Empty Netters Podcast - Can The Oilers Find Another Gear In The Playoffs

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

The Oilers are starting to heat up but do they have what it takes to pull a Florida from last year? Jim Montgomery is doing incredible things with the Blues, but that’s just par for the course when you look at his coaching record. And CP is calling the east wild card race over! Plus DP delivers an incredible game of Two Real Two Fake. NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY! PRESENTED by BetMGM. Download the BETMGM app and use code “NETTERS” and enjoy up to $1500 in bonus bets if you lose your first wager! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS: BAUER. Bauer is the go to destination for all your training needs. Head to http://www.bauer.com/training to explore tools like the Digital Reactor Danger for stickhandling or the Reactor Slide Board to add strength to your stride. LABATT BLUE. It’s time for you to get on board with our favorite beer in the game. Labatt Blue and Labatt Blue Light are the perfect beverages to wet your whistle while you’re watching hockey or hanging with friends. That’s because there’s a little bit of Canadian kindness in every sip. Go to https://www.labattusa.com/product/labatt-blue/ to find some (0:00) - Intro (0:19) - Not Ice (14:04) - Ovi (23:37) - Habs (32:54) - Monty (45:41) - Oilers (56:24) - Powers Rankings (1:01:56) - Starting 6 (1:06:32) - 2 Real 2 Fake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For all those people who go, Leon might not be the player that we all think he is without Connor. Here he is. He's done it a million times, guys. He does this every time, Dan. He does this every time. When Connor's out, Leon just keeps chugging, man. Ice is ready, and we are back with another episode of the Empty Netters podcast,

brought to you by BetMGM. I am your host, Dan Powers. And with me, it's a man who would like people to think that he's a nice guy, a good person. But when we were little kids, he used to pin me down on the ground and jump up and drive his knees straight into the... the back and break my spine on a daily basis. Chris Powers, and he's changed his sweatshirt, folks. As always. And Dan, two things. One, you always tell that story and you leave out the fact that eventually you got stronger than me and then you used to beat me up. And, well, like, you say that

is if it's how could I? You tried to kill me when we were kids, and I eventually grew up and fought back. Yeah, but that was, that's not the way of the world. That's not the way of things. That's, that's, that is,

that's a textbook movie script. That is how every story has ever gone. You eventually need to defend yourself. Yeah, but that's not in the wild, you know, like I'm the, I was toughening you up. I was doing my job.

And then you, lashed out as if like I needed to be toughed up but I had already been toughed up like I didn't need a second toughing and you tried to do that yeah but you're leaving out the part

like you weren't toughening me up you were trying to murder me you were trying to commit murder that's the part you went too far my second point was dad and you know what dude doing that one time yeah that's true you know what though you reap what you sow someone came in the DMs

yesterday and said you, we talked about how you're unlucky last episode. And they said you are unlucky because you do stuff like how you sewered me in blind ranking. Like you, you think you're this nice guy, dude. But you're a trash bag. You're a trash bag, dude.

Dude, you made your own bed in that. Dude, I'm going to take this opportunity to speak about that because I, I swear to God, the Rangers were fifth. And what I was trying to do was give you teams that you would have put low because I just wanted you to take up five so I could hit you with the ranger. So I was trying to do that.

I didn't know you were going to leave one. Like I just wanted, I wanted, your scumbag, dude. Yeah, that was you. You made your own bag. Speaking of bed,

dude, speaking of bed, you know, we had a great April Fool's joke last episode, got a lot of people. So if you got got, don't feel bad. It happened to a lot of people.

Dude, I think the karma that I got from that is I woke up this morning and my wrist is absolutely killing me. Like I can barely move it. And I think it's just because of my T-Rex sleeping. Like as so many people, so many people in the comment section of that clip were like, dude, be careful. Like I sleep, I sleep with wrist guards these days. And I was like, all right, I don't think I T-Rex that hard. And now like this morning, I can barely move this wrist. And literally nothing has happened other than it must be that I was T-Rexing too hard. So other than you went womb last night. You went full womb. Yeah. It's just horrible. So

you know, here we are. There's not, not anything we are paying, we are suffering the consequences of our own actions here today. And that's, that's just how it goes sometimes. Yeah, that's, that is corrected. Um, I didn't sleep well either because I ate three pounds of candy before I went to sleep. And unfortunately, that's not a, that's not a, uh, prompt on my whoop when I'm trying to, when I'm trying to journal.

It says, did you share your bed last night? Did you sleep in a dark room? Did you eat five pounds of candy? It doesn't come up. By the way, dude, that is so kinky of whoop being like, did you share your bed? Like, what the fuck, whoop? What do you need to know? You want to ask what positions next time?

Jesus Christ. It does. That chair your bed is the PG. I didn't even want to get into it, Dan. They ask some shit in there. And there's timer bars. It says, did you do this? No.

How long? Oh, yeah. Dan. Oh yeah, dude. It wants to know everything. Like you think you think this is a fucking hobby, dude. It wants to know everything. Does the timer bar go low enough for you or or do you have to lie? Hell no, dude. And it is like a frequency bar. It's like how many times did you do this in one day? And I'm like, that's embarrassing. Noddy fuckers, dude. Noddy fuckers at woo. Yeah. That's unbelievable. Dan, I also thought it would be hilarious. This is maybe for a script someday where it's like, because you can go in your history and it's like,

how many times have you done everything that it's asking, right? Yeah, yeah. And it would be hilarious if a boyfriend and a girlfriend were looking at their whoops and share your bed was a different number because the dude, because the dude, he's so committed to the whoop. He's not committed to her, but he's committed to the whooped. Like he cheats, but he's like, I have to share my bed. I have to log it.

I have to log it. I need to stay up on my fitness journey. I have to log this. Can you imagine? Could you imagine getting caught being a scumb bag and cheating because of your whoop journal? That would be diabolical stuff. Wow.

Fucking gold, dude. But the real problem was, and I just need, where are safe ways like only in Colorado or like what is where are safe ways? No, it's not only Colorado because I, I mean, do a quick Google search, dude, because I remember we were at a Safeway somewhere recently and we weren't in Colorado, but Safeway's gas. Great grocery store chain. I remember so vividly the day when I was young and I just thought, you know, we grew up in New England. We grew up in Maine and Haniford. It was the major grocery store. And I remember going off to prep school. and realizing that other areas have like general grocery stores. You know,

we've got Roach Brothers, we've got Publix, we've got Ralphs, we've got Safeway. And that was interesting. And Safeway, dude, that's,

that's top tier. Safeway's got great stuff. Dude, it says Safeway is, it says it's in California, which is crazy. I don't know if I've seen one there, but it says California,

Washington, Arizona, Colorado. Arizona, that's where we were. We were in Scottsdale. Okay. Well, exclusive to Safeway,

is sour watermelon micanikes. Dude. And let me tell you what, brother. I'm not, I'm not a huge candy guy. I'm not a big sweet tooth guy. And I'm really not a big sour guy. Not that I don't like it.

I just, it's not my choice. But I was a huge Mike and Ix guy when I was a kid. And then when our boy Kruger dropped saui watermelon Mike and Ikes on me, I almost spun off this planet. It ruined my whole week, Dan. I'm out here trying to have a healthy week. And I'm having sour watermelon micanikes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Don't even get me started on dessert. Don't even get me started on what I'm having for dessert. They were so good, dude. They were so good. But I'll be honest with you. I know you're a Sowie's guy. You're a as in a sour patch kid's guy. Big time.

I'm here to tell you, Haribo Golden Bears, Sowers. That's the elite sour candy. No question about it. Well, dude, they're very good. Truly, I love them. You get them a lot and I love them. But they aren't sour at all, really. Yeah, they are.

