OverDrive - OverDrive - April 28, 2025 - Hour 1

Episode Date: April 28, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Senators' victory against the Maple Leafs, Jake Sanderson's overtime winner, the stars performance in the game, Tom Wilson leading the Capitals against the Canadiens and the Oilers tying the series against the Kings. TSN Winnipeg Jets Commentator on the Blues capitalizing against the Jets, Connor Hellebuyck's glaring struggles and the confidence for redemption.

Tim's smile cookie is here and every bite makes your community every bite better. Because 100% of proceeds are donated to local charities and community groups. Head to Tim's for smile cookies from April 28 to May 4th. This Hour of Overdrive is powered by FanDuel. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Alright, here we go Over drive, off and running, TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, and up on TSN for Brian Hayes, the ODOT,

Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClennan. What's going on? I think we all need, we could get Doogie to send an email to our friend Jerry Betman and CC Brian Hayes, Noodles, myself and Pierre Lebrun for putting him on the spot at the general manager's meetings because we owe him an apology for this past weekend of hockey. He wanted rivalries, he's got rivalries and we said we hated it but we love it. It's been amazing

I will say that it's been a lot of fun now I'm not convinced one versus eight two versus seven would have dude any I'm sorry you there's no way that you could watch How about yesterday the great Bob Johnson said it's a great day for hockey. He was talking about Yesterday that was amazing. It was a great day. It's was talking about yesterday that was amazing there was a great day it's a beautiful day to it's a great day uh... the chase at a doubleheader will walk with the added out of work lock i'm already watching them i'm here to wildman gosman through fifty three pitches in it

i have never seen anything like it in many had the audacity to yell at the um They blew a will too. I love the pitches he was complaining about you know the box they have they were like way outside And he just thought that cuz the pit the catcher framed them. He was like come on man. It's like dude those were balls It's not good man. Yeah, the Jays. Yeah, the Jays are in a tough spot, but terrible Yeah, there's there is so much that came out of the weekend. I have been chomping at the bit. I'm sure I can speak for the two of you to get on the air and talk about all the different things that we saw and we will do that over the course of three hours.

I'm not sensing panic with Leaf fans. I'm curious where you guys are at. I don't think there should be any panic. I understand the history I understand why leaf fans are on edge at all times But I'm curious your anecdotal experiences because for me over the weekend. It was still hey Leafs are in the driver's seat went over time It's tough to sweep a team good for Ottawa. That was my stance I don't know if you guys have heard something different, but no I mean, if we all said, you know, truth serum or whatever, I think a lot of people

are like, hey, Leafs in six, Leafs in, you know, whatever. So when it happens to be, you know, you're going to a fifth game, like you can't be that surprised. Like, you know, what if the Leafs won the other night, but they ended up losing one of the other overtime games? You know, like to me, I looked at it and you're right, 3-1 is 3-1. Like you're still in the driver's seat and going home into your own building. But what it is still, Brian, I watched you on the Jay Show.

What it is is the question had to be asked here, they're 1-12 or whatever it is. And I'm like, all right, but that's collective and it's over many years. And it's also, this is a different scenario. This isn't a game seven, this is a game four, you know? Like to me, I just looked at it and I'm not, oh, I don't know how you feel, but I just, I didn't, I was happy for Ottawa.

Obviously, you know, I'm tied to that organization. It was nice to see guys have a little bit of success. But in the end, even Travis Green was measured with his comments after we said, Hey, we played well and let's refocus for the next game. He didn't go overboard or anything like that. And I thought it was a great game and great atmosphere. There's a lot of fun. The overtime is the glass. It's the machine that wants, it's the NHL fan machine that is just like, I got to say one thing. I was on the panel with Mark Mathot and Frankie and Frankie blurted out the stat in closing games and I did the blinking meme. Like you know the meme where the guy's like, excuse me? I was like, is that possibly true? One in 12 in potential closeout games? That's a scary stat.

But it's the machine where it's like, oh, here goes the Leafs, and the Leafs are going to do it again. And now the chatter started that the margin of error and it's been, you can't argue that. I mean, three overtime games. So it could have gone either way. And I think the Leafs have done a good job in creating their own bounces and doing their own thing What will give everyone's attention is if they drop the next one? Then you probably got a full circus on your hands where it's like this is Montreal all over again

but this is just another step in the direction of what I've been calling it the leafiest thing ever and You know the things in thing ever and you know the things in the past where you can just rewrite things and say we don't do that garbage anymore and you go out there tomorrow night and you handle your business and you close out the series because if you don't then you're probably gonna have a bit of a media circus on your hands where the questions are gonna come up. Listen, Mike, we deserve that. Yes. Right?

Every opinion is subject to change. Feelings are subject to change. If you're a good team in the playoffs and you lose two in a row, people are going to poke at you, right? Regardless of what the context of the series is, if you start down 0-2, go talk to people about that. Look at the way we were talking about the oil after two. Exactly.

