32 Thoughts: The Podcast - The First Round Grind Is Setting In

Episode Date: April 29, 2024

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman open this edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast by talking about the Oilers gritty win over the Kings in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead. They also explore what might happen with the LA Kings if they bow out to the Oilers for a third straight season. Then, they talk about the Vancouver Canucks' epic late game comeback to defeat the Nashville Predators and also take a 3-1 series lead (6:45). That makes way for a conversation around the Toronto Maple Leafs, who find themselves trailing the Boston Bruins 3-1 as tempers flared on the bench in Game 4 (16:34). Will this be the end of an era in Toronto? Finally, they touch on the last Canadian team, the Winnipeg Jets, who after winning their series opener against the Colorado Avalanche are in a 3-1 hole (23:32). In the back half of the show, Jeff and Elliotte key in on the American matchups. First, they highlight the Dallas Stars-Vegas Golden Knights series (35:48). Then, the fellas talk about how the Tampa Bay Lighting staved off elimination against the Florida Panthers (39:50). That makes way for the Rangers-Capitals series that saw New York eliminate Alex Ovechkin's team from the playoffs. Jeff and Elliotte ponder if this will be Ovi's final appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (43:26). They wrap the podcast by diving into the Islanders-Hurricanes series where New York has staved off elimination as well (52:07).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.

Hughes holds in, made a move around Nyquist who fell. High slot, Pedersen. Left circle, Miller. Shoots, stopped by Soros. Rebound! Off the outside of that, the Besser scores! Brock Besser on his own rebound! Ties the game at three with 6.2 seconds left in the third period. Besser picks up the hat-trick. And the Canucks come all the way back.

Down 3-1 with three minutes left. And this game is tied and it's brock besser who does the job what you are about to hear is part car cast part studio so you can make the argument it's part professional it's part of me and sloppy elliott welcome to 32 thoughts the podcast it's a cyborg podcast cyborgborg podcast. Brought to you by the GMC Sierra Elevation. Okay, here we go. Wait, before we start, in true playoff fashion, Jeff Merrick is playing hurt. Oh, let's not make a big deal about it. It's fine.

No, no. You know what I'm going to say? Sergeyev came back this week. comeback that's the same thing broken leg and whatever how many times did you how many times did you throw up this weekend uh probably six okay and were you in bed all weekend uh oh yeah yeah. I didn't leave the house. Except this morning when I took my dog out to the backyard. That qualifies. Jeff Merrick playing her. Ladies and gentlemen.

What a hero. Wow. I'm not like blocking Paul Martin slap shots with my face like Ian LaPerriere did once upon a time. I had the flu and took some Advil and some Tylenol and had a nap and watched hockey all weekend. Wow. Pat myself on the back. Playing hard, all good. Jeffy's got the sniffles.

Okay, am I reading this right? I mean, I watched the game and it felt this way, but I still can't believe it. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings with 13 shots. 1-0 and the Kings threw 33 pucks at Stuart Skinner for the shutout and it seemed to me elliot that after evan bouchard scored that goal the oilers said let's sit on this thing well now we've had one game in the series that each team has won that you kind of can't believe that

they won i i couldn't believe that in game two, the Kings could win a shootout, especially in Edmonton. I did not see that coming, but they did. And if you would have told me someone in this series was winning a 1-0 game, I would have said that was the Kings. But they lost it.

And the Kings were the better team for most of the game. Riddick, for a guy who hadn't played in 15 days and didn't see a ton of shots, I thought Riddick was very sharp. He gave them a chance to win. He did. The difference in this series, Jeff, is LA's penalty kill, which is one of the better penalty kills in this league this year,

has been completely ripped apart by the Oilers they are 8 for 15 and that was the difference and I wasn't crazy about the penalty call and they did get evened up later but if you're the Kings you're just that penalty kill is destroying you this series and the thing that stuns you about it and disappoints you about it is one of the things you did well during the year you know it was a lot of fun the beginning of this game la came out hitting and it wasn't just dowdy on on zach hyman although that was a brutal one and that was a big one the vanderkeen responded in turn by hitting dowdy as well but la jace came out and it's like everybody channeled like the ghost of dustin brown and was just trying to smash everybody

yeah they were very aggressive hyman was hurt by that one too but you know i give the u.s credit they didn't they didn't back down like sometimes during the playoffs jeff you have to win games the way you don't normally win them or you have to win games the way you don't normally win them, or you have to win games the way your opponent dictates they're going to be played. And this was that night for the Oilers. And it was a big night for Skinner because, you know, even though he was very good, obviously, in game three, he hadn't been great in the first couple games of the series.

And that was a shutout, 33 shots. That one was not easy. That was by far his best performance of the playoffs so far. And I have to say to this, one of the things I've liked about the Oilers in this series is some of their better players have been very involved without scoring points. I think Dreisaitl and McDavid have been engaged, even if the results haven't always been there. I think that's the same for Kulak.

