Empty Netters Podcast - 42. What's Wrong with Matty Tkachuk

Episode Date: June 12, 2023

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All right, folks, we're coming to you live after game for utter devastation for the Panthers. One of you said it, there's an awesome bar on like the sweet level of that rink. Yeah. It's called the Coors Light Cold Zone. The Cold Zone, baby. Shout out to our gals there, too, by the way. We're going to have some awesome videos. Oh, my gosh.

They are truly the best ladies in the game. It's unbelievable. The Cold Zone rips. pregame. There's like a concert, dude. There's like literally a live band. This is, listen. I don't want to cut you off. Yeah, please.

I'm going to do it. We have talked about these two barns here in this final. Team Mobile and Florida Live. I think there's something to be said about some of the older, more historic barns in the NHL. You got the Bell Center, of course. You got TD Garden, some of these original six teams. And they're really famous and popular for,

having great bars outside and around the arena. And I think that that's great. There's something to be said about in and surrounding arena entertainment. And that's what we've seen a lot of at these two arenas. More surrounding at Vegas, more in here. And the fact that people show up two hours early. To hit the cold zone. To hit the cold zone.

And send it. There's a live band. It's a free concert. And listen. We were lucky enough to go to this amazing barn for All-Star weekend. And now we're here for the Stanley Cup. And game three, we saw people ripping it at the cold zone pregame. And then obviously post-game OT win, they were going off.

It was delightful to see win or lose post-game. The people on sweet level show up to the cold zone and go hard. That was so funny walking. out of that arena like ah shit brutal loss and then getting to the cold zone and they're rain or shine dude just so the two the two things i wanted to say about that is one it is the one of the great fallacies that in the third period and listen that that rinks kind of far away i'm not endorsing drunk driving by any means but the nchel goes like this third period they go they shut down they shut down drinks because they're like hey no more drinking third period yeah you guys got to get home safe game

ends and they go like this drinks back on the menu like everyone is getting fucking hammered sorry sorry everybody no more drinks and then the game's over and they're like this would you like a double shot so that's insane but second of all dan same thing we were walking out today and i hope i hope i hope we're back for game six but if we weren't i want to say bye to the girls because they were so nice to us and i said let's just pop down the cold zone's going to be empty let's just pop down and say bye we could barely get a word in for how many people were ordering shots of J-Mo. Yeah, we had to fire our way through.

What a vibe down there. I really, really appreciate that. Truly remarkable stuff. So that, listen, brutal loss, we're going to get into the game. But huge shout-out to Panthers fans because that was just a phenomenal shift to see all of them ripping it up. I mean, listen, it's Saturday night at the end of the day. Yeah. Okay, so before we get into some game stuff, I have two fans.

stories for you. Hit me. I love fan stories. First one. Quick one, but I just wanted, I just loved this. Can I ask first, do I know these fan stories? Uh, no. Okay. I was going to say, first one. Tells me fan stories that I was a part of. This is going to be honest with, I just want you to hear it. First one, uh, this guy, George, George found me in the concourse. I think I was running around to go see somebody and he walked up. And by the way, everyone and anyone, more so in Florida, I would say, but anyone and everyone that came up to us, massive, thank you. Like it's really, it's awesome for us. It's, and I appreciate it so much.

You guys are the best. And it's so cool that you are enjoying this. This guy, George came up, flagged me down. He's like, dude, empty-in-ditors, we talked for a while. We had a pick. And he goes, dude, and actually you can relate to this, Kenward. He goes, I lived here my whole life. And I came here with my dad in 96 when we were in the final.

And I have a picture. I was eight. And it's like me and my dad at the game. And he goes, I'm here tonight with my son who's eight. And I was like, dude, that is so sick. and I wish they had won and I wish they had one for you guys I wish they'd one for him

but I was just like man that is such a cool thing or maybe what did you say I was talking to Redmond's yeah but as Mike like an idiot I turned it away towards Chris oh you braving it around

but anyway what a core win or loose what a core memory for George and his kid and that's that generational legacy shit like that they that kid is going to be that kid is going to be throwing rats on the ice

20 years from now, dude. I can't wait to see it. With his son. Well, they get gentlemen swept out of the man. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. And George, George had actually, so he was like, I love the pod. He has a pod called Couch Dad's Podcast. Oh, cool. And he, but there's the irony behind it because they're not couch dads, they're super active dads, and they're out there doing stuff. So all of you dads listening, if you're looking for some shit to do on a Sunday, check out George's podcast. Yeah. I like it. Pretty good stuff, George. I like that a lot. Second fan story. I'm not going to say this person's name, but we

know him and I told you already. I ran into a dude today. We ran into a dude today. I just don't think you heard this part. And he's at the game. He's at game three and game four. And I go, I was like, dude, do you live here? Like, does your family live here now?