That's it. Go talk to St. Louis. Go talk to st louis go talk to you know montreal like that that's if you if you lose two in a row at any point a playoff series people are going to get up against the backs up against the wall and so what are you doing like what is happening here how did you are what to law probably in a tough spot absolutely so the least will be no different if they lose tomorrow night but i i think if they continue to play the way they've they've been playing they can have a very good chance of winning i i think if they continue to play the way they've they've been playing they have a very good chance of winning and i think it's very difficult to sweep

uh... they did not have a good start autawa to their credit had to show up they were desperate they look like it then they held on for dear life you know a prawn scored uh... that was a good eight seven eight minutes stretch for autawa thought they were kinda humming a little bit to start the third period as well in a prong gets on the board.

Ottawa had four shots in 40 minutes. Four shots when they're down three nothing in the series and it was a great overtime. It was a fun overtime. Matthews hits the post you know and that's that's what I took out of it from the Austin Matthews conversation that is blowing up and we'll get into it is he just it's like he's so I don't know if he's unlucky I was having four nations flashbacks like half the net was open there it was wide open Almark was reaching you know back door and it pops right on to Matthew stick and he gets checked at the last second but right here right off the post like that that's it that that's your moment. That's your captain. He scored. He's done it

You swept you're moving on and he hits the post That's Bennington going post to post like that's what it looked like and felt like to me and And those guys are separate from the rest of the team and how they're operating including the head coach Who has not changed his tone once throughout this playoff run like Craig Bar Barube is established, he's cool, he's calm, he's conducted. I think the way this team is playing, they've had really good goal-tending. They're deep pairings, you have a lot of faith in them.

That's the biggest tangible difference year over year. You got three pairings, any of them are on the ice, you feel comfortable. And I think the best players have played pretty well. But you need to have that clutch gene show up to push it over the top and you're gonna get another crack at It tomorrow night, and if you play panicked then that's trouble But if they come out the Maple Leafs and just play the way they've consistently played through four games I don't believe Ottawa is gonna beat them four times in a row when the games are this tight

You're looking for separators in a row. When the games are this tight, you're looking for separators in a series. And you just mentioned the one guy. If you're playing tight hockey games where you're not giving up a lot of shots and you're having opportunities, that was a moment for a separator. The best player on the ice by a lot, I think, you would think there's an opportunity there for them to close out the series. So you get it on home ice, you have a tight game. It's another great opportunity for an Austin Matthews, a Mitch Marner or a William Nylander to be that separator and say We're gonna be the difference tonight And we're gonna win this game and the series is gonna be over whether it happens or not

Obviously there's different other different elements in the game where you're talking about Goaltender making saves and we'll get into that in a minute about some other series. But you would think that if the goaltender stays reasonably hot and they're, what did you say, four shots in two periods? Yeah. Ottawa had one in the second that hit the net, like they had shot attempts, but they had one registered shot and three in the third. Yeah, you'd think you're big boys. You do that, you're winning the series, clearly.

Yeah, that's right. No, you're right. And there are ebbs and flows. Like to me, those games have become, and if you're watching a lot, clearly. You're right. And there are ebbs and flows. Those games have become, and if you're watching a lot of games, you're seeing, when you're playing the same team, it becomes methodical. It's not wide open because the team that you're playing knows how to counter or is working on countering what you're throwing at them.

So it becomes like a chess match. There is pockets where it's like, oh, open that penalty maybe a power play can put you over the top I mean the difference in the game the other night was Ottawa killed penalties and that was a difference to virus gets that injury he's not on that five-man power play they get four minutes that all mark gets a post I thought there was a couple I'll be honest I thought all mark made some great saves but there was a couple like Max be honest. I thought all mark made some great saves, but there was a couple like

Max Domi came in and took a wrist shot caught under his like well that one went through him and then there was another left Shot that what got caught under his left pad It was like like there was a couple was like oh my god I had a weird feeling of like I'm curious site and you you have a much more technical Viewpoint than I do but I have looked at all mark and I'm like he he's not exuding confidence to me throughout the series Yet he needed a night like that. He outperforms dollars like that's what you were waiting for and I you know I was talking about it on Saturday that that like we we talk about this endlessly and we're seeing it a lot in the playoffs The goaltending position is so unique and so different from everything else.

There's systems everywhere else, and there's clutch genes, and there's bounces, and there's special teams. And the goalie, that is the one thing that can flip any series. If Olmark comes out of it feeling positive because he got a win, and it had been a pretty long time running. He didn't win one for Boston last year, hadn't won in the first three. He makes stops, he gets rolling and Stolarz conversely has never lost a game in the playoffs. Like it's just been positive mojo. Everything's been great

for Stolarz and he's played four games in seven nights, three of them in overtime. He's going to start tomorrow night, of course, as he should. And you know, that's the one area where it may not be about Matthews or Kachuk or Sanderson or Panev or whatever. If Olmark gets hot, Stolarz cools down, then you're talking a very different situation. Well, I agree with you, Brian. But I think Stolarz didn't have his A game the other night. He's gotten in the first three games, he had some favorable bounces. I'll give you an example.

