Real Kyper & Bourne - Dallas and Winnipeg Face-Off + Oilers' Depth

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne welcome in Jack Michaels (5:43) – play-by-play for the Edmonton Oilers on Sportsnet to chat about the team's run through the second round, the depth of the roster finding its form, whether the Vegas Golden Knights can keep it a close series, Kris Knoblauch's influencing demeanour on the players, and who's stepped up in the absence of Mattias Ekholm. Then, Sean Reynolds (28:05) – Sportsnet reporter for the Winnipeg Jets & HNIC – takes a look back at their Game 7 victory, whether Connor Hellebuyck can find his game in Round 2 against the Dallas Stars, and how he views Mikko Rantanen matching up against Kyle Connor.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.

Welcome back into the studio. The Real Kipper and Bourne show. It's our national hour. We are live on Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver, Sports 960 in Calgary right across your sports net platforms This hour real kipper and born brought to you by bet 365 Nick Kipra is Justin born Sammy McKee as we get ready for another big night in the National Hockey League Toronto Maple Leafs the Florida Panthers kick off everything at 7 p.m. Eastern followed by the Dallas Stars and the Winnipeg Jets 930 Eastern and for those of you that just it's just too much excitement for one night and you need something to calm yourself down there's the Blue Jays and the Angels at 938 that's on sports at one and that's worse that one that choice. I

Mean actually stock all flick back. Yeah Check I'm a big time, but that'll bring your pulse right down. Wow Unless it's the bullpen. I can't get a little sour when I watch Jace. I gotta be honest. They got no gear Yes, they'll be okay. They'll be okay in the meantime Shifting down a storyline that keeps Growing is the Edmonton Oilers and what they did in game one versus Vegas in a couple of minutes We'll welcome in Jack Michaels play-by-play man for the Edmonton Oilers does a terrific job with our Big Luke, do you know that Jack was the play-by-play guy

for my ECHL team? I did not know that. That I know Jack, so I played for the Alaska Aces. After I played university hockey, I played for the Aces for like just home games, basically. They were like, just play the home games. I was like, all right. That's awesome.

And so I got to know Jack, who was doing ECHL games at the time. And I remember turning on the National Hockey League television and hearing Jack's voice, he'd be like, oh! I know that guy. That's funny. Before we ask Jack about the Oilers,

I'll get your thoughts real quick here and what you watched last night and how this Edmonton Oilers team may feel different to you now than the one that went to the Stanley Cup final. Yeah, you know, I can't make sense of this Oilers team, Kip, because they've come back in five straight games. But it's not just McDavid and Dreisaitl. Well, that's the different part. But they had good depth last year and I thought they messed up this season enough that they were supposed to not have depth.

The neck homes hurt so they're not supposed to do this. But it almost seems like this time last year we were still talking way more about maybe dry sidle, filling the net and getting wowed by McDavid. And it's not that that hasn't happened. No, nice bat out of the air by dry last night talking great setup by McDavid on the Cory Perry first goal. Yeah, we are talking a lot more about Connor Brown now last night Brownie st. George's guy by the way Brownie what a good golfer what a movie made But at the same time where was she a theater going? Yeah, that was strange great goal though I also felt the same about Cory Perry's goal. Really nice touch, but like Aiden Hill's

in the corner on that one. Yeah. Aiden Hill, not great. First off, full credit to the Oilers, before I crap on Aiden Hill, full credit to the Oilers who outplayed the Vegas Golden Knights and deserved that win. But that Hyman goal is just a wrist or high glove.

Yep, it did kiss the post. Good shot. Good shot. Yeah. You could catch it, but not. You're allowed to catch it, But anyway, I thought the oilers Yeah, they brought it and they got help from their depth and yeah, they look like they're going to the final Clingberg well, well Clingberg has come in and given them really quality minutes, which I didn't leave skippy. I like that. Oh

right Leaves tried to sign him. Again? Yeah, like when he went right back into the, I think the Leafs were at his gate when he like did his showcase. I think what it came down to is, and I don't know, you can look up this real quick,

but I think he's at 1.8 million on at the time when he signed to Pro Rated, but I'm not sure how many teams were willing to do that Including if the Leafs were thinking about bringing them back, right that that to me was Edmonton saying we need That guy more than anybody and we're willing to one point one seven five one point one seven five. Okay, so not not quite but I Don't know if anybody would have offered him much more than the the minimum wage Yeah, I mean, you know, they're they're missing a couple of guys on Vegas last night, right? They know Petrangelo and Was there any follow-up to his illness at all?

Not that I heard I didn't come across any So how long are the others gonna have to play to get at home back? Yeah, you heard me next heard anything? Next round. Next round? Next round. I mean, I don't know for sure that he would be back, but I know he's not supposed to be back this round. Did they rule him out?

