Empty Netters Podcast - The Lightning Got A Bedtime Story From Their Panther Daddy | EP.190

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

The caps punch their ticket to the second rough where the Carolina Hurricanes are waiting for them. Helly did enough in goal to give the Jets a 3-2 series lead but is there any confidence in his play on the road? And in a five game shocker, the Panthers showed the hockey world why they are the defending champs and sent the Lightning home early 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: 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 00:00 INTRO 00:15 NOT ICE 12:57 BOLTS / CATS 31:22 JETS / BLUES 43:41 CAPS / HABS 55:56 BEST PLAYOFF YEARS 1:04:31 TRIVIA FACTORIAL 1:10:35 HUDSON SULLIVAN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I feel like a goddamn idiot. I believed all the hype, and I got ahead of myself, and now I'm a clown. And I'm embarrassed. And they should be embarrassed, but I'm also embarrassed. Ice is ready, and we are back with another episode of the Empty Netters podcast brought to you by BetMGM. I'm your host, Dan Powers, and sitting with me, the only thing weaker than his ability to deal with confrontation is his immune system. Chris Bowers. As always.

Dude, I actually fucking hate your guts when you're sick, which is all the time. So unfortunately, I hate you all the time. Dude, it's a flaw in my character, but when you're sick, I'm genuinely just pissed off at you. Because I'm with you all the time and just get me sick. Oh, dude, you know the difference between that and how you are normally is nothing. But that's what I'm saying. It's because you're always sick. No, dude, it's not true.

Do you admit that you are the most sick person in your sphere? In your life? Yeah, probably. But it's weird because there was long stretches of my life where I was literally never sick. People would always be like, I've got a cold. And I was like, you did. I have no clue what that could ever be. Yeah, I think I remember that phase.

Like you would prance around and you'd be like this. I'm never sick. I'm the healthiest guy in the world. And now you're a literal petri dish of disease. I guess it's now I pay for it. I've spent a decade plus without a cold ever, and now they're like, you're going to get a bunch. I would counter, though, that usually it's I'm around sick people and I just get sick. This one, I had a hell of a weekend and I was like, oh, I can feel it coming.

And then we've been not sleeping much. Don't say we, pal. Like, this is, who is the we here? You haven't, you have been getting a ton of rest while we've been doing these late nights and lives? Not a ton of rest, but I'm not sick. I know, no, the weekend put me on the brink, and then I came in and don't sleep ever. It just sucks, dude. Yeah, I ride a bike for three days and then it's gone.

Not true. And then everyone goes, you're still sick. Yeah, you are. That's another fallacy. You still, you're like this. I'm 18 years old. Oh, I get a nice sauna in and then I'm fine. And then you still wake up every morning.

You're like, I do that every morning anyway. Yeah, but now you're sick and you get everyone else sick. Oh, yeah. Well, that's how. Son of a bitch, dude. That's how colds work. That's how colds work. I hate you.

I can't stand you. Yeah, dude, in three days, I'll be the healthiest person you've ever seen in your life. You know what's fantastic about this is you can't lie to the listeners. Yeah, they'll see me. They'll see me. So on Monday. Yeah. On Monday, you're going to be fully healthy, not sick at all.

No, because on Saturday, I will be fully healthy. and then Saturday I will go so hard off the deep end that I will get sick again and I'll be newly sick. So that they can talk to me about and I'll give them my cure for that sickness. But I will certainly be sick Monday, but it will be a second sickness. I look words can't describe how difficult it is to live with you. So like deal with you on a daily basis. Oh, it's so hot in here, dude. Are you hot? I'm so hot.

It's so normal. Like you know what? you know what's hot? The cortisps that are ripping through your fucking central nervous system

right now. God damn you. You're absolutely terrible. Fuck! Have you seen this gorilla shit going on online?

What am I saying? No, dude. No. Stupid setup that was. If you ever seen this, we've got to talk about the gorilla shit. I haven't seen it,

Dan. Haven't seen it. We've got to talk about the gorilla shit. There's a debate online. Could 100 men take on one gorilla. We haven't even really talked about this.

Where do you stand on that? They could not. But you know what I did see that? I thought was sick. I think they could. Somebody said, and I can't tell if I'm a fucking idiot. Somebody said gorilla in five,

which I thought was funny. And I was like, oh, a series would be hilarious. Yeah. Like 100 vets versus a gorilla seven gamer. Yeah, that's cool.

Home and, dude, 2211. Like the one, oh, where is our home, dude? If it was home, dude. If it was home for the humans, where are we fighting? And if it's home for the gorilla, where is he fighting? Um, I got to have to loop this, dude.

Damn. I think, I think we would want like, like, jungle for the gorilla. We need, like, yeah, yeah, the jungle, obviously. Humans. But I don't know, like, we could hide then. Like, I think he wants, like, confined space. You think you were born in the dark, dude?

Or you think you know the dark? Yeah, jungle at night. He was born in it, dude. Jungle at night. Jungle at night is his game. I think my knee-jerk reaction was... I think we want a rink, dude. My knee-jerk reaction was humans all day.

I was like, dude, it's human. Like, you just power in numbers, bro. You just smother them. Yeah. But then you just break down that dirty boy. Yeah. And you check the stats, dude. Check the game notes.

And you see their mouth. And I'm pretty sure a gorilla could just like snap your arm and how he could bite your arm, clean off. Clean off. Oh, yeah, dude. And I'm starting. to think that it would i think he i think the gorilla wins probably everyone's everyone's like oh he one punch and he kills you and i'm like one punch and he kills you and the three people you your body hit like yeah he he hits you you can i'm pretty sure and then the force of you hitting the three people

behind you kill them and this is a this is a this is a this is a this is a this is a fully grown adult male silver backer and i want to add because i said this to some people i to me it can't be just like a gorilla who's like what's going on it needs to be somehow we need he's a mad gorilla and we know i'm saying we put in his brain the facts either this the fight to the death either you are everyone everyone here but this is also a hundred able-bodied ready to fight the death men too but i that is that's the take always like people talk about like a lion they're like lions aren't built for long distances and i'm like they don't need a lot of distance pal and to me that gorilla is not built for endurance, but he's used to fighting gorillas, not a bunch of bitch-ass men, dude.

And, dude, he knows this is to the death. So he's like, okay, dude, I'll find that extra gear. Yeah, dude. Die on your shield. Yeah. And he's going to be fine, I think. So here's the question, dude. I was thinking about this. The fear, dude, the fear. You get this gorilla on a sheet of ice. Yeah, where's our home sheet, dude? I think like the ice. No, no, no. I'm not, Forget the home ice advantage here. Get this gorilla on a sheet of ice and get 10 active NHL players, full equipment, sticks and skates. Oh, do they win? I think maybe.

Okay, so because we're way, he's slipping, we're cutting. We've got blades. He's slipping. This is getting really, like, violent. This is graphic. You're like cutting the gorilla's jugular. Yeah, like I don't like where this went immediately. but what about okay i don't want to talk about that anymore what about 10

nchl players with their sticks no obviously not just 10 i'm talking a hundred and i just no no no 10 they sticks and skates but they can't use the skates as weapons they can't use the sticks okay no i think they still lose but i do think we're i do think he's we got him spinning around though yeah he takes a couple shots in with the stick but i don't think they affect i mean these are light sticks dude you know here's the biggest problem it's the power twitch dude it's light as shit Here's the biggest problem, Dan.

He gets a stick pretty quickly. Oh, dude, and then you're fucked. And then he snaps the Twitch in half. Stabs it in your neck. Which is very hard. Which is very hard to break a Twitch. But he snaps to Twitch in half. And then he has two sabers, dude. Like, he has Excalibur twice.

No, it's like... Then he's throwing him, dude. You're dead. You're dead. No, I think he keeps them. Because they're broken in like shards, and now he's just jugularing people. He apes together.

It's like a pool cue and a bar fight. Roadhouse. Fuck, dude. Neck, neck, sternum. Who are your guys? Who are your 10 guys? Active guys?

Oh, true. No, no, no. All time. No, no, no. All time. And in their prime. No, come on. I want to active.