They're just like, no. I mean, it's not a warhead, but they're sour. Yeah, but dude, it's like barely sour, which, it's barely sour, which actually was what I wanted to talk to you about, which is what you showed me is the Sour Patch Kid announcement two days ago or whatever that was like, hey, we, you guys talk so much heat about us, not being. sour enough, which, and they're more sour than the bears. Do you agree with that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, they are. Yeah. So people like, Sarah Patch Kids not sour enough. We're changing our name to patch kids moving forward. And it wasn't on April Fool's. And they were like, it's on April Fool's. And I don't even know. I've not even gotten to the bottom of this, if this is true or not. I haven't seen just kids yet. So we'll see. Well, I mean, that that announcement just happened. There's probably

thousands and thousands and thousands of bags already made that have the logo on it. You know, So it's going to be a minute. You think just thousands, Chris? It's probably hundreds of thousands. There's Sourapatch Kids in every gas station in America. There's millions of bags. You're right. You're right.

So two things. One, I did a search about it. And, dude, Sourapatch Kids came out in the 80s. And originally, they were called Mars Men. I don't get it. Was it made by, like, they're not a, Mars company, are they? Like, you know? Well, first of all, they must be. They must be. Yeah, if they're not, that's the craziest name of all time. Yeah. I can't believe,

I can't believe that they would, there's no, I know they're just like, we're not sour enough, but I can't believe there's no mention of sour in that name originally. Like someone was just like, here's Mars men. And people were like, cool, bought it. And then they were like, whoa, dude, the fuck. These are sour as shit, dude. Yeah, that's fucking crazy. And I actually might start calling them Mars men now. as slang for like the real OG people that know. Yeah, I don't hate that at all. And then, yeah, my second thing is, dude, I have a, when I was talking about this or thinking about this looking it up, I have a distinct memory of the first time Sour Patch kids were

in my life. And then clearly based on the story, they were in my life before this, but this is the first memory of Sour Patch Kids I ever have. dude we and i you must have been there but maybe you were so young okay do you know what i'm going to say no okay of course i don't know what you were going to say about your first memory of eating sour patch kids you fucking psychopath dude i went to beauty and the beast on ice at the boston garden dude and i was there with dad for sure sure maybe it was just dad like maybe you and mom weren't there no i was there i was there i was there

i know because i got um i i had i also had a first at that i got dip in a you know in a little cup that looked like chip like you know chip from beauty in the beast and i kept that i kept that bowl for like 10 years bro and i i ate everything at it like ice cream cereal and it was too small for cereal, but I still use Chip. And the day that Chip died was a very sad day for me. Like, I barely recovered. I remember it fell from the kitchen table

and it broke, aptly named. And I was like, we have to fix this. And mom was like, dude, this is a piece of shit plastic bowl that you've had for a decade. It's probably filled with poisons and bacteria. We're taking this opportunity to throw it away. And I went in my room and just stared

at the wall for like 10 hours because I was like Chip is gone. Dude, dude, but we We had two, dad. We had two because we were there. I think it was the Wilson's. I think Jimmy Wilson and his kids were there. And we, they go down to the, dude, we, dad takes me to the, like, a concession stand. And the, the Wilson girls go, we'll have some cotton candy.

And Jimmy Wilson says, okay. And then I go, I'll have some cotton candy too. I've never even had cotton candy. Looks gas. And dad goes like this, you are not allowed to have cotton candy. And I was like, oh. oh my God. And I'm humiliated, dude, and pissed. And then I see in the window that there's a box of Sour Patch Kids. And in that moment, I knew that I loved them. And I don't know why. I don't have a

memory previous of this falling in love with them. But I was like, okay, well, then get me Sourapatch Kids or shoot me into the fucking son, because this is social suicide that I can't get cotton candy. So I can maybe spin that Sour Patch Kids are better than cotton candy. So get me those. And Dad said, You're not allowed to have those either. And I had to get a vanilla, no, a twist, a vanilla chocolate soft serve twist in a chip cup. And they said, well, it's a souvenir. You get to take them home. You get to take them home.

You get to take chip home. Don't worry. Don't worry about humiliating yourself in front of everybody with no cotton candy and no souries. You get to take chip home. And I came back with fucking ice cream, dude. I didn't even get the dippin dots. Sounds like you called the dipping dots, dude, from mom. did get to hold on but i'm so confused you didn't even eat sourpatch kids in this experience you just

know it's and new in my core did my core that i was like that's my favorite candy dude you are such a fucking mentally ill person it's actually remarkable the fact that you have not seen a professional some sort of psychiatrist to just talk about why you have become the way you are is is is remarkable you need to see someone professionally because that being your story of your first Sour Patch Kids experience and you not even eating them is... Couldn't get them. The forbidden fruit, Dan. Horrified.

The forbidden Mars men that shaped my whole life. Dude, unbelievable. Listen, speaking of aliens, speaking of beasts on the ice, let's get into some hot ice and let's talk about Alex of Etchkin. Game against Boston last night. Ryan Leonard's debut. He looked good. Pots. Oh, yeah, he did.

Lay in the wood, dude. Lay in the wood. We got a skill guy, a good score, and he's absolutely throwing the body out there. But we got OV gets the second goal of the game. Unbelievable. Your boy smashed a nice bet on that one. Didn't share it with you? Didn't share it with you.

Sorry about that. I always hate when you get a bet and I post him people like, share these dude. I'm like, well, when I share them and they don't hit, you guys call me a fucking moron. So I don't know what to do here. Yeah. So he's got 38 goals on the season now. He is four away from. the standalone all-time goal leader, quick flowers to Dylan Strom, by the way, on that pass.

I mean, like, it was, every time Ovi scores, everyone freaks out. Dude, Dylan Strom, he's having a career year, and he looks like Nicholas Baxter Reborn. He and Ovi are so in sync. And Stromers also been amazing for everyone else on the ice. Like, he is just such a perfect setup center. But career year and, man, you got to think, a couple of those teams that gave up on him feel pretty stupid right now because he is just an elite

hockey player. That pass, and I mean this with respect, that pass was so sick that I'm not even sure it was a pass. Like that's how good it was in that in my mind, you literally must have been trying to just tip that on net and you tipped it too far. You overcooked it across the net on with the most awkward backhand angle I've ever seen and a write on OV's tape. And I'm not even sure, Dan, like he's that good that it was a pass, but it was so mutant that I'm like, no. Literally, you were trying to tip that on that and you never have to admit it, but I know. And then it just went to OV because he was over there and he scored, that's my final ruling. And I respect that because it's so crazy, I respect that ruling. I'm here to tell you it was a pass, but I understand

you feeling that way. It was crazy. But getting to OVy, 38 goals, 58 games this year. People I think this season has been such a whirlwind, and OV's chase has been so fun to watch. People forget this is the season he broke his leg. I remember, no pun intended, breaking that news. And actually someone on Twitter coming at me, and I was like, dude, the news about OV's injury is not great. And then it came out that it was a broken leg,

and someone was like, yeah, you're going to walk that one back? And I was like, do you not think a broken leg is bad? And he was like, it's not a torn ACL. I was like, okay, moron. But he broke his leg, missed some time, was skating a couple weeks later because he's such a mutant. But yeah, 58 games, 38 goals, 0.66 goals per game pace CP. Like, what in the world are you watching? Leon's 0.74 for people, for those that keeping score at home, you know, 52.

52 goals, yeah, like up 10 on anybody else in the league. 0.74.0.0.6. Ridiculous. It's crazy, dude. We are genuinely watching some of the most miraculous stuff in the world. And I need a hadie. I need a hatie here. Like I want him. Yeah.

I want him to just in one of these next three games, if he just got a multiple, like I wanted him to get a second in that Boston game so badly because it just shave it away, baby. Like just get down to one away for the last. If he's won away for like the last four games of the season, we're laughing. Oh, dude. Well, listen, he's going to do it. and I admit I've been selfishly, as I've said many times, I'm very financially invested in it happening against Pittsburgh.

