Empty Netters Podcast - NHL Fans In Shambles As Vegas Goes Back To The Cup

Episode Date: May 27, 2026

The Avs go out with a whimper and the President’s Trophy curse lives on. Swept by Vegas in the WCF. Marner is getting his shot to give Toronto fans their worst case scenario. Vegas is back baby! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ice is ready and we're back with another episode of the empty netters podcast, live edition brought to you by BedMGM. Everybody real quick. Zach, Chris, no crashes, no crashes, no crashes, no crashes, no crashes, no crashes, no crashes, no crashes, no crash, no crash, no crash, no crash, no crash, no crash, blah, lo lo lo lollollo. This is a fantastic and an exciting episode we got here today, folks. We're getting into the craziness that is the end of the Colorado avalanche season. But before we get into anything, dude, Zach, flip that camera. We got an Emmy winner.

Boom! Here's the thing. Zach's team, and what are their names, dude? Who am I shouting out? Chris Duzon. Chris Duzon. Max, Brooke, Rich Brooke. And Two Ways Media and Zach.

They did a Lee Corso documentary called Not So Fast, my friend, and they won a sports Emmy last night and Zach gets a fucking trophy because he was a part of an incredible crew and an incredible doc so sick. Loop, glue guy at the office has two Emmys. Fuck Loop. But Zach is coming for his ass

and he has won now. And Zach, I just was going to say I think you know this but we were supposed to be the red carpet correspondence at the sports Emmys this year and we were going to fly to New York on Memorial Day

get there. You can't afford us. Well, honestly, we were just, we were crazy busy with playoffs, all this stuff. But dude, I am now furious because I didn't even know you were nominated. And if that had been the case, I would have insisted we go because then it would have been gas. It would have been so funny if we were there. And then I look at it and I just, I see Zach Grant and I go, what? And then he turns the corner.

Yeah, he turns the corner. he's like, yo. Yeah. And I'm like, dude, what are you doing here? That would have been insane. Well, dude, congratulations. That's fucking special stuff. That's fucking numbies, dude.

The other special thing is that Vegas is going back to the cut. Wow, what a comment here. Yes, Dan. It's absolutely incredible. Keep talking. Somebody said earlier, let me see if I can find it, that they were like that Vegas has made a deal with the devil or something.

Yeah, here you go. Jaden. Vegas has made a deal with the devil. There's no other way this is possible. And keep talking because I have so much

to say about that. And it does feel, I mean, you're the one who said they were tricking everybody. This is incredible. Which I partially agree with, which would imply they didn't make a deal

with the devil. They were just good. But it is crazy that this felt a little, I'm trying to think of another good sports comp. but this felt a little sometimes teams

like the Golden State Warriors or the chiefs of the last couple years feel like they're so if they just get in they're so dangerous you know you're like oh my God like I don't give a shit what happens in the regular season neither do they they just need to be get in the playoffs and they'll kill you

that's what it looked like Vegas just did even though I don't think they're on that level but it appeared they just went like this oh we don't care about the regular season now we're coming for you okay I am so sick and tired, so sick and tired of the anti-Vegas narrative and the deal with the devil

narrative. I'm not talking about that comment, like it's a funny comment. But what Vegas, first of all, you know why Vegas is in the Stanley Cup final? Because of Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner and Mark Stone and Shea Theodore and Noah Hannifin and Rasmus They have superstars. And Pavel Scoraphiev and Ivan Barbashev and Wild Bill Carlson. Like need I go on? They're a stacked wagon of a fucking team that has been well constructed and well crafted.

And like you say all the time, CP, when Mitch Marner became available, they went out and got him. Everyone was talking about where's Marner going to go? And then at the 11th hour, everyone was like, Vegas. It's going to be Vegas. And people were like, no, it can't happen. And then it sure did happen. Vegas signed him.

They made it work. This team is so fucking good for the NHL because, as I keep saying, they're going to force other teams to go take off your fucking little good boy hat and start being a dog and make savage moves and trades and get so good that you go to the cup every year. I mean, this is like, this is, we've done this now. This is their eighth year, ninth year. is it? And it's like, this is their third Stanley Cup final. They go to the cup final. Every three years. One out of three times, dude. That is fucking awesome. That is good for the league.

Because genuinely, if you want to compete, you got to be a fucking animal. And I think that that is fun. I understand it from a rivalry standpoint. If you're a fan of a Pacific team and you're like, fuck this team for just showing up and being so good. If it's a respect, hate, hell yeah. But if you have this mentality that's like they're bad for the league, this is bad stuff. I can't believe that. This is electric. Dude, it is, well, we don't need to get into this debate again because everyone listed a couple episodes ago why they don't like Vegas. But yes, I'm with you, dude.

And mostly because of what you said a few Eps ago about what other teams might start doing now that Vegas, if Vegas really gets cooking like, or they're already cooking, if Vegas wins, certainly, because dude, I want, I want teams to be cutthroat. Yeah. I think. You know, I'm not sure because I used to be the most like, oh, everybody, no superstar should ever leave their team guy. Because I was like, it's good for the fans, it's good for loyalty, you know, you don't want it to be such a business.

But if Vegas goes, hey, every other team, hold yourself to a higher standard. Yeah. You should be in the cup every year. Then every team will want to get better and the league will get better. I, that's what I'm saying, man. and I remain a players guy, as I imagine, so do you. Like, I, I am pro, uh, full no moves in contracts because it's so important for players.

I am pro players going and getting their fucking bag. Go take care of yourself and your family. No doubt about it. But this is like, it's the, it's the Belichick shit that we've talked about. It's what I was saying with, with Buffalo. I was like, you got an opportunity here. And I know you got all your guys and all the fans are like, oh, we love this guy.

We drafted and blah, blah, blah, blah. There's times where it's like, well, dude, you know what you want? You know what you actually want? You know what you actually love? Winning cups. Yeah. Go into the cup. So I'm kind of like, we got to change the narrative here.

It's like, I don't get it. I don't think it's cool to hate this. I think it's cool that they are relentless in their pursuit for the Stanley Cup. Yeah. Dude, some great comments in here. I'm trying to track them while we go. Aloha State just says us Vegas fans had to suffer two years of being cupless. Very dark times. Dude, brutal. If anyone deserves a cup. It's face. I agree. Watching Florida run run rough shot all over you, dude. God, it must have been horrible. Okay. This one, dude, this comment, Dan, make sense of this for me, please. Okay. This is, this is Jameson 7299.

As a long time Leafs fan, I am genuinely happy for Mitchie Doc Marner. Hell yeah. As a mammoth fan and Vegas native, I hate this. Go Habs Go. That is one of the craziest stream of thought. Okay, hold on. Let me break that down. As a Leafs fan?

Long time Leafs fan. As a long time Leafs fan, happy for Mitch Marner. Yes, which I respect. So after the first sentence, I really respect this. But as a Utah mammoth fan and Vegas native. Yes. Fuck Vegas. I hate this.

Go. Habs go. So this person, okay. This person is a Vegas native who is a long-time Leafs fan. But maybe now. Current Utah mammoth man who hates the Vegas. Golden Knights and is rooting for the Montreal

Canadians who are down to one in the series. And like I cannot fathom how you could root for the haves if you are a Leafs fan unless you hated Marner, but he seems like he likes the doc. I, that man, it has a very complicated life. I got to see, Jameson, you got to chime back in here. Jameson, like, I need to know as a Vegas native, why do you hate Vegas? And what may you root for the Utah mammoth now instead of the Leafs?

Like, were you a long time Leaves fan and now you like the mammoth? That's what I think, but I don't know. But I don't know. Complicated stuff. Complicated stuff. Okay. Here's another one that came up earlier. Actually, let's not get to that yet.

Oh, okay. Somebody said... By the way, do you like my Elvis glasses? Yes, dude. I almost... I tried to get an Elvis costume. I wanted to go, You ain't nothing but a hell. I wanted to do... I wanted to do the moon. He gets the dance. going pretty good.

Yeah. But I couldn't get an Elvis costume in time. Shout out Caleb. Shout out producer Caleb. Okay. He gave this. That actually makes perfect sense.

Caleb actually gave these to me in a bar and at the end of the night I was like, take them back and he was like, they look too good on you. Keep them. And then about a month ago, we were in another bar and he put rose colored glasses on me. And I gave him back to him and he's like,

no, you got to, and I was like, stop it. Yeah. You can't keep giving me these ridiculous, shaded, framed glasses every time we're at a bar together. the I want to talk a little bit actually let's start here dude because this is my first thing I think and I guess this is the root of why the abs lost and you get to grave dance a little bit on this one Dan if you want it I'm giving you the opportunity um I could not believe the black would start and I know I feel like I'm in the massive minority here and obviously they just lost

three straight, you know, and Wedgwood gave up four goals in that game. It's not like he was lights out, but I just cannot believe the Blackwood start in this moment when your season's on the line, you're like, we're just going to go with Blackwood who gave me one good relief appearance and then got shelled the other time, right? I think. So where are you, and again, the reason I brought it up is because I was like, I think it goes, I think it goes the root cause is the Aves goalie questions is why they are not in the playoffs anymore. That reared its head, which you said. But were you like, oh, good job. I'm glad that I'm glad Blackwood's in that. And any as fans in the chat. Oh, and someone R Lee just said he was fantastic, which he was. I'm not, this is not a

critique at all on Blackwood's game. Yeah. Last night. I'm literally just shocked. They went Blackwood in the first place. And I have one, I was shocked too from Go Canada to go. So I'm curious, any ass fans in the chat, were you like, oh, great. This instill so much confidence. confidence in me that we're going to our backup. I thought it was crazy. I thought it was disrespectful to Wedgie. And that's not any disrespect to Blackwood, because Blackwood's an amazing goaltender as well.