Because I know he's not from here, but I was like, do you see family live down here? And he goes, dude, actually, uh, his girlfriend, okay? His girlfriend's parents got divorced. and her mom was like got asked for the divorce because she was like I'm a lesbian I've realized I'm a lesbian I'm sorry but like this was great and I love the children reproduced but like I'm a lesbian yeah divorces her husband is remarried a woman okay so that's his girlfriend's stepmom the married one the married one yeah like the girlfriend has a mom a real mom yeah and a step mom okay because they are now married I follow and the stepmom

lives here or is from here or something and found out that the homie that we know is a big hockey fan which he is but he's a blue jackets fan dude like he's not a panther fan but she was like oh I'm from here and I know you love hockey and I think it would be sick

if you got to go to a cup game so she bought tickets for him and two of his boys so he's been at games three and four with him his two boys and his girlfriend's lesbian stepmom without his girlfriend

she's not here dude he's just and two of the homies running around wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait is stepmom is stepmom in law there oh yeah she's at the game with him that is sick oh my god I love that I go where's your girl he goes she's fucking back in Ohio yeah

she's not a hockey fan she doesn't need to be there that is the coolest stepmom in law story you'll ever hear can you believe that dude No, I mean, no, I can't Because that's actually so beyond cool It doesn't compute I love that I told him if they go to six

He was like, she's taking me to six for sure And I was like dude If this goes seven And I hope it does You guys gotta go to Vegas together You gotta tell her Yeah, because she was like She'll get you there

Yeah yeah Oh my God dude No doubt about it The girlfriend being home Just killed me She's not here She's not here Wow

Wow So electric fan shit going on Electric stuff All right let's get into this game obviously game three huge huge momentum swing for the cats felt like bob woke up we had the same story right we had mattie kachuk tying it at the buzzer almost carter ver hague getting the o t winner the usual suspects getting the job done we talked to pk over the weekend he talked about all the things the panthers needed to do talked about bob kind of being back in it i feel like a lot of people

felt the mojo going into this game yes i actually said to you, I think we put it on the story, but I said to you pregame, early pregame. Yeah. And we got in because it was pouring, dude. It was crazy raining. We went in early and I was like, man, on a Saturday, because there was nervous energy game three. Today you're in it, dude. On a Saturday, I was like, oh, man, I thought the crowd would be a little bit more drunk, a little bit more rowdy.

And I said that they weren't. And then, like, I said that probably an hour and 20 before puck drop. They ran up for proctor. Dude, I ramped up. That crowd was rocking and ready to roll. I think we'll blame it on the weather. But they ramped up. Come puck drop.

disaster start. Minute 39 into the game, Chandler Stevenson's on the board. Brutal turnover. It was just not what you needed. I think for me, this game, when you talk about the momentum of game three

and then going into this, what the Panthers needed, what that barn needed. It was another first goal. First goal. So it was just really, really not the start that you wanted whatsoever.

And from there, it was an, interesting first period because I don't think either team really won that first period. I think shots at the end of that period were like 1212 or something like that. But I would argue Florida did honestly. And I'd hear

that argument, but there's no world where it was like, oh, Panthers won that period, no question. Like it was a very well-balanced period, but there was something, listen, if you give up a goal in the first two minutes of the game, I don't care, unless you bounce back with a goal in the next two minutes,

oxygen gets sucked out of your momentum like crazy. And that was an immediate and unfortunate hill to climb, which was brutal. I know. And dude, I thought Florida played better today than they did on Thursday, straight up. And I thought they did a ton of stuff right. They got a lot of pucks on net, didn't take any penalties, which we've been saying over and over and over. The one thing I thought they did pour my only knock on their game today was the giveaways. They were sloppy in dangerous moments. and it really only, maybe only that one actually bit them in the ass,

but that's, you can't play that way. You can't play that way in the playoffs, certainly not in the final. Yeah. One of our boys on Twitter, Sam, he does this cool stat where it's like, you know, it's like momentum swings. It's like a graph that charts momentum swings. And I can't even wrap my head around the analytics. It's like puck possession and shots and all this stuff. But Florida, and he'll have to check me on this, but Florida, every time they would spike,