The Oilers people I asked today said yes, he was ruled out. Knobloch I think before the series said that he wouldn't play in this series, I think. Nurse Bouchard, Wallman Klingberg, Gulak-Hamperson. If they can get past Vegas and get him back, that to me, but it's all kind of gone this way Like Yanmar looks good Arvidsson suddenly found it a little bit like Frederick and Kane are back like it's all falling into place all coming up oil and Pickard hasn't made it an issue You know, I watched before I went to bed last night and then taped it. Yeah. All right. We got our guess

all right the man that is Watching it live and calling it as well as anyone right now in the National Hockey League Jack Michaels joins us. How are you about? Well, there's only two other guys calling this series. So it's I don't know whether that's faint praise I had everybody across the league on that one So hold on hold on. it true you you called my good buddy Justin borns games in Alaska. Is that true? So hold on hold on now just close your eyes and give me a scenario where Justin born picks up the puck in his own zone and then take

it from there. Well, number one, I can't take it from there because he was never in his own zone. Never in his own zone. Well done. Well done. I mean, sorry, Borny, but he teed me up for that one. Is there a call in you where he bounces off his ass and in the net? Oh, no, no.

I mean, the call would have been, you know, stretch pass to Borne. Break, change, shoots, and scores. Every pass to Borne was definitely a stretch. And we had Davis Payne there who's done a great job now with Winnipeg and was a really good coach and learned a lot there. So good to see you again Jack. It's been a long time man. I did want to say congrats on watching your ascent and your growth here with Oilers Nation. Tell us about your experience there in Edmonton and how

Alberta has welcomed you. Well, it's been a blast. 15 years has gone by and it's been just magnificent. You know, coming to a place where I had never, I'd never set foot in the province of Alberta. As you may remember from the Minor Pro days, Kipper, I know this was beneath your level, but I mean, to be honest with you when

you're in minor pro you get border towns I mean I've been to Toronto I've been to Victoria but I had never really been into Canada and you know I can now say that I've been into Canada you're in Edmonton you're in it and it's just been a it's been a great place to raise my family it's obviously a phenomenal, passionate market. I mean, my first five or six years here, the Oilers weren't in sniffing distance in the playoffs by Halloween some years. And yet people kept packing.

You know, at that time, Rexall played 16,839 strong. And obviously you see, you know, around the world now, the kind of fervor that builds up at this time of year is Edmonton has become an annual contender and you know right now you bring me into this mix and I have to say. It should be that much of a surprise considering Edmonton did not have the team they're dressing all year long. I mean when Evander Cain and Trent Frederick were finally ready to play,

that's the first time Edmonton had dressed the full line up the entire year. And what we're seeing right now is in two of the last three games, Edmonton's very best and Edmonton's very best. You know, I've said this for the last couple of years, the Oilers may not be the best team in the NHL over the last three or four years, but they're the most difficult team to eliminate. I don't know whether that makes a great deal of sense, but you can make an argument that Edmonton might not be the best,

but I would suggest they're the hardest out. You're watching and listening to Jack Michaels play by play with the Edmonton Oilers on Sportsnet. So prior to working with our Louis DeBros, did you know him? Did you meet him before? Did you see him for the first time and say that guy could like, you know, take one bite of me and I'd be gone? Well Kipper, for whatever reason, Louis and I hit it off from my first year in radio. He was doing the TV with our mutual colleague Kevin Quinn, who I know is a dear friend of yours and remains a dear friend of mine to this day.

But Louis and I, for whatever reason, you know, Quinn, or Quinn, or, you know, like to get his frozen coffee and then he disappear into his dark hotel room and you wouldn't see him until game time. Louis and I, as you can probably imagine by me, and we all know about the big man, we haven't met a meal that we've disagreed with over the last 15 years so I Louie and I became fast friends really early and so when 5 years ago they asked me to move over to the TV side it was a pretty natural transition and I'm sure I and I know you guys

are have the same kind of fortune. It is so nice when you get to work with some of the best people like your friends and if that can work. I think that's the best way to get through life and you know, it's it's been a real privilege to kind of hang around my fingers. One day one day soon that will happen to me. Yeah, but you're right Kipper on the safest broadcaster in the league. I could stir it up and I never

That's awesome. So, um, you know all this good fortune you're talking about you also Walk into the primes of McDavid and dry side and you talk about a team that is tough to eliminate Is it as simple as like how do you kill these guys? They just you know, they don't go away dry. Settle knocks that one out of the air last night. McDavid sets up plays. It just seems impossible to keep those guys down. Well, and I think the thing about Leon dry subtle and Connor McDavid is they are at the

best when the games are the hardest. I mean, they're averaging, you know, 1.65 points per game at the toughest time of year when you're playing the toughest opposition. And as you rightfully point out, those are the first two guys that every team has focused on for years now. There are no, there's no secrets. There's no sneaking up on anyone anymore.

