Real Kyper & Bourne - Buds Baffle the Leaking Oilers

Episode Date: March 13, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee kick off the week with the Leafs' comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, Sheldon Keefe potentially prepping Matt Murray for the playoffs, the look of the 11-and-7 lineup and the dynamic of Auston Matthews vs. Connor McDavid. Hockey Night in Canada's Craig Simpson called Saturday's game, and joins the show (41:25) to discuss Murray's game in net, how it affects the Leafs' plans going forward and the Oilers' postseason outlook. Then, Andrew Peters from the Player Cast tees up tonight's Leafs' game against the Sabres, Buffalo's playoff hopes fading, the duo of Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power and their future with the team, and if they'd be a playoff team if they kept Linus Ullmark (1:05:42).The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

This is Real Kipper and Born on Sportsnet 590 The Van. What a way to start this week. Three games on tap for the Toronto Maple Leafs this week. If Sammy had anything to complain about last week with lack of activity. With just, what, two games last week, a Wednesday and a Saturday, we are going to get shot out of a cannon. Coming off their 3-1 deficit. Saturday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Oilers 7-4,

and they're right back at it against the Buffalo Sabres tonight. Colorado on Wednesday. Carolina on Friday. Carolina on Friday. Ottawa on Saturday. Hockey. There's not enough time in two hours, Sammy, this week. Well, just on a non-hockey note, I know we're keeping our tradition alive of starting with non-hockey stuff,

but this one's for Borny, who's a diehard jets fan and this from trey wingo who's very reputable source on twitter that hearing aaron rogers to the jets is done history about to repeat itself in new york and green bay because of course i very nearly bought a brett farve jersey once upon a time time is indeed a flat circle says trey wingo wow there you go so mike white signed in uh miami yeah what do you think pal you're you're all jets is indeed a flat circle, says Trey Wingo. Wow. There you go, boys. That's all Mike White signed in Miami. What do you think, pal? You're all Jets. Is this a good thing?

Yeah. Or is this just an over-the-hill ad? Is this Marlowe to the Leafs? No, it's not. No, it's absolutely not. Marlowe, you're pretty good at this. You're pretty good at this. It feels like Marlowe to the Leafs.

I like it because watching the Jets for all these years, there's nothing to cheer for. The most successful quarterback they've had in 20 years is Mark Sanchez. It's been lean times. At least I'll feel like Aaron Rodgers knows what he's supposed to be doing. I watch a lot of football. I can do every year. And their quarterback play legitimately stewarded them in like seven games

last year. So painful. Can't be worse. Can't be worse. Okay in like seven games last year. So painful. Can't be worse. Can't be worse. Okay, good news. Thank you. No problem. We're glad everybody's aboard on the next two hours here.

Where are we? Are we on Sportsnet 590, the fan, or the Jays sucking the air out of us again? No, we are on the air today. Oh, I'm so happy to hear it. We're on the air today. Yeah. We are on Sportsnet's YouTube channel,

Sportsnet Now, iTunes, Spotify, our YouTube channel. Already, what do we have? Like 300 people waiting today. I mean, they're chomping at the bit. Buddy, these Leafs are exciting. Stuff's happening. Is it good stuff? Well, most of it is.

Did we feel that way? Down 3-1 to the Connor Mcnor mcdavid edmonton oilers saturday night or sammy were you cursing somewhat uh i had uh a lot of texts from a lot of friends saying some things that they probably would like to take back at that time at that point yeah listen i didn't i thought uh Leafs played pretty well, even up until the 3-1 point. I thought they got some pretty suspect goaltending, and then Connor McDavid with that pretty brilliant play where he blows by McCabe, slips at five.

Well, still a goal you want for Murray, but I thought that they played really well the whole game. They're just two mistakes they went into their net. So I was pretty pleased with the effort all around. I have to be honest. Kipper, curious to to hear your take how do you feel throughout the night didn't like what i saw out of matt murray i can tell you that oh man and that one regardless of how this thing played out was the question listen both teams again mirroring each other with superstars and guys that can carry the offense.

And then somewhat of a questionable defense. And then we're the goaltending. We're on both sides. Mirror. Yeah, I can see it. I can see it for sure. And it makes for exciting hockey. Like that's a fun game when goals can happen at any second lead changes.

But yeah, both teams going into playoffs be like, we have a Stanley Cup contending team, provided we get saves. And on Saturday night, no one really got saves. So Matt Murray played better throughout that game, according to his own coach, and is going to play again tonight. I'm jumping ahead of myself a little bit there but really fascinating to me that they saw that and said i know samson i was apparently not 100 but we got a lot to dive into with the goaltending here so we'll just start

off this week real early with sheldon keeps first kippers clipper on matt murray and that will go tomorrow uh like i said i think it's just mean, there's a couple things at play. We've got a lot of hockey this week, so both goalies are going to play. But I do think it's important for Matt to get a little bit more consistency in the net rather than large gaps between starts. Again, maybe influenced by the fact that I thought he got better through the game last night. So there's that. We're going to use both guys.

And, you know, Sammy's, you know, not quite at 100% right now either. So it's just a little bit, it makes a little more sense for me to give him a little more time and get Murray some more consistency in the net. This kind of has me a little worried for them. Yeah. Like big picture or just little worried for them. Yeah. Like big picture or just... Big picture. Yeah.

So a couple things about that. Are you worried that they want him to be the starting goalie? That Murray is going to get hurt? That Murray isn't very good? What are your concerns? The concerns is both of them can't handle a heavy workload. Yeah. Which means that you're going to try to

get through the first couple of rounds bouncing bouncing between them. Like a couple of games here, a couple of games there. Like Samsonov right now is not 100% healthy. Like it's not one definitive thing that puts them down.

It's like these little things and it's, he's kind of shrugging it off. Like he's not quite 100%. It's like, why? What is he? Yeah. Why is he not? Like nobody's quite 100%.

No, it's March. You don't announce everybody not being a hundred percent. What is with these guys that they can't just play? You know, it does seem like one of those things where game one of the playoffs, he probably could, but I think they want Murray to get some run. And I, you know, everything I see and hear and read and whatever from around the team,

like you get this sense and we started the season saying this they want matt murray to be the goal they want him to figure it out and be right about him the sue guy with the two-year deal and the higher risk contract they want him to be the winner in the end of this contest i i don't want to put this in the universe but it's something that's been floating around my mind ever since murray came back and i saw that started on saturday and the fact that going back to him tonight, I got a bad feeling that Keefe's going to start Matt Murray in a big playoff game when he potentially shouldn't.

And it's going to cost him. It's going to pull him at the wrong time. I don't care what you think. Just tell me, do you think that starting game one? Yeah. Listen, there's a long runway until then for him to get playing well but i am regardless of how well he plays down the stretch here i'm still going to be terrified of that the one case i can see for playing matt murray tonight is the goal that bothered me most

last night is different than most people i think it's the dry saddle one timer where he has time to laterally get across but his leg isn't extended so there's like this on the ice room between the post and the toe like it's just it was horrible the wraparound was horrible too it was because he extended so much in the first place but for me the getting across the dry saddle one is so bad that maybe it's rust maybe he's not playing enough because that's not even nhl goaltending where you come across and your legs tucked under or whatever he was doing there so maybe it is rust and he just needs to play a bit and he'll find it again i thought with a trade deadline and just the the waving of the white flag a little bit by Kyle and the management team to say,

we're not tough enough. We're not gritty enough. That there was a bit of humility there to come to terms with that. And it's not quite the team that we envisioned in the last few years on skill, skill, skill, and speed and puck possession and all of that and now i'm finding them kind of stubborn on this one a little bit with that yes it's a good point they did give on the skill thing skill obsession for some grit yeah maybe but you only have two but now you gotta get them sharp but now you. But now you're really emphasizing that we got to get Matt Murray going.

And I'm okay with that. But is it going to be pushed towards our focus is that he starts game one? I hope not. And if that's the case, then I don't agree with it. I know. It's funny because you've been hoping that they would find, just pick a horse.

And the horse that has been winning the race by many lengths is Samsonov on the season, both in terms of health, durability, you know, success, make it saves. So the fact that Murray goes tonight to me is just hopefully a couple influences you know get them games in a row get samson off back and then they go back to sammy being the guy on a two to one game flip we saw samson off go down and warm up the other night we saw him go down the game before getting up gingerly and i'm okay if you need to go back to matt murray because the other guy

is nursing something that's just a natural thing to do but again if it's to now get him ready and the emphasis is that you were never samson of you were never supposed to be our number one starting goalie yeah and that we're still going gonna jam this square peg in this round hole then i'm not sure but to sammy's point that there's enough time to ever convince that he is ready for game one because you despite how he looks on the ice there's that trust factor yeah that i don't think he has enough time to grab i agree yeah no it's uh 17 games left now something like that like it's getting towards the time where you just want things to look solid on that note things of the lineup have not looked solid the they have went back to 11 and 7 you and

i have talked about it a number of times and hadn't loved it initially we didn't like it he didn't like it have you changed your tune at all on seeing them at 11 and 7 i know no no and i know it's a short sample size but gustafson hasn't shown me enough that he warrants uh to be in the lineup they really want to keep him happy really want to keep him happy like they are to keep him happy. Like, they are clearly doing what they're doing, so Gustafson doesn't feel left out. Like, they traded for him to put him in the press box. But what they did was they traded for him to put him in the press box. Right? During playoffs.

That's why he's here. He's a security blanket, and they don't want him to know that, maybe? Well, he's going from playing literally 23 minutes a night to going into the press box maybe they think that's a little bit too much for him to handle but i don't know i listen are you so you got they're not softening at all on 11 and 7 i i like this i like that they're able to get out super lines more there are more situations where you got to create a line and

you go okay we can get marner with tavarez and matthews we can get you know o'reilly tavarez and you know you know neil ender whatever i like that you can create super lines here and there so that's good i do think that it becomes very consuming for the coach and the players always thinking about who am i with it's different than than the last shift. The coach is always looking for what sort of situation they're in, who's got gas. It's just a lot to me rather than just letting your guys play hockey and focus on the hockey. It's all personnel.

