The Hockey Show: The Panthers Are Up Against It (feat. Steve Levy)

Summary

Episode Summary: The Hockey Show - The Panthers Are Up Against It (feat. Steve Levy)

Release Date: May 9, 2025
Podcast: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz
Guest: Steve Levy, Studio Host for the NHL on ESPN

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1. Introduction and Guest Appearance ([01:02] - [06:03])

The episode kicks off with Roy Bellamy introducing the show's focus on hockey, particularly highlighting Steve Levy's appearance. The hosts express excitement about having a seasoned ESPN commentator, reminiscing about their shared nostalgia for Levy's tenure on ESPN's NHL coverage. They set the stage for an in-depth discussion about the current NHL playoffs.

Notable Quote:

• Roy Bellamy ([02:01]): "The Islanders were supposed to host the All Star Game… my Islander streak has somehow continued into the second round of the playoffs."

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2. NHL All-Star Weekend Changes and Political Fallout ([02:01] - [07:17])

Roy Bellamy introduces a conspiracy theory linking the NHL's decision to replace the All-Star Game with a Winter Olympics kickoff event at UBS Arena to political tensions. Governor Kathy Hochul of New York publicly criticizes the NHL for altering plans, emphasizing the financial commitments made for hosting the All-Star Game.

Notable Quote:

• Roy Bellamy ([02:28]): "Kathy Hochul... wrote a stonily worded letter to the National Hockey League expressing her bitter disappointment."

Rose Arias suggests that the All-Star Game concept is outdated, advocating for alternative events like a warm-up tournament for the Olympics instead.

Notable Quote:

• Rose Arias ([03:48]): "I think the idea of the All Star Game is dead."

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3. NHL Draft Lottery and New York Islanders' Win ([06:03] - [07:07])

Roy Bellamy connects the NHL Draft Lottery win by the New York Islanders to the aforementioned All-Star Weekend changes, suggesting a potential synergy between the two events. Rose Arias and the hosts discuss the odds and implications of the Islanders' victory in the lottery.

Notable Quote:

• Roy Bellamy ([06:22]): "The NHL changes plans on next year's All Star Game due to the Winter Olympics… the Islanders win the draft lottery and may host."

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4. Edmonton Oilers' Surge and Playoff Predictions ([07:16] - [25:54])

The conversation shifts to the Edmonton Oilers, praising their remarkable comeback streak in the playoffs despite roster challenges. Ethan Podowski humorously asserts that sports outcomes are meticulously planned, citing the Oilers’ consistency.

Notable Quote:

• Ethan Podowski ([07:54]): "Nothing is locked in sports because in sports there's so, so much money. Everything is meticulously planned."

Rose Arias highlights Miko Ratnan's stellar playoff performance, positioning him as a pivotal figure for the Dallas Stars' championship hopes. Steve Levy shares his initial prediction favoring the Dallas Stars but admits to adjusting his stance following injuries to key players.

Notable Quote:

• Steve Levy ([24:11]): "I had to bail out. I was really mad at myself… without their best goal scorer and defenseman, how are they going to beat the mighty Avalanche?"

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5. Officiating Controversies: Evan Rodriguez's Penalty Call ([14:26] - [16:19])

The hosts express frustration over a controversial penalty call against Evan Rodriguez, where a boarding incident was inexplicably labeled as "embellishment." David Droik criticizes the officiating, deeming it one of the worst in playoff history.

Notable Quote:

• David Droik ([15:03]): "It's one of the worst calls I've ever seen in my life."

Steve Levy offers a nuanced perspective, acknowledging the complexity officials face during high-pressure playoff games.

Notable Quote:

• Steve Levy ([21:46]): "There are a couple other things… you can have an illegal hit. It was a charge or whatever it was. And also embellish."

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6. Goaltending and Defensive Issues: Sergey Bobrovsky ([49:04] - [56:51])

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the Florida Panthers' goaltending woes, particularly Sergey Bobrovsky's underperformance. The statistical analysis reveals negative goals saved above expected, highlighting critical lapses during pivotal moments.

Notable Quote:

• David Droik ([52:26]): "Negative 1.98 and negative 2.26 – that's icky, icky for a guy who’s been the Panthers' best player in previous playoff runs."

Rose Arias emphasizes that while Bobrovsky's performance is lacking, the defensive unit as a whole requires improvement to support the goaltender effectively.

Notable Quote:

• Rose Arias ([55:00]): "Bobrovsky needs to be better. But it is hard to put it all on Bob."

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7. Anecdotes and Nostalgia: Barry Melrose and SportsCenter Commercials ([30:36] - [39:25])

In a lighter segment, Steve Levy shares fond memories of Barry Melrose and iconic ESPN SportsCenter commercials. The hosts reminisce about memorable ads featuring sports personalities, highlighting the camaraderie and behind-the-scenes stories that shaped their careers.

Notable Quote:

• Steve Levy ([31:10]): "Barry Melrose is just one of my favorite people on the planet… Wayne Gretzky called Barry among his favorite NHL head coaches of all time."

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8. Future Playoff Outlook and Closing Thoughts ([47:05] - [57:19])

As the episode nears its conclusion, the hosts analyze the upcoming game three between the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. They debate the Panthers' adaptability and defensive strategies, expressing cautious optimism for their performance at home. Ethan Podowski injects humor by hoping for a celebrity appearance, lightening the intense analysis.

Notable Quote:

• Roy Bellamy ([56:38]): "Hopefully when we come back for next week's hockey show, we're still talking about a current Panther season and not a past Panther season."

Steve Levy wraps up the discussion by acknowledging the Panthers' challenges and the unpredictable nature of the playoffs, setting expectations for future episodes.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz offers a comprehensive analysis of the NHL playoffs, with a strong focus on the Florida Panthers' struggles and prospects. Steve Levy's expert insights enrich the conversation, providing listeners with nuanced perspectives on player performances, officiating controversies, and strategic adjustments. The hosts balance intense sports analysis with nostalgic anecdotes and humor, delivering an engaging and informative episode for both dedicated hockey fans and casual listeners.

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Highlighted Quotes with Timestamps:

• Roy Bellamy ([02:28]): "They just won't go."
• Rose Arias ([03:48]): "I think the idea of the All Star Game is dead."
• Steve Levy ([21:46]): "There are a couple other things… you can have an illegal hit. It was a charge or whatever it was. And also embellish."
• David Droik ([52:26]): "Negative 1.98 and negative 2.26 – that's icky, icky for a guy who’s been the Panthers' best player in previous playoff runs."
• Steve Levy ([31:10]): "Barry Melrose is just one of my favorite people on the planet… Wayne Gretzky called Barry among his favorite NHL head coaches of all time."
• Roy Bellamy ([56:38]): "Hopefully when we come back for next week's hockey show, we're still talking about a current Panther season and not a past Panther season."

Transcript

[David Droik]

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[Ethan Podowski]

I think you're on mute.

[Steve Levy]

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[Roy Bellamy]

This is the Hockey Show. My name is Roy Bellamy. Roy, that's David Droik right there.

[Ethan Podowski]

David. David.

[Roy Bellamy]

In the other studio, that's Ethan Podowski.

[Ethan Podowski]

Ethan. Ethan.

[Roy Bellamy]

And our lead producer, Rose.

[Ethan Podowski]

Rose. Rose.

[Roy Bellamy]

Rose Arias. Coming up today, if you're watching on DraftKings Network, we have Steve Levy. He's the studio host for the NHL on ESPN and we are going to talk to him about the playoffs. So if you want to watch that, you can go to the YouTube page for Lebatar and friends, click on our folder on the Playlist tab. Yes, we are the Hockey show.