Yeah, all time, dude. I hate all time list. Give me active. Okay. Give me active. All at 10 active NHL guys, I need Willie. Willie? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because he's a silverback, dude. Oh, dude. Tom Wilson. Do you think I meant Nealander? Yeah, I meant Tom Wilson. I was like Willie Nealander. Willie Nealander would die so fast. Willie Nealander would submit and crawl into a ball and be like this.

I'm your pet now. I'm your pet. And he would be just falling. Dude, the problem is we could have a 3-1 lead on the grill and he would still lose. That was unnecessary. Savage. That was unnecessary. I need Tom Wilson.

Because I think Tom Wilson is going to get up there and do, he's going to be like, get him wound up, dude. So I like Tom. I like Tom. Oh, REMS is good. We need height. We need reach. We need height and reach.

Yeah. Maybe Truba, dude. Get some flying elbows in there. Like, get ahead of steam. Dude, he lines people up. That's really good. Do you need any quickness? Yes, I was just thinking that.

We need speed. Do you want McDavid out there? But he's our best guy. We can't. We can't lose him. I know. So, like, if we lost him, that'd be bad. But someone else, like, must wheel.

You know what? I mean, there's, there's guys like DeLoree, there's guys like Revo. Like, those are the easy ones, right? They're brawlers. But we're not winning a brawl here. I know. Okay.

Yeah, because, dude, I was thinking, if we were going to go all time, I was like, I was going to go speed. And then I was like, a Bobby Orr, just, you watched him penalty kill. I just feel like, I just feel like, you're out of your mind. He could distract him.

You'd be uncatchable. He'd be uncatchable the whole time. Um, also I would love a mixorily. I just love it mixorily. The hell's the matter with you? So it sticks to heads, dude. Yeah. He's got practice. Get a Todd Bertuzi in there.

Catch him when he's not looking. That'd be really good. A little blind side. Who's a winner, Sid? Like maybe we need to say, I think Sid, Sid is such a freak. Maybe they see eye to eye, dude. Maybe he finds a way to communicate with him. Sid can settle him down.

The next thing you know, the girl is on our side. What about a goalie? Is that helpful at all? No? He's got a lot of pads. It's like when an attack dog is just biting a guy in a bunch of pads, like the gorilla's whipping him around. Dude, yeah, we're like, get behind Markstrom.

He's huge, dude. Get behind. Who's our biggest goalie? Ben Bishop? Get behind Ben Bishop. Maybe Nate Dog, dude. Ben Bishop is so out of the game, pal. I was like, what are you talking about?

Maybe Nate dog just because he's got that dog in him too. Okay, yeah, Nate's just crazy enough. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. He's just crazy enough to win. I don't know. I'm just saying 10 guys skates sticks. And you need one goalie, one winner, one speed. Yeah.

Little muscle. Yeah. Long sticks. That might be helpful. Yeah. Maybe. Maybe. I don't know.

A big rimpies. Yeah, yeah. Maybe throw a blocker into him. I don't know. Oh, blocker's good. Maybe two goalies. No. They can't.

We need quickness out there. Good. Golly. Shifty. Dude. Yeah. Fuck. I still think we lose.

We get killed, dude. We get absolutely killed. It's not even... That ice gets cut up a little bit. All of a sudden, he gets his footing, and now you are absolutely fucked, dude. I wonder how those hands grip down there. Dude, and you said you were worried about him getting a hold of a stick?

What if he rips a guy's leg off, and now he's got a skate. And he's technically not using the skate as a weapon. He's using the leg as a weapon. But at the end of that leg, there's a skate on it. And now he slit in throats, and the ice is getting bloody and slippery, and now we can't even skate. Nightmare for the Zam driver. Carnage.

Dude, carnage. for the late beer league game that night. Just savage. Can you imagine, dude, you have the 11 p.m. Puck job, you come up. There's 10 dead corpses. The whole sheet ice is red. And a gorilla's out there, dude.

Yeah, he's still out there. Yeah, you go. That's the problem. Oh, no, yeah, right. Like, how do we get back? You got to go get pitchers. Give him beers. Give him beers up top and bites.

All right. Are you ready to get into this episode? Get into the games we just watched? I think so. Okay. We're going to start it off. And I got to do something. I promised I would do this.

I don't, I'm not happy. about it. I appreciate that you're doing this with me. Dude, I said, I'm the one that said out loud that I was going to go Tampa and even less. And then I, I, I officially submitted Tampa in seven, so I'm not, I won't take any extra heat, but I did say before I put in my official submission, that I considered Tampa in less. Let's just take a quick moment and look at the cameras and do our best sad clown faces. I don't know if that was very good, but I was trying to frown. I thought it was good. Okay. Well, I'm here to say, That I feel like a fucking idiot.

And it was so emphatic. Like it was, dude. There were a lot of variables that we didn't expect, didn't anticipate. But we were wrong. I just think that... I have a lot of excuses. Yeah, go ahead. We're talking Panthers lightning.

Yeah, true. And here we are. Oh, yeah. And you have to have a good. get a hot take in here at some point. Yeah. Florida Panthers have lost, or, excuse me, Florida Panthers have won this series in five games. Yep.

Tampa got one measly win. Gentleman's sweep. A gentleman, good day. Yeah. Sweep. A sweep. You're out of the playoffs. Here's my hot take.

This loss. Well, now that I have my take, but I'm thinking about it and there's like a lot. in my head. Okay. I'm nothing. Good. Let me hear it all, dude. This loss is on Nikita Kuthorov.

Right on his red nose. Because he's a clown too. Nikita Kutrov now has 15 straight playoff games with zero goals. And 10 of them? 10 of them. Or no, six of them. Six of them. 11, right?

Six, they lost in six games last year? I think they lost in five. It might have been five, yeah. So I think it's 10. 10 straight against the Florida Panthers. Which means Nikita Kudjarov, you have a Sasha Barkaw problem. You sure do. You have a Sunrise Florida problem.

You can't score against the Panthers in the playoffs. Some people are out here saying he's just cash and checks, dude. You don't get paid extra in playoffs, so he shuts it down. Yeah, dude, got my Rort Ross. Deserves the MVP, should get it, will get it. This guy. Now you get a long summer. Ted Lindsay finalist.

He's probably going to win the Ted Lindsay. Yeah. And here you are, pal. You dead. Dude. Zero goals. Fifteen fucking games. And only, I only played five, but, like, I had one assist in one game.

I had three in the win. But, like, didn't do anything. You didn't, what is it you say you do here? Dude. It's just, here's the thing. I say it's on him, because this is your guy. This is your horse. 121 points in the regular season.

And you do jack shit? Other than three assists in game. Three? Three. But you do. jack shit as far as scoring goals and dude like you you're the guy that gets people go i know dude fuck gets haigel scoring gets point scoring gets gentsill scoring you're not score you're not you're not you and that's devastating but my other take here is before i get into my apologies and before i get

into my excuses this is remember when i was talking about Vegas and i was like oh yeah Vegas, they might not deserve all this respect that we give them, but we'll see. This is kind of like, we're talking about playoff Tampa here, playoff Bassey's back, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Three straight years, first round exits. And they had all the fucking hype going in and you get dusted here. This is like a, you know, we're hearing whispers that John Cooper might get axed for this. I know, dude. And I'm like, dude, are the Tampa Bay Lightning dead?

I think that would be insane. Is the franchise finished? Is the Steve Stamco's curse real or? than we thought. Dude, it was stammer. I never even thought about that, dude. It was stammer this whole time. Stammer the whole time.

Because, dude, he was too distracted in the regular season. He did get bounced in the first round the last two years. But no, dude. No, well, that did happen. I know, but this team was going to not do that. And then he was too distracted in the regular season. Predators get knocked out, playoff start. He looks up and goes, wait, Tampa is about to win a cup without me.

Initiates curse. They get buried. I would actually go as far as to say, I wonder where Stammer was on the night of game three, because I guarantee he had plans and wasn't able to curse. Yeah. I bet he was distracted. True. Tampa wins.

Slept through it, me. Duty wakes up in the morning. They won in Florida. I thought I did this, handled his business game four and five. Somebody find out where Stammer was. Someone's got to figure that out quick, because that's real.