If you look at past games, past series, it was like, you know, Toronto, like carrying the play, carrying the play. Because a couple of those games, dude, was like those lease games. I felt like the third period, the least had the puck the whole time. And then it would be like this,

graph down here, graph down here, Toronto, one momentum swing, goal. Every time. Did not admit, like when they had that pop, they did that against, they did that against Carolina. It was insane.

And I felt like in the first and the third, specifically today, they just, they were controlling long chunks of play and then weren't scoring. And normally hockey's hockey, hockey, you're not going to score a thousand times. Like, that should be fine. But for a team that's been their MO, this whole run, like, that's how they're here, dude.

Every chance, every sustained pressure chance they've had, they end it with a goal. They don't waste those. And I just felt like the first period today, if you go into that locker and you watch that game, I'm like, it should be two nothing forward. And it was one nothing in Vegas. And I'm like, ah, man. Well, see, that's where I disagree slightly. Watching that first period, the difference for me is, like I said, I think

the end of the first period shots were 12, 12, 11, 11, something like that. Yeah, just tied, I'm pretty sure. If you look at the chances for Florida, they weren't bad chances, but there weren't a lot of high danger chances. And that, I think, is what Vegas does so well. I think a lot of people would say they're the deepest team in the NHL. They have been all year. I think Biz, on Chicklets recently said it's the best fourth line in hockey.

And it probably is. It certainly has been these playoffs. and there's something to be said about you're giving up shots but you're giving up the shots you want to get up out of that trapezoic don't really don't really put enough emphasis on that there's something to be said about allowing

shots that you want and I think obviously you lost game three if you're Vegas but this is two games in a row now with 30 plus blocked shots yeah dude that is you have no idea name of the game name of the game you hope to have 30 shots on net

at the end of the game and when you're looking at a team that has 30 blocks against you. Florida had 15 block shots tonight. And I just think they're stepping in front of pucks. They're allowing those trapezoid shots that Hill can see. He's easily saving them. Hill had a lot of saves tonight and a few in the first period that are those nerve racking saves, the ones where there's a shot through traffic or there's a really good

opportunity maybe from the hash marks, maybe right in the slot, where it just goes into Hill's glove and he doesn't even move his arm. Yeah, yeah. He sees it the whole way. And yeah, Florida was on it. They were playing well, but Hill never looked rattled to me. And that's when I was like, this is a really good management period by Vegas. So you do that and then you go into the second period. And it's a, it's, it was a pretty balanced game, all three periods, which was so rattling because end of the game, you have 31, 31 shots. Face House were very similar. One power play each, neither one.

Yeah, I want to talk about that in a second, but yeah. Hits pretty similar. I'd say Vegas was the more physical team tonight. Which I'm fine with. I wanted Florida to stop playing. You get into that second period and Chandler Stevenson gets on the board again. Pretty. With a rip.

Beautiful bang, bang, bang, play and a really phenomenal cheese job by Chandler. and then the Willie goal you know it's good hit 80 people and then bounced out to him and then he missed the net too and it just happened to hit Bob and go in constant pressure though right it was an onsla that was Florida's worst period for sure yeah and not just because of the

two goals that was they they looked on their heels a little bit in the second but we looked at each other Willie throws that puck I didn't want to say on net towards the net it was four feet wide hits two people and bounces in it came so quickly it felt at least after the second goal, I looked at you and said,

does Bob get pulled? Right. So, okay, keep going, because I have something to say about this. And I just, I bring that up to say, we're in the second period in this arena,

Florida fans are going nuts. Yeah. It's a one-nothing game. You're still in it. You've been coming from behind and breaking backs all playoffs long. And then it was bang, bang, you're losing three to nothing.