Yeah, it really forces, instead of finding just this rhythm, a 60-minute game is a rhythm. What it does now is it makes it, it takes the rhythm into the hands of Sheldon every shift. It is. And it's. You're always looking back. Instead of watching the game, who we got? Players are looking back.

Who we got? Right? It's like which bingo bangle ball. Yeah. Came, comes up. And the fans, and then I'm sure the broadcast will now watch every shift like it's what's he going to do now. I just don't think that the emphasis should be so much on Sheldon now

moving forward. And that's what 11 and 7 does. It's like it's a game within a game now on Sheldon. Who are you going to put out? And what do we think of that last shift? Well, and as a result, I have no idea what I think of any one line. Like, I can't be like, all right, since they've traded for these guys, I've enjoyed this look.

Because you only see it a couple of times. You know, they might get hemmed in their own zone. They might have a good shift. That doesn't tell me anything over, you know, what to expect from them over the larger sample. why don't we listen to sheldon sheldon wade in on on then going 11 and 7 yeah i think so and we also could make a decision i mean we we might discover through this and we just might be better at 11 and 7 i mean we'll we'll see how we see how it goes like like i said i i think i think look at how things have gone for us here of late,

and you can see some of the positives coming out of it. I think it's important that we're not just locked into 12-6 because I have seen some really good things for us. So there's our own game. I referred to the other night in Edmonton that we were 12-6 and we were struggling, and at 11-7, the Oilers were rolling over top of us. Tampa Bay Lightning went 11-7, threw out two Stanley Cup runs.

So I think to just sit here and say 12-6 is absolutely the way that you have to play, I don't think that's fair to our group. We've got way more depth on defense than we've ever had. Love to go back to his initial clip on what do you think of 11-7 from two weeks ago when he said, I don't like it. I don't love it. That's what he said. Yeah.

Okay. But now in games that they've done it in. Hold on for a second. They've got wins. So you have that piece of evidence. And then you have his first few words. Derek, can we play that clip again, just the first part? Yeah, I think so.

We also got to make a decision. That's it. That's good. We have to make a decision. Okay, who has to make a decision? You, your assistant coaches, or you, Kyle, andan have to make a decision well you know him better than us yeah is is that on him and his coaching staff or do you think now

he speaks of making a decision to include his general manager and his president so i haven't seen the relationship with brendan over the years but previously i would say that he heard us as the other staff members in the room and considered arguments but it would come down to him and kyle making the call so that would be my opinion is he probably means directly him and kyle making the decision you think that impacts the decision as in well i'm just not sure if if he's getting mixed messages on what he wants to do and what maybe kyle wants him to do and if that's the case then then he's gonna flip-flop on it yeah i think you know they'll work their best to come up with a solution they both like and if there isn't one but I think Sheldon will do what he wants in the end.

It's got to be addicting, though, when you're using a certain style of lineup and it starts to win. Yeah. You're automatically going to start liking it more. Yeah, but I'm like, okay, so should they play Steve Holmberg and McMahon, like the games they won with those guys in? No, you're right. There's a point where you go, okay, so should they play Steve Holmberg and McMahon, like the games they won with those guys in? No, you're right. There's a point where you go, okay, but is it the best for us?

Well, I think it's just the fact that they have better forwards, but they have less of them with O'Reilly out, and they have the defensemen. I don't, at this point, I don't mind it because they're winning, and I'm a fan of the team, and I like when they win, and they looked good on Saturday night. It's just the only thing that concerns me about it is the lack of rhythm and lack of establishing

stuff going into against a team who is very established with their lines and they know what they are. Indecision and trying to reinvent the wheel going in against Tampa is not something that's appealing to me. And you made these trades. You got so much better on the bottom six.

Oh, yeah. And I wrote last week, why do you want to turn a good bottom six into a good bottom five? Yeah. And Nolichari was excellent again. Yeah. We've called it from day one.

You want to throw up the Joey Andersons and throw Mulligans up there and make it look like an uh a four-month training camp for fourth line uh players or you just want to go out there and and get the real deal yeah uh malachi's the real deal maligan by the way has uh three goals his last four games the avalanche yeah sure just just want to put that out there that's great zero just want to put that out there for him he means zero to us okay but yeah you'd think that in the playoffs you'd want three guys just to know their roles know their job know their their lane and how they're going to contribute and i just don't know if bouncing around constantly is going to help them prepare i do think they'll find it i my prediction they go

12 and 6 to start the playoffs um this is like the gust of sin the way that we've talked about last week getting everyone acclimated comfortable to important. You're a part of this whole thing. You don't want him having his pouty pants on already. I still think they go to 12-6 in the end. You know, the Achari experience has truly been unbelievable since he's been here. I mean, there's good stats. Jonas Siegel had it in his Monday morning thing today. Since he's been here 10 games, he has four less hits than Engvall had all year.

When he was here in the bottom six. Really? Which is baffling. Three goals, 20 shots, 35 hits, nine block shots. Expected goals at 64%. Wow. Very good. Go figure.

Well, that's the thing. We talked about this all last year with them trying former first-line guys as fourth-line guys. Marlowe and Spezza. What would you say? And Joe Thornton and all these guys that they tried. Simmons as well. And then they go and get guys that are defined bottom six guys

that know exactly what their role is. And it's like Keefe is over the moon about this guy. Yeah. What do you think? Over the moon. There's yeah like i think over the moon let's have there's two separate clips on achari let's let's have a listen to how the first one yes he is mitch austin willie john they're all on the board here tonight i thought nola charlie was unbelievable in all regards in the game. Scored, defended, physical, generated scoring chances.

He was excellent. So, yeah, I mean, I thought it's a good team win against a very good hockey team. Sure, the guys with 40 mil were good, but did you see Nolichari? Whoo, boy. Do you want to hear the second Nolichari clip? Does he have a contract next year?

No, not yet. Oh, my. He just got $4 million from Sheldon. Do you want to hear the second one? Yeah. All right. I'd say it's what I expected in terms of, you know, how physical he is, how strong he is on his feet,

how he's just a gamer that does whatever it takes to win. I would say some of the offensive pieces have, I mean, I know he's scored 20 goals before and all of that, and he has the ability to do that. But he's also, like, he's made plays. He's generated shots. He's getting in behind defenders. He's taking the puck to the net.

So he's doing little things there that show some great capacity for us, you know, lower in our lineup to be able to play against anybody be a guy that's no fun to compete against and chip in with us for us offensively so it's it's obviously a very important player there are some that believe that you should never fall in love with your players um but oh that's it's that's it's love at first too late it's too late for sheldon but that is an education in what they've been missing and what he's just been like coveting right yeah like he likes skill too but he's like how come other teams get to run into people i want one of those yeah and like yeah it's just it's nice to have a guy in the bottoms

like i've been impressed with him big time. That's special. The goal was a typical fourth line goal. Great fourth line goal. From below the goal line. I thought camp was really good Saturday night too. Yes.

They grinded. They were down but they grinded they were down but they they they grinded yeah and it was get it to the net again a more playoff type of look the one guy that strikes me as odd it's odd to have a fourth liner who seems to need a kick in the pants usually those are like the desperate hanging on guys who you can trust the work ethic but seeing how good aston reese has been since he's had guys to kind of motivate him and like make him worried about his job a bit you're getting a much better aston reese in my estimation than you did pre achari pre lafferty so that's been a nice added bonus so how about we uh talk about the top half of the lineup now oh did they do something saturday night four points mitch marner in leaf history now

he is well sittler has 26 mahovlich has 15 and mitch 13 tied with lanny and boria salming that's a pretty good company here decent yeah now i don't want to be that guy i told you so but like last week i told you for whatever reason you know including sports net and hockey night in canada everybody says like it's matthews versus mcdavid and i told you guys no it's marner versus mcdavid you stuck that in at 452 on one of our shows okay i just went what is wrong with you guys like why why do people it's is that not as sexy as matthews versus marner i think or i mean matthews versus mcdavid listen i think what it is

is it's the first overall pick thing it It's the Hart Trophy last year. It's this sort of, I think Marner has built up to this now where he has been the least best player this year. But last year, he wasn't the least best player. Matthew was the least best player. And the year before that, Matthews was probably the least best player. But this year, it's built up to the point where, listen, it probably should be built as that, but it's just not going to be.

Matthews is the first overall pick. He's a 60-goal scorer. He's the number, like, the more natural, the two centers, it's the more natural thing to pit them against each other. So that's what it is, Kipper. Maybe not right, but that's the way it is. That's goofy. No, that's not goofy.

That's just what we do in this business. That's our whole thing. Yes. You create fake news. Yeah, that's not goofy. That's just what we do in this business. That's our whole thing. Yes. You create fake news. Bingo. Okay. But he was off the charts. That is absolute truth.

That was like when a guy retires and you go, all right, we're going to play their career highlight reel. You play three shifts from that game for Mitch Marner. I mean, he was unbelievable the takeaways he's now first in the nhl and blocked forwards among passes from sport logic first first in the league i mean to follow up the pick on mcleod with that dangle did he not win the selkie saturday night i mean he again his takeaway is unbelievable he's definitely in the conversation. He's one of those guys. They got to give it to old Bergeron because it's actually called the Bergeron Trophy. So they just give it to him every year.

Yeah. Old Bergeron. Yeah, he was so good. The takeaways were unbelievable. Yeah, that second period was a true showcase of the team. When they threw the little dead in the water at 3-1. Yeah, that McLeod play. What are you doing?