Kulak's been really good. But those are the guys that you expect to do well in those kinds of games. I'm talking about, you know, and not to take anything away from them, but I'm looking at some of their high-end guys, like Kane, Hyman, McDavid, Dreisaitl, you know, Nurse. It hasn't always been perfect, but they've been engaged, they've played hard, they haven't backed away from the physical part of the game and they found ways to win even in situations where maybe they were getting outshot. And to me, that's a really good omen for the Oilers. You have to win those kinds of games in the playoffs.

You know, we'll probably do more on this when the series is done, but now that we're at three to one, maybe a little preamble or a preview of what's to come um if this thing ends up the way that it's looking it's going to end up what does that mean for the los angeles kings this is three years in a row first round exit to the same team you're going to learn this in this podcast everyone jeff is going to try to get me to predict the future jeff yeah i have learned over the years, just because someone's down 3-1 doesn't mean it's over. We'll talk about that when it's over. But the one thing that's very obvious now is that when you look at Dallas, they are, you know,

they kind of made the switch a bit from old to new with the old still being a very big part of the team. This is rapidly becoming Byfield's team. Okay, that's the Oilers and the Kings. We now take you to the studio recorded part of the podcast, Carcast Returns in Block 2. Meanwhile, Elliot in Nashville, what a wild one that was. you to the studio recorded part of the podcast car cast returns in block two meanwhile elliott in nashville what a wild one that was let me go through what i think are some of the salient points here and you punctuate when i'm done seal offs gets the start casey de smith not playing

dante fabbro in for spencer stassny roman yosi takes a puck to the ear tyler myers takes a deflected puck off his own stick to the face we wonder about quinn hughes is he okay gustav neikvist makes it two to one the comeback season continues at the age of 34 elias pettersson is he injured what's happening here 12 seconds into the third philip forsberg scores a controversial goal opinions split on this one that makes it three to one colton sissons hits a goal post brock besser through all of this makes it three three elias petterson ends it in overtime and true or false you totally trolled me on twitter i didn't even realize i was doing it i got so many tweets. I would love to tell you that I did it on purpose and I saw all the tweets later. However, it was a complete accident and it was all because I was rushing to get it out. There were a billion things going on

and I just didn't even think about what I was doing. But I saw all the responses. By the way, Jeff, you forgot the other big thing that happened in this Nashville-Vancouver game. Which was? And that is that if I was single, I would be looking for Allie Walker's number. Oh, my goodness. Oh, ugh. Because any woman who drinks beer out of a catfish is perfect for me now i would like to add to this by saying i know that i would get rejected but still i would try i heard she

likes insiders i don't know i don't know that's what i heard just put it out there just put it out there some girls like that not like honestly like what an exciting game like i know everything that game was great everything one of the stories about you know vancouver in these these playoffs against nashville is how the preds are suppressing shots it's barely 20 shots a night that vancouver is able to to get to the net here we do have the injury questions about a couple of players on the ice brock bresser was just fantastic bx had pointed out those great hands in and around the net forsberg i maintain that's a punch stop. If you think a punch stop is a kick, okay, I'll listen to it.

If you think it's not a kick, okay, I'll listen to that. It's one of those situations where I could go either way, but it's a punch stop. What do you pull out of everything from that game? Well, first of all, that was a big brass ones win for Vancouver. They had a lot of reason to lose that game. They were starting their third goalie of the series. Quinn Hughes was banged up.

Clearly, all of the hits that Nashville was putting on him were taking effect. He was down to 12 minutes. Him and Roenick had the lowest ice time through two periods, and then they loaded him up in the third there was that goal which frustrated them you mentioned the Forsberg goal and Steve Fallon of Sportsnet Stats he was pointing out that until Besser scored Vancouver was about to set an NHL record for fewest shots in the first four games of a playoff series and this was a team that was averaging 28.5 shots a game in the regular season.

They were completely bottled up and throttled by the Predators. And still, they found a way to grind it out, led by Besser, JT Miller, Hughes, and Shelobbs, as you said. That was a big brass ones victory. They had every excuse to lose that game. And, you know, I thought I loved everything about this game. It was two teams that played hard. It was two teams that competed there.