Pinto's breakaway, that goes through him and out the other side in maybe the previous games. This one sneaks in and Nye's almost dragged it off the line. Stuff like that. I just didn't think he had his A game. He didn't have a F game. just it was there was a little bit you know seeing i shot the game winning goal that that happened the other he's been on those for ten or it hits him and you know that type of stuff but we'll see if he has a response you're right we'll see if all mark

because to me the difference or the separator in tomorrow night's game is i think all mark has to steal it like i think he might have to steal the game. Like you know that might be the difference. I think the next two noodles. I'm getting, like remember in 13, again it's using Leaf analogies, but the Leafs were down 3-1 against a much better Boston team. Rymer stood on his head game 5 and 6 to push it to 7. Freddie Anderson did that in 2018.

The Leafs, same thing, they were down 3-1 in that series, and he stood on his head, game five and game six. That's, I think, the game plan. I mean, Travis Green isn't gonna say that. You're not writing that on the whiteboard. Olmark has to stand on his head, but ultimately that is the most likely way this becomes a series is Olmark gets red hot.

And conversely, if Stolars has an off game, where it's like, and you know, like there's a lot of what ifs, but in the end... If they're only getting four shots on that, that's a, that's an off game. Yeah, it's a good recipe, man. Like the Leafs have cooked up a good checking recipe here. And they blocked a lot of shots. That's the difference. Like I don't think Ottawa's getting their shots through.

Like that's the one thing. But in the end, you know, there's some great hockey. There was some unbelievable sports. Sports, like this Sanders kid, I don't know. That was insane. Like that was, like it was must watch for me. And the fact that he got punked. Like the prank call from a defensive coordinators kid in Atlanta

How high would that kid have to be to think that that was gonna fly like well? I don't know why I don't mean to laugh because I think it's crazy I felt for the you feel for all because it's Chidora Sanders not the only one there were all other other Draftees this year and in years past they got prank-called Yeah, it seemingly happens every single year. The idiocy of youth to videotape the prank call is, again, no one is condoning anything, but you are so stupid if you are going to do that and videotape it for clout. You are the son of an NFL defensive coordinator. You don't think you are getting caught? You're so stupid.

Like it's such a bad remark. I would fire the guy. I don't care if it was his kid. I would fire the guy. You can't fire the DC though. Like how do you set that precedent? I mean it's a prank call. I just think it would be difficult for anybody

to take him seriously moving forward, even though like everyone would be like, you're just the guy with the idiot kid. Well that is valid that that's gonna be tough. When that kid's walking on the sideline or whatever in the future, it's gonna be like you're just the guy with the idiot kid like well that is valid that that's gonna be tough when that kids walking on the sideline or whatever in the future it's gonna rise this a kid this is the idiot that was calling up and pranking somebody I hear you it's awkward but it is a prank I mean ultimately it's not but it's a tough prank because harm somebody the thing is is I don't know where you lay on this.

You watch this Sanders kid, I don't know anything about him, but I dislike his attitude. Looking at him and looking at his videos and him dancing around, I don't like him. He's become a villain already. I've never watched him have a snap at the NFL level. He might be an amazing person, He might be an amazing quarterback, but there's this cloud over him and I don't know if it's the family, the dad, the combination of the kids. Like it was a wild, wild story. It was crazy to watch, man. Like the whole, I've never experienced anything like it, that

he kept dropping and he overshadowed everything. Like there was Kyle Brandt of NFL Network did a great bit on this, that Cam Ward went first overall quarterback first overall Nobody knows anything about that guy. That's the first overall pick Nobody cared nobody talked about him. No one's interested in him No one's following him as he goes back to Tennessee the Chidora Sanders story Completely hijacked the draft and I you know, you look at the media members that were running the draft, Mel Kuyper has lost his mind. Lost his mind all weekend. Dude, I would have guessed that guy too.

It's just absurdity. Then he gets picked and he goes to Cleveland. There's a part of him that just knows, Dion Sanders is like, I don't want him to go to Cleveland, man. But there's nothing he can do. You dropped that far on the draft. You don't have any right to say anything. You get to show up in your car.

Deshaun Watson mentoring memes were so... Right off the bat, the Deshaun mentoring memes. Deshaun Watson mentoring memes. They were on point. There were memes left in... Tom Wilson's face, the meme of that. Who do you think he was directing that towards He said it was directed at one person not the team and he said I know you I know exactly who the guy is

And so does he but I'm not gonna mention. I don't think he would do that to Josh Anderson I don't think he's got a mutual respect for Anderson. I think you know Anderson will go him He's fought him a bunch. Maybe it was Jack. Jack guy was sniffing around there too. I don't know it was that was insane though because Like if you watch Washington's coaches like at first Carbary's in the way He has to jump out of the way as they do the the shuffle through the bench, right? Like it was Carbary said afterwards after a loss He's talking about a kind of jokingly is like well i was trying to walk is gonna walk across the rink yeah the bell center and

all the sudden these two absolute the not so it's right onto the bench they're doing a two-step through the bench it's crazy wilson and anderson like the two of them are the same guy their monsters and right shot beauties their great playoff performers i love them both to i thought it was unbelievable i can't but the impact wilson had in the game yesterday where it was like he just absolutely buried

that carry a and what what that off the ice that hit his sister and i was when the long bruce bell he had his water he carry a almost hit him right through the boards. That hit was so good. The memes of that is just outrageous. It was like he almost just going to disintegrate after the hit. And I'm sorry if you're a Habs fan, like, Tom Wilson's a big dude. There was nothing wrong with the hit.

