Real Kyper & Bourne - Coaching Playoff Slumps with Rick Bowness

Episode Date: May 29, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee look back on the Panthers' overtime win over the Rangers last night, Shesterkin's outstanding play despite the result and the Rangers' stars failing to show up so far in the series. Recently retired Jets coach Rick Bowness (5:41) discusses how Roope Hintz changes the WCF, the Stars' roster-building path to this point, Darnell Nurse's struggles and the right way to coach stars out of slumps in the postseason. Later, they get into the missed penalty-shot call in OT last night, the uptick in embellishment calls and a return to the ice to forget for Blake Wheeler. Finally, they review Darnell Nurse's frustrated game-day availability.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.

All right. We're right back at you. The Real Kipper and Boren Show. Nick Kiprios, Justin Boren, Sammy McKee, Derek Brandeo, Jake Schultz. Jake the Snake Schultz. I thought he lost his nickname. He had done something wrong or something. No, no, no, no, no.

No. You know how I know that? Sammy spelt it for me as he crossed out David Cisboomba. This is how. I have a template that I use every day. Yes. In my peanut brain. Once in a while, I forget to change the names.

And if you'll look in the final page of the lineup, you'll see that I put in the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers play tonight. So I'm right on top of the place. Right on top of it. And we're glad you're all with us. Whether it's Sportsnet 590, the fan you're listening, Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver, Sportsnet 960 in Calgary, or Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet Plus,

we're glad you're with us with what we now deem the fastest hour in hockey. Although only one guest today. So does listening to us slow things down for people we'll find out all right send us a comment snap it around a little bit rating and review let us know on our youtube channel we have one we do yeah they still up though the logos yeah you know i actually talked to a lot of people who use that really yeah do they believe people still go well i shouldn't say since then but prior to at

least our first couple of years when it was live yeah oh my god it was like it's a wild wild fire and now they tape delay it can i say that still in 2024 tape i don't know they delay it they delay it yeah how's that good all right in a minutes, we're going to welcome in Rick Bonas, former NHL head coach. We saw him most recently on Sportsnet. Hockey Night in Canada. Regular now. Killing it right now. Yeah.

Right? No, it's great. He obviously has a ton of unique insight to the Western Conference. Western Conference, Eastern Conference. We're going to get into all of that with rick in in a few minutes but uh just a quick thought on last night watching maybe a similar type of game between florida and the new york rangers but a much different result yeah if florida doesn't win this series it may be the most unjust thing of any series.

Like, it is an absolute trashing to me. This series is 2-2, and Florida, to me, there's not an area where they don't seem like the better team outside of Shostakhin. It's just otherworldly, this guy. You see that stat up in the lineup? Probably. The same percentage when the game is tied in the Eastern Conference Final.

Shostakhin is a 9-62 when the game is tied in eastern conference final so stirkin is at 962 when the game is tied he's 8 8 67 8 97 sorry yeah it's not 962 when the games are tied that is unbelievable he does a good job keeping them in games even when they don't deserve to be rangers the latest team struggling to get offense from their big boys. Was there any point in that hockey game where you're like, okay, whatever Florida wants to do and look great doing it, that's fine. But they're just, they're not going to win. They just cannot find a way to beat this guy.

It started to kind of crawl into my head. You're like one of those things where it's like, how do you beat this guy that that yeah it it started to kind of crawl into my head like one of those things where it's like how do you beat whatever you do you're you're not getting a bounce against this guy this guy's got all the answers but that's what happens to teams when a goalie gets in your head and then so guys stop shooting as much right because they're like well we need the perfect shot like he's gonna stop it if i shoot from here and you just you stop making him make those saves and shisterkin seems to be at that point where you just never feel like it's gonna go in give me vibes yeah like like true put the team on your back goaltender like uh vasilevsky did a few years ago just locked in and it took i mean look at the goals that they got uh you look at that overtime

goal you know you talk about how usually they're super ugly goals that they got uh you look at that overtime goal you know you talk about how usually they're super ugly goals that's just three sick guys bing bing off the post and in from the slot what can you do but man and a squeaker shot attempts in game four you have here is 89 to 44 more than double the shot attempts for the florida panthers it's just are you going back to new york it's 2-2. If you're the Rangers, you should feel good about your position in the series. But if they don't, I don't know, hook up the frivolator to Zibanejad

and Panarin and Kreider, Zibanejad and Kreider in particular, I'm in trouble. If I was a Rangers fan today, I'd be apoplectic about Zibanejad's play and the play he made in overtime. That back pass, cross the grain, stopped, soft pass into the middle. That goes the other way and then Wheeler takes the hook

and they score one second into the power play. God, I'd be out of my mind about that play. In a few minutes, we're going to welcome in Rick Bonas and we'll discuss, obviously, the biggest story here in Canada is the Edmonton Oilers and their situation where it seems to be making more noise around Darnell Nurse today than even yesterday. And we brought it up with Eddie Olchuk yesterday and the noise around Darnell Nurse.