So I'm like, oh, whoa, whoa, slow down, slow down a little bit, a little bit. So I'm glad he didn't get another one because I'm like, wait, wait. But I do think a factor though, you see this with MLB guys a lot with home runs when they're like at something 99. It's like they'll go a few games, several games without getting it because you're just like, you're thinking about it. You try not think about it, but you're thinking about it. So I do think there's a chance when he gets, even maybe one away from tying,

we might see a couple games in a row where it's just gripping the stick a little bit. Yeah. Maybe not because he just doesn't think about anything other than fucking pumping in goals at all times. He doesn't think he just fucking shoots. So maybe not to worry. But I still, I'm still clinging to the Pittsburgh hope just because I think that would be so sick. I will say, Dan, last night I was watching that game. And OV, I was like, oh, maybe he'll bag in empty nether.

Then the caps went up to against Boston. And I was like, oh, there's a chance Boston doesn't even pull sway because they're down to and this season is over. And they'd rather lose. And then pasta wires home his second nasty. He's such a freak and I love him. I actually, I don't think he's going to get 100 points, but he would be the third. Only two Bruins ever, Dan, I've had three straight hundred point seasons or an Esposito. And pasta was going for it this year.

So I'll actually be kind of bummed if he doesn't hit that, which he probably won't. yeah i don't think he wires one home i think his like 37th of the year and then so i was like okay they're definitely gonna pull him and then dude ovi came out with legitimately bro like three minutes and 30 seconds left sway in the net and i remember thinking why'd they put him out here like they should have saved him for the for the empty net shift this is crazy and then dude he just didn't change the rest of the game and he he is always like not defensive side of the puck like the bees have it in there and Ovi's like up behind everybody. He's not out of the zone, but he's literally top of the zone just waiting for it to squirt loose to be like pass it to me. And there was

multiple times, dude, where he is so gassed that the bees are just swinging at D to D. It's his guy. He's just still standing in the high slot. And I'm like, dude, and the caps are in. They've already clinched, but I was kind of like, bro, this is a one goal game. Like, you need to play some D. Like this. If you guys lose this game because you're cherry picking for a fucking empty netter. I, I got to love that, to be honest. Dude, it's funny. Like, yeah, they've won the Met, but that was a funny element. And it is, for me, this one felt like the first game where it's like, okay, you're, you're going for it.

Because there was that game a couple weeks ago where he had an, oh, an empty net look and he gave it to Protas for the Hattie. And now this one, he's just like floating in a one goal game. I was like, oh, yeah, he wants it. Yeah, he's crazy, dude. He definitely wants it. And I don't blame him at all. I don't blame him at all. But it is just remarkable to see.

what this guy is doing. And it goes into how good the caps have been. We've talked about it so many times. There have been, this season has been insane. We're going to do an episode here. Once playoffs are set, we're going to do an episode

where we're both wearing dunce caps the whole time because when I look back at our division previews, and frankly, it's not just us. We did our division previews with Tomer. We, you know, our boys over at Chicklets,

like everyone did their division preview. Everyone's all over the place, too. Like, no one predicted what, is going on in any division, frankly. But the caps were one that people were like, yeah, they're kind of in this weird middle ground.

And now here they are so good, possibly going to be a president's trophy team. And so much of it is because of how much Ovi has wound the clockback. It's, dude, you had to have gone, you had to have gone, McMichaelson protests will take a massive leap. PLD will find his home, his forever home. And LT is the absolute dog that he said he was in Vegas. And Chikrin, dude.

And Chikrin is going to be a top D man in the league. Yep. And OV's like perceived semi-cliff last year was a literal mirage. And he's better than he's ever been. Like all of those things had to happen. So yeah, we were wrong. But anyone that was predicting that has been to the future. And we should tie him up and get bets from him.

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Cbetmgmgm.com for terms U.S promotional offers not available in New York, Nevada, Ontario or Puerto Rico Sticking. And another team that has shocked the world habs with a massive, massive win last night over the cats. Back-to-back wins against top team Florida Panthers puts the habs at 3 and O against Florida this season. Dude, unbelievable stuff going on. Coming from behind, get this win.

How about the little tire pump we gave Nick Suzuki last episode? Then he comes out, scores with less than 10 seconds left in the third to tie it, and then gets the OT win. lane hudson dude three points on all three goals puts him at 62 points in 74 games the environment in the bell center was through the roof if you haven't seen videos of that yet if you guys haven't watched the way that that place exploded on the tying goal and then the game winner you are missing out holy shit big boy hockey dude a couple weeks ago we talked about the habs playing big boy hockey. They see that door open to the playoffs and they're running through it. Then they went on a little bit of a skid. And now here they are two crucial games against a

tough opponent, two crucial wins. Are the habs in? Dude, then I might, I said literally two days ago that I was like, I don't know if they can do it. Just because of the blip they'd been on and the teams lurking behind them. That win, just the fact that you beat a Panthers team who has a lot to play for by the way. They want that one seed too. They don't want to fucking play Tampa in the first round. Tampa could get the one seed, but the one seed is beneficial in the Atlantic everywhere. Florida has a lot to play for. You lose to the haves, like the pesky halves. If you're the Panthers, you go, not only do we need this win, but also we're certainly not losing to the habs again, right? Like that's, if I had been betting on that game, I would have been hammering

Kat's money line. And was it, it was two nothing, right? Or was it was two nothing, right? Or was it only two one? Uh, two nothing. Florida? I actually, let me check. Let me check. I'm pretty sure it was two nothing. So you go, we're the better, with a better team and we're certainly not losing to the habs again. And we need this fucking game. And to have the habs, and it was a bad bounce, you know, like if you're, if you're the Panthers, it's like that ricochet. It was, it was, uh, they actually won up one nothing. than it was 2-1 Florida. Yeah, that's what, oh, it was only 2-1, Florida.

I thought it was 2-0, Florida. Okay, so either way, you're up 2-1. Yeah, up 2-1, kind of a bad bounce to Suzuki backdoor, but, you know, fucking protect the house, dude. Pabs tie it and then they win it in under 30 seconds and overtime. That game said enough to me about a superior opponent in a game that they really had to have, that I'm like, okay, something is happening to the point that two days ago I questioned them,

And now today I'm literally calling it, Dan. East Wildcard race over Ottawa, Ottawa, Montreal in. New York Rangers, good season. New York Islanders, dead. And Columbus Blue Jackets, hell of a season. I'm very sorry, it's not you. I appreciate everything you did for the league and for the fans this year, rallying around a tragedy and playing fucking awesome hockey,

but you ran out of gas, habs in. I love that, but I can't call it. I mean, I... Over. Done. I think... Finished. respect. I respect you. I can't call it. The way that Columbus keeps fighting, I mean, they just put a beat down last night.