It was just a great hit. It's a great hit. He destroyed the guy, and it was a bigger Carrier, Carrier is one of those defensemen where he's not that big of a guy and you, like you can get your licks in on a guy that's not that big like that and that was just, man, I don't even know if he plays the next game after that one. I don't even know what the hell would be sore but it must be a bunch of different things. Like him.

And they go down at score haze. Well it was a power play. He's getting off the ice. It's five on four. You know, like the, they scored multiple goals last night where they started the transition in their own zone and just went right through the neutral zone on Montreal last night. But Tom Wilson hit the Habs into a penalty kill situation. That's what he did.

That's how big that hit was If I'm carrier one thing I do do is I go to Dolby's and I say you don't ever talk about me after getting hit again Yeah, because I we got to play this clip. I don't know this is a European thing noodles. You can speak to this I don't believe he said what he said Let's hear this is still this side what he was look he said. That's here though. This is delish. It's insane. Look, he was hoping to see after Tom Wilson hit Carrier basically into a different universe. I felt like it's going to be a whistle because they were in their defensive zone and far away but I guess as I said I don't really know the rules. I felt like it should have been a whistle and I mean it was kind of a scary hit

But I guess the rules don't apply for everyone in this league. I have no idea. I would be mortified if Mike Goley suggested they should blow the game down. I got hit so hard. That's what happens in Europe. I told you guys the story when I played in Japan Tyson Nash I told you guys the story when I played in Japan Tyson Nash hit a guy so hard his helmet flew 20 20 feet in the air. They stopped the game. They didn't know what to do. They just blew it down They were like what's going on? The guy was laying there and I was like that's a clean hit they gave Nasher a five-minute major But they didn't know what for it was for a clean hit and that's that's Dobush saying in where I came from in Europe and

all these other leagues like that gets blown down and that player gets suspended. You hit too hard. Too hard. You hit the guy too hard and I wasn't prepared because I thought the whistle should have been out. Well the only time that gets blown down is if the guy just lies there motionless and you're like we got a serious problem here but I don't know how he got out man. That was that's just the biggest hit.

He did. He did. That was a Bruce Bell Wendell Clark hit, man. That was monstrous. It's one of the hardest hits in the history of the game. There's no doubt about it. Now the Habs are chasing it. That was Buff on Stone, wasn't it? Mark Stone? Yes. He had a big one there. PK had a big one on Marchand back in the day where he just stopped them. It was just a great hit and it was a great game. It was a great weekend, really, for the Habs.

They had it. They were up 2-1 in the third period last night and it just got away from them. Now they're chasing the series and there's a number of teams that are doing that right now but we're going to catch up with Kevin Sawyer later this hour on the Halibuck story in particular, but also the Jets as they fly home for game five. How do they regroup? Where do they go from here? We'll get into what happened in Edmonton last night and in Edmonton over the weekend in

general. Just a crazy, crazy scene. And that series is tied at two heading back to LA. You're asking for it LA, man. You're asking for it l a man you're asking well i agree i have and i have a five pack i got an under pant cam five pack come out of the weekend for you guys jim hiller scott hillers on there i'm gonna tease it hillers on it he's absolutely on it uh... so i'll get to that a little bit a little bit later you guys

tell me when you want it it's it's locked and loaded you know i'm ready for that type of business at any time. Anytime. You can drop that anytime. We can be a commercial and you cut off the commercial and say I've got this list. Okay. If you want an underpant cam five pack, I can get through that this hour. I'm happy to do that. I'm thinking maybe like round 640-ish. I don't know if we have anything. Yeah, that's what I had planned. I was thinking maybe a 630. I've also got something I should have got to you guys earlier. But instead of the Deservo meter, I wanted to do the gonna win meter. You got to predict hazy every series and the

gonna win meter who's gonna win. Okay. I'm sure you've got a feel and a vibe for all the series right now. I like it. I like it. All right, let's come back and maybe rapid fire some of that. We got Bruce Bujo coming up Mike Sullivan out in Pittsburgh You got Nico Harrison, maybe the happiest guy on earth because Luke and the Lakers are down 3-1 We'll touch on that and the Jays are off there at home with the Sox in town tomorrow overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN for Tim smile cookie is here and every bite makes your community every bite better because 100% of proceeds are donated to local charities and community

groups. Head to Tim's for smile cookies from April 28th to May 4th. Overdrive continues powered by FanDuel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Bruce Boudreaux coming up in about 40 minutes we'll get his take on the core four going into game five how he feels matthews and marner plan what he thinks of uh... stole ours you know plan in his fifth game and where that's going on in terms of the maple east of the ottawa senators among other things included what we saw

in edmonton last night uh... which was just a crazy finish, crazy overtime, crazy post game. Get Brucie on the Jim Hiller chat and there's a lot to get into with Bruce. LA Kings, man. It's like you just had them and you let them off the... I'll give a lot of teams credit, man. St. Louis Blues, LA Kings, they're not dying. They're not dying like they're not dying

They're just like we're gonna go down We are gonna go down swinging so hard and to have that puck and not get that thing out like byfield man I can't believe he didn't get that puck out like I was sick for the guy cuz he had so much time and space He chips in the middle of the ice the games anywhere over. Anywhere dude, there's 85 feet there. You gotta give Bouchard credit, because it's a ballsy move man. Like that guy, regardless, he could be the most fascinating player in the league, Bouchard. Yes, I totally agree. Would you agree with that Hayes?