But it seems to have taken a whole new level after, I guess, the morning skate when he met the media and maybe gave some of the shortest answers in playoff history. Yeah. We actually have video. We can do that a little later after we get bonus. We'll get into it at all. But first of all, let's welcome in Rick Bonus.

Many people remember him as a coach behind the bench but now media star with hockey night in canada that's where it really sits now with rick and as he contemplates how many years he wants to sign 10-year deal with sportsnet i think rick how are you? Am I fairly accurate in you contemplating how many years you want to sign? Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep moving. Did you enjoy it?

You looked like you had fun. You looked like you had fun with Kevin Biazza and company. Yeah, Kevin was great. Obviously, Kelly and Luke were great. Obviously, Ron McClain. So, no, I was fortunate to be able to commit the first time doing those things with people that I know very well and have a lot of respect for. So they made it a lot easier for me. So, yeah, it was very comfortable for me.

Well, we thank you for joining us here on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. So let's get right into it. Basically, before you left Hockey Night in Canada, you mentioned what Rupe Hintz could do for Robertson, and it kind of spoke true in the game the other night. Well, yeah, there's that part of it, which is clearly huge. You've got to have your duos, as you know. So your duos work.

And I think Robo was a little bit lost without Rupe because you can see Rupe, he's such a great skater and playmaker and he's got great vision. And he's got the strength and the poise to hang on to the puck and make plays where Robo knows where to go. And listen, Robertson knows where to put the puck on the net. As goal scorers do, they just know where to put the puck instinctively. So it's a great deal. But

the other thing that's just as important, all of a sudden you've got Wyatt Johnson go down to the second line and Duchesne goes down the line. So it bumps those guys back into the roles and with their linemen that they had played all year with. So getting Rubey back did a lot of things clearly for

the team. Robertson's our number one. But again, just as important is getting those guys slotted back into the spots that they've been playing all year and with the same guys that they played with all year. So those two factors. And again, listen, Ruppe's a great player. At one point, he is going to be nominated for that Cilky Award. Yeah.

Tell us a little bit about the evolution of the Dallas Stars over the years. You've obviously coached with them and have seen the path they took. I think it was before the pandemic that Jim Nill had talked a little bit about, do we need a full rebuild here? But some wonderful drafting has them where they are today. How did they get to be this force that they are? Well, you look at that team. So I left there two years ago.

There's nights that they have 10 new skaters in that lineup from two years ago. So there's eight guys remaining that I was there. So you mentioned the draft. Listen, that Stankoven is going to have a great career, great player right now. Wyatt Johnson, Thomas Harley, like they're just great draft picks. They've got a kid in the minors, Maverick Bork. He's going to step in and then play there.

So Joe McDonnell, the head scout there, amateur scout, has done a phenomenal job. And these guys are legitimate. That Wyatt Johnson is going to be the cornerstone. I saw Pete's comment that he will be the cornerstone of that franchise for a long time, and he will. Tremendous competitor, incredible poise for a young player like him. And I talked about this when I was doing the panel,

that he could have made our team as an 18-year-old. He was that good at training camp. Now, we didn't have a spot for him, obviously, and the best thing to do was to send him back to junior. But that's how impressive he was at 18 years old. And, again, Jimmy Nill and his staff have done a great job. Look at the players they've signed. Matthew Shane, all of a sudden,

he's just having a career year and he fits in perfectly. And Craig Smith and Dadanow and Sam Steele going to get Chris Tanov on defense. Jimmy and his staff have done a great job. It's the young players coming in, but the trades that they have made

or the free agent signings that they have made to fill in and get them in the right spots. So Matthew Shane goes in there. He's not the number one guy anymore. So he slots in better there. So Craig Smith is an excellent fourth-line player. You know you're going to get the same effort every night. Sam Steele, same thing, dad and mom.

They've all fit in very well. And listen, I had Chris Tannev in Vancouver, so he absolutely loved the guy. And you talk about a guy that fits in perfectly with that defense core, it's Chris Tannev. So Jimmy Neal and his staff, they've done a great job bringing in the right people to fill in the spots. And the amateur scouts have certainly done their job

with those young players that are all going to have long, productive careers in the National Hockey League. We're talking to former NHL head coach Rick Bonas, now star analyst on Hockey Night in Canada. Rick, it wasn't too long ago that the face of this franchise was Sagan and Ben. And clearly, you know, their best years are behind them, but for me, it's the chemistry between the young guys and still the importance of Sagan and especially Ben.

You know, something as simple as winning a draw to solidify the win the other night. I mean, these guys are still major players if it doesn't appear that way. Well, they are. And listen, James, he loves playing with those two kids. I spoke to him when we played them. He just, you know, it's rejuvenated his career. It's given him a big jump. He loves playing with Wyatt Johnson,

and he considers himself a tutor for those guys, and he is. Jamie Ben's an outstanding individual, a great captain, and a great leader by example. So those two kids, they're playing with Jamie, and he's pushing them, and he's encouraging them, and he's a great fit for them. And Tyler's just, listen, he's matured a lot. Again, he's not now. It's Rupe's line that is the number one line.