Yep. The only thing I have to say on this, CP, is... Wait, hold on. Is Jamison explaining himself? This is actually an incredible comment. I'm a dual Canadian citizen, born in Vegas, but not a Vegas fan.

Lifelong hockey fan. I love hockey. lifelong Leafs, Canucks, and Habs fan. Mammoth convert, also not a dude. That also not a dude is so funny. It's amazing. And so Jameson, it sounds like you are a, and everybody, I just want everyone to have fun.

Yeah, type of gal. Canadian though. Type a gal. And let me tell you what, I fucking love that. Yep. I love that. Go Habs, go. Go Habs.

Bring the comeback to Canada. That is the most Canadian shit I've ever heard. The fact that you are Canadian and you have three separate teams in Canada that you really love, that's just Canadian pride right there. Yeah. You're just, you want a Canadian team to win. But it does make me wonder, what did the flames, jets, and Sends do to you that they don't. True. That they don't get.

And oilers. And oilers. And oilers that they don't get your support. Yeah, Jameson, were you all in on the oilers the last two years? No, no, no. We can't even get into this. We got to call Jameson. We'll offline.

Also, not a dude. It is so funny. So the one thing I'll say about that, the goalie situation, is, and this is going to lead into probably the largest topic I have for the Avs. The cockiness in some of the fandom this year has to answer some. questions. I tweeted out last night. I don't know if you saw it. C.P. I said, we're going to be nice to Avs fans tonight. We'll wait for the live tomorrow to have some hard conversations. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to have hard conversations today. We're not going to grave dance. We're not going to be mean. We're just going to have some hard conversations. And if you guys,

if you boys remember, a big thing from round one that I brought up with every avalanche series was what type of goaltending are we going to see from Scott Wedgwood? Yeah. Is it, was there a chance that the tandem carried them through this year? And this really stacked deep roster led by Nate McKinnon and Cal McCar and Marty Natchez who exploded this year is regular season hockey. And of course, they've got a great PK, they've got a great defense standing in front of these two goalies. Is that just doing well in regular season hockey?

And when we get to playoffs and they face a really good team, they're going to struggle. That was the question. We had that first insane game against Minnesota where Wedgie gave up six, five or six. Then we had the Minnesota win. Yeah, where you got cheesied. Yep. But you won in five. So it was like, okay, now here we go.

Vegas didn't run up the score a lot, but at the end of the day, you got swept. Yeah, dude. And you were the worst team. I think. Vegas outplayed the shit out of you in this series. And I'm sorry, reject. See this? Yeah, rejection.

I reject any injury conversations. I reject that yesterday or whatever that way. I reject them because as we said in games one and two, Stone out, Kale out. And Kale came back. Yeah. Stone came back. You want to talk about Nate taking a shot off the inner thigh in the end of game three. Be my guest.

But reject. Yeah. Reject button. So there's some great comments. I mean, the guys, the chat is absolutely buzzing today. Absolutely buzzing on a Wednesday. Then you just said, did you hear the post game comments from Blackwood? Yikes, I didn't hear them.

So please either send us a link to a tweet or just type it in and tell us. Then R. Lee was talking about it's one of the most fun regular seasons ever, but they acted mentally weak. And then Zach says, Gulton, let in some soft goals. I, the abs, this is what's interesting to me about this Aves team. I think this is one of the best. teams, especially post-down- I have ever seen. And enough of that,

I'm not saying that to give any solace to abs fans. It actually just hurts more. But I was sitting there watching this game, tick down in shock, looking at the roster going, how in the flying fuck is this Aves team losing any games, let alone this series,

let alone getting swept, let alone not the cup. I literally was just like, what is going on? And I think we, in fact, some people, but definitely us, have been a little harsh on the Aves' success in the last five years because we have said many times, and I'm completely with you, how do they only have one cup? But the answer to that is, it's just really hard, right? I think the answer to that is it's really hard to win a cup.

I'm probably being a little too harsh on them that they should have more. We just said in a BetMGM video that the Florida Panthers last year are probably the best cup winning team in the last 20 years. So I'm like, even if the Aves made the cup. up last year. They, they would, we would have picked them

to lose to Florida. You know, like, it's hard. It's hard to win, and they've been one of the best teams in the last five years,

but not necessarily the best. This year, though, this year, they are the best team. And I'm like, oh, man, this one sucks.

So if, if there are people who, remember, we did a little tier, a tiering of teams at the end. of last year. It was not our preseason preview or anything like that. It was like the end of last year we tiered all the teams in the NHL. Florida was in the S tier. I believe alone in the S tier.

Maybe we put Edmonton up there. No, I think maybe just Florida. I think it was just Florida. And then there was a serious debate of is Colorado A tier or are they B tier? And Avalanche fans, we like really were we're being like I want to put them B tier and avalanche fans some avalanche fans lost their minds and it was like it was a really funny all year long

people would people would bring it up to us online and you know a good you know good spirited funny like remember this blah blah blah and that was funny and I was like yep we deserve it because what was funny is we then did our season preview and you and I both in the season preview

and the division previews that come out of the beginning of the year. We picked the abs to, we both pick them to win the division and in that episode, we were like, and I think they're going to the cup. Yeah. So that all happens. People bring up the B tier thing. And what we kept saying was, dude, yes, how does this team not have more cups? But it is hard to win a cup. But the B tier comment was because of where they lost over the last few years. Yeah. First round losses. Awful. And it's like, there, consistently winning the division and they're losing in the first round and we were like you can't be this good and keep losing in the first round and now you like listen you're in the western conference final

that's fucking awesome yep that is so fun it's such a fun run for the fans it's a fun run for the play obviously they want to go to the cup they want to win a cup but like that's a good season but to be this good to beat minnesota yes we were so so we're all like the world the hockey world was so high on in five and then to get swept in this round it's just like it's this is another like I don't think that you look at this season and we'll talk about the president's trophy curse later but I don't think you look at this season and you go obviously it sucks that we didn't win but great fucking fight boys yeah I think you were like this is so embarrassing yes and that blows yep this is just another like

Like, what is it going to take for this group? Dude, didn't you say almost exactly this about Minnesota, where you went, man, this should have been, if I told Minnesota second round and you beat Dallas and you lost to the Aves, on paper you go, hell of a year, boys. Losing blows, but hell of a year. But then when you got dummied, it all of a sudden turned it sour a little bit. Yes. That's just what happened here.

No doubt about it. And the Aves are harsh because they might have been like, dude, it was cup or bust. And I bet abs fans in the chat would say that. But if you zoom out a little bit, you're like, I don't know, Western Conference Finals, we lost in seven. It is what it is. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. This is, this was the most cup or bust year, especially when Florida is dead.

I know, dude. Tampa is dead. And Edmonton loses in the first round. Yeah. Like, dude, this. Are you fucking Dallas? Like, who beat you? You know, even Dallas, like, I didn't want rant in.

I didn't want that. This is, and like, it's like, this was the most cup or bust year for the Colorado I have ever seen. Yep. Is the mic, bro? But I can hear you on Twitter. What the fuck? It's 100% the bills. Yep.

Yeah. Zach's saying it's the bills. And he's right. Like, it's, you just, you had the path. Oh, dude. You had a clear path foul. Yeah. Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL.

Fucking take it home. I would be, if I were a die-hard abs fan, I would be. just flabbergat my my i am flabberg my gas would be flabberg i am flabbergasted my ab's future is in shambles yeah is been torn up and used as fucking kindling i cannot believe it you can do whatever you want pal yeah this is gonna be sick oh okay yes so and also shout out jess in the chat because she found this too um this is the quote and i think i forget who said that initially about his quotes maybe it was lee r lee then that's blackwood's quote and then that's blackwood's quote and then And Jess said, and maybe Luna said, that doesn't seem that yikes to me.

Like, that is actually like, yeah, that's what I would say. Yeah, I'm confused. Like, what are you saying this is? Someone said, did you guys see Blackwood's quotes? Yikes. Losing fucking sucks no matter how you do it, but losing like that, it stings a little bit more. I don't think that's yikes. Me neither.