There were no passengers in this game. I know people are not happy with certain players, but there were no passengers in this game. And I loved it. It's a devastating loss for Nashville. Brunette will have his work cutting out for him, getting them back to believing they can go back to Vancouver and doing it. But everything about this game was great. Now, let me just say for the record, this game was great. Now let me just say for the record, I think that was a good goal and it's partially because of my belief that if the skate is on the ice it's a goal. You'll remember a couple years ago when Blake Coleman scored the one that was taken off the board for Calgary in the playoff series against

Edmonton. I argued that that was a good goal. I think we should always err to the side of goals. But when it comes to skates, I believe the rule should be skate on the ice, good goal. I know not everybody sees it my way, particularly not Canucks fans, but I didn't have a problem with that call. We're trying to figure out, Dom and I, what the turning point of the game was. And first of all, did you think that was a goal or no goal? I'm fine with it as a goal because I'm like you,

I think we should always default to goals. But at the same time, I'm really curious how people feel. Like a punch stop is something that we see a lot with Connor McDavid and that's what this is, right? You take your outside skate, you bring it in, you're on the outside edge as in Forsberg's case you're turning to your right so you're leading with your you're leading with your right leg and essentially what you're doing is turning but at the same time I think I know what

Forsberg was trying to do here at the same time but good luck judging intention it's one of those ones that I could honestly I saw Kevin's point and I saw your point. And I said, I'm fine with either one. But let's just get a determination once and for all. Is a punch stop a kick? Because this is something that, again, like with all the pep training that McDavid has done, a lot of people are doing it now. Punch stops are prevalent everywhere. You see it every game.

Everyone does it. It's a quick way to turn. We just need to determine, is a punch stop a kick? Once once we make that official then we can all go to bed happy and for me if it means more offense then fine and at the same time to your point keeping skates on the ice yeah don't want blades up that's why i don't like uh changes over the boards that's why i don't like the idea of taking away the gates and having all the changes with guys jumping over because the board's opening is dangerous i want the blades on the ice but can we please rule specifically is a punch stop a kick that's my question there i think we learned tonight it's a goal now here's my question to you who are you starting in game five for vancouver she. Unless DeSmith is fine to go.

So if Smith is fine, and I'm under the impression this is not a long-term injury. Then I go to Casey DeSmith. Okay, you go back to DeSmith? Yeah, do you not? I probably would too, but I really like this guy. I like both these guys.

I thought they were both really good. Really good. You know, this is the true strength of Vancouver this year. They don't get rattled. They live in one of the most intense markets in the NHL. They get a lot of pressure, a lot of conversation, not all of it easy. But they rebuilt themselves on the ice. They have talked about how they trust their structure now when things go

wrong. They know how to play and they've proven that all year. Think about it. The morning of game two, they found out that Demko wasn't playing and while they didn't play great that night, they stabilized themselves. The night before game four, they knew Shilov was playing. They were prepared and they handled it. That's one of the things I really like about this team. Things go sideways and they deal. One guy from Vancouver who we should give credit to is the goalie coach, Ian Clark. He had three goalies ready to play this series. Thatcher Demko won a game. Casey DeSmith won a game. And now Archer Shelovs has won a game.

That's tough to do. That can be a team's nightmare, going to three goalies in one playoff series. They've all looked good. You expect it from Demko. DeSmith was good. Shelovs was good. We can actually have a debate over who should start game five that's your goalie coach having their guys prepared to play

the players deserve the most credit but the goalie coach is second so here's what I want to get to um during that game we were all wondering I suppose you were on the panel as well, is Quinn Hughes okay? He got rocked a couple of times in this game. And, you know, if I'm Nashville and doing the same thing, I'm targeting Hughes, I'm targeting Patterson, I'm going after them all game long. me was that blue line hold with Gustav Nyquist. The guy that we're wondering is he's all banged up. That hold, did he keep that puck in the offensive zone? Because if that thing squirts out, we're having a totally different conversation right now. That guy that we wondered, hmm, is he injured and how injured is he? For me, that was the sneaky good play of the game. I'm with you. And considering how much he was getting hit, like Nyquist is a Lady Bing guy, although he does have a penalty in this series. He's really gooning it up.

He's a Lady Bing guy. I think he had eight penalty minutes all year. He's coming at you, and you know you're going to get hit or could get hit, and he kept it in. It's a Norris Trophy play. Norris Trophy.

And Nyquist is having the comeback season of all time for himself here. 75 points this year it's the most he's ever put up at the age of 34. okay so that series now is three to one vancouver they look to close out okay elliot brace yourself okay it's time for black curtains and cadaver Boston three, Toronto one to take a three to one series lead. Matthews leaves the game. Samsonov pulled. Fans boo their team off the ice.

Nylander going hard at Mitch Marner who throws his gloves on the bench. And we wonder if slash win win the leafs lose this series what then and i think the presence of keith pelly may be the wild card in all of it am i getting ahead of myself here elliott jeff i know what you want me to do here i know you want me to go into the off season of the maple leafs I'm not going to do it and it's not because I'm afraid to it's because or anything like that it's simply because I think it's bad karma not that I think that they're going to come back and beat the Boston Bruins but for example I remember 2021 Toronto's up 3-1 over Montreal, and it was just like this.