I thought the same thing Noodlez. Because that guy, his give a you know what meter when he has the puck sometimes like that that was it whose breakaway goal where him and nurse are just waving at that thing and it's casual back and it's breakaway and like how many times you think the coach says don't pinch there don't do oh great goal forward man but but he literally he makes plays and the best thing about him might be the worst thing about him when you look at it is the way he treats like he's not overwhelmed by this situation he's like I'm gonna try this here and if it works great if it doesn't

yeah like you could go back to game one McDavid goes crazy they tie it they they fire it over four feet they chip it out he goes to wave at it at the blue line to keep it in l a goes down and scores the game winning goal like he all you had to do was pull out of the zone and they're going in overtime that's it but yeah is like i'm gonna wave at it like he's he's a risk reward but i come back to be he might be the most fascinating player in a case study to watch this guy's got four goals i think you games probably is

man like i'm i'm watching him in nurse last night there a dash three right off the bat yeah and I'm thinking this pairing should be studied in a lab so how many pairings Hayes you played defense when you're dash three it's kind of like check please maybe we just suck tonight then they just roar back and do these outrageous things it's amazing like he no one gets their shot through with more, I would say, purpose than Bouchard in the league. You look how he scored that goal, the tying goal. He gets something on it. He finds gaps. He gets through traffic and he's just... He picks corners.

He picks corners. That's what he does. He picks corners. He never fans on shots. He always gets it off. He's brilliant at it. Yeah, he's the Alonzo morning meme. How many times has McDave been like, okay, there we go, because defensively it's a disaster. It is. And this is why, and I'm getting off the beaten path because I was watching it and I was fascinating with him last night. He has no chance of playing for Canada. He'll'll never play I don't believe he'll ever play for Canada because they'll look at the other stuff and say I can't do that I can't have the guy playing two-on-ones the way he plays two-on-ones I can't have him play for Canada this year after the playoff he had he might not many Jerry I'm 0% I see

I'm I might disagree with that and here's go ahead go ahead because Because who is in the one spot offensively mccarr, right? Yes, so he's not gonna But I I still think if they have a partner that plays with him He looks a lot different with that call like that's the thing if you have a stable eyes more C. Bouchard That's all I'm saying is that if you have somebody. I'm not getting off my mini Jerry, man. He's too unpredictable and too infuriating when it's going the wrong way, Nules. I guess that's my point.

You see him waving sticks and playing two on ones and you're like, I can't believe this guy plays defense. I can't believe this guy. We saw it in the playoffs last year. How good was he when the chips were down. Now maybe these last couple games will ask him to get his head out of his rear end at certain times, but again, I understand 100% what you're saying. I just think he's a fascinating case because if you look at it, like maybe Drew Doughty, he might be too old. You know, there might be other guys. Maybe Petrangelo isn't in the mix or whatever.

There might be, again, who knows? If they lose in the first round and he's part of doing what they do, you're right. It's probably just a 0%. But he is a fascinating case where it's like you might have a guy that, if he continues to grow, it's not like he's 30 years old either. No, he's a young player and he's's got stones he's got courage easy plays with no pulse he goes out to school or if that's brains are ignorance or i think it's a serenity everything combination of

everything you know he can you got to have the skill and you've got to have the ability to get a replays and he does that uh... but the the story of bush are the story of that pairing is just a wild one and like if you've been watching the the four games like the three of us have 50 percent of the series Edmonton looks like a lottery team they don't care like they're just skating around out there. I know well part of it is what's going on in that but the giveaways and the odd man rushes like did you see McDavid's shaking his head at that Fiala knocking it out of

the air? He was like what the hell is this? River hockey? Well he's looking back at Bouchard going why are you trying to make a play there? Just dump it down to us we're down here. But to Hayes' point it's like for 40% of the game it's amateur hour out there Ahl plays and then all of a sudden dry silent McDavid put like these booster jets on and it's like Okay, there's no one. No one has an answer for that McDavid. There was times Where I'm like, that's the fast and I said the same thing last year. He's skating faster than ever Like when he cranks it up, it's like you you're just not stopping that that's there's no you have to take a penalty It's the only way to stop it. That's it when he comes around the net and they do a very good job of

Leading him, you know, like it's not sitting there waiting They come out behind the net they like push it almost up to the dot and he gets flying There's there's it's in there it's in your zone you might as well start in your zone you may as well just drop back and say bring it in and we're gonna be prepared because you can't stop them unless you take a penalty but it is it's just been a remarkable series because I understand why Jim Hiller the head coach the Kings is so frustrated it could have easily been a sweep like they had it they had the series they were up they were up for three and a third are going into the third and game three

They had the game last night their goaltender I will say Darcy Kemper like if you looked at the analytics last night They LA gave up 33 high danger chances. I thought Kemper was unreal like he was a Vesna I was like today and him hell about the basilevsky it should be but like that the one thing when you look at the difference between the two goaltenders like pickered i love the trevor morgul yesterday but he made a couple great saves at rights

time but he's an unmade bed in there but he battles and i think the team respects that you see when dry saddle scores that gold mac McDavid goes beelining back to Pickert. Right. Like you look at, like there's something there where they like, they play for that guy. I don't know what it is. It's like they... And they're not going back now. They're not going back now. That is for sure. All right.