Maybe it's a different one. But to me, I'm like, that's a fine reaction. That's a fine reaction from Blackwood. Yeah. I oh yeah I want to say this to you I think that's an incredibly mature statement yeah because that is the that is the well even with the fucking in there that is the very calculated way of saying we are we cannot believe that this happened yeah I think that's a great quote right me too great quote because that's how they should feel yeah um the we said early in the playoffs the

Kings went down 3-0 and we said out loud unfortunately for our L.A. friends and fam this series is over because and do you remember what the next thing we said was no we said this Aves team specifically

is not capable of losing four games in a row yeah it could not happen and here it is and bang dude four games in a row that's my biggest surprise dude yeah you know what I really loved uh Stony had a had a quote at the end of the game where he was like, listen, this is a very good avalanche team that

we're playing. And, you know, you know that they can win games. You know that they can get back into it. But when you have a chance to finish the series and take care of business, you got to do it. Yes. And that, this game felt so much like that. I know. You know, one nothing after the first period and then it was just a one nothing game all game long. You can. You could see that mentality in Vegas and in the goal tending and the defense special teams they were like do not fucking give up a goal like just finish this team now yeah because absolutely that's not a team you want to give any life to at all so they they understood the assignment man and they came out and they fucking slam the don't yes um okay some great things here dan first of all someone says um

where is it someone says i'm too we were doing the bills thing and they said i'm too australian for American football analogies. And then Nat goes, it's like your boomerang never came back. And they go, no.

That is so funny. Yep, that's incredible. Vin, is that a real quote? Vin stuff. He just put a blackwood quote in here, which I can't tell if that's real or not. Because it could be. And if it is, that one's a little bit more yikes.

Vin, chime in and tell me if that's a real one. Somebody got, I got to find this. somebody said that, and Dan, how do you feel about this? If true. If true, somebody said that Bednar, oh, here we go. Was that the game drinking with some Aves fans? So this is a Vegas person. Was at the game last night drinking with some Aves fans who said they knew it was over when they saw Bednar gambling at Aria? I saw that photo too.

I hate that take. Dude, like you got to blow off some steam. Dude, and he was trying to get luck on his side. I do it, a little fights out. Also, like, if you've ever been in Vegas, like, you're staying in, you're staying in these hotels, there's casinos everywhere. Yep. You got to just get a little action on the table.

I think that actually could have been everything they needed. I think if he, honestly, he probably went cold and that's what cost him, but if he had gotten hot, if he had fought a little harder, then maybe they would have been in there. Little action on the table. Do you want to have the bed in our conversation? Sure. I stand by wholeheartedly, absolutely not. you do not fire this coach.

He's a good coach. Unless you have your exit interviews and you talk to the boys and it feels like he's lost the room. But I do not suspect that that has happened. I think Bednar is a great coach. Let me read you this. Let me read you this Blackwood quote. Oh, this is the Yikes quote?

I don't know if this is Yikes, but it's more Yikes than the other one. Okay. I mean, it's freaking hard to not play for so long and come into a big game. But, you know, I just said F it and go play the best I can and give them the best chance to win. So I think he's being like, yeah, it sucks that I'm not, I get sat down this long after the season I had. Yeah. Again, not yikes for me at all. I respect that.

It's like what we talked about with Sway a few years ago. It's insane to be down or like to lose two, three games in a row and be up against elimination and then put a freezing cold goalie and go save us. That's why I thought it was a crazy start. And he played great. Someone said at the beginning. He actually played tremendous. Yes. And you also, if you're blackwood, you go like this.

I mean, if he was a prick, he would go like this. Yeah, I mean, my guys didn't score for me until the last minute of the game. So what do you want me to fucking do? Yeah. That's what I would say. So good. Yeah. Okay, yeah, he's a good coach unless, what did you say?

Unless you have the accident interviews and the boys start talking and it feels like he's lost the room. I don't suspect that that's the case at all. I think Bednar's a great coach. Like I said, he's a Jack Adams finalist. You guys were on pace to fucking shatter every regular season record of all time. win the president's trophy, that to me, regardless of how good the roster is, doesn't feel like a coach who has lost the room. Yeah.

So this is a don't panic mode. We talk about it right now with, you know, we just heard rumors that the Kings are interviewing La Vialette. No disrespect to Labs. But there's not a great coach's market out there. Everyone wants to bring up David Carl. Everyone wants to bring up David Carl. Yes, David Carl is great.

But there's also the element of this, man. No one's talking about this. David Carl has not coached in the NHL. He's not been a head coach in the NHL. There's no guarantee that he will come in and translate to an amazing, perfect NHL coach. I bet I would bet all my money that he is. But it's not like

Carl is this legendary, available NHL coach. He's just the best college coach we've ever seen. And that would be a great hire for someone. But the coaching market is not amazing. Why? the fuck would you fire if you fired bednar because of this you have any idea how fast LA hires Bednar yeah how fast the like you know like immediately Edmonton would be like

oh my god get over like yeah that's what you got to think about when you're it's like the Cooper conversations people were like is Cooper gonna get fired and you're like this if Cooper gets fired he will literally have 31 teams to pick from it like it's I just don't think you get rid of him Brennan goes uh uh bretonar equals Cooper great coaches but maybe a little too cool I do agree with that Me too I do actually agree Well you remember

I was a little harsh on Coops Yeah there we go dude What's he got dude Also look at the forearms He's been hitting the He's been hitting the God that's incredible

The trap pulled Or the fucking Try pull downs Is this is this blackjack It appears to be Or Bacorat Like I think that might be I actually don't know

What that game is Someone in the chat Tell me what game that is. I think that might, I don't know. I think that might be backerat. If this is backerat, then he's, then he's a fucking legend. He's bleeding. I can't see what's in his left hand, though.

Maybe he's got a stack in there. That's true. But that's incredible. But that's incredible. Yeah. He's like, toss. I said this out. I was a little harsh on Coop's post-loss comments because he's being too cool for school.

Yep. And Beddard's pretty cool. Benner's got the hockey here, too. You don't see that in coaches that often. Yes, that is correct, dude. And I like that. I think we should get that back. Or is it like, dude, you're too much of one of the boys.

The boys are getting confused. Yeah, yeah. Just look like one of the fellas in here. Whoa, everyone's saying it's Pi Gow. He's playing Pi Gow. He's playing Pi Gow at Aria. And people are mad about that. That's swag.

I don't want to live in a world where a guy gets lampooned for playing some Pi Gow before a game. That's fucking. insane dude the fact that he even the fact that his brain can even comprehend pie gow means he can comprehend any scheme any system any power play pie gow sounds like the most delicious dish i've ever heard in my entire life dude you're telling me that you wouldn't want to go to best friend in bet park at and bet m gm and order a nice steaming plate of pie gow we'll do a we'll do a we'll do a table we'll do a table pie gal please wow pie gow is taking care of it's exactly i got zack says it I was making us money.

It's getting us nuts and it's filling our bellies. That's unbelievable. That is fucking awesome. All right, I got some shit for you, Dan. Okay. There was, after they scored, after Landy scored, which I'm going to come back to, there was a grade A, grade A chance immediately after, 30 seconds after, that fell to Naceus's stick. And he fired one and, fired!

And, uh, fires off the crossbar. Carter Hart, right paddle, and it was that save that you always like that looks like a pinball. Yeah, yeah. Like, like, like, kicks out. So I wrote, man, Natchez, like that would have been. You want that one. Well, Landy scores, and then 30 seconds later, you tie it. Oh, my God.

The place would have gone, I mean, it wouldn't have gone dead silent because it was in Vegas. Yeah, past fans everywhere would have lost their shit. And somebody said, Father Kup, I screenshoted this comment from way earlier. He said, crazy that Nachis and Drury have still never won a game in the conference final. because they came over from Carolina who have been getting swept to death. Oh my God. And then here you go.

What a comment. Very interesting. And I'm not saying it's... Hey, hey, here's the thing. Carolina now has a couple wins in the conference final. Yeah. Maybe. Maybe this is a Drury and Natchez problem. That's what I'm screaming.

Maybe Jack Drury and Marty Natchez have been up to some Tom Foolery and Ballyhoo. Yeah. And they've been doing some voodoo shit. and now they're in trouble. Maybe they are the issue. Yeah, so see, see, Andy says, they just brought the Canes ghost with him.

And now they're, dude, we didn't even know. We were busting the wrong place, Dan. We were busting up the wrong locker room. Oh. Because the ghosts have been in Colorado the whole time. My God. And, dude, uh, three wins. Oh, Burns two.

A bunch of guys going Burnsy, too, dude. Oh, my God. We brought all the ghosts into Colorado. And now we didn't realize that the, dude, you know how in, um, you know how in like, the ring and a lot of horror genre things, you have to move the curse to someone else to get it off of you. That's what the nature trade was. The Keynes have put the curse on the abs. And Marty and Drew didn't even know it. Because they lost the Dallas. When they were packing up their bags,

Tulski and Rod were like, hey, guys, it's great to see you. Yeah. Hey, or great to see it. It was great, plan. Yeah, we had a good time. Dap me up, dude. And they went curse past. Like an exoplasm slime. Yeah, they took this slime over to Colorado. They had no idea. Because, dude, dude. And it also makes sense, dude. Like, the Denver airport is all that fucking, fucking naughty curse shit. That horse is the devil.

They literally, dude, were supposed to beat Dallas last year. They were up to nothing. Yeah. And would have gone to the conference finals and been swept by Edmonton. And we would have known the curse was already there. Yeah. But unfortunately, Dallas ranting and went crazy off script. Yeah.

And knocked them out. So we didn't get to realize that they had already been cursed. Yeah. But they were cursed last year. And now we got to see the curse in full effect. The a Aves will never, will never win a conference final game as long as NACIS is on their team. That is so shitty. Also, on a human level, that makes me feel so sad for those gentlemen.