I'm concerned by that. Now, I issued an apology already. I put it up on the gram, because I was banging the drum. And again, there are no excuses. Florida fans, the response has been so immense from Florida fans in the comments section on Twitter. They've welcomed me back. And I can't thank you enough. The kindness and just the support. That's the elbow room community, dude. It is. I was on the Florida bandwagon two straight years. And I'm sorry that I hopped up. I just got spooked. I got spooked by the finish. of the season by cooch and the lightning and it was the one excuse i will make that i stand by is it wasn't doubting this team's ability it was doubting this team's health and i did downing florida south yes yeah i did have doubts but it was the health it was not the ability we i'm not

going to sue anybody but you fucking know who you are pal one of our good friends yeah dude we were talking about this in the car i'm going to give him a buzz i'm going to call you after this you son of a bitch one of our good friends who is in the league told us that he got deep deep inside info that matthew chuck was done for the year yeah and we didn't want to break that news thank god we didn't because it didn't fucking happen had this on already i would have had this on 20th this all fucking postseason but that was something that was in my mind i was like if kachuk's out for good i mean give me a break then you got marshan and i'm like you traded for marshand and you got this you got the caveat in the trade because no one knows if he's going to

a fucking play. I was like if Marshan's not healthy, what are we doing? You go in, E, Blad doesn't even start because he's got the fucking PUD suspensions and he's hurt. I'm like, I don't know, dude. Are you healthy or not? Turns out game one, they're healthy as a fucking ox. And they shit pump Tampa immediately. And after game one, we were like, oh boy. So that that changed everything. But I will say again, as I did on the gram, as I did on the bird. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I ever got my head turned, as they say, on Love Island. But a bombshell entered the villa and my head turned. And Tampa, dude, they swore up to the two-seat in their string bikini.

Yeah. And their molasses cookie tan. And I went like this. Oh, look at her. Oh. And now, dude, and now I got to go on vacation with her because we got a long summer together. I got momentarily distracted and I am so sorry. And I can't thank you enough for welcoming me back in.

I don't deserve it, but I promise I'll never get distracted again. Don't make promises. No, I can't. Your red nose can't cash, dude. I can't. I'm making the promise. And here's the thing. If I ever abandon ship again, I expect to be lampooned by this fan base for good.

Okay. But I apologize. And I can't ask for forgiveness enough. All said and done, are you mad at? Not mad. I got drinking with a clown nose on. It's brutal. Forget about it.

Forget about it. All said and done, are you disappointed with Vassi's play? No, but I'm not impressed. Does that make sense? Through four games, 884-279, and then in this game, 833. Oh, yeah. Vesna finalist. Oh, yeah, that's bad.

I think I got a little distracted by the game three. He had a great game three and frankly game two. Yeah, it was game two like two nothing. But man, that first game really fucked him up. And this game, like, I think, dude,

I don't know, I don't know what happened. Like, I think we got sold a bill of good. That's what I'm trying to say. It's like, Magic beans in Tampa, dude.

Vasi is, and the fucking players, the players awards, whatever the fuck that article is, comes out. And everyone in the league, they're like, Vazi's the best goalie in the league.

And that's obvious. And I'm like, oh, yeah, you're right. He totally is. out since the cup. I'm like, is he, has he been? What are we talking about here? I feel like we just keep getting the wool pulled over our eyes with this team. Because they got rinsed by Florida last year and they lost to the fucking Leafs two years ago. The Maple.

They're the only team on God's green earth that has ever lost to the fucking Maple Leafs. And I'm like, oh, these guys, they can't lose. It's just, that's a brick wall. They can't lose. I'm, I'm not talking shit here, but I am going to start, I'm going to stop, I'm going to get up off my knees, dude. Yep. I've been on my knees. for too many people in this league. And Vassie and the bolts were one of them. I just put in too much respect. John Cooper, if he gets fired,

the whole fucking thing is like, it was all fraudulent from the beginning, dude. Dude, what's crazy, and he probably deserves this, not probably he does. But if he gets fired, he's going to get, he'd be the hottest commodity. Oh, my God. And, but to your point, I'm like,

well, actually, the results haven't been that great lately. Haven't been that great. A lot of, you know, and it's the end, it's the end of like a dynastic run, you know, so. Yeah. It's hard. You can't keep it going forever. Sure.

But man, did it feel like they retooled on the fly this year where we were like, oh, the reports of Tampa's death are, what's that quote, are completely exaggerated? Yes. Mark Twain quote.

The reports of my death were greatly exaggerated. That's right. My death was an exaggeration. I thought that's what I was looking at with Tampa, dude. And then they didn't do anything. That is the crazy. thing. Now again, there is the, there's the Hagle suspension and then the Hagle injury.

Like there's just all this shit that's so shitty. You hate to see it. Tell you what, a clown nose, clown nose with a runny nose. Oh, this is, this must be terrible. I'm not having a good time. Yeah. Get some more sleep, idiot. You clown. That all added a lot of ripples. But at the end of the day, man, it's like, this is what I'm talking about, dude. These, we're, there, a lot of, a lot of fathers. emerging in these playoffs. Edmonton Oilers. Yes, Dan. Fathers of the L.O.

Yes, Dengs. And I'm here to say, based on the last two years and the fact that Cooch has been shut down for 10 straight games, Florida is your new father, Tampa. And, dude, you. Listen, I know you won two cups. I know you went to three straight. But Florida has gone to two straight cups, and they have bounced you out of the first. They have gentlemanly swept you out of the first round two years in a row. that's daddy folks that's daddy last year start respecting your father leaving the big piece of chicken i will

i will say dan last year cooch in five games against florida had a point in every game and it was one assist and had three assists in one of the game so uh he had seven points in the five games yeah and that's not that bad like i wouldn't say i mean he's still cooch yeah but you got to be scoring But this year, I think it wasn't, dude. And to your point, dude, he's, like, I was just looking up their teams playoff. And other than Gensel, who, God damn it, is Jake Gensel a player. Yeah. But other than Gensel, no one really did anything for Tampa.

Yeah. And not that I want to completely blame Gouche, but part of me is like, they do stuff because of you. Because of you. They need you. That's what I said at the top. I was like, it's on him, dude. Like, he gets those guys going. Tighter checking.

I would say you're seeing it with NACIS a little bit, too, where it's like, when it shrinks, when everything shrinks a little bit, it's a little bit. It gets a little tighter. Yeah. It's a bit harder. It's a bit harder. But goddamn, dude, the Florida Panthers. And how about this game?

Dude, it's an onslaught. It's a never-ending onslaught. Even the first period, dude. I think the first period left 2-2. Dude, alligator blood. Yeah. Hanging around. Hanging around.

It's because where they are, dude. They're like, fucking sun. Dude, sunrise, the arena is next to the Everglades. It's literally budding up against the Everglades. And people don't understand where they get their mojo, dude. But they're literally sucking the blood from the gaiters and then pumping it into the fucking water bottles. I'm trying to tell you, pal. It makes no sense, dude.

Well, it makes tons of sense when you say it like that. It makes no sense that no one knows. Dude, they're relentless. The way they play is so difficult. It's fucking grinding. It's torturous. It's fucking brutal. And here you are, this great Tampa team.

Five games. We're wearing clown noses. Dude, five is madness, Dan. Five is madness. noses and I I'm I I I apologize I'm here wearing the clown nose because I I I bought into the momentary hype and I and I got spooked and I'm sorry because at the end of the day man this is just like this was a this was a shit kicking to remind everyone who the champs are and I can't just stress enough how scary the health looks for them because it's it's like we said dude

Tampa goes up one, then boom, Cardover Hagee, then boom, Lundell, then Paul gets one, but then boom, Barcove, then Gensel, and then boom, Bennett. It's just like any semblance of life that Tampa had was snatched right out of their jaws immediately. And dude, there's stretches where Tampa won't shoot because they can't.

Like, they got in the zone and like they can't even get into the zone. And then your reward is the Panthers come right back the other way and score a backbreaker. And you're like, okay. I'm having a great time. it is just a massive wake-up call for people like us. And listen, we weren't alone. We're man enough to put on clown-dose.

You're welcome. Well, you're welcome. Yeah. A lot of people wouldn't do this. I'm a big enough man. Okay. You're welcome. Okay.

All right. You're welcome, but also we're sorry. But we're wearing clown noses because I feel like a fucking clown. And it's funny because the other series, I'm like, yeah, exactly how we call it. And then this one just kicked me in the fucking teeth. Do you? Where are you out on the Panthers now? I know your fandom is re-instated.

