Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 2/18/25

Episode Date: February 18, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at a busy weekend in sports, plus they set up the Canada vs. USA 4 Nations final with NHL analyst Ray Ferraro and commentator Craig Simpson.  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Let's just start with what happened yesterday from Boston, specifically with Canada. They booked their ticket into the final of the Four Nations face off. Nathan McKinnon scored twice. McDavid and Crosby each had a goal. Crosby with a key empty netter. Canada beats Finland 5-3 to move on to the final of the Four Nations face off. This is despite the fact that Finland cut a four goal deficit

to one in the final minutes of the game. Canada did hang on. They got the needed win importantly in regulation to set up a rematch against the U S in Thursday's tournament finale really quickly. We'll barely spend any time talking about the game yesterday, but the U S did lose its finale to Sweden. So Sweden walks out of the tournament with a win. The game meant nothing for either team. US had already booked its ticket to the final on Thursday. So it's Canada, US, the rematch Thursday night, five o'clock. I could not be more excited for it.

Okay. Let's talk about Saturday's game in Montreal. Canada did not win that game, but it remains, I think it will remain in my mind, one of the most memorable international hockey games I've ever seen. What was your intensity level as a fan for Saturday in Montreal? Because I had not been that fired up for a hockey game since 2011. Yes, even more than game seven against the Oilers. I was more fired up for that than I was for Canucks, Oilers.

I got a little emotional on Saturday. Got a little emotional sitting there by myself, had the game on and then when all the pregame festivities kicked off and the Ole Ole Ole went cascading through the Bell Center and then the anthem and then the start and I actually the one thing I said very quietly to myself like a loser oh my god it's actually happening like everything you kind of hoped and dreamed and really I used dream because I don't think anyone anticipated in their wildest that there would be three fights

in nine seconds to kick off the game. I actually said to myself, like, oh my God, it's actually happening. Yeah, I just had this feeling all day that it was gonna be a wild night. And I think a lot of us did. And then for it to start with the anthems, three fights and an incredible McDavid goal,

I actually hurt my elbow a little bit with the McDavid goal, doing like the, the pumper nickel. Like I was like, I just, I think I hurt myself there. I think I might be out for the final. The pumper nickel. Yeah, there's an old Bernie Nichols reference.

As a sports fan, that game, or at least the start of the game, it was pure adrenaline. I actually wonder in hindsight, if all the emotion at the start of the game, sapped it from the rest of the game. And potentially injured all of the American players. Well, possibly we'll get into that later, but I mean, full credit in that game to the Americans for locking it down defensively. But it seemed to me like everything and everyone just started to run out

of gas after the crazy start. Like there were still some big hits. There was still some intensity. I'm not saying like the game was a complete snoozer for the rest of the game. Um, but I, I do think it'll go a lot different Thursday in Boston. Like they're not going to start with three fights. They're not going to start with a fight.

Five fights. No, they're going to start. Seven fights. They're going to start by playing hockey. Yeah. And, and, and, you know, that was the type of game where, you know, we all heard the stories about the Kachaks in their group text with, with JT like

going like, should we start it this way? Let's do it. Like they're not going to do that for the final in Boston because those guys want to play. You know, I think both teams in the back of their minds, they're probably like, listen, whoever loses this game still has a pretty good chance of getting to the final.

And that's exactly what happened. But I would love to hear from the listeners what you were like watching that game because I was, so I was watching it at home alone as well. Although I was with Pedro the dog and Pedro was scared. Like Pedro, Pedro was like, what's going on here? I'm going to go down to the basement and hang out

for a bit. Do they always fight this much? I, it was one of those games where I couldn't sit down. I was pacing. I had to watch the game standing up. Had to pour a drink at 515. That's what I remember distinctly about it. I'm like, I'm a jangled mess. My nerves are a jangled mess. I got to go. And I'm not putting this on for effect either. We had talked a lot about this tournament going into it. And then right from

the first drop between Canada and Sweden, you got the feeling that this was going to be taken more seriously than I think a lot of people expected. Bref and I kind of expected it but no one expected no one expected Saturday. You can't tell me that even the most ardent like international hockey fan ever thought ever thought that there was going to be three full blown tilts where guys were fully invested in it. And like, when you hear the guys talk about it in the aftermath, like, yes, they understood

that there was a bit of pageantry with like, we're gonna kick this thing off. But there was also a lot of bad feelings. Like I watched Brandon Hagel speak post game and he was like, whatever they wanted to do. And that was a very open-ended remark, which was like whatever they were trying to accomplish or whatever tone they were trying to set, whatever

message they were trying to send, we as Canadians weren't going to let it happen. It takes, I always admire the courage that it takes to answer the bell. Brandon Hale is not a fighter. In those moments because there is, I'm not even talking about the potential to get is, I'm not even talking about the potential to get hurt.

I'm talking about the potential in some ways to get embarrassed where you get challenged and you're like, okay, well, it's 20,000 people in this arena, millions watching at home. Um, I've just been challenged in, uh, at center ice. I mean, that was old school. That was old school.