Yes. Like if you are NACIS, Drury, and Bernsey, you probably go into the series and you're like, it's going to be so fun to finally win a game in this fucking round. And then you get swept. Be so good. I mean, think about Marty Natchez right now. He must be like, are you fucking my dad? What is happening?

Dude, somebody said earlier, he said, Marty Natchez, noted big game player. I can't find it. And I know that's a chirp. But I do think, and I've said this many times, dude, but I do think, bro, every Keynes fan, every single Keynes fan said to us, that's his issue.

He's so good in the regular season, because he's so fast, but when the ice shrinks in the playoffs, he disappears. That was the knock. So they said, you know what? That trade was chaos, and I can't believe we got rant and lost, rant, and blah, blah, blah. But they go, whatever, dude, we're fine. And you had said, and he finished the year, Dan, with 13 points, 13 points and 13 games. And you had said, that's fine.

We can't be hating on that. But I just go to the one goal, dude, like one goal after a 38-tuck season. No, it's not good enough. season. I'm like, buddy. It's not good enough. No doubt about it. I mean, this guy, like, yeah, he scored damn near 40 in the regular season. He's one of the best players in the league. It is, the game does change. The game does shrink. And players, we've, I sound like a broken record, but playoff hockey is different. There are regular season teams and playoff teams. There are regular season players and playoff players. There are certainly playoff players.

I mean, it's like, look at Howden. Look at Newhook. We keep joking about those guys, but it's like, The level up certain players do in the playoffs is unbelievable. Yeah. When you're as good as Marty Natchez, you have it in you. I know you do. He knows he does. It's about finding it. And I always love those conversations like Patrick Kane talks about, like the times when he would go in slumps.

He would literally go back home and watch YouTube's of himself. Yeah, I love that. And be like, oh, yeah, I can do it. I can score goals. And maybe that's it. Maybe work with a sports psychologist. Maybe work with a priest and have an exercise. happen because you have ghosts possessing you.

But you've got to do something because you are too good to disappear. And I genuinely, man, I don't believe in it. I don't believe in that narrative of you've got players who are all-star level players, Hall of Fame level players. I'm not saying Marty's Hall of Fame level, but he might be. Who then go, no, I can't play in the playoffs though. I'm like, bullshit, dude. Yes, you can.

You just got to figure out how. You have all the tools to do it. You just got to figure out how. Dude, he's incredible. And I think him, this always happens right, in playoff. by the way. When you lose, if you're a good team,

if you're a good team and you lose, somebody went quiet. This is pretty much the exact script. It's happened to a ton of Boston teams. It happens all the time. Marty Natchez, and this is actually a good transition to another thing I want to say. Natchez and Brock Nelson went pretty cold.

After having great, great years. I was actually bummed. I saw Torts and Brock having a great moment in the handshake lines. And I was like, fuck, Brock must be like, God damn it, dude.

Like, I wish I had done what I did there with you. I know. because he was our best player in the long of the whole group stage. So someone else said this. Alex Renner, 8-02, a long time ago in the chat, said, Call me crazy. The Aves Top Six outside of Landy is why we lost. And I don't hate that take at all.

A lot of people go in a goalie. A lot of people go in a goalie. A lot of people go in to injuries, obviously. But man, dude. And I will even, I'll even extend that comment from Top Six into your top dogs because I want a Brock in there. I want some of the guys you were expecting to do it. And when Landy scored that goal to make it a one-gole game,

and I heard on the broadcast them go, Landisog has three of the seven goals the Av scored in this series. I was like, dude. Yeah? And don't forget, I mean, Landy is so vital to this team. But don't forget, he had a slow start. Remember I was saying, man, Landi has one goal in 20 games.

That's not enough at the beginning of the year. And he ended up finishing him with a great year. but you, everybody in Colorado would have to think if Landy is scoring 50% of our goals, we are in trouble. I don't know that I totally agree with that because Landy is Landy, and there's a world where their top six is buzzing and it's just Landy's the one scoring. Yeah. I don't think that you would think that person.

I think that's disrespectful to Landy. I just think they need, they have too many weapons. They go, if you have 50% of our goals, too many people aren't going. I again, I just think it's a, I think it's a, uh, you're putting the, the bad signs or negativity on the wrong guy. Yeah. Landy is a top six guy. He's a, he's a power play guy.

Like, I, I don't think that that is the sign. If it was like, fucking, I don't want to sue or anybody here, but like, if it was a different guy, you know, if they were like, oh, yeah, uh, Nick Waugh, yeah, has half our goals. I'd be like, oh. Yeah, okay. That would be worse. Yeah. But it's like, I mean, it's true, dude.

Like, they're so deep. And I know Lekinen like came back in the lineup, but like, Lekinen, Nate, Cadry, Nacchus, Val, Brock. Gotta be doing more, man. Yeah. Gotta be doing more. It was just too many. It was too many people that disappeared. Yeah.

Oh, I want to talk about this too. What, what, and God, maybe it gets just credit to Vegas again. but dude the a there was a stretch there where they went 25 minutes with two shots and I'm like dude your life is on the line I know I'm going to

I'm going to do what a lot of people online do to me when I say this now that it's happened so many times in a row I don't think it's an abs problem anymore I think Vegas is so good it's not an abs bug it's a Vegas feature

I think Vegas is so fucking good right now, man. I mean, the abs, there are kind of like two major things that I want to talk about. The abs, they were broken.

Yep. The Vegas Golden Knights figured out how to break this team. Yeah. They broke them mentally. Somebody said, I want to check this. Somebody said, Vegas has won eight straight against the abs in the playoffs.

Is that correct? Whoever said that in the chat, if you remember, someone's because they won eight straight. So that means they swept them also? Or like went down 2-0 and then 4 straight or something. But either way, dude, it's like they legitimately, you know, Marty was like, as in Alec Martinez was like, they were built to beat the aves.

And I was like, oh, you may be. But now it kind of does feel like they are. They just have this team's number. I mean, they had their number from game one and they never let off. This is what I'm saying, man. They beat them every game. They outplayed them every game. They deserve to win every game.

This was, to quote, or to opposite quote, Rod the Bod, this was a sweep. This was a like, you got fucking swept, boys. And yeah, you've been broken. And so my Colorado topic, we did it last episode, and we did it kind of in like a fun, joky way. And I still want to do that, but also. have a real conversation? Yeah. We got to fix Nate, dude.

Yeah, here we go. Dozer cat says last time Vegas once game 3, 4, 5, 6. Yeah, there you go. So they went down 2-0, and then they won 4 straight. Yep. So we got to fix Nate. Yeah. No, dude, not yeah.

This is, I don't care. Listen, it's been a tough year. It's been a tough year. I said this last night. Between the stuffed weasel in Milan and now this. It's been a tough year for Nate McKinnett. Yeah, I sure.

No doubt about this is a year you want to forget. A hundred percent. Like, you got Landy back for the full season. You went out and you got, you've got Brock Nelson on the team. You trade for fucking Cadry at the deadline. Like, this was, you know, all the right moves are being made. You guys are buzzing. But you lose in Milan and you get a fucking stuffed weasel shoved up your hoop.

Yep. And now you get swept by Vegas. When Florida is out, Tampa is out. Edmonton loses in the first round. It is the most clear path you will ever get. Yes, dude, God damn. And that's no disrespect to Vegas, because Vegas has clearly presented themselves

as the best team in these playoffs. But it was everything you could have dreamt of. It was the path that you could have prayed for. Yeah. And you get swept. Like, this has been a tough year. So I understand the frustration. But it's, it's, dude, that was a one-goal game.

And he was still so visibly frustrated. and negative and I'm like, dude, we can't be doing this. We've got to lighten this guy up. Yeah, happy place. We have to happy place. Happy place. Happy place. And that, that transitions me into, I've been a little annoyed the last couple of days online. Okay.

The amount of hockey people, the amount of creators, the amount of podcasters, the amount of internet personalities, whatever you want to call them. them who are hopping all over our shit in talking about Jack Eichel is pissing me off. And it's, it's dumb because it shouldn't piss me off. It should make me go, yes, everyone is now finally realizing. But dude, every show in the stratosphere is now being like talking about Jack. Schmaltzy, Peoples was like, I mean, I love how much of a wind up he is online, but he was like, we got to look at the 2015 draft dude.

Like, do you, Jack Eichel is potentially about to win his second cup and a gold medal this year. Do you take him first overall? I love that wind up tweet. And I love fucking Schmaltzy. So that was awesome to see. And I know he's winding people up. But at the same time, he's also one of the people who are getting on what we've been talking about for years, dude. And it's a lot closer than people want to think.

Netters fans will back us on this. We've been saying four years that Jack Eichael is the best 200 foot player in the game. Yep. I went to war with people saying he's. the best pure skater in the NHL. And dude, did you see the way

he fucking 1V1 completely butt-fucked Nate against the boards at the end of that game? Like, Nate is doing his stop turn, spin around, Jack stayed with him the whole time, lit stick lift twice,

takes the puck off him, dishes it back to, I think it was Naber or Hannafin who scooped it out. And I was like, dude, the way Nate got off the ice, I was just like,

you just got bitched. Dude, it was one of my most important highlights right here in this, my little mad scientist notes thing that I was was taking, which was this, Dan. Nate was on, I beg people to go back and watch that. They get the goalie pulled. They also didn't pull Blackwood for so long. I know. I was a get out of the fucking net, dude. This is insane. You're down too. I think they didn't know what the score was. Nate is on

his strong side, okay? And literally, he cruises just across the zone just so he can get into the shooting area to be on the weak side. So he's got the one-timer, so he's got the thing. And you know, here comes. We're going to get Nate the puck. Everyone starts, rotating. Kale comes up and they give a one touch pass over there. And dude, I could not agree more because don't forget, the game three, I think, Nate did that exact stop spin around move and put McNabb on Fourth Street. Yes.