And the pesky Rangers, dude, I just think Gabe Perot coming into the lineup, playing in a game tonight against Minnesota. The regulations win, things scares me. I know Montreal has a game in hand on them. But if they win tonight against Minnesota, especially in regulation, you know, they've got the same amount of points. So Montreal needs to keep winning. I mean, we need to see the Rangers get a couple losses here and Montreal get a couple wins. And it just the two point gap. It's it's entertaining. Don't get me wrong. It's entertaining is all hell. But I need a gap. I need a gap to call it. Because right now it's just every day. Every day things could change. But they're doing the right things, whereas other teams are doing the wrong things. And I am not ready to call Columbus dead at all. But I do. think a big thing, and this is just sort of a general hockey take, uh, we've talked about so many times. We did it last year. We, we just gassed up the caps. And then last year, when they snuck into the playoffs, we were like, fuck you, go away. Like let one of these young, exciting teams come in and now look at them. They're a young, exciting team being one of the best teams in the league. But I think that there are environments in the first round of playoffs that even if you lose the

NHL needs. It's just good for the game. It's good for fan bases. It's good for young fans getting into hockey, seeing some of these first round matchups. And while I know, it's not my favorite, I know MSG creates a good playoff environment. I know it creates fun times in the game and outside the game at bars, things like that. If you are telling me it's good for the NHL. And I'm here to say, I know, and Rangers fans don't feel this way. They're being smart right now. But like, if we're between the Rangers getting into playoffs and losing in the first round, getting swept, whatever, versus this young, exciting Montreal Canadiens team with Martin St. Louis behind the bench and this group firing up the bell center in the first round,

like, there is no discussion. And there is no discussion what is a better environment, even if the habs get swept in the first round by whoever they play those two games in montreal will be possibly the best environments until the stanley cup final it is going to be amazing if they get in and there were a few people in a discussion last night who were like you know we're talking about them playing big boy hockey and people are like who cares are going to lose in the first round and i'm like that's not the point dude i i got news for you lots of teams losing the first round yeah happens every happens every year half of them half of them yeah And ultimately, even if they lose, that is going to be electric for hockey.

And I want it. Dan, you said it perfectly. Columbus, I want to give flowers to because they are one of the most passionate fan bases in the league. That's a fact. Anyone that's never been there doesn't know. They sell out consistently. They love that squad. And what playoff hockey would mean to them this year cannot be understated.

So I want to get that out there. but having just come from four nations and seen what the bell center can do when they're behind their boys is is unrivaled unrivaled in this league and getting getting into playoffs would be incredible and that's honestly why i think they that's why i'm calling it is is that environment that environment is just giving them that extra you know when you're back checking and your boy pushes a stick into your back to just make sure you can get there the bell center crowd is pushing their stick into the habs back and they will complete this back check and then they will make the playoffs. And Dan, I'm just thinking about this for the first time. What a nightmare for the

caps if that's where you're headed round one. You know, what's interesting, dude, is I hear you. I think the caps are just so strong. I really, I think they're unflappable in the first round. I think Ottawa playing Toronto, if Toronto gets that first Atlantic seed is a must. much bigger nightmare. And then I also tweeted last night, dude, it's possible. If Montreal chases down Ottawa and they get that first wild card and they end up playing Toronto, dude, can you imagine the vibes of a Toronto Montreal first round and like the haunting, haunting ghosts that would fill that arena of Scotia Bank? Like, they will lose. Montreal will beat Toronto. The Habs beat the Leafs in the.

the bubble year, right? Like, that was, that was the matchup. I think the Leafs lost in the first round. And then the Hapso went to the cup. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's right.

That would be the most haunting thing for Toronto in the first round. Do they, do they hate the Sends more? Like, who do they, who is their biggest Canadian rival? It's a great. We got asked Red. That's a good question. Well, I know it's, uh, yeah, well, we, we'd ask Red, but I bet it differs, man. Like, if we asked, uh, you know, a bunch of our, our,

Leafs fans buddies. I bet they would have different answers. Because it's like, you know, I think historically Montreal or Ottawa might be like the one, but most Leafs fans our age are like Boston. Boston is our. Yeah, right, right. And ghost. So either way, some of these matchups in the first round are going to be insane. But speaking of ghosts, Chris, speaking of playoff locked teams and speaking of surprise teams. I want to talk about St. Louis for a quick minute, and specifically Jim Montgomery, who is now officially Don Sweeney and Cam Neely's ghost. This is something that is not getting talked about enough.

And I think if we were to wait until the end of the season, wait until playoffs, maybe the blues go on a run, maybe they do do the 19 repeat, maybe they lose in the first round. Who knows? It would get swept under the rug. Jim Montgomery goes through a bad, bad experience in Boston where he wants an extension. Boston's not giving it to him. Boston starts struggling and he gets fired. We'll go into the reasons behind that firing.

But since going to St. Louis, which happened very quickly, as we both said, we were like, Jim Montgomery will not be unemployed very long at all, can guarantee you that. And then a few days later, boom. He is 31, 16, and 6 with the blues since joining us. 6-4-2 win percentage. We talk about all the time how good Jim Montgomery is for young players in this league. Jordan Cairo has matched his career high in goals, and he is five points off of his career high in points.

He went from a minus 12 last season to a plus 21 so far this year as a wildcard team, mind you. Dylan Holloway, young little player. He had nine points last year in 38 games with Edmonton. He has 26 goals and 62 points with a plus 20. Philip Broberg. Quiet year last year in Edmonton, obviously a young player. He has 27 points and 8 goals in 62 games from the blue line, also a plus 20.

This guy is very, very, very good at coaching in the NHL. He was fired and there were a lot of people screaming that Boston fired the wrong guy. We were huge on that, banging that drum. And there are players on that Boston Bruins team. who feel that way and have said that behind closed doors. And here we go now. You look at the state of these two teams. We're going to focus more on the blues than the Bruins.

But how tough of a look is this? When you talk about all the time, are the Bruins seriously not going to make a change in the front office after everything that's happened? And then you look at this in addition to so many of the other things that are a tough look for Boston. How crazy is this? Dude, how much do you think that Sweeney and Neely truly are rooting against the blues?

Like, I know publicly they would go, we love Jim. And I'm sure they like him as a person. So they're like, we love Jim and we're rooting for him. But I bet deep down they are like, I need the blues to lose more than I need air in my looks. Yeah. And 100%, dude. And I don't even think that that's a knock. I don't think that's a knock on them because it's just that's, you know,

You're in sports, man. That's competitive. It's life. You want to win any sort of trade or transaction that you make. You know, when you, you want to win the breakup, dude.

You want to win the breakup. When you break up with someone, you want to pop on Instagram, you know, years later, months later, and you want to see them dating a fat, disgusting troll.

That's just how you want them to be happy. Sure. But you just don't want to see them winning, you know, at all. Yeah. And ultimately, they are losing the breakup in a big,

big way and an embarrassing. way. Yep. Okay. Actually, Red just said, Habs probably because the fans hate us more. Fans there hate us more. So, yeah, that makes sense. Monterelli is their nightmare. Dan, I pulled up Monty's coaching record, okay? Yeah. And I'm just going to talk, win percentage here, all right? First year in Dallas, 43, 32, and 7, 5, 6, 7 win percentage. Next year, only 32 games, because he left, obviously.

5-7-13-12 or 17-11 and 3-30-5-7-8. Then Boston, 8-2-3 in the record-breaking year. Ridiculous. Absurd. Then Boston again, 6-65, 47, 20, and 15. With a not great team, by the way, two great goalies. Then this, so far this year in Boston, or his stint in Boston, 475, and then the blues, as you said, I had on reference from last night before the game.

am I'm tempted at 6-4-2. His career win percentage is 657. And he's only had 211, or no, sorry, 351 games played. And I was like, man, that's interesting. So I pulled up, Dan, the all-time coaching tree here, like literally ever win percentage. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Shout out Cap Rader, by the way, who went to high school with our dad. Heavy, heavy gym powers episode. Shout out Cap Raider. Highest win percentage in NHL history. Coached one game. They won. A thousand percent. Bang. How are you? Gas. So go gas. Gas. Go to the hall. Go to the hall of fame. So then Dan, one, I'm going to come back to one guy, but for this, essentially one through seven are guys that coached one, five, 90, 53 games.

You know, like it's not a good sample size for the stat. Okay. When you get to number eight, coaching 525 games and active. Rod the Bod, Brindamore, highest win percentage in NHL coaching history at 6-6-1. And this is regular season, keep in mind. Well, not highest in history. Like, are you saying he is the best active? If you hit a sample size, though, you know,

if you're like, you have to coach like over 300 games, you know, yeah. Okay. Number two or number nine on the list. Scotty Bowman with a fucking preposterous 2,141 games 6-5-7, all right, which is tied with Jim Montgomery, 351, 657. So he has the number two win percentage of all time in NHL history, Dan, if you hit a sample size of 300 games or whatever. Like that is, you fired that person because of a blip year when you had a bad roster

that you built. It's so insane to me, man. And like, I just, oh, my God. It's crazy to me how good of a coach he is. And the fact that Boston, in my opinion, lucked out in getting him. Like, it was just such a crazy situation. Like, they fired Cassidy in a era that was like, I mean, I get it. There's some player rifts and stuff like that.