Well, that's the other thing. It's like, again, man enough to where the clown knows, but I will also say, when I picked Tampa in seven, I went, this is the Eastern Conference final. Yeah. They are going, like, whoever wins this, and I think it's going to, at the moment, I was like, I thought it was going to be Tampa,

is going to the cup. Right. That means if you now think they're going to the cup. So like, this is my team, dude. Like that, that, I've loved them for two straight years, and I'm here. They've welcomed me back, because they're the best,

they actually might be the best fans in the NHL, dude. You're great. And I love the all six of us thing. It's so fucking cool. But like, dude, it's not every fan base that would let me get my head turned and then be like this, come on back. You're a fool. You're a clown, but come on back.

Yeah. I mean, in what world could you doubt this team? Dude, and you just look, here's the thing. Winning in five doesn't mean this Tampa team is bad. No, no, no. In fact, they're very, very good. And that should scare the shit out of everybody. Great point.

Great point. Fucking craziness. All right. I'm taking us to the next series and that means I'm taking off this nose and we have to throw this away. This has to be thrown away immediately and like put in one of those

like biohazard things. Correct, dude. There are cortisps in that. You are about to be... Is that the mushroom thing? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

That's sick. It is very sick. It's a disease. There are mushroom fungi in this. And we need it gone. And I don't know what to do with it. I'm just going to hold it. You need to ball that.

up, turn it into a magic trick and stuff it up. Stuff it in your ass, dude. And let it turn into a bunch. And you think you have one red ball and then you open your hand and boop, there are two in there. One of those infected. You're now dead. You touch your face on average 500 fucking million times

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Hot take. The, I think, legitimately. I'm not fucking kidding, dude. I know everybody's going to go, oh, this is a hot take. And you're making a mockery of this. I'm not. I think Hellebuck needs to get a little buzz on before game six.

He needs to get a little drunk. And not to get a little drunk. Really? Buckled drunk, dude. Not obviously like... You don't know what rum is. Yeah, you've never heard of rum, dude. Rumpelstaleskin?

What do you think a guy like hellie is drinking? So, dude, I'm so glad you asked. He is a hunting man, dude. He's a man of the woods. Okay. Dude, he is used to. How do you think you stay warm in a fucking, in a tree, what's it? A tree stand?

A tree stand. How do you think you stay warm in a tree stand when you've been out there since 3 a.m. becoming one with the bark so the fucking deer won't see you. Drinking. You've got a thermos that's your concoction that gets the blood going. And everybody's got their own special sauce. So I don't know what he makes exactly, but I do know that he is equipped to build a concoction that is homemade and black market at the same time and can stay warm in cold places

and can be snuck and portable. He's built for this, dude. So he takes, I mean, I guess it's colder in Winnipeg than where he's going, but he goes on the road, he brings a thermos in there. No one in the league is like, dude, is that boost? Like, he's not getting in trouble. And I think there's a chance.

I mean, I meant pregame, but I think there's a chance he could even put it on top of the net. put a little bit in his wall right here. Could Connor Hellebuck become the John Daly of the NHL? Dude, I think that he... Because, dude, the Jets won tonight and the Jets looked sick.

Yeah, there are stretches where I'm like, the Jets are so good. Yeah. But the first goal was like a tip or whatever, but it's like the third shot of the game. And then the second goal is inexplicably horrific. Like, it is as if you're like... Our DMs,

lit up like a pinball machine, people being like, is Helibuck joking? Dude, that's what I'm saying. Like, if you're coming off the two games you're coming off of, and you're like, I just got to make the normal ones. Yeah. Like if someone cheeses me all good, dude, there's a reason cheese goes up there.

But dude, if someone, if someone bowls one to the near post, I shouldn't try to scoop it like a fucking, a second baseman who would the yips. I should just kick my leg out. And then he pulls up the glove and it rolls in. It rolls into right field. Bill Buckner over here, dude.

That literally cannot happen in this game. That made it two, too, dude. Oh, yeah, it was bad. Very bad. So, dude, I just think, yeah, the Jets won. Yes, they looked good. Yes, he actually made some big stops in the third when the Jets started to pull away. Yeah.

But clearly he's not like, oh, never mind. I figured it out. I'm fucking locked as hell the rest of the way. That was not good. He is not purified, dude. Correct. He has not been purified by the glaciers of Alaska, dude. Like, he is still dealing with a demon.

And I'm just telling you, dude, if he goes to St. Louis, because obviously this reeks of the Luongo thing that cup year, you know. And I'm like, okay, well, you're going back here where you know you've been yanked twice. And you can see, every time you look over at the bench, you see that comedian hook, you know? Yeah. And he's like, dude, if I let in one more bowl, if I let in one more cube, hold into right, that I'm gone. We've got a bad situation going on.

So, dude, you know how you get rid of the nerves? A little booze. Little booze. Tell me what he's drinking. I think he strikes me as a brown liquor guy. Yeah, it feels like maybe like a corn whiskey, maybe a little bit of moonshine. Maybe that he brewed. Yeah, he's got hooched, dude, stashed all of, I mean, he's an interesting cat.

I think it's probably in the tree wells as we speak, or in the tree stands as we speak. I bet Connor Hallibuck has hooch stashed in the floorboards at his home. Dude, he goes back when hunting season opens, he goes back. up into the tree stand that he hasn't been to in years. And he goes like this. He goes. Yes. Yeah.

Finds the hollow point. Opens it up. There's an old dusty bottle that's cork in it. And he bites it off. There's like a woodch up there like nodded that. I'm like, oh, hey, what's up? Pours a little bit out on the branch. It starts sizzling.

Yeah. Perfect. Right where I left you. He's a hooch guy for sure. Right where I left you. So dude, I just think he calls one of his hunting buddies and goes, hey, here's the latitude and longitude of this tree. You're going to see, you don't even need, dude, they don't even have text.

He needs specific hooch? He goes like this. Hey, they don't have tech. Forget the latitude and lodged. He calls his hunting buddy and he goes, hey, do you remember where we shot that 12-pointer? And the guy goes, say no more, I know exactly where it were. And he goes, great.

Go to where we were when we got him. I want you to look east. When the sun comes up, take 12 paces due north. You'll see a rock. There's moss on the backside. Pick it up. scrape off the moss. You'll see an etching from an arrowhead.

The arrowhead is a part is a math problem. You will solve that math problem, walk that many steps sideways in a shuffling manner. Take one step back and then dead sprint forward for exactly 13 seconds. Stop. Knock on that tree. They'll be boozing there.

I need it right now. It's one of the best buddies you'll ever find. And that guy will do it, dude. And he'll bring it there. And that guy? And he goes, meet me in St. Louis. And that guy is Kyle Connor. That guy's Kyle Connor.

And he'll go, I'll be literally, I'll be right back. They're doing that tonight. I will literally be right back. You're telling me if he doesn't get a little buzz going before that game, he wouldn't play better. I'm not telling you that at all. But I will tell you this, thank God they got a win, because I told you, if they lost this game and it was not great for him, and he got pinballed. He probably had to get yanked.

Yeah, you did say that. And you were right about that. I was right about that. Here's a question for you that I haven't thought about. You were saying the boys were buzzing. They were. You get Kyle Connor immediate goal. Nieder rider finally gets his first.

DeMello gets his first. and Domestikov gets his first. Adam Lowry gets the empty another. How we doing? How we don't? But it's different up there. Yes. It's different with that crowd.

And I need to know from Jets fans, slide in the DM, slide in the comments on the YouTube. Do we not call that rink the wall yet? I thought we did. I thought it was like the white wall. Well, I keep calling it the white wall, but they call it the white out.

But I'm saying like it's the wall, dude. like as in Game of Thrones. Yeah, yeah. Dude, I think... You make a massive white wall in the stand. You're way up north in Winterpeg, dude. Like, that is the wall. Embrace the north.

I think they do. So they'll tell us, so we'll find out. Immediately, guys, get in the comments and get in our DMs. If you do not call that bar in the wall yet, then do it. You need to do it and do it. We are the watchers on the wall. Dude, and they are. That's so sick.

