sure their guys are safe. And some guys have been wearing neck protectors. And Kopitar in LA has been a big proponent that he wants these. He's been wearing it even in preseason games and wants that to be a regular thing for the rest of his guys. I think the more we see this, the more this is going to come into play, whether they make it mandatory or they grandfather it in, like you said, for the younger guys coming into the league. Well, we'll obviously have to wait and see. But. But yeah, Tommy made a nice plea, a good argument, an emotional argument to have this instituted across the league. We'll see exactly where that goes. Everything is optional right now, including the, the, you know, protective Kevlar, protective socks and things like that, which obviously helped Josh Anderson. Even at the end of that video, he's kind of looking out, just going, wow, I got lucky. And he did. And it's again, just a reminder for him, his teammates, and even people, other people around the league, you got to protect yourselves because it's a fast, high impact sport. Anything could happen.

[David Zaslow]

Let me ask you, as somebody who has never played hockey before, what's the issue here? Like, why do these, why are these guys so resistant? Is it a tough guy thing or is it a comfort thing? Like, what's the. This seems so obvious to me to where everything possible that would be cut resistant.

[Host]

It's more of a comfort thing, honestly. Like, these guys, again, creatures of habit. They've been doing this since they were, you know, four years old, five years old, and they haven't had to wear it. And they feel like it's going to be restrictive in some fashion, which, you know, when you're on the outside looking in, you're going, that doesn't make any sense. That's silly. But when you're playing it, you know, you have to put something else on that you're not accustomed to or used to. It's in the back of your mind. Eventually I think it will get pushed in fully across the board. But until then, you're going to see a little bit of resistance from the players and they, them wanting it to be their choice, which I get to a certain extent. But I think eventually this is going to be a mainstream thing in the National Hockey League.

[Ethan]

Yeah, Ethan just kind of thinking about like guy like Martin Brodeur wore the same chest protector for like 30 years. Like, look at Matthew Tachuk. He wears the same ratty piece of whatever shirt on. Like these guys wear the same gear for 20, 30 years. So it doesn't surprise me that there'd be pushback and starting it from a lower level would make sense. But Dave, I wanted to talk to you about something else that kind of came out of the GM meeting. Something that I've been clamoring about for a while, and it sounds like it's not going to happen, is an extension of the 3 on 3 overtime from 5 minutes to 10 minutes, just because I think it would cut out like 95% of shootouts, which I think we'd all be in favor of. So it doesn't sound like that's happening. It doesn't sound like there's going to be any rule changes in the immediate future. And it sounds like the playoff format is going to stay the same because Gary Bettman said he loves it the way it is. Why are they just adverse to change? Are they just really happy despite what, like what the. I guess what guys like us are saying? It seems like Gary's just very happy with the status quo.

[Host]

Yeah, there haven't been any big need day for like, you know, big rule changes. They've. They reviewed goaltender interference, they reviewed some of the other different plays off sides. Just making sure that everything's kind of aligned there. With respect to the, to the playoff format, they really. Their argument and it's worked and it's, it's. I understand it. I don't agree with it. I think it should change too. But I get why they're so strong on this one. To have the rivalries kick in right out of the gate has meant a lot for the league in terms of its ratings and everything that's tied to that. So for the potential to see Colorado Dallas in the first round, even though that's like a conference final, Stanley cup final type of matchup, in terms of the caliber of these two teams, it's going to draw a lot of attention right out of the gate when the playoffs begin. And that just means more eyes, that means more potential revenue, etc. Etc. Etc. So from a league perspective, they feel that that argument is valid and that's why they don't want to change it. And again, I get it, but my preference would be I'd rather see that as a conference final, for example, but the potential to have Tampa, Florida in the first round, Toronto, Ottawa, first round, Colorado Dallas, first round, Edmonton, Louisiana. First round. There's so many different storylines tied to just boosts ratings significantly and, and again, good for sponsorship. And then you hope that the viewership continues round after round after round with all the hype that's built up in round one. That's. That's the league's argument.