[David Droik]

We are the hockey show that's on. I'm very excited to talk to Steve Levy. I think both of us, we kind of grew up on, on that era of him on espn.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, we had Linda Cohn. We certainly have had John Butcher Cross on the show many a time. So having the Sports center alumni like we've had.

[David Droik]

Tapping into our childhood.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes, Tap into our childhood. I have a conspiracy theory that I want to float to all three of you guys, including you, even though you don't know anything about hockey. Rosie.

[Ethan Podowski]

Hey, I know Barki.

[David Droik]

Rose knows conspiracies.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes. She knows.

[Rose Arias]

Rose knows Barky. That should be the title of the show. Just Rose knows Barky.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, we, we're going to connect the dots here. The National Hockey League has decided that in 2026, what would normally be All Star Weekend, they have replaced the All Star Game with a Winter Olympics kickoff event at UBS Arena. The Islanders were supposed to host the All Star Game, Right? And again, my Islander streak has somehow continued into the second round of the playoffs. I have no idea how.

[David Droik]

They just won't go away.

[Roy Bellamy]

They just won't go.

[David Droik]

Just staying present in your mind.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, yeah. Rent free. Kathy Hockle, who is the governor of the great state of New York, wrote a stonely worded letter to the National Hockey League expressing her bitter disappointment about the League holding a lesser event at the arena.

[David Droik]

It's a good letter. Yeah, it was a good letter.

[Roy Bellamy]

They put a lot of money into that arena. I understand why she's probably why she is upset.

[David Droik]

The taxpayer dollars went into that letter.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. And that letterhead is expensive. Mainly because the league did not have any engagement. They did not talk to the, any government official about changing the event. This came out of the blue. This came at the last minute. We know, we knew when the Olympics were going to start but they decided, hey, we're gonna switch up the.

[David Droik]

I'm guessing the success from four nations and how everybody just loved it across the board had a little something to do with that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, that, yeah, that, that is also a good point. But she has not seen it that way. She wants something.

[David Droik]

She doesn't care.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, she wants money.

[David Droik]

Built this arena with the pre stipulation or whatever that there's going to be an All Star Game here that's going to bring in a lot of money. It's a weekend event. It brings in fans from every team. So I can understand how she's a little upset, little salty.

[Roy Bellamy]

She the governor of New York.

[Rose Arias]

I think we should just bail on the All Star Game after what we saw this last year. Have a little warm up tournament for the Olympics. Maybe not a tournament, but a couple games like a showcase. You know, they used to do that where, you know, before the 1980 Olympics the, the social. The Soviets came over, played the NHL All Stars. I think it would be really cool. You know, after the success we saw of the four nations, if you just kind of capitalize on that. Maybe you have a two of three warm up series with the USA and Canada, something like that. Like you don't want something too physical so that teams don't go to the Olympics and get hurt. But I think the idea of the All Star game is dead. And you can have a weekend where you can bring people together and you put it in one city and you say this is where it's going to be. But I think the idea of the All Star Game skills competition, all that stuff after what we saw last year, it's time to just seems like it's.

[Roy Bellamy]

Going to be on rotation.

[David Droik]

I don't think you're having like, I don't think you're off with what you're saying. I think the point of this is they're pulling the rug out from under somebody that they already promised it to. Like if you want to get rid of the All Star game, fine. Like we, you know, the Four nations was awesome. Like, we've had a lot of fun with different ideas. However, you don't promise it and take it away. And I think that's kind of the issue here, is it comes into a big financial issue.

[Ethan Podowski]

The thing is the All Star, I remember one player. Do you remember that one player that he was not even interested in playing?

[David Droik]

Nikita Kutro, the Art Ross winner?

[Ethan Podowski]

Yeah. Yeah. He was like, I don't even want to participate. So I don't think the players are into it. So if they're not into it, I don't think we need an All Star.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, Kucherov isn't he Russian, so he wouldn't be able to play anyway.

[David Droik]

He would only be able to play if it was an All Star game.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Rose Arias]

Have they decided if Russia's allowed to play in the Olympics yet? I don't think that decision's been made.

[Roy Bellamy]

Right. It's probably going to be like what they did in the last year Olympic Olympics is, like, going to be like a representation of those athletes.

[David Droik]

The current political landscape would lead me to believe that it's not going to change, but, you know, that's way out of my pay grade, so I don't know. I'm definitely just kind of outsider looking in in that politics conversation. But it seems that since the last conversation was had, things have gotten worse and not better.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So.

[Steve Levy]

Oh, boy.

[Roy Bellamy]

Back to my conspiracy theory. Oh, yeah, we got off track there.

[David Droik]

Great start, guys.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So Governor Hockle wants something the size of an All Star Game, or at least something the size, I guess, of four nations. And Gary Bettman has said that they are committed to hosting an event 2026 and 2027. So that leads me to the NHL Draft Lottery that happened on Monday.

[David Droik]

I see where you're going with.

[Roy Bellamy]

The New York Islanders had a 3.5% chance of winning the lotteries. That was the 10th best, best odds of the group. Group. And they won the draft lottery. So let's connect the dots here. The NHL changes plans on next year's All Star Game due to the Winter Olympics. The governor of New York gets pissed. They paid a lot of money to build that arena. The Islanders win the draft lottery and may host. May host some sort of event. Maybe an All Star Game if they go back to it. Maybe another international event like four nations in 2027. Is this 2026?

[Rose Arias]

Is this a frozen envelope scenario you're suggesting here, Roy?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes, I am. Except they use ping pong balls in this situation. So maybe we saw.

[Rose Arias]

We kind of saw that whole thing happen, which I know is a little clunky, the presentation of it, but I thought it was really cool to actually see how the process works and watch it go down.

[Roy Bellamy]

But yeah, it was a good broadcast.

[David Droik]

The new format, I was for sure the ending was. I mean, but that's what you want. You want something unsuspected, right? You want a surprise. This particular surprise, though, I don't disagree with you, Roy. It definitely smells a little funky.

[Ethan Podowski]

There's a surprise.

[Rose Arias]

Two teams got rewarded for having good seasons. I mean, maybe not great seasons. They didn't make the playoffs, but the Islanders came close. The. The Utah Hockey Club, now the Utah Mammoth. Yeah, they came close and to making the playoffs. They both got rewarded.

[David Droik]

Were the first team out of the playoffs for like 10 straight years. Where was this luck for the Panthers back?

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm going to say they were busy trying to build up the Penguins.

[Ethan Podowski]

Nothing is. You're not gonna like what I'm gonna say, but nothing is locked in sports because in sports there's so, so much money. Everything is meticulously planned. That's why I think the Edmonton Oilers are gonna win. Because they were down.

[Roy Bellamy]

Whoa, no, wait, wait.

[Rose Arias]

Because you said that they were. They were done. Now that they're back, they're going all winning.

[Ethan Podowski]

But I think they're gonna win because it's gonna be a perfect movie. Just like Tom Brady. They made Tom Brady win everything. Come on. Sports are all planned.

[David Droik]

Except the marriage.

[Ethan Podowski]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, no, I'm not getting into that one.

[Ethan Podowski]

We're not getting into that. But sports. It's all planned.

[David Droik]

Stop making me think about Bill Belichick and his. The whole situation. Because I know this is the hockey show. I just been. I was so obsessed with that outside.