And there was truly a period where I was like, this is over. Yeah. The game is so over. Yeah. I was genuinely asking does Bob get pulled? And then what happens? Well, so I feel like, and what did it finish?

Finish the two, right? Yeah. So Bob didn't give up one in the third. And he, he played great. Every goal. I'm trying to remember Stevens' first goal. But the second goal, no chance. Third goal, literally no chance.

I thought Bob played good. And I've seen a lot of shit on Twitter, actually, today. because Bob went to the media and talked about how he's feeling, you know, and almost every comment on those tweets are people being like, sucks that this team can't, like, get this done for Bob. This is not on Bob. This is not a Bob. And I feel like goalie's the first person teams turn on, you know?

Like, obviously, Linus, Omar was hurt for the beast, but I was like running my mouth on story. Like, Omar costs us the season. Fuck this guy. And I'm like, sorry. But that's the easy, that's the easy target. And I think almost every Florida fan I talked to is like, Bob's playing great.

And he's playing great. And when you said that, you were like, should you get pulled? I was like, no. But I get what you meant where you're like, sometimes the team needs like the, the, just, hey, energy shift. And to be fair to me, I said if one more goes in. Yes. I was like, if one more goes in this period.

Energy shift, energy shift. But I think that's Paul Maurice and the team's trust in Bob that they're like, it's not even worth the energy. He is playing that good. He's keeping us in this. It could be worse. And these are bad mounts. They're tough breaks.

So PK said on the pod, he was like, Bob's dialed in now. Yeah. And I think maybe to you in my, I was like. guy, by the way. You said that too? Yeah. That's sick. But I think I said to you in the vlog, I was like, Bob's getting a shut up tonight.

And then like, they scored in a minute. I was like, ah, my bad. I'm an idiot. But I was like, oh, man, I hope Bob doesn't get three or four put past him today and I look dumb. He did get three put past him, but I don't feel like I looked dumb at all. Not at all. And I thought Bob played great. And, dude, that third period was nails.

And he was nails, dude. And there was big chances. Sometimes, you know how we talk about all the time where Vegas, when they get up, they will literally not shoot. They just get the puck D-to-D, D-D, cycle. Regroup, regroup, dump in, dump in. Like, they get two shots in third periods when they were up. And actually, one of my boys had a bet Bob 27 or more saves. And he made 28, so cash, cash money.

But Vegas was going into the third with, like, I want to say, 23 shots. So that's only 20 saves for Bob. And I was like, no chance he wins. Because Vegas, I was like Vegas going to shoot twice this period. Dude, Vegas shot 10 had what I don't know what is, but I had 10 shots in the third. And Bob was nails, dude. Like, he locked that down. Yeah, the great game.

So the one thing I think if you're the Panthers that was scary was like the rest, that is Bob going to be his dialed? Because they were here because of Bob, to be very frank. And Maddie, obviously, but like they were here because of Bob was playing sick. And if Bob disappeared, you were dead. You're in a hole, obviously. Yeah. But it's not because Bob disappeared.

No. Right? You know, like this 3-1 hole is not because we lost Bob. And a hot goalie just like down 3-1 against Boston, the way to win three in a row in the playoffs is your goalie. goes nuclear. And Bob is still playing great, in my opinion. Like, that's what I'm hanging my hat on to find the Panthers. I'm like, I can win three in a row because Bob can be good. Yeah. No, I think that's absolutely true.

The other side of the coin is Aiden Hill is playing very well. Yeah, fuck, man. So you don't really know what to do. And before we even get into the end of this game, I think you just brought up, if you want to point at an issue for Florida, I think the issue that's glaring for Florida, I think Aaron Eckblatt is very clearly hurt. Yeah.

I think he has been hurt all playoffs, but he has dug deep like an absolute warrior up to this point. These last couple of games, I feel like his game is noticeably lacking. I think he had a very frustrating game for himself and his standards in game three. And tonight, right on that first goal, his game is just not what it normally is.

I think he's very hurt. And then the bigger one is Matthew Kachukh played 40 seconds in the first 10 minutes of the third period tonight. He, something is very wrong with Matthew Kuchuk. Obviously he was a hero last game. Almost a hero tonight. But yeah, I think that's something to be said though, right?

