OverDrive - Methot on the Maple Leafs' opening win, the Senators' inadequate start and the penalty problems in the spotlight

Episode Date: April 21, 2025

TSN Hockey Analyst Marc Methot joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the Battle of Ontario, the Maple Leafs' opening victory, the Senators' playoff first impressions, Linus Ullmark inconsistent play in the postseason, the penalty issues in the game and more.

Are you age 16 to 30 and ready to make a real impact? The Youth Thrive program, funded by Canada Service Corps and delivered by the Career Foundation, is your chance to develop leadership skills, connect with mentors, and gain real world experience, all while giving back to your community. Best of all, it's a no-cost program, available across Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, and BC. Thoughts are limited, so register now at careerfoundation.com. That's careerfoundation.com.

Join today and be part of something amazing. Let's chat with a guy that's very familiar with playoff hockey and playing for the Sens in particular. Here's our TSN hockey analyst, former NHLer. Joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline, here's Mark Mathod. Would you make it that game last night, Matt? If there's one thing in particular from a Sens perspective, once the game came to an end, what was it?

Like what was the one thing you were kind of hammering on last night? Well, thanks for having me guys. Yeah, I listened to Noodle's, the tail end of Noodle's and I heard you too hazy. I think you guys kind of nailed it pretty good there as far as the goal-tending matchup was huge. We knew that going into the series. Yeah, the penalty kill was atrocious, but again, I say this to people, this has been an issue for this group all season. So there was no surprises there. You're hoping for a spark and getting a

couple of kills and we can squabble about the ready officiating all we want. I don't like doing that, especially as a former player. I think it's a bit of a cop out, but maybe there's a little credence there perhaps with a couple of those first penalties, but I won't get into that. Um, I think, I think ultimately, and the team, and I'm talking about Ottawa, they, they looked like they were playing in their first playoff game. I know they've got some experience. They bought brought in Perron, Amadio.

They've got cousins who didn't obviously play last night. There's a, Ru's got a lot of playoff experience. I, it's just their core guys. They've got cousins who didn't obviously play last night. Zerou's got a lot of playoff experience. It's just their core guys couldn't come through. And then I heard you guys mentioning Brady a little bit there as well. I mean, they took 14 minors yesterday. I mean, that was the most. Now a lot of them were coincidental and toward the end, but that was the most amount of penalties,

like minors at least, that any team has taken since like, I think Montreal in 2013 in their respective playoffs. So, you know, you're going to take a ton of, you're going to, you're going to take a ton of penalties, guys like Brady, guys like Tim Stooslid, they're not going to be on the ice, right? They don't kill penalties. So they're not getting the puck. They're not getting into the flow of the game for them either. So, um, I dunno,'t know if it's because it's raining in Ottawa today, guys, but today's been a tough day, you know, I'm hoping. And I talked to Josh, your producer, just before I came on with you guys, I was mentioning to him, like, I just want a competitive series. Like I know a lot of Toronto fans think I'm like the residents, you know,

sends fanboy into it or gray. I suppose I kind of am, but I think first and foremost, I just want a competitive series you know you heard Stolar's reference the series potentially being a bloodbath heading into it and I'm obviously not advocating for a bunch of you know gooning out there or anything like that but I just want I want some drama and I didn't feel like I got enough of it yesterday it just sort of felt underwhelming from a sense fan perspective so that's kind of where I'm at with it. Math, I think we discussed in the first hour

that there needs to be a lot of elevation from some of the Sens top forwards. I think if you go through it, I think Batherson, maybe Pinto at times were the only guys to kind of, where you notice, like we basically broke it down where you said who played, like Hayes was in the building It was like who really had played great for Ottawa, and it's not a whole lot So they need a lot of elevation the question is is it a layup for who leads the charge in that like we just