[Roy Bellamy]

You are not going to bring that image in my head. We are not going to do that.

[Ethan Podowski]

They knew they were going to get it.

[David Droik]

Was it Ethan. We're on the missionary.

[Rose Arias]

We're on. We're on.

[Roy Bellamy]

We are not. No, no.

[Rose Arias]

We're on the hockey.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, we are on the Winnipeg. On to Winnipeg. And we are going to check out the fast food scene up there. Apparently the. There was a kfc.

[David Droik]

This is so cool.

[Roy Bellamy]

That has rebranded itself in celebration of the Winnipeg jets advancing to the second round. They have rebranded themselves. I don't know if they have a name or not, but they have branded themselves. At least logo is concerned. Kyle Connor.

[David Droik]

KFC Kyle Ethan Connor.

[Roy Bellamy]

Kyle effing Connor.

[David Droik]

That's what it is.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm so used. I'm not used to calling them Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore. Yeah. Kyle. Effing.

[David Droik]

The fact that they're leaning into it like that. It's an effing. Which, you know, it's fine, obviously, but, like, the fact that they're leaning into that as, like, that's where the F is. Like, I love it.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Droik]

It's so cool. Way more than McDavid's.

[Roy Bellamy]

It looks like you. He looks like you. Yeah, it looks like David.

[Rose Arias]

Doesn't look anything like David at all. Different hair colors, different faces. Doesn't look anything like David at all.

[Roy Bellamy]

To the describe what's going on.

[Ethan Podowski]

Yeah. On the bucket of chicken, we're gonna.

[David Droik]

Should we try to get one of those buckets, Rose? Because they're.

[Ethan Podowski]

Look at that.

[Roy Bellamy]

To describe what's going on. For audio, they got.

[Rose Arias]

Oh, my God, that looks nothing like David. That looks nothing like David York.

[Roy Bellamy]

They got Carl Connor's silhouette. What they usually have is the Colonel.

[David Droik]

Yeah. With the little Colonel bow tie and everything.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So Kyle Connor is wearing a helmet and he's over the bow tie, which is usually on the Colonel. And apparently you could take the bucket that they usually put the chicken and put it on your head. That's pretty good.

[David Droik]

Brandon, with David, I. I kind of want one of those buckets now.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, let's go. Yeah.

[David Droik]

Do we know anybody in Winnipeg?

[Roy Bellamy]

No, we don't. I do.

[Rose Arias]

Of course I know somebody from Winnipeg. I do know somebody from Winnipeg. They don't live there, but I know somebody from Winnipeg.

[Roy Bellamy]

Come on, make some calls.

[David Droik]

We probably know somebody that will be in Winnipeg to cover a hockey game in the next week or so. That we probably do know.

[Roy Bellamy]

Go to Wins and Fails, brought to you by Jagermeister. Serve it code or don't serve it at all. Jagermeister. Damn, that's code. For more visit jagermeister.com Drink responsibly. David, what is your win of the week?

[David Droik]

My win of the week, Rosie, is the Edmonton Oilers. Since Rose's proclamation that they were dunsty, not only have they won six straight games, but they've won six straight games while coming from behind. It's an NHL record. It was an NHL record when it was five games. They are so much fun to watch right now. It's exciting. It's great hockey. I don't know what to think in terms of a final rematch. We'll see if the Panthers take care of business tonight and get their shit together.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's your fault, Rosie, but your fault.

[David Droik]

I mean, can we all agree that the Oilers have been incredibly fun to watch over the last couple weeks they're terrifying.

[Rose Arias]

And the most terrifying thing about them is these six comeback wins. McDavid has one goal and it was an empty netter.

[Ethan Podowski]

This is all for you, dj. You like the Oilers. I did it for you.

[Roy Bellamy]

My win of the week.

[Ethan Podowski]

You like my, my producing.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's been a long held stereotype that Canadians are exceptionally nice people who don't get angry easily. Unless of course you put tariffs on them and try to make them your the 51st State of the United States of America. But hey, that's what a hockey show. We talk about hockey, but they can be hilariously passive aggressive, as proven by the signs made by this Toronto Maple Leafs fan prior to Game 2 between Toronto and the Florida Panthers. One sign held. They held up. Said, I hope every flight Sam Bennett ever takes gets delayed. And the second sign said, Matthew Kachak brushes his teeth with two hands, basically calling him a Neanderthal.

[David Droik]

So I mean those are very sweet, angry signs. Yeah, I hope is not. I hope his plane crashes, which is what most angry would say. No, but I hope he gets a flight delay. Like that's sneaky though. Like that's, you know, that's very inconvenient, frustrating.

[Roy Bellamy]

What's your win of the week?

[Rose Arias]

My winning week goes to a guy we've talked about a lot on this show this year. Miko Rantnan of the Dallas Stars. He is quickly becoming the story of the playoffs. And it started really in game seven of the first round against the Colorado Avalanche, his former team where they were down two nothing. He scores twice, an unbelievable wraparound goal here and then he assists on the third and go ahead goal. And then how does he finish it off? An empty net. An empty netter to secure the hat trick haunt. Send home the Colorado Avalanche. His former team and the Carolina Hurricanes could really use a guy like Miko Ratnan. And the Colorado Avalanche could also really use a guy like Miko Rantnan.

[Roy Bellamy]

But of course he wasn't there.

[Rose Arias]

He wasn't done there. He. He scored, of course he had scored or assisted On I believe, 12 straight goals for the Dallas Stars, which is playoff record. He's the story of the playoffs right now. And if Dallas wins, he's going to be the Con Smythe winner. So he is unbelievable and proving a lot of GMs to look very foolish for trading him. How does that guy get traded twice in a season? That's insane.

[Roy Bellamy]

Back to back hat tricks. Natural hat trick in game one.

[David Droik]

Giggity, giggity.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's. That's Some good stuff there for Mika Ran. So, yeah, you deserve the revenge tour there, Rosie.

[Ethan Podowski]

My win of the week is.

[Roy Bellamy]

What was that?

[Ethan Podowski]

36Ft basket by the one and only Caitlin Clark.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh.

[Ethan Podowski]

Oh, look at that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Look at that.

[Ethan Podowski]

Oh, my God. You can pass it there.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay. All right, let's move on to the fails. Beautiful.

[Ethan Podowski]

Thank you.

[Roy Bellamy]

The collective fail of the week. I. I should say, because we firmly disagree on what happened in game two.

[David Droik]

Never has there been more of agreement in our group chat.

[Ethan Podowski]

Yeah, I have another fail, but, yeah, you can go.

[David Droik]

Well, let's get to our first is. It's a giant.

[Ethan Podowski]

Yes. Go, go.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. Scott Lawton hits Evan Rodriguez from behind along the boards. That effectively is boarding. Correct. That's in the rule book.

[David Droik]

That's. Yes.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's not what was called. What was called was embellishment on Evan Rodriguez. If you look. If you've seen the highlight, if you've. If you're watching right now, this is embellishment. He gets boarded, which is not called. Crashed into the boards. He's laying down on the ice. It takes a while to get up, and then he ends up leaving the ice, going to the locker room. And they call embellishment on Evan Rodriguez. How in the world is that embellishment?

[David Droik]

It's not. He. He got hit really hard. His face went into his stick, which was in his hands, which protected him from going face first into the glass. He was not a safe distance from the boards. That's the whole point of the rule. And fine, whatever. It didn't even get called boarding at the time. But, dude, in belly, like Paul Murray said, he got no explanation. We haven't gotten an explanation. It's ridiculous. One of the worst hauls I've ever seen in my life.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's been bad officiating all playoffs. And that's just.