The way that they dropped their gloves and circled each other and the linesmen were like, okay, let it go. I felt like I was back at the Pacific Coliseum when the Vancouver Giants started playing there. I'm like, is that Robin Big Snake out there? It was like, they do this and they circled each other and they were shadow boxing. A lot you know, a lot of the times in the NHL in the last few years, the linesmen have been told to go and break that up, but they didn't do that because I think even the linesmen knew the assignment. And remember, oftentimes, you know,

brawls off the hop or orchestrated balls often involve the tough guys. These are the best players in the world. These are the elite of the elite. These are the most talented guys in the National Hockey League. And Hagel said something post game that I thought was really interesting. And he kinda was, you could tell that he wanted

to say more, but he was holding back. But he basically said those guys, and he said there was a lot of talk. There was a lot of talking. I know he was talking about the Kichaks, and I guess Miller to a lesser degree, but that they thought that they could come in and basically play the new way that Canada used to play.

And we weren't going to let that happen. And there was very much especially, and look, the Kachak brothers are, I got, I got a lot of respect for the way that they play. I really do. They bring enthusiasm to the game, man. And that's, and it's needed. It's needed in today's NHL. There are not enough guys that bring enthusiasm to the game and bring the

unexpected to the game. And it's like they w you could tell that they wanted that. They wanted that big time. And I think there was a sense of, and again, I will paraphrase a lot of the remarks that I heard over the weekend that the Kachaks were like, we're going to out Canada, Canada. And then it was thrown at the feet of the Canadian players to be

like, what are you going to do about it? And with the political backdrop and with the, you know, undercurrent of the US sort of poking Canada on the forehead or like throwing them into a locker, that whole dynamic just popped off in a really crazy and awesome way on Saturday. Okay. I got a bunch of questions for you that I'm

going to throw out here. Um, what's the atmosphere going to be like in Boston on Thursday? How big a difference will Kale McCarr make on Thursday? He didn't play against the Americans. He will play against the Americans on Thursday. What's the injury status of the Americans?

Uh, how are we feeling about Jordan Bennington is the biggest, is it, is the bigger worry him or Connor Hellebuck? Let's start with the atmosphere in Boston. I actually wonder how many Canadian fans will be in the building. I hope thousands go down there. I hope a lot of them bought their tickets before and don't have to go into the secondary market

because I think that's going to be an expensive ticket. I'm sure the Canadian anthem will get booed and that's fine, whatever. Um, to be perfectly honest, uh, of the two anthems on Saturday in Montreal, the booing of the American anthem wasn't even the main takeaway for me. I was kind of like, yep, it's going to happen.

And it did. We all knew that, it's going to happen. And it did. We all knew that was, was going to happen. But did any of us predict that Oh Canada would get sung like that? I have never in my life heard our anthem sung like that by a hockey crowd or any crowd. I've heard it done very well in Vancouver. I've heard it done very well in Edmonton. But Montreal is the best crowd in hockey and they showed it on Saturday. That was wild. Right and now it's the Americans opportunity. Are they more musical than us or something? Well, yeah, they are more musical.

They have an ear for it. Well, they sing, oh, le, oh, le, oh, le. Maybe that was their warmup, and they're like, okay, our voices are ready to belt out, oh, Canada. In two different languages, it was, I mean, that was, I'd forgotten about the booing of the American anthem. There was a lot, yeah. Like soon after that, I was like, that was incredible.

Incredible. There we go. That was also in French. But that was all part of the lead up to it is you had the Americans rankled by their anthem being booed yet again. And then you had this like full throated, passionate, like celebration of Canada and the players. And then it just popped off with the fights. Now, America gets to return serve on Thursday in Boston.

And I, you know, it'll be a little I don't know what the right phrase is. Like it'll be a mix. There'll be a lot of Canadian fans in attendance, but I think it'll be a large percentage of American backers and we'll see how that goes. I do know that according to multiple reports from the building yesterday for the early game between Canada and Finland, there was a smattering of booze for the Canadian anthem yesterday, but I mean, I don't really know what you can take of that. One, they weren't playing the US, they were playing Finland and two, it was a matinee game, everyone was waiting for the US game at night.

I think that- It's gonna get booed. The anthem's gonna get booed. I mean, whatever. But that part is secondary to me, the atmosphere right now. To be honest, I think it might've gone the best that it could've.

This might be sacrilege or, you know, Canadian fans might hate this, but I actually think that losing the first game to the US might be the best thing for Canada and for this tournament. How many times. Going into the final. How many times have the Americans won games in

the round robin and everyone's like, these guys are ready to roll. And then Canada starts a little bit slow in the tournament, but ultimately it's Canada that wins it all. It happened in 2002, Canada certainly started slow there. 2010, the Americans beat Canada. That was the big one with 2010, is that they beat him in the prelims.