You know, like of all the places you can go. But the risk reward is so terrible on that play game the game now it is it's okay to pass in the middle of your net well it is but not when the guy who's been voted the best right winger in the league two years in a row is standing in the slot you know like it's maybe not the time maybe maybe bang that one off the glass it's it's incredible that guys have no problem in that in that space to do that and and i guess you know mcleod's been good for them no question but i mean my ass is nailed to the bench right yeah doing that years ago it's funny that growing up how even if you made that play and it was successful your coach would be like you're

having a seat we just don't take those chances that's you know it's not worth it and now it is you're right that's actually a pressure relief point on breakouts they'll just kick it to their net front and oof it feels uncomfortable but like he got the thing is it's like he didn't get anything on it so i think he was obviously trying to get a nice like saucer pass cross zone and he just kind of flubbed it and martin just was absolutely all over it and that move like you said you almost you almost healed it you know the best part is he's doing the spinorama and then he makes a little stick handle to pull it back out of poke check range before he pulls it back it's the it's the footwork that yeah blew me away yeah it's

dancing in the slot that was unbelievable but yeah i mean that what a showcase of what the leafs can be at their best right you get goals from austin matthews great game by him he thought he was wonderful tavarez what do you have two and one he was great willie gets a finish you know that's that's it man i think that's i think you know on a narrative standpoint which fans love and you know i think do matter in in the grand scheme of things you go into edmonton was that that was last week right or the week before and you get pasted in their place and it was probably your worst f that was the bruce springsteen night that was like your worst effort of the night of the season no puck pursuit just looked awful new players hung over your stars didn't show up at all and then to go into a matchup on hockey night in canada where you know you you joke about it being marner versus mcdavid or matthews versus mcdavid

it was really the leafs big four versus mcdavid where all of them kind of answered the bell and i thought all of them were excellent like you know you might talk about the bottom six and achari being great but i thought all four guys in the big four had really great nights and they kind of lived up to the expectation okay that uh leads us into sheldon keef on facing mcdavid saturday night i mean i wanted to go with matthews mcdavid match up straight up. And, you know, I think it's an opportunity for us to take the puck out of his hands and play on offense and try to make him have to defend. I thought those guys were really focused tonight, whether it's just, you know, the Oilers and Saturday night and all that,

playing against such elite players on the other side. And then, you know, we got handed it to us pretty good not long ago in Edmonton. So all that is fresh in our mind, and I thought the guys responded well. Yeah, it's a different level of competition. Did you think McCabe could or should have, would have done more on the McDavid goal when he cuts above him?

How do you go louder with him? I dare anybody to try to do better well that's see that's kind of the thing it's like yeah he doesn't go with him and it is his job but like i'm glad you can say that it's just like i'm glad to hear you say that kepper it was just a tip your cat moment oh my god you can who can like peak duncan keith can maybe move his feet defending laterally you don't you don't get to practice against that. No. You just see it on the highlight reel the night before or the night after. And then during, you have to deal with it for the first time.

And have you ever done like the mirror drill in like a hockey camp where someone tries to mirror your shuffling laterally, whatever? It's always harder when you're a step behind already. And it's McDavid and he's a step ahead. It's like... It doesn't take long to get a step behind McDavid. No. No no absolutely not so did you happen to see the morgan riley quote before that game where i just said it's exciting to play mcdavid and he was like i wouldn't say it's exciting he played defense he played defense i wouldn't say it's exciting so what'd you make of the the greasy stuff in the game hold on do we have we play Keefe on Marner as well?

Let's just wrap that one up. Yeah, you need a guy to make a big play. And, you know, they cough one up. But, you know, those kind of things, although they look like a big mistake, they don't happen by accident, especially with a guy like Mitch is out there. He's reading that play.

He's in the right spot. And then a big-time finish, too. It's just one thing to pick it off with the finish. So, yeah, he was great today, but I thought we got a lot of great efforts here tonight. There you go. I put him in bubble wrap between now and game one. Oh, my God, I know.

If this guy goes down, it is over. I know. Over. The thought crosses my mind. But the thing is, he never gets hit, right? That helps. Yeah. wrap between now and game one oh my god i know if this guy goes down it is over i know over the thought crosses my mind but the thing is he never gets hit right that helps yeah like he has his head up all the time stick candles with his head up constantly all the things you won't drink so you want to say that huh that ever listen i test the hot i'm a leaf fan i've been the hockey guys what have they given me i'll test them all. They've given me zero my whole life. Yeah, it's like, oh, you got the conference final on your thanks. I'll test the hockey gods.

Thank you very much. In about 15 minutes, we're going to have Craig Simpson, former NHL or two-time Stanley Cup champion. He's going to join us, and we'll get into what he saw Saturday night against the big matchup. We still need to get into the Buffalo Sabres. Andrew Peters, former NH former nhler now part of that brand new player cast on sportsnet's youtube channel they'll be along in the second hour to

join us and tee up the sabers chances albeit slim but i gotta think uh running out of runway a must win tonight uh we'll get into stamp coast's injury boston drop into detroit plenty to chew on still on the real kipper and born show and sammy you're asking me a about a little bit of that greasy stuff saturday night yeah i thought it was awesome in the first shift that you know matthews throws out a little hip on mcdavid he goes down mcdavid slashes the like i don't think we've ever seen that i'm going out of it do you remember how great it was when ovi and sid would get into it you know and yeah but that's not that's not austin ovi and sid hated each other and i truly believe

that and still do that's why can you bring it now on a consistent basis that sort of edge that the Leafs now have a much, I don't know, clearer but better look of what they're capable now of doing. Is that now in the equation? Go to John Tavares. Slash. Cost him 5K. Cost him 5K. Just a well-spent 5k, by the way.

That's a nice look for JT. Yeah, don't crush it in the back 7th D for the Oilers. He ever gets upset or gets rattled. That, to me, is more the animosity that playoff hockey brings. More emotion out of you.

Boy, he got his 5k worth on that baby that's not a fun chop to take that's a chop right on the sweet spot that hurts I was against Deharnais

I'm telling you in my day you just you follow up JT and you just crank them I also feel like you wore those a lot more. I feel like I got slashed like that every other game. I don't know. Maybe it was just the ECHL.

That one could have easily broke his wrist. Oh, for sure. It was brutal. It was a good one. Loved it. Full endorsement. And his coach endorses it too. I hope these guys are learning.

Marner, Matthews, Nylander. If you do something egregious, Willie elbowed a guy in the head. Matthews cross-checked what's-his-name in the neck. Every time their coaches come out and been like, do thumbs up. Great job, guys. No issues.

Let's hear Sheldon talking about the 5K, or Tavares on the 5K for slashing. Clip on that. Sorry, I just put that in there. There's no clip. Yeah, there's no clip. My bad. I sewered you there.

I would have been surprised to hear him say, yeah, that was great. Yeah, you like that? There's more of that came from losers. I sewered you there. I would have been surprised to hear him say, yeah, that was great. Yeah, you like that? Where did that come from? Losers? I would have spent $10. $15. I just thought that, you know... Oh, geez. The Blue Jays took a baseball in the head. Sorry. Oh, really?

That's no fun. A 15-5 in the 7th. Oh, my God. Don't need that one. I bring it to the bases loaded. Squirrel. Squirrel. Wasn't that like Homer Simpson i bring to the bases loaded squirrel squirrel wasn't that like uh homer simpson did that with the bases loaded got hit in the head um thanks for that no problem i just it's nice to see matthews do that against mcdavid and that to me was a sign that he maybe heard some stuff after that game in edmonton yeah where we came in here and crapped all over him for not being up to the to the you

know which he wasn't he was bad in that game and they got killed and he you know mcdavid was way better this is the thing with matthews though it seems like when he has caused to be motivated like that whether it's his first game of his career or an outdoor game or going for 60 or whatever it is he's able to find that and raise the level to the occasion. And the hope is that in playoffs that exists too. And I know it hasn't. I know it hasn't worked out the same way you'd like it to, but the hope is that there's still, you know,

that good gear shows up at the right time. And it really was that depth of your three or four stars outplaying McDavid, I thought Leon Dreisaitl had a quiet night. He got a gift from Matt Murray on the power play goal. But outside of that, there wasn't much support for him, which ultimately that's what you worry about the Edmonton Oilers, that if it's not McDavid and Dreisaitl, you're like, okay, when the games count, do they have enough?

So their depth guy or one of their guys is Evander Kane. One of them for the Leafs is Michael Bunting. What are your thoughts on getting an embellishment call, him not fighting, Kane calling him out? Again, that's just Bunting that has kind of put himself in a position where he's trying to dig out. Yeah. And I think prior to that, he has had a quiet last couple of weeks.

That included his demotion and the fact that they weren't too happy with him. Yeah. But that, to me, is Bting now just trying to find that middle. Yeah. Where I can't sit and not look engaged like I have in the last half a dozen games. But I don't want to go out there and. Fight Evander Kane. Not only fight Evander Kane.

Which is not a good idea. But just put myself in a position where it looks like um these moments are about me and not the team yeah it's hard and and so we have pointed out that he's kind of got the label now as the the guy who does embellish and looks for calls and whatever the refs obviously know they gave him one but i don't hate it like i feel like you said he needs to dig out from that or whatever maybe he's got to just dig in and be that guy. Like that's when he's at his best, when he's Alex Burrows and he's,

you know, natter, natter, natter. He's not going to fight you. He's still going to drive you crazy. You can do that. As long as whatever you do from the beginning of the time that you start

something to the time you finish, you don't bring it a third party in and you know who the third party is the officials well he needs the officials though because he can't actually fight evander kane well that's a bit of an issue i think the third party you worry about him bringing in is like with burrows like did he make kevin bx ago fight people or like are you now asking achari lafferty mccabe someone to clean up a mess if he creates it it hasn't happened yet but i'm okay with everything that played out in a perfect world you you start getting the benefit of the doubt again but that's going to take a lot

of time for bunting to do it but when i say that you don't bring in a third party like the official it's like you don't have this exchange and then there can't be this pause when you look at the official and say hey uh you know call it now and it's like no no no you just got to play it out the way it plays out and then you let the official you're asking him to actually answer the bell. Yeah, well, yeah, I am. Yeah. I am, but you don't necessarily, this is me just. That's not the guy who can answer the bell against Kipper. Reading where we are today. Yeah. You don't have to fight.