But you saw, like, when Pavelski was struggling, they put Tyler up there in right wing, and he fit in perfectly. So Shaggy's matured an awful lot. Listen, he's always had the skill he's always had the skating he's competing hard pete's done a great job with with saggy so i'm happy for all those guys because again as you mentioned they've been there a long time and right now that's i'm picking them to win the stanley cup uh and a lot of it has to do with those two guys that have been there for a long time and they realize they're running out of years there's no question about it they also realize they've got a great opportunity this year and they're going to do everything they can to take

advantage of it uh rick for the first time the edmonton oilers uh are on their heels a little bit in the postseason their defense core is taking a little bit of heat. Their power play has not been as successful as it once was. How quickly do you feel like you should make changes to something you know is good? And I am talking about the power play there, but also they haven't really mixed up their decor much. Like, is it panic? It's the playoffs. We need to do something different. Don't have time to let it sort itself out.

Or do you just still need to stay patient? Well, he's got to stay patient with the power play. I mean, you've got elite players, and it's just a matter of time. They're going to get that thing going, there's no question. They're just too good. So they've had great success for a long time with that personnel. You stay with it. They're out there for a minute and a half, a minute and 40,

and you've got to stay patient with that. With the defense core, like, you know, are some of those guys playing hurt? Those are the things you never know. Somebody might be banged up a little bit and trying to play through it. So those are the questions that you have to ask internally. You talk to your doctors, you talk to your therapists. Are some of these guys hurting a little bit to really be effective as they normally could be?

And then you've got to answer those questions. And you've got to answer, well, listen, he's really not playing well, and we can change it up. If there's something they can't change up back there, that would be it. The pairings and maybe bringing in Broberg or someone like that. So they've got options there. I wouldn't touch the power

play. They'll figure it out. They're the world's best players, so they'll figure that out. But if there's options back there, or if someone is hurting and we never know those things until after, so they'll figure that out. But if there's options back there or if someone is hurting and we never know those things until after, then they're going to have to answer those questions. Rick, we're watching Darnell Nurse take a little bit of heat now in the last 24, 36 hours here.

It's obvious he's got the seventh highest cap hit amongst all NHL defensemen, which the fans are painfully aware of. And we saw Connor McDavid defend him on the podium a little bit here. But as a coach, when you are aware that a player is feeling that type of heat, how hard is it sometimes to contemplate when to step in, when to say something maybe behind the scenes to the player, or in fact, if you need to say something publicly as well?

I think, well, again, you've got to know that player. What can he handle? Maybe some of these guys, they can't handle being publicly criticized. It makes it worse. They just can't handle it. So it comes down to the one-on-one with the coach and the player, and you're trying to encourage him as much as you can. But the biggest thing you've got to do is take away the focus of the salary.

He was given that contract. He signed it. You have to take that completely out of the equation and get him focused on what he does well. And don't worry about the money. Don't worry about the distractions. All I do know, guys, you guys have been around long enough, it's noise. It's noise.

It's just noise. Noise is usually a distraction to a player. I'm sure Chris is going to talk to him one-on-one and just settle him down a little bit. Get him dialed in on what he does well, how he helps the team prepare and play. And, again, take away all the noise. Take away the distractions. Take away the money. take away the negative. Press this focus on coming to the rink with a clear, easier said than done.

And I understand that, but you've got to be, that's the only approach you can take at this point. He's too important to the team. He's, he's up too many important minutes. So you've just got to get him to just refocus a little bit without trying to do too much. Some guys, as you know, they struggle. Now they start chasing the game, and they get away from what they do well, trying to do too much.

Just get him dialed. Sometimes the best approach is dial it back, not dial it forward, and just take it one shift, one step at a time. Know what you do well. Just focus on doing those things every shift and things will start to fall in place there's a feeling of helplessness i think as a coach uh when you're relying on your best guys to be your best guys and it's just not working for them how much responsibility is on the coach and in the postseason it's been a running theme right now

zibanejad struggling petterson struggling whoever may be. How much is on the coach to put those guys in positions to succeed versus these guys just got to find a way through? Well, they do have to find a way through. It's easy to point your fingers at the coach and blame the coach. These guys are elite players. They've been elite players their whole careers. It's on them. Listen, you want the attention, you want the contracts,

you want all these things. You've got to deliver when the team needs you the most. So, yeah, the coach's good job is to put them out there. But then that's it. Now it's on the player to prepare himself properly to go out there and do the best job he can to help the team. You can't be blaming the coaches when you're putting those guys in the right positions and they're not delivering.

It's crunch time. And now it's man up time. It's it's, it is. And you step up, it's time to lead player. No team is going anywhere without their best players being the best players. They're not going to be their best players every night.

We get that. But when they're having a bad game, it's on a lot on them because they know they've had played poorly. The coach will talk to them about it, but now it's on them to be prepared themselves to come out with the puck drops and be ready to do what you do well do what you've done your whole career to be doing that reputation as an elite player but make sure you've got the jam to go out there and do it and and and then the confidence to go out there and do it rick when we see such a drop off between the first and second period from the Edmonton Oilers,

your thought as a coach would be, is this physical? Is it mental? Is it emotional? Like, why am I looking at two different teams within a 15, 18-minute intermission? Yeah, I would say it's emotional and mental. It's not physical.