[John Denzaslo]

Where are we on the All Star format?

[Host]

It's going to change. I don't know if we'll have an All Star game per say next season. There will be an All Star weekend. To what extent? That's what they're trying to figure out over these next few weeks here. There's going to be. I think the skills competition is going to stay. They'll tweak a few things there. But because everyone is going to be in New York and they're all going to fly to Milan for the, for the Winter Olympics. You know, I think there's going to be some type of international flair to it, obviously piggybacking off four nations leading into Olympics. It makes sense to do something in that type of format. To what extent I don't know yet, because they don't even know. But there will be an All Star weekend. I don't think the game itself will happen. I think there will be other activities around it, a skills competition, maybe expanded. I'm sure they're going to bring three on three in some capacity back as well in some type of competitive format.

[Roy]

Frank Seller. Excuse me, Frank. Sarah Valli has written a article on power plays being at his lowest level since the 196364 season. Like penalties are just not being called. There have been 747 fewer power plays this year than last year. That's a 12% drop. I shouldn't say penalties aren't being called. It's probably more of the, you know, the four and four type situations where the matching penalties and scrums and stuff like that and the GMs don't know why. What are you hearing out of the GM meetings about the power plays being lowered?

[Host]

Yeah, there's, there's a little bit of confusion with, with regard to that and, and publicly, the league and it's, it's entities, including the GMs, they don't like to criticize the refs publicly. So we'll see what they're saying behind the scenes. Eventually that will probably come out, but there's some head scratchers and a lot of people, you know, they wonder why, you know, certain calls aren't being, aren't being called, certain penalties aren't being called, why they're just letting everything go. In Toronto. I sit in the press and Toronto's management staff is right above me and you get to hear a few comments being made as to why that wasn't called, that wasn't called, and how was that called? But the last four weren't. I mean, I've even sat there. I'm sure you guys have to. You sit there and you start, well, that should have been one. Well, that's a hooking call. That's interference. That's this, that's that. And they kind of let it go. If it's consistent across the board, then I don't think people have much of a problem with it overall. But if it's. If it varies game by game, then that's where. That's where the concern really starts to factor in. So even if they're calling less, if they're letting things go, as long as it's the same in October as it is in June, teams really don't have much of an argument and they're comfortable with that at the end of the day. They'll be heated in the moment, but at least they'll go. Well, at least they didn't call that crap in November and December and all of a sudden they're calling it now or vice versa. League just wants. The players just want consistency. If the penalties are lower and they're letting guys get away with more stuff, so be it. As long as it's the same from game one as is it is to the last game of the Cup Final.

[Ethan]

Dave. It is March 21st. We are less than a month away from the Stanley cup playoffs beginning. And as I looked at the standings this morning, I noticed something very interesting. I noticed that all seven Canadian teams are either in a playoff spot or within two points of a playoff spot. So we've got a legitimate chance of having all seven Canadian teams in the playoffs, which would give your nation basically a 50% chance of winning the Stanley cup for the first time in, I don't know, like, 50 years. How long has it been? 93.

[Roy]

Since 1993.

[Host]

Been a while.

[Ethan]

What's the excitement level up in your neck of the woods? Are they, like, getting jacked up? Generally, I know that it's very compartmentalized with who roots for who, but it seems like this should be, like the time for Canadian hockey fans.

[Host]

Yeah, well, I'm in Toronto, so it's. It's a little. The vibe's a little different here. It's. It's a combination of hell with everyone else. We just want the Leafs to win and this team's not even good enough because they lost a couple nights ago and. And blow this team up. Even though they're tied with the Panthers and points. It's, I think, in the other markets, like Ottawa is hyped, Montreal ridiculously hyped right now with what they could potentially do. There's a lot of pessimism in Toronto, a lot of pessimism in Vancouver, too. They're very similar in that respect. Edmonton's hoping that McDavid and Draisaitler are healthy as they're getting looked at, I think, today as well. So they're hyped. They want a chance at the Stanley cup again, but they want to make sure their guys are good. And Winnipeg is just, I mean, they're rolling and they're waiting for game 83 because that's what they're so focused on, postseason play that they just want that, that, that to get going. I think more Ottawa, Calgary, Montreal. Those are the markets where everyone's really hyped up about the potential of making the playoffs because the haves weren't expected to. Calgary wasn't really expected to this season and Ottawa was hopeful, but there needed to be a lot of things to go right for the Sens and they have this season with Travis Green behind the bench. So I think there's more. It's more of a selective market wide type of excitement and exuberance for the potential of making the playoffs in those three markets versus pessimism in Vancouver and Toronto. And expectations in Winnipeg and Edmonton at usually a pretty consistent high.