[David Droik]

That's.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's top of the list.

[Rose Arias]

The embellishment as a call doesn't make sense when you call a penalty with it. So it's.

[Roy Bellamy]

And they did it there.

[David Droik]

Wouldn't get a minor.

[Rose Arias]

But nobody went. Nobody went on the power play there. So I didn't understand what happened.

[Roy Bellamy]

They. It was two separate. It wasn't even a double minor. It was two separate in. In the penalty sheet. It was two separate reference calls on Scott Law.

[Rose Arias]

Whatever the case may be. Whatever the case may be. Embellishment doesn't make sense. They call it sometimes when there's an actual penalty, which you can't sell a call if it's an actual penalty. And then sometimes they don't call it when it's an obvious flop. It's been outrageous in the playoffs.

[Roy Bellamy]

Rosie, fail. Yeah.

[Ethan Podowski]

Let's finish with my fail of the week. I lost my phone and that was my fail.

[David Droik]

But yeah, least surprising fail.

[Ethan Podowski]

Mexico.

[Steve Levy]

Jesus Christ.

[Roy Bellamy]

Come on.

[David Droik]

And you're going to tell the story more responsible.

[Ethan Podowski]

I'm going to tell the story my, in my, in my Instagram because right Now I have 31 seconds and it doesn't. I cannot do it right now. So I'm going to send the story. So people, what happened?

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, go, go to Rosie's Instagram and you'll get the story there. She is a klutz and she is forgetful. Coming up next, we have Steve Levy from the NHL on espn. He's he's going to do a game next week, actually. He's going to do play by play. We're going to talk to him about that and the Stanley cup playoffs. Steve Levy is coming up next on the Hockey Show. Yes.

[David Droik]

Very excited.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes, very excited.

[David Droik]

I am very excited. Talk to Steve.

[Greg Cody]

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[Roy Bellamy]

All right. Hyperpanic can catch the second round action of the Stanley Cup Playoffs across the ESPN platforms, across the ESPN universe. And it continues Tuesday, May 13th as Steve Levy, our next guest, is on the call for the Jets Stars Game 4 matchup at 8pm Eastern on ESPN. Steve, we are going to talk about the Stanley cup playoffs right now and we're going to start with the Capitals and Hurricanes, who are currently tied at 1 in the series. Tom Wilson has had a career year this season is carried over into the playoffs and he's been a major difference for the Capitals. Thank you for joining us, Steve. Talk about how big of a role he's had so far in the playoffs.

[Steve Levy]

Yeah, he's, you know, he's an NHL unicorn. Really. He is. There are he, you know, he might. There are only a few guys who can do what he does and he's the best guy at all, at all of those qualities that he brings. He scored 30 goals this season and he's, you know, among the most feared players in the NHL. And the key thing about Wilson is he can play in all situations. You know, he played such a massive role in the game two win to get them back even in the series, but he had a big shot block at the end of the game to make sure Carolina couldn't get back and score the tie in goal before the empty netter. So again, he's feared. Carolina doesn't have anybody like that. There are very few players in the league who have a, a legitimate NHL tough guy, heavyweight who can also play on your top line and that's why it's so rare. You know, he's crossed the line a few times in his NHL career and every time I put that out of the Twitter or the X or whatever, you know, and people like freak out about him. Every single GM in the league would want to have him on their team. But you hate him when you play against him and you love to have him in Washington if you're a Caps fan. He's a, he's a great player as far as I'm concerned with. Was shocked he was not on Four nations to begin with.

[David Droik]

So down here, if you can't tell by what I'm wearing where we are, we're in South Florida. We cover the Panthers. They are down. Oh to, to the Toronto Maple Leafs right now. Steve, are you giving the Panthers a chance to come back in the series or is this Toronto's year?

[Steve Levy]

Absolutely a chance. Nothing's been decided. It's an old hockey ad and just series doesn't start until a home team loses a game. And so that hasn't happened yet. And so. But I was surprised, I was surprised that Florida didn't get one of the first two. They had an awful start in that first game, you know, roared back. They played pretty well in game number two as well. So no, I'M not saying Florida's out of it. Heart of a champion, the defending Stanley cup champs. They've got all the key quality pieces. I think they're being hurt by Matthew Tkachuk, though. He's clearly not himself. He's a dynamic, fantastic player, and it just, you know, I'm sitting there next to Mess and PK and he's just. He's not involved offensively as much as he normally is. I don't know if it's, you know, getting. He missed the whole second half of the season. We talked about Four nations there. You know, he didn't play a single game after the Four nations in the regular season. It was a question mark going into the playoffs. Just looks like he's not 100%. It's his skating or whatever it is. He can't get to the loose pucks he normally gets to. And so, you know, look, him at 70 is better than anybody else. I get that. But you're counting on him. And maybe a couple extra days before they get, you know, before the home game, they'll be able to get him ready to go and more like his actual self. And Florida will be fine, too. Bobrovsky has not been great. I'm sure he'll come up with a top notch performance in game three.

[Roy Bellamy]

What'd you think about the embellishment call on Evan Rodriguez in game two?

[Steve Levy]

You know, when I saw it first, I didn't see the embellishment. I saw that as a dangerous sort of dirty hit. And. And they're watching it again. You know, maybe it's a little bit. He knew the player was coming. He was able to get his hands up to protect himself. There are a couple other things. You know, the veteran. Veteran moves. And so, you know, I guess the official can be right on both things. You can have an illegal hit. It was a charge or whatever it was. And also embellish. Both things can happen. Although I'd like to see it the other way. Right. It's either a trip or an embellishment. It can't be both.

[David Droik]

Thank you. I've been saying I'd like to see.

[Steve Levy]

It that way, but that's not the way the officials call it. And so that's their way of evening things up, if you will.

[Roy Bellamy]

Whoa, whoa. Okay, so this is a common thing. You're saying this is a veteran move. Then why by Rodriguez, then why even call the penalty in the playoffs?

[Steve Levy]

Yeah, when they. When they tend to let. Normally let things go, Right?

[David Droik]

Yeah.

[Steve Levy]

Again, it looked dangerous at first glance. I thought it looked dangerous up against the, the sidewall there in the neutral zone. And listen, I can't speak for the officials, right, They've got a crazy difficult job. They're under heat again for what happened last night with Arvidson and McNabb that might, might have decided the Vegas Edmonton game last night. So it's really hard to see at incredible speed, massive guys, sticks, puck skates. So I'm not going to make excuses for them. They do a great job, but they've got, they've got an impossible job to do leaves.

[Rose Arias]

I, you mentioned Edmonton and they're starting to look like a team that can like win the Stanley cup legitimately. I mean, we knew that before the season, but now, you know, they struggled during the year a little bit, limped in. Now they're really looking like a four. So I'm curious, you know, looking at them and then looking at everybody else, who was your pick before the playoffs and has that changed based off what you've seen so far?

[Steve Levy]

All right, so I'm glad you asked that. My pick before the playoffs started was going to be the Dallas Stars. Okay? I love Dallas. I expect them to get Miro Haskin back and Jason Robertson back when they've just gotten Robertson back. But they both missed the first round and so I'm really mad at myself. I became a coward, though. I became a coward when I saw so Robertson gets hurt in the final regular season game, you know, kind of a meaningless game for Dallas in that spot. And I said, you know what? Without their best goal scorer and without their best defenseman, how are they going to beat the mighty Avalanche? And so I bailed out. Okay? I did have Washington coming out of the east and nobody likes Washington, by the way. And I had Vegas coming out of the west as my Stanley cup final and probably Vegas winning. I think if I have to go back and [e-mail] Listen, Edmonton would have been way down the list, boys. Edmonton would have been way down the list. I do think, I do think it's going to be a Western Conference team. I think the west is much stronger than the east, but Edmonton was way down the list. I don't trust their goaltending and I don't know what I'm going to do about that. Now. This is Calvin Pickard. This is their backup goalie who has now won, I think six in a row.