You go out there and you play that great. Yeah, I would say it's emotional and mental. It's not physical. You go out there and you play that great. But again, you know Dallas is going to respond. They did it since the game two. You know they're going to come out and respond in that period. They're going to come out a lot harder. Prepare yourself for it. And as you know, get to that first five, six minutes.

Get to that first time out. Be ready to handle everything they throw at you because they're going to come at you. They've got three great lines. They've got a fourth line that can do some damage, and they've got an outstanding defense. You've got to play through it, and you've got to prepare yourself to play through that. They couldn't get the puck out of their own zone.

I didn't watch it that closely, but they were having a tough time getting the puck out of their zone, and all that does is feed the other team. So when you go out there in those scenarios, make sure you're doing all the little things well. You're getting the puck out of their zone. And all that does is feed the other team. So when you go out there in those scenarios, make sure you're doing all the little things. Well, you're getting the puck out. You don't have to always make a play, but you can always get the puck out of the zone and buy time to regroup. And then when you're going through the neutral zone, if there's nothing there, there's nothing there. Put it in and make them go 200 feet. So a lot of the problems that I saw

were just self-inflicted and they were just slow moving the puck, not getting the puck out when the career should have, could have, not enough support on the puck. And when you're doing those things, you start playing slow. The other team is coming at you, and you're feeding their transition, or you're giving them the puck, and Robertson's goal is the first one. That's a perfect example. Like you turn the puck over at your blue line,

they're coming right back at you. So don't feed their offense. Make it harder for them. And that's all they did really. They just couldn't get out of their own zone clean. Couldn't get through the neutral zone. And when you're doing those things, you look very, very slow.

No matter what. And the other team is just going to jump all over it. And they're getting excited because you keep giving them the puck. They just had to tighten that up a little bit but that's all mental that's what that is and you've got again prepare yourself for what's coming and go out there and do all the little things well make them go 200 feet that half ice three-quarter ice game dallas will kill you on that it's a 200 foot game with them and you've got to get the puck out you've got to get the puck in and make've got to get the puck in, and make them do that. Rick, I'll turn your attention

while we still have you here to the Eastern Conference final. Is that okay, Kip? Just one more. The decision to make as many as three changes, it's expected that maybe McLeod, Perry, and Broberg are likely to play. Is that a lot for a team

to make a change at this point well they've been key parts of that team right up until this point so no if they were thrown in at the very end yeah it is but not when they've been with the team as long as they have and an integral part of the team getting to getting them to where they are and again if you got some guys banged up and they're not playing well get them out of the team getting them to where they are. And again, if you've got some guys banged up and they're not playing well, get them out of the lineup. Put some healthy bodies in there. The players know who's banged up. The players know

who's not playing well. And sometimes those moves, that'll give the rest of the locker room a big lift. Okay, we've got fresh bodies in here. We've got new bodies. Other guys are a little bit. These guys are going to come out there and help us. So it can work the exact opposite it can give you a lift so i again if they hadn't been around the team much then that's one thing but those guys are key members of the team i've coached

corey perry he is as good a teammate as you'll ever find so i'm sure the guys are and he's going to say all the right things in the locker room he's going to say the right things on the bench those are the little details of the game that help when you're going into a second period like they did the other night those experienced voices that have been through it they need to speak up and you need to listen to what they have to say i'm sure those conversations are happening in new york right now the the rangers are getting fairly heavily outplayed are you surprised by florida how much they're taking it to the Rangers? And do you give the Rangers a chance,

given how much it's really gone in Florida's favor? Well, they have a chance because of Cisterca. It's unreal. I was watching that game last night. How many times they just walked in uncontested. Like Barkov had three times alone. He walked in. There's five or six times. They're walking in. Nobody. Like Barkov had three times alone. He walked in. There's five or six times.

They're walking in. Nobody's near them, right? Ocpozo in the third period. He walks into the net front, and nobody near him, and he doesn't score. But that's because of the goaltender. So he's going to give them a chance. They have to tighten this up, or Florida will. Eventually, that's going to catch up to them.

They have to tighten this up. I'm sure they're the coaches are dealing with that, but you can't play like that. And it's when you get down to the final four and not expect that other team to eventually take over the game. And that Florida has done that. It was, I'm shocked that they lost game,

the first game in their game three, they played so well. So, and I think Florida just, they know they're playing really well so even though they lost game three they came right back at them last night and didn't let up and again without just Durkin that game is 4-1-5-1 after two periods so he's given them the belief that they can win but he's going to need he's going to need a lot more help in front of them

eventually here because they Florida has too many weapons and you saw that winning goal last night that's a heck of a shot from a pure goal scorer and they've got a few of them eventually here because they florida has too many weapons and you saw that winning goal last night that's a heck of a shot from a pure goal scorer and they've got a few of them to chuck hasn't scored you know he's going to get going here so they've got a lot of weapons and montour those guys on the blue line are going to start putting points on the board so i think the rangers know they have got to play a lot a hundred percent better than they've shown so far and now you're going to go back to your, your, your lead players. They, your best players better take charge there. And as he's about a jab and try to, they don't have a point in this series.

