32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Block Party

Episode Date: April 24, 2024

In this edition of 32 Thoughts the Car Cast, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman look back at an entertaining Game 2 between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators. Friedman expands on the Thatcher Demko injury (2:55) and they delve into the Avs 5-2 win over the Jets in Game 2 (8:30). The fellas also break down a crazy game between the Panthers and Lighting (13:22), highlight an amazing save from Sergei Bobrovsky, and ponder whether he's headed for the Hockey Hall of Fame (16:07). They also talk about the Rangers taking a 2-0 series lead over the Washington Capitals with a close 4-3 win in Game 2 (19:04). Next, Auston Matthews' excellent play in Game 2 against the Bruins (21:18) and a discussion about the heat Mitch Marner is getting. That makes way for a conversation about the Edmonton Oilers and their domination of the LA Kings (27:29), and they talk about Mark Stone's return to the Golden Knights as they take Game 1 against the Stars (31:00). Finally, Jeff and Elliotte reflect on the Hurricanes taking a 2-0 lead over the Islanders (33:15).The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (39:38).The guys wrap the podcast by talking about the Sabres hiring Lindy Ruff as their new bench boss (47:29) and Ron Francis thinking about Dave Hakstol's future (56:02). They also discuss Pat Verbeek outlining his acquisition priorities for this offseason (58:08). Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Montana's Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Sorelli with some speed. Sorelli looks over his shoulder. That wrister partially blocked by Montour. Out in front! Bobrovsky dives to his right with robbery! Took one away from Dunbar. What a save by Bobrovsky! Welcome once again to 32 Thoughts to Podcast presented by the GMC Sierra Elevation. Elliot, let me open up by asking you, what do you think the most important number was on Tuesday night? Ooh, trivia. I've been good at your trivia lately. You have been good. You know what, Jeff? It's 1.05 a.m. Eastern, and I don't feel especially sharp. So I'm just going to let you answer the question the question for me and maybe this is different

for everybody else i'm sure vancouver canucks fans aren't a big fan of this number but to me the number of the night is 30 it was 32 but they took away two block shots from the nashville predators holy smokes elliot the prez as they claw back into the series, beat Vancouver four to one, get the split on the road, heading back to Nashville. We'll see game three on Friday. They blocked everything. As Brian Burke would say, they all had a part time job as a wall. That's what it felt like on Tuesday night for each. I didn't think Vancouver played that badly. I just think either. night, Freach. I didn't think Vancouver played that badly.

Neither did I. I think the Predators deserve a lot of credit. And when I saw them on Tuesday, I saw a team, Jeff, that was down one to nothing and was desperate. That's what I saw. A team

that didn't care that Thatcher Demko was hurt. Brunette was clearly all over them do not ease off the gas because their number one goalie isn't there do not allow that to lure you into a sense of complacency and I thought the Predators right from the beginning they were diving in front of pucks their sticks were in great spots. They played a beautiful defensive game. I looked up in the third period, the shots

were 12-12, Jeff. I said, it feels like there's been 60 shots in this game. So, you know, again, I don't think the Canucks deserve to be ripped. I think they got beat by a more desperate team. I think they were... So basically, timeline, as I understand it,

is they showed up at the rink on Tuesday morning and were told Demko wasn't playing. And I think they were a little – I don't think they were shell-shocked. What I thought it was was, you know, on the first shift, Hughes falls and the puck ends up in their net. Patterson was fumbling the puck. I saw a lot of guys trying to do 10 to 15 percent extra. But we don't know what is going to happen here with Demko.

I was told to refrain from guessing as to how long this is going to be. I think it's one of those things where you kind of have to let it heal. And while you prepare for a couple of weeks, you just don't know. So, Mizey had the flu today. He was really under the weather. And then Demmer got evaluated. He's going to be probably week to week. So for now, the Smith and Silovs are their team.

Now, I want to talk about Patterson for a second because he's starting to come under a lot of heat. And, you know, that's life in the big city. That's the way it goes. But the one thing, and I learned this with Matt Sundin, stoic Swede to stoic Swede. You always think that because someone is a stoic, they don't care. And that's a mistake.

I think Pedersen burns to win, just like Sundin burned to win. And I think people mistook Sundin's calmness or stoicism for he doesn't care as much. And I know I was guilty of that. And, you know, I learned it later, especially that night Sundin came back to Toronto and he realized how much the fans there loved him. You learned how much it mattered to him that they loved him. I think Pedersen is the same way. I think he's

a stoic guy, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't want to win. Just don't mistake the fact that he's not, you know, and the Canucks don't always like the Messier references, but just because he's not, you know, and the Canucks don't always like the Messier references, but just because he's not 94 Mark Messier and in people's faces all the time doesn't mean he doesn't want to win. I think it's fair to criticize him for not producing. Like I said,

that's life in the big city, but don't think that he doesn't care because he does to be honest with you we've had this conversation before if i'm uh running a hockey team i kind of want my players to be like that specifically in the playoffs i don't want them to ride the waves because the playoffs are an emotional roller coaster an emotional you know uh wave uh crashing into the rocks i don't want my players to ride that. That's one of the things I always admired about Carey Price. At the end of a game, when you interviewed Carey Price, and you've done this, Elliot, if you didn't know what the score of the game was, he wasn't going to give it away in his

emotion in the post-game interview. If he lost the game, it would be the same as if he won the game. The exact same type of emotion i think that's healthy for an athlete and if i'm running a team i want more guys like that i never look at both yeah but i i just i just don't want my guys riding the wave i just i just don't because i mean i i just don't think that it's it or productive. But this is a series. This is a series, Jeff. And I didn't expect anything different.