Speaking of goaltenders, we'll come back with Kevin Sawyer in Winnipeg. Hellebuck pulled in back-to-back games and the numbers they're they're staggering. I mean there's no other way to put it. Like they're unbelievable numbers what he's doing. Like the the saves above or below expected everything across the board is really ugly for him and he spoke today speaks with confidence and he's up for the we know he's gonna win the Vezna unanimously might win the heart but it's 2-2 and St. Louis is storm back and they're coming back to Winnipeg I believe on Wednesday

for game five so Kevin will join us to chat about you know where we go from here with Hallebukken company Bruce Bruce Bujo coming up we'll get back into the Leafs as well start looking ahead to game five get his take on what we can expect tomorrow night how important it is into the Leafs as well, start looking ahead to game five, get his take on what we can expect tomorrow night, how important it is for the Leafs to close tomorrow night. So Bruce Bujo coming up in about 25 minutes, overdrive continues. TSN 1050 in on the TSN app. Tim's Smile Cookie is here.

And every bite makes your community every bite better. Because 100% of proceeds are donated to local charities and community groups. Head to Tim's for smile cookies from April 28th to May 4th. Something to chew on brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar this playoff season Boston Pizza planning the parade and has a new all-star playoff menu for you to enjoy. For pizza pints and puck drops visit your local Boston Pizza today we've been asking because there were so many different menu for you to enjoy. For pizza, pints and puck drops, visit your local Boston pizza today, we've been asking because there were so many different options. And naturally because it's online, people are very, very understanding and just willing to go along with things as

opposed to writing in other options and saying that they're bothered by the ones we supplied. I don't know if you're picking up on my sarcasm or not, but here we go. This is what we've been asking. What was the biggest moment from this weekend Stanley Cup playoffs action? Halibuck struggles, Wilson's monster hit, or the Landisgog goal in game four, which was incredible to see. They're actually really close. Halibuck's at 40%.

That would get my vote. I mean, this is a guy who is put forth uh... to the great seasons we've seen in a long long time like back-to-back years and this year in particular uh... and you you look at him he gets pulled in back-to-back games did he get pulled at all all season well he might have probably should have looked at it

yeah we can look but i i mean back- to back, like he hasn't been very good. The team has been out to lunch as well, too. Like I, they gave up, what was it, 12 goals in two games, like an uncharacteristic place. Like turnovers. And the guy's been junk as St. Louis, Jamie, but how many did they score? They got one yesterday. So it's like, yeah, he's got to be the guy leading the charge But there's a bunch of other guys like we talked about Winnipeg possibly getting an upgrades

And I don't know what happened with that, but if their top guys aren't scoring goals. It's like Well nothing so they need that I got to figure it out quickly They need that velari back on power play and apparently he was a game time yesterday So it looks like he'll probably play at home and they need to protect something like that Luke Shen looked like he was 420 years old in the last two games like he you can't protect him on the road like that's the you know again I'm singling him out but there's you know they they did a hell of a job on Shifely too like they've credit to St. Louis for sure But you know the whole house of cards false man when hellebuck isn't playing well

Hey, when they're talking about winning heart trophies and stealing games I don't care about the sixth defenseman or Gabe velarty or whatever if hellebuck is gonna play the way he's playing their toast They're done because the fact is in my opinion. They're a very good team They're a great team because of him. Like, this is not, this top to bottom roster is not like some unbelievable, I can't believe how talented they are type roster. What puts them over the top is they got a goalie who's absurd and is the best goalie

in the league. And if he's not going to be that, they're in big trouble. Here's a guy that's very familiar with that. We're gonna peg Jets commentator. Here's Kevin Sawyer joining us here on overdrive Kevin What do you make a hell of buck? I mean, how do you put this in a perspective the fact that he's been pulled back-to-back games and now I'm sure a lot Of people in Winnipeg buzzing about his playoff history the last few years in general Yeah, it is hard to describe, and the reason I say that is, you know, as good as he's been all season long,

this year his team in front of him has been rock solid. So there was games that he stole, but he didn't have to steal games very often. And his team in front of him at times would break down and when they did they're used to him making that save to bail them out so the second goal against in game number four he makes that save ten times out of ten to me yeah was there a bit of a screen yeah kind of doesn't block the shot that's the same he normally makes so I think that the team lost confidence because it's unfamiliar

territory that Connor Hellebuck underperforms. And we're not talking about one goal here. We're talking about 12 goals in the last two games. So hard to explain. What I can tell you is I'm really happy to hear the comments that Hellebuck made today. He said he needs to be better. Not often does he say that. It's the truth. And I think that takes pressure off of him and his team. It's the truth.