The Canadiens fans are ready to drive Bergevin, Ducharme, and all of the players out of the city. They are ready to drive them into the province of Ontario or to the U.S. border in Vermont. That's how mad they were, and they came back and they won again not that I'm expecting Toronto to do this but I don't like to do post-mortems until it's actually over now like everybody else I will concede that game four was a low moment they deserved to get booed off the ice the fans who pay that much for those tickets had every right to boo them. And them snapping each other on the bench, Marner, Matthews, Nylander, we have not seen that from this group of players. Yes, you see it all the time, but they've been together basically since 2016-17,

and we've never seen that before from them. And to see it in this moment, there's only two ways to go. One is you just completely falter, you fall apart and you go down quietly. Or two, you rally and you use it as a point where you come back and say, okay, we hit rock bottom. Now we're going to prove we're on the way back. And there really is no other option for them than to do that because this is the end for this group if they don't pull off the big comeback here. In some ways, I can't believe I'm saying it

because I always say don't bet on talent. You know, Ron brought up the Red Wings. How long did it take the Eisman Red Wings to win? The Capitals, how long did it take the Capitals to win? You always bet on talent and assume they're going to figure it out. I don't think you can do that here anymore. Number one, you know, Marner's contract, he's got one more year. That's going to force you into a decision.

Tavares' contract's got one more year. It's going to force you into a decision. And you can only give so many votes of confidence to the same group. And they did one last summer. Brendan Shanahan gave them the vote of confidence. So this is their last chance to prove that they should stay together. And on Monday morning, as you listen to this, it is hanging by a thread. Now, the other question here we've all got is Matthews.

They don't play again till Tuesday. Let's see if he practices on Monday. I've had enough of a week with Toronto and injuries that, again, I'm going to be careful until I know anything here. But it is weird. You know, the rumor was food poisoning or some kind of viral bug but listening to Sheldon Keefe talk on Sunday it sounds like now they're not really sure or it's worse than they thought so we're all going to watch and see if Matthews is capable

of playing together and obviously if he's not there, it's even harder. There's no question. We're on the precipice of an end of an era in Toronto that I think a lot of people will be surprised that it didn't have more success than it should have. So here's the, here's the preview of the next conversation, I think, if the Maple Leafs bow out against the Boston Bruins in the next game.

Players, like anything else in, well, the universe really, exist in two states, potential or actual. And if you're Brad Treliving and you look at all the key players here, your core guys, and say they're still existing in a state of potentiality i.e there's still more growth for them then they have more leeway but if you're brad true living and you say no this is the best that these guys can play then there's trouble

that's how i look at this thing potential versusential versus actual. Yeah. And only Bradshaw Living can decide. One thing I would do, Jeff, I would play Giordano. I've got a lot of time for TJ Brody as a human being. I think he's a tremendous human being. Yeah. He really struggled. I would put in Giordano. Giordano coming in hot

yeah and I know he's slowed down a bit but he's a veteran he's seen everything I would I would put in Giordano he would play for me here comes the other questions then

who starts a net on both sides I would put I would start Samsonov I have a feeling they're going to start Wohl? I would start Samsonov. I have a feeling they're going to start Wohl, but I would start Samsonov. I don't believe he's been the issue. I would start him, but I kind of got the impression it would be Wohl. I would start Swayman, but again,

I wonder if they start Allmark simply because they don't want him to get stale. Allmark played game two. It'll be a week between games for him. I could see them. And again, I want to say I'm not predicting this because I haven't had a good prediction record on this. I would start swayman i see them starting all mark to keep him sharp okay elliot uh that's one canadian team in trouble here's another the winnipeg jets are starting to really get a taste here of what it feels like when colorado starts to roll five to one was the final score on sunday the colorado avalanche lead this

series three to one valerian and chushkin with a pair uh kael mccarr who has just been an absolute terror um for the winnipeg jets conor hellebutt gets pulled for la ramboswa in the third period another dangerous shot in the head vlad namestikoff gets hurt bad uh nate schmidt with the shot cogliano deflects it that was a really ugly scene no brendan dylan axel johnson fialbi goes in up front uh logan stanley goes in makes a gorgeous pass it's a beautiful pass on the schmidt goal um nice pass to appleton there and at the end of it winnipeg just chased color Colorado around the ice is what it felt like to me this whole series Colorado has been able to do whatever they want to do to get into Winnipeg zone that has been the difference you know Winnipeg has good players Colorado has two of the best and a supporting cast like Lekanen perfect fit Natchushkin

perfect fit middle stat he's looking like he's gonna get there perfect fit but when Makar especially gets going like there were times in this game where the Jets had good layers and good numbers against Makar, and he just outskates them. Or he skates through it. They cannot stop him. They cannot stop him. You know what it's like? What's that?

It's like the old Coach's Corner intro when it would have Bob Ure skating through a number of pylons in Red Wings jerseys. That's what it looked like. Yeah, that's a good call. When Makar getsys. That's what it looked like. Yeah, that's a good call. When the car gets rolling. That's what it looks like. It's phenomenal. I just think they absolutely cannot control these guys.