Here's my question, though. So, Bevilier scores. Forsberg, Sissons, Kiefer Sherwood with the empty net goal. 4-1 is the final. And the big story coming out of it is outside of Thatcher Demko, which is enormous, is, as we mentioned off the top, the blocked shots. I know playoffs is all about sacrifice and bruises and ice bags and headaches and masking injuries, all of that stuff.

I don't know how many more games the Nashville Predators can play like that if that has to be the recipe for success. Yeah, it's hard. It's hard. I mean, you do it because that's what you do. You know, the one thing I remember, I can't remember which player told me it was. It might have been BXF. But they say when you watch a shot block,

the thing is not only to watch where it hits someone, but how far the person who blocks the shot is from the shot that's taken. And McDonough had one in the third period. He must have been 25 feet away from where the shot was taken. And it looked like it just killed him. Like, you're right. Like, Jeff, you're totally right. But it's like telling a high diver that there's a risk.

Yeah, they know there's a risk, but they're going to do it anyway. UC Saros, excellent. Big saves on Dakota Joshua and Brock Besser specifically. That was a fun game. And I don't think that was indicative at all of how Vancouver played. It was just that Nashville was jumping in front of everything. Yeah, and also now, too, Tyler Myers. They didn't just have one injury.

They had two. And Myers is one of those guys. I like him in the playoffs. He's a big guy. He takes up a lot of room. He's mean. And you don't just want a situation, Jeff, where you've lost your number one goalie. You don't also want to have, say, oh, geez, not only that, but we're down one of our top 60.

A guy that Rick Tockett really depends on. So it was a tough day for the Canucks, but it's 1-1. Myers is really good in game one, by the way. I just want to throw that one in there because we didn't talk about him last game. Meanwhile, speaking of road teams getting a road win, the Colorado Avalanche with Alexander

Georgiev and his 28 saves beat the Winnipeg Jets by a final score of 5-2, although the highlight in this game for me was Mark Scheifele with that one-handed goal. That was a thing of beauty. Nonetheless, this series is tied at ones, and we're heading back to Denver Elliott.

So we'll never have the answer to this question, but if Anunan wasn't sick, who would have the goaltender been? I think you know what the answer to that one is. What do you think it is i think it would have been a noonan when you heard the way that both both bednar was talking about georgiev and how kiel macar was talking about georgiev i'm firmly convinced it would have been a noonan i don't know i i don't know if i buy that but whatever the case is the question is moot because jeff he was sick and unable to play.

And the thing about Georgiev is- Hang on. I just like that you're ripping my answer but still maintaining the question is moot and irrelevant. And I add the question, which only makes it even worse. But when Winnipeg scored there early, again, you think it's going to be 10-0 or it's going to be 10-9.

You're sitting there and you're thinking, oh, my God. When I saw that puck go in, I actually said to someone, are they going to pull him? I wondered right then and there. But to Georgiev's credit, he found a way. He battled. He found a way. He battled. It's another reminder of how much emotion and momentum changes in game,

not just game to game. But he battled. He found his way. And, you know, all of a sudden, you know, the looks are going to start going at Connor Hellebuck because, you know, he's the guy who's given up 11 goals in two games. And, you know, Georgiev has given up nine, but, you know, he's given up 11 in two games and he's going to have to face some questions as he prepares.

You know, I really, every, you know, I was working Vancouver-Nashville, so I was obviously watching that game much more closely. But, Jeff, did McKinnon and Makar play 60 minutes because every time I looked at the screen they were on the ice you know they he rode his horses he got a huge goal from Zach Parise um you know his first uh playoff goal in a while. But I really, like that was a night where Jared Bednar said, I am riding the horses even more than I normally do. And when you have thoroughbreds like that, they rarely let you down. And just like Vancouver and Nashville,

anybody who thought this was going to be a short series was crazy, and nobody should be surprised that we're going back to Denver 1-1. But, again, you know, a couple days ago, it was all about Georgiev and will he start? And there's no doubt about who's going to start for Winnipeg, but now it's going to be Hellebuck who's going to face a couple of days of, okay, what are the Avalanche doing to you? Nathan McKinnon, 22 minutes and 59 seconds.

That's it? Kale McCarr. Yes, but listen to Kale McCarr, 27-12. I even look at that and I'm saying, that's it? It seemed like those guys were out there all night. But it's interesting. Ken Wiebe sent us a text. The traitorous Ken Wiebe, who has left our organization,

he sent us a text saying that when him and Eric Engels were talking with McKinnon in the morning, that you could tell McKinnon was all business. And he and they delivered. I mean, that is a great series to watch. Up, down, up, down. There's so much skill on the ice. And that series is an upset if it doesn't go seven. Here's one for you as well.

There is a forward who played more than Nathan McKinnon, and that's Valerian Chushkin. 23 minutes and 37 seconds. He was actually out there more than McKinnon was, but we all know what happens to him come playoff time. He has been a beast. Although I thought Arturi Lekkonen might have been the most impressive forward

for the Avalanche. He was good. He was fantastic. I think the other guy, by the way, the other guy I'm looking at in this one is Ehlers. I think, you know, we talked about Pedersen for Vancouver, time for him to get going. For me, for Winnipeg, it's Ehlers.

They need him to get going. Agree, disagree? Yes, they do, especially with that speed against the Colorado Avalanche. That is the, that is, Ehlers is a wild card in any series just because of that blazing speed. Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers, another close one. This one went to overtime, to two florida panthers um a couple of things here we saw the save of the year i don't care stop the contest it's over sergey bobrovsky on matt dumba absolutely insane how he twisted

his body around and got his arm out there and made the save on Matt Zumba. Carter Verhage with the overtime winner. Sam Bennett's hit in the hand with a Brandon Montour slap shot did not return. So that's potential bad news there. And they said tomorrow they will have an update, which says to me they're waiting on the doctors. Yes.