[David Droik]

Six in a row.

[Rose Arias]

All in comeback fashion, right?

[Steve Levy]

Six games in a row. That's Grant Fuhrer stuff, guys. You know, that's legendary in Edmonton and So I keep waiting for him to fail. I don't think Vegas is done necessarily yet. But they had to get that hockey game last night. And the Oilers are so top heavy, right? Two best offensive players on the planet and they play together on the first line. Who else is going to score? And last night other guys did score. Pod Colzin scores. Walner scores last night. So now if they're going to get, you know, great goal setting for their backup goalie and fourth line scoring as well, then, you know, write it down. Now the Oilers are going to, you know, at least get to the Cup. It's been a wild playoff so far.

[David Droik]

So we got Grant Fear, we got Bill Ranford, we got Calvin Pickard. I. It's Oilers history, right?

[Roy Bellamy]

And Curtis Joseph.

[Rose Arias]

I'm starting to see all those names pop up that torch the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final last year. Connor Brown, Arvid.

[Steve Levy]

Yes.

[Rose Arias]

You know, oh my God, I'm laying on a couple of them. But all those guys like you knew about McDavid and dry saddle coming in this series. But names like Connor Brown send chills down my spine. From games four through six of the Stanley final last year.

[Roy Bellamy]

Panthers.

[Rose Arias]

And they're doing it again this year. It's unbelievable.

[Steve Levy]

That's what the Oilers are worse. The Oilers are worse. They lost two critical players. They lost that. Broberg, the defenseman got an offer sheet and photo. Holwig. They lost the forward they lost into. The Oilers are worse, theoretically, on paper, in terms of their roster, they got worse. And so that's really remarkable. Again, Skinner was playing great last year in the playoffs. Got them the one within one game of the cup. And, and I can't get over the picker thing. I hate to be repetitive, but it's, it's remarkable. But that's why the Stanley cup playoffs, so cool, right? You just never know. You really don't know anything until after each game's over. Then you pretend to know something more.

[Roy Bellamy]

Speaking of goaltending, the jets survived, survived their series against the St. Louis Blues in seven there now, Conor Hellebuk got pulled three times in that series. So going into the series against the Dallas Stars as Davis. Mike, I mean, what is going on here? But going, going into this series against the Stars, is Connor Helleberg actually going to perform like the Besner Trophy winner that he is?

[Steve Levy]

Who knows, man? I mean, I got. I have no idea. It's like, you know, it's like playoff. Jimmy Butler in the, in the NBA, right? It's like regular season. Conor Hellebuyer Guys, he's not only up for the Vezina, he's up for the Hart as the league's overall mvp. Goaltenders do not win the Hart Trophy. They don't even get nominated. They have their own award. So that tells you how good a regular season he had. And we did this on the air the other night, so, you know, the jets are 1.8 seconds away from blowing everything up. I mean, GM fired, coach fired, president fired, players traded, players cut, moved out. Everybody get out of town. Families pulled out of houses, schools move, divorces, you know, like, engagements over, like we're selling the team. I mean, maybe not that dastard, but drastic. You get the idea. Like, you can't have another regular season like that and bomb out in the playoffs again. You just can't. Something's got to be wrong there. And so they get the miracle gold tie, they win in overtime. Breath of fresh air, a little bit of life now. And. And now we'll see how everybody can sit back and relax. Okay? Mark Messier, who knows about these things, has often said the first round can be the most difficult round of the playoffs, which is interesting when you hear that from a guy like Mess. So we'll see what happens. Very strong first game. Off to a big start here. Hellebuck, you know, settled down awful lot and. And started to perform the way he had in that second half of that game. And now we'll see what happens in game two tonight. But I feel a lot better about Winnipeg now after that, you know, getting out of that first round. Now, listen, they're also. They were also without their. Arguably the best forward and Mark Scheifele, who returned in game one and scored a goal. And Josh Morrissey is their best defenseman. He's out of the lineup. So all these teams are down their best forward and. And best defenseman and still winning hockey games like Winnipeg was, Dallas was. And it's really remarkable.

[David Droik]

Steve Roy and I kind of grew up following hockey in the 90s. That's when we came up as hockey fans, and obviously you were a big part of that. For us down here, one of our biggest exposures to hockey was ESPN National Games.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. That 99 season, just watching the Sabres go to the Stanley Cup Final. I've heard him plenty of times, Dominator, on espn, doing those Sabres games.

[David Droik]

So one of the.

[Steve Levy]

That was our favorite cup. That was our. For Melrose and I. That was among our favorite cups. Dallas, Buffalo, Chippewa street in. In downtown Buffalo. That was. That was, you know, Brett Hall, Foot in the crease.

[Roy Bellamy]

No goal.

[David Droik]

So, yes, no goal. Yes or no goal? I'm not asking you. I'm not asking you. Yes or no.

[Steve Levy]

The way the rules was called were called all that season. That's no goal.

[David Droik]

Yep, that's right.

[Steve Levy]

Bill's Buffalo Bills football telecast. Now out of the blue, still to this day, there'll be one fan and the 70,000 people holding up a sign that says, no goal.

[David Droik]

I love it.

[Steve Levy]

I mean, that is still out there. So, yeah, that was a great series.

[David Droik]

You mentioned how much fun you had with Barry Melrose during that playoff run, and I actually wanted to ask you about Barry just because we love him so much. Obviously, he's retired the last few years because of health issues, but just kind of going back. And I'm sure, you know, this is an impossible question to answer, but.

[Roy Bellamy]

Wow, look at that ESPN2 Mike flag.

[Steve Levy]

I love it.

[David Droik]

The Deuce. But you look at my hair tonight, Maybe. But just when I. When I bring up Barry Melrose to you, just, you know, off the dome, what's. What's maybe one or two of the best Barry Melrose stories that you can remember.

[Steve Levy]

Listen, he's just one of my favorite people on the planet. And, you know, we're all in the same sort of get emotional just talking about the guy. We're all in the same in the same business. And, you know, when you start out at a place, at a workplace that you're. It's your business, and then you have colleagues, and then with any luck, those colleagues become friends. And if you work long enough with them, then they become good friends and best friends. And then if you work even really long with them and you get to know their families, their life stories, and then you become family with them, in essence. And so, you know, I consider Barry a member of my family. You know, I'm lucky to have my parents around. My parents have known Barry and his family forever. His wife, Cindy, has two boys. You know, my kids call him Uncle Barry and all that kind of stuff. And so we just had the best time. He's just. He's just the greatest guy. A guy who, you know, played just seven seasons in the NHL as a player. You know, he was always like the seventh defenseman, right? He always had to worry, was he getting scratched or was he getting sent down? He used to tell the story. He only started in two places, in Boston and Philadelphia, the two toughest places in the entire league, because he had to fight somebody every single night. You know, that was the kind of player he was. And back in that era. And then he course said, you know, great success coaching, taking the Kings to. To the Stanley cup in Barry's rookie year. And, you know, Wayne Gretzky's on record calling Barry, you know, maybe his favorite coach or among his favorite NHL head coaches of all time. So just the greatest guy. So much more to him than what everybody sees. The big laugh if you could smell the cologne and the cigar smoke on him, the hair gel, obviously, the oversized suits, tremendous historian, avid reader of books. Like a really smart guy who you just think about as being an old hockey dude. So, you know, he's fighting the fight. I talked to him probably once a week. I got to see him at the Four nations because we were in Columbus. He's now, he and the family living in Ohio, so I got to go see him. That was the last time I saw him. I owe him a visit. And he's fighting a good fight. He's dealing with an awful problem. It's out there. It's documented, and I just think about him every single day. And there's a real strong push to get him in the Hockey hall of Fame, in the broadcaster wing.