Brady is connected to this team It's like you say this ends and then the next thing you say is Brady Kachak like to see the guy that has to lead The charge as far as the elevation of the top players? Yeah, well, he's, well, I mean, I'd be lying if I said he wasn't a huge part of that. I mean, it's Brady Kachuk, right? And I do think that, you know, we probably set the bar a little high for him. You know, he comes off relatively successful by the US's standpoint, I suppose. Like at the Four Nations Cup, he was terrific,

right? Like he was impactful, he was scoring, he was fighting, like it was just, it was Kachuk style hockey. But the NHL playoffs are different animal. I mean, you're playing the, you know, the top seed in the Atlantic. Toronto is a well-oiled machine. You have to respect that. So, you know, matchups are a big part of it. And I think, you know, from my experience playing, I mean, when you get to, when you get a chance to play against that same line night in and night out, and you're already very familiar, particularly in the first round matchups, when you're playing against a divisional opponent, you know what their tendencies are. Like when I played against Sid, um, in the conference final, just as

an example, um, back in 2017, I knew the tendencies of that line. Like it's easier to defend as the series prolongs, right? So my point is, and to your point there, um, Oh, like you have to start relying and getting some secondary scoring. And this, the big question for me leading into tomorrow night is, and I don't know where you guys stand on this. I know noodles has been exposed to a ton of sense hockey this season. What do you do with Zetterlin? Like I watched him play last night and I made a comment on X after the game about it where like you have to elevate that man.

Like he's right there and he brings it. He's got the leg speed, he's got energy. And in a game where it felt like Otto was sort of, kind of a passenger. And again, you can chalk that up to nerves, but I don't know who you move. Like do you move Giroud? Like how do you say that to Claude Jiru if you're Travis Green?

I mean, I get it. It's a playoff game and you got to do it. You know, the, the team first kind of thing, but, uh, like there's him, there's maybe David Perron you slide down, but, and I realized moving a player like Zetterlin doesn't necessarily move the entire needle like all the way, but it's those little tweaks that you have to make. And so, yeah, like responsibility for sure falls on Brady and Stutsel up front.

I would argue, you know, there are the two guys in their prime up front. They're the two star players, but I'm looking around the lineup at other players, like you mentioned Pinto had a pretty good evening. I think you're right there in Patterson as well. That's not enough, right? And then there were some huge blunders on the backend. Like I didn't think Shabbat and Jensen had a great evening either. They were pretty bad on the first two goals.

So, you know, and then you, you couple that with all the penalty killing they had to do it's a recipe for disaster. So yeah, I think, I think tomorrow night it really just comes down to matchups. Like I think, uh, I really liked what Barube did. I mean, he was playing Matthew's line straight up against Brady. They were challenging them. Yeah. Like that was my first thing I noticed.

And I'm thinking like me just, just having that experience playing in those, like you're always looking for your matchups, right? I thought, I just assumed Pinto's line was going to be, was going to get a lot of Matthews and Knives and Marner that night yesterday, but it didn't happen and I know they have the second change, but you can still fight to get the matchup a

little bit, but all in all, yeah. I mean, it was, that was all Toronto in my opinion So was it treating tomorrow is it water off a goose's back? Did you hear that saying? Okay, so hey Linus all mark in his scrum was you know being Philosophical and just saying hey, you know you got a all of that stuff, you know, you got to, all of that stuff. But he said, you got to treat it like a goldfish.

That's the Ted Lasso comment. And then he goes, just water off a goose's back. And we're all like, does that mean water off a duck's back? Like, oh my god. Well, Jamie, I'll ask you first. Was that like nervous energy or was that really calm? And you're like calm really like a lot of guys kinda cool and he's ready to rock or did was it bizarre i think it's true i saw i let math answer but i want to get

i think green is going to have some adjustments quickly done is that a lingerie and that doesn't matter who's a vet and who's a not you have to you have to go with who you believe is going to give you the best opportunity in-game so there should have been an in game adjustment or heading into the next game. I would argue that Nick Cousins is going to come in probably tomorrow for Ottawa just to you know he's a different dynamic that you know that type of you know guy who likes