Everybody knows it. So he owned that. And he went on to say, I will be better. It's a confident dude. At times I used to think when he was younger, he might be a little arrogant. It wasn't arrogant. It was just a deep belief. He's got that.

And he's going to have to use that because he knows more than anybody else. He hasn't been close to the level that he needs to be. So Kevin, what do you see? I mean, you and I worked a panel yesterday. Is there some magic potion to go, okay, the goalie starts making saves and the team help out? Like, if you start with one thing, it just just says, okay the goalie needs to play better. Where does it go from there?

I mean, what have you seen outside of, you know, him just giving you the big save at the right time? The neutral zone for me is where this series is being won. And I give a ton of credit to Jim Montgomery. He is not only game planned properly against Winnipeg and here's what I'm seeing. And the Winnipeg jets have been the winning team, the most winning team because of some of their parts. They're not really studs in any one area,

but because they play such a good team game, they were the best. But if you look at their skill, Kyle Ponder, Cole Perfetti, Ehlers isn't in, but when he is Vlad Nemesnikov, they're not big. They're not big. So you've got to get on the body. And it's clear to me that Jim Montgomery and the St. Louis Blues have targeted that we saw what they did to Mark Shifey last game. Well, you can't hit, you can't finish, you can't for check.

If you don't control the neutral zone, that's what the Blues have been able to do for. Oh, I would say nine of the 12 periods played in this series so far and when the Jets game one first or game four first period they shut St. Louis down. That was a good adjustment from Scott O'Neill and then Jim Montgomery goes in to the first intermission he readjusts and they find a different way to get through the neutral zone to chip and smother whether it's chipping Helm them through the boards or win the battle down below the hash marks The blues are finding different ways to get through the neutral zone and keep the puck in the offensive zone

It's taking the speed out of the game for Winnipeg and it is forcing the Winnipeg just have to spend extra time in their zone Which they're not used to doing Guys, I just want to go back to Hellebuck. You guys are both on the panel. What could it be about playoff style hockey? Is it pace? Is it simply nerves where a guy could be so dominant during the regular season and now two playoffs in a row, his level of play is being questioned?

Like is it a pre-skeletal by St. Louis where they know where to shoot the puck or like what the hell are we talking about here? Because this is the second year in a row where you're like best goalie in the world by far and then it's like what have we got here? How could the playoffs change things so so much? I, noodles, you're the pro. I'm stumbled or I'm confused to some degree. I'm not seeing any one area that Hellebuck is breaking down and it's uncharacteristic. So goal number three, Shen, he goes to the net. Yeah, he got to the middle of the ice way too easy, but Hellebuck normally would just

challenge that shot. Instead he kind of panicked in my opinion. He throws the paddle down and get what he's trying to do. And he gives the top of the net away. Shen's good enough to make that play in tight shots from range from the point we're seeing the blues shoot from everywhere. Why wouldn't you? I can't explain why the best going on the planet is looking like he's at times guessing

a little bit. It's shots from everywhere in tight from range. Yeah, there's been some tips off of Pionk's back. Nothing you can do there. But pressure is real and nobody is exempt from that. And Connor Hellebuck knows as much as, more than anybody else, that his numbers have been overwhelmingly good in the regular season.

And the opposite is true lately in the post season. That factors in, man. That's in your head and he's carrying that. The only way to make that go away is to get results. I just wonder a little bit about the pressure and some new types of pressure that Connor Hellebeck has to deal with. Well, so if you want to like I'll be quick with this but like you look at game one, he gets beat three times they win. I thought he was a bit deep and tentative.

So what do you do to game two? I thought he was more aggressive and he did take a step towards the puck. Games three and four, he looked tentative and I thought they exposed his lack of lateral movement. Now he's a big guy who sets himself and then when he sets himself, he expects everybody, I've got the shot, you've got everything around. The prime example I could point out to in yesterday's game was goal number five. Yes, we can throw shade at Kyle Connor for turning the puck over in the offensive zone

and then getting beat up the ice. But if you actually look what Robert Thomas does, he dekes to his backhand. Hellebuck just goes down. He doesn't adjust to it. He doesn't push into it. He doesn't try and desperately throw himself at it, he goes, hey, I'm going to get walked around here, I go down, I've got my angle, I'll need Pionk or somebody else to help with the process.

To me, I think he needs to really dig in on plays. And it's not about style points, it's about being desperate of making these saves. And that's the only thing I've noticed differently with Hellebuck is that maybe his lack of athleticism sometimes is getting exposed on plays where there's lots of motion and tight. Yeah, well that's, I mean if that's the case, then it's not going to get, you know, every team's going's up to their D. They play a certain way in front of him, and if they play to that structure, then it goes hand in hand. He's a great goaltender in a lot of different facets. Just see when there's these breakdowns, he's getting opened up. It's a goofy transition no matter how you slice it to say, Vezna, possibly Hart, and

now we're talking about lateral movement being an issue. It almost doesn't make sense Yeah, I'll tell you I'll tell you this guys like the one thing that isn't going to change is this game plan Well, whether it's the st. Louis Blues and if the Jets can continue deep into the playoffs This is what's coming at them and I think teams that had success against this Winner pick Jets group in the post in the regular season or the teams that kept it simple and gets group in the post in the regular season or the teams that kept it simple and put the puck behind the D and just simply tried to be physical, physical them. And that's what's happening.