[John Denzaslo]

Which Canadian teams would the Toronto Maple Leaf fan root for to bring the cup back to Canada?

[David Zaslow]

Oh, that's a great question.

[Host]

That's a really good one, I would imagine. Definitely not Montreal, right? Probably not Ottawa.

[John Denzaslo]

Like what was it like in the Stanley cup final last year?

[Host]

I think they were kind of like, all right, cool, we'll watch. And you know the Blue Jays sucks, so they couldn't deal with that in the summer. I think half of them were cheering for Edmonton and the other half were like, whatever. We just like hockey. Go Florida.

[David Zaslow]

How mad were people though, when the cup went in the Atlantic Ocean? Like was Canada, was there a day of mourning in Canada when that happened?

[Host]

There was. There was like a collective sigh, like a hand on the chest. Matt, what are you doing? And then, and then they're like, okay, it's. It's safe, it's good, we're okay. I think that was the cup keepers reactions too when, when that happened outside elbow room. But it was like there's a, there's a crazy. Obviously there's a crazy passion for, for the sport and, and for everything tied to it, but it's also like market driven in Toronto. I'm sure there were more fans during. For Edmonton than, than there weren't. I would imagine Calgary would be the same Vancouver. I don't know if Toronto would be all on board with that. And definitely Winnipeg. I don't think they would care. But definitely they don't want Montreal and definitely not Ottawa getting anywhere near a Stanley Cup. The cup run that the Habs were on in 2021 when they lost to Tampa and Beat Toronto in the first round. That was, that was all hands on deck. Just anything against the Habs is, works well for Toronto fans.

[Roy]

All right, a couple of questions before we get out of here. Did the league talk about Donald Trump's idea of having a NHL KHL All Star Game? And where are we on the cba? I mean, there's an influx of money coming in for the league. So is there a league piece right now.

[Host]

The NHL, KHL stuff? That's, that's never going to happen anytime soon.

[Roy]

There you go. Thank you.

[Host]

So that's, that's really the end of that. With respect to the cba. I've never seen the NHL and NHLPA still harmonious before going back to like the 20034 lockout or 4005, whatever it was, and the previous one. And I've never seen it. Even in the last regime, the tensions were always high. Like you could, you'd have to walk on eggshells talking about it. I've talked to Gary Bettman and the deputy commissioner, Bill Daley and the executive director of the nhlpa, Marty Walsh and his number two, and Ron Hainsey, former NHL or everyone's reaction has been we're good. We'll, we'll figure it out. We're not too concerned about it. I've never seen that before. And keep in mind, they had to agree on everything tied to four nations because it was a joint venture between the NHL and mhlpa. They had to agree on bringing the World cup back because again, joint venture. And they did that relatively seamlessly. They had to agree on the, on the cap numbers for the next three seasons and the projections that are moving forward, and they did with, with relative ease. The negotiations, as Bettman said this week, are going to start in April, but they've had discussions across the board for the last little while, for the last several weeks. So I don't think they're at a point where these talks, these negotiations are going to have to fine tune anything because there will be some sticking points. I know the players are going to want to have a chat about expansion and where those revenues go, because right now that is strictly shared by the owners and the team and the leagues, excuse me, the league and the teams argue that while we're giving you new jobs. So that's where your influx of revenue kicks in. But that's going to be a talking point along with a few other things. But there's nothing pressing that is going to risk any pause in, in labor peace. The goal is to get something done this summer, maybe. I mean the the very aggressive goal is to get something done by the Stanley Cup Final. Again, aggressive. We'll see. But I would be shocked. Based on everything that's happening right now, I'd be shocked if by next season at the latest. We don't hear that the league and the NHLPA have extended their CBA several years.