Florida Panthers heading to Tampa with a a two nothing series lead for age that was a great game that was a great game it bobrovsky vasilevsky um bobrovsky is drinking from the fountain of youth and i think he drinks for from it like right around a day or two before the playoffs he He was really good this year, but he has become a guy who Florida, like Florida deserves a lot of credit to me because they know how to manage him. They have figured out the key with him about the rest and how much his body can take. And then they give him the fountain of youth

right before the playoffs start. He was fantastic. Vasilevsky was fantastic. That was a great game. Like everything that happened in that game is what you expect to happen. Florida pushes. Tampa pushes back. They have the heart of the champion.

They hate the Panthers. The Panthers hate the Lightning. It's up and down. It's momentum swings. But, you know, one of the things we talked about in the Carolina Islanders series, Jeff, is that, you know, you could see a situation where the Islanders lose the series. They play hard every game. They're in every game. But the Hurricanes are just a little bit better. That's what I'm seeing after two games of this series.

The Lightning are right there with them. They're fighting. They're putting everything they have in it. But the Panthers are a little bit better. And, you know, everybody's injured right now. As you said, Bennett, we'll see what this is here. But I'm watching what the Lightning are doing, 11-7. You know, Glenn Denning and Mott came back to play.

They have guys in their defense that you're looking at and you're saying, okay, I got to go to HockeyDB and figure out what exactly is going on here. They are battling with everything they've got, but the Panthers just look like they're a little bit better. I know better, I know better, Jeff, than to count out the lightning, but that's what I'm seeing.

Are we, let me swing back to Sergey Bobrovsky here. Are we going to have the conversation at some point these playoffs, or is the conversation already done? And that conversation is the Hall of Fame. Oh, you know what? I think he's going. He's got a couple of Veznas. Yep.

You know, I. Stanley Cup final appearance. Stanley Cup final appearance. Only goaltender to win a playoff series in Columbus history. I think he's going to the Hall of Fame. I do. And like I said, you know, Florida has figured out something here. And not only has Florida figured it out, but he's bought into it because he sees it makes sense.

Do you have a thought on Carter Verhege, the overtime hero? Yes. You know, so Sportsnet stats put out the stat that now he's tied for third all-time and playoff overtime winners with five. He's one back of Maurice Richard. He's in a tie, I think, with Corey Perry and Glenn Anderson. And he's three back of the all-time leader, who's Joe Sackick. But Chris, and I'm sorry, Chris, if I'm butchering your name, Chris Jastrowitz, who does some of the work for TNT and the Bleacher Report,

he pointed out that if you look at games played, Verhege's at something like 47 games, and all these other guys are over 100. That is Captain Clutch. Verhege is Captain Clutch. Incredible. Incredible. Yes. So Chris tweeted out You want to try pronouncing his last name and getting it

wrong too so I'm not the only one? Oh, Chris Jastrzemski? Oh, so I was even, I was like way off. Yeah, but that's okay. I'm sure Chris gets it all the time. He's a wonderful guy, by the way. Yeah, great guy. Sorry, Chris, for that name butchering.

I wasn't even close. Joe Sackick, Chris submits, did it in 172 games. Rocket Richard did it in 132 games. Anderson in 225. Perry in 197. Kane in 143, Verhege has done it in 47 games. That's insane. Great stat, Chris. You know what this proves?

Well done. is that Sackick and Rocket Richard and Patrick Kane and Glenn Anderson and Corey Perry are all overrated. They should have done it in less than 50 games like Verhage did. We're taking Sackick out of the Hall of Fame and we're putting Carter Verhage in, clearly. That's where this conversation is headed. Well, here's where this conversation is headed. Well, here's where this conversation is headed right now. 4-3 is the final score of the

Rangers over the Washington Capitals. It was power play goals for the Rangers. It was a gorgeous, a gorgeous shorthanded goal by Keiondre Miller and a beautiful passing play with Sabanajad and Chris Kreider. There was a controversial hit. Artemi

Panarin on TJ Oshie discussed the Lungster cells. I thought it was the right call. The non-call was the right call? Some will look at it and say, well, he kind of lunged up. To me, I always look, what's the primary point of contact? It was the chest. And the puck was there. The puck was there. The puck was there.

I thought they made the right call. Now, I know not everyone's going to agree with me. And the other point, Capitals fans, I will concede is this. If Tom Wilson does it, it's a fiasco. But I thought that they made the right call. Slight difference between Tom Wilson and Artemi Panarin. But I think it also shows that, yeah, of course, there's a slight difference between Tom Wilson and Panarin.

But I think that ultimately the question is, does a player make a legal hit or not? And I thought they made the right call. I didn't think he got the head as the primary point of contact and the puck was there. Before we get to, and coming up, we have the Montana's Thought Lines coming up in a couple of moments. We want to do a little bit of news as well, whether it's Lindy Ruff, whether it's Pat Verbeek, whether it's Ron Francis, whether it's Ivan Fedotov and his new contract, we will get there.

In the meantime, a quick thought on the other series before we get to the break in the Montana's Thought Line. The Maple Leafs bounce back and win 3-2 over the Boston Bruins. And Austin Matthews is the hero in this one with a goal, two assists, three points, six hits. You maintained on television for everyone to see and hear that that was the best game that Austin Matthews had ever played in the NHL. Defend your thesis, young student. You know what this is like, this defend this thesis?

your thesis, young student. You know what this is like, this defend this thesis. It's like an old school when Will Ferrell makes that speech in the debate and James Carville says, I can't argue with that. It's completely right. That's what that is. Although I will say one of my friends from Vancouver called me and said, you know, I was disgusted watching you make love to Austin Matthews on national television. So I didn't get that criticism. Anytime you say anything remotely nice about a Toronto Maple Leaf player, it's just like cue the outrage around the country. But like I said, you made love to Austin Matthews.