And then walked in and fed one over to Landy. Jack was up his ass, dude. Kindly crawl out of Nate's ass. It was unbelievable. And then got the clear and ended the fucking game. It was such a noticeable play because how often do we watch these games when players like Nate and Connor are playing and they get the puck in that situation

and you watch everyone just back off. Yep. They increase their gap because they're like, gee, I don't know what the fuck this guy's about to do. Jack just went, oh no, I'm getting right inside your shirt.

And I'm taking this puck. I'm not leaving, yeah. It was like that was the, that was the literal final nail in the coffin for Colorado where it was like, here's your last great hope in Nate McKinnon.

Because there was a tough time left. Yeah, and Jack fucking bitched you. And he wanted the job, dude. Oh yeah. Let me take him. Oh, you could see a smile on his face. He went in and was like, oh, you think you're going to fucking spin cycle me?

Yeah. I spin cycle you. I'm Jack Eichel. Here's a quarter. I'm Jack Spin Cycle. I just put it in the machine and now you're on fucking tumble dry, dude. Yeah, bitch. Dude, I even wrote before that, Dan, Vegas iced it.

Houdan went for the empty net, which he's been such a killer. I was like, here it comes Houdon again. He misses it. Vegas icing, Avs time out. So they get all the big dogs on. There's a minute nine left, plenty of time. ozone draw for Colorado. Yeah.

And Jack came out there and snapped it back so clean and Vegas cleared it. And I was like, I already was like, Jack's the fucking man. Oh my God. Because that's such a big draw, dude. That is such a big draw. And he snaps it back. Then he gets the Nate clear. And I was like, oh my God.

He just looks, he looks so fucking dialed. Yeah. It's, it's beautiful to see. God, this tip was nasty by Smith, by the way. Just a teeny, or, yeah, just like a teeny, teeny little change of direction. freezes Blackwood. Great stuff. Vegas, man,

you know, we've gone back and forth here. Colorado's in a tough spot. I feel ill about Brent Burns. Yeah, I do too. I feel so bad. I feel really bad for Brent Burns. We're obviously going to see the, I mean, Kale McCarr is going to need

a Bucky Barnes winter soldier arm after what has happened to his shoulder. I bet. Nate is more banged up than it feels, but this happens to every team. It happens to everyone, every player, everyone's banged up. But this is a, this is a brutal loss for Colorado. Yeah. This is a very tough loss. And they've got some big question marks this offseason. A lot of things they need to figure out. And I think it's more than personnel. How about that? I think that there is a, I think we need a culture shift in Colorado.

Damn. And I think that's just mindset. Yeah, but it might be. It might be. I think, I mean, they get a sports sigh in there. I'm serious. I love that. I'm serious.

Get a sports sigh in there. Find the happy place because this two dialed mentality, it ain't working, man. Dude, but yeah, I think you know. First round losses. Now you've been, you've lost eight straight in the playoffs to Vegas. something's got to change. I think it's this, dude, and this, we've talked about this, and this is going to make it sound like I'm chirping Nate, and I'm not.

But I know people that have played for them and other competitive teams. Dude, I think you need more games and fun, like on the plane and in the training room and things like that. I think it is a little too ratcheted up in Colorado where I'm like, dude, let's play some, let's play some ping pong. You gotta get on the piss. Yeah, dude. I'm dead ass. I need some Sour Patch kids on the plane, dude.

You got to get on the piss. Put some fucking kids on the plane. You've got to start... Careful. Sour patch kids. You've got to start drinking more. You got to start having fun. Yeah.

You're in one of the coolest cities in the game. Dude, go to Mile High Spirits. It's great bar. Great bar. Holy shit, I forgot about that place. Start ripping it up. I think the abs need a little bit of a mentality. and a fun culture shift.

Otherwise, they're cooked. A couple things for you here, Dan. Yeah. The Golden Knights in 2023 did not touch the Clarence Campbell Bowl. I don't give a fuck. And they brought the whole team out and they did the stand behind it

for the pick. I don't give a fuck about this. Pretend curse. Everyone else does give a fuck about this. But it doesn't matter. It does matter. It changes everything. No, dude.

It changes everything. You know why it doesn't matter and why I won't give it any air time? in the last 10 years or more, we have seen both sides touch, not touch, and win or not win. Therefore, it is not a thing anymore. I think it's a thing internally, though.

I think you always talk about this. Like, if they go, this helps us. Yeah, sure. We didn't, we did exactly this last time we won, we're doing it again. Like, I think it would have been the height of insanity if they touched it this year. Yeah, because they didn't touch it when they won.

Yeah. Yeah, so that's fine, but it's not like whatever. Did you all see that? Oh, no. What happened? What I think is the kiss of death where they went and partied last year after they lost, right after they lost, and had finals 2026, like, bottle service and girls coming out last year after they lost. This is the first time I've ever seen somebody win after doing something like that. Oh, shit.

This might be dead. So I don't know if everyone heard that, but the New York Knicks last year when they lost in the process. playoffs, went to a club and got bottle service with signs that said finals 2026. And then that should have cursed them for this coming year. But instead, here they are in the finals. I love that. I don't think that. I think that that's like the coolest thing I've ever heard. But normally, teams do that shit and that you lose because they're like, you're clowns. But I don't know. You've lost in the playoffs and they go, instead of sitting here and being sad, we're going to manifest success next year. Dude, I promise you this.

I think that's awesome. If you saw that last night, the Colorado Avalanche, we're ripping Omnia with Cup champs 2027 signs, you would be like, that is pathetic. No, it didn't say finals champs. It said finals 20s. That was them going, we're making it to the finals next year. Okay. If the Av sign said Stanley Cup appearance 2027, you would have gone, go home.

No, I would say the same thing. I would go, I love this. Positive linguistic programming, manifest what you want. Yeah, actually, okay, that's the culture change. I think it's great. I should party tonight. I think it's great. Hey, Colorado, have a rip tonight.

You should be potting. Dude, I promise you they partied in Vegas last night. Yeah. I promise you that. That is so funny, dude. And then last thoughts on Vegas, I do hate. Like, if Montreal wins tonight, I hate it.

Oh, me too. It's a nightmare. I hate it. I'm like, I cannot believe we're sitting here on the 27th. and Vegas is done. They've punched their ticket. Yeah. We're going to talk about this a little bit in a second

because I've got a lot to say about all that stuff. Vegas has punched their ticket to the cup and we are potentially about to have the other series tied to two-two. I hate it. I hate the time that does suck. And that's not me saying I want Carolina to win so they can win in five, but I'm just saying if I'm Vegas I'm like fuck this. I hope this is quick.

Here's thy last thought, Dan, and the last time I closed with Prego Magic. And it turns out that was the most important tidbit fact in the history of playoff hockey analytics. I just figured out there's another one. And this is also vitally important, Dan. And you are going to love it. Okay.

This one isn't as good, but it's right there. who would you be I guess this answer is going to be Marner I was going to say who would you be most happy that they're lifting a cup if Vegas wins and I assume you're going to say Marner because it's such an incredible thing yeah

but there was someone else that was coming to mind for me that you go wow that's awesome probably Marner probably Torz yes torts and do you know how long it's been since Torz one a cup Yep. Wow. How long it's been exactly. Now, I don't mean to the day. I just mean like when you hear me say this year, like, I'll go get it.

Is it 20 years? 21. 22. Oh my God, dude. After 22 years. John Tortero. I saw that. I was like, you have got to be kidding me. 22 years. Wow, that's crazy. Isn't that sick, dude? We'll get another one. We'll get another 22-year rip. That is amazing. Cue the sound bite.

We got Prego Magic and 22 years. That's crazy. Listen, this team, they're, I feel the same way about the Nix. Weirdly, I think the Nix and the Vegas Golden Nights have a lot of vibes right now. A lot of similar vibes. And very unexpectedly, the NICs are the best team in basketball right now. Yeah. And I think very unexpectedly, the Vegas Golden Knights of the best team in hockey right now. Would you say, though, I would say Vegas. And look at it, right? Like, we've got on the Knicks swept.

Vegas swept. Like, they're very, they're very. And dude, a lot of people had the Knicks going to the Eastern Conference final. I think most people had them losing to Boston. And then Boston was heard and Boston choked and they're fucking clowns. But this was for a lot of people unexpected. And here they are sweeping their way to an NBA finals. It's the same going on in Vegas. The Nix and the Vegas Golden Knights are... Vives. Very similar teams. I think, though, the... Vegas...

Actually, I guess if the Keynes make it... Cat is Marner. Marner is cat. Yeah. If the... Doc... We got to find another doctor. The Nix must have a doctor on their team.