[Roy]

Well, it sounds like good news coming out of Florida with the GM meeting. So David Pinotta, thank you for joining us. Thank you, David.

[Host]

Absolutely. Boys.

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[Roy]

All right, it's time for the Panthers recap, presented by Jagermeister Server code or don't serve it at all. Jagermeister. Damn. That's code. For more, visit jagermeister.com Drink responsibly. On Saturday, the Panthers played at Montreal. And that was terrible. Terrible. Arterio is bad. They looked uninterested in this game, but the Canadiens, they really put their best effort into that one. And the Panthers deserved this loss. Probably not as much as the Canadiens deserved that win, according to Paul. Maurice. Fellas. I mean, it was. It was not a good game.

[Ethan]

No, the Panthers did not look like their usual selves. They weren't physical. They weren't really playing up in their balls of their feet. Montreal took it to him for a good two and a half periods, and by the time Florida woke up, it was definitely too little, too late.

[John Denzaslo]

Yeah, it was a horrendous first period. And, you know, maybe if after that first period, they're only down one nothing, they're on two nothing. And you know, you're in the game, but then you get to a place in that third period, you can't give up. The next goal they do, they lose 3 1.

[Ethan]

Yep.

[Roy]

Yeah, it's one of those situations where you go down early and you go down by two goals and then you spend the rest of the game trying to catch up. And they did. I mean, they put shots on net and they put attempts at Least on they tried, but nothing doing.

[Ethan]

Now Sam Montebo did look good and goal for Montreal. Another former Panther. Goodness gracious.

[Roy]

I mean, it was bad. So that was Montreal and on Sunday, again, the back to back. And this is, this is a running theme for the Panthers. For the rest of the season they played the Islanders. Now this, this loss, they lost 4 to 2 was probably the most angry I've been at this team in a very long time. And I'm talking about. We went to Edmonton twice and they lost. We flew 10,000.

[David Zaslow]

I don't want to hear you complain.

[Roy]

I'm gonna complain about this. God damn it. 15,000 miles, 10 cities to Edmonton and back. And, and they lost. And I wasn't as angry as I was when they lost to the Islanders on Sunday. And come on, man, they blew a two goal lead just like they did in Boston. And of course, period.

[John Denzaslo]

Lead.

[David Zaslow]

Common theme here, defense. Well, no, I mean, what's going on? Recently got hurt.

[Roy]

He left the game. They were down.

[David Zaslow]

Well, obviously Kulikov, big loss. But what's going on? I can't quite. Oh, that Ekblad guy.

[Ethan]

Yes, he's.

[David Zaslow]

He matters. He matters for all those people that like to on Eckblad a little bit, give him, you know, some flack for how he plays. This guy is super important because I.

[Ethan]

Mean, look at the way we don't know what he took. We, you know.

[David Zaslow]

Right. That's the other thing. It's like we don't really know how much of an impact this actually had on his play this year. He's been a great player for them for a long time. Clearly he's really important because not only do they miss him, but we saw what Seth Jones was as a number one defenseman in Chicago. Right. That was the whole thing when he came here was we thought him moving down the lineup in Florida would make him a more effective player. And he's been awesome since coming over, don't get me wrong. But now he's had to shoulder that Lotus, the number one defenseman. And you got a two goal lead blown in in Boston, a lackadaisical effort in Montreal, and then another two goal lead blown in the third period against the lowly Islanders, who they're hot right now, but I mean, it's, it was ugly. And you see some of the things, you know, even in that Toronto game, which was a great win for them, you saw, you know, a pass go through a wide open lane that you don't usually see where, you know, the defense is usually a lot sharper than that. So I think they really miss Aaron Ekblad, and hopefully he comes back right, ready to play because he's going to be coming back for game three, the first round of the playoffs. If they're. If they're in a 11 series or even, God forbid, they're down 2 nothing to Tampa, Toronto, Ottawa, like, that's a big hole to dig out of, and they're going to need him to come back firing right away.