Yeah. But you have to look like you're in a fight. You know who's going to be great for that? Without, without, like looking like to the official to the principal yeah to save my ass yeah you can wrestle a guy down in a school situation right you're not running to the principal see tampa bay has these forwards don't run to the official to say okay i now now you know the way i've scripted this now you're supposed to call one extra on him and I'm supposed to look like a hero in front of my teams

drawing another penalty. That's not the way it works out all the time for you. No, certainly not. But I do think it's going to be interesting because Tampa Bay has a bunch of these guys like him that want to go after the whistle. It's Sorelli and Killorn and Hagel and Paul and the yap, yap and i can

see bunting having a lot of emotional investment in the game but yeah he's not going to go fight pat maroon after that oh he doesn't have to no he doesn't have to he doesn't have to he just kind of holds his ground a little bit and just watching the rangers and Pitt on the weekend, and I'm watching Truba do the Truba thing, and I can't remember who he clipped in just above the blue line, but then he gets challenged right away. And it's like you don't have to fight, okay? You don't. But he takes them all.

You don't necessarily. Oh, yeah. he's willing you don't have to run away but you can just not have to fight and it's okay and if you want to engage in that as the aggressor then you run the risk of taking an extra two minutes and that's the way it should get called yeah and then but i don't know there's a sense that you have to fight after a clean hit and it's like no you don't and this is me yeah that's an opportunity to take another penalty too or to draw a penalty if you hit someone clean people want to come run and jump you and whatever there's a chance say i don't have to fight i'll take the two minutes on your or you know what we'll do it a little later when I want to or when we're.

I'm a little tired right now. Right. Whatever the case is. But you want to take the chance of trying to fight him, then you should be subject to a penalty. Yeah. Agreed. And that's what Bunting still has to learn.

He's got to find it quick. He's been better. I thought he was pretty good Saturday, but yeah. Okay. We're going to take a quick break.ig simpson's gonna join us uh after the break we're gonna get more into that saturday night matchup between mcdavid versus marner that's for you sammy with your dumb theory that more after the break. We'll be back. Diving deep into Leafs, Raptors, Jays, and NFL. The J.D. Bunkins Podcast. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify,

or wherever you get your podcasts. This is real Kipper and Bourne on sportsnet 590 the van all right our next guest got to call the game saturday night with all that fun let's bring in craig simpson former nhl or two-time stanley cup champion hockey night in canada saturday night full of star power hey craig that was a good game uh good to see both teams kind of flex their muscles a little bit but uh i think you know it had a good atmosphere and we always like seeing a game where you know especially on a saturday night uh good two can Canadian teams is always special, great players, best player in the game, two of the good top lines in the game.

I don't think he's disappointed. I think Edmonton will go home disappointed, letting that game kind of slip away from him. But I think from a fan's perspective, it had a little bit of everything. Honestly, one of the most entertaining watches, I think from a fan's perspective it had a little bit of everything. Yeah, honestly, one of the most entertaining watches I think for fans for going back some ways. Now,

what were your thoughts on the one challenge for the Leafs? I hate to start on the negative note, but the goaltending wasn't awesome. Matt Murray's going to go back again tonight, which depending where you sit on that might be a good thing for him, but how do you feel about the Matt Murray showing and how it should affect the Leafs plans going forward? Well, I think what it's affected was a couple of things.

You know, it's one of those games that, you know, you could say McDavid's five-hole goal. OK, that's one he should have had, but I can show you 15 other goaltenders that McDavid made look silly in that regard too. So, you know, I think you can easily just examine and nitpick what was either good or bad. I think the reality is, you know, getting those two points and watching what Tampa's done in the last little while with them sputtering along, I think is a big reason why for Sheldon Keith

you're going back with Murray again. You kind of got a feeling of knowing what you've got in Samsonoff. I don't think there's going to be any question that, especially on home ice, Samsonoff's going to be your guy to start out in the playoffs. I think what's happened with Tampa sputtering and Toronto winning a game like that one where you're down by two, winning in New Jersey at the end of a five-game road trip when you're down by one, just gives you the extra points to say,

get the guy back in there, get him some games, get him some reps. And I think you kind of realize what you have. You can't overanalyze or hope that you'll create something else other than giving the guy a chance to play and hopefully play himself to a position that maybe he's got more confidence going into a situation as starting as maybe the backup or a guy who could come in when you need him to.

Craig, there's no question when it comes to Toronto fans or Edmonton fans, high expectations this year. It's almost as if it's Stanley Cup final or bust. While we all marveled at the individual talents of a Saturday night with the likes of McDavid and Marner and the rest of the group, but was there enough saturday night where you said regardless of the score that uh both these teams aren't going anywhere unless they really clean up a few things or was toronto closer to that cleanup

uh with the with the exception of maybe matt murray yeah no i, I think Toronto as a team, you just look at the underlying numbers. You know, the fact that, okay, they're an offensive-minded team, seventh in the league in that regard, that can get you through. I think the key, though, is, you know, top seven defensively, too. And that's going to be the key.

I think one of our graphics going in with Edmonton was in the last month and a bit, they're the highest scoring team. They've obviously got the best power play, which has been amazing. But they were 26th, 28th, and 28th in goals against penalty killing and save percentage. And I don't care how good McDavid is or how good Dressa. I think we saw last year how much and how far those two could carry him, even with Dreisaitl playing on one leg against Colorado, basically.

But until you can be that good, solid, defensive-minded team in the playoffs, I don't think you're going to be able to find a way to get through that too far. So I don't think there's any question, Nick, that the Leafs are ahead of the curve in terms of comparing those two teams. That has been a big, big issue and big problem with Edmonton and something that, you know, even look at Stuart Skinner there, you could say the same thing. Campbell's sitting on the bench because he struggled over his last few weeks

and up and down all season. And you could say in that game, how do you feel as an Edmonton Oilers fan with Stuart Skinner being your guy going into the playoffs? So, you know, I think there are some question marks, but team-wise and collective defensively-wise, I think Toronto's ahead of the curve in that regard. Just one follow-up on Jack Campbell.

There's no question what a start would have meant to him facing the Toronto Maple Leafs, yet the two games that we just recently saw, he doesn't get a sniff. Is that just damning evidence on how much confidence the Oilers have lost in Jack Campbell? I think it does, Nick. And, you know, it's one that's kind of a double whammy. You might look and say, okay, Jack, you try to build up his confidence in his game. You spend time with him in practice days and focusing on maybe, you know,

your technique and all those things. But you know what a competitive player is, and you look at a couple of opportunities where games that you say, this will be my chance, give me the net again, let me go, and you don't get it. You know, it might have been the case of as simple as Jay Woodcroft going, I don't know, I think the other guy gives us the best chance and we need these points or if i put jack into this game and he struggles again i might lose

him completely and so you know you never know exactly what the decision making progress uh process was there but there's no question i i've talked to both you guys before about this of you know coaching the playoffs having to make goaltender decisions is the worst possible scenario that you can have. And I think, again, if we're sticking to the Edmonton-Toronto mode, I think you might have that same scenario presenting itself for both those coaches. That's such a good point, that in playoffs,

even if you make the right choice, you just don't want the coach to have to make a choice at all. Shouldn't be thinking about that. One thing they're going to have to make a choice on is they've gone 11-7 here, three games. And I think the first time they did it, Keefe said he didn't love the idea of it. Now he's going, you know, I don't know,

maybe we find that's the best look for us. What are your thoughts on the likelihood of the Leafs going to 11- if for real come playoff time well i i'm i'm sure he doesn't totally love it um you know there's there's positives and negatives as you've probably debated before i i think at times when you get on a good stretch offensively for your forwards you can get more of your top guys in the games and get them maybe sparked a little bit more i just think it's it's totally hinged on you know the o'reilly injury uh and then the additions on the back end to have an extra defenseman in there now for three four games in a

row just gives opportunity to look at different parents i I mean, again, I do think in some ways Tampa's little struggles have allowed you to maybe tinker a little bit more than saying, no, I can't leave it up to chance whether this works or not tonight. And so when you have that many defensemen sitting on the wayside, I think they've felt collectively as an organization.

They got to see what they've got in a few. Gustafson played more than he ever had in the last game. You know what you've got in some of the guys. I think McCabe, they want to see, okay, who can he pair up with and look really comfortable with? So I think it's more born out of the plethora of defense that you have and the injury to O'Reilly. If O'Reilly was in, I don't think you'd see them continue on the 11-7 route.

But also look and say, okay, you've come to Tampa, and you know John Cooper's gone 11-7 a number of times. And maybe part of it is saying, how do you put a lineup together? And maybe there's some advantage if you're going up against that similar kind of lineup to have it yourself so you never know exactly what sheldon's logic is but i do think it's a simple for at least right now of just so many d that they they want to get in the mix and and not have three key guys not key guys but three nhL defensemen every night sitting in the press box. And this is an opportunity to have a look at what matchups and what pairings might be able to work and have some success. As far as the added grit and just the overall feel

of the Toronto Maple Leafs, again, we witnessed it a little bit Saturday night. It is quite remarkable what the change has done uh for this organization in terms of now being a little bit more uh playoff looking savvy if that's a correct term yeah yeah I mean look at it just as simple as this style of play and I think you heard Sheldon talk after that game glowingly of Noel Achari and you know my old partner Jim Hewson when when that first game happened when the deal was done you know his comments texting me during the game was I love the addition of Achari because we lived it doing the finals in 2018 or 19, whatever, St. Louis, when they beat them.

That fourth line just did so much during the playoffs. We did Boston all the way through that year. And, you know, his comment was just how valuable that asset is. And you added Achari's, what, 200-plus hits, Shem's 200-plus hits mccabe 130 uh and all of a sudden you just look at the style of the team and the way that they can play a little bit differently and it does change it it's not necessarily going to guarantee a success but you guys have watched enough of those difficult uh series where now you might have an answer and now maybe you can be the one change in the momentum. And let's, let's not kid ourselves. I mean, part of the folklore with the least struggles has been losing in game seven.