It sucks, but Colorado can do that to you. When those guys are flying at their absolute best, nobody can stop them. Nobody. And that's what we're seeing right now. They are at a level that the Jets cannot get to. Now, I do think this. I think some of the Jets players have to play better,

and they demoted Ehlers in game number four. Like, you can't just say, oh, there's nothing we can do about this. You have to challenge your guys to get to a higher level. You know, they've made Hellebuck after a Vezina trophy season look human. But to me, the biggest difference in this series is that the Avalanche gained the blue line with impunity. And that's what the Jets have to fix. They have to find a way to stop that or this is going to be over.

I wasn't surprised they went to a Brassois in the third period of game number four. I don't know that I would have done it in a 4-1 game. It's still three goals, although to them it might have felt insurmountable, but there's no doubt you're starting Hellebuck in game number five. I don't know if you have to create a picket line or something on Tuesday, but that's the one, like no matter what you do, your number one mess, even if you have to completely change the way you play your number one message has to be we are not letting these guys gain our zone because what if you have to sacrifice other things do it because whatever they're trying now it's not working them and

it's and they're getting exposed the chushkin's been excellent yeah the chushkin has been fantastic we're used to him uh in in the playoffs as well okay before i move on from the winnipeg jets elliott what did you make of what was said after game four i'm not in denver but i read some of the quotes after the game and i'm always careful because i'm not there. But it sure looked like Shifley and Bonus were not on the same page. Shifley talked about they've made adjustments and we haven't. And Bonus pointed out we've got to stop taking penalties, for example. That's one adjustment we could make.

And they are taking too many penalties. There's no question about that. The Jets cannot allow themselves to crack. Remember how it ended for them after last year against Vegas with Bonas disappointed and the players being upset at how disappointed he was? Look, everyone wants to win. Everyone's emotional. Everyone's frustrated. This series is getting away from them. As disappointing as your finish can be, you can't have this happening every year. You have to find a way to pull together and figure out your solutions. would say here is I believe strongly that the manager picks the players and the coach picks the roster that's the way it should be I think this one is one of those cases where I do think organizationally you should have a conversation about Cole Perfetti.

A kid wants to play more. I have no doubt about that. I'm sure the organization wants the kid to play more. Rick Bonas is doing what he thinks is right to win hockey games. I get all that. I do think, at the very least, a question should be had about the long-term future of the team here. They're down 3-1. Perfetti, you want him to be a big part of your future. I do think there should be a conversation about you give him the opportunity to appear in this game.

Cole Perfetti has been a jet now for two seasons and he's played 140 NHL games he has not yet appeared in a playoff game I would think about it and maybe maybe you don't think he's one of your 12 best forwards. Okay, we can all have a big argument about that. But I think you're hoping for a future where he very much is one of your 12 best forwards. And you should seriously consider giving him the experience. Okay, tall order there for the Winnipeg Jets. More on them after game five. Before we hit a break,

we're going to get to a couple of other newsy notes from around the NHL, and we'll do some of the U.S. matchups on the other side, Elliot. NHL coaches and the presence of Craig Berube in all of it. I said this on Friday, and I believe it even more on the weekend. I'm really curious to see what happens here because I think he's at the top of some of these lists.

I think it in Ottawa. I think it potentially in Jersey. And I don't think San Jose, I don't think that makes a lot of sense. I don't get that feeling anyway. But I got to think, if you're one of these

teams that really likes Berube, how long are you going to wait until maybe somebody who's in the playoffs gets eliminated and says, we might want to join this race. So I'm curious to see if some of these teams that are looking at him are saying, we have to move quick.

And so I think that's one thing to keep an eye during the week. Now, I saw your Rink Fries blog on Sunday, and I don't know which one of your children you dictated that to while you were comatose here. That was a tough one. But you mentioned Marco Sturm for San Jose. And I think that's a good one. You know, San Jose does like the tie-ins to people that have been there.

You know, that's one of the reasons that they really liked mike greer is because they wanted somebody who identified strong identification with the market is very important to them so i'm going to put a couple other names uh on on your radar um okay jay woodcroft is one the former edmonton coach was a longtime assistant in San Jose. He spent seven seasons there as an assistant coach. And there's two other names I'm going to add. Number one is Jay Leach.

Jay Leach was interviewed when they interviewed Quinn. So he's a name I've heard and he actually doesn't have any previous ties to San Jose that I know of but he has a tie-in to Mike Greer and that is Jeff Halpern now Jeff Halpern is close he is approaching his point where he's getting ready to be an NHL head coach. And he has in the past played with Mike Greer. And he doesn't have the San Jose connections, but he's like I said, he's close. He's played with Greer before. And I've had more than one person tell me over the last 48 hours that Halpern is going to be a person of interest in this one. So we've got Sturm, the ex-Shark, Woodcroft, the ex-Shark. We've got Leach, ex-Shark, who interviewed there.