That's what I got told. Anyway, look, it's again again i know i know fans ride the roller coaster and that's why you're fans and that's why we're employed so i've got no problem with it but you have to know that these series are going to go like this you know they got they got pummeled in game one they were much better in game two uh and again it's sort of like yorgiev when that first goal went on Georgiev, we're talking about how, geez, it's another 10-9 game. When they blew their coverage at the end of the first period and gave up that late goal to Pasternak and went down 2-1, you know, I think

everybody thought the Leafs were going to just fold and get killed. But they, you know, they fought back and they won the game. And it was redemption for a lot of guys. It was, you know they they fought back and and they won the game and it was redemption for a lot of guys it was you know samsonov i thought was very good you know edmondson played a ton he played 24 minutes um you know it's it's that's a tough series now i think the one guy there's two guys now i think this shifts to a bit. One is Marchand. I think that he was quiet, I thought, in game two. And for Boston to regain control of the series in Toronto, he's going to have to be a big part of that.

And I want to talk about Marner for a bit. Marner is getting the heat. He's getting filled out there, yep. You know, like the Toronto Sun, they had the headline on Tuesday, they called him the invisible man, okay? I remember when one of those Toronto-Ottawa playoff series, you know, the Maple Leafs won a seven-game series in the first round, and they had one day off before game one against Ottawa.

And I remember later one of the players told me, Pat Quinn gave them the off day off. Okay? Off day off. And so they show up the next day they come to the rink. It's the day of game one. And they show up for the morning meeting, and, you know, basically what they said

he said was that's one of the players told me later he said Quinn said look guys they're rested you were banged up I all this is what I'm asking you tonight you play hard and you take a piece out of them for later in the series that's why apparently like the plan was and they lost five nothing and the next day on the front of the toronto sun do you remember what the headline was i don't curtis joseph it was joe oh joseph oh i do remember that yes the joseph headline right and joseph was who has a is a hugely prideful guy, he was furious. He was like, I cannot believe I'm taking the blame for this. Where our game plan was, take a piece out of them for later.

You know, I don't know how deeply I want to get into this whole Martin thing. I think that he tightens up. I think he wants to win so bad, and he wants to do so well. I think in the postseason, I just think he gets so wired in his own way that it affects the way he plays. And the only thing he can do is relax and just be Mitch Marner, who's a really talented player. But, you know, you can feel this.

It always seems to happen. And Sheldon Keefe went out of his way to defend Marner unprompted. He knows this. He sees what's happening. You know, these are – it's a – game three, Joe Torre always said the most important game of the series was game three. It's a big one for a few guys. It is.

I do think we should mention one other player before we move on here. And that's Linus Allmark. I thought it was the wrong move going to Allmark. I thought they should have stayed with Jeremy Swayman after the way he played on Saturday. I understand how they felt about last year against the Florida Panthers and getting stuck and getting out of their rotation. I just thought they were going back to Swayman on this one. I was wrong, and I got to tell you, he was lights out in that game.

And that save on Robertson, a 10-beller, and there were a few like that as well. That was a—no one's pinning that loss on Lena Salomar. He gave the Bruins everything on Monday. I agree with you. You've got to think of Swayman in Game 3. I do wonder if at a certain point of time, the Bruins are going to do the reverse of what they did last year, which is at the beginning of last year,

they had the one goalie for six games and then Swayman for seven. I wonder if we're going to see one, two, and now three, which I assume is going to be Swayman. And then eventually they pick a guy to finish this series. That's what I'm wondering about. And, you know, the whole, like the Nylander thing, I was on Pat McAfeeee on tuesday sleeveless yeah sleeveless it's too bad you really couldn't see the jacket um but first of all he's great for hockey and his whole staff they're they're great yes he is

yes um they had p they had pk on earlier and it's just crazy to me that one of the first questions I got asked was, has Nylander been disciplined? Is he not playing because he's being punished? And it just shows, like, I always say this to you, don't walk into trouble. And he's injured. As I said on the last podcast, I heard it was more likely he was going to play game two than game one. He didn't.

And again, I'm hearing it's more likely he's going to play game three than game two. But we'll see what happens. Okay, moving along. Just another ho-hum night for Connor McDavid. Five assists, no big deal second overall and playoff assists uh no big deal you know just trailing you know wayne gretzky and miko olainen who we talked about on the radio show on on tuesday afternoon and a big 7-3 rangers went over the

flyers on apr 8th, 1982. He was great in that game. Zach Hyman with the hat trick and the Oilers draw first blood against the Los Angeles Kings. Your thoughts on this one? So I think I've talked about this before, but, you know, in the 80s, one of the big rivalries in Major League Baseball was the St. Louis Cardinals against the New York Mets. And the Cardinals had Vince Coleman and Willie McGee and Terry Pendleton and Ozzie Smith, and they would steal bases. And in St. Louis at the time, they played an artificial turf. But when they went to go play the Mets, who played at Shea Stadium,

they played on grass. And you know what the Mets would do, Jeff? They would water the grass and the dirt to excess so it was like basically a sludge fest and the Cardinals couldn't run as much because the ground was so soft like Whitey Herzog used to freak out about it the manager of the cardinals if i was yeah you know who used to do that in the nhl who's that our mutual friend and colleague doug mclean when he was with the florida panthers and the high-flying pittsburgh penguins would come to town he would tell the zamboni driver to leave extra water on the ice essentially do two floods for every flood just to slow it down and turn the rink into a great big slushy.

Well, I can't, I gotta say, knowing Doug, I'm not surprised. I say that as a compliment, Doug. But if I was the Kings, I would be trying to do that in Edmonton. Look, I think they're going to try to turn that game into three yards in a cloud of dust as much as you can do it in the NHL. I believe that. Yes. I believe that. Yes, I believe that. You know, I would almost be like, I would almost be like the, again, I'm going with my old sports references, the bad boy Pistons

when they used to play against the Bulls basically say, you know what? Joe Dubars. We're going to commit all these fouls and see how many of them you're actually going to call. That's the Flyers. That's the Flyers in the 70s. Because the thing is, I'm not talking about beating people up like the Flyers used to. But that was their whole thing with penalties.