In 2014, the Americans were piling up goals in the group stage of the Olympics in Canada. There was some criticism of Canada. They were playing too conservatively and ultimately, they beat the Americans one-nothing in the semi-finals and they went on to win gold. So we've seen it in the, we've kind of made the similar comparison, although a little bit different on the women's side, you know, the Americans win the worlds, right?

And the Canadians for the most part win at the Olympics. Now I'm not guaranteeing a win by any means, but you know, I do think that the Americans have some injury concerns right now. Why don't you run through what's going on with the Americans? Because everyone knows about the Kachaks. Yeah. But like Charlie McEvoy had to go to

the hospital yesterday. Okay. We can start right there. So according to a report from the Boston Globe late last night, a report that broke after the US beat Sweden or sorry, the US lost to Sweden in the final game of the group stage. Uh, the Boston Globe reported, Charlie McEvoy,

was admitted to Mass General Hospital after suffering an upper body injury. Now the injury was suffered against Canada in the US's second game of the group stage. It was strange because Sullivan, Mike Sullivan, the head coach of the US team, said that McEvoy had participated in Monday's morning skate,

but he was ruled out of Monday's game against the Swedes, but healthy enough to take the skate. It was also noted that against the Canadians on Saturday, which is the game in which many people think that McEvoy got hurt, he was a monster physically in that game. I know that the US defense was lauded and a lot of people had a lot of time

for what Brock Faber and Jacob Slaven did, but I thought McAvoy might've been the biggest difference maker on that US blue line. He had a couple thunderous hits against McDavid. Now someone else pointed out to me that in the opening game against Finland, McAvoy got cross-checked into the post by Joel, or Joel Armia, and he hit his shoulder and then was visibly shaken up,

like he was holding his shoulder. He's had shoulder injuries in the past, so some people thought it might have been, he got hurt against Finland, he went out and tried to gut it out against Canada, and then really agitated it when he was laying out all those big hits, including the two on Conor McDavid. He played really well, he played very well. McEvoy to me, given the fact that he was laying out all those big hits, including the two on Connor McDavid. He played really well.

So played very well. McAvoy to me, given the fact that he was, you know, admitted to hospital for the injury, he might be a top of list of guys that won't be able to play on Thursday when Canada takes on the U.S. in the final. Now moving along, do you want me to keep going? Yeah, what about Austin Matthews? Austin Matthews sounds like he's to be fine to go on Thursday.

He was taken out of the lineup for yesterday's game for what was described as general upper body soreness. General upper body soreness. Just, I wouldn't be surprised if this has something to do with the injury that he's been dealing with all season that's caused him to miss a ton of games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Isn't believed to be serious. Multiple insiders reported that Matthews is expected to play against Canada on Thursday.

And this is pretty noteworthy, because in the first two games of the tournament, including the win over Canada, Matthews was up over 20 minutes a game. He's their one C, he's their captain. He's been crushing it in face-offs. I think he's up around 65% face-offs won in the tournament. So Matthews didn't play against Sweden, but he's expected to play.

The Kachak brothers. Oh, those Kachak boys. Brady got hurt yesterday during the loss to Sweden. It happened really early in the first period. He was skating through the right circle, lost an edge, and then crashed hard into the Swedish net. Looked like his left leg and skate hit the post. He immediately went off. He took a shift that was 10 seconds in length after that,

left again, tried to come back, took a couple twirls, couldn't go, ruled himself out. This was early in the game. They called it precautionary. Sullivan said it was a lower body injury. He said he doesn't anticipate it being an issue. So Brady Kachuk probably playing on Thursday. Brady Kachak also said Matthew Kachak's probably playing on Thursday.

The Kachaks will play. I mean, I think you have to remember in that game yesterday, if there was any risk of Brady Kachak being hurt, they're like out. Right. Right. There's no point in having you guys in this meaningless game. But Matthew Kachak has really only played half this tournament because you'll remember he sat out the final 12 minutes and 36 seconds of the Canada game where he kind of motioned to John Tortorell to bench. He's like, I can't go. He didn't take Monday's skate. He didn't play Monday against Sweden. So really Matthew Kaczak's body work in this tournament is the great game he

had against Finland in the opener, two periods in a bit against Canada, and then he sat for the rest of it. Brady Kaczek said that Matthew will be ready to go on Thursday. If I had to guess right now, I think everyone but McEvoy is good to go for Thursday, so we'll see. How much did Canada miss McCarr against the Americans? I think yesterday was a pretty good example of how much they missed him, because even in a game that they comfortably led for the majority, McCarr still played nearly 24 minutes

and led all the defensemen in ice time. I mean, he's the second best defenseman in the world next to Quinn Hughes, who is also not in this tournament. But it was a huge difference. I do wonder how much of a difference McCarr might've made in the Saturday loss to the US. This has meant his no disrespect from Thomas Harley, who got thrown into like a crazy

situation. Yeah, and played well. And played well. But McCarr is Canada's best defenseman. I think it goes without saying. Not, not ha. Easily. I think they're frankly, I think on Saturday

against the Americans, they're missing their three best defensemen. And I don't mean to, you know, DeVon Taves is a good defenseman and there are some good defensemen on that team. But when you don't have McCarr, you don't mean to, you know, DeVon Taves is a good defenseman and there are some good defensemen on that team, but when you don't have McCarr, you don't have Patrangelo and you don't have Shea Theodore, I think those are their three best

defensemen. Now they're going to get McCarr back on Thursday and I hope that's going to make a big difference because Canada could not generate scoring chances against the Americans. And that is a wild thing to say with all the offensive talent that they have on that team. It did look better against Finland, it better of, but you know the Americans have a very good defensive group. Now if McEvoy isn't playing, that changes things a little bit, but they have still got a very good defensive group.