Like he was almost the hero tonight. His game is not at 100%. And that is a devastating, devastating blow to keep an eye on if you're a Florida and if you're a Florida fan right now. I should have saved this tweet. So one thing we talked about, oops, one thing we talked about last game is,

sick, sick, dude, one thing we talked about last game is, uh, it's obviously so awesome to be there, but you, you miss some stuff and you don't have the broadcast,

right? Like, I don't know what's happening. So for example, um, Kachaka popped and, like, went into get concussion checked.

But I saw the hit, but I just didn't know, I didn't even know he went to get checked. Like everyone was like, he had his on the floor, off the floor on the board moment. I was like, he went to the locker room because you're just there.

It's a lot, you know, like, shit's going on. So I should just save this tweet if I can find the exact thing. But, well, first of all, we are staying at this wonderful house

with Scott and Debbie Kenward, incredible hosts. And Scott, after the game brought to our attention where he was like, he was sitting here in the third being like, Matt, he hasn't even been on the ice.

Yeah. And that's something that, you know, you just don't, I'm not like, I'm not aware. I'm like, we're in the suite. I'm not what's going on.

So we're looking at Twitter and it's like he and I kind of remember the tweet I'm looking for But he didn't it was like 416 left in the second he didn't come out again till like 10 minutes left in the third And he's obviously out in the big moments of the end but someone and in part of that tweet was like in warmups He didn't he didn't shoot once he just skated around so like something is massively bothering Yes and it's clearly not head in my opinion because I just don't think that would legally fly like if they were like no dude his head's fucked up But I also saw a video of him like falling on his shoulder again today, you know, and just like maybe that joints messed up. Maybe he got when he got hit that happened to. Oh, I like when you get a a clean out hit like that, obviously your head is the number one concern.

But after that it's shoulder. A shoulder, shoulder, a collarbone where it's like those are the things that go. And you got to worry about it. So he is in a bad way. Yes. And one thing I'm not sure people quite realize is if you. if you lose a Maddie Kachuk, there is no replacing a Gary Bertier. If you lose a Maddie Kachuk, you cannot replace a Mary Kuch.

You cannot replace a Matthew Kuch. For so many reasons. If you lose a Maddie Kachuk, not only do you lose, you know, the pest and the guy who's been driving, stirring the drink, as P.K. said, on this Panthers team. You lose arguably the best net front player in the NHL? Yes, yes. But take all of Maddie Kach's skills and everything. And that's gone, obviously, because he's not playing. but what happens is

I don't know who did but like Lundell has to go up and play on that line or whoever's filling that wing and in the NHL probably in every level of hockey but the NHL specifically your bottom two lines

because you're not like super super skill guys are like so massively based on their chemistry like it is like those three guys have been grinding as the third line all fucking year and when that gets fucked up

and now it's like oh we're bringing the fourth guy up and then you're double shifting and then and the barcoff's got to play and it's just it's not just you lose maddie contract attributes you fuck up everything on the ice and again they didn't get scored in the third i'm not saying like oh they were winning and then he got hurt and then i went to hell i'm just saying it is like such a mental headache when you can't have that guy in and the doubt on the bench dude you know and you're like oh no that's our guy yeah like all there's so much bad with that injury and the last thing i'll say about it is pk said this too where he was like, I just wanted to see the best version of the Panthers.

And as a hockey fan, as a very neutral hockey fan in this series, I hate this. And I'm glad there's two extra days off because if the Panthers are going to go down in this series, I want them to go down with their potential Kahn-Smith winner. Yeah. You know, like swinging. I want to talk about some positives for Florida. Before I do, first time Jack Eichol's not been on the score sheet this series.

Ooh, good one, yeah. A point to that, they still win, which is just yet another example through these playoffs of how deep this team is and how well they're playing. On the score sheet tonight, you got Stevenson with two goals, two assists. I feel like I hadn't heard his name in a minute. I might be wrong on some assists. We've got 10 goals. I just mean like, you've recently.

This series, he hadn't really buried it yet. And then Stoner with two assists, Hague with two assists, Marcia with assist, white clouds in there. Like these guys are just spreading the wealth so impossibly well. But I do want to show a ton of love. First of all, dad strength, Brandon Montor. Yeah, dude. I mean, immediately gets on the score sheet.