So get used to this because this is not going to change. You're playing out against a team that's not overly big, not overly imposing. And you know what? We haven't talked yet about Mark Scheifele, but if they're going to pull this thing back, they need Mark Scheifele, who I think is the most important player above Conor Hellebuck, to find a way to get back in the fight. You're going to get hit, but are you going to hit back? And that's, to me, what they have to prove next.

Well, it's 2-2, and Game 5 coming back to Winnipeg. It's going to be something on Wednesday night. He is Kevin Sawyer. Really appreciate you doing this, Kevin. Enjoy the rest of the series. We'll do it again soon. Right on. Thanks for having me, guys. Appreciate it. You got it. All right, let me throw it a

Reluctant mini Jerry. All right mini Jerry Jerry means it's gonna be a mini Jerry absolute bomb. Yeah, alabuck gets shelled and pulled game five Eric's comedy starts game six. I'd say three percent. It's not zero percent for Noodle's. Dude, it's zero. Well, it should be zero, but I mean. Should it be though? I mean, if the guy, if it's, if you're looking at, let me, let me get, I'm going to be low

on this too, 10 percent. But if you're, if you're Scott Arneal and you look at this guy and you look at the rest of your, your players on your team, you're like, he can't, he's, he doesn't have it. Like the pressure or whatever it is, don't you owe it to the other players to be like, we might have to make an adjustment here, man. How about you say, get your head out of your asses to the players in front of them? Because it's not like- I guarantee that's happening right now.

They've been outscored 12 to 3, Brian. I hear you. I hear you, man. This isn't Edmonton. This isn't Edmonton where they're scoring five and giving up six. Okay This is they're running the best run out of the world to not been lead. He's been pulled twice I get I understand it's not perfect and the other guy you know our Neal's yelling at the other guys You know, he's not talking to hella buck. He's saying you go do your thing, right? Take care of these guys

You know, he's doing that. Let's hear your percentage. I said 10% I'm low to yeah, but it's not zero man man this guy it's not a one-off like his stats in the playoffs are right it's unbelievable I've never seen anything like it the guy's a superman in the regular season and in the playoffs the numbers play the same team over and over they they're gonna start to pick away at you I I think it's I should be at zero but I don't have faith in the guys in front of him that's the thing that's why I'm at 3% is because that team is missing two of their top six forwards which they desperately need which you know Ealers and Goularty

and and to me like they've had a tough time scoring in those games Shifely was a beast in games one and two yeah he they ran him out of the building in games three and four physically. That's not going to stop. Well, you know why, Jamie? Because they just had, they said this, that guy is the only guy that's making anything happen offensively. Let's eliminate him from the game plan because no one else is doing jack squat.

The two most important people, they've ran out of the building, Hellebuck and Shifeley. That's good for Jim Montgomery and his group because Montgomery's had some great adjustments. Arneal has to have some adjustments too. He's got to figure out. Now you've got home ice, you get your last change, you can shelter some guys, but I'm fascinated to see what happens Wednesday. They've got a couple days off here to live this down, right? Yeah, I am too. And listen, I'm pulling for Winnipeg and Hellebuck. I want to see them. I'm not anti-Hellebuck or anti-Ged.

A's, side bet, we got to pay up. It's a hunch. Okay. After the next game, I'm saying game five, Helly, the number one star of the game, the best player for a hunch and you gotta pay up on nap on national television so i just got a feel you have alabar can i have not everyone else playing yes he's a little box not good or hello box the best party is that for a star you

said first are so you're saying he'll be the best player in the eyes and i get everyone else is that what you're saying how about i can't hear her i'll just. Hallebuck dialed in for game five. I'm not getting a root against this guy or bet against this guy. I mean, I'm not anti-Hallebuck. I want to see him do well. I'm just stating facts, man. Like the facts are just the... We're just talking about they've given up 12 goals in two games. Yeah. I mean, it hasn't been good. And last year and the year before, I mean, again, this is, and it's a bigger issue that

needs to be pointed out, that Winnipeg, this is what we talked about all year. You got to prove it in the playoffs. Dude, that's it. You're not a playoff performer just like the Maple Leaf players that we talk about on a daily basis. You're not game breakers and playoff guys until you do it. Exactly. So until you do it, you're just, you're a regular season hero.

So the option options all yours. Precisely what it is and you have it's right in front of you to change your own reputation. It's right in front of you. Hour two coming up overdrive continues. TSN 1050 in on TSN 4. Something to Chew On was brought to you by Boston Pizza Canada's favorite sports bar. This playoff season Boston Pizza is planning the parade and has a new all-star playoff menu for you to enjoy. For pizza, pints and puck drops, visit your local Boston Pizza today. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by FanDuel.

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