Well, you've gotten to game seven. So you're a good team. You're so close, you know, you're a bounce away and you hope that maybe these little elements will be the one that allow you to finish off instead of having to at least get to a game seven and i think the additions are fitting in pretty nicely they are and you know one of the mainstays is the guy i'm going to ask you about next in morgan riley um and not not to be hard on him necessarily just do you think he has to have an offensive element of his game to be effective to be what the Leafs need him to be or can he

strictly not produce but just be a reliable guy what do you need to see from Morgan to be the for the Leafs to win well if I if I look and say okay now maybe if you had McCabe playing more of a stay at home and maybe Brody playing in that role. Who knows whether Luke Shen can play every day in the playoffs or not. But you look and say you've got a little different element that maybe I don't have to be relied upon to dig in my own zone and to break up the cycles defensively. I just think it's – I look at it as it's been a frustrating year for him. It's been a year that you have a lower body injury

and you maybe don't come back the same way. The puck's not necessarily going in for you after having some pretty good offensive years last while. My focus, if I'm Morgan Riley, is get my body and mind ready for the first game of the playoffs. And I've always said the playoffs are the great reset of the year. It can rescue a terrible season. It can destroy a good season, too.

So if I'm Morgan, I'm more focused on, you know, getting up in the play and joining the rush and making Matthew's line or Tavares' line that much more dangerous by being that fourth guy joining in, I think is what you're going to need from him at those critical times. But I think now you're going, like, erase the negative because it has. You know, I don't think players listen to you guys or around, but even just watching him, it's been a bit of a more frustrating year. And I look at it as a breath of fresh air to finish the season off

and start fresh in the playoffs. And I think his focus now is getting his body healthy and his legs good. And I think you're right, Jason. I think he has to be a part offensively. Maybe that's the difference in a game that the elimination games that the Leafs have only scored three goals in the last four of them. Maybe that defenseman beating his guy in and jumping up and making the play might be the difference to win you that series.

So I think it's going to be an important look come playoff time, what Morgan Riley looks like, and just get through to the end of it with trying to get your mind and body and your game up to a high level to be ready. We know Morgan Riley's doing an endorsement for pizza. Poor guy. Come on.

Pizzaville? No, no, no. I don't know what it is. I honestly don't know what pizza company it is, but I know that he didn't serve the biggest pizza of the night Saturday. That belonged to Ryan McLeod. Can you tell me, Simmer, when going up the middle of the ice, you know, three feet in front of your own net

became acceptable because I know where I would have been doing that when I played yeah you would have been planted I can see Keenan wouldn't have had a keen sense on that one would he Nick you know I think that another example of knowing who you're playing against, too. And there's a challenge, again, of a third, fourth line guy who's playing a bigger role with Edmonton. Just time of the game, danger areas, and making the safe play. And, you know, that's where you kind of marveled how quickly the game turned around off of the stick of Mitch Marner. A couple of knockdowns that, you know, five seconds later, you're right back into the hockey game, and three minutes later, you're leading it.

And, you know, those are lessons learned, and that goes back to being a ready playoff team to know what the danger is, know what the risk-reward factor is, and you hope a kid like Ryan, who I actually really like, I think he's made a lot of good strides, and he's going to be important for them. And there's a lesson learned with, you know, 15 games left till playoff time. The Sabres team they're going to face tonight, they done?

They got a chance here? What do you think? You know, what a run for them, isn't it? Like, they look like they were getting themselves into a position where they could get back and maybe make a run for them, isn't it? Like, they looked like they were getting themselves into a position where they could get back and maybe make a run. But, yeah, this stretch, you know, 0-3-1, 1-5-1, and even if you could wrestle three or four points out of that seven-game stretch more,

you'd be right there knocking on the door. But now they've brought you know three four teams into the mix as opposed to just having their sights on one so as much as they've they've made great progress they're they're another example as you were saying nick they can score goals but man they just defensively are inconsistent and haven't quite got to that level yet and so tonight's a game for them that you have to be thinking with one win in your last seven and seven points out with four teams in between you got to win this one a three-game road trip against washington philly and then you have boston

coming up so uh i i know they'll give a good effort they always play well against toronto or at least create a lot of excitement but uh they they were so close and don't you think much like Ottawa you know you had those five wins in a row and now you've lost a couple it's so hard to keep that energy up when you're a team chasing and chasing three to four teams in front of you it's going to get real busy this week Simmer Buffalo Colorado Carolina and then Ottawa on the weekend. You're going to be a big part of it. Always a pleasure to have you on our show.

Thanks for doing this, man. All right, guys. Thanks for having me on. Take care. Craig Simpson, the voice of Hockey Night in Canada for Sportsnet. Does a terrific job. We love having him on the show. Yeah, he's excellent.

Tonight is one of those games, although the Leafs have had great success against Buffalo this season. Yeah. This is one that will come back and haunt them if they don't look after business. They can't. They can't handle the Sabres for some reason. I really thought the Sabres had a chance to get in. Like, I looked at Ottawa and kind of thought it was a long, long shot. But yeah, at December's point, their last seven games here, like like lost to Columbus, lose 7-1, they win a game,

lost 3-2, lost 3-2, lose 10-4, lose 2-1. Like you can't, you're not catching anyone when there's all those teams in between you and you're dropping games at this rate. So I'm curious to see, like, is the wind out of their sails? Is the 10-4 loss to the Stars the one that makes them go? Not this year. I'm calling my shot.

Tonight, there will be an Austin Matthews, not fight, but close to fight with Dallin. Do you think he can get up for the Sabres? I do. Yeah, I don't see it. I do. I just don't see it. Listen, it's not calling a shot like I'm saying Matthew's going to score a goal.

No, this is 140 to 1. How many games has he played? 500 to 1 odds. This is going back to Rasmus, you're thinking? Yeah. I think him and Darlene are. Is he playing tonight? Yeah, he is.

He's back in. He was running the top power play unit at practice this morning, so I think he's back in the lineup. How the top power play unit at practice this morning so i think he's back in the lineup how about this stat from sammy go ahead at what point do we not look at austin matthews and just say this is the way he plays the game he's about the skill about scoring he doesn't engage in that stuff sammy he did you're just hopeful now. He cross-checked this man in the mouth last year. Darlene is on pace for 81 points. You give me one example in six years?

Yeah, this guy. No, he's had disagreements with him in the past. Like, not cross-checking him in the mouth, but he hits him and they get into it. He hates him. We all have our guy. Even us guys who aren't tough. It's definitely his guy, and I'm telling you tonight that something's gonna happen darling's on base for 81 points i'm gonna go to the game

tonight i'll watch it right right from the get-go okay dalene's 81 points would tie phil housley's 1990 season for the most points in a season by a defenseman in franchise history his 63 assists would be the most by a d-man uh in season in franchise history. Darlene is having that kind of year. Franchise history points. Actually, probably a pace better than Matthews, I would imagine. Starting to come together with their core, for sure. The Sabres. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. You give them their full season of games. I like their odds a lot more than I do having a catch. Levi, their prized goalie prospect get knocked out? You're asking a big ask there. You're an NCAA guy. I played there. But we're going to see Craig Anderson tonight.

Yeah. Clearly that's run its course. Yeah. You know, I think they went into this season not intending to make playoffs and basically said, maybe we'll get a good pick. Their goaltenders were Comrie and Anderson this year. Next year, maybe it's Ukapeka, Lukonen, and Devin Levi, and they're hoping one of these guys becomes the next Shusterkin.

By the way, try to say Ukapeka, Lukonen, and Shusterkin and not mess it up in the same sentence. Ukapeka, Lukonen, Igor Shusterkin. Okay. UPL, henceforth. say uka peka lukin and shisterkin and not mess it up in the same sentence okay uh so with with uh northeastern's 2-1 loss to providence buffalo sabers prospect devin levi could make the decision to sign with the organization so they are out that's coming that's fun two-year deal yeah and these guys burn one year off and better forever involved negotiate after next year a new deal yeah you don't want the guy pretty simple but uh vancouver just signed their prize possession in the ncaa i forget his name but it's starting to happen i got nothing i tried

to help you i wasn't trying to be a jerk i know it's fine it's fine but i'm just saying it's starting now yeah which leads us to how soon can matthew and i lose i'm just they they won yesterday gophers did or a couple days ago they beat uh michigan that one you would know yeah you you'd have heard about that for sure when you would know for sure that would come up but so are they at the point though in the season where if they lose they're done oh yeah are they we're getting down to that and i think he's rated or voted i don't know what what exactly the the call was but most ready to play in the nhl matthew nyes yeah he put up those kind of numbers near six three two ten makes sense makes sense. He better be. He better be because Alex Steves is probably not.

So Bobby McMahon's back. That's exciting. Take a look at his goals down in the minors. Yeah, he's got 16 in his last 16 games or something. He's on fuego. He's the Austin Matthews of last year for the Marlies. What a parallel. So the Minnesota, Matthew Nye's next game,

is in the Big Ten tournament. They beat Michigan State on March 11th, so that would have been Saturday night. They beat them 5-1, and now they play the Michigan Wolverines. In some sort of elimination contest? I would imagine the Big Ten tournament is elimination. And then, yeah, so then isn't that Fantilli's team? Michigan. You guys are really putting a lot of my college hockey knowledge.

Yeah, Fantilli, who played for the World Juniors, plays for them. So that would be a real game. From here on in, Sammy, you are our NCAA guy. I'm taking it out of the hands of JB. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to text Nick Richard and ask him, and then I'll come on here. Text my boy Nick, who knows all this stuff. I'm sending JB down to the under-16 GTA. You're not going to make him watch junior hockey.

Sounds like this is a good place to make some bucks, the GGHL. If you want to grease a couple palms, I'll promote your kids. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. On that note. We need to go to break. Okay. Andrew Peters is going to help us tee up tonight's game on the Buffalo Sabres and what we can

expect. Darlene versus Matthews. Sammy's calling it tonight. We'll get his thoughts on that and more. Andrew Peters, after the break, you're watching and listening to Real Kipper and Born. Smart takes on the biggest stories in sports. The Fan Drive Time with Ben Ennis. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is Real Kipper and Born on Sportsnet 590 The Van. All right, let's bring in Andrew Peters, now former NHL-er. Big part of the brand-new player cast on Sportsnet's YouTube channel. Buddy, you're busier than Biz Nasty. Not really, man. I just left lunch with my brother, so that's not busy. Wings? Buffalo wings? No, you know what we did, man? So that's not busy. Wings? Buffalo wings? No.