to get underneath the skin but getting back to Almark and the comment oh I think it's a little bit of both. Let's lean us on Almark if you've ever talked to him But he can't be happy with with that performance So you know you have to put it behind him whatever it's water off the goose's back But he has to be better and he has to show his teammates that'll be better in game two I don't know how you feel about that man. Yeah Well, I mean well and and again like any Canadian market that is down one game after you know The first game of the series in the playoff round,

people are starting to panic and there's a lot of chatter going around about potentially who would you start in that second game? Well, I mean, right off the top, you obviously go back with Allmark. That's an insane thought to even go elsewhere. But having said all that, I think, yeah, it was a tough one for him last night. But at the same time, if you break down every goal on an individual level, goal by goal by goal, I mean, the number one thing I'm noticing and particularly through the first, I want to say the first four goals for Toronto,

it was all middle ice. Like Ottawa was just giving up middle ice everywhere and that's how it started on the Shabbat or excuse me, on the Olivier Ekman-Larsen goal. So basically it just comes down the ice with Lott and Jarnkroek and they kind of do their thing in the neutral zone and wide open in the middle ice. No one's challenging anybody. So again, it's like, is that just a one-off? I think Olmork might be correct there. I think Nervs played a huge part of it. Like you guys know when you played, I always go back to my first playoff game back in like, Oh, nine, we were playing the red wings. I was with Columbus.

Hitchcock was our coach and I was a rookie. We got swept that series and obviously Detroit ended up winning the Stanley cup that year. But my point is, I remember how I felt in that first game. My legs were shot. Like it felt like I was skating through mud and no matter how hard I wanted to work, I just couldn't get through. And by the end of the first period, I was exhausted. A lot of that was just nerves, being anxious, you're overthinking everything and you're trying to compensate with hard work by running around. And so I think for them, yeah, like if you're going into tomorrow night's game

and you're looking for a projection, sure, you're probably going to get more pushback from Ottawa. They're going to settle in a little bit more, but I'm concerned about that penalty kill. I'm concerned about Ulmerk. I don't care what anybody says. I don't care if you want a Vezina. There were a lot of inconsistencies throughout the season. He finished strong a lot like Stolars has or did rather, but he was like wildly inconsistent at times in the regular season. So you're, you're worried. Is that rearing its ugly head again? Is this going to persist or is he going to find his game again? But that only works if you can limit those high danger chances. You know, if you're a defenseman or forward, you got to come back to the house. You got to protect it. You can't let them

get in there. So again, I can talk about Ottawa ad nauseum, but like, you know, you lost to the division champs and they played like it and that's what it came down to. With Mark with thought and yeah, Lena Solmark now is allowed four goals or more in six of his ten career playoffs starts And last year, you know, the Leafs had issues with Swainman. They did not have issues necessarily with all mark But to your point he's going in he has to be he's your guy. He's he's the guy he's the franchise He's he's the guy that you got to rely on and he's got to have a big game tomorrow night And I'm curious, you know know you mentioned Borube and his approach the politicking after the game where you know you said fans are going to have their reaction to the calls the players are going to have their reaction but game one is where you can lay a framework

down if you're Borube he started doing it if you're green he started doing it what would you anticipate the officiating could look like tomorrow night? Oh, you're putting me on the spot. I mean, you guys are calling it from Toronto, but you know. Do you think we have, we're like in the ear of the NHL office here? I'm not suggesting that, but I think ultimately the consensus generally, I'm being very careful around the league, it's good for the league when Toronto does well and it's sort of hockey central if you will when it comes to the NHL, the biggest market in the league.