But Cassidy then immediately goes on and wins a cup. And then you fire Montgomery when everyone's like, What the fuck are you doing? And then here he is. Just, you know, reviving the blues in the biggest way you've ever seen. And he's got this record. And, you know, people will point to his playoff record. But I'm like, guys, if you don't win the cup, most people have a losing record in the playoffs.

Like, it's just, it is what it is. But holy shit, dude, it's, I'm telling you, like, he is the latest ghost. And I look at the makeup of that blues team, that roster, the players they have, the way Binner has, has, has, has, just completely found his, his killer form again, Monty's a perfect coach for him. And it's hard when you're looking at, I know we talked about this a couple episodes ago, but when you're looking at teams,

wildcard teams, in particular lower seat teams, who could go on a Cinderella run, I don't know how all eyes don't look straight to St. Louis. Agree. Quick, quick tangents on this, Dan. Keith really high, 648, all time.

He's right. And knob blocks up there. too, but he just started, right? So really small sample size. But Keith up there, and higher than guys like Cassidy and John Cooper are 639 with good sample size, especially Cooper, crazy. Of course. But that actually surprised me. It shouldn't have because I guess Keith's always had that regular season success, but just fascinating to see how high Monty is. But can I tell you

this one story, dude? I'm looking at, when I was looking this up, like I said, everybody in the top, everybody above Rod the Bod has barely coached, except for, I see this name Tom Johnson, 208 games, which is not nothing. And his win percentage is 738, which is third highest ever, only behind Cap Rader 1,000 coached one game. And Barry Smith, 800 coached 5 games. Tom Johnson coached 208 games, 738. So I click on it.

I was like, who the hell is Tom Johnson, dude? What happened to Tommy J? dude, so I click on him, Dan. And he coached the B's. So I called that last night. I'm like, yo, what's good with Tom Johnson? Check this out, Dan. 1970, the Boston Bruins with Bobby O'R win the cup.

Okay? Harry Sinden is the coach. The next season, Harry Sinden moves to the front office and hires Tom Johnson. Okay? 171. Tom, the bees go 57, 14, and 7. They finish first. And then they lose in the quarterfinals in seven to the haves.

Okay. Yeah. The next season, and they win the next year. They go 54, 13 and 11, finish first, win the cup. The next season, they start the season, and they're in third, they're 31, 16, and 5, which is tremendous, but they're in second place. Harrison didn't, Harry send in gases in midseason. Boom.

Good day. Highest winning percentage coach of all time, NHL history, gas midseason because they were in second place. And he never got hired again? No. this is horseshit dude this is horseshit we need to figure out what happened something happened this dude tom johnson bagged harry's old lady or something because there is no reason for that man to get fired this is ridiculous there's a conspiracy going on here why is boston firing all these great coaches dude this is fucking crazy like you've got you just listed the top 10 we've got

bruce cassidy we've got jim montgomery and now we've got tom john john john Johnson, all gasped by Boston. Literally, great coach to ever lived in. This is such a bad look for Boston, dude. Good God Almighty. We wanted to keep that about the blues, but now it just comes back to Boston's front office shooting themselves in the face all the time.

Unbelievable. Listen, dude, you mentioned Knoblock a second ago. Perfect way to transition into some Oilers talk. It's time for me to talk about the thing that makes me so happy. It makes me light up like a kid on Christmas morning, and that is Bauer hockey. Yeah, you know what, babes. You've heard me talk about this as we became partners with Bauer.

CP and I are Bauer athletes, not a big deal. That pumps me up as well. Bower hockey is the gold standard when it comes to the game of hockey. Everyone knows this. It's been that way since we all started playing, and they're staying in that spot because they are the king. It's unbelievable. It's the best stuff you will ever use,

and they're making sure you get the most high quality, high-tech, revolutionary gear that is going. I'm going to talk to you about the Bauer Twitch. their new stick that's coming up. Before I do that, I want to give you a little personal, personal moment for me talking about things that I love. I'm head to tow Bauer. I really am. I've been wearing Bauer skates since I first started lacing them up. And it's unbelievable how Bauer today, while I'm a beer leaguer, still makes me feel like the best hockey player version of myself. When I get Bauer gear going, I'm not wearing that 10-year-old gear. It's all rickety,

falling off me. I feel like a pro out there. But let me tell you what, Bauer apparel. has changed the game for me. I'm a huge fitness freak. I'm a huge active guy. And I've always dabbled in other things. There's these new companies that pop up here and there. I wear Bauer everything these days. Their workout shorts, their undershirts, their workout shirts, their hoodies. It's absolutely absurd. Bauer is just crushing it in every area. And like I said, that Bauer Twitch, this new stick that has come out, they have revolutionized the twig game. The kick point, how light it is, the release on the blade. It's absolutely ridiculous.

This stick makes you feel like you're David Posternak, ripping down the wing, going top cheese. It's going to do that for you, I swear, when you get it and use it. So go to Bowerhockey.com. Check out everything they've got going. If you have a young kid who's getting in the game, if you yourself are still playing, if you're in Beer League and you want to get rid of your old rickety stuff you've been using since high school, Bauer is going to have you covered in every single area of the game

as they've been doing since the first day they became the gold standard. Get in it. Join the family. You realized last night, we've been quiet on Edmonton for a little while. Didn't really understand why. Which is just how they like it. Which is just how they like it. Talk to me about Edmonton.

Okay, Dan, I stat boy again, I pulled up some shit, mostly because I was curious about this. I have always said, there's the term the Super Bowl hangover, that's where it comes from, I think. And that I think if you check the stats is a real thing. Like teams that lose the Super Bowl miss the playoffs at a pretty high clip, considering they were just so nasty last year. Yeah. So I, yeah.

And I think I've always translated that to hockey in my mind because A, the depression and B, you have such a long, grueling summer, you know, where it's like, it's awful, 20 something more games just to lose and everyone's hurt and need surgery. And there's roster turnover it, right? Like it's such a, such a dagger.

But I was kind of surprised. I don't know if this is surprised as you as much as it surprised me, but let me give you the last 10 cup losers and what they did the next year. Okay. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Panthers won the cup. Tampa finished third in the Atlantic.

Habs finished eighth in the Atlantic. So that's a bad fact. But that was bubble year. Yeah, yeah. That was whatever. And they weren't good. Dallas finished fifth in the central, so not a great year. Bruins first in the Atlantic, Vegas, third in the Pacific, Preds first in the Central, Sharks,

third in the Pacific, Tampa, second in the Atlantic, Rangers, first in the Met. So almost every single team. But none of those other than the Panthers won the cup. Oh, no, but that's super hard. You know, like to lose the cup and then win the next year. No, but my point is, yeah, oh, fair. I guess we're talking about Edmonton's cup chances, so very fair. But I was going to say, everybody that lost the cup, except for,

two finished in their like in a lock playoff division spot so there wasn't there actually isn't much of a Stanley Cup hangover in terms of your next season's performance in the way I've always thought there were so that was a cool stat pull the oilers currently sit third in the Pacific and they're you know they're jossom with the king so so the the dip I feared for them didn't happen but that doesn't really happen anyway so I shouldn't be that surprised that they're good they have two of the best players in the world here's what I want here's what I think is a really good conversation, though. Here's their top 15 points from last year. Do you have the doc open that I shared this visual, because I don't want to read all I

I sure do. I sure do. You can see it. Drysidal McDavid, Bouchard, R&H, Hyman, Echholm, Nurse, Skinner coming in at 8th, Perry at 9, Connor Brown. That's from this, that's from this year. This season, yep. This season. Last year, McDavid, dry sidle, Bouchard, switch Hyman and R&H, Eckholm, still, at six, and then you had Kane at seven, Fogle at eight, nurse at nine, McLeod at 10. All right. Perry was down at 13. The concern, and we have more games, but the concern, I think, if I'm looking at the Oilers, is when you go to the year number 10 and up, like McLeod had 30 points and then moving up, you go to 10 this year and it's Connor Brown at 25.