And I think John Cooper is really going to have to work with his coaching staff and his players and figure out what happened against the Americans because they didn't really get a sniff, even though they were chasing the game. There were not many chances for them. They did not look offensively dangerous. And again, part of my theory is that a lot of the emotion got sucked out of that game in the first five minutes.

But you know, still, when you have the type of talent that Canada does with McDavid and McKinnon and you know, everyone else among the forward group, you know, like it's, it's, you should be able to create scoring chances. The other thing that I wonder about is how will the game be called? Yeah.

How many penalties are going to be called? Because both teams have a really good power play, but I think Canada's power play with Kale McCarr, especially with Kale McCarr out there, that is one where you're just like, oh my God, the Americans better not take many penalties or they're going to get punished. Well, a couple of things on that. One, I think that the adjustments that they made

to the lines after the American game was needed. And it looked great through, especially the American game was needed. And I mean, it looked great through the, especially the first period against Finland. Against Finland though, right? Like against Finland, who doesn't have the defensive chops that the Americans have. Yeah. And also not the ability to counter strike.

But I think it would have been a cause for concern if they had rolled it back with the exact same lines after the American. Put it this way, did the Americans play a great defensive game on Saturday, for sure? Did some of that have to do with the fact that the combinations, the duos and the trios that Cooper were putting out just weren't clicking?

I think it had a lot to do with it. I also think that the defense really got thrown for a loop because not only did they take McCarr out, it also threw off the McCarr-Tavs pairing, which they relied on heavily. Right now, that's their number one pairing, right? Colorado's number one pairing is Canada's

number one pairing at this tournament. I like what they did with the lines. I understand the allure of doing the nuke line with putting McDavid and I understand the allure. I understand it doesn't work though, cause you, both those guys need the puck on their stick. So good on him, moving away from him. And I loved Connor McDavid's goal, his first goal

against Finland because he shot the puck. And I think Connor McDavid has turned into more of a playmaker in the last couple of years and a hell of a playmaker. I'm not criticizing him. When you play with Leon Dreisaitl, a lot of the times you want to get the puck to Leon Dreisaitl. And he is so incredibly shifty and he takes so much attention and he keeps his feet moving at all times

very quickly. Yes. That he opens up all sorts of great passing lanes. So, you know, he had like a hundred assists last year or something like that, right? I mean, he's doing, doing something right out there, but the fact that he took that shot, you need to remind defenders and goaltenders that he still

can't shoot. And that was an absolutely perfect shot. And I like him on a line with Braden Point, because I think Braden Point is one of the more underrated players in the NHL and that guy knows how to put the puck in the net. And I like McKinnon on a line with Sid and Reinhardt.

Reinhardt made a great pass to McKinnon on that second goal where he just like hit the blue line and he's like, oh McKinnon's coming here. I'm just going to put it into space and McKinnon's going to skate onto it and good for McKinnon for burying that one. Um, you know, I, I really like how the top six is comprised right now.

Yep. I'm glad that Marner got dropped down. Marner scored a really big goal in overtime for Canada, but you got to remember when it's three on three, there's a lot more space out there for him. Um, I think he's looked a little bit slow. I think the pace has been difficult for him. And I like him in the bottom six.

Um, but I, I really like how the top six looks for Canada right now. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough, you're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Ray Ferraro joins us now on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Morning Ray, how are you?

I'm good, how are you guys today? Good. Good family day and all that? Good weekend, yeah, it was a lot of fun. How much fun was it for you to be part of this tournament so far? Well, it's been awesome so far. I had to Boston tomorrow for the final. I would say it was unexpected Saturday night. I think most people

that were following were really excited for it and had lots of anticipation. But I don't think the start caught most people. It caught Canada by surprise. It caught, not that it matters, it caught me by surprise, but it caught Canada by surprise. And yeah, I mean, it was an explosion of noise and intensity. And of course wasn't with all the talk around the anthems and things like that I mean there was a different tone to the game and it wasn't just talky it was you know there was politics to it and and in any game like intensity and conflict makes the game better and then I thought once the game started guys I thought like the US was, they played about a perfect game.