[John Denzaslo]

I think it's going to be a blessing, actually, him missing all this time. Yeah, he's going to come back a month off.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah.

[John Denzaslo]

And. And we know what he's looked like, especially after they lost in the Stanley cup finals. He was. He was super banged up. And now you're talking about another run into mid June, and then you want Eck Blood to play again the entire season. I mean, if this could happen, if this could happen to one guy who needs a little bit of rest here, I think it's going to wind up being a blessing in disguise to this team.

[David Zaslow]

And the other guy who's out to Chucky, like, I think Chucky is another guy who, with the physical way that he plays in the playoffs, obviously he's coming off an injury, so it's different. But getting him some time off to kind of get right, get back to 100%. Yeah, it's going to be huge for him in the playoffs, and I think he's going to have no problem coming back.

[Roy]

Firing on all cylinders as far as Kulikov is concerned. Palmari says that he expects Kulikov to return before the end of the regular season, which is. I hate that statement. I hate that statement. Because there's a month left in the regular season.

[Adnan Virk]

Well.

[John Denzaslo]

And they. They don't have to be forthcoming in that league.

[Roy]

No, absolutely. It's a lower body. It's upper body injury. Yeah, it's.

[Ethan]

Well, that. That's the weird thing, right, is an arm upper. Look, it's like, look, it's dangling. My arms are dangling. My lower body.

[Roy]

It connects to where.

[Ethan]

Starts at the upper body, but, man.

[John Denzaslo]

They don't have to say anything.

[Host]

Yeah.

[John Denzaslo]

We think he'll be back before the end of the year.

[Roy]

If this was the NFL and Palm Reese did that, he would get fined. Like, there's.

[David Zaslow]

There's different rules.

[Ethan]

There's different rules, you know, operating within the rules that are made. It's like with Matthew Tkachuk and ltir, they're not making the rules. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

[Roy]

Yeah. Hate the play. It's just the fact that I don't know when he's going to return and I hate that because now we gotta rely on who. Whoever the Panthers are going to send up from. From Charlotte. And who.

[Ethan]

Who could that be? Tobias Bjorn fought the Bigfoot, I think is the nickname I've heard once or twice, which is pretty.

[John Denzaslo]

He was fine last night.

[Roy]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

No, they like him.

[David Zaslow]

Yeah, yeah, they're gonna shelter him. They're gonna shelter.

[Roy]

Yeah. He needs real good little more season but good days getting.

[Ethan]

He's a former first round pick.

[Roy]

Yeah. You're just saying last night in Columbus. That one I want to say by the skin of the teeth. I mean it was a golden is duel.

[John Denzaslo]

But that was as exciting a 00 game you're gonna get. Yeah, that was a great game.

[Roy]

How long has it been since the Panthers have gone to overtime without.

[John Denzaslo]

It was at Columbus six years. Five or six years. Also at Columbus five years ago.

[Ethan]

See, I think Goldie said it was the same goalies too. This is Mercedes and Bob. It would have been Bob for the Panthers.

[John Denzaslo]

It was definitely.

[Ethan]

Elvis has been in Columbus.

[John Denzaslo]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Yeah. That was a great game. Normally, you know, sometimes you get the 00 games like this is kind of shitty game. There were a ton of chances, ton of posts, especially Columbus. The goaltending for Columbus was fantastic. I mean Bobrovsky had to make some saves too, but he had a goal disallowed. Easy call. Puck was clearly kicked in. You're a little bit nervous though because you get the goal during the third period. It's like, wow, you know, this is. We're going to lose it. But Barkov in. In overtime, which felt like really his only good chance of the game.

[Roy]

Yeah, two shots on goal.