And we've got Halpern, who never played for the Sharks. I don't know if he's interviewed there, but several people have told me, keep an eye on him. Halpern's name's been out there for a while. For those that don't know, he's an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning. There's a lot of good coaches there, as we all know. And he's been a person of interest in a lot of different places as well. One other thing I wanted to mention too, Jeff, is I believe last week in overseas there was a meeting about

the international calendar. The IIHF, I think the NHL and the NHLPA. They're trying to get a long-time calendar done. They've got that Four Nations face-off next year. They've got the Olympics in 2026. I think they're trying to get two more World Cups done and two more Olympics done. So

World Cup 28, Olympics 30, World Cup 32, Olympics 34. And I think that still needs more work, but I really think they're trying to do a long distance calendar and they had a meeting about it this week they've only wanted to do that since uh the lockout ended in 2005 yeah the difference now is what a couple people have explained to me there's a new double ihf now right so yeah you kind of have to i wouldn't say you're starting from the beginning but there are some things that were kind of institutionally known before that you kind of have to go through again so uh people are hopeful is is what i've heard but just nobody knows what the timeline of this is going to be okay with that we'll hit a break when we come back the defending stanley cup champions get a dose of wyatt johnston dallas very much alive. More in months.

Listen to the 32 Thoughts Podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. welcome back to 32 thoughts the podcast presented by the gmc sierra elevation elliot i don't know who had the more command performance for the dallas stars wyatt johnston with two goals including the overtime winner or logan thompson who jake ottinger said he was like Dominic Hasek down there. 43 saves and man did Dallas pour it on early in the first. Logan Thompson was fantastic, but a star is evolving and shining in front of us right now. Wyatt Johnston opened and closed the scoring of this one in game three. 3-2 is the final score and Vegas leads the series 2-1. Signs of life with Dallas.

What a game that was. That was just a great hockey game as as you mentioned thompson was was phenomenal if he would have looked around and said hey guys you know where are you then i i don't think anybody would have blamed him because it took vegas a while to get going i have to tell you, Jeff, that it had been a long day. And the moment that I was forcing myself to stay up, I don't know, this doesn't normally happen to me, but I guess I'm getting old. The moment that Wyatt Johnston scored, I rolled over and fell asleep.

I was like, thank God this didn't go on any longer. Johnston, great. We shouldn't be surprised about this anymore. We shouldn't be surprised with how well Vegas counter punches. I really thought that Vegas' defense was outstanding in games one and two. So you know that Cassidy's going to grind them going into game four. They're going to say that was gross, your worst offensive effort of the first three games. So he's going to be on them. And on

one level, I'm glad Dallas won because I want this to be a competitive long series. I want this one to go seven games. This should be a seven game series back and forth. And so I was happy Dallas won because I don't want this one to end too soon. I just think we all know Vegas is going to be a lot better in game number four, but Dallas is capable of that. I'm really curious to see now that Dallas has got a win, like that steamroller should keep going. They're too good a team not to feel good about themselves, but they know Vegas is coming. They have to be ready for Vegas to come back at them. I loved everything about that game,

and I hope Monday's game is just as good. I'm glad Dallas is making this a series. Like, we know that there's a cup contender going out in the first round here, and that's fine because we get great games from two fantastic teams. Quick thought on Wyatt Johnston.ston i mean you've heard me gush about him so many different times why don't you gush about him a little bit here two goals including the ot winner he's becoming the new clutch player around dallas well dallas needed somebody to do that right they needed somebody to step up and be the clutch player.

And he was. And if they win this series, he's going to go down as the guy that saved them. And the other thing I thought was really interesting was that they called up Maverick Bork and DeBoer didn't play him. And I was really in in DeBoer's reasoning because when he came out and said I don't want everyone looking at this guy as the Savior I was surprised but I understood it was now I wonder if you insert him and say nobody's gonna look at him as the savior anymore. Now everybody else is going to realize that they've won a game and they won't all be looking at him. I'm curious to see if he gets put in now because they've won.

Because to me, Jeff, if they went down 3-0, he's going in, right? So if it's 2-1, I don't see what's wrong with you say, you know what, he's going in any way so we talked about signs of life from the dallas stars how about signs of life from the tampa bay lightning they stave off elimination mikhail sergeyev welcome back stephen stamkos with a pair three points uh from headman uh kucherov hegel point a couple of power play goals a short-handed goal from brandon hegel six three is the final and i'll tell you what you know what made it for me the the uh the broadcast caught john cooper walking off the bench and he had this smirk on

his face like you thought you were gonna sweep us like elliot it was perfection it was perfect three to one Florida still leads in the series but Tampa signs of life I loved what Cooper said going into that game four and that is if if you don't think we can win don't show up I loved it I absolutely loved it even if it doesn't work that's what you're supposed to say don Don't be a part of this team. Don't bring your loser energy around. And there's no question in my mind they got the lift of seeing Sergeyev. I mean, it's ridiculous. You know, people have this debate.