[David Droik]

Yes.

[Steve Levy]

So we'll see if hopefully that can happen. That's supposed to be announced end of this month or so, so we'll root for that.

[Rose Arias]

Anybody that grew up on espn, like me and like you guys and loved hockey, loves Barry Melrose, and he is the greatest. And. And anybody that grew up on ESPN as well, loves. This is SportsCenter commercials, right?

[Steve Levy]

Yeah.

[David Droik]

Yes.

[Rose Arias]

And so a few weeks ago, we had John Buchegross on the show, and I ran my top five list of this is SportsCenter commercials by him. But I realized I made some big mistakes, and I had a huge omission. So I want to run this by you, because you might be in here. You might be in here. I don't know.

[David Droik]

So.

[Rose Arias]

All right, Oli, are the two involving my Florida gators. Albert the alligator is in Jon Rahm's Lie in the Kitchen, and. And Steve Irwin tackles him coming out of the elevator.

[David Droik]

One of my.

[Steve Levy]

I'm in that one. Yep.

[Rose Arias]

That is. That is a great one. All right, number five, Jay Harris.

[Roy Bellamy]

The.

[Rose Arias]

The elevator opens. He asked the devil's mascot if it's going up, and he's not. He gets out of the elevator. That's a great classic.

[Steve Levy]

Simple, right? So perfect.

[David Droik]

Yeah.

[Rose Arias]

Number four. You're in this one. Alex Ovechkin and the Russian Spies.

[Steve Levy]

Yeah, that's. You know, that's a. That's a Fabulous one. I told the story the other day. That's the most expensive. This is SportsCenter in history. Think about that. We had to build, in essence, that. That copy room. We had to build that on the basketball court because we couldn't actually have him go through the ceiling in the real building. It doesn't really work that way. Right. And great assistance by the second actor, Semyon Varlamov, the back of the. Who's up there above the tiling? So we had that lift, that machine that had to lift OVI through the building. And so the other piece of that is we had a stunt double for him. Ovi, exact OV size, shape, shoulders, full pads, the pants, shin guards, skates, equipment. He's on the set all day. And you guys know, these things take forever. This could have been six hours sitting out there and nobody's like, no, I do my own stunts, you know, like, he's Tom Cruise. All of a sudden. He's flying outside of airplanes and stuff, jumping on a building. So that was so much fun. And that's resurfaced, you know, the last year or two because it's now politically funny also.

[Roy Bellamy]

Right.

[Steve Levy]

And so. Yeah, all right. Numbers, filings. Yeah, very funny.

[Rose Arias]

Number three, Albert Pujols talking to the copy machine.

[Steve Levy]

Nickname was the Machine. Yeah, me and John Anderson and I, we had a lot of fun with that. Albert Pujol is a super classy guy. We had a relationship based on that. Albert had a great charitable foundation that I got involved with after that. And to this day, it's cool to have his cell phone number in my phone. I cherish that. Great hitter. The Machine.

[Rose Arias]

Machine. Why didn't you eliminate them, Albert? Number two, Arnold Palmer pouring himself in. Arnold Palmer. This was my number one last time, but it's been unseated because I forgot. Far and away the greatest. This is SportsCenter commercial of all time. John Clayton finishing his segment, jumping into bed, letting his hair down, eating his Chinese food and yelling down to his mother, I'm done with my segment.

[Steve Levy]

Yeah, I think that is the one on the all time. Wait, is that the one that got unseated or that's your new number one?

[Rose Arias]

That is my new number one. I forgot about it last time and it was a terrible omission. I can't remember. Arnold Palmer was number one last time and it was unseated for this because this is far and away the greatest.

[Steve Levy]

So listen, this was a company called Wyden and Kennedy, right? And. And they. They produced all of these. And listen, I Can only speak for myself. I don't speak for my colleagues. But I'm not that funny. Like, I'm not that clever, you know. And so they wrote these things for us. And the secret to them right, at SportsCenter was all about, wow, oh, what a play. Crash, bang, boom, he runs into the wall.

[Roy Bellamy]

Gone.

[Steve Levy]

A home run. What a slam. Everything, it goes the other way. Everything's right, hush tones, understated, less words. Right. Like how many words are actually in that Arnold Palmer one? The Jay Harris one you mentioned.

[Roy Bellamy]

I had to have been five.

[Steve Levy]

Right, right, right. The Arnold Palmer one is great because our guy Stuart Scott's in that one too. Also, guys, guys in my spot would be fighting over each other to get onto campus that day. Like, you would see guys who were on Disney vacations with their families come back early. Like once they found out they're shooting a commercial, maybe I can be an extra in the background. And so it was a great period. To this day, I'm asked much more about those commercials than really everything, anything I've actually said on a real sports center. And they would take over the day. Like these 30 second commercials could take six hours and eliminate a building or a hallway. And the other story about that is that people should know. So it wasn't just us jumping over each other to get in them. The athletes wanted to be in them. We didn't pay the athletes anything. I think Maybe we donated $1,000 to that favorite charity or something. And as you know, these people don't do anything without getting paid these days.

[Roy Bellamy]

Right, right.

[Steve Levy]

And Ladanian Tomlinson, one day, in his Chargers days, he flew from San Diego and back the same day. That's how badly he wanted to be in a, in a sports center commercial. And that was the one, you know, he had the tint advisor. Right.

[Rose Arias]

Great one. That's a very good one as well.

[David Droik]

Yes.

[Steve Levy]

And he was putting the mail in the mail.

[David Droik]

He just dropped him on the floor.

[Steve Levy]

Hey, lt, what are you doing, man? And he's like, what do you mean? And so, and so the other aspect, we'll move on after this. But so his PR flunky or whatever, his, the PR flunky's assistant, whatever is watching there. And all they can think about is, hey, you can't see my client's face. I want exposure. And so they asked the producer, hey, can we do one without the helmet on so people can see it? So. And then, you know, we're all like, well, then he's just a dope then you know, why Is he putting the mail in the wrong place if he can see properly. And so they wound up filming a spot just to appease the PR person, whoever that was at that time. And of course, I'm not sure there was even film in it. Right. That never ran, that never aired. They were just merely trying to appease that young person. So. But it's been great fun to be in. What a home run. What a genius move that was for ESPN to, to get involved with Wyden and Kennedy there.

[David Droik]

I just thought I throw a little bit of love. Before we move on to the, the tearaway warm up commercial with, I believe it was Stuart Scott and stuff where they were like doing their warm ups and they ripped off their suits to reveal suits underneath. I thought that was hilarious.

[Steve Levy]

Yes.