You know what we did, man? We went, we hit up the, you ever go to P.F. Chang's? Oh, my, one of my favorites. Oh, my God. I love P.F. Chang's. We used to always, Thomas Vanik used to always want to go to P.F. Chang's in Boston. Because there wasn't one in Buffalo at the time. It's like, we're in Boston, man.

There's so many great restaurants. We're going to P.F. Chang's, but we were only going there for the Sapporos. Thomas Vanik, man. I hope he bought because he made a lot of money. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Conveniently, a lot of guys left their wallets at the room, back in the room,

when we went to dinner with Van at the table. Nice. All right. So what do we expect tonight? A desperate Buffalo Sabres team here. Are there still thought that they can find a way to get into the playoffs? So I was going to ask you, are you guys just licking your chops, absolutely ready to take advantage of a wounded duck?

Because, man, I love the Sabres this year, but I think it's starting to fade away. You know, they're too far back, and now they're just playing for their pride and to keep it close, but I don't know, man. I never go against my heart. Like, I can bet with my heart, which is not good, but I got a feeling Toronto's going to wax the Sabres tonight. Well, that hasn't happened very often.

And the anticipation, I think, in Toronto is that it's going to happen even less in the years ahead. Pretty good pieces being assembled there in Buffalo. What are the thoughts on what needs to come next for them to not just make playoffs, but do more? Well, you need some depth, guys, right? Like, look what the Leafs did. You know, you guys went out and you had your studs. You know, they're starting to establish their studs.

I think they still have a few young studs that are a couple years away from being, you know, studs. How many times am I going to say studs in this segment? But, you know, the Leafs, the Leafs had all that. They tried to run the table with it. Hasn't worked. And then we'll look what they do. They go out and they grab depth defenseman depth forwards. You know, they, they made a big move in net.

And I mean, that's kind of what the Sabres have to do. Maybe not to the magnitude that the Leafs did but they need that they need third and fourth line guys or you know sorry if we're being politically correct these days bottom six players

and you need a couple tough defensemen and goaltending but I mean they had a good run. They can make some life out of it. I just think the Sabres are done. I think they're too far back. But they have those three games in hand on the Islanders. So, you know, if there's a game that they can win to get them back on the rails,

it's tonight. I just don't see the Leafs letting this one slip away. I just, I don't. But who knows? It might catch him sleeping. Tage Thompson, I think last time the Leafs played, didn't score. Is it as simple as if this guy has a

great night, they got a chance. If he doesn't, they have no chance? Yeah, but not quite to the McDavid dry-side level. But yeah, I would say to the McDavid dry side level. But yeah, like I would say that if that top line in general doesn't produce, there just isn't enough secondary scoring on the Sabres. And they mix in some injuries like, you know, Darlene's banged up. Samuelson's out, you know, Tuck.

There's talk of Tuck maybe being back tonight, but yeah, like if that top line in general, Kipper, if they don't score, Sabres, they give up too many goals, man. They give up too much. They can score, but they give up, like look at the game where they lost 10-4. It's like you scored four goals. That should win you a game in the NHL, but it doesn't. Or at least it doesn't when you give up as many as the Sabres do. So they need everybody to score.

Unfortunately, that's kind of the position they're in. So tell us about the exciting decor between Darlene and Power. What have those two been like this season compared to what Sabres fans have seen on their D in recent memory? We talked about Darlene today on the podcast, and we were kind of discussing whether or not, is he a Norris Trophy ballot guy this year? And that's what he's developed into. And Owen Power, he won't win Rookie of the Year.

He may not end up on a ballot, but he should. I mean, he's having a really good year, skates like the wind, you know, youthful, obviously, but that's your future on the back end right there. And the biggest question going forward for these two is how much are they going to make as a duo? You know, I mean, we're talking about two guys that could be you know 20 million on your cap between the two of them you know with dalvin's at 10 10 and a half does power get to nine nine and a half like uh you're uh no

you're you're uh wierenskis or your Darnell Nurses or guys like that, or the other guy in Seth Jones in Chicago. So, you know, that's your future. That's the future on D. Those are the guys to watch on the back end. But, again, you've got to build around them. Samuelson's hurt. Is Yoki Haru a top four defenseman,

or do you need to go maybe in the offseason, grab a Colton Pareko, you know, someone like that? But I don't know. Like, what is the perfect recipe? You know what I mean? Like, it just seems like every year a different type of team is winning the Cup, and it's just hard to figure out what the exact recipe is, but you've got to get that core in place,

and those guys are definitely a part of that, right? We're talking to Andrew Peters who covers the Buffalo Sabres. Petey, where is Owen Powers upside? How good can he get? Can he get headman-like? What is that? Is that 70 points? I mean, can we meet at like 55?

You know, somewhere in there? 60? I'm not even worried about the points, to be honest with you. I just meant, like, can he control a game like Hedman can when he's out there? I think his skating ability can allow him to do that. If he develops properly, without question. He's like a gazelle, man, to steal the words from Craig Rive. Like, yes, if that's what you're asking, then yeah, absolutely.

Points-wise, I mean, and if he's doing that, the points will come. But to, like, what amount, I don't know. But control the game from the stand he's i think he's a better skater than doleen doleen's more of a an elusive type like mobile guy where owen power can just pick up the puck and step on the jets man and he can start flying down the rank so you know doleen's a little more you know slippery so i think i think power could definitely turn into that kind of player i mean just because the sabers are where they are in the standings i like that you're bringing these guys up they have a lot of great players to watch a lot of young players too yeah so now just tell

us about the goaltending situation this season and heading into next season kind of what the sabers have had and what they expect to have in the near future? Oh, man, I don't know. Craig Anderson, bless his heart. He's 41. He'll be 42. Given everything he has for this team, can Comrie and Lukonen do it? You know, that Devin Levi, the stud kid from – there's stud again.

Mark that one down. You guys should have a bell. You know, from Northeastern, you know, there's a lot of hype around this kid, and he just finished his college season. So, you know, I guess around here, Devin Levi watches in full effect. But, like, what's a college kid going to do for you fresh out of college? Like, I don't expect to have anything from him for at least a year and a half. So I'm not saying you won't see him in the NHL,

but I mean actually control and take control of the net. So I don't know. I think that could end up being the Achilles heel for this team for obviously this year, but then know probably next year if they if they have all their eggs in lukin and comry i hate to take away from those guys are obviously good goalies but we're talking about being good goalies in the nhl versus being goalies that gets you to the playoffs in the nhl and i believe there's a significant difference so it really would fall on the performance of Lukanen next year and whether he takes that step into the level where he's projected to be.

And I haven't seen it. I haven't seen it. He's had spurts, but not enough that makes me think like, oh, yeah, this guy's definitely ready to take the reins by any means. So I don't know if they go and address that in the offseason or if they just continue to roll the dice on that one. You know, that surprises me that there isn't

really overly optimistic sounds coming from you that this guy, Levi, is not the answer. Well, I'm not saying he's not the answer, Kipper. I'm just saying, when is he the answer? He's not the answer and you know and well I'm not saying he's not the answer Kipper I'm just saying like when is he the answer he's not the answer today I don't know talk about talk

about pressure but in three years maybe but like we're talking about a team that is like right on the big brink of the playoffs now and if they had an elite goalie they might be in right now you know so it's kind of like it's frustrating from that aspect. I'm just saying in a couple years, that's when we see Levi, but not next year. I mean, if so, then he's amazing. But I just don't think that's realistic. So until we see that, I'm out on that theory. Petey, I'll get your take on theonto maple leafs and kind of where they're

at obviously they made some big acquisitions um and hope to be better suited for playoff hockey do you think they are i hope no one in buffalo is listening to this right now okay okay but because of how our because of our hatred for the Leafs here but I'm a Canadian kid I grew up in St. Catharines I watched Hockey Night in Canada as a kid was raised by my father Don Cherry, Ron McClain

Bob Cole, Harry Neal and Orville Redenbacher alright it's a good lineup listen man that's better than the starting lineup for the 92-93 Bulls. I want the Leafs to make a run. I love Shanahan.

You know, like, I'd never have been really a Dubas fan, but I've loved what he's done. You know, I've loved Sheldon Keefe ever since I played against him back in junior. I just love the way he played. And I want to see the Leafs do well. Manny Malhotra's there. I mean, I want to see the Leafs succeed because I believe the NHL,

obviously from the HRR standpoint, but the NHL is better when the Toronto Maple Leafs are good. And if they win this year, my theory for Matthews to Arizona is even stronger. You got a theory? Can we hear it? I'm staying away from that one. I know. I got to drop that one every time I come on with you.

You know what I mean? Because eventually we'll find out what the truth is going to be. I want the Leafs to do well, guys. That's hockey. want the Leafs to do well, guys. I mean, you know, it's just that's hockey. I mean, when the Leafs are on TV in the playoffs, it's nostalgic. I don't know where you go from Orville. Yeah. I'm also a big supporter.

Well, listen, it's going to be interesting from here on in i get i get your uh your your your sense that you want a good goalie now but uh the timing with kevin adams and the way he worked the trade deadline shows that he's crystal clear that our time is not now so to your point you know you watch even even Thatcher Demko in Vancouver, and he's turned into a pretty darn good goalie right now. There is a sense that these kids come out of NCAA and they can't get ready without having a good three, four, five years maybe in the organization. Spencer Knight in Florida is an anomaly.

That one, you're right. That's a unique circumstance. But there's one area where you don't want to be wrong, right, if you're taking your time and you're patient, and that's goaltending. So I like the approach because I don't think playoffs were realistic for the Sabres this year anyway. But it's just as that player feeling, you're sitting there going like, man, so close. And you know they wanted it in that locker room, right?