[Ethan]

Is Barkov getting a little bit more aggressive lately? Does it feel like shoot the puck? Well, it feels like he's shooting a little bit more over the last week or so. I don't even. That overtime shot that there was that.

[David Zaslow]

Tampa game a few weeks ago. This was a sick shot. And I'm screaming out here as he's loading up here. Jones back to him. I'm screaming shoot, shoot, shoot. And he shoots it. Ping right in.

[Roy]

Man is in the shooting lane as well.

[David Zaslow]

Yeah.

[John Denzaslo]

Four on three in overtime. You got.

[David Zaslow]

It's too easy. Yeah, it's too easy. But he had that game a couple weeks ago against Tampa where he scored twice. Two snipes right past Vasileski and it felt like Cindy. Since then he's been a little more aggressive. He had A game earlier this year, I think it was back in like December against the Blues where he kind of decided in overtime it was the same thing. I don't think it was a power play, but he had. He made that sick play or he did. He drew a penalty and then it was a four on three and he made that sick play to draw the penalty. And then he just decided this game's over and fired it right past the keeper. Same thing here. I love when he shoots the puck, guys. I love when the captain just decides this game is over and we're going to shoot the puck and it's going to go in and we're going to win this game. And the Panthers look desperate at times. Last night there was some desperate. That penalty kill at the end of the game was desperate. Penalty killing. But Columbus is desperate as well. They've scored one goal in their last four games. They're kind of fading from the playoff race a little bit. Montreal's hot all of a sudden. The Islanders are hot. The Rangers are hanging around. So it looked they were. Those were two teams that really needed a win last night especially. Tampa won. Toronto won as well. So the Panthers had to keep pace with these teams. That was a massive win for the Panthers last night.

[Roy]

Alexander Barkov is who he is because he's a playmaker. He's great defensively. I mean, he's bound to get another Selkie trophy and has an excellent shot which he does not use often enough, especially his backhand, and is very, very good. To see him get pucks on net.

[John Denzaslo]

Tomorrow's huge because you win tomorrow. You're talking. And not only is it a win against the Capitals, but it's back to back wins. You come home and the schedule softens up significantly. At the end of this month, you're talking at home against Pittsburgh, Utah, Montreal. You could hit a little run here if you win tomorrow.

[Roy]

Well, the good news is that Alexander Veschin will not break the all time goals.

[Ethan]

Probably not.

[Roy]

Unless of course, he scores seven, which.

[Ethan]

I doubt because if he does break that record tomorrow, what would that be?

[John Denzaslo]

Zachary, how many goals in the game?

[Ethan]

I was trying to set you up for a bad news.

[Roy]

Yeah, that'd be bad news.

[John Denzaslo]

I mean, you have to score seven goals. I imagine it'd be bad news for the Panthers.

[Adnan Virk]

Yes.

[Jerbear]

Cats are your boys the.

[John Denzaslo]

The Caps or the Cats?

[David Zaslow]

The Cats.

[John Denzaslo]

I mean, the Cats are obviously my boys. I mean, come on now, I want.

[David Zaslow]

To ask you guys about.

[Roy]

Well, hold on. Let's dive further into this matchup. Between the Capitals because I mean if you look at that team, Tom Wilson is having a career year. 30 goals, 30 goals. Career. I mean it's a career high. He is a one away from a career high in assists and he has a career high and 57 points this season. And of course the Capitals are tied for the President's trophy right now with 100 points. They got a game in hand, so they're at the top of the table and they have one more regulation win, so they got the tiebreaker there. This is a good team. And as much as it's been a surprise for the Capitals this season, they are a really good team.

[Ethan]

Especially golden, fun, exciting. Yeah, I mean Logan Thompson has been amazing. I remember when he got traded during the draft and people like what's going on with Washington made. But yeah, he's been spectacular. Jacob Chickren, another amazing addition for them the off season. He's been great, but just a fun team to watch. I, I wonder guys, how good are they going to be when the playoffs get here? Because I remember a Panthers team a few years ago, so really fun, really exciting. A lot of end to end, a lot of high scoring games. They didn't really fare that well once playoff hockey.