The Rangers need those guys to produce offense, spend some more time in the ozone because they're spending way too much time in their zone. And you need your best players that get control of that park, make, make, make Florida defend a lot more than they're having to defend. Rick, one more for me, and that's a player that you know very well in Blake Wheeler. Out since, what, February to come back last night,

be in that position, and then be on the ice in overtime where he turns the puck over. And we know Blake's towards the end of his career and he's lost a step here, but a real tough spot to find yourself after being off the ice for so long. Yeah, it was, and it's unfortunate that against the batter, he took the blame. That's a terrible play.

You talk about turning the puck over at the wrong time, inside their blue line, standing still, trying to make that play. And all of a sudden, there's times out there, he's got the puck. The other four guys, he needs to do what's right for those other four guys and your goalie that are on the ice. And he took the blame for it. I made a bad play. It was a bad talk.

He needs to turn over. But now the other guys have to scramble because they're thinking the puck's going one way. He does the exact opposite. And now you've got to scramble to get back. And unfortunately, Brake takes that penalty. But without that turnover, he's not in that position. And he had played hard up to that point.

And unfortunately, he ends up taking that penalty. But it goes back to the turnover. And all of a sudden, the other four guys on the ice, they're all scrambling to get back. And bar called again, he's in behind them. So, you know,

you let them go. He scores, you're mad. You take a penalty and they score. You're mad. So he got put in a no win situation there. Hey, Rick,

really appreciate your time. I know you're busy guy these days, heavily in demand, but making time for us real special special it was a pleasure to talk to you guys okay thanks so much bonus 301 career wins not bad 301 career wins as a head coach i assume yeah yes because as an assistant coach he's probably got 16 000 or something like that that guy that was great yeah he's insightful as it gets. Yeah, he is. You know what?

Just speaking to him and the way he's so decisive on his answers, I would have just loved having that type of rapport with a coach. Yeah. Where it's like, hey, you stunk last night. Well, at least I know where I stand right away. And, you know, if I'm smart, I'm probably agreeing with you. And then it's about what do we do moving forward. But there's no messing around.

No. BX had talked about how he was such a good communicator, someone good to work with. And there is this thing where it's like we have this impression that because Rick Tockett and Berube and Tortorella, these guys that are honest and whatever that you need to like hurt people in the process of being honest and it's not the case because bonus is as direct and honest as it gets we've heard him in the media be that way but he

has a much softer way of approaching it which i think is why so many of his players have loved him but that's what you're hoping for was softer as you know you're right outside. Yeah, you're right. You're right. Behind the scenes. It could be a little harder. No, I assure you it's harder, and it can be a lot more brutal at times. When it needs to be. But sometimes it's not what you say, but how you say it. This is what I mean. Torts, it almost feels like the cruelty is the point sometimes.

You know, with bonus, I'm sure it's a lot more about the message. At least that's the outsider's impression. I think with the good ones, you can do it without turning it into a side show right where it's like you can be direct and critical and even say stuff in the media and not have it be all about you as opposed to being about the players and what you're saying like i mean the tortorella thing this year was just like every show for a month we came in here and we're like can you believe this guy i know floodlights all on him but then you know that instance, the way I read the tea leaves,

then it becomes less about you and the player. And then it gets a little political too. What do you mean? Like when you take it outside the room? When you take, like, for instance, like, you know, the captaincy, right, in Philly. Like is it just about you and the message you're sending each other one-on-one? Or is there, like...

It's going upstairs now. Is it now, you know, I was never on board with this captaincy, and you guys jammed it down my throat, and, like, I'm just... We suck. throat and like i'm just we suck i'm just sometimes what you say publicly is to send other messages out there as well as the one that you think you're just making on your particular player but this is it like i have never heard a rick bonus interview and been being like he's sending a message to the ownership you know like it's never felt like that you know whereas the tortorella sometimes but it can at times well maybe i don't know you know and if that's the felt like that. You know, whereas the Tortorella sometimes. But it can at times.

Well, maybe. I don't know. You know, and if that's the case, then he's much better at it than the guy we've just been talking about. Quickly, before we go to game time, what did you guys make of putting Wheeler in that game? I think the wheels are off Wheeler. Yeah.

I feel bad because he's. I felt bad that, you know again he's it's a tough spot it's it's so fast right now and i'm not sure he can keep up the question was can he still keep up and be effective when he was playing then they ramped up the treadmill to playoff speed made him not play for two months and said jump on with a pair of flippers on yeah it is. That's a big ask. And I didn't think he was terrible or anything last night,

but like he's out there in the first minute of overtime. I don't know about that. That was a questionable decision for me. All right, you guys want to do a game time? Sure. All right, it's game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app, latest odd, to find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365.

Must be 19 plus, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. So I was playing around with Bet365 must be 19 plus ontario only please play responsibly so i was playing around with bet365 here and uh one of the futures you can bet on for these two series is to score five plus goals in the series and to me looking at there's a couple ones that i really like uh lafreniere is plus 400 to get five plus he's already got got a couple or three. No, he got three. So he's got three already. He needs two more in these last three games.