You can't call everything. So we're just going to keep taking penalties. Well, that's why I wonder about what the Kings are going to do. Because, number one, they have to set up the layers better. They got shredded. They absolutely got shredded. By the way, I'm still thinking about that dry subtle goal from the oblique angle. I can't believe he scored that, but that's the, that's the thing I have with the, with the, like, how are you going to slow these guys down? Because you have to, you have to find a way to do it, whether it's cycling and winning puck battles down at the other end.

You know you're going to give up good chances to the Oilers, but what happened in game one? They have no chance. Some teams can go back and forth with the Oilers. They can't. They have no chance if the games are going to be played like that. They have to find a way to slow them down. Have to.

Evan Bouchard, we should point it as well, with four points in that one as well. Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars, Elliot, hey, Mark Stone returns for game one. So did Alex Petrangelo, so did Carrier. Golden Knights win this one by a final score of four to three.

And only mustered 15 shots. Elliot. Are we having the conversation? Yes. First of all, God has a sense of humor. Having Mark Stone to open up the scoring in that series. That's number one. Yeah, you know, Ottinger, you know, you hope for if you're Dallas

that that's just a blip because you thought like – I think Jeff Reese is a great goaltending coach and it looked like Reese had kind of sorted everything out with Ottinger there. But he had a really bad start to game number one. And, you know, like if you're the stars, you know, you're saying, oh, boy, I saw way too much of that this year. And now you're nervous because you're sitting there thinking, okay, are we going back there or is this just a one-off?

Now, Logan Thompson was also kind of rough. He had, you know had one goal he'd like to give back, but he won. The Marchman goal? Yeah. The Marchman goal? Yes, but he won. And so you get that mulligan if you win. But that's the thing. Again,

I don't panic. It's one game. It was a 4-3 game, but I don't like the looks. Like any Dallas Stars fan, I don't like the looks of what I saw from Ottinger there. And if you're Dallas, you were thinking, I thought this was over. You know what I did like the looks of in Dallas? The rink before the game. That was fantastic.

Yeah. That crowd was amped. Well, also, too. that was fantastic yeah that crowd was amped well also to leah and mark and mark stone like the fans oh yeah don't hear the question like that's great that's what sports is all about like stone was great leah was great um and the fans were great that's that's what sports is supposed to be all about that was a funny moment yeah i Hex did a great job with it. I thought she was awesome in that moment. Okay, Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes. What a weird game.

What a weird couple of minutes as well. And I want to fill in the blank for you in a couple of moments here. So the Islanders are up 3-0, even though it's a game that's been kind of owned by the Carolina Hurricanes. We're like, okay, get in Varlamov. We've seen this before. And then it's cue the comeback. And the Carolina Hurricanes start clawing their way back.

And they pull their goalie. And they get it tied. Ajo scores with 2.13 to go. Nine seconds later, Jordan Martinuk scores, and the Carolina Hurricanes take the 4-3 lead. The Islanders pull the goaltender. Jake Gensel scores on an empty net.

Three goals in 80 seconds for the Carolina Hurricanes. And Brock Nelson goes hard at Jake Ensel. Kyle Palmieri picks up where Brock Nelson left off. I don't know what it is about empty net goals this year

that have upset Morgan Riley, Brady Kachuk, and now Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, but there we are. And you and I were talking this afternoon about how often or if ever it's happened where two teams in a closing sequence like that have both pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker. And this is one of the rarest creatures in the NHL. Yeah. The two teams pulling the goalie for the extra attacker to try to reclaim a lead.

You see goalie goals more than you see this but our good friend you mentioned sports nets that's the uh a moment ago our good friend steve felon and i were going back and forth all day on this one and he came up with this and i was embarrassed that i didn't remember it okay game six 2013 final, Dave Boland. In the game where he scored the game winner, Chicago tied it with the extra attacker. After Boland scored the go-ahead goal, Boston pulled their goalie for the final 15 seconds.

Wow. Great pull, Steve Fallon. Bravo, buddy. It's one of those things, Jeff, where you hear it and you say, of course. But you can't blame anybody for not remembering it. But when you hear it, you feel really stupid. That's a great poll by Steve. You know, like Brock Nelson, I understand he's frustrated,

but you can't have any issue with what Gensel did there. He had a man between him and the net. That was actually the right play, to stick handle it towards the net instead of try and shoot. So I can understand why Gensel was pissed off, and Nelson's just frustrated because they've blown a three-goal lead. The ice there was tilted. The shot attempts, everybody knows, 110 to 28.

This one, I also wonder if there's a goalie change. It's not like it's Varlamov's fault, but I do wonder if they go to Sorokin at any particular point here. And again, it's what we talked about. The honors compete hard and they play hard, but Carolina's just a little bit better. Like, the

Hurricanes have looked like a machine in the first two games of this series. That no matter what New York does, like, Brindlemore has a group here. It clearly is. We stick to the plan. We stick to the plan. We stick to the plan.

It doesn't freaking matter what happens. We stick to the plan. And the Hurricanes in the first two games have done that. And I know it's early, but that is how you are successful in the playoffs. trust what you're taught to do you trust what you've done really well and Carolina's done that I'll tell you I just um that I keep going back to that closing sequence of the game where we saw so many different personalities come out of the new york islanders and maybe it's listen we all know that patrick was a very emotional person and has

been a whole bunch of like i've always said about patrick he's a nice bunch of guys yeah he's a whole bunch of different people right we've seen a lot of different sides of the patrick personality and we saw that with the islanders like they went from being five on six, looking to close out, to being tied, to playing six on five, just to try to get this thing back tied, to going into full meltdown mode. Yeah. All within a minute, maybe 80 seconds, Elliot. Maybe 80 seconds, Elliot. Like we saw all of those different personalities and emotions come out of the Islanders in maybe a minute, maybe a few seconds over a minute. It was on Elliot.