So you're just sitting there saying, like, I wanted it for the players more than anybody else. And then obviously the fan base, you know, you're going on a Baker's dozen years here with no playoffs. It sucks because it's such a great fan base, you know, you're going on a Baker's dozen years here with no playoffs. It sucks because it's such a great fan base, you know. Just one more for me, Petey. And that is, like, I do like a lot of the things that Kevin Adams has done. But is there anyone in that fan base you just mentioned moments ago saying,

if we had this all-mark, we'd be in the playoffs right now? Well, I'm sure there are. I'm sure there are. And, I mean, there you go. That's a lot of salt in a wound right there, Kipper. Way to go. I owe it to you for Leaf fans for mentioning Matthew's leaving. Yeah.

Well, listen, so here's the thing, right? I mean, they had a chance to sign all Mark. The time wasn't right. It just wasn't right. You know, he, he wouldn't be doing here what he's doing in Boston. He's got the Bruins in front of him. He doesn't have a decent Sabres team in front of him. He's got the Boston Bruins who are still in, I think still in single digits or they might've just passed 10.

I can't remember, but the lowest, lowest losses in the league, you know, and like, he's a huge part of that, but I think the team in front of them is a bigger part of that than, than what he is, but I'm not trying to discredit him. I just don't think he'd be doing that here. So no, I don't, I don't think that all Mark would have been the answer to be honest with you. All right, buddy. We really appreciate your time. We'll'll never know i appreciate coming on guys love it love having you on and the sober fight man appreciate it pd thanks so much man yeah you got it buddy all right we'll

talk to you soon he's a riot oh he's the best. Good teammate to us on the show. It's just the math. The last time he came out, he traded Nylander for nothing. I love that he throws in that piss off Leafs Nation. But it's also, you know, there's the support of wishing them well and then throw a jab. Love it.

I don't agree with him on all mark. I think he's, he has taken it to another level and I, I get, we'll never know what he would have looked like if he kept that, that trajectory trajectory for the Buffalo Sabres instead of Boston.

Yeah. But he's a damn good goalie right now. And he'd be a damn good goalie on any team in the league it's funny there's what 10 starting goalies in the league you know like the legit number one guys and he's one of them you know like he they'll be looking for a guy like all mark four well unless levi becomes it or upl uh i get they didn't want to pay him. Yeah. He was already making good money, but he didn't have enough proof that he needed that next level $5 million a year. Fun question that I had with Mike Fuda on last week was,

there's 32 teams in the NHL, so logically there's 32 number one D-men, but there's not. How many number one D-men do you think there are available in the NHL? Do you know what I mean by that? How many number one D-men do you think there are available in the nhl you know what i mean by that available how many number one d-men exist on this planet like number two number one because like if you're the number one d-man on a bad team and you're you know like darn old darn old nurse number one you think that low eh eight i suggested 20 and Futo went with you, and he thought lower. He thought 10 to 15, like number one. Run your power play.

Log 27 minutes. Carry the play. Like we're talking, yeah, you're writing down Hedman. Oh, that's the top of my list. Yeah. It's Makar. It's Yossi. It's Fox.

Yeah. McAvoy. Petrang Yeah. Petrangelo. Petrangelo. Petrangelo. You know, like you'd have to go through. St. Louis didn't think Petro was, they thought maybe Colton Pareko was more important. Yeah.

Did you do McAvoy? McAvoy. Who? Eric Carlson. Yeah. You got to give it. Yeah. Yeah.

I think so. Yeah. He's going to win the Norris. So I guess we should put him in there. Ekblad. you say ecbled didn't say it but i would glad for me no okay i agree nope not even close carolina dougie hamilton is he won yeah uh john carlson Jake McCabe sorry Provorov no about 8 to 10 I said

yeah like it's not a it's an interesting and so I feel that way about starting goalies where there's Lindholm number one no I'm just saying

like a close be number one on Toronto I can tell you that yeah Josh Morrissey yes yeah yeah you know it's just not drew dowdy there's not that many fox yeah did we say those yeah sorry quinn hughes sorry quinn hughes

yep chicken no anyway it's interesting yeah but it's like how many superstars it's a morgan riley conversation that i'm taking the back route you know you need longevity on that too you got to be able to anchor yeah an nhl blue line for i think a few years before you truly get labeled yeah as a as a bonafide number one yeah yeah it's funny because like a lot of teams have a number one not so sure that they would be yeah like i said at least do have a number not number one yes jake mccabe all right what's that oh you weren't listening i just said i missed it which is the least do have a number one defense his name is jake mccabe i like jake i thought he was again excellent saturday night me too i love the fact that he is he's willing to go and breathe on people in the neutral zone and just, hey, just be aware when I'm on the ice.

And pissed off at guys in front of the net. He's done it. He's filled in for good Jake Muzzin. He really has. I like that his face looks like it's been hit before. Yeah, he's got a face that's a little gritty face. 100%. I agree.

He does get the wobblies every once in a while, though. He does tend to blow a shoe here and there. He does. He can blow a wheel. Yeah. That's great. Just great. That won't come back to haunt him ever.

No, what? News and notes. Let's start in the Atlantic Division. Okay, Tampa. Home of the Torontoonto maple leafs and what we've been seeing lately out of the boston bruins and tampa bay boston loses to detroit yesterday oh they clinched a playoff spot by the way to boston okay i've got a bit of an issue when we start hearing stuff like the Boston Bruins and NHL history.

You can't just blanket NHL history anymore with... Three-point system? Yeah, with a three-point system and shootouts and three-on-three. You just can't no don't ever compare boston's run this year to the montreal canadians in like 1976 yeah and not even that it's unfair like like maybe the bruins are better but it's just not an even comparison it's tough to do that samith i think the all-time leafs points in a season record was like 104 105 they had 115 last year pisses me off it pisses me off does it yeah when

i hear oh the the most now in nhl history you're not allowed to say that anymore you have to almost say modern history modern history uh salary cap history yeah Because that's when the biggest changes came was post-salary or salary cap era. In the salary cap era, this is a new record for the most successful regular season in NHL history

in NHL salary cap history. I just looked up the Montreal Canadiens from 76-77, the record-setting one. They lost eight times in 80 games. 60 wins and 12 ties. And none of those were in a shootout. No overtime.

You know. So how many? They had 387 goals for and 171 against. So how many wins is Boston because of the new system? You know, we could look that up for sure i don't know yes well they got nine regulation losses maybe 10 so they have 10 regulation l's so they've yeah and five ot losses okay so we're talking about maybe uh six eight overtime wins probably yeah for an extra point there's actually a category in the standings sow isn't it or seven ot wins and wins seven ot wins so that's between shootout and ot seven wins comparisons

only work when like yeah apples to apples yeah yeah no it's really tough the same with they want to use the history but they changed history you can't have your cake and eat it too, NHL. I'm annoyed by all the all-time NHL records that are being set and stats that were never recorded until 20 years ago. So all the guys who've been in the league 20 years, like Luke Shen is the all-time leading hitter. How dare you disparage two great Leafs. And Marciordano is the all-time long shot blocker. Tell Craig Ludwig's legs that Marciordano blocked more shots than him.

I dare you. Maybe no one counted back then because no one really cared. Right? It wasn't that important to get credit on a blocked

shot. You know, but now we want to... Now we've got to glorify it. Blocked passes today. Now we have to glorify it. We're doing it here. We led the show with blocked passes today.

That's a pretty amazing stat, blocked passes. That's a good stick, though. It is a good stick. Compared to, like, you know, shin pads. Yeah, fair enough. So, yeah, I agree, Kipper. Boston, you know, no good. No good.

They don't deserve any accolades. I really appreciate that from you. They're not one of the best teams in history. They actually stink. They've got to secretly... Montgomery or Sweeney, maybe Cam, there's got to be a part of them saying, thank God we're losing now.

Oh, yeah. Like, come on. and they're not even losing now they've lost twice in three games you would they're eight and two in the last ten there could be a part of you that like wants more losses now yes just so they can just so if you have injuries bring them on right now let's get everyone healthy before the playoffs like could there be a worse feeling going into the playoffs if they have zero adversity? But I also don't like Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay right now is terrible. 3-5-2. Three wins in the last 10 games. They just lost to the Jets. They lost to everyone. The Flyers. They lose to everyone. I think they're under 500 since February.

Yeah. It's terrifying. Can we talk about how they just bounce back from seemingly career-ending injuries every time I'm watching them? I was watching the other night, and people are treating it like, Hedman, down on the ice. Oh, no, no, no. Oh, he's favoring his spine.

His spine. headman down on the ice oh no no no oh he's favoring his spine did uh did elliot friedman uh start second intermission on hockey night in canada with stamp coast going down as if like hey leaf fans look at this on this but we could have an injury isn't that great he gets up from the injury and his legs not connected it's flopping around he was literally shaking his leg like he was doing a dance ligament there he was i thought he was done for his life that you know for leap fans yeah there's a hope done there is a hope it's over get out of here i thought he was done i was like oh he's got two cups have a seat the rest of your year oh by the way they won one of the cups with him playing one shift so it's like 39 seconds he played sniped he scored that's legendary it is legendary uh and it

was a really nice goal along the goal line went top shelf i just i don't the lightning still to me they're like zombie lightning i've been so i've been watching oh yeah i've been watching lightning almost every night i can they're still so good really even when they lose they're really good i don't buy this for a second not for a second i watched them down 3-1 to whoever it was is it vegas tic-tac-toe six on five goal tic-tac-toe six on five goal they just went turned it up they have unbelievable chemistry when they have the puck in the zone kucherov on the flank is the scariest player in the league he's got that slap pass shot fake thing down better than anyone in the league it's so good he executed that one against vegas after ripping one off the post and hitting it he'll hit it yeah that's the thing he's

got a one time in playoffs last year yeah yep yep yep so anyway my point is not buying the tampa bay lightning struggles god there's just has to be a part where it's just like it catches up to them. We're not allowed to say that anymore? No, I know. No, that's allowed. Where you just go, come on. They're tired. They have to be tired.