Now I'm not suggesting that the refs are throwing a game and they're going to sort of be a little more biased. I didn't like how soft those initial calls were, especially for a playoff game. Like the one on, I'm trying to reference back to the call with them. The students, the call the first one I thought was really soft. Yeah, like the boarding call was soft. And if you're a Toronto fan, you're going to have a different perspective. And I understand that too. And that's just the way the game is. And then the Godet call in the second period, I think it was on Matthews. It was.

And that put them down at five on three. Like again, like, and I'm, I maybe I'm cherry picking a little bit, but like, I can remember playing and I know it was a while back, like, you know, you're going back seven years, but you know, it's like you'd get away with a little bit more of the physicality and that's what kind of raises the drama up in a series.

But in any case, the more like auto was not even thinking about it. I'm sure they've addressed it. I'm sure Travis Green saying like, guys, we have to stay out of the fricking box. Like we need, you know, we need our top players on the ice here. And, and, but at the same time, you don't want to neuter your team from like playing hard and, and going hard out there and getting in their faces. Cause I think if you're going to, if you're, if you're the senators, you're not going

to go out there and trade chances with Toronto all night. You can't play their game. You're going to get worked. So you're going to have to get in their face. You're going to have to get uncomfortable. You're going to have to get in front of Stolar's, talk to them, try to get under his skin, like those are things that I'd be encouraging. And again, that's just me, but those are sort of the elements that I would be

encouraging forwards to do and even with the defense, like be hard around Omar. Like punish guys that are going in there with the extra jab at your goaltender on a rebound. Like you got to do something about that. But again, it comes down to mindset, mentality, your personnel. Ottawa's personnel doesn't necessarily fit the bill that well when it comes to the PK, so I don't see a whole lot changing there. Ultimately, they need the goal-tening to pick up, they got to stay disciplined, and they

got to steal a game tomorrow night, and that's their best chance. Yeah, exactly. And that's why it is a long series. And listen, the Leafs have been in the position Ottawa is in right now so many times in the last decade where they either lose in game one or get blown out. They lost 5-1 at home to Boston last year in game four or in Boston. And it was like, all right, here we go. You got to reset.

You end up winning game two. You split it and it goes seven. Ultimately, that's really all Ottawa was looking for here, was come in, get a split. But if you're the Leafs now, Matt, they're the veteran team, they're in the driver's seat, they have home ice, they won last night, they're goalie up, perform the other guy.

What would scare you from a Sens perspective? Like if you see something through twenty minutes tomorrow night is it still ours is dialed in uh... is it's you know matthews is cooking with a play really well last night but he's capable of breaking games open unlike anybody else on the ice uh... is there anything in particular the leaves might do through twenty minutes tomorrow night we'd sell this this could be trouble for game two

well i i i i i i think it ultimately just come down to the the discipline angle that i keep mentioning with auto like if you can if you're going to give them those chances to get good pot touches lots of time and space for guys like neil and their matthews mariner and they're just feeling it that's when they start connecting and then they're confident i think i think the one thing i want to see Ottawa do tomorrow night is

just match that physicality. It just felt like they were always chasing it earlier on in that game. And that's, that kind of set the tone and the penalties set them back, of course. But ultimately, um, and I know fans don't want to hear that over here, over there, but you gotta get under their skin somehow. You have to play physical. Like you have to make life incredibly difficult for Toronto's top guys. The only counter to that is Ottawa doesn't really have outside of Cleven and Matt and

Palo perhaps on the third pairing, which I think analytically they were probably their best pairing last night outside of Sanderson. They don't really have a lot of bite back there. And that's where I was critical of Toronto's back end to a degree, because I didn't think they have a, they had a game breaker, but I mean, based on game one i'm under a i underestimated the experience and that's that's the biggest thing so uh... you know try try to get physical on them try to get under the skin draw some penalties they drew the most penalties in the n.h.l. this past year

gotta see that continue in the postseason but that only happens if they're confident they're feeling good and i grew up in their six method of that math thanks a lot for doing this uh Really appreciate it. I want to get you out of here with this question. If you were at the game and Brian Hayes approached you and he had a nice suit on and in the front of the suit, because this is what he actually wore to the game, He had a fanny pack because he had some like an IFB and a pen and a phone. So this guy wore a blue suit with a fanny pack above his privates. But if he went in for a bro hug and said,