He's been really good. Looking at Jason Robertson, who scored a hat trick last game, he's plus 200 to get to five plus, as well as Zach Hyman, who's been excellent in the playoffs, is at plus 250. So I thought those numbers to me are very interesting.

Sam Reinhardt as well, obviously, is at plus 200. But to me, there's some pretty good value there if you're looking to make a bet on some guys to score some goals. So those are two that i'm looking at uh for tonight the edmonton oilers are pretty big favorites uh minus 135 on home ice the dallas stars to me plus 115 don't know if you're gonna get them at a better number for the rest of the playoffs plus 115 on dallas love who they're playing in the league loved the way they looked give me the stars i i i think if you were a betting person that would be a nice number to

have a look at okay let me ask you guys because you're the betting gurus of our show here so going back go back and listen my going going back to the plus five goals yeah is your first thought to take players that you think are going to win the series i see your point so would you yeah would you lean towards reinhardt and robertson it's five goals in in playoffs five goals in the series in the series so would you lean towards yeah robertson and um and uh uh reinhardt yeah then you would say hyman that makes sense you think their teams are going to win that means they're going to score more goals no no that's definitely a great way to look at it it's like okay we think they're going to be the offensive zone more more chances i think

that makes sense to me to get plus money with robertson who has i mean he looked the best he's looked all playoffs having hints back by his side to me to him get two more goals a plus 200 for three more games here's a platform here's just been on a house on fire here. I love this kid. Huge fan. You're leaning towards Florida scoring a lot more goals, even getting to a game seven than you would. Here's a totally irrelevant question.

One breakout game. Lafreniere be on the Four Nations face-off team? I'm sure you... Start the campaign to get him on Team Canada. I just think he's so good and he's so competitive. He's got the pedigree

played in the World Juniors. Anyways, that's for next February. Is that when that is? No All-Star game? Next February. I gotta be honest. I wasn't sure how I was gonna feel about it when they announced it.

I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, me too. I'm excited. That was Game Time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds to find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Must be 19 plus. Ontario only. Please play responsibly.

Pastor Knack's not looking forward to it. Oh, yeah, he doesn't get to play. The world champion. World champions do not get to play. That is brutal. They just won the world damn championship, and they're not allowed in our special little event? No, no, no. They're not happy either.

You know what? Good. They shouldn't be happy. They're really like a traditional powerhouse hockey nation. Did you see the celebration in Prague? I did. I did. I did.

That's why, to me, that tournament is a bucket list event to go to because clearly it doesn't really move the needle here. There's NHL Stanley Cup playoffs going on. Moves moves your needle going blue here on real camera but to go over there and experience that but that looks awesome but for them it is their stanley cup and it's always been that way huge huge right how about david for us this this time of year for us on this side of the water it's a b event yeah oh that's generous uh i mean to call it a b event i think it's generous the line he was on what was camp was on some awesome line no chair yeah i they i don't know i don't know who he was online but he scored

he scored the empty netter to clinch the the championship for the czechs who beat switzerland who beat us swiss they just own us. We can't beat them. I know it's weird. It's just Nico, he, she, and Wood. I mean, their power play, I was watching the game, their power play had Fiala, Heischer, Roman Yossi. It's like they don't suck like they used to.

All these teams are catching up. Anyways, I want to go to break. Okay, let's take a quick break. When we return, maybe we'll pick up a little bit on head coach of the Rangers, Laviolette, on Blake Wheeler. we've got sound from that we got a little paul maurice as well and we'll dive a little deeper into the darnell conversation here and is it on that is is it fair is it fair the heat that he's taking let me just say is it fair to be critical of people in the nhl yeah it is no no no criticism well. It's house hockey.

Good thing he's not wearing 34 and blue. In this case, I may not agree with you on that. All right? So we'll get into that. We will. After the break. Real care. We do not agree.

Breaking down the top stories in hockey and Elliott Friedman every day. The Jeff Merrick Show. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Nick Kipras, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. As a reminder, this hour of Real Kipper and Bourne is brought to you by Bet365. I didn't ask you guys about the missed penalty shot call.

Good non-call penalty shot. Like, how did you see that play? I saw a coward in black and white. You know, refs never want to decide the game. But not making that call is deciding the game. I know they score in the power play. It's irrelevant. It's irrelevant. It's irrelevant.

I don't know. If that's not an interpretation of what a penalty shot should be, then I don't know what is. He's in. He's clear. They're chasing. They're desperate. They take a penalty.

They stop an attempt. No attempt based on the infraction. Like, what do you want? You might actually use that in the video to show referees what penalty shots are. You might be like, this is the situation. They're taking away a clear breakaway. Do you want to hear Paul Maurice? Sure.

Our boy, Luke Fox, in Sunrise, asked what he saw on that. He thought it was a penalty shot. I know, Luke. Yeah, so we can play the answer here. Clip two from De Palmares. I'm just not sure I want to answer that question. Because I want to tell you the truth. I would say I've got a pretty good idea after the game

that the math on it is dead even. I think our power play percentage is about 33.3, which is exactly about... I've seen a bunch of breakaways not go in. Maybe the truth is I don't know. If you asked me, I got to pick one, which one I would pick. If we hadn't scored, penalty shot all day long. That's just the truth.