They were fantastic on Saturday and they deserve to win. Can you try and relay to the listeners, maybe even to Bruv, because Bruv was talking about how great the energy and emotion was from the Bell Centre crowd through the television, like the Ole Ole Ole and the anthems and the energy prior to the fights like what was that like I can't imagine there's been a lot of experiences like that maybe some but with the added backdrop of everything that's

going on in the world it just felt like it was a real special moment in time before the fireworks with the three fights in nine seconds. Yeah I mean mean, only, like I can think of a couple events that I've been really, really fortunate to be part of, like from the broadcast side, like the 2015 World Junior in Toronto was against the Russians, was just amazing. It was a wild game. It was super intense because they're kids, there was a little wildness

to it, right? Like all over the place. The world championships I did in Prague, which was Jaga's last, this kind of his last national team event, like the building was literally moving with the, they do this, they have this chant that basically translates to if you're, if you're not jumping, you're not check. And so the, the whole of the crowd is jumping up and down and you can feel like we could feel the building moving under us. It was like, that was amazing. The Olympics in 2010 were, you know, I got to do all the way up to the semi-final and it was just, it was a dream. It was amazing. And then this, the other night, like the, the preamble to the game was way better than the game really.

Like after, after the start of the second period, Canada just got knocked and gone. But like, so like the ole' ole is like, it made me smile. It was like, that's what sports is, right? That's what it's supposed to be. It's supposed to be fun and energy. And it was awesome. Then right, right before the face off, Brady Kachak skates over kind of by the red line and he's yelling over at Sam Bennett and he's yelling, Benny, when this is finished, we're going to go. And I'm like, I'm still not putting it together.

I'm like, when this is finished. And then. Where are they going to go? Like, what is it? Like I knew that part. Like I knew he was challenging him to a fight, but I'm like, after this is finished, like it didn't click in the moment, you know, like I'm looking at starting goalies and all this other stuff and I'm like, what the

hell is he talking about? And then they go line up and I'm like, oh, I got it. Like they, I could see Matthew was talking to Hegel. And so one, two, you know, those are done right away. I said on the US side, on the broadcast, I said to Sean McDonough, I said, Sean, there's zero chance this puck's going to hit the ice and then Brady's not going to be in the box with his brother. And like, it was just being, just being there. I could hear it. You know, I could hear the conversation and as soon as the Matthew fight ended and there, you know, it kind of settled for half a second, Bennett

jumped over the bench. I'm not even sure if he got told to go, but he was already out there. And so those two guys fight. And then I think it was McAvoy, might've been Faber, just kind of lobs a wrist shot into Bennington. So now they can have the scrum to start the third one. And so it was clear to me, the intention was the US wanted to punch Canada in the mouth early to try and say, okay, like they know what environment they're in, right?

Like they know it and they want to embrace this and they want to be the villain. They want to be on their front foot, that stuff and that's what those fights were about for me Do you think? This is a theory that might be wrong because it's me putting it out there But all the emotion that was spent at the beginning of the game or even before the game took a toll on the rest of the game Well, I think if we were expecting it to be played at that intensity, right.

It was, it was going to be a let down from that. Oh, of course. Of course. You can't, you can't go to 11 all the time, right? It's like you're, you're kind of stuck there. And so I, I think what ended up happening, um, like it's almost like, um, you know, in a Super Bowl or I don't know if you guys are basketball fans in the 80s, when the Pistons started coming along and they

played great defense, the games weren't as exciting until there was all the rough house stuff, right? Like the conflict. Defense kills emotion. It's the way you win, but it kills emotion. I thought the US defense, like they, they didn't give Canada anything, nothing. And I know we'll probably talk about whether Tom Wilson should have been there in a second, but at some point, the big boys on your roster produce offense or they don't. And, you know, we can nitpick around the edges of the roster.

And, and I do think Tom Wilson should have been there, but I don't think Canada, a expected this type of game. Uh, B when, um, when they picked the team, Wilson had a great start and then he, he cooled and when he cooled was when they picked the team. And so I, maybe there was something in that there that, you know, that was why he wasn't there. But McKinnon, McDavid, after his goal, Crosby, Point, Marner, they didn't get anything accomplished on Saturday night. And we were watching the game yesterday morning and I, you know, we're just sitting around and I said, you know, to whoever was listening might've only been the dog. I think Cammy was listening. I'm

not sure. But I said it like they put the new lines up and I'm like, well, that's great. You know, that those are the new lines. But if these five guys don't play, they don't have a choice or they don't have a chance. And then look what happened, you know, that those are the new lines, but if these five guys don't play, they don't have a choice or they don't have a chance. And then look what happened, you know, McKenna gets two. McDavid gets one, Point gets one, and then Sid gets the empty netter. It's the top of your roster. It is, we spend hours talking about the fringes of

rosters and it is important, but the top of your roster has to be that if you're going to win. Yeah. I mean, I want to talk about Kale McCarr and the fact that he wasn't playing in that game and he will play in the game on Thursday. But Jason, it wasn't just McCarr, right? So Canada was missing half of their defense, right?