It was fascinating to watch. I also can't figure out why are they trying to attack Steph Nason? Like I know that he fought Kyle McClain. It's not as if it's a size mismatch or anything. But then he's getting chopped down by the goalie and Matt Martin's attacking him. Because he was there. I guess so. In a lot of ways, losing

that way is worse than losing 8-2. If you lose 8-2, you just got your ass kicked and it's over. It's over early. In a game like that, where you lose like that, kicked and it's over. It's over early. And a game like that where you lose like that, it hurts a lot more. And I'm not surprised you react like that a bit more.

Okay. That was the last couple of days in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hitting a pause, Montana's Thought Line and news of the day still to come on this podcast. Listen to the 32 Thoughts Podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Welcome back to the podcast,

the Montana's Thought Line, Montana's Barbecue and Bar, Canada's home for barbecue. How many times do you think to yourself, Elliot, something that was a goofy throwaway tag is now turned into a musical interlude here on the program. Thank you, Rick Turner, for that one. It's 1.48 a.m. and it can never not make me laugh. I know, I can hear the giggling in the background. 32 Thoughts at Sportsnet.ca, 1-833-311-3232. Jose from Almeria, Spain.

Hello, Jeff, Elliot, and Dom. After listening to the last couple of podcasts, it looks like the NHL will give Morello, Alex Morello, the chance of bringing back the Coyotes to Arizona during a number of years, five. And I was wondering one thing. What happens if someone more reliable and more trusted between the other owners steps up and decides

he wants to do it himself before Morello gets Arizona is a very attractive market. Everybody saw he got double what he invested in after years of doing a terrible job. Why don't we see why anyone wouldn't like to invest there? Love the podcast and go Canucks. Elliot. First of all, impressive. Love to hear questions from areas you don't expect to hear, like Spain. So it's awesome.

Yes. In exchange for getting Morello to go without going to court or anything like that, he has the window till at least December 31st, 2027. On December 31st, 2027, at the NHL's discretion, they have to rule that he's got the arena half done. And if he does, he keeps his window. And if he doesn't,

then he loses the rights. So until then, Morello has the exclusivity and we just have to wait to see if he pulls it off. Okay. Great question there, Jose. I think a lot of people have wondered about that too. So glad we got that on the pod.

Yep. Tim. Tim is a Canucks fan in New York. A lot of Canucks fans. Hi, Jeff and Elliot. Spain. Yeah. New York.

They're spreading. Oh, we're so international. We're so international. No, the Canucks are spreading. Hi, Jeff and Elliot. It used to be just the exclusive domain over the Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Good to see other Canadian teams getting out there.

Which team do you think has the most at stake if this isn't their year? Last year, teams with big expectations made big changes after losing. Toronto and Caldubus went different ways. The Rangers fired their coach. Winnipeg parted ways with Blake Wheeler, etc. Could McDavid or Dreisaitl seek a fresh start if Edmonton struggles? Will Brindamore or Keefe get another chance to get over the hurdle? Does Florida re-sign Reinhardt?

Thanks. That from Tim. Well, I don't think there's any issues with Brindamore. I think he's basically got an extension done in Carolina. I think they've agreed to it for some time. He just wants his assistant coaches taken care of. I do think Toronto and Edmonton would be too high on the list. I think the pressure is always on in Toronto.

And also there is a new president there, Keith Kelly. And I think people are wondering, okay, how is he going to look at things? So I think Toronto is a good one. I think Edmonton is another one. I don't think that Connor McDavid and Leon Dreisaitl are asking for fresh starts after this year. I don't think that's realistic, but all you have to do is look at the clock and see Dreisaitl is one year away from unrestricted free agency.

Eligible to sign extension in July. I think if you're the Oilers, you don't want that hanging into next season. And then you've got McDavid, who's two years away. And obviously, he loves having dry sidle around him. They have a great relationship. So I think Edmonton is a big one. But, you know, those are obvious answers. I wanted to try to think of something that was maybe a little less obvious. And one of the team I wondered

about was LA. You know, they've been, this is the third straight year they've played Edmonton in the first round. They've lost the first two. We know they made a coaching change. They have an interim coach there, Jim Hiller, right now. You know, Rob Blake has one year left on the contract. And so I kind of wonder about decisions that the Kings might have to make with the roster and through the organization if they get beat out by the Oilers again. So that's the team I would mention.

Excellent. We'll finish up with a question, a junior hockey question, Elliot, from Trevor. Long-time listener, first-time caller, brackets, emailer. This question is for Merrick. When looking at the OHL priority selection, that's the OHL draft, from the weekend, I noticed a couple of players from Nova Scotia drafted. How does that work? Is Nova Scotia not part of the QMJHL territory?

So the person that Trevor's referring to is Aidan O'Donnell, who's from Coal Harbor. You may have heard of it, Nova Scotia. Plays with Steel Subaru AAA. He was drafted into the OHL. Now, here's something, um, here's something interesting. It's an interesting wrinkle in how kids get, get drafted into the, uh, either WHL, the OHL or the QMJHL. CHL alumni. Okay. So if you played in the CHL, you're allowed to choose which league you want your son to play in.