Nick Tomer told us that, like, one of the craziest atmospheres he's ever been in his was a Winnipeg playoff game. Yeah, he says there's a street there that's the windiest street in the world. Yeah, and he did say that one corner. It's not even a street, it's a corner. You get swept up. Someone's on me a video from that corner to.

You end up in fucking Oz if you stand there in the wrong close. You try to put an idea. I dare you to try to open umbrella on that corner. You end up in Oz. Holy shit, right? Well, they get a big win, but you think this is getting evened out, right?

I would, that's a game that I want nothing to do with betting wise. Like, I'm not. Yeah. I'm like, I feel like you got to lose. that game if you're Winnipeg, but they could just be like snap out of it and hell he's like, this is all a fallacy and I'm fine. Yeah. But on the other hand, Dan, I will say Binner is the exact guy you want in this situation. Definitely. Definitely. Like, oh, we just lost. We're down three, two.

Everyone's counted us out. The Jets figured it out. No joke, dude. If you said that exact situation, I'd even push it to like 3-1. Yeah. And you let me pick whatever goalie I want. I'm taking Jordan Binton. Wow. If you're giving me a one game seven, I'm not taking Jordan in this exact situation I'm taking better. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just, I love that they're going back to St. Louis. These boys are scrappy. They're kind of gnarly.

This blues team. Missouri boys, you know. And I don't think they played well in this game. 19 shots. I think they're a little pissed. They're like, damn. That was a bad punch by us. But now you get to go home.

Helly, like you said, didn't look totally locked in. So you got a shaky boy. He's not going to be boozing. Certainly not in Missouri. You got a chance to slap back. I think they're going to. They're shot. in their game four win, 24 shots, 28 shots and a 7-2 win.

That's fucking insane. But the Winnipeg games, dude, I know they're low. 22 in game two. What did you say in this game? I think it was 19. 22 in game two and 26, actually. They're their best, or wait, sorry, I was looking at the wrong side. 17 in game one for St. Louis.

And let me see if I looked at the wrong side for game two. No, 22. So, yeah. 17, 22, and 19. Yeah. I like their chances. They're going to be pissed. Yep.

But it's not like they haven't been over 30 yet. So it's not like they're peppering him at home, which is correct. You know what? Actually, that's an interesting take because I feel like so many comments. We put up that hellie clip and all the fans were like, it's not Helly, it's the defense. Yeah. And I was like, the Blues get 20 shots a game. Like team defense looks just fine to me.

Yeah, sure does. So if he goes, if he goes there and plays in game six, when, how many goals have to go in before you pull him? Two. Dude, if they go in quick, maybe. I literally did, I literally thought. Four. Four, though. If they get four goals, I yank him immediately and I'm like this.

Just sit the fuck down, dude. Go get drunk in Winnipeg and get the fuck out of here. I'm telling you, dude, if a fourth goal goes in on Connor Hellbuck in St. Louis in game six, not only do I pull him, but I pull him and I put his ass on a plane and go go home. Yeah, dude. Go home and do whatever you need to do. Go bathe yourself in maple syrup or something, but just get the fuck out of. here. I would send his ass home immediately.

We got to wait. Our plane has to wait for us, unfortunately, so it's commercial. I go like this. Dude, I'm putting him on an Air Canada flight, dude. Fuck you and go home. He comes up the bench and it's kayak.com. They go like this. Here you go. Find a way home. Tonight. Like, I recommend you get some rest.

Get an Uber to the airport and get your ass home now. I think there's an argument. I am not kidding. I would send him home immediately. I think, I was going to argue that you can't pull him because you just can't let them get that again on you. But then you risk them pumping in nine.

And you're like, holy shit. Honestly, I was making a joke. But if they score two in like five minutes, I would straight up be looking at around the bench being like this. Did we do it? Dude,

well, you know how? Just get out. I was talking about this the other day. You know how in tennis, if you are up in a men's, it's five best of five sets. If you're up a couple sets and then you get broken early in the next one, you'll just throw it basically.

Because you're like, just get me out of this. need this set. I'd rather not tire myself out chasing you around. I think there's a non-zero argument. They're not going to do this. And I'm not advocating they do this. I'm just telling you there's a non-zero argument that they literally just don't play him. Pack it up. No, no, without even going, they just leave him in Winnipeg. They go, don't fly. Shut up. Literally we're starting comrie because either we win and it's awesome or you're arrested and ready to go. Wouldn't that be fun? Non-zero. Wouldn't that be unbelievable, dude?

In fact, the mind games, that would be. Yeah. If they went like this, Hellibook didn't travel. Dude, because then... He's at home. The blues are like... He's sitting on the couch. And, dude, we always say it's weird to shoot on a new guy for the first time in a long series. Definitely. That's why these backup goalies come in and make waves.

So I think... Dude, this is actually genius. I think if you showed up and they were like, we're going to light up hellabuck in game six. We've got his fucking number. And then it's, it's calm. And you're like, wait, what the fuck? What? Dude, because then even if you win, you don't get to go, we let up hellie again.

He goes, I'm waiting at the wall to eat you, dude. That's the take, dude. Leave him and leave him home, dude. Leave him in Winnipeg. Don't come to game six. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come.

Hey, Louis stinks. Do not come. No offense. In this. Probably a great city. Probably a great city. Don't go. I think he doesn't go, dude.

I love that take. And if he does go, you better get a little drunk. You ready for my hot take and caps, habs? Yes, I am. All right. Caps, Habs. Capitals win in five games at home. My hot take, this loss for the habs might be just.

what they needed. Dude, you might be right, actually. It might be just what they need. As that washes over me, you might be exactly right. And I'll tell you why. I posted a story congratulating the Montreal Canadians and their fans. And I stand by that.

Yeah. This has been such a phenomenal season. Dude, I don't care if they had gotten swept. Yeah, phenomenal season. And then what they just gave their fans some nice, entertaining, close games. And a win at the Bell Center. Went at the bell. Dude, and a game three win, I'll add,

because the game four win is a little bittersweet because you're like, well, we're going to lose. We just were down three, we're going to lose. The game three win, the series is fully on. So what a gift. Beautiful. You getting too big. They were getting a little too horny for me, though.

Yep. Little too horny. The players and the fans. Yep. After that win, the bird. Twitter. comments sections were getting a little too horny. You were talking like it was over.

You were talking like we were dealing with the Toronto Maple Leafs here. Like you were dealing with a team that has a known history of lying down and getting walked on. And like you were a team that was known for a clawing back in playoff runs. You were getting a little too worked up for me. And I think that this loss in five was a nice. reminder for the fan base and the players like, okay, we still have a little bit of work to do. We're still young. Because I'll tell you what, know what happened to the devils when the shit out of the Rangers.

Why don't you give the devils a call, dude? See how that worked out. It's literally right about to say that. Devils beat the Rangers. They got a little too horny, and then the last two years, really tough playoff performances. So I think this is just what they needed. They got a gentleman sweep, and they got a nice pat on the back of the head. Nice.

Hey. thanks for coming out guys from the Washington Capitals and that's going to put a little bit of chip on their shoulder Tom Wilson's putting a little bit of chip on their shoulder maybe a chip on their chin and it's going to teach them all right we got a little bit of work to do and I think that's good

dude same and to continue the devil's comp I was going to be I was going to say they would go well you know Jack got hurt or whatever and I want to be like dude and it's been good lately but I was like you have Cole Cofield Like he was, he can't finish the season normally to save his life. So be careful.

Things can change that quickly. I wouldn't say you're a, um, a thick in stature team. It's one of the smaller shift your teams. Take after their coach. Take after their coach. So nothing, it's so weird being a sports fan as you get older, I think. Yeah. Actually, I know plenty of people that this hasn't come across.

But the, the true. hated rivalry kind of fade away to a degree. Like if you had told high school me that I'm like, I've loved this Habs team. And it's so cool that they're in the playoffs. And I'm really, yeah, yeah. He would be like, what, dude? Agreed. But now I'm like, that's, that's sick. I love them. I think we are in a unique situation where the fandom's hard to hold on to with the job. Yeah. But I also think it's a matter of what you do in life, dude. Like, I think that there are some lifers who just like stick around. Like, our dad grew up in the same area. But even he's, He's like, he's like, whatever, dude.