So Patrangelo, Theodore and McCarr, dead transition game. That's what I'm talking about. And not even the transition game, but the ability to get involved in the offensive end too, right? There's a big difference between putting the puck back to Kale McCarr than it is to, you know, I think Thomas Harley played really well, but there's

a big difference between giving it to Kale McCarr and Thomas Harley. really well, but there's a big difference between giving it to Kale McCarr and Thomas Harley. This is coming from a hopeful perspective as a fan of Canada that that's going to make a big difference on Thursday in Boston because you look at that Canada lineup and it's still had all these amazing forwards, McDavid, McKinnon, still had all these amazing forwards, McDavid, McKinnon, Crosby, all these other guys, and they just could not generate scoring chances and credit to the Americans, but I'm hoping something changes on Thursday.

Well, the Americans four check is ferocious. And if you can't escape a four check, your only place to shoot it around the boards. And if you shoot it around the boards, then the D from the US pinches down, and your best hope is you chip it out the center. And then you're on the punt coverage team. They just throw it back in,

and you chip it out the center, right? Like that's all you can get if you don't have that escape ability that McCarr has. Of course, we watch it 82 times a year with Quinn, like that's what, aside from their offense, their superpower is they never stay in their zone. They get it and they make somebody fall down and then they get out of the zone. It's amazing. I don't know how closely you watch Zach Wierenski as well, but I don't see, you know,

Columbus isn't high on my watch list, but I'm like, man, this kid is phenomenal. And those are the three Norris Trophy finalists. Like if you're voting today, it's Wurenski, Hughes and, and McCarr. So what Canada missed was greater in some than what the US missed without Quinn. But now come Thursday, I'm sure everybody by now has seen the reports and McEvoy went to the hospital, he's getting further testing done. I don't know what that's about.

Jeez, I hope the guy's okay. Like I have no idea. But the US team all of a sudden is all banged up. Matthew's a question mark, Matthews did not play, Brady's a question mark now after last night, and McEvoy, I mean, like it could be a completely different lineup come Thursday. I'll let you know, Ray, that just a couple minutes ago, Frank Sarvelli tweeted out that according to his sources,

McEvoy was admitted to the hospital on Monday night with an infection that stemmed from a minor injury. No long-term concern, but his status for Thursday is up in the air. So as you mentioned, yeah, the lineup could be different going into Thursday's game. Well, okay, so this is kind of like, again, I've got grade 11 and a half here, so I'm gonna caution kind of like, again, I've got

grade 11 and a half here, so I'm going to caution people of taking this as. Point taken. Yeah. Thank you. So you, you get an injury becomes a cut. It could be anywhere. You could have, your elbow pad could have moved.

You could have hit your elbow on the board. You get a cut. You finish the rest of the game. This happened a lot before when equipment wasn't made the same way. Quite frankly, it wasn't as clean. And you'd get an infection. And if the infection didn't clean up, if you didn't get to it right away, maybe you don't notice it right away, you end up with a bigger problem. Hopefully Charlie's okay because while no long-term, as Frank said, as you just read, it can be more than bothersome

for a little bit of time. We're speaking to Ray Ferraro here on the Halford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Ray, let's turn our attention to the guys between the pipes, specifically Jordan Bennington. What have you thought of Bennington's tournament thus far? I think this is a Jordan Bennington performance. It's really good and then you hold your breath. I thought on Saturday he played really well and I think it's, you know, you can't go by the first goal for sure, can't go in at this level. But Genzel's probably trying, if you look at the puck

coming off his stick, he's probably trying to elevate that puck and he doesn't get it right and it slides on the ice. But the goalie still, the goalies I talked to tell me that he's got to seal the ice as well. Like while expecting the top shot, you've got to seal the ice and that goes right underneath them. I didn't mind the Larkin goal because like in my eye line, like I've got that, I got that view on that shot from where I'm standing. Like he's not off his angle, but it is just over the pad and under the blocker. It's a perfect shot. The concern I have is that's where Lindell beat him yesterday. Same shot. I mean deeper in the zone, but same shot. And so Binnington had played great and then

he gives up three holes like boom, boom, boom. And so it's like, you know, there's really good stuff and then you close your eyes and hope. And I think there's a, you don't have to be a goalie guy, but pretty clearly an advantage to the US in the final here. The Gensel goal reminded me of Sid's golden goal. I was like, it doesn't feel so good the other way around. No, it doesn't. It was a fabulous goal in 2010.

Yeah, it was an amazing goal. And the other night you're like, it doesn't. It was a fabulous school in 2010. Yeah, it was amazing. And the other night you're like, Oh, he's got to stop. Yeah. Let's talk about some of the other teams in specifically Sweden. I tweeted out and now I totally regret it because I tweeted out, Oh my God. I tweeted out, Sweden went undefeated in regulation, beat the Americans and they won't play in the final and that everyone assumed that I thought that it meant that Sweden deserved to be in the final.