Last game after the birth of his kid. Then tonight scores a huge goal at the end of the second period. What that breathed so much life into the team. The rink was massive. And I guess to be fair. They were dead, dude. They were dead. Say we love Florida fans, but they were dead.

And they would be the first to admit it. was silent in that arena. Dude, actually real quick on that, Dan, you know how when an NBA road team scores, like if the home team hits a three, it's like, Steph Curry for three? And then like the Celtics at one,

it's like, Jason Tatum, three points. Like they don't care. I have maybe never seen anything like this specific rank and fan base when a road team scores. It literally,

you, they turn off the lights. If you aren't looking, you literally wouldn't know they score. They turn off the lights in the arena. There's not even like a lone. There's not like literally, there was a couple times

where I'd look up and I was like, The Vegas score? And they're like, yeah, yeah. Grinnell was like, wait, it's three nothing. And I was like, yeah, dude. There's a pretty decent Vegas representation in the stands, but I feel like the Vegas fans look around all these Florida fans, and they're like, I don't really want to celebrate.

This ring? This ring? Away goals can get fucked at this ring. Oh, my God. It's remarkable. It was unbelievable. So, yes, the rink was very low. But Monty varies from Barkoff and then start of the third man.

Barkoff berries from Monty, 350 into the third. Sickle. And, oh my God, such a sick goal. but if you're looking for something to hang your hat on here, Florida, it's like even in a game where you're staring down the barrel of going down 3-1, which you eventually did, but you get on 3-0 in this game,

you know how easy it would be to lay down and die? And they score in that second period, and then they come out in the third and score right off the bat, and it's like, this team refuses to die and refuses to die easy. Yep. And I got to say, Vegas... I was not impressed with you in the third period. I liked that they got more shots on net, but...

But that's not really their game. Nope. And also, Florida had the better chances. That last five minutes, you had the net pull situation. You got a power play with 17 seconds left in the game. I just felt like Florida was all over it. You mentioned Maddie had such a hairline. Dude.

Oh, my God, chance at the end there to just do it again. And I'm going to call out P.K. here. or call to P.K. PK talked about needing more shots from the blue line. Yeah. Dude, Aiden Hill has been remarkable in these playoffs, specifically in this series. Watching the game closely, watching the game live, I'm not saying him in general.

He is not seeing the puck cleanly when those shots are coming through from the point through screens. And we've got two Montar goals. back to back from the point, and I'm saying, we need more. If you're Florida, pepper these shots. And again, sounds a little ironic to say when I just talked about Vegas having 30 block shots. They're obviously trying. Sure, yeah.

But those chances are scary. And if, you could see, man, there were a couple of times in that third period where a puck's, you know, rebound squirts out. There's Vegas players diving on grenades in front of the net. Like they're just trying to pack in the crease to not let shots through. those shots scare Vegas too and I'm saying more more more you're going to get a win here and dude quicker

like yeah the when in game three when they were down five minutes left they decided to just be like this point cycle point shot point shot puck is on that puck's on net and it was chaos yeah and it was like oh they're gonna score and then they did because puck one square to lose to Maddie obviously and he popped it in this

game I feel like they didn't enter that desperation mode early enough and and P. K. said it He was like, they need to use their D and they need to play quicker. Emphasis on the ladder for me. Yeah. They need to play quicker in the car with both Kenwards. We were on the way home and everyone was like, man, it was like a little slow. We get possession, pass it to the point and by the time he looked around, he'd just check it back to the corner.

Yeah. But if that's half second, I mean, that's sports too, but if it's a half second quicker, that's boom, either D to D or right on net. And just good shit happens, dude. Fire pucks on net. Good shit happens. Get it to dangerous areas. Pucks on net pucks in deep, dude. They weren't doing that fast enough.

I also want to say in that third period. the most preposterous no shot in the history of hockey by Alex Petrangelo. Oh my God. Vegas had an unbelievable series of possession where they were zipping the puck around, snapping passes around tape to tape, and a puck went on Petrangelo stick on the fucking dot, on the right dot. Walking down Broadway. Clear shot on net.