Like, I still watch, but I just don't have fucking time. I don't have time or patience or the energy to care about this fucking bullshit. And that's me, dude. I'm a hand up. I'm a bad fan with my, the only thing, I'll get worked the fuck up in playoffs. But it's just like, I don't have energy, dude. I'm broken. Yeah.

I'm a broken man, dude. You lose every year. That's what it's insane. I fought. I fought too hard for too long. To lose every year. To lose every year. And I'm just like, I'm dead, dude.

I'm dead. And that's rich coming from a Boston fan growing up. But like, dude, the battles wear on you. Yep. Keep those scars for it. But it is so gritty when you look in the stands and you see like a fucking 65-year-old guy who's motherfucking 24-year-olds on the ice still with his kid next one. Yeah, teach them.

You are a degenerate piece of shit. And I'd like to have a beer with you. Yeah, anytime. So I'm not knocking. The warning I just issued is not something I wish upon the habs. I hope they're in the mixer for a long time, and I bet they will be. Yeah. But I really like the take, Dan, because Marty St. Louis can use this.

He can say, hey, boys, you thought that was fun? You put your big boy pants on. We made the playoffs. We had a hard push there because the big bad blue jackets were chasing us and we held them off. You thought that was cool and difficult. Well, you just played the capitals who no one's picking to do anything, by the way. You didn't have to play Toronto or Florida or Tampa or the Cains. You played the caps, and they rinsed you.

Yeah. Okay? And we were feisty. We were working close games. Close games don't matter in playoffs. No. Congratulations. You got gentlemen swept.

Yep. So I think that's good. I actually think that's good teaching and he'll have that ammo. And the boys, Dan, the boys will want to work a bit harder this summer. Definitely. I want to work a bit harder this summer. I mean, we were watching one of the, I think with the either it was a peeper or the net pulled. And you're looking around the ice.

You got Lane Hudson out there with Demidov, Cole Cofield, Nick Suzuki, and Yerlafkovsky. I'm like the oldest fucking guy on the ice is like 24 years old. Demidoff is dope. Dude, he is so fucking perverted. It's unbelievable. What a pick that was, dude. What a pick. He should have been the first pick.

He should have been the first pick off the board. Who was first that year? Mac, I think. Was that Max here? Yeah. He should have been the second pick off the board. Yeah, probably. But he's nasty.

And this team is nasty. Like I said, you've got as bright of a future as exists in the national. And that's a beautiful thing. But this is, hey, this is exactly what you need. You couldn't get too cocky here. If you take this to six, God forbid, seven, and then you lose. People are like, dude, are you kidding me?

See how nasty we are? We took the caps to set, blah, blah, blah. No. You got a nice spanking and a pat on top of the head. They probably gave you a lollipop on the way out. And you're like, fuck, you know, I'm going to come back stronger next year. That's what you needed. If you're a caps fan, really good getting it done in five.

Yep. You want nothing to do with going back to the bell center. and I barely even mean for the series, for the sake of the series. I straight up mean for the experience. You're like, I'm good. I don't need to get riled up by Montreal fans again. Just get me out of here. Carolina, finish the job in five.

That's who you're playing next. Just get the job done. LT looks healthy and great. He's a dirty boy, too, dude. That glove save he had in OT, with the goal he pulled was just so, like, that's a big time glove save and he was just so locked down. He held it the whole time.

But I do have an issue. I do have a bone to pick with LT. Tell me. They aired this. If you were watching, I think maybe the Jets game, they aired this. The Canadians give out a game puck to the player of the game in the locker room after the game. And they're doing that, you know how like in Major League with the movie when they're stripping the owner? And every win, they take a piece of clothing off the owner.

The caps are doing this thing. It looks like an advent calendar where each player. the game puck from a win goes in. Notches in. 16 pucks. Yeah. 16 pucks. LT1 game puck tonight. Everybody, big cheer, whatever. He goes up and he places it in the circle for four and then goes to like giving an emphatic tap and knocks out the others. The game two puck on the floor.

A whole locker was like, he grabs it, picks it up, puts it back in. They cheer again. But I'm like, we're knocking out pucks, dude. We're knocking out pucks this early. in the playoffs. The fact that they cheered and the fact that he picked it up quick. That's a goalie, dude. I'm terrified, dude. Rebound.

I mess out of the best. Why would you do this? It was on national television. Yeah, but you don't need to talk about it. It's ESPN's fault. You don't need to talk about it. Maybe I'm reverse jinxing it. I don't know.

I messaged him and I said, dude, get ahead of the story. Knock him out of the story. Jesus Christ, man. So I don't know, dude. Maybe he just like, all he does is knock puck. So he just like it had to happen. but listen if you are a caps fan the only thing bad

that's on the board that's on the advent calendar yeah you need deeper holes yeah oh okay good take bad construction I want to look like a fucking coin slot yeah gone gone dude pop it in and then a light bulb goes up

or like a plinko and it drops in or a connect four is that what that game is called Plinko why do you know Plinko just off the top of your head what are you high dude Plinko that's just a normal thing

that everyone knows fucking uh what's the show I guarantee that this young young bitch doesn't know what Plinko is? Yeah, but what's the show called? I can't believe I know Plinko and not the fucking show. It's the show that everybody watches when you're sick.

I have no idea what you're talking. Of course you know about it, you sick, bitch. That's what I'm saying. Of course you know. Bob Barker. That's not what Bob Barker did. The Price is Right. Price is right.

Thank you. They do Plinko on Price is right? That's the end. It's the drop-in thing and it's like, ding, ding, think, ding, think, think, think. Have I never watched the prices right? Think, think, think. Like, that's the end of price of price of it. I genuinely know.

Wait, maybe he's like a wheel. It is a wheel. You idiot? But no, but they play Plinko. Hold on, dude. Hold the fuck on, dude. This is insane. I'm getting gaslit right now.

I almost gaslit you about the wheel. And that's my bad. But Plinko is like, it's Plinko, dude. Like, look at this shit. Guy finds me a Drew Carey clip. Can't even find me a Bob Barker. Well, that's on YouTube. That's on YouTube.

Okay, so you're doing your thing, and then here we go. Go back. You're not willing. No, it's like the end. Oh, yeah. She wins tokens to do it. Plinko. It's literally Plinco.

And then it ding, ding, ding. Yeah. So, oh, this is kind of fun. Kick! Oh! Oh! Okay, turn this off. The listeners are fucking sick to their stomach.

Proud of you for knowing Plinko, but it's because you're a sick boy. Yeah. Yeah, right. But Plinko, I think, would be unfair because there's a chance you would drop the puck in and it would go, Dink, ding, ding, 16. And they go, you've won. You visually won the cup. So maybe it's more of a connect-for situation.

Yeah. Connect for construction where you just drop it in, drop it in, drop it in, to avoid potential curse creating mistakes like this because I didn't like seeing that. Yeah, that wasn't great. You never liked seeing that. Taking a quick break to talk about hockey's favorite beer. That's Labat Blue and Labat Blue Light.

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So we've got another team moving on here. This is our second. And they're playing each other. First two teams move on are playing each other. No, we officially have Cain's Caps round two. We're not going to get into that right now. That would be fucking crazy. But you could tease it. No, I don't want to tease it.

All I want to talk about is, does this win? I believe I picked Caps in six because I said, I was like, I think the Habs are going to be scrappy. Confirmed. They were scrapping. Yeah, they were. I said five, though. But you did say five.

And I think it is, do you think, This puts a little extra juice behind the caps. Are people going to start specting the caps a little? I don't know, because we just talked about on the live today that how much juice is on the canes. You know, I feel like the whole world is like the canes are nasty. They're going to win everything. So I actually would be, I won't be shocked if this comes out.

We're not going to be able to do really a like one, two, three, I guess. We could right now because this is probably the only problem we're going to get before they start. You want to do it? Maybe. No. We'll do it all. live. Oh, we'll do it on a live. Good call. Thank God. That was, I was stressed. I was stressed.

I was stressed. That was fucking crazy. But I would bet a lot of people are on the canes in the series. Definitely. I think a lot of spec was put on the canes because of their series. No doubt. But you know, it's, I remember what I said on the live, you were talking about

this team and what they did or the Keynes team, some of the goals they had in that last game. This game, you get an OV goal, Chikrin. Piper. And then Willie.