I was like, no, they lost twice. I mean, that's fine lines in these tournaments. My whole point is that like, wow, like, you know, there was a couple for Sweden, it came down to a couple of overtimes and maybe the America USA game would have gone differently if it had mattered and You know the Americans wouldn't have been sitting guys and they probably but my whole point is that like I actually don't know what to think of Sweden's performance at this tournament because again, they didn't lose in regulation

and they did beat the Americans but overall, I think that was a disappointing performance for Sweden. And for me, it really hinged on the fact that they didn't beat the team that they should have beaten and that's Finland. Okay. So I'm going to, I'm going to talk about Sweden, but

I'll, I'll also talk about Finland in the same breath. This is a snapshot guys of tournament hockey for the Swedes and the Finns since I've been doing it. It's coming up 15 years that I've been doing international hockey. It's the same story every bloody tournament. And the story is the Finns look like a team that you you know, like it's a ragtag team. They're, gee, they don't have high end skill or enough of it. And gee, they're overmatched and they're, you know,

they're just a plucky little group. I always refer to them, they're a rock in your shoe. You can just never get rid of the Finns. Drives you crazy playing against them. And when you watch, you're like, well, they're gonna lose this game. And then they don't. And you're like, well, they're going to lose this game. And then they don't. And you're like, well, how the hell did that happen?

Right. And so that was the Finns through the whole tournament. They got, it's two one, the start of the third period. They get blown, you know, they get blown off the ice in the third period. They had two quick goals against the Americans. That game was over. Then they, like halfway through the Swedish game, you're like, Oh my God, it's two, two. Like they did it again.

And so the Finns, that was the snapshot of them. The Swedes always look better than they are. They always do go back to again, go back to the first tournament I did was 2012 in, in Calgary and Savannah Jets score a beautiful overtime goal. It was a one, nothing game against the Russians. That's the last time they won the gold medal. I think since then they, didn't they go through that streak of about 50 straight

games of winning in the, in the preliminary round and they never win. They're like this tournament, they, they, in theory, in a different spot. But they just don't have something or they don't get something. And it's not the same thing all the time. But something always does not connect. The Tumblers don't connect for them in tournament play. Because look at those players, like as a collection, and you tell me they're not better than the Finns? Of course they are. Of course they are. But it just, it doesn't happen for them. And it's, it's got to be maddening, frustrating. I don't even know what else the word is, but like, yeah, there was two overtime games and

you know, like if you're going to pick a team to win overtime, I'm not picking the Finns. I really am not, except Lankinen makes that save and then he does, you know, he kind of like with his back heel chips the puck out and they break out like, what the? Like it's just so Finnish to me. Like he doesn't know where it is for a minute and then he like keeps the play going and Gremlin scores. And you're like, and there go the Fin, or there go the Swedes again.

And it's confounding to watch, it really is. I drew the short straw, so I get to ask this one. What'd you think of Elias Pettersson's tournament? Oh, well, I mean, I, again, like I think when I was on with you last time, I'm like, I don't know what to say. Like it, it doesn't, there's a get up and go that's missing to his game. And I think it impacts everything else that he does. Like he's not going to skate, of course, like McKay, McDavid or McKinnon, right? Of course he's not going to skate of course like McDavid or McKinnon right? Of course he's not going to. But when he gets the puck in any space, with any space or to take one

stride to clear the crowd, he just doesn't seem to have it. And I don't know why. And And I don't know why, and just prior to the tournament, there was a story about, you need a summer of training. And look, I've rehabbed over a summer and it sucks. When you're rehabbing, you're not training. You're not building. You're trying to tread water. You're trying to get yourself back to your low bar. That's what rehab is basically. Rarely does a guy come off of rehab or an injury of some sort and springboard the next little, little while it just, it doesn't happen. Um, and I don't, again, I don't know guys, but that get up and go is missing from his stride and his game.

And if, if the game is going to return to what we've seen before that has to be there. And if that means harder work or different work or more commitment off season, if it's all of that, then that's what has to be. more commitment off season if it's all of that then that's what has to be. But right now under the traffic like you know this is the difference fast and quick like you don't have to be fast to get out of traffic you just have to read the play like read that scene remember this happens in a second right so you read the play and you you see what's going on and you take one stride and you're out of the traffic. Almost anybody can do that, but it takes the read, the connection and the strength

to get out of it. And something in that firing system isn't working because he's, he is quicker than this. We've seen it. Yeah. It's not like he's 37 and you go, oh man, he just got old, right? Because that's what happens to everybody. But like we've seen it, not that long ago. We're just over a year ago, right? Prior to the All-Star break, it was

there and then it's gone. Like there's, it doesn't make any sense to me. Yeah. And, and, you know, like that's, I'm kind of rambling a bit now, but it just doesn't make it, it's like anything. It's like, if we're trying to talk about politics in the States, we just start rambling around

because none of it makes any sense. And it's kind of, that's what, I guess that's what I'm saying here. Well, there's one game left at the Four Nations faceoff and it is the one that everyone wanted. Now we're going to get it's on Thursday in Boston. It's Canada, it's the US. You're going to be there, you're going to be working it. Ray, thank

you for doing this today and have a lot of fun on Thursday. It should be great. Oh, I can't wait to be there, guys. Good to talk to you again and we'll talk to you next week. Sounds good. Thanks, Ray. Have fun. That's Ray Ferraro on route from Montreal to Boston for the final of the Foreign Nations face faceoff.