Oh. So Aiden O'Donnell's father, Chris, played games for the Ottawa 67s and Oshawa Generals. Actually, Elliot, you'll like this one. He played on an Oshawa Generals team that also featured Tyrone Garner, who we talked about a couple of weeks ago here on the podcast. A couple of weeks ago. Who was, I believe, the only, and he played three games in the NHL. I believe he was the only goaltender ever in the history of the NHL,

well, the only person ever in the history of the NHL, Tyrone Garner, the energy well the only person ever in the history of the nhl tyrone garner to play in the nhl as a goaltender and then play as a skater in another professional league after he stopped playing net i know it's ridiculous right i want to talk to tyrone garner find me tyrone garner i got to talk to this guy um the sim family is the same way um John Sim from Nova Scotia, his son Landon, obviously from there, dad played with the Sarnia Sting, his son Landon plays with London. He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues. So because he was an alumni, he gets to choose the league of the QMJHL, the OHL, or the Western Hockey League that his son plays in. I'm not sure how many people are aware of that, but that's how it works. So sometimes if you see someone come from a territory that shouldn't be under the jurisdiction of that league,

that usually means, well, it should always mean that dad played. And so as a CHL alumni, you essentially get the courtesy of the right to choose which league your son's going to play in. That's a good one. Montana's Thought Line. Montana's Barbecue and Bar, Canada's home for barbecue. News is next. Elliot, normally we lead the podcast off with news, but on a day like this and days like we've had in the past couple,

we led with the games this time of year, that takes priority. But some things we have to go over here. Starting with the buffalo sabers and they find their bench boss it is lindy ruff um it is a two-year contract for lindy ruff for the buffalo sabers and the first thing that i thought of here was this very much feels like a terry pagula hire now kevin adams has a past with lindyuff. For a couple of years, he was on the bench as an assistant with Lindy Ruff. How would you describe this hire? Terry Pagula, Kevin Adams, combination of both. So I had a DM on Tuesday afternoon, and I can't respond to all my DMs, but this one, it was basically one line.

And it said, why do you and Kevin Adams hate each other? I was like, oh, okay, this is interesting. I'll bite. I wrote back to the person. I said, you got me on this one, and you've got me curious. I really like covering Kevin Adams as a player, and I'm curious to know why you think that we hate each other. Like he might hate me.

It's very possible. People do. But I certainly don't hate him. And he goes, because you guys are always contradicting each other. You'll say something and he'll contradict it or he'll say something and you'll contradict it. And I said, you know, honestly, I never even realized that. You're the first person ever to mention to me, I hadn't noticed that before. And by the way, who can contradict me, I'm always right. And so at issue was what I said on your show,

on, on Tuesday, saying that I said, they didn't really talk to anybody. And then I kind of amended it and said, well, if they talk to people, they didn't really talk to people at length. And I do stand by that. Adams, and I didn't get a chance to listen to his press conference because I had to do some other things. He said that he talked to a lot of people. And I'm not going to argue with him. What I'm going to say is this, the coaching search got done in five days, six days. Okay. How long have the Ottawa Sanders been without a coach? How long have the St. Louis blues been without a coach? Like all you have to do is just look at the evidence to say,

this was not an in-depth coaching search. I don't know how anybody can argue this. I will concede that Kevin Adams probably spoke to a few people. But to argue that this was an in-depth search, it's just wrong. Now, the one thing I, but I also believe the truth is this, Jeff. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that. If the Buffalo Sabres decided that Lindy Ruff was their guy, that's totally fine to me. And I don't even understand why they should argue otherwise like sometimes I think people do things because of optics and I definitely sense there's some of

that here I saw people online criticizing the savers for going right to rough and instead of doing like a long search or a full search. Like to me, if you think that Lindy rough is the right person for your team, make the call. I don't think you, some people are going to love it. Some people aren't going to like it. Some people are going to be happy. Some people are going to criticize it. You know what, Jeff, that is? That is life. In the social media age, no matter what you do, you are going to have people who are publicly going to disagree with it. But if you believe it's the right call, and you're in charge, you make the call. The Buffalo Sabres clearly believed that Lindy Ruff was the right person. Now, ultimately, we'll find out somewhere down the road if it was right, but there are things I can tell you.

He is ecstatic, okay? I think Lindy Ruff, over the past two years, before he got Jersey, I think he wondered if he was ever going to get another NHL head coaching job. And he got it, and he loved it. And I think when he got fired by Jersey, I think there was probably a time, and I would bet this too, Kevin Adams is no idiot. He knew there was a good chance that Lindy Ruff was going to be available. And I think, I would bet that Lindy Ruff, going to be available. And I think I would bet that Lindy

Ruff when the season was ending the way it was, and he thought he might be losing his job in New Jersey, because these guys know when it's coming. I guarantee you he thought again, he might be done. And nobody loves Buffalo like Lindy Ruff loves Buffalo. and they couldn't have hired a person who would want to be the head coach of the Buffalo Savers more than Lindy Ruff would, and that does matter. And I'll say something, too, and I say it on your show. Last year, Lindy Ruff was a genius. They beat the Rangers.

They got onto the second round. This year, Lindy Ruff, with a roster... Forgot how to coach. Yeah, he forgot how to coach. With a roster, and I've said this many times and I'll say it again, they made, I think, very justifiable long-term decisions that made

them worse in the short term. Now, do I think they would trade for a goalie sooner? Yes. But they made some decisions that were fair that cost them. And then Dougie Hamilton got hurt. I'll say this too. Lenny Ruff, people say he doesn't have a lot of rules. Play hard, dress respectfully, be on time.

Okay? If you do those things for him you're gonna be fine but if you don't you're gonna have a problem and i think people should not be afraid to justify their decisions if the buffalo savers believe lindy ruff is the right guy there is nothing wrong with them coming out and saying this was a short and sweet search because we believe this is the right guy, there is nothing wrong with them coming out and saying, this was a short and sweet search because we believe this is the right guy. I don't have a problem with it. And over and we'll see where we go over the next couple of years.