You know, is it right? Is it wrong? Here's the thing for me. I only judge others as I judge myself. If it was me, I'd be playing, okay? If you had a doctor that told me the day before I could play, I'd be out there, just like Sergeyev was. So it's hard for me to say, oh, don't do it, don't do it,

or I wouldn't do it. I would do it, or I wouldn't do it. I would do it 100 times out of 100. So, like, he gave them a huge lift. It was really interesting hearing him talk about Stamkos, how they showed him videos of Stamkos skating after his own serious leg injury in 2014 and how he used that to come back and play. I love that i like that's team like that's that's team that's a team and again the other thing i'll say is i have no idea how the lightning and stamkos can't be married to each other. Like Stamkos was, he was all over the ice

and he was staring down the Florida players. Like it's just, it's just the idea that he could possibly not be a Lightning. It's so wrong to me. It just doesn't make any sense. How much that guy cares and how much that uniform means to him I was watching him that whole game and he like they were all engaged but he was really engaged

I mean look they're they're probably not going to win this series Florida is still a hell of a team and I don't see them losing four games in a row but these guys nobody should be surprised there's a lot of pride on both those teams the odds are still really against them but you knew that

for the Panthers to win and here's a Florida orange juice reference, they were going to have to squeeze all of the juice out of the lightning, and there was still some juice left. I'm happy to watch this series for more games. Listen, win one more and see what happens and see who gets nervous and see who gets tense.

I'm just glad that the Tampa is still very much in this one because those games are awesome. They're great to watch. Elliot Ricard casting again. Here we go. This time it's the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals. And this one was pretty close right up to the end when Artemi Panarin scored in the third and then

Jack Roslevic scored the empty netter on a power play when the goalie pulled to make it 4-2. And the New York Rangers sweep the Washington Capitals for nothing. They beat them 4-2 in the game. I don't know what to say other than, should we be surprised at all considering this team was dash 37? No, we shouldn't.

You know, the one thing I give the Rangers the credit for the most is the killer instinct. They got ahead in this series and they went pedal to the metal to finish it fast. They never let up on the gas. And that's not a small thing. I think it's so valuable in the playoffs. Like, Jeff, you look at some of these series. That L.A. Edmonton series, that's a painful series.

That Nashville Vancouver series, that's a painful series that nashville vancouver series it's a painful series this one started to get you know really nasty and there were points in game four where it looked like it was going to boil over i think what the rangers did here the best was they got it over with fast before you know people started getting banged up and hurt I think that's a real victory for New York in this series look I know a lot of people were online were making fun of Washington after it was over this is a joke would have been better if Detroit got in or Pittsburgh got in. Yeah, but they didn't. They didn't. You know, Washington got in. Washington earned the spot.

And if you're not going to expand the playoffs, then you can't complain about, you know, Detroit not getting in or Pittsburgh not getting in. If you expand the playoffs, maybe they have a chance to. But Washington did it, and they deserve credit for it. So when I look at the Rangers, first of all, because we'll break down the Capitals in a sec, I say congratulations to them for ending it fast.

Yep. That's huge. But the other thing I think that's really important for the Rangers is some of their players, key players, have really good series. Panarin had a nightmare last year in the playoffs. He was good. And he had a big hit. And Oshie, I give him a lot of credit.

He said that was a clean hit. And it was. I thought Trocek was fantastic. Continued to have a great year. And Shisterkin, I thought, was really good, obviously. So there's a lot of things in this series for the Rangers that went right for them. Jeff, the only thing I didn't like for New York is I think the 5-on-5 game, they won 7-to-5.

You're going to have to be better than that. I know it's important to have good special teams, and they did. But I think they're going to have to be better than five on five. It's not. That's the only thing in this series that I wasn't crazy about for New York. You know how the Rangers, this edition of the Rangers, loves to dine out on the power play. Yes, they do. So I don't think that should come as any surprise,

but your point is well made. All right, so to the Washington Capitals now and let the speculation begin. What happens with them next? Do they, as Brian McClellan said before trade deadline, start to rebuild, tear it down? And does that mean that's the end of Ovechkin in the playoffs? I wouldn't say that.

I mean, one of the things that happened for the Capitals is they waved the white flag of surrender at the deadline, Jeff. And they still made the playoffs. And the reason was, you know, some of their young guys like Alexiev and McMichael and Lapierre, they got the experience. They got shoved into bigger roles, and they made it. Throw Protis in there. Throw Alexey Protis in there.

Protis, yes. I would put Protis in there, too. There's a few of them. Like, to me, the Capitals are going to be better off because of this. Their young players made it playing key roles. And whether they want to admit it or not, I don't think they were expecting it. So that's a great thing for them. Still, you can see how it's going to be a battle for them next year with all the changes that are going to – they need scoring.