Four Nations down to two facing off Thursday in Boston, Canada, US. Ray Ferraro on the show. Sportsnet's Craig Simpson joins us here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning Craig, how are you? I'm good thanks, how are you guys? We're good, thanks for taking the time to do this.

I'm not sure if you heard that preamble or not, but McAvoy officially ruled out by the Boston Bruins and thereby for Team USA on Thursday for the finale of the Four Nations faceoff. So based on what you saw during Saturday's game, where the U.S. beat Canada 3-1 and McEvoy was a big part of that, how big a loss is this for the U.S. going into the final on Thursday? Well, it's always an enormous loss with a guy who has a great competitive level play. You know, I think you saw that on Saturday, but not only how aggressive he was, the big hits that he had, but the big minutes that he plays and he plays in key situations and, you know, can be a part of your offense, jumping up and initiating

plays a big part of Emily killing and defending and setting the physical tone. So you know, you hate seeing anybody getting injured when they're playing for their country. You know, they've taken the time during the regular season, you worry for the Boston Bruins losing one of their best defensemen. So there's a lot of trickle down effects, but I grew it here. I think what's been front and foremost in this tournament is just how great it's been to see the best from each country go head to head and play each other. And it's a shame that that's not going to happen on Thursday.

Craig, do you think this tournament should be played in August or September, like the old Canada Cups were? It depends, you know, I, I've heard a lot of rumblings of, you know, even going ahead to the next one coming up in what, 28. A lot of the league, the owners don't want A, to push the season back that much further without getting started, and B, go up against football, which for us in Canada, a lot,

like even high school, college, all that, it has an effect on a lot of the NHL cities in the U S and most owners don't really even want the majority of their home games going in until November when things are dying down. So I think the spectacle that it has been right now, and it's really been a, a home run in terms of how excited everybody's been about seeing the best on best. Comes at the perfect time. It's a lull in the season. You look at even the NBA's got, you know, their all-star game, which quite frankly, it was a great contrast. I don't know

if you watched this weekend. Well, I said, I, the last eight years, like broadcasting an all-star game is not a whole lot of fun. Because. Try covering one as a writer. It's a nightmare. Yeah. And, and so I think the contrast this past weekend, going from Saturday night to their young guns game or whatever in the NBA is like, oh yeah, this is where people are at home.

It's cold weather. You know, I think the setting for the TV numbers and the interest it had fit well where this tournament is right now. And I think that's probably what you'll continue to see. And I'm not sure that part of the September games, it takes a little while to get the engine running. Every year, we just took a look at the Summit series of 72. And even the guys said, hey, they weren't in shape. They weren't doing that, playing at their highest level. I think what really stood out

from that very first game, Canada, Sweden was, oh yeah, these guys are in mid season form and man, when they step on the gas, it's been pretty impressive to watch. We are speaking to Sportsnet NHL color analyst, Craig Simpson here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Craig, I do want to go back to Saturday in the atmosphere in Montreal and that game between Canada and the U S we just finished talking to Ray Ferraro about the intensity in the building and the lead up to the three fights in nine seconds right off the hop.

And Ray said that he first caught wind of it when he saw Brady Kachuk sort of yelling over to Sam Bennett that they were going to go at what point did you and Chris realize that this game was gonna pop off the way that it did? Did you guys notice something maybe before the face-off or did you see one of the Kachucks talking to someone else? Like the anticipation, the lead-up, what was that like trying to figure out like,

oh, this is about to have fireworks? Well, I think we expected fireworks from a standpoint of a highly energized game, right? Yeah, you know, so I don't think anybody had the notion of the three fights that ended up happening in such short order. But I remember like you, he wasn't on air, but we were doing the warmup and Ron said, Oh, you see Matthew and Kichuck went to Hegel in the warmup and said, center ice, you know, let's go. And so that was the first sort of inkling in during the warmup time and obviously raised down between the benches. So he would hear a lot more of that from a warmup perspective.

Um, but yeah, we were, I know Chris was probably not in that mindset when he was setting the table and then all of a sudden the puck drops and bang here we go. So, you know, interesting. And again, that shows just the intensity of the rivalry. And the last couple of games, you know, it had been eight years, four months and 26 days since Canada, US had played the other day, it had been 11 years in one day since Finland and Canada played. And that kind of hit me again of, yeah, we have been starved of these kinds of games and these kinds of rivalries. And it's hard to believe that it's been that long for those to take place.

And I think that's why you've seen the level of intensity the level of play be so high that the players have been you know pining for this and thirsting for this and I thought Saturday was just a great example of that. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.