I understand the idea of once you've identified who your guy is, you just go and sign them. You go and get them. But always when, whenever you you're you're interviewing for something like a head coaching position part of me always says a even if you know who you want to lean to like unless unless there's another team that's going to sign that coach um i'm very much of the belief that you go through a search if for nothing else than to gather information. And like if you're the Buffalo Sabres, for example, the one name that jumps out to me for gathering information, having the conversation, maybe one day he'll be in your mix,

is Jeff Blaschel, assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I'm sure I would love to get back behind a bench in a full-time capacity as a head coach. He has a lot of information about the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning, two teams right around the Buffalo Sabres. That's fair. At least having the conversation about his experiences with those teams, even if you can glean something, I think is valuable. And that's just part of having a lengthier interview process. The other thing too,

is I'm really curious who sent you that DM because I got a DM today saying, man, Kevin Adams must really like you because he seems to agree with everything you say publicly, Merrick. That's pretty well. Then we know who he likes and we know who he talks to and we everything you say publicly, Merrick. That's pretty well. Then we know who he likes and we know who he talks to and we know who he doesn't talk to. I have a hard time believing that's true, too. But, you know, the thing I'll say about your point, and you're right. Like, I'm not going to argue with that. You're totally right.

I'll say this. I think there's a lot of coaches in the NHL that would privately tell you that they don't mind the way Buffalo did that because if Buffalo decided that they were going to do Lindy Ruff, they didn't waste everybody else's time. There's coaches in the league who believe that they only get interviewed exactly for that reason and they're not serious contenders, and they hate it. Yeah, I get that. I get that. But, you know, I'm willing to concede the argument.

I'm just saying, like, if you decide someone's your guy, make the call, which the Sabres did. Speaking of make the call, Ron Francis saying he still needs to make the call on the future of Dave Haxtall did that one surprise you? yes and because I felt that that was not a Ron Francis type move he's very patient

look it's the same thing we talked about with Lindy Ruff first year expansion team did about what we expected second year 100 points won a round you got an extension you're sitting there wow like what a great job what a great win for seattle this year pretty much an 80 point team what's the average of 60 and 100 which is kind of like their first couple years

80 points they probably regressed to the mean. They don't have a lot of scoring. That's something they've got to find. Again, you have to say to me what is different? Maybe there is something that I don't see. I don't

see Seattle a lot. Maybe there is something that is different't see. I mean, I don't see Seattle a lot. Maybe there is something that is different between now and then. But you'd have to explain it to me, and you'd have to explain it to me in a way that would make sense in the way I know that Ron Francis thinks.

So, you want to know what my theory is, Jeff? My theory is they're thinking about Dan Bilesma. Who coaches in Coachella Valley the AHL affiliate for the Seattle Kraken that's my theory that's my theory well look you're gonna have a lot of players from Coachella Valley start to populate that Kraken roster that's what I'm wondering and it's my opinion. It's my theory.

And also there is a connection. Jason Botterill, the assistant GM in Seattle, and Dan Bilesma, head coach, Pittsburgh Penguins. That's my theory. And Jeff, there's a connection. Jason Botterill, Pittsburgh Penguins. Dan Bilesma, Pittsburgh Penguins. I could be wrong, but that's what my spidey senses tell me.

I thought I was wrong once, but I was incorrect. Pat Verbeek, general manager of the Anaheim Ducks. Any rare media avail? We know he likes to work in the shadows. Yes, he does. He likes to be the international man of mystery. Telling gathered media that he is interested in a top six right-hand shot forward and a top four right shot D.

So cue up your Stamkos, Reinhardt, Marcheseau, Lindholm, Myers, Tanev, Pesci, Hronik, Rumors, Elliot. Yeah, I don't really have any specific names right now. I had enough work to do today. I'll just irresponsibly throw some out there. I'll just irresponsibly throw some out there. That's what we're paid to do, be irresponsible. So it's a nice way to live. But I thought we should mention it on the pod.

I don't know how many people said it. But the other thing, too, is I want to give some credit to the Ducks for tweeting that out. And the reason I want to give credit to them for that is that, you know, there are some teams in this league that don't get as much coverage as other teams. And you have to find unique ways to get your stuff out there. And to me, that was what Anaheim did there. They put that out there so everybody saw it. And if they hadn't put that out there,

I don't know how many people would have seen it, but I think it's good that people are talking about the ducks. Oh, this is what the ducks want. Oh, who can we link to the ducks? I think that kind of thing is important. I think that's smart. And I agree with you. Good on the Anaheim Ducks for putting that out there. And finally, we'll finish up with this quick conversation.

The Philadelphia Flyers signing Ivan Fedotov. Two-year contract, $6.5 million. AAV is $3.2525, to which many are saying, hold on. Three games and a.811 save percentage. That gets 3.25 times two? Yeah, and the thing is that the one thing the Flyers know here is that UFA deals, which is what this is, they can't be used as comparables. So they didn't – sometimes when you see contracts like that,

people say, oh, man, they're going to screw over the other teams that are trying to keep salaries down. Not the case because it's a UFA deal. It's not a comparable. Look, they were in a tough spot. The guy was a UFA. But the thing here to remember is Urson is locked in for a few years too. So they're spending less

than five million a year in their goalie position i'm i'm sure that the flyers did not want to go to that number but it's not going to hurt them because urson's locked in in a lower number what i thought about this one when i saw it was it had to be something like this because I can't believe that Fedotov himself would have put himself through what he did to get here for a minimum salary. That's fair too.

I think that's legit. I think that's fair. Good point. Okay. On that we'll wrap. Enjoy the games tonight. It is game three between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The venue shifts to Toronto. Game two of the Golden Knights featuring Mark Stone. Did you know he scored in his first game?

Yes. Facing off against the Dallas Stars, the Golden Knights lead the series 1-0. And the Los Angeles Kings look to pull even with the Edmonton Oilers. Enjoy these three games. This pod returns Friday morning. Enjoy the hockey. We're back in a couple of days.