And he just chipped it off to Stevenson. He was like, ah, whatever, dude. I don't want to see it. That was the most insane pass off I've ever seen. We were sitting in the suite. and every single person in there was like Jesus Christ Petra what the fuck are you doing?

It was the craziest pass I've ever seen in my life. You go back to their old game plan. Oh my God. But on that flurry at the end, oh so really quickly on the refs, I love the, I love the way they called the game today. I'm sick of honestly. No penalties.

That was awesome. I'm here to say it. We've even put it on the story a couple times. There have been some questionable calls here and there. Shut the fuck up about the refs, everybody. It's so tired. There was one penalty call today.

You killed it off. It was like, was it questionable? Yeah, but it wasn't egregious. Oh, yeah. Why don't think you're saying this? Calm down. No, I'm saying, I don't think they're saying that either. Yes, they were.

It was all over Twitter. It was from, we were getting DMs. People were like, are you, the refs? Are you kidding me? Dude, one penalty got called tonight. Shut up. They were great. But don't shut up until today because they've been horrific, in my opinion, up until tonight.

11 penalties a game And I'm like And not even counting the misconducts Anyway I thought the reps were great Trangelo chipped one out at the end 17 seconds left Six on four

I wish it'd be a little bit longer Just for the excitement Barkoff nails on those draws The end of the game One every single one of them So they get it in And it kind of like goes to the D Montor gets one on net

And I was like That's it And then it like squirted loose again Right on Maddie's stick And Dude as B's fans How many times this playoffs Has the puck

With the game on the line scored into Maddie Kachuck Stick. And this is literally the first time all playoffs that it didn't end up in the back of the net. And you can't fault him. It didn't do anything wrong. I was going to say you got to give some flowers here to Aden Hill because that was a huge pad save.

Well, I'll even put up the, we'll have Red or Brian put up the picture of the shot. I don't even think Hill gets it. It hits something else. And it's just, that's hockey, man, tough break. But like that... The picture, it looks like the puck is directly on Hill's path. It's not. I'll show you if you want to see it right now.

But it's... I cannot believe the game of inches there because from where we were sitting, as soon as he curled that, and I was like, well, here we go on OT boys. Trapped in for OTA. Pack of lunch, kids. And it just didn't go in. And it's one of those inexplicable, like, you know, I'm a Boston fan, so sorry. But like one of those like Tom Brady gets a ball with two minutes left and doesn't win. It just felt like that.

Like one of these like automatic sports things. Oh, the puck squirts to Maddie Kachuk. And that's, and he doesn't. Like I said, in those five minutes when they were hammering it so hard, I was like, this game's going over time. Yeah. It's not even close. And that's where I was like Vegas. like we've got two games in a row now where you don't even get a look at the open

yeah my god you guys are getting hemmed in when they have the the goalie pulled yep you got to figure that out especially with how good the panthers have been an OT you're like you do not want to go there and like willie carlson tonight had a very easy clear out chance flipped it over it flubbed it over a stick like an asshole crazy play i always like if you're a pro and you can't clear the puck out of the fucking zone what the hell are you like absolutely blows my mind. All right, you got any closing thoughts here? What are your thoughts on this? After the whistle, after the buzzer.

Game ended, and there was a fucking massive scrum, Montor, misconduct, Cichuk, misconduct. Everyone tossed again. Ha, ha, ha, ha, whatever. If it were up to me, if I were in charge of the NHL, Matthew Cichick and Brandon Montor would be suspended for Game 5. Oh, I was like, whoa, dude, really?

No, I love that stuff. I love that shit at the end of the game. It's like, that to me, it shows fight, it shows passion. like they've done all playoffs. These Panthers players aren't going to just accept death here. They've come back from 3-1 in a series before. They can do it again. I love that they're still being the Panthers.

They're being the little rats. They're trying to get under your skin. They're going to pop you in the mouth. And if you're Vegas and you're being like, oh, yeah, we got it. We got them right where we're on them. You're dumb to think that. So I liked it. So I'll have to watch another replay.

But right now, the one I saw was Kachukchews that. doesn't go in, buzzer, and he kind of like does the stick on the pads, like, oh, damn it. And he like curls around. And then there's a scrum in front and a bunch of other people are pushing and shoving, whatever.