It's like, that's, you're like, ooh. Really big players are scoring. Dude, they knew what they were doing. They knew what they were doing. That's what you want to see going into the next round. It'll be LT, man. Like, for me, that's it. I also love when shit like this happens.

I love that the canes and the caps are playing each other, and they're both going to have like the same amount of rest. Yeah, I do that. Yeah. I said that you the day. I totally agree. It's good shit. That's sick.

Dude, this, before we get into the funness, this, um, The funness. Yeah, like our game and whatever. You know, like sometimes we do a powers ranking, but we're going to kind of do this instead of a powers ranking. Unless you want to rip one.

Do you want to rip one? No, I'm just, I'm trying to react for the fans here. I'll show them we've got exciting shit going on. The playoffs have been super exciting and so many people are saying this first round is one of the most exciting rounds ever. And then I was like, what playoffs come to mind for you that were just awesome? Like all-time playoffs. and a couple popped up in my head.

And let's say like the last 25 years, like since 2000. Yeah. The 03 playoffs was so sick because you had some good, some good action, like the Devils in the Eastern Conference finals go up 3-1 on Ottawa. Ottawa forces a game seven. Devils end up winning and making it. But that was the Jaeger year.

Oh, dude. When he, like the only first round sweep you got was ducks over wing, but that was seven over two sweep, which was insane. And isn't, correct me if I'm wrong, but McDavid winning Kahn Smythe in a loss last year in the Stanley Cup final was the first time since Jiguerre won at N03. Yes. That's such a fucking dog thing to do.

You lose the cup, but you're such a machine that you still win Kahn Smyth. The Kinnucks were up through it on the wild. The wild come all the way back and win to go to the conference finals to get swept by Jiguer and he's like, remember the paddle safe he made on Gavrick? Dude. At that moment, I was like, he might never get scored on again. Yeah. And that was the Korea off the floor on the board.

Like, that series was, it was, dude. There's also, I mean, it's such a biased bitch take because the Bruins won the cup in 11. But that 03, Jaeger, actually, I think 12, like the year after, the 2012 Johnny Quick was out of control. But goalie's going fully unconscious is so fucking dope. It's epic. And I know Vasi definitely did it. He won a cons of my thing, I think, 21. I mean, that Jaguer one, it might be, of my lifetime,

might be the one where I was like, this guy actually can't get scored on. It's the most, fucking crazy. It's seared into my brain playoff performance, I think ever. Like, I know people, McDavid, like, broke the points record in the playoffs last year, right? Like, there's people that have touched the sun, but just, if you literally say to me,

playoff, greatest cons, my performance, I think him first. And they fucking lost. Yeah. But that was so fun. You said 11. I thought 11 was pretty fun, actually, too. Obviously, we're biased, but just like that Bruins-N-Kinuck series was sick.

Yeah. To me, that whole thing, the whole run for Boston was sick. I know Boston fans love that. People were like Boston's dead at 0-2 to the Habs. They come back and win. The Lightning Series was the greatest fucking series of all time. Greatest game seven of all time for me. No penalties.

And then, I mean, that cup, that's the cup of dreams. A couple of dreams there. Seven games, just fucking, like, one team is dead, and then you just rope it open. People biting each other. Yeah. Fucking absolute madness, dude. But we did just tease it. I mean, the King's reverse sweep in 14.

Dude, was nutty. Absolutely insane. Bro, listen. Nuddy. The Minnesota upset the one seed abs in the first round. Yeah. Ridiculous. Kings reverse sweep in the first round.

Yep. the that's the year that the bees lost in Montreal and Lucchitz threatened to kill someone in the handshake Dale East did he was like we're going to fucking kill you next year like God and he's like no literally I'm going to murder you and murder you and your fucking family you want action in the playoffs dude

there was attempted murder in the playoffs how about that that was insane and then the Marty St. Louis his mom dies in that series against that was Tampa right who were they playing I think it was and they oh no the penguins and um after game five and then like the whole team

rise around and they win game seven, which is fucking chaos. And then you have that Kings Hawks, Western Commerce Final, goes seven decided in overtime just to get to a final that has five OT periods in five games. Dude. Remarkable. That was our first Stanley Cup in L.A., dude.

Yeah, dude, you're right. Holy shit. I believe. Yeah, no, I know. It was our first Stanley Cup in L.A. That was awesome. Watching fucking my bully. For those who don't know, dude, my teammate, my old My old teammate, Chris Kreider, lose a Stanley Cup in L.A. I was like, fuck.

Dagger. Sucks. Sorry, dude. And then I also want to throw 10 in there because you had the Bruins Flyers reverse sweep fucking nightmare, but still epic. Because they were down, flyers down 3-0 in that game. One of the craziest, who the fuck was it? Was it Gagne comes back?

Is that right? Gagne comes back. Creachy goes down. Changed everything. Changed everything. Four straight wins for Philly. And then. Talk about Quicky.

That was like 20 year old Quicky, 22 year old Dewey, like being dialed. So nasty. You got a Chicago, Vancouver, bloodbath like it always was. You get a Cup won in overtime, which is cool, even though I think it was five games, but Cup won in overtime. And you get Hosa, dude, who was on his third team trying to win. Chasing Cups. Chasing Cups.

Chasing Cups. Yeah, he was Pittsburgh, then Detroit, then Hawks. So like getting that. And then, by the way, on the East. it was actually nuts because Montreal, who was the eight seed, beat the one seed caps and Ovi. Oh, fuck, that's right. Dude, after being down 3-1,

and then in the next round played the penguins and went down 3-2 and beat them. Yeah. Like the 8-Ce beat the caps and the penguins. Insane. Just to get to the flyers. I love that you bring this up because it just makes me realize these playoffs. We're shaping up four stories like that, dude. Like, I mean, the Oilers.

Like, if the Oilers go, it lowers. looked like the Kings finally had our number. They went up to beat the shit out of us in game one and two. I know that maybe you get it. And then they stormed back and win. Like that's that's DVD shit, right? Dude. That's championship DVD shit.

What the Oilers are doing right now. Ashtray ran into the Eastern Conference, only to get him sent back to Dallas to beat them in six again. Oh my God, dude. Fucking unbelievable. You got that with Minnie and Vegas. Like there's so many cool beginnings right now. It's getting the juices flowing.

Sound off if there's a sick year that you guys remember. Yeah, I like that. In the comments, if you have a year that you're like, dude, this playoff year was the craziest. I want to hear it. I love it. You got a game for me? I got a game for you. Okay.

This game is called trivia factorial. I played this game horribly last time. How it works is I pick a player and I give Dan five, actually six trivia clues about said player. Each one is worth the more, they worth less points as I go. The first one is worth 10, then eight, then six, then four, then two, then one. and if Dan guesses on the 10 and he gets that right, he wins and gets 10 points. If he gets it wrong, he gets zero points automatically. So you can't, it doesn't behoove you to guess early unless you're sure.

If he doesn't know it, I keep going and then he guesses when he's ready. I got a two last time. You're so bad, dude. It was insane. So bad. Cole Cofield. Dude, you know what's funny? Yeah.

This morning on the live, you were progressively getting sicker and sicker. It's happening because you're talking, dude. I know. I'm saying you're bad. I'm off the meds, dude. I need you to get on the sauce again, dude. Dude, get me hellie, dude. Hellie, I need the juice.

Okay, Dan, are you ready? Yeah, yeah, hit me. For 10 points. The oldest of four children and the son of two hockey coaches, this person lost in the 2009 Quebec Major Junior Championships, but he was a healthy scratch in the elimination game. Move on. Come on.

What a bad fucking clue, dude. Are you kidding? Who would ever? get this you could god damn idiot you could know that you go the only way i would know that is if i was the person move on that's what ten should move on that's what ten should be you should be you should only get it if you're like this oh it's wags i'm sitting right next to it i wouldn't even know out if it was wags move on okay for eight points he has you know what's funny the clues that you just gave me i could forget forever they won't help me moving forward i put the ear in

Great. That's helpful. I guess. That's helpful. You're being a hater. So he's what? My age? He's, yeah. Well, maybe. He's around my age. For eight points, he has five. You've got five minutes. How about you got five minutes? What did you say after that? To bring me my fucking tickets. I'm going to shove your head up turtle's ass.