Cat, dude. He took the M-Cats. Oh, okay. There you go. He's the doc. The M-Cat. That's great. That's great.

The knights, though, feel like legitimately they are the favorite. Whereas I think the Thunder certainly are like, the Knights don't have the Thunder waiting for. I completely disagree. I think the Knicks are the best team in basketball right now. And Vegas is the best. Vegas is the favorite. They are the best team in hockey right now. But I'm favoriting the Knicks, too.

You are. But what I'm saying the difference is the Thunder will be a significant. You're a basketball guy. Wouldn't you agree? I think the Knicks are the best team in basketball right now. They're playing the best basketball in basketball right now. One, like 13 straight games. They're down.

They're down. Down 3-2. It's been a tilt. No one can handle my guy Brunson, dude. It's over. WM.98 says Keynes have a legit shot. People need to stop giving Vegas the cup so early. I agree with that because we aren't.

And I think the habs have a legit shot because of how fast they are. And I don't need anyone. telling me to respect the canes. I don't need that. Yeah. But I am saying if you look at the two games the canes have won where they've eeked out wins in overtime when the opposing team has managed 12 and 13 shots,

you cannot say they're playing as well as Vegas. Yeah. Vegas just swept the shit out of the Colorado Avalanche. We're not counting out Carolina, but Vegas is playing better hockey than Carolina is right now. That is correct. That's all I'm saying. That is correct.

So Do you want to talk about the Knicks? I do. I want to talk about the New York Knicks. Okay. We're taking a little fun break in between series here. I want to talk about the New York Knicks and then I want to talk about the UNS men's national team

for the World Cup. Hell yeah. I hate that this fucking guy's mic doesn't work. I know. It's annoying. Like where is a... Can we get you a different mic? I could sit down.

Yeah, that's fucking bullshit. All right, let's talk about the New York Knicks. I love this New York Knicks team. That's not what we're talking about. I want to talk about on-court antics. We've got Timmy living his best life, drunk as a skunk in that game. Yeah.

I don't know if you saw the clips, but we got Kylie sneaking vodka in her purse. and like spiking their like which by the way what? Do they not serve booze at MSG? Well they do It's expensive

Dan it's expensive Yeah we're talking about a billionaire Yeah So I'm a little bit like What are you doing Sneaking booze in here But either way respect it Because it's a gobble-gobble one of us now

Yeah correct Like you can be a billionaire You can be one of the most famous people on the planet You're still sneaking booze into games Hell yeah Yep Timmy drunk as a skunk, taking pictures with the wags. Yep.

Just like jumping up and down, like hugging people, looking like a child out there. There, he might be, he might have the best life of anyone on earth right now. He's peaking. He is, I'm afraid he's peaking too early. No. All of these Oscar losses keep him hungry.

That's why he's fine. Yep. But I'm looking at Timmy. I'm looking at Spike. I'm looking at Stiller. Fat Joe in the mixer every now and then. I don't like that we don't have an on-the-wood situation at hockey games. That's what I wanted to bring up the Knicks for.

Oh, okay, yeah, that would be sick. I think it's so cool at these games, particularly the Knicks and the Lakers, when celebs are just on the wood. Yeah. It's awesome. Glass seats at hockey games are trash. This is like a, Zach, you might not know this, but this is like, I've been like kind of waiting for an opportunity to talk about this

with people. Will Farrell, always at King's Games, sitting on the glass. Dude, I don't know if you know this, Zach. Glass seats at hockey games fucking suck. Yep. You can't see shit. They are so bad. Like, if you're ever offered glass seats and, like, you have an option to get something else, do not get glass seats. They're terrible. You literally can't see fuck all that's going on down the boards in the corner you're in because of the boards. You can't see anything. Yep. So row like 15 to 20 is the dream. That's the money spot. Because you are, you're sitting,

you're right on the top of the glass level and you can see everything. But that's not like, A, look who it is. Like sitting on the wood is so metal. How do we get, I think maybe there should be, maybe we should extend the benches and still shit. You can't see fuck all. You can only you, the bench is a good seat. Yeah, because there's no glass.

That's what I'm saying. Extend the bench. So there's like, now the whole team, here's room for 20 players. Now we got an opportunity for Timmy to catch a puck in the face. We can't have it. No, but that's, if he's metal enough, he wants it. Yeah, I mean, yeah. I don't think Timie would do that. He doesn't, he doesn't, but Will does.

The studios would not be, we can't have Paul Atreides, toothless. Will Farrell does. And I would sit on the bench. I would buy those bench sheets and just sit right next to McCarr. I just, I think hockey needs, we need more celebs at hockey games. Yeah. And I was looking into it. Luna says she loves glass seats behind the bench specifically.

Luna, you're, that might be the worst seat. That might be worse than a glass seat. I'd rather have my back against the cement in the 400 section than being the glass behind the bench. So here's my thing. Live hockey is the best show in the world. And if you have not been, I mean, everyone in this chat has been. Yep. Dude, Zach, you've been to both.

And you're a basketball guy. You're a football guy. You can admit live hockey is unbelievable. Yeah. So, like, I will still argue that, like, I've been on, like, sideline, court side, everything, running camera. Yeah, yeah. The best experience I've ever had has been hockey. Yep.

Because they're interfaced. Zach just said best experience he's ever had is, is hockey. Yeah. And it's like, dude, it is. It is the best. And I'm looking at how much fun it is. And I could either easily sit here and poo-poo and be like, dude, all the celebs, it's so late. I'm like, that's not what hockey's about.

And I'm like, fuck that, dude. Yeah, why not? Give me a break, dude. Like, when you're watching that next game and it cuts to Timmy going fucking crazy, like, that's fun. Timmy's an entertainer. He's a fun guy. Special moment.

Let's get fun people at these hockey games. and I was looking into it there's no one no one in the celeb world from Vegas, Montreal or North Carolina like there's some people

but like other than sports people how are they're not more famous people from Montreal it's like Celine Dion and that's it and that's it like someone in the chat talk to me and like Vegas too is like there's musicians like my guy

the killers Brandon Flores is from Vegas and there's a couple like Bryce Harper's from Vegas but again he's a sports guy but like it's there are I am shocked that Montreal does not have more actors um William Shatner that'd be gas that would be gas but like it's kind of an old guy yeah I'm not aging I'm not trying to be an ageist but like there are so many celebs from Ontario yeah fucking there are so many famous people from Ontario how are they're not more famous people from Quebec. Andre Agassiz, Vegas. That'd be kind of sick?

No. I mean, Andre Agassiz? Agassi's the man, but like they're not fucking Timmy. Yeah. They're not even stiller. They're not even stiller. We got Jay Barrichelle. Okay. Yeah. I need more Jay at these Bell Center games. Yeah, yeah. Dude, he should be in there.

I love Jay. He should be in there. That's actually crazy. He hasn't been. I love Jay. We got to get Jay in the mixer more. But it's, I think it's pretty sick. You know what? I didn't. Like Zach. A little John. That's good. Lil John's at night. He's a Vegas guy.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. He's there a lot. And that's good. That's a good one. I think taffers there sometimes, too. Yeah. Shatner is 95 years old.

Yeah, he's old. Again, I'm not trying to, I'm not shaming. Come on. But he's an old guy. That is so good. You know what I really don't like? This is like, I'm not trying to do the whole hockey NBA thing. The fucking Jalen Brunson is my guy.

I'll love it. this dude. I'm all in on the Knicks. I felt the same way when Tatum did this shit, the fucking staged photos these fucking guys are doing in the locker room with their like conference final MVP trophy. They look like the biggest boners in the world. Like Brunson's sitting there with his goggles on his head and like he's in his like under gear and he's like pretending to like slouch back with the trophy sitting next one. It's the most basketball thing I've ever seen. You would never see a hockey player doing that. Correct. And again, I'm not, I am literally doing the like,

hockey's better thing, but they're just, they just look so corny. It's ridiculous. It's like when, like, Tatum with the finals trophy, trying to get his, like, Kobe and, like, MJ photos. I'm like, just fucking celebrate, dude. Yeah. Drink a fucking beer. Like, dude, the picture, it showed out, um, fuck, who took that picture is one of our friends.

But that Matthew Cuckech picture from the cup with the cigar. That it was like an all-time. That's just literally candid caught in the moment while they're partied. Yeah. I mean, nothing will ever beat the Gustav Forsling lying in the cooler of beers smoking a second. God damn. That was amazing. Okay.

Now can we talk USMNT? Sure. Everyone in the chat put, actually, you know what? I was about to say, thanks for putting up with this. It's the fucking World Cup, dude. It's the World Cup. It's the World Cup. You're not putting up with shit.

This is fun topics. I am a massive footy guy. People know that. What I need people to know is that I'm also a massive U.S. men's national team. I'm a U.S. men's national team guy too because they're fucking winning World Cups. But I love the idea of American soccer getting good. I had a discussion with. with a couple of friends the other day,

who are big footy guys as well. I can't believe how bad we still are. Oh, we are terrible. And dude, Leo, Leo Carlson Grazer, Diego Luna snubbed, couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. Wait, what happened?