Aren't you sick of this? Aren't you? Just be old. Yeah. Be old and bad one year. Like, play like crap. Be selfish. Play like crap.

The problem is, is they play in Florida. Yeah. So they're not looking forward to going to Florida. No, they get to play golf every day. Like the Leafs. They get to play golf whenever they want. Sickening. Sickening.

And they got John Cooper, who's, like, taking the time for the kid in the press conference. I'm like, oh, this guy. Like, he's a good guy, too, and he's like taking the time for the kid in the press conference i'm like oh this guy like he's a good guy too and he's great with the media i'm like he's gotta be he's gotta be like that fall apart could it really be that we're talking ourselves into tampa bay maybe they're just not as good as they were and they are struggling and they are gonna just what do we have left right for the picking what do we have left to think there's nothing else to think i guess just that they're playing possum that's it because they haven't been winning very much they got 15 games left

they got this week they got at new jersey at new jersey nice yeah nice there'll be two brawls they fall out of the standings can someone catch them no we just had close to buffalo we had we had uh pd just moments ago talked to us about buffalo being out of it did we just watch the ottawa senators uh yeah not a great road trip uh cash out uh their playoff hopes yeah they did this has been the thing the whole way is that like they win they win they win people go they're only two back they're only whatever back they're only whatever back there's no room for air yeah there's no room for air like at all you're gonna lose a few contests when you're a team of ottawa's true talent level minus five goal differential team tough losses though a vancouver and calgary last night and

not just like kind of got beat in it they got just pumped they did from what i saw yeah i mean it's it was not a great effort you can't you can't do it all the time as we said the boston bruins just lost to the red wings and who was the oilers yeah so there's still what 15 games to go 16 what is the they gotta go what is the cutoff on true like meaning the the term meaningful games we're playing meaningful games it sounds really good when you say it yeah it's like where is that where's the where's the cutoff line like if so ottawa is now six points out of uh the Islanders with two games in hand on the Islanders. So technically you think that a bad Islander week and a good Ottawa week can get them back in it.

Right. There's teams between them for one, right? Florida and Washington too. Does that mean they're still playing meaningful games or it's over? Well, yeah, it's not over, but people look at that and they say there are two games behind the Islanders. So they win those both. They're only two points back. Their winning percentage is 530.

They're probably going to get about half of their available points or a little more. Look at their schedule. I don't think it's getting any easier for the Ottawa Senators. No, I think there's Colorado in there. There's the Leafs in there. There's Edmonton in there. Tonight, Oilers. Tomorrow, Avalanche.

Next, Maple Leafs. Then the Penguins. Then the Bruins. Then Tampa Bay. Then New Jersey. Then New Jersey. Florida. Night, night.

Yeah, it's over. No more meaningful games. We'll always have old Chikrin's grandpa drinking the coffee, guys. And playing meaningless games. Meaningless games. I just wanted to circle back because we were talking about nyes. Yeah. And I did some texting and I did some reading.

Oh, homework. I did. So the game on Saturday against Michigan is the Big Ten Finals. So that's to win their region, the Big Ten. Okay. If they win that or if they lose that, they're still in the tournament. Yeah. So there's a 16-teams tournament, the regionals, which start March 23rd.

And that becomes single elimination. And they're probably a one seed. They're going to be a one seed for sure, regardless of if they win against. So they're going to one seed they're gonna be a one seed for sure regardless of if they win against so they're gonna draw the zigzags and yes they're gonna so that we win in one game and then yeah so that's march 23rd to 26th uh and then the the the winning team from each of the four regionals will advance the men's final uh frozen four in tampa florida on april 6th and 8th so we go. So we need them to not advance out of their bracket. Yeah. The ideal scenario for Leafs fans, well, maybe if you don't want to pouty Niles, maybe you'll

stay one more year if they lose. Not a chance. Okay. So, yeah, if you maybe lose in the regional final at some point, do not go to the Frozen Four. And how long does the Frozen Four last? April 6th and 8th. Like a weekend?

Yeah, April 6th and 8th. The National Championship takes place on April 8th, which I believe is a Monday, right? Even if he goes and finishes, he'll get at least a week. Yeah. What's their schedule? What's the Leafs' schedule past April 8th? We've looked it up. It's two Florida, which is perfect.

I mean, if they're in Florida for the regional final, for the Frozen Four, then they can go down and play Tampa and Florida back-to-back. You can get around to golfing. You is perfect. I mean, if they're in Florida for the regional final, for the Frozen Four, then they can go down and play Tampa and Florida back-to-back. Perfect. You can get around a golf in. You can relax. Go to a Springsteen concert. Have a my time.

Springsteen. Hopefully they're done COVID. Yeah. Yeah. Florida, Tampa Bay, New York Rangers to end the season for the Leafs. Good thing those games won't matter. That's a heck of a finish. Yeah.

I think both those games probably won't matter.'s a heck of a finish yeah i think both those games probably won't matter but uh what do we make of the uh patrick kane so far in the new york rangers i believe the guy on i think you should leave said stinky bad stinky bad not good not good results kipper i mean you know what else is, too, is the media is all over them for availability of guys in New York. Yeah, the goalies, I guess, weren't available on the weekend. I think our friend Larry Brooks wrote that, like, you know, are you protecting them? Are you hiding them? I don't know what's going on.

What's with protecting these grown men? grown man i know uh specter on sportsnet was writing about how the oilers after that game sent out like nugent hopkins and hyman didn't want no mcleod no goaltenders no you know none of the people you'd want to ask questions to so i don't know it's over protection from pr people i could to me it's doing damage to the product and the enjoyment of fans, which is what this is at the end of the day. You've been around long enough. You can go out there and just generalize. Yeah. We come on here and say nothing half the time.

We cliche them to death. Yeah. We talk for two hours about nothing every day. Yeah. No, you do. Got me between the eyes, Kippy. So, yeah. It's oilers this week you're sorry it's uh sabers tonight it's colorado and then carolina big week three very offensive teams yes oh and we have one more clip that i wanted to bring up oh uh it's from uh the smartless podcast we're promoting another podcast on our

podcast it doesn't need promoting it's just fine legitimately the mostless podcast. We're promoting another podcast on our podcast. It doesn't need promoting. It's doing just fine. Yeah, it's legitimately the most popular podcast in the world with Will Arnett, who is a diehard Leaf fan, of course, of Arrested Development fame, BoJack Horseman fame. They had Al Michaels on, who is, you know, the legendary play-by-play announcer.

Do you believe in miracles? If he had this to say about the Toronto Maple Leafs, so I just wanted you guys to hear it, okay? Yeah. Will and I both know that hockey is fantastic. And I'm sorry we had to take, you know, the gold medal and even though Canada may have had better players at that time. No, I don't want to.

But Will, I mean, sooner or later, your ship's going to come in. The Toronto Maple Leafs will, in our lifetime, win a Stanley Cup. Yes. Could be this year. You're in a desert right now, but I'm feeling the oasis, Will. Maybe this year. Maybe. Now that Shanahan's up in charge.

There you go, guys. Now, Arnett is a Shanahan boy. They're pals, right? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. I've tried really hard to get him on the show. Shanahan? That'd be great.

No, Will Arnett. Oh, we'll get him on the show Shanahan that'd be great We'll get him on Do you know him? Can he come on as Bojack Horseman For the whole episode? Or Job We'll get him on Get him on to start the playoffs That's my mission

Producer Kippy It's so funny that Toronto is like the most popular hockey team in the world, probably. And I still get like, feel so excited when like a, when Al Michaels mentions them. I know. So stupid. I'm like, oh my God. They're talking about the Leafs.

That's us. Do you have that call? Oh, and sound. Can you get that call in before we go off air? Do you believe, I got it for you. Do you believe in miracles? Oh my God. Yes. That's so bad.

So bad. I thought he nailed it. 10 out of 10. I thought it was perfect. Yeah. Now, what was the deal? Was that live? Was that to tape?

Or was that an actual live call? You weren't even born. No, I mean, I've seen it. I don't know. I don't know how they would have done that then. What's the official word on that? I don't think they did it remotely. I'm going to ask John Shannon.

He knows everything on that. No, I think, yeah, it was a how they would have done that then. What's the official word on that? I don't think they did it remotely. I'm going to ask John Shannon. He knows everything on that. No, I think, yeah, it was a tape delay. With Ken Dryden. What? Was he? He was color commentating, I think. Was he? Yes, with Al.

Guy's done it all. Wow. No, I just didn't know that. So there you go. I think it was tape delay, though. There you go. A lot of stuff was tape delay back in the day when we didn't have access to every single thing. What do we call it tonight?

Petey says they're going to crush Buffalo five one six two yeah i'm due for just a really biased so i have called a couple of wins for the leafs here over some pretty good teams um i think he's right memory pitches a shout out that'll just yeah complicate things that's what's happening everybody for spit tonight leafs uh four three sabers in overtime oh why would you ruin our show like that and it wasn't even about that common that's a general question i just i just think that's i the leafs are having had a you know a stinker against the bad teams in like a week so they lost to the canucks last saturday that's what i mean it's been about a week yeah so it's about time. They lost to the Canucks last Saturday. That's what I mean. It's been about a week. Yeah, that's right. So it's about time.

I could see them losing tonight. And then Darlene and Matthews get into some sort of disagreement tonight. They lose tonight. And... Uh-oh. Yeah, it's... It's no good. It's no good.

We're right back to square one. No. And hey, Leafs talk tonight. Me and JD after the game. Live on YouTube. Exciting night. Love when there's hockey. Leafs talk.. Me and JD after the game. Live on YouTube. Exciting night. Love when there's hockey. Leafs talk.

All right. Just like that. Wraps up another two hours where we solved nothing on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. We had a few laughs. Craig Simpson, Andrew Peters, thanks for coming on the show. All of you continue to support us. Love having you along for the ride. Give us a rating and review if you get a chance. We'd you continue to support us. Love having you along for the ride. Give us a rating and review if you get a chance.

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