I don't know because it all went through my head. Maurice is right about one thing. Far from a guarantee. The penalty shot conversion rate over the last 20 years of the NHL is about 33%. It's about a third of the time they score. Yeah.

Power plays convert at about 20% on average. I do believe if it was a penalty shot, we could still be playing that game right now. Yeah. No, I don't think he scores either. Shisterkin's number one. Shisterkin had his number all night. Yeah.

Which lends me to think that maybe we should lean towards an official calling a penalty shot but giving the option to the team to take the two minutes or a penalty shot i love you make the call i love the idea you your team coaches hate even that oh why because it puts too much pressure on them to make the right call absolutely it makes them look like an idiot but all the time in in what i watched in this particular game i actually thought that the

better chance to beat chesterkin was to get him moving north and south on a power play, which it ended up being exactly that. Like, the power play has not looked great from a bird's-eye view of Florida in general, but that breakdown, that legit 2-on-1 that they created for Reinhardt's goal is something that we haven't seen that

blatant. Yeah. The Leafs power play string together three straight passes, like two straight passes like that the whole time in the first round. Those passes were just incredibly crisp. He shoots it up. We had Western Canada loving the show until you said that.

3.43 minutes before we mentioned the Leafs. Do you want to hear Paul Maurice talk about the overtime winner? Always. Number one, please, Derek. As well executed as you can. The pressure was brilliant. There wasn't a mistake there. It was just two really good teams. We made

the play. We had a version of it earlier in the game and we didn't connect on it. And I think, you know, the second and third period kind of got us to an emotional level where you're just playing and it's as fast as you can. I think that's what we saw there. And that was just a bunch of elite guys with phenomenal hands. Maurice needs a podcast god you know what he's gonna he's a friend of mine i've known him forever i probably could take 15 minutes of paul agreed agreed agreed 15 tops if he ever did our show.

Yeah. Oh, my God. You'd be talking about the comp where spit fires in no time. The sap that would be dripping off the walls. We had him on here. He was great on our show. Oh, you guys. Oh, that was my favorite interview ever.

Oh. It was a great interview. Yeah. It was awesome. Him snowing his own fire too. I've known him long enough where I could rip on him a great interview. It was awesome. I can say that. I've known him long enough where I could rip on him a little bit. Let's have one more pomo here on the series so far. Let's hear it, Maurice.

I think it's phenomenal hockey, and I can say that. I mean, if you're up 3-0, that's easy for the coach to say. But it's 2-2. It's tight. There's great saves at both ends. There's incredible skill, incredible speed. There's some physicality to it, but it's also been a really disciplined series.

There haven't been the blow-ups. Like, for the new people to the series, it's not overly physical. Our Boston series was mean and disciplined but mean. So it's just a really, really, two really good teams. You can tell they've got good leadership. They've got great skill, and it's 2-2. So the benefactor is that both teams are at least going to play six games,

and if you're a fan of hockey, you're going to get entertained. What do you make of it being less physical than other rounds do you think it's the grind of playoffs you're in round three do you think it's i don't necessarily agree with him on that like i mean truba's truba's throwing chicken wings uh what's his name he were talking about that truba should go to jail that was such a bad elbow yeah yeah i think that was a suspendable play overrated i mean it's just such a clear he's elbowing him. There's no like, did he meet? Like, it's an extended.

But elbowing is a two-minute penalty. It's not a head-to-head. But it's directly to the head like that, and it's Trouba. It wasn't directly to the head. It was glancing off of a back and then to the head area. This is the problem you get into when you don't get in trouble for him baseball batting frederick he doesn't get in trouble for the one where he went over top of the guy in the devils where he tried to send him back to the shadow realm you remember that one like he's

he's lost the benefit for me put him let him watch a match um there's another massive hit in this area kulikov got somebody in the middle of the ice. Like, I don't know if it's not physical. Lomberg's running around when he plays. Rodriguez did try to sell it a little bit more, which kind of brings up to this, like, are we seeing, like, more soccer embellishment than we ever have before? I don't know. Listen, you remember the talk around Gretzky when Gretzky played I mean did

people accuse him of diving and flopping yeah like it's not I know but it just seems like there's more of it there was a call in that Oilers Stars game the other night that they made on Marchman on Hyman that was one of the most absurd diving calls I've ever seen where Hyman comes up, puts the stick out full speed and gets Marge in the lower back and he falls on his face and I was like, you're both going you're both going. What are you talking about?

I can't go down. Refie, you eat that lower back cross check and see what happens. See if you embellish it. There have been a lot of embellishment calls to your point. I hate them. I hate them. Call one or the other. I don't. That's a fair case.