Diego Luna snubbed from the roster. Oh, yeah. Couldn't agree more. Yeah. Need guys like that on this team. Dude, we are so bad at soccer still. it's fucking insane and

shout up Jeff boxer our boy big footy guy big Chelsea guy I sent him the roster squad list

and I was like this is so embarrassing and I'm not quitting I'm not quit dude quit I'm not quitting I'm going to be right there with my USA kit on

rooting on the boys during the World Cup we're going to be at some games but I am here to say Jeff was like Like, dude, 15, 20 years ago, if you were to send me this roster and see all of these guys playing top flight football, you'd be blown away. And I kind of agree with that.

But the way U.S. soccer media talks about it, the way they talk about Pulisic and how he's dominating A.C. And he had eight goals this year in 30 games. And I'm like, oh my God, he's dominating. and when I look at it and we have, this is our fucking World Cup roster. Yes. And we have one, two, three,

four, five, six, seven, eight, nine MLS players on this roster. Yep. MLS.

That's not great. Yeah, correct. I just can't believe it. I can't believe we're still. And dude, I'm not trying to knock the MLS. I go to MLS games often and they're fun and great, but the MLS is a bad league compared to top flight football. And we are sending nine of our eight or nine of our World Cup squad players from the MLS. I just can't have it. I just don't. I don't think that's it, man. No, dude, it is, it's hard to watch, bro. Like, it's legitimately hard to watch where I'm like, here we go again. I'm going to get all excited and then we are going to suck. And then, we are going to suck. And then, People are out here talking.

I mean, I just watched a clip of Landon Donovan and Tim Howard doing one of those things where they said, don't speak until you hear a player better than Clint Dempsey. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And quite, I don't know if anyone's seen this clip. Quite literally, every single player named, aside from maybe Theo Walcott, is decidedly better than Clint Dempsey. Yeah. And Landon Donovan, like, never spoke.

Yeah. It was unbelievable. Well, they love him, dude. I don't care. I don't care. It's like, but I'm like, are you guys trolling? Yeah. And we got that going on.

We've now got people being like, if the U.S. doesn't make the quarterfinals of this World Cup, it's going to be a disappointment. And I'm like, they might win one game. Yeah. Correct. That's what I'm saying. It's hard to even enjoy anymore. They're like, we're hosting.

I'm like, who cares? We're on home soil, dude. Who? Who cares? It's crazy. That's all I had to say. I'm excited for the World Cup, but I am quite scared. Do you think the spirit of the home soil will rally the boys at all?

Like, will it matter that we're here? Then the crowd? Yes. I think so, a little bit. That'd be great. Also, Dan, USA Canada tomorrow, right? on the 28th USA Canada tomorrow world championships. Yeah.

Do you think it's funny that Crosby shows up there and he has nine assists? Like no goal is nine. He just shows up to be like, I'm just going to dish it around. No, I think it's, I mean, I think it's awesome. It's incredible. I think it's like the most him thing in the world. It's incredible, dude. All right, let's jump into Carolina, Montreal.

Game 4 tonight. What are you feeling? I feel as though the Habs will win. Marty St. Louis had an awesome quote. He was like, it was just the most Marty quote to me. He goes, we're trailing, but we're not dead. We will continue. And I was like, we will continue.

Like, I actually want that on a shirt, dude. We will continue. Marty has some of just like the coolest comments. It's like the most unbelievable thing. You know how it reminds you of a video game, Dan, when it's like you'd lose. Yeah, dude, here we go. We're not fucking leaving. We will continue.

You know, when you die in a video game, and it's like at an arcade and you put your quarter in and you die and then it goes continue question mark and then it's like 10, 9 and you have time to put your quarterback in

that's what Marty has just said he has said we have put our quarterback in we will continue and then we will even this series that is my opinion of what's going to happen tonight they will not give the Bell Center fans two losses that would be insane and they need it

they fucking need it that's what I think but I also thought they would come out better in game three at home and they came out flat is shit. And dude, maybe it's what you're saying where I go, how is Colorado not shooting? And you go, it's a Vegas feature. At this point, it could be a Keynes feature. Yeah. Where it's just like, man, I'm never going to see a Montreal 40 shot game and I should just, I should just strap in and accept that.

Holy shit, it's Dobesh's birthday today. Oh, that's big. That is fucking massive. Marissa, thank you. That is insane. Do you feel like, I hate that it's a Wednesday? Actually, Wednesday kind of a good day. A little hump day vibe. Okay. I want the bell center to be out of control. It's going to be out of control.

I, do you feel like Montreal has pressure for the first time in a while? Yeah, 100%. You lost two in a row. Now you go, dude, if we lose two straight at the, If we lose our third straight, but two straight at the bell center and go down 3-1, like, dude, they have been up going into game six in every series, in the previous two series. They've lost game six at home going into game seven, but they have not really been up against it, right? Because didn't they, I guess they lost the first game to Buffalo, but then they pop-pop one, two there.

So they immediately took the series lead. So they took the series lead against Tampa in game one. They took it right back against Buffalo. This is the first time into the middle of a series where they're like, we could, be in trouble. Yeah. Four, if two, two, they are, they go, we are literally fine. Yes. All caps. I stand by one. Now we're fine. I stand by what I said last episode, uh, where I, I genuinely feel, dude, if they, if they go down three one, they are still comfortable. Yeah. You're a little itchy, but if the reverse happened, Carolina would be dead. Yeah, you said this the other day.

And I, I'm, that's why I bring it up. I stand by. it. I stand by it. I think obviously they want this game and obviously the canes want to put the fucking serious pressure on them. But I genuinely do believe if they lose this game, they will go into game five being like this. Just fight, dude. Just, you know, just fight. Because the big thing for me is I don't think Carolina has figured out Dobes yet. And that last win by Carolina was so gritty. I know. It was so gritty. And I, you know, you want more from Aho definitely. And I'm just not entirely sure that they feel like they have figured out Dobash to a level where they are going into this game in the Bell Center being like, let's step on their fucking throat. Because I'm like, I don't know if you can step on their throat. You've held them to 12 and 13 shots and you've won an overtime both games. You have not beat this team in regulation. And they beat the fucking bag off you. So they need a comfortable win

before they feel like they can step up. I know. Well, it's interesting, dude, because I'm with you. And everything you just said is a fact. Like they got rinsed and then they've had two overtime wins. In one of them, or kind of both of them, the Cains or the Habs weren't really shooting. And one of them, the Habs tie it up late with no shots.

And you're like, we're dead, we're dead. But it's, it's, I almost think it's a good sign for the Cains. Even though you wish, I'm sure Cain's fans in here are like, yeah, it would be amazing if we just pass. pounded them fucking once. But I swear it's a good sign for the canes that they are unfazed by this shit. They don't fold. They don't wilt at all when it's like, oh, no, Montreal title late.

They go, we're just going to win, dude. We will slowly grind you down. We don't have to blow you out. Even though this is stressful for us and it's stressful for the fans, we are so sure that we will just, what's the, what's the Herman Boone? It's like Nova Cain or it's like, what does he say about his office? Just give it time. Yeah, it's like Novakain.

Just give it time. It always works. The canes are just going. like this. Dude, you can't beat us. It's almost like what Paul Maurice said, where he goes, he would always say it about a series. But he would say the way the Panthers play means you cannot beat us in seven games. So we don't get bothered when we lose games along the way because we know by game seven we will win. I feel like that's how the canes feel about 60 minutes of hockey against this have scene where they go, it's not going to be pretty necessarily. It's not going to be easy,

certainly. But I promise you by the end of 60 minutes or more at a time, we will win. Yeah, I like that. And we kind of said that last episode, I was like, their spin zone is they're doing what they did against Philly. Yeah. And Ottawa. Where they're like this, yeah, I mean, like, we'll let you hang around. We're eventually going to swing the axe at the end of the game. Yeah. I don't like that they're both OT though. Yeah. No, it's not ideal. Yeah. But at the end of the day, it's like just win. And like this really good Habs team, really dangerous, scary Habs team, they feel like they feel no pressure ever. And that's especially an OT. That's a scary team to play against.

So I think against the team like that, you definitely have that element that's like, fuck man, we just got to survive. And they've survived two games in a row. So it's like even if you win this game in OT, you're like, yeah, whatever, man. We're getting the job done. T. T. Singleton says, as my boy Vinny D. said once upon a time,

doesn't matter if you win by an inch or by a mile. Winning's winning. Which it is. Do we plan for pink slips out here, dude? so fucking OT or whatever. Just get the dubs. For a team that can't win in the conference finals, get the dubs any way you can.

Such an awesome. However, however, I do think the can't, this is got to be the canes, sorry, I mix these teams up all the time. This has got to be the Habs hardest punch. Like I know everybody's going, oh, it's okay, the Habs don't shoot that much. I do kind of think, if I'm in that locker

and I'm going, boys, everything on net today. Like I can't, if I'm the Habs, I cannot sleep. at night if we lose another one where I shoot 12 times. I agree with that. I'm like, what are you doing? I do, I do agree where, I mean, it was funny in game seven against Tampa, nine shots and they won. Yeah. And if you lose three in a row now where you have sub 20 shots, it's not funny anymore. It's not cute, dude. It's no longer cute. It hits the point where you go, hey, it was cool when we survived doing that. We've now lost three straight games doing that.