Math what's up? And you saw the fanny pack. What is your first initial reaction? Man, I couldn't cold shoulder that, man. Not in Toronto, at least. If it was in Ottawa, I'd probably come in pretty strong, try to embarrass them a little bit, and try to wonder what that bulge was that was leaning up against me when I was giving them a hug.

Fanny pack. Fanny pack. But I would suggest, carry a briefcase. I don't see enough of that in the sporting world. Noodles and I, like whenever I run into noodles at the rink, we've always got our little backpacks. Wear a briefcase. I don't see enough in the sporting world noodles and I like whenever I run into noodles at the rink We've always got our little backpacks. Yeah, wear a leather suitcase. You'll look classy Kramer. There's a Story, man, I got one. It's in front of the I was in the seats All right

I can't I'm not carrying a briefcase around in the seats and that's what threw me off map Usually I'm in the bus box. I'll bring a backpack. I'll bring a whatever, you know, I've got everything covered. So in the seats, and I'm like, I got to bring an IFB, I'm doing TV after the game, I got to bring a tie, I got to bring a phone charger. So I had the fanny pack, and I think I pulled it off beautifully. It turns out that people- Wait, were you- Go ahead.

Casey, were you sitting among the common folks? Yes. Like in the crowd? Oh, I was among the people. I am a man of the people. You wanted the whole experience. Wow. Absolutely. I am a man of the people.

The only guy in a suit last night in the lower bowl and it was an exciting night to be there. But that's why I was rocking the fanny pack. People are sending me pictures of me walking down Front Street trying to get into the game. They're snapping pictures of me with the fanny pack on. And I find that very unsettling that there's paparazzi out there trying to... There it is. Look at me. I'm just trying to cross the road. I don't see the pack though. Here's why. Okay. If you're on TSM4, if you're watching, I have a brown belt on. You can't see it because I have the blue strap over the brown belt.

But where's the actual pack? It's behind me. Oh, you got it in the back. Behind the jacket. You'd never know I had the fanny pack. Oh, so you rotated it around the back. Yes, I'm not a buffoon. Okay, well that's somewhat better,

but it's still, I mean, I don't know. Look, I don't wanna make fun of you. I find it cool. Dude, yeah you do. Yeah, you do, man. It's just like of all the choices you had, like you probably have backpacks laying around in an old sports bag, something cool with a Toronto logo on it, but you opted to go with, yeah, I don't know.

The fanny pack. It's a lifestyle choice, man. I think it's a whole, I'm going to bring in a whole new era. You're going to see tomorrow night, game two, fanny packs. That's what the Leafs should hand out. Fans can fling them around like the towels last night. Get fanny packs. That's what the Leafs should hand out. Fans can fling them around like the towels last night. Get fanny packs going. Make fanny packs great again, please. That's awesome. Awesome. All right, man. Good luck tomorrow night. We'll do it again soon. Thank you for this.

All right, guys. Cheers. Thanks for having me. Mark, bye. Hey, who invited climate action to the party? We did. Hey, I'm Shannon Burns. And I'm Sarah Christie. Together we host the Earth Day Party Podcast. Where the guest list is full of climate experts sharing their advice on how we can protect our planet. Every day we bring you the latest news and the latest news. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Party Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going

to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live show on the Earth Day Podcast. We're going to be doing a live we host the Earth Day Party Podcast. Where the guest list is full of climate experts sharing their advice on how we can protect our planet. Everything from avoiding microplastics

to sustainable fashion to getting a prescription to spend time in nature. Plus, we hear from David Suzuki. This is a party where everyone is invited. The Earth Day Party Podcast on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.