[Roy Bellamy]

Finally, before we let you go, Steve, this came across the wire yesterday about Joel Quinville being the new Anaheim Ducks head coach. Now, we kind of saw this coming considering that Stan Bowman is in Edmonton's front office right now. But after what happened to Kyle beach in Chicago in 2010, it just doesn't make any sense to me. While either one of them or anybody from that franchise would have a job in this league. So what do you feel about it? Do, did Stan Bowman and does Joel Quinnville deserve a second chance?

[Steve Levy]

You know, this is a slippery slope and that's for someone other than myself to decide. And the league has decided apparently that it's okay. Stan Bowman's been back. Is it a full year? Is it even two years now?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, it's been a full year now, yeah.

[Steve Levy]

Okay, so. So he's come back. Apparently they have done everything they've had to do to make it right at league, at least by the National Hockey League. And I can't, I can't speak for what's happened away from the ice and what's on the game. It brought terrible headlines to the league. It did raise great awareness. It shined a light on a subject that there needed to be a lot more light on. And then at some point, you know, Quennville has been, you know, rumored to be. Be in the mix for jobs and all those things. But the commissioner kept saying the time wasn't right, time wasn't right. And for whatever reason, you know, Gary Bettman and the NHL has decided the time is right now. And listen, the Anaheim Ducks, you know, they've made that decision that they're okay with this. I saw the press conference yesterday. Joel Quennville appeared to say all the right things off a prepared statement that it was and so we'll see where it goes. But you know, I'm not the right guy to say right or wrong time and we'll have to see where this goes. But I, but I understand from the victim's perspective for sure this is a much bigger issue than, than ice hockey. And, and we'll see where it goes from here.

[Roy Bellamy]

The team said that they actually talked to Kyle beach about this hire and they decided to go with it anyway. So I'm guessing that Carl Kyle gave them his blessing. Hopefully that's the case.

[David Droik]

Hopefully that's the case.

[Steve Levy]

I mean, that would be nice if that was the case. You'd like to think that was the case. And if that is the case, then full marks to Kyle, right, For, for trying to be the bigger person in this case. And, and maybe he's in a good place now where he wasn't. And all you could do is. Is hope he was taken care of and got everything he needed and continues to, to this day.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, we're going to listen to you on Tuesday for the. For game four Jets Stars. It's not going to be like the good old days, because the good old days are here. Still here. So, Steve, thank you for joining us here on the Hockey Show.

[Steve Levy]

Thank you for having me on, guys. I appreciate it. Good talking pucks with you guys.

[Dan]

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[Roy Bellamy]

I mean, on a cruise ship in my backyard.

[Dan]

At the beach.

[Roy Bellamy]

At the. At the beach is a good one.

[Dan]

What do we always do? We hear that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Dan]

And then what do we do?

[Roy Bellamy]

We toast.

[Dan]

Nice little clink.

[David Droik]

The clink.

[Dan]

Whether it's the can or the bottle, there's something about the clink of the Miller Light.

[Steve Levy]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

And it's not just how much we love it, it's the whole ritual of it. You know, the popping the top, the sound of that.

[David Droik]

Yeah. It's great.

[Roy Bellamy]

Love it. Love it.

[Dan]

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[Roy Bellamy]

Yes, it's one. Everything about it is wonderful. I can't think of anything bad.

[Dan]

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[Roy Bellamy]

I'm a Miller Light guy.

[Dan]

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[Roy Bellamy]

Okay, I begrudgingly Want to talk about the Panthers right now, who are down oh 2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs as they make their way back home to sunrise for game three tonight. It's basically the worst case scenario for the Panthers as. As they've adjusted. Mike, it just slipped on you, didn't.

[David Droik]

It just went limp on me.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, my goodness. Okay, so no.

[David Droik]

Bella, check this.

[Roy Bellamy]

Mike, it was a bad.

[Rose Arias]

You gotta relax with that. Dude, you gotta stop.

[David Droik]

I'm so hyper.

[Rose Arias]

This is a hockey show. Okay?

[Roy Bellamy]

It was a bad start in game one. Just. Just an awful start. But they did try to rally and they came up short. And there was some major mistakes in game one, including a terrible line change.

[David Droik]

Oi.

[Roy Bellamy]

That should not happen.

[David Droik]

It wasn't really a line change. It was like a line forgetful, like he forgot Uberlinkas.

[Roy Bellamy]

Forgot the Kamaniaks.

[David Droik]

I'm sure that there's some story behind it that he didn't just forget. Like maybe there was a. Some kind of equipment issue or it was an off. There was some reason. We didn't get an explanation, but why?

[Rose Arias]

My dad and I are still very much learning hockey together. Right. So after the game, we were walking the dog and kind of discussing everything and he was like, you know, I'm still kind of learning what. I'm still kind of learning ways. Nice walking the dog.

[Ethan Podowski]

You could let that part out.

[Rose Arias]

We have, we have our discussions. So anyway, we're talking about the game, you know, talking about what happened. And my dad's like, you know, what is good coaching in hockey look like? Like, is that that mistake where there's only four guys on the ice? Is that coaching or is that. That's just execution, right? Like, that's just a guy that either didn't hear the line change or didn't catch his guy coming in or whatever. That's not a mistake that you can make as a Stanley cup champion in the playoffs.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, Nate Smith, not things that these teams do. So he should have been out there. The clear cut. He should have been out there. I don't know if it's going to be an equipment issue or not, but he should have been out there because if Nate Smith's out there, he needs to be out there.

[Rose Arias]

Yeah. And it just highlights a bigger issue that the Panthers are having. Right. Which? Game two was a mess for the Panthers ultimately. Like, I just kept, look, you know, talking to my brother, watching the game together, just saying, walking a dog. No, this time we were.

[David Droik]

This time we were smoking.

[Rose Arias]

No, this time we were at Bright side, hanging out, watching the game, of course. But no, we were just, you know, watching the game. And I keep talking to him. The key thing I kept saying to him was, this is not the Panthers pace. This is not the way that they want to play the game. Toronto, when it's going up and down like that, that second period was breathless. It was just constant up and down the ice and. And one, Toronto's gonna win that game every single time you play it. That's not how the Panthers are going to win the game. And they got beat because they played Toronto's game. Game one was sloppy. They had some bad mistakes in the first couple periods. You can blame that on rust. Then they kind of took over, dominated the game, nearly came back. I thought game two was more concerning for the Panthers because Toronto looked like the better team and they Dictated the play. And that's not a recipe for success for the Florida Panthers.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, the good thing about the Panthers offense is they're so aggressive that their defensive unit can naturally pinch in and provide offense for the team. Sometimes that goes against them in transition with breakouts I'm in. Rushes happen. Stretch passes happen. Where the puck ends up getting behind them.

[David Droik]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

And breakaways happen.

[David Droik]

Or like, I don't remember if it was the second or third Toronto goal. I think it was the Max Domi goal where, like, Florida was changing. They were in the offensive zone. I think it was like Nico Mikaela was trying to come down from the point. Tkachuk saw him. It was typical play. But whoever was on Toronto's defense was very smart. Got a stick on the puck and it just deflected it just enough. As Florida was coming one way, Toronto starts going the other way. So it's these, you know, perfect storm situations that happen. I think even Paul Maurice said both of their rush goals started on Florida sticks. So some things to clean up. But I don't know, Ethan, I actually thought that they. They did more of what they want to do in game two than they did in game one. I thought they had more pressure in Toronto zone.

[Rose Arias]

Yeah.

[David Droik]

I'm hoping that it's just a progression to tonight at home where they can really show that they're the defensive powerhouse team that they are. I don't know, man.