So no more. Yeah, you got to get pucks on the cage, especially at home with the crowd behind you. For Carolina, I stand by, you want, you really want Aho going. I know that one deflected in, but that was a big goal for Svetch, I thought. Dude, let me see if I can find this.

I thought that was a big goal for Svech. Yeah, Chris goes, Svetch usually goes bonkers out. after he gets, he pots his first goal after a slump. We just saw Hurdle do that, right? Like, hurdle it and scored since January, and now he's a weapon. So keep eyes on that. And maybe, Dan, just maybe, Ojo gets going after a fake goal.

Yeah. He goes, I guess they gave me credit for a goal. I saw my name on the score sheet for a second. I saw myself for a star. Maybe now he gets going after a fake goal. After everything in these playoffs, I think as a betting man, I would say Montreal's definitely going to take care of business in this game. Yeah.

But after what we've seen in these last two games, I think that there is an opportunity sitting on a silver platter in even though they're away. There's a silver plattered opportunity sitting in the locker room for the Carolina Hurricanes. And it is an opportunity for friend of the program, Seth Jarvis. Okay. It is an opportunity for Sebastian Ajo. It is an opportunity for a friend of the program, Nick Eilers. It is an opportunity for Andres Vetschekhov. It is an opportunity for young upcoming star Jackson Blake.

It is an opportunity for once red hot friend of the program, Logan Stankov. Yep. Get a lot of friends the program. Oh, big Keynes Pod. Big Cainspot. You guys are star hockey players, every one of them. And you have an opportunity to make a lot of. make the world know that you are also a dog.

Yep. Because remember what we watched Miko Ranton and do to Colorado last year? Yes. There is an opportunity for one of those guys here to come out and go, yeah, we're in Montreal. Yeah, we've only won the last two games in OT. They could come out and have a monster game where they score dagger goals. Like, suck the life out of a city goals.

you have an opportunity to do that. I'm not saying if you don't do it, you have fucked up. If you don't do it, you lose. It's two-two. You're going home. You're fine. But you have an opportunity

to become dogs in this game and an opportunity to make everyone in the national media stop stroking off Vegas. What that comment said earlier that was like, everyone needs to stop disrespecting Carolina.

Yeah. The reason no one's talking about Carolina is because they've won two games in OT. And they had that first game that looked really, really bad. But if they get this game where someone becomes a junkyard dog, then people will go, okay, like Vegas might have a fucking tall task at hand here. Like if this Carolina team went 4-0-4-0, and now after a brutal game won against a really, really good Montreal team, they go 3-1, now people start respecting this team. With a chance to gentleman sweep and their only loss, they will say, was completely rust,

which I will say too after a longest break in 107 years. And no one, no one can argue that if they gentlemen sweep. And the canes, dude, what, 113 points? I think they were not that far behind the ads. No, no, not at all. Team in the lead. Yes. So I'm like, I guess to contradict myself earlier, when I said, yeah, but the Knicks have

the potentially the thunder waiting for them and Vegas doesn't have that I think if the Cains make it they actually do have that narrative especially in a gentleman sweep if they gentlemen sweep the Cains go into the final going what do you want what can you say now dude we were the second best team in the league

behind the fucking abs who you all said was the best team of all time we were right behind them and we have rolled our way fucking 12 and 1 they would be 12 and 1 into the final like dude has anyone ever even done that I would love someone to look that up. Has anyone made the final at 12 and 1? I know the Oilers went

16 and 2 once, so maybe they did. I don't know how many games they lost in that Stanley Cup. But that would be like truly, Carolina would go, what the fuck are you talking about? We've lost one time. We've swept, swept, gentlemen swept. And now we're here and I'm scared of Vegas. Fuck off. 100%. I think it's going to change a lot. I think right now, most people in hockey media too, dude, are going, oh, it's over. Like they're going, Vegas has won. They're going to do it again, no question, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I'm telling you, if Carolina shows up tonight and emerges as dogs, more people will start being like, wait a minute, dude, we are sleeping on Carolina.

Yeah. Because remember when the abs, they get over this hump. When the abs beat Minnesota, we both said, whoa, the abs have a chance to do something special, winning a cup in a teen number of games. And it was, now Carolina's feeling that way. If they win tonight, Carolina's like, dude, we are, it's us. It was us. Yeah.

Hit me. Talk to me. All right. Give me. Like, actually, keep going. Okay. We've got a stat. We've got to get, Zach's got a stat cooking about, I think, playoff dominance.

We'll see. Oh, come on. But yeah, man, this is a massive one. But, but dude, this is also one, Dan, where now, the way we're talking right now, we're writing off the habs. And I wouldn't be that shocked if the habs, the habs could win the series in six. they could win tonight, steal one in Carolina, come home and win in the Bell Center and go, what was all that? Cains are going to win the cup in 18 games talk? They didn't even beat us.

You know, this one does feel like nothing is decided yet. Tonight, obviously a huge swing game. But you said earlier too, if the Cains will squeak one again tonight, as Marty said, they will continue. They are not going to roll over and die. This Hav's team is very good. And he's going to, going to be in the mixer. Here we go. Yes, two NHL teams have finished a Stanley Cup playoff run with a 12 and 1 record. The 6768 Canadiens, the 75-76 Canadian. Habs, very sick. So, so you know what I mean? Like, I don't think anyone's even gotten through to the final then, 12 and 1. Yeah. Unless maybe that O'O's team did it in the 80s. But that's fucking sick, dude. And that's, if the Cains win. Do you think that was even fun?

I'm dead ass. Do you think that was even fun for them? Yes. Yeah, like winning I think winning a standing cup at any point in life is probably But it must be weird right Because if you win that shit 12-1 You were probably playing game one of the final And when you win you already know

you've won. Yeah, but winning is fun Winning is fun I love winning But like you've got to imagine you need to add like a level of flavor After every game like you probably start partying Like I would be playing guilty every game Just being like this

let's make this a little interesting. Because like imagine being, like, let's say the can't, what if the canes just turn it the fuck on here? And they gentlemen sweep Montreal. And then they go up against Vegas and they win game one and two, like, by five goals. They're probably like this. Wait, did we win the cup already? Yes.

And I know a lot of people would be like, no, you can never have that mentality. But no, dude, suck my dick. Yeah, yeah, we did it. You've lost one game. You might have that mentality. Dude, Chris in the chat says, this is actually an amazing, this is funny, but it's just an amazing stat. The Keynes haven't lost a playoff series in three years when they didn't start down 03. So either they start down 03 or they win the series. Interesting. Yeah, which is amazing. So they have won

this series just solely based on the fact that they didn't get start down Rince Job 03, which is fucking hilarious. What was it? Put it up. Oh, Habs Money Line is a whale to the out. Fuck, man. I mean, locks has been, I, it's, locks has been kind of dialed. Yeah, he has. So, I mean, all right, I think that's the official pick for tonight. We are taking Habs money line. They're not letting this get through one. The doctor, hey, listen, Doc, Doc Monter delivered in the West. The Doctor Locke's will deliver in the East for us tonight. Yeah. I think it maybe that means it has to even up and go to. I love it. I love it off to ride with him. But this one, all right, I got to blast that out. Hold on. Okay. Okay, I love that. Locks knows because I'm just going to have to ride with him. But this one is one where, I don't have a read on at all. I just, I feel like I have no idea which team is going to jump out.

Is it the Habs team that scores a billion goals in the first period and is flying? Is it the Habs team that can't shoot? You know, it's, until the game starts, I have no idea which side of it I should have been on. Whereas in some of these other Western Conference games,

I feel like I have a good sense of what's going to happen. This series is pure madness. Yeah, I, I'm having a blast watching these games because I'm totally with you. I don't know what's going to happen every single game. Yeah. Like, I, obviously, no one predicted a sweep from Vegas.

Yeah. But I did kind of have an idea of what to expect every game. Whereas this series, I'm like, would we be that shocked if the HABs came out and scored four first period goals? I wouldn't. That's what I'm saying. I wouldn't. You know what?

And I also wouldn't be shocked if Carolina went up 3-0 in the first period. I think, though, I will say this. I'm not predicting this is going to happen, but I'm a message to the HABs. we have said all playoffs it feels like man the bell center is incredible and someone had said earlier they're two and five at home which is a fact and ridiculous but the bell center is incredible oh my god

the away team the away team really needs to get an early goal to try to suck the life out of it and many times mostly Buffalo would get that early goal and then the habs would score a bunch so they they were able to recover from giving up that away goal but too often too often at home in this playoff run for the habs

they do give up that first away goal when the crowd wants nothing more than to just fucking ride this train. Give it to him one time. Get an early lead if you're Montreal. That's what I'm screaming. If I am Marty and this team, I go, guys, we have let this fan base down at home when they just want to, because we have a chance to bury the other team if we just get up and make the building suffocate them.

So do that once because you are giving up that first goal at home way too often. Agree completely. All right. I think that's going to do it for this episode. Great stuff. Vegas. Congratulations. You're headed to the Stanley Cup. Montreal, Carolina tonight. Let's see what is on deck. We're hammering the Habs money line. Dr. Locke's spoken. We think it's what's going to be going down. We'll be recording tonight. So we've got a fresh episode up for you tomorrow morning. And we can't wait to see you then. Let's see what's in store.

Come on. Going to be a big one.