If it's embellished, then it's not a penalty. It's what, less of a penalty? It's only 60% of a penalty? Is it 40%? Is it 80%? For me, it's the refs wanting to call the embellishment but not having the big enough stones to be like,

that guy didn't do anything wrong. Just you diving was the thing that was wrong. I talked to a few people at the Memorial Cup, and they're like, it's horrible. The kids are horrible today trying to stare down the officials and roll around, and it's like, it's embarrassing. I wish to call the embellishment. I like it. Wish something good all the embellishment i like it wish something

you know good would happen to those poor london knights nothing ever good happens all right um let's we mentioned laviolette on on blake wheeler let's have a listen let's have a thought he gave us you know some good minutes he's it was a it was a long road for him to get back and um you know i thought he came in. And there was times where, you know, Gaudreau, Rempe, and Wheeler put it in the offensive zone. And they actually stayed down there and were able to occupy some time and spend some minutes down there. So for his first game back in a while, I thought he was good. Yeah, I mean, they got behind us.

There was a turnover at the offensive blue line. And like I said, it was a tough spot for him to be in it was there was a lot of heat on him a lot of pressure and um it was it was more um what they did i think than than him doing something he was surrounded by a couple of players so um you know it bounces back the other way the guys were chasing it down the best they could and ended up having to get a stick on it i think it's one of those things where you you think maybe this guy you know we're losing even though we're winning the series we're kind of getting outplayed maybe wheeler will find us one right taking uh heatal out you know i guess he's he kind of talked about it later that it's a lot to ask from heatal because he came back from a long injury and

they wanted to give him a blow but like is Blake Wheeler really going to be better than I want to get into Darnell Nurse yes oh yeah okay um do you have the sound of Darnell today we actually we don't have a lot of time we have the video of it well let's do it I think we did is that correct Jake the snake I think we did uh I am all right let her rip coach wouldn't say whether or not Phillip Grover comes in tonight, but if he does, what have you sort of seen from him and the time that he's been here, the work he's been putting in to be impatient? Yeah, really good players, ready. Do you have confidence that he can come? A hundred percent. Yeah.

A hundred percent. Really good players. What is it about his game, Darnell, that you think makes him ready? He's skated, physical, can make plays. Connor was talking about just you don't necessarily want your back against the wall, but how the team has responded to elimination games last series down 2-1 to Vancouver. What would you say about the team doing that when it is a difficult stretch? We're good with our back against the wall.

Obviously any team can play well at this time of year. When Dallas has a push like they did in the second period, what are some of the keys to stopping it a little sooner than the other game? Playing hard. Thanks, guys. Have a good day. Have a good day. Have a good day.

He's pissed. He didn't like something he read somewhere. He's pissed. I don't blame him. Like I've said a million times, I don't know how that doesn't happen every night. Yeah. I don't get how these guys just swallow their pride in. It's the next day, right?

It's the next day. What are your thoughts? Because you've got to take it. Yeah, my thoughts are that we can all ask for whatever we want. Sports said I want $5 million.

He asked. Not that much. He asked for $9.25. And they gave it to him. He's not a $9.25 million player. He's not that good. They misread him.

He's not that good. Mid. And now it's showing on the biggest stage. And what do people want from Darnell Nurse? What do they want? He's not a number one. He can, but he's played better than this. As recently as the regular season, he looked better than this.

He's not great defensively. He doesn't read real well in his own zone. He struggles. Okay? And you just got to work around that. He is what he is but what he is and what you think he is at 9.25 are night and day and that's on the edmonton oilers for giving him a contract that he'd never live up to right but the you're right i don't disagree with any of that but

what i think it's not a mitch marner that's not pd that's not there's no comparison here but he's not playing up to darnell nurse's best you know and i think that's relevant here it's not that much better it's better than this well he's been he's struggled he has struggled he's dashed well from the playoffs that's not gonna he's look good. He's struggled. He's been winning. Over the last few regular seasons defensively. And Bouchard's not that much better defensively. I'm sorry.

The points are there. Yeah. But these guys, they're not great in their own zone. No, they're not. This Oilers team is, you know, like all teams in the salary cap era, they're imperfect in some places. What do you make, though, of the way of his demeanor in that interview and his frustration level at this point? He's pissed and he's angry.

Yeah. Right? I mean, the whole city and all the media is telling you you suck for, you know, three weeks. You're probably not going to be too thrilled. I get that, but, like, if you're talking to Darnell, is it like, do you want them to write that you're playing good when you're not? No, that's bang on.

It's a performance-based industry. There's going to be criticism. Some guys can take it. Like Bona said, some guys can take it, some guys can't. I think everybody's got to temper their expectations on what this guy can provide you to a certain degree. The article in The Athletic today talking about trying to get him like 14, 15 minutes ice time tonight. Like trying to scale it back.

You got to find something, right? Find a way to use him differently. I guess Ekholm's going to play 40 tonight then. Must win game for the Oilers. Yeah, down 3-1. You're not coming back. Is this over in five if they lose tonight? No.

It's a big night. It's a big night. All right. They need tonight. We know what we'll a big night. It's a big night. All right. They need tonight. We know what we'll be watching tonight. Our thanks to Rick Bonus. Terrific job on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Like I said, fastest hour in hockey.

Yes. Enjoy the game tonight. We're back tomorrow. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.