You've got five minutes, dude. For eight points, he has five gold medals across several international competitions while playing for his country. You're not going to tell me what country? No, no, no, no, you wrote the, you wrote the close. Okay, okay, okay. Five medals.

Five gold medals. Five gold medals. Olympic gold medals or? No, several international competitions. Five gold medals. You're such a fucking pig, dude. See, I had to make it hard. You get this on like eight or six,

bagging. Bitch. I made this one hard. Move on. Don't know. Wags. It's legs. It's still,

currently Ethan Wagner still. For six points. For six points, he scored two goals in the series clinching a game when he won a Stanley Cup. I, like,

that's a good clue. Yeah, it is. But like, that could be a 10, is what I'm saying. Yeah, well,

I made this one hard. I made this one hard. I wanted to get a two in the mixer for you because I had a two. Two goals, yeah. Like, this is retaliatory, dude. Bullshit. Two goals in the series clinching, in the series clinching game. When do you want a Stanley Cup?

Of the Stanley Cup final? Yes, yes. Okay. Yep. Two goals in the series clenching game. And I would say, like, you were, you found the helpful part of Clue 10. and I surely think there's a guess for... A guess?

No, no, for where he's from, from Clue 8. Yeah, sure. Yeah, all right, move on. Okay, four? Yes. I think you'll get this one. He is one franchises, so one franchise in the league, he is one franchise's leader

in all-time short-handed goals with 36. Yeah, I think I know it. I think you might. You'll get it for two for sure. I think I'm willing to have our, first zero first goose egg just because i'm pissed at you and i want to uh mother fuck you yep and uh i want i want my four and i want a zero so far i i believe this player is a man who just had a beautiful assist in the win tonight to knock the tampment bay lighting out of playoffs

brad marshand that is correct dan and i put four in because i was like i think you'll know that one didn't want to ring you all the way down. Number two, for two points was, after over 15 years with one franchise and wearing a letter on his chest, he was traded to a rival team in division as he makes his bid for another cup. And for one point, he misspelled champions on his Stanley Cup tattoo after winning in 2011. I, good job, me. Yep.

Good questions, but fuck you, that was very hard. Six was getable, if you remember, he had two goals in game seven. But you didn't say what year, like there's so many guys that that could be. If I said he had two goals in game seven of the 2011 Cup, you would have gone Brad Marsha. Yeah, fair. But I'm saying like, no, that's actually a really good point. But it was hard. Given that it was the cup.

Yeah, that's a really good point. It was a hard one. But I wanted you to get to four and you did. Great job. I'm glad I did it. Okay, gang, before we go tonight, a very good friend of ours made us aware of something that we wanted to touch on in this podcast episode. Last summer, Hudson Sullivan, he was 38 years old and he died in a very tragic swimming accident at his family cottage in Ontario. He was survived by his wife, Katie, and his two

boys, Wyatt and Casey. They're four and two. After Hudson's death, Katie got so much support from the people in Canada and the U.S. asking how they could help. So Katie decided to start something called the Hudson Sullivan Foundation in his honor. Um, there's so much hockey built into this story. I mean, the, the hockey community always shows up and shows up for stuff like this. And with the foundation, they wanted to focus on a lot of things involved with that, a lot of things with sports and education. Grassroots organizations trying to make a difference in Toronto and across Canada. Um, hockey for youth, which is a charity providing hockey and life skill developments to new immigrants to Canada as well as to high priority youth. That stuff's amazing. And there was just so, much cool stuff about Hudson and his life with hockey. UCC varsity and Notre Dame Club Hockey star played beer league till the wheels fell off. Dude, this is my favorite part. Like this guy, he goes to New York, he's riding his bike down the highway to Chelsea Pier with his full bag of beer slugging over his shoulder. The west side, seeing a guy chugging up and down the

west side highway with a, you know how, you know how guys will put like in, in, like, Lord of the ring style movies their sword goes like through their shield yeah yeah yeah seeing hudson coming up the west side highway at midnight on the way home on a bicycle on a bike with his bag on his back and stick through the bag like a sword is a beer league site of legends and it's truly legendary stuff and we there's an unbelievable story and through this whole thing that his wife after his passing found out that he was on three beer league teams like he he was like yeah i'm on one but show me Matt if she knows I'm playing on multiple. And then, you know, people are showing up to support.

And there were just so many people going, hey, I'm on his beer league team. She was like, there's too many of you. This isn't the same team. Turns out the guy's playing three times a week. Just a complete beauty. Absolutely. Won a ton of ships. And they said Coors Light, Mountains, the brightest blue, Fiji Water Blue, was his favorite

after game drink. So he won 10 championships, had the Coors Lights flowing. And I love this. Famously scored a hat trick on disgraced Congressman. Anthony Wiener, better known locally as Carlos Danger that made it into the local news. That is resume building stuff. Unbelievable. So there's going to be an inaugural fundraising event for this foundation.

Yeah, this is what we want to bring you guys aware about. And they're going to be hosting the Hudson Cup. It's going to be an eight-team round-robin, beer league recreational hockey tournament. It's going to be hosted at UCC in Toronto on May 10th. 130 hockey players showing up to this thing across Canada and the U.S. People are flying in. Hudson's old teammates, former NHLers, UCC teammates playing pro in Germany,

Hudson's Men's League team including the Dougies. Why? Named after Hudson's hero, Doug Gilmore, team that he founded and was captain of in NYC for 10 years. They're going to be showing up. The Toronto teams, the old stars, the schmucks, and the mad dragons, only two of which were the ones that knew about. These teams are showing up being like,

hey, we're here to play in the Hudson Cup, obviously. Thank you so much for putting this on, Katie. We were Hudson's Men's league team, obviously. And she's like, get out of here. This is the fifth team that said this to me, it's absolutely incredible. And I love this one. His 0304 UCC varsity alumni

is getting the band back together after over 20 years. They're going to be playing. That's just so, so cool. So here is the amazing part for you all listening. The primary fundraising for this is through a silent auction. Okay? And it's going to go live on May 3rd and go all the way till the night of the tournament starts,

which is May 10th, I think till 11 p.m. So starts on May 3rd, closes at 11 p.m. night at the tournament. and you can bid on the stuff. And this is no joke. This silent auction is the real deal. They're highlighting and supporting local businesses is Toronto that are contributing.

But there are items in there. The best item is, and I quote, a Team Canada jersey worn by Sidney Crosby when he made the game winning goal in the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, which has been in the Hall of Fame in Toronto for the last few years. Like that's insane.

This isn't a garage sale. No. Like this is absolutely wild. Insane. So if you want to support the event. That's going to be the, if you want more details on the event, you can check out the hudson cup dot com the hud s o n cup dot com uh the silent auction will open on may

third it closes at 11 p m the night of the tournament or you can donate directly to the foundation at the hudson sullivan with two ls s ull i v a and foundation dot com we'll put that stuff up on the screen ultimately this is just one of those moments where something so horrible has happened and our hearts go out to the family to katie and the boys And it's just amazing that in Hudson's memory, something so wonderful comes from it. So if you can, donations are so appreciated, as you guys have done time and time again when we do stuff like this, hockey community shows out better than anyone else in the entire world. It's my favorite part of this job, of this little niche world.

We're all in their ability to turn a tragedy that you will never get over into some form of bright light that can move forward. we're going to put the silent auction. I'll put reminders up on the silent auction every day, the story with the links. You can jump on there. Check out all the cool stuff they've got. But if you've got the time, the Hudson Cup.com,

the Hudson Sullivan Foundation.com. Check it out. And we really appreciate it. Really do. That's as good of a way to wrap up an episode as any. That's going to do it for us. This app at the Empty Natives podcast. This is Thursday.

So you know we've got a live coming on Friday morning. And then we'll get into another weekend. The weekends are stressful because we don't get to do episodes. like, holy shit, there's so much going to remember all this. I am going to say a few things. Guys, playoff push. A lot of crazy shit going on. We're bringing you as much content as humanly possible.

We love you for supporting, for watching. Keep watching. Keep spreading the word. We say it a lot, but I'm asking you to do it. Deep from the bottom of my heart. Subscribe to the YouTube. Go on Spotify. Click rate show.

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