[Rose Arias]

I just thought that second period, that pace was just so crazy that you're like, this is not the Panthers game. But then when you look at the numbers afterwards, like the Panthers XG compared expected goals compared to the. To the Maple Leafs was way higher. So it was. It was something like three to one expected goals. So, you know, there was honestly some bad goaltending by Bobrovsky. The last goal, I thought. I don't know how that puck went in. It was just kind of marner firing one off from the boards. Yeah, I mean, it's a great shot, Unbelievable placement. But I just thought, you know, there are still some positive signs for the Panthers in terms of the pace. Wasn't them, but they still got the chances that they need. They missed a couple. Listen, credit to Joseph Wall as well. I mean, he makes a great save on Mackie Samoskevich and he's come in like, you know, the narrative is going to be all, the Panthers can't be a backup goalie. They were really 1A and 1B in Toronto this year. So, David, let me.

[Ethan Podowski]

Let me help you here.

[Roy Bellamy]

What with the microphone.

[Ethan Podowski]

Yeah, let me help. No, not the microphone. Let me help you here. I'm glad they're 02 because I want to see Justin Bieber in the.

[Roy Bellamy]

What?

[Ethan Podowski]

In the. In the. In the Stanley Cup. So that is my win of the week.

[David Droik]

Are you saying you hope the Panthers win?

[Ethan Podowski]

That is my win of the week. So I'm jinx. Jinxing.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's too late for that.

[David Droik]

Can we tell her to get out?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, yeah, I'm jinxing them.

[Ethan Podowski]

I'm helping you here.

[David Droik]

It's not a jinx if that's the plan. It's not. Doesn't how it works.

[Ethan Podowski]

Well, I want just. I want to see Justin Bieber.

[Rose Arias]

Not a jinx at all.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay. I want to get into Sergey Bobrovsky. And David, you pointed out Toronto has. Well, you. Okay, Toronto sure has. David, you pointed out some stats the night before and I got some added stats here. This is from Natural Statric and Money puck. In game one, the Panthers had an expected goals against of 3.38 and a 1.6. Expected goals against on 5. On 5, Sergey Bobrovski gave up 5 goals on 30 shots, all on 5. On 5, he had a goals save above expected of negative 1.98. On game two, the Panthers had an expected goals against of 1.89. You would think they will win. And a 1.09. On 5. On 5.

[David Droik]

Very good.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Sergey Bobrovsky gave up 4 goals on 20 shots with 3 on 5. On 5, his goal saved above expected was negative 2.26. Explain the significance in that because that is bad.

[David Droik]

The significance is that goals saved above expected basically zero, like even means you're making. You're making the saves you're supposed to. When you start getting into the plus numbers, it means you're making saves. You're not supposed to. When you get into the minus numbers, it means you're letting up goals that you should be stopping.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Droik]

And based on Those numbers, negative 1 and a half for one game, negative 2 and a half for another game. That's icky, icky, icky for a guy who we've seen be the Panthers best player on their last three playoff runs, even the one that they lost to Tampa in the second round. He was the best player for them. He needs to be the best player if they're going to come back in the series.

[Roy Bellamy]

So not only is Sergey Bobrovsky not making the saves that's going to steal you a win, he's not making the saves that a top flight elite goaltender makes or even a backup Goaltender would make.

[David Droik]

Well, that's the problem. He. He's still coming up with some good saves. I think the problem is he's not making the saves he usually makes, which, again, drives his numbers up in terms of goals allowed, expected, and he needs to, like, yes, a spectacular saves are awesome, but if you don't bridge those spectacular saves with the ones you're supposed to make, then what the hell are we doing? It's the playoffs. They're all important at this point.

[Rose Arias]

I'll say this, though, it's hard to put it all on Bob, you know.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, no, no. The defense has been terrible.

[Rose Arias]

No, I.

[Steve Levy]

And.

[Rose Arias]

And I know that's not what you're doing. I see a lot of Panther fans that are kind of exclusively putting this on Bob. First of all, he just won you a Stanley cup, so.

[Roy Bellamy]

That was a year ago.

[Rose Arias]

I know it was a year ago, but he just won you a Stanley Cup. So in general, Bob's here. His contract is fulfilled. He brought you a Stanley Cup.

[David Droik]

In terms of his legacy, sure. But right now, we're in the middle of a playoff run for sure, and.

[Rose Arias]

He needs to be better. But it is hard to put it all on Bob.

[David Droik]

We.

[Rose Arias]

We were talking about it on the show today. There are probably seven guys before you get to Bob, that you could say need to be better if the Panthers are going to win this series. Carter Verhage, don't touch. Matthew Tkachuk, Nico Mikola, Dmitry Kulakov needs to be better. Nate Schmidt and Nouvelinskis need to be better. There are guys you get to before you get to Bobrovsky that need to be better, ultimately. Does Bob need to be better? Yes, of course. He hasn't played well the first two. And not only did he give up bad goals, he gave up bad goals at really bad times. Twice the Panthers took the lead, and Bobrovsky immediately gave the lead back.

[David Droik]

That's what I was going to follow up with. Yes, there are guys that need to be better. However, if Bobrovsky has a little bit better of a game in game two, they win that game.

[Roy Bellamy]

The defensive unit for the Florida Panthers haven't done well. I'm just talking about the defenseman here. All right? Dimitri Kulakov have had. He's had several major mistakes, including that delay a game penalty that. That was.

[David Droik]

That was.

[Rose Arias]

And even guys that you expect better from who have played Seth Jones, they played somewhat well. Like, they haven't been terrible, but they haven't been themselves. Right. Seth Jones has not been himself. Gustav Forsling Even a guy who's been so solid for the panthers the last 2, 3, 4 years has not played very well, you know, up to his standard, I would say, in this series. So they need guys to not only get better, but get back to their standard of play. Sam Reinhardt's an example of that, where he's doing good things. He's not being the Sam Reinhardt we've come to know that scored 57 goals.

[Roy Bellamy]

You said Nico Mikola. He's a minus three. He's committed bad penalties. He's been bad as well, and everybody.

[Rose Arias]

And he's been called out on the rush as well. He's been caught out on the rush a couple times as well. So it's like these guys just need to play better standard.

[Roy Bellamy]

They've been bad on the back check, like, and that's been horrible.

[David Droik]

That's the tight gap.

[Rose Arias]

And like I said earlier, if you're. If that's the game, you're gonna. You're gonna lose it every single time.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, so we are just waiting for game three tonight, hopefully hopeful. I'm saying this like I'm not biased. I might as well play the button right there. Hit the button.

[David Droik]

No. Hopefully when we come back for next week's hockey show, we're still talking about a current Panther season and not a past Panther season. Let's just leave it at that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Can't split this. Gotta win both. That's it. And that's the end of the hockey show for Dave, for Rosie, for Mike, for Jason, whoever the hell else is. Put the camera on back there, please.

[Steve Levy]

Who.

[Roy Bellamy]

Who's back there? Who's back in the video control room?

[David Droik]

Nobody, apparently.

[Rose Arias]

Oh, hey, Danny.

[Roy Bellamy]

Danny and Gino. Jason's not even here today, is he? So, Mike, Danny, and Gino, thank you for. For putting up with us. That's pretty much it. All right, Have a good weekend, everybody. What? What? What? What? What?

[Ethan Podowski]

Oh, I thought we already ended. Sorry.

[David Droik]

Time, Rose.

[Ethan Podowski]

I was thinking about what?

[David Droik]

The time.

[Roy Bellamy]

Bye.

[Ethan Podowski]

Bye.