Those could get to 30 for sure. And scoring is down. You brought that up to me last night, too, and we were making. and the scoring is down. So it's, it's kind of unfair. But I don't know that at eight, Jeff Skinner,

25 points, um, uh, Bouchard, 58 compared to, uh, fucking 80. But guys you just mentioned.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know, like there's just, it feels like I'm worried about the production that carried you at times when you were

lacking at D at goalie, when I'm comparing these point totals. I mean, for sure, man. It's, listen, when you have Connor McDavid and Leon Drysidal, I will never speak ill of your team. You can do anything. And we've seen it.

Edmonton gets a big win against Vegas last night. They got a big win against Calgary the other night, where I said, I didn't think they deserved to win those games. And Leon's putting the team on his back. For all those people who go, Leon might not be the player that we all think he is without Connor. here he is. He's done it a million times, guys.

He does this every time, Dan. He does this every time. When Conner's out, Leon just keeps chugging, man. It is what it is. But when we talked about this team in our season previews, we said Skinner was obviously a topic. And you showed that this year in 49 games, he's got an 8-9-4, say percentage, 2.91 goals against. Both would be career worsts if those stay where they are. We talked about the additions that the Oilers made. And I said, I think there's a clip.

I think we released a clip earlier this year. And I said, if guys like Victor Arverson and Jeff Skinner become players that we think they could be with these guys, the Oilers look really, really good and really scary and poised to make a return to the cup. But if they don't, you wonder if they lost brutal, irreplaceable depth with guys like Fogel. And it's starting to look like it didn't really work out the way that you want. And yeah, I think you do kind of wonder here. And this is not me doubting the Oilers. Like I said, I'm not backpedaling.

If you have Connor and Leon, you can go to the cover any year. I don't care who else is on the top straight up. That's how good I think these two guys are. But I am here to say, I wonder how Edmonton fans are feeling. I feel like the surge that they went on last year, the latter half of the season, once they brought in Knoblock, the way that those guys were just going nuclear. The vibes when they got to playoffs were like, oh, dude, we are a wagon. And they were, and they went straight to the cup. I wonder what the vibes are now.

Dan, I'm with you because, and obviously different situations on within the team, right, you're on a different line, different players, whatever. But just to go back two years ago, okay, when he was healthy, Victor Arbison on the Kings, 77 games, 59 points, two years ago, okay? Jeff Skinner, two years ago, 79 games on Buffalo, 35 goals, 47 assists, 82 points. and then to have 25 from Skinner and 24 from Arbison. Dude, CP, less than less, there's more time, but less than 50 between the two of them. Bro, like that, when they signed Skinner, I was like, he is going to have 90 points on this Oilish team.

Yeah. Like, I was like, I was just won the cup with that signing because I love Jeff Skinner. And I was like, dude, that is going to be such a pickup. Oh my God. And the depth you get up doesn't matter because the production you're going to unlock from that kid. and growing pains, whatever, maybe next year, both of them. But right now, to your point, that production is scary. And dude, the Skinner stat, which you read, that's got to be a fear.

If you're an oldest fan, listen to this. That has to be a fear, right, if you were being honest with me. Because you got the best heater of Skinner's life. And it took you to game seven of the cup, but it wasn't enough to do it. And now he's playing, just statistically, the worst hockey he's ever played in his career. And you're going into your nine games away from playoffs going, well, I just hope he goes on a heater. again, even though his heater last year wasn't even good enough, and we're getting less production from our guys.

Right? I still think they're a sleeping giant. It's just those facts scare me, for sure. Yeah. How could they not? How could they not? So I feel you. But it is what, like we said, Frederick's out.

Kane is out. Those guys hopefully back. They've skated with the team. That will be a big, especially when you think about size that they're lacking. I talked about guys like, yes. Oh, Daddy, who is left. Those guys coming back into the line up is going. be huge. So we'll see what they look like. But, you know, you need McDavid back in the lineup.

You need those two guys back in the lineup. But it is undeniably. That's the positive spin, Dan, right? Like, yeah. Like, let me scroll back up to the points. You had Kane last year. Oh, here it is. Here's last year. Kane at seven, seventh on the team, 44 points, right? Like, he's still a guy that can make a difference in the playoffs. Oh my God. And Freddie, we love Freddie, dude. And I think all those fans are going to love Freddie when they see him in the fucking gritty, tough playoffs. moments, snap and DZone draws back, killing penalties. Remember their PK last year, dude? Fucking Nate. Dallas to death. I think they eventually go through to Florida, but suffocating. Freddie's going to help that. And McDavid, obviously, he's a mutant at all times, but having him,

you never want him hurt, but I don't think he's hurt that bad. And honestly, this is decent rest. You know, like, come into the playoffs fresh. So if you're looking for the positive spins, I'm like, McDavid's going to be fresh in the playoffs. You're getting two guys back that are going to make a huge difference in those fucking tough, gritty long series. And like you said, Leon's cooking dude. And quick shouts to him, I think he's at $3.99 career goals. So that keep eyes on that because I'll be a sick moment to keep the puck on that one. So yeah, the Skinner stuff, excuse me, the, well, yeah, Skinner and Arbison and Stuart

Skinner scare me. But you've got a couple dogs coming back to the lineup. And no one wants to see you in the playoffs. That's a fact. I don't care who the fuck you are. nobody wants to see the Edmonton oils in the plaza. If and when they get by the Kings, then they go, dude, here we go.

Now it's Vegas and I'm ready to rock. Yep, absolutely true. Speaking of these top teams, let's get into our powers ranking. All right, got to talk to you about Labat Blue. God, just thinking about one gets me all juiced up. One of my favorite beers going Labat Blue and Labat Blue Light, and they're good for all occasions. Dan and I are on our work retreat in Colorado right now.

Bang, Labat Blue. We're watching hockey, playoff standings, changing every five seconds. Boom, Labat Blue. We get back to L.A. I'm going to be on the golf course. Boom, Labat Blue. It's that simple. Someone sent us a message of drinking a Labat Blue at Epcot at Disney the other day.

I put it on the story. A Labat Blue at Disney? Are you kidding me? That's how good it is. And Disney, what is it, the most fun place on Earth, I think. That's what they say. Imagine being at the most fun place on Earth, drinking a beer brewed with Canadian kindness.

Imagine that. Canadian kindness at the most fun place on earth. That happened. It went on the story and I want to see more Labat Blue out there in the wild. So find a Labat Blue near you. Experience what we're experiencing. The best for all occasions beer. Send us a message and I'm going to post them on the story. I want that story to be caterpillared of all the Labat Blues out there because now I know that the message is getting out and everyone's experiencing what I'm experiencing, which is one of the great beer drinking experiences on earth.

So find yourself a little bat, blue. Shoot us a message, and we're going to get it up there and get in on this action. And I think, CP, I cannot do this without including the St. Louis Blues. Do you think they demand a fifth? Dude, we've talked about so many times when teams go on these heaters, we go, it is not hottest teams in the league. But when you have won 10 straight, when we're looking at your last 10 game sample size, And some of the teams that they're beating, I do not see a world where the St. Louis Blues don't crack this.