Like, you know, you never thought that now that Ovechkin is easier to defend and they don't have as much elite-level talent around them, like, now the Rangers could just say, okay, it's a playoff. We're going to shut this guy down and they can do it. Now, I saw Carberry tried to make it look good. He said, you know, Alex carried us the last end of the season and he was wiped out. He was done. The tanks were empty. Maybe, but it's easier to do it when you're still the focal point and no one could ease the pressure so if you're the capitals you have to find some scoring to take the load off of ovechkin

and i have no doubt that they will try to do that so that's the first thing i think with with washington the other things i wonder about here um obviously they've got Lindgren in goal. Is Kemper back? Do they try to find a new home for him? I think that's possible. Three years left. Three years left at 5.25 for Kemper. Yes.

You know, it's not easy, but I think they're going to try. You know, the other one, too, is Oshie. Oshie lingered on the ice for a long time. He got to 1,000 games this year the hard way. Dylan Strom said he played with a broken hand. He's got one year left. His body has been through a lot. A lot.

I'm not saying that I know here because I don't. But when someone sent me some, told me that he'd been out there late and he was the last guy to get off and he kind of lingered around a bit, you have to think that he's at least considering the possibility. And maybe he's not the player he was before because he's been banged up, but he's a big, big presence in that room. Like, it's very clear the young players really like him. They depend on him.

He sets an attitude there. It's just another hole in their lineup if he leaves. And, you know, Ovechkin, it almost reminded me of Dale Hunter. He played eight and a half minutes through two periods, and then they loaded up in the third period. He played seven minutes. And, again, that makes me wonder if next year you know next year's going to be about going for the goal record if they want to make the playoffs i wonder if they're

thinking we're going to have to spot them a little bit too really eh yeah well listen circling back to the oshi thing i wouldn't blame him i don't think you would blame him i uh considering everything through professionally personally with his health with his family i'm so glad that he got you know you always cheer for people more than teams glad that he got the stanley cup um what a career it's been so far we'll see what comes next for tj oshi but i don't think anybody uh would blame anybody would blame him if he was having that conversation with himself right now. And you know what? First of all, no, and I agree with everything

you said. That could give them a lot of LTIR flexibility. Now, in the offseason, it's trickier, but when you're looking for offense, what's the thing that's most expensive to find? Goals, goals, goals, goals, goals.

But they've got one of the best cap people in the league there in Don Fishman. And if anybody can figure out how to maneuver that, he's one of them. And once again, we bring you back to your regularly scheduled studio podcast. You know who's back in their series? Sort of. The Islanders. Who beat the Carolina Hurricanes in double OT. Oh, come on.

Go along with Robert Bortuzzo, the big shot, and Matt Barzell with the tip. Islanders fans love their team again. You can't be happy for a couple of seconds for the Islanders. I was happy. I was very happy. Because you know what? It's two guys I really like dealing with bortuzzo and barzell so i was i was happy to see it go well for both those guys look i like long series i want i don't like sweeps i like drama uh and you know it was great for the islanders fans that building went crazy uh our

friend michael leboff i didn't want his birthday ruined and he got a victory on that day I just by the way he just sent me a text Bortuzzo that was it yes well Bortuzzo before I wrote whatever Barzell Bortuzzo Islanders win I mean look like it's just like Tampa Florida it's impossible to see Carolina losing four times in a row. Doesn't mean it can't happen, but it's really impossible to see it. I just look at them, and I think they'll be fine. But four games in a row, you just don't see it. It doesn't mean it's impossible, but you just don't see it from Carolina.

I mean, we know one thing. Varlamov is the guy for the rest of the series, and he'll try to carry them, but it's a really, really tough task. But boy, did that game turn mean. Those ringside microphones, they got got a they got a workout in game four I don't know that they were functioning properly at all times specifically towards the end of the game it's there are a couple of salty notes that got out there there are nights when you sit there and

you think oh boy I hope they turn these off because you you know, you're just, you know, like, look, nobody should ever cross the line. There's limits to what should be said on the ice, obviously. But, you know, fans want players to care as much as they do. And they do. And some of the stuff that got said towards the end of that game, man, you could tell there was real hate. Okay, with that, we'll wrap up the pod. Remind you, two games on the go tonight around the NHL and the Stanley Cup playoffs, 7 o'clock Eastern on Sportsnet.

You can watch the Tampa Bay Lightning face off against the Florida Panthers. This is game five. Florida leads the series 3-1. And the Dallas Stars looking to pull even with the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. That gets underway at 9.30 Eastern. Watch that one on Sportsnet as well. three to one and the Dallas stars looking to pull even with the defending Stanley cup champion, Vegas, golden Knights that gets underway at nine 30 Eastern. Watch that one on sports net as well. Vegas leads the series two to one.

Enjoy the hockey. We'll talk to you again, Wednesday morning.