The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

The Hockey Show: The NHL Is Upside Down

Date: November 21, 2025
Hosts: Roy Bellamy, David Dwork, Rose, Ethan, Adnan Virk, and others

Episode Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, this episode of "The Hockey Show" dives deep into the current wild state of the NHL with its signature offbeat humor and insightful commentary. The crew discusses the unprecedented spate of bizarre injuries plaguing teams, the Florida Panthers' resilience, standout (and failing) players, jersey nostalgia, youth movements across the league, and the ever-present specter of "Stranger Things." Special guest Adnan Virk brings stories from the NHL beat and helps analyze who among the Canadian teams might finally break through. The episode balances thoughtful hockey analysis with playful segments and laugh-out-loud banter.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The NHL Is "Upside Down": Injuries, Absurdity & Chaos

• Unprecedented Injury Waves:

  • Multiple teams (Panthers, Maple Leafs, Penguins) have 6-7 key players out, many with long-term or even off-the-wall injuries.
  • Roy: "The NHL is in the Upside Down. I don't know what that means. This is the Hockey Show." [01:09]
  • David: Runs down a daunting list of Panthers' injuries, shocked at the length and severity. [02:29]

• Bizarre Injury Stories:

  • Players hurt in non-game activities: barbecue accidents (Loostarinen burns from a propane tank), wine glass mishap (Jack Hughes), and even historical oddities (Joe Sakic hurt by a snowblower; Brent Sopel injures neck picking up a cracker).
  • Ethan: “Weird injury injuries that occurred while preparing or eating food.” [05:34]
  • Roy: "I don't know if I've ever seen barbecue accident as a valid injury reason before. So that's a new one." [04:06]

• League Parity & Paranoia:

  • Injury epidemic seen as part of overall NHL chaos; referenced as the "Upside Down" like in Stranger Things.
  • Rose: "These injuries, they haven't even been in games. One was in practice, the other one was grilling, the other one was a team dinner." [03:35]

2. Florida Panthers Focus

• Adversity & Adaptation:

  • Despite heavy injuries (Barkov, Tkachuk, Kulikov, etc.), the Panthers are largely surviving, maintaining a competitive record.
  • Ethan: “The Panthers, for all the injuries... they're six, three and one in their last 10. They're one point out of a playoff spot.” [58:34]

• Recent Results:

  • Beat Vancouver 8-5 (dominant shooting, but defensive gaps), edged New Jersey 1-0 (tight, defensively disciplined).
  • Bobrovsky bounces back after poor games; Verhaeghe’s goal drought; Jack Devine makes solid NHL debut.
  • David: "Verhegi is just snake-bitten right now... just feels like he can't beat goaltenders right now." [56:19]

• Perspective Amid Panic:

  • The cast calms any panic, noting the team is just one game behind last season's pace despite extreme adversity.
  • Ethan: "Guys, let's all do an exercise... It's 20 games in. Let's all just take a big deep breath." [57:44]

3. NHL Trends & Comedy Segments

• Rip the Ice Card Game:

  • The hosts play a recurring card-based hockey fantasy game, where luck, trash talk, and mild rules confusion abound. Rose laments her bad draw, Roy gets lucky yet again.
  • Rose: "When you don’t want to play and you don’t take seriously the game, everything goes well." [11:50]

• Weird NHL Teams:

  • Flames can’t score despite being analytically strong; Nashville scores fewer goals than any other club; Rangers’ captaincy in question due to attitude issues.

• Rangers Drama:

  • Ethan: Relays that J.T. Miller “makes everything go a lot better when things are good, and makes things a lot worse when things are bad,” questioning his fit as captain. [13:37]
  • Roy: Debates stripping Miller of his captaincy: “That's a strip the C situation, man.” [14:30]

4. Game Etiquette: Fan Behavior Rant

• Whistling Fan Woes:
  • Roy vents about a notorious whistling fan at Panthers games disturbing the press box.
  • Roy: "I swear to God... I just want to scream, shut the [bleep] up." [16:13]
  • Rose: Defends the fan, “The man paid for his tickets. He's cheering. Let him.” [17:07]

5. Awards: Wins and Fails of the Week

Wins:

• Mascot Bit:

  • Chucky the Angel (Spruce Grove Saints) stares down opponents in the penalty box, to everyone’s delight.
  • David: “I almost want to take a penalty just to experience this.” [23:48]

• Winter Classic Jerseys:

  • Panthers and Rangers debut retro/throwback threads; panel debates which is better (Panthers’ gold-heavy, Rangers’ clean white and red).
  • Rose: "We look like bees." [25:51]

• Sam Reinhart’s Highlight Goal:

  • Key play reminisced from Panthers’ prior game.