So I want you to keep that in mind. You might be a top five best team in the league right now. You might be. I got to think about it. They might be. I think, however, when we talk about who is the top of the tops, who are you liking? To me, I still love Tampa. They are out of control.

And I want to, we disrespect the canes all the time. I think the canes have to be in here. Oh, my God, they might. This is actually another really hard one, Dan, because Dallas is fucking cooking. Dallas is cooking right now. Yeah. Nasty.

Nasty, wasty. It's like, it's hard. The caps and the jets, it's just insane to not say they're among the top five best teams in the league because they just are. They have consistently been. Which would only,

if they're it, that only leaves three spots. And I do feel like Dallas has to, to be involved. I do feel like the canes have to be involved because I won't disrespect them again. I won't do it. Isn't it funny what the week does too? Like last week we had LA one and Colorado two and then the next day Colorado whacked LA for nothing. And now we're sitting here being like LA and Colorado might not even be in it. They're not even the top five best teams did. They're not a top five team in the league right now, right now. I'll tell you what, I've got Florida out.

Florida is going to be out of the top five right now. They're on a bit of skid. Edmonton's also out. No, yeah, no. Not in there. Toronto's won two in a row, but I don't know if I have Toronto in here. I can't have them top five. I can't have them top five right now.

I think we're going to have to say that Dallas is one right now. Dallas is the best team in the league right now. They're on a six game here. We're going to go Dallas one. Okay. And then I, and then Winnipeg, we gave Winnipeg a much deserved. tire pump yesterday, but they got whacked by the Kings.

Kings tagged them, dude. Kings tagged them. The Kings aren't even a top five team. So how could, what does that say about the Jets? They stink. Hold on. Hold on, hold on. But no, it's, that's, that's big. That's like, that's something to consider because the Kings, they might be in here, dude. Seven, seven and three in the last time, two game winning street. I didn't say they were out.

I just, like, they weren't one, is what I'm saying. Does Washington get your two spot? Maybe. I mean, they've just been so consistently good. And they just lost to the Jets, though. That's what would happen. They had a Jets loss. That's why I was dogging them.

Yeah, but then they just beat the B's. Could Carolina be two? Could Carolina be the second best team in the league? They could be, and in fact, I want to give it to them because we actually punted them last week. So we're going to go Dallas. We're going to go Carolina. And then now we've got Washington, Winnipeg, Toronto, Vegas, Tampa, and the St. Louis and Colorado and L.A.

And Kane. We are fucked. We are fucked. Tampa, dude, I got to get Tampa in there. I have to. I have to get Tampa in there. I do two. I do two. And I think I'm probably putting them here at three. Dude, they actually have to be three. They might even be two. Kooch scores a thousand points a game. They win every game like 10-0.

No, no. We're respecting the Keynes. The canes are at two. We'll put Tampa at three. Tampa three. And then I'm here to quick trigger this. And you know I want my kingies in there, but maybe I got to pump the brakes on the Kings after what we did last week. I think we have to go. So we have Dallas, Carolina, Tampa, and then we've got Washington and Winnipeg and St. Louis. Do you think the blues are literally better than Washington or Winnipeg? Right now.

Yes. Yes. Okay. So do you want St. Louis four? When you win 10 games in a row, it transitions from being hottest to your action. playing great. You're a solid team right now. So I'm going to make you pick between Washington and Winnipeg for the four spot because St. Louis has the five. Should St. Louis have four? You said they're better than both of them.

I don't know. No, we're not going to say they're better than both. We're going to put them out the five, dude. You're in the powers rankings. That's huge. That's a huge. That is a big accomplishment. That is a big accomplishment. Okay. Then because the jets, man, I was going to say because they just lost to the Kings, I have to put the caps. But I feel bad because Winnipeg, we talked about this last ep, Winnipeg gets no respect, no respect. And they deserve it. They deserve it. So Winnipeg.

Winnipeg, I like it. Like Washington, you're 6'3 and 1 in your last 10. You're a wagon, but like you barely beat the bees. You barely beat the bees. They stink. You're peeking out the bees. Come on, you got to be a little bit better. We're going to give you a little bit of a pee-p-wack for that.

So you're out. Winnipeg, you're four. St. Louis, you are five. So we've got Dallas, Carolina. Tampa, Winnipeg, St. Louis. That's the Powers rankings. Unbelievable stuff. Let's go to our starting six CP.

And I think we've got a first timer here. First appearance for Matt Vei Michkoff. Unbelievable. Ten points in his last five games. But he has seven in his three games without torts, including four goals. The guy, he feels reborn. He's rejuvenated. And we've got a lot of Flyers fans call on for him in the caller conversation again.

which is wrong, but you've got a great player on your hands. It is wrong. You've got a great player on your hands, and he's in the starting six, so we love that. Do you actually think he won't be a finalist? I do not. If there are three finalists, it's like there's a world where maybe he jumps Macklin, but I think that's stupid because of Macklin's such, so many less games than him. I mean, listen, dude, he's obviously top five, but it is, it's Lane, it's Wolf, and it's

Macklin. And it's been that from the beginning. And anyone who doesn't think that is either a biased fan or cuckoo-brained. And that's okay. We love cuckoo-cabank. I think they could bump, depending on how hot Matt Vey finishes, like if he gets up there right next to Lane. True. Stop saying next to Lane. Lane is a fucking defenseman. Like, it's over. I'm just saying how many points? No, no, I'm saying how many points? If he gets up right next to lane in points, like if he's leading the rookies in points and he's not a finalist, that would be fuck that would be cuckoo brain so yeah that would be cuckoo brain yep uh center we're going rupe hints he had nine points over four games he's been backed in since being hurt for 15 games he's

only been pointless in five of them dallas is won six straight he when he's in the lineup i think it's tough because colorado but i think when he's in the lineup and you get to go duchy and wyatt that's the deepest top nine in the league um so sick little run from rupe and to see him back in action. Yeah, absolutely love it. Nikita Kuturoff is getting our right-wing spot. This lunatic has 13 points in his last four games. Goals in four of his last five.

He is past Nate for the league lead in points. He is in full demon-goblin mode. He's doing cooch things. And that's all I'm going to say about that. That's all I'm going to say. Yeah, no, don't bring, don't say anything else. Don't say anything else. At left D, we're going your rookie of the year,

Lane Hudson. He leads the all rookies in points with 62, 57 assists. As Dian said at the top, he had back to back three assist nights, both wins against the Panthers, all three assists and the three two win. And three of those six were primary assists so all the haters can fuck off because he's not a secondary assist merchant. And I don't give a shit if all 57 of his assists were secondary assists because those count. And he is about to break fucking Sid's rookie year record for most assists and asses. season from D. It's insane. You know, it's funny. If you are not under 16 years old and you hate on

Lane Hudson, you have a big dump in your pants. Like if you are over 16 and you have anything negative to say about Lane Hudson, you are a poo-poo-pansed baby. It is crazy to me that there are, like, you know, well, I don't care what you are, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, whatever fans you are, anyone being like, he's not that good. I'm like, guys, wake up. Ridiculous. Dude, Dan, Dan, remember the Ottawa fans at the beginning of the year with the headfakes? And they, they hated late. Like, you are the most embarrassed person in the world right now.

All those people being like Lane Hudson, zero points, 27 head fakes. And I'm like, what do you have to say now? Again, you poop-poo pants more. Ridiculous. The other side of D, Devon Tave, six points in his last five, 39 points in the year after having 57 and 50. 50, the year before that. But let's not forget he is that absolute rock that lets KLB.

Kail has a great five-game stretch here. Devon Taves getting in there. Round us out with goalie, C.P. Goalie, we're going Vassie. Three and O this week. Give up one goal against Pitt. Shut out Utah. Give up one goal against the Islanders.