[John Denzaslo]

Oh, we did not play well that series against Washington, so.

[Ethan]

And they won that series and then they got swept by Tampa. So I'm wondering, is this Capital's team a playoff for real team? Are they a regular season for real team?

[Host]

I've gotta take.

[Roy]

Oh no, it's a sports whisperer.

[Ethan]

It's Ethan. Gotta take making me uncomfortable making it.

[David Zaslow]

Past the second round.

[Host]

What?

[Ethan]

Yeah.

[Adnan Virk]

Really?

[David Zaslow]

Jaegermeister. Jaeger bomb.

[Roy]

Okay, well, okay.

[Ethan]

Ethan bomb.

[David Zaslow]

I'll tell you why. I just don't. I just think the teams around them got better and they kind of held steady and I understand not wanting to mess up the chemistry that you have on the team right now because things are rolling. I mean they made Pierre Luke Dubois into a good player and he's been rejected everywhere he's gone and all of a sudden he's been awesome for them this year. I just think the teams around them got a little better. They're probably going to get a pretty favorable matchup in the first round.

[John Denzaslo]

Montreal. In the first round.

[David Zaslow]

Montreal. Yeah. You know, if they get Carolina, I mean I'm not a big believer in Carolina at all, so. But in New Jersey they're not going to have Jack Hughes, so I mean they've got the favorable side of the bracket, but I just think this is one of those typical President's Trophy seasons, where a team has an amazing regular season, they ride the coattails of this awesome chase that they've been on with Ovechkin, and then they just kind of fizzle out a little bit again. I think the teams around them just got. Got better and. And they just kind of held steady. They didn't really make any improvements at the deadline.

[John Denzaslo]

I'll tell you what's a weird thing to me, where let's say Ovechkin comes one or two goals short at the end of the season of Gretzky's record, and then we're watching the Capitals in the first round, and, like, he scores a goal to go. I'm supposed to pretend that he doesn't have more goals now than Gretzky?

[Ethan]

Well, like, it's weird. You could add all of his previous playoff goals, and he's blown past Redski already.

[John Denzaslo]

I mean, obviously, you could say the same thing. Oh, well, Gretzky. Gretzky's playable, so.

[Adnan Virk]

But.

[John Denzaslo]

But still, like, if we're doing this whole chase for Gretzky and he's one short and then I watch him score two more goals, like, doesn't happen. He doesn't have more goals now.

[Roy]

The division of regular season stats, Weird.

[Ethan]

For what it's worth, brain severance, regular season and playoffs.

[Adnan Virk]

Right.

[David Zaslow]

A quick Google will tell you Gretzky has 66 more total goals than Ovechkin. He's got 1695, and Ovechkin has 1629. So he would have to score 66 goals.

[Ethan]

Edmonton went on a lot of.

[David Zaslow]

Yeah, I was going to say they.

[John Denzaslo]

Won four cups, five cups in the National Football League. They count Belichick's career playoff wins to catch Shula. Like, why don't we do that with this?

[Roy]

Yeah, it doesn't make any sense. Back to back, by the way, between Saturday at Washington and Sunday at home, when they finally return against the Pittsburgh Penguins, I have nothing to say about them.

[Ethan]

Well, we'll be scowling from the press box.

[Roy]

Yes, yes, yes, we will.

[David Zaslow]

A guy they got to get going is. Is. The guy I always love to talk about is Reinhardt. He's been really quiet since the Four nations, and even a little bit before that. I think the absence of Tkachuk is a big reason why he's had to be more of a distributor, especially on the power play. But they really need to get him going down the stretch here, and this is going to be tight. It's gonna be tight down the stretch.

[Roy]

John Denzel, thank you.

[John Denzaslo]

Yeah, thanks. For having me. Guys, I like being able to talk some hockey, you know, rather than just by myself. I got other guys to talk about it with.

[Roy]

Yeah, that's great. And and Burke and David Pinata was on the show. You can watch that on YouTube for those who are watching on DKN. Okay.

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