And like, he loops all the way around. There's already a lot of fighting. And then he kind of like grabs someone. And then they start jostling. And I got to see a more wide replay. I know he got a misconduct. But dude, if you, because I was trying to see the,

the info about his injury. So I was searching Twitter for Kachuk. Literally. Get out of there. Every person on Twitter right now is like typical fake tough guy. Cachuk always slashing and spearing, doesn't actually want to fight,

only comes in from behind. And I was like, dude, he did nothing in this scrum. Like he was out, he was not involved with the scrum until like the bench is cleared basically. And then he was like, all right,

I'm gonna fucking put my nose in it, obviously. So I'm happy to eat crow on this if I see another replay and he is doing some scummy shit behind the play. But everyone else needs to, until I've seen that,

everyone else needs to fucking chill. because it was a scrum after the game and that's what happens. I will, you know, like I'll double down, and I love that after the whistle stuff as long as you're not cup checking and cross-checking people in the ribs. If you're just face washing and getting in the mix, that's fine.

Don't do any dirty shit in there. But I would be careful if I were you. If people are saying that and we see these video surfaced and Maddie's doing ratty stuff. I think he's slashing. I think he's slashing. Everyone's like, oh, he's slashing someone in the legs. I'm like,

Here's the thing. I don't, I don't take any stock in the people on Twitter getting mad about that stuff because it's part of the game. And here's the deal, dude. Matt's a rat. Yeah. And if you're, I think Maddie would be one of the first people to admit that. Like, where, you know, we love the Bruins. Brad Marchand is a rat. And these are the guys that you're like, if you're not on my team, I hate your guts. You're a scumbag. But if you're on my team, you're the best teammate I could ever ask for it. And I think that's what Matthew Kach is. I think he does it in every facet of the game. That's why I said, I think he's a three player off the board.

Yeah, fuck. And yeah, if even with an injury, Maddie's in there at the end of the game and he's slashing people in the back, the legs and cross-checking, I would not be surprised at all. That's what he does. But I'm not even that mad about that. Like that, I think that's your point.

That's what I just said. I don't care. Like, that's what you do. That's his game. Yeah. So spare me on the like, he's a cheap shot artist. I'm like, dude,

this is exactly how you play. People saying that are clouds. Closing thoughts for me are, Florida's been in this hole before against the best regular season team of all time. Hard to happen in two playoffs, but at least you've got that experience to lean on. You know that game five is the big one. If you can win that on the road, if you're Vegas, you do not want to be in sunrise again.

So if you're Florida, you go one at a time, get game five and then put the pressure back on them. Yeah. I mean, like I said, anyone counting Florida out is out of their gourd. I think this is a, you know, they're fine. They can easily go in. They can get a win in Vegas for sure. I don't think Vegas What I'll say is

It's a steep mountain to climb Fuck yeah I don't think You know you just said like Vegas doesn't want to go back to sunrise I actually don't think that's the case that much I think obviously in In the simplest of terms do they want to go back to sunrise No they want to finish this out

They want to win as fast as possible I think still coming back to sunrise That is part of the steep mountain for Florida You have three games now. All three are going to be absolutely hellish. No room for air. You are playing, frankly, let's call it the best team in the NHL right now. They have been the best team all playoffs.

They have been a top two, three team all season long. And it is going to be brutal to get three wins here. But if there is a team that can do it, it is the Florida Panthers. So my closing thought here is to say Florida Panthers fans, Florida Panthers teams, you've been here before, you can do it again. Rest up, get healthy. Yeah. Like I think the two days, like the rest of the series,

there's only extra days between every game. And that is like massively important for the more banged up team, which feels like is Florida right now. And Vegas, you just got to keep doing what you've been doing. Yes, this is no time to panic. This is no time to, you know, start gripping the stick too tight because you can taste it. Sometimes you do, though, cups in the building.

Yeah, you can taste it, but this team has felt like a veteran team. and I'm looking big time at Bruce Cassidy in game five being like a guy who's tasted it and had it ripped away. So we'll see what happens. I'm excited. Me too. All right, guys, that's it. For game four, we will see you back in Vegas for game five.

A couple of being the building. Back in the desert, skate hard.