• Stranger Things Return:

  • Rose celebrates the return as her win: “Stranger Things is coming September 26th!” [27:20]

Fails:

• Sabres Broadcaster Roasts Oilers:

  • Rob Ray: “Empty net for Edmonton. Yeah, it has been most of the night.” [28:10]

• Failing to Throw a Hat For Bedard:

  • Fan botches hat trick celebration—caught on camera missing the ice. [29:09]

• Bill Simmons’ Blue Jackets Take:

  • Simmons claims Columbus is the "most irrelevant franchise" without any accurate facts.
  • Ethan: "You've never had a conversation about Zach Werenski with your boys before?" [29:32]

• Rip the Ice Struggles:

  • Rose's losing streak in their card game.

6. Youth Movement & Analytical Trends

• Young Goalies Excelling:

  • Yaroslav Askarov, Spencer Knight, and Jesper Wallstedt highlighted as leading a “young goalie movement.”
  • Ethan: “He's got a .952 in November... not allowed more than three goals all month.” [19:23]

• Rising Stars:

  • Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, and Leo Carlson are all among top point scorers.

7. Around the League with Adnan Virk

• Columbus Dispatch:

  • First-time visitor Adnan shares local insights (Blue Jackets' history, stadium Cannon is LOUD, team’s irrelevance).
  • Adnan: “For years, I'd not known... why are they called the Blue Jackets?” [31:45]

• Canadian Teams—Who Has Hope?

  • Most struggling; only daring to hope for the Oilers, maybe the Leafs if they rebound.
  • Vancouver described as having "a dark cloud" and Calgary just plain "awful." [38:18]

• Coaching Reactions:

  • Patrick Roy's emotional reaction to questionable hits celebrates goaltender culture.

• Game Ending Scraps:

  • Rangers-Red Wings postgame brawl discussed as indicative of teams’ lack of internal support.
  • Adnan: “If you're bad, at least you have each other's backs... Really a bad sign.” [43:51]

• Playoff Prediction Parity:

  • Thanksgiving seen as a key marker: 12 teams in the East separated by mere points—“difficult to predict who's going to be better.” [45:13]
  • West: Colorado and Dallas praised; Anaheim and Chicago pleasant surprises; Edmonton expected to improve. [46:50]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “The NHL is in the Upside Down. I don't know what that means.” — Roy Bellamy [01:09]
• “Weird injury injuries that occurred while preparing or eating food.” — Ethan [05:34]
• “Verhegi is just snake-bitten right now... feels like he can't beat goaltenders.” — David [56:19]
• “Guys, let's all do an exercise here. It's 20 games in. Let's all just take a big deep breath.” — Ethan [57:44]
• “We look like bees.” — Rose, on the Panthers’ Winter Classic uniforms [25:51]
• “Empty net for Edmonton. Yeah, it has been most of the night." — Rob Ray [Sabres broadcaster], as played by the crew [28:10]
• “You've never had a conversation about Zach Werenski with your boys before?” — Ethan, mocking Bill Simmons [29:32]

Highlights by Timestamp

• Panthers Injury Rundown & "Upside Down" Theme: [01:09-04:43]
• Bizarre Injury Segment: [05:26-08:13]
• Rangers Captaincy Debate: [13:03-15:29]
• Wins/Fails Awards: [23:24-29:32]
• Adnan Virk Reports & Canadian Teams Analysis: [31:35-39:34]
• Young Talent & Goalie Trends: [19:01-20:03], [39:34]
• Panthers Analysis/Panicking Over Injuries: [53:39-59:25]
• Fan Behavior Mini-Rant: [16:13-17:31]
• Stranger Things Gags & "En un minuto" Recap: [21:12-23:04, 26:55, 27:19]

Tone and Style

• Loose, irreverent, but genuinely informed—high-energy banter intermingles with in-depth hockey analysis.
• The mood alternates between sarcastic, playful, and enthusiastically nerdy, especially when it comes to pop-culture tie-ins and inside jokes.
• Group dynamic features mock-annoyance and real warmth, with recurring segments and running gags (especially about the Panthers, "Stranger Things," and hapless fan behaviors).

For New Listeners

This episode is a rollercoaster through the chaos of the modern NHL: injury weirdness, unpredictable teams, pop-culture reflections, and deep dives into fan and player psychology. If you want sharp sports commentary mixed with fast, funny group dynamics and surprise wisdom, this is essential listening.

Skip to...

• [01:09] for the “Upside Down” injury chaos discussion
• [13:03] for the Rangers captaincy debate
• [23:24] for Wins of the Week & mascot shenanigans
• [39:34] for youth movement/goalie talk
• [53:39] for focused Florida Panthers analysis

Quote to Remember:
"That's a strip the C situation, man." — Roy Bellamy [14:30]

Final Note:
Whether you’re a die-hard Panthers fan, an NHL stats nerd, or just here for the jokes and Stranger Things refs, this episode delivers the full spectrum—from high-stakes hockey to low-stakes snacks and everything in between.