Is that good, Dan? Is that good? He's only 0.02 behind Helly and save percentage. The Vesna is over for sure, but Vassi is sneaky, putting in a near Vesna quality season. He should and will be a finalist. And if he's playoff Vassie, bro, then... Dude, that's what I'm screaming, brother.

That's what I'm screaming. People just kind of ruled Vassi out this year for some reason. And now he is... You have woken up a dragon. It's very scary. Let's close this episode out with a game. And today, C.P, we're playing two real, too fake. For new listeners or people unfamiliar, this is a game where I will give

CP for NHL players. Two of them are real. Two of them are fake. It's up to CP to figure them out. And CP, we've got four players here who all had a bit of a rocky journey in the NHL. Some crazy things happen. Are you ready, my friend?

I am. I am. Player number one, we're going all defensemen too. I love that. Lars Jonson, selected seventh overall by the Boston Bruins in 2000 from Lexon in Sweden. Boston loved this player and attempted to sign him several times, but they ran into issues with the collective bargaining agreement and weren't able to, as Larson never agreed to a deal.

After six years, they eventually agreed to a compensatory pick, and Larson signed with the Flyers. He then played eight NHL games. Wow. So the bees dodged a bullet, honestly, Dan. Some are saying. The dodged a bullet on Lars. God, seven-cored, I hate to see it.

Ready? Mm-hmm. Next one is Dennis Anshankov defenseman. L.A. King's 18th overall pick in 2002, and Shankoff attended rookie camp in 2003, and despite impressing, was forced to return to Russia to his parent club of Locomotive. After a season in the KHL,

and Shankoff attended training camp again with the Kings, where he eventually signed his three-year entry-level contract. However, locomotive again created complications claiming that Enshankov was still under contract, and could not play for an NHL club. He was forced to return to Russia. The Kings ended up paying all three years of his entry-level salary, and Anshankov never played a game in the NHL.

He is currently listed as a free agent. Oh, dude, he's got to say. Someone take a shot. Someone take a shot on him. I don't hate it. He's got more dread on those tires. Player number three, Cam Barker, defenseman,

After two Hall of Famers were selected in 2004, 1 and 2 in Avechkin and Malkin, Cam Barker was selected third overall by the Blackhawks. After a stellar WHL season, he made the Hawks opening day roster in his first camp with the team, but was sent back to the WHL after just one game. After several seasons with the Hawks, the NHLPA filed a grievance on his behalf after not offering him a qualifying offer as an RFA. The Hawks signed him that same day to a three-year deal and then traded him to the Wild a few months later due to cap issues.

The Wild then bought him out. He finished his career with 310 games and just shy of 100 points before going to the KHL. Dude, this is a dagger because I can't believe I don't know who went third that year, because that's such a good stat, but I don't know. It was Cam Barker. I'm here to tell you. Yeah, is Cam Barker.

Carry on. Now your last player, Brett Freezin, defenseman, selected 10th overall in the 1994 NHL draft by the Washington Capitals out of British Columbia. Friesen was an immediate success in his first year in the league in 1995, finishing third in Calder voting with 31 points in 47 games during the lockout season, losing to Peter Forsberg. Friesen continued his success with back-to-back plus 44 point seasons in 96 and 97. However, in January of 1998 during the All-Star break,

Friesen tore his ACL and broke his ankle in a skiing accident after numerous surgery attempts and spells in the American League, he never played in the NHL again. Friesen was a key feature in 1999 in the NHL and NHLPA collective bargaining agreement decision to forbid players under contract from skiing related activities. Tremendous. Tremendous work, Dan. Four very complicated players, Chris. For very complicated players.

God damn. And this, the, the backstories, dude. are just like so complex and layered. This is a complex league, my man. Yeah, this one, dude, I have no fucking clue, dude. Usually there's like some tells, some triggers. I have no clue. Let me give you their names.

Yeah, yeah, give me their names one more time. We've got Lars Jonson, we've got Dennis and Shankoff, we've got Cam Barker, and we've got Brett Freezing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Four very real. Very real hockey players. Yeah, all four. There's a twist, dude.

They're all real. Let me go. Oh, man, dude. I am going to say that the real players, there's, there was something said about each of them where I realized that they were real. You know, I was like, this one's fake. And then something was said. And I was like, oh, that is real because of that.

Yeah. Yeah. So that is fucked. I'm going to say that Lars and Freezing are real. I'm going one and four are real. Lars and freezing. And I'm basing that, Dan, off literally fuck all. Yeah.

Because when you said the second one and the king's paid out his salary, that is the most fucking out-of-pocket shit from you of all time, if that's made up. So I was like, he has to be fucking real. But then, and then we got to Cam, and I was like,

dude, is that his fucking name? Like, I feel like I would remember, but I don't. So that's what rattled me there. And then the last one, dude,

the last one, if it's fake, then someone, that's true about someone with the ski thing. So like that, I need to know, if that one,

if you got me on that, I need to know who that is true about. That's my, yeah, okay, Lars Yonsonson. Chris. Selected seventh overall by the Boston Bruins in 2000. Real. Wow. Dude, that's crazy. How do I not remember that guy? Six years. A seventh overall pick, they could never sign him. And then they accepted a 39th overall compensatory pick. And he then

signed with the Flyers. Dude, that is so crazy. How many games did he get with the Flyers? Eight. He played eight games. Oh, eight, eight games. Dude. Yeah. Crazy. Not so. Did he play after? Did he go somewhere? I think he went back and played in Sweden a lot. Yeah. But brutal, brutal stuff. You had, you had Lars Real, Lars is real. Yep. Dennis Anshankoff. L.A. King's 18th overall pick in 2002.

Crazy stuff. You had him as fake. Yep. He is fake. Oh, my God, dude. I can't believe you put in that fucking contract. That was insane. seed. Holy shit.

Now, Cam Barker selected after Ovi and Malkin. You had him as fake. Yep. Cam Barker is real, my friend. He went third, dude. He went third, dude. He went third and the Hawks, dude. By the way, I left this part out when they were forced, when the NHLPA filed a grievance

because the Hawks didn't give him his qualifying offer as an RFA. They did that to five guys that. year. And then they gave him a deal. And then they had to trade him a few months later because they're like, we have no money. So I don't know what the fuck went on with the locks that year. That is so crazy. So then Brett Freezing, you had his real is in fact fake, my friend. He did not have the skiing accident. But you were right. That did happen to someone. Dude, do you know? Yeah, like, holy shit. I looked it up. I couldn't find anything. But I, so instead I made it up about Brett freezing.

Dude, poor Brett. He fucking tore it. He tore it. And it was the, it was the and ankle, like Dan, that made me think he was real. Because you were like, he tore it. And I was like, yeah, that's what you would say if you were making up a fake injury. But then you said he tore it and broke his ankle. Oh, yeah, he did a lot, dude. That was devastating. Devastating injury. I should have known, dude, you don't break your ankle in the boot, dude. God damn it. Dude, and you know what I really love about Dennis and Shankoff?

What? Dennis is the first name of a guy that the Kings took in the first round in 2002. And then Shankoff is the last name of a guy the Kings took in 2002 in the second. Wow. So I'm getting real perverted with it right now. Yeah, dude, that makes it very hard. That makes it very hard. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, that is a great round of two real, two fake.

I always love it when we split like that. Me too. You get one and one. It's really, really nice. That is it for us this week at the Empty Netters podcast. We are headed off to Tampa this weekend. So Boltz fans, if you're rolling around, we're going to be there. We're headed there for a little bachelor party,

but you know we're going to be staying dialed. We're going to be covering all the games. And guys, In the meantime, you got the weekend. Check out some content. Follow us on the social. Subscribe to the YouTube. Look at me right now.

Look at this war road gear. Buy some merch. Pop onto our store. Get fitted. You need this stuff. You need to stay dialed with us. We'll stay dialed with you. And until we see you next time, CP, tell him what to do.

Skate hard.