But what has made Edmonton difficult to deal with in the last week or so is that it's not just McDavid and Dry Subtle. You know, they closed out that LA series with McDavid and Dry Subtle getting a couple of points on an empty netter, and that was it. It's their depth. And that has traditionally been where Vegas

has had Edmonton's number is deeper down the line. But Vegas has always had that great fourth line, no matter who's been the coach or what the personnel has been. But now Edmonton has that real functional play up and down the lineup. 11 of their 12 forward scored in the Los Angeles series. Now that's a fantastic hand I play from Leon Dreissel.

But here's the game winner. Evander came to Zach Hyman. You know, Hyman and Nugent Hopkins did not have phenomenal regular seasons, but they've been there in the playoffs. Adam Henrique is really starting to play. You know, Connor Brown, I mean, he's on a roll. He's finally back. And you guys could probably tell me more than more than I can really comment on this. But he had major knee surgery.

Sometimes you are not the same guy for a very long time. I think Connor Brown's got his speed back. He's got his mojo back. He's got his confidence. They're starting to get real productive minutes out of Victor Arvidsson and Vasili Pankholz. And again, you're talking about your 11th and 12th forwards. These are guys that are giving the other team

the opponent fits. And I think for the first time since I've been in Edmonton, they now have a guy, and Kipper can certainly speak to this. They have a guy that you absolutely despise if you're on the other team on every line. Corey Perry, Vander Kane, Trent Frederick, Masili Pencolson. No one around the league likes those guys. And that's a good thing come playoff

time, because you're constantly dealing with them, buzzing the tower, getting inside, bothering your goaltender, you're shoving them out of the crease at every whistle. That's draining. And that's why Jack, we're seeing and noticing Connor Brown, Henrikh Moore and those names that you mentioned but the two that you mentioned they didn't have all season long in in Evander Kane and Frederick who like you got to give the Edmonton Oilers credit here at least now because that was a heck of a gamble pay, uh, paying the

price that they paid for a guy that was hurt all season long and you'll wait it and you'll wait it and Kane wasn't there either. Those guys come into the lineup now and it just re slots everybody. And now boats are rising in the tide. Yeah. And you become a difficult playoff team to contend with Kipper. And that's always been the knock on Edmonton is, you know, they didn't have a ton of legs where if you chopped off one, there wasn't, you know, enough to support now. You know, if a guy like Corey Perry is having an off night, you still have Kane and Frederick. You still have these guys, Perry is having an off night, you still have Kane and Frederick, you still have these guys, these, these heavy, relentless players that get in on the four check that make life difficult

for your defenseman. All of a sudden Edmonton goes from the kind of finesse and explosiveness that, you know, Justin, you rightfully point out is still there. But now they become in a game like last night in Vegas, where it's 2-1 for the majority of the hockey game, they become a team that all of a sudden wears you out. Vegas had one shot in the second period, and even though they got out of the period even and still with a 2-1 lead,

they didn't have any gas for the third. Same thing happened in the pivotal game five in Los Angeles. The Oilers outshot the Kings 19 to 4 totally dominated the first and the Kings got out of that period even and then even got a power play goal to go up in that game but then they had no juice for the next 35 minutes. That's what Edmonton is doing. They are killing the body and allowing the head to fall. So this Vegas Golden Knights team like I don't really know what to make of them And frankly, I thought I did until I watched them play Edmonton last night and the Oilers just took it to him

What do you make of the ceiling for the Vegas Golden Knights? Is this a team that has another gear from what you saw in game one? First of all, they better but they do do. I mean, this series is not over. I don't think, you know, if you're an Edmontonian, you start thinking a four or five game series. This is still a team that knows how to win. This is still a team that's got what? 12 playoff series wins in their first, you know,

seven years of existence. There's still, you know, there are gonna be a force. There's gonna be some pushback in game two. I think Vegas is a long way from being, you know, put to rest. And the one thing we've seen, you know, in these Stanley Cup playoffs is even when you think you know a result, it can flip in an instant. So I think the biggest thing for Vegas is minus, you know, Patrangelo and Dorofiev, who did not skate today and certainly would be question marks for tomorrow, although Patrangelo's

was termed an illness. So my hunch is he'll find a way to come back and play a game too. But they've still got balance. They've still got depth. They've still got a very tough blue line to deal with. I mean, you know, you've got Hannafin, Patrangelo, and Shea Theodore on different pairings right now. I mean, they're awfully deep on the back end. You'd have to think Aiden Hill would have a bounce back performance. He's the one with a Stanley Cup ring on their finger. So yeah, I think Vegas is a long way from being dead in the water. And I also think they have a veteran coaching staff that, you know, has been the finals, has been the head coaches. It's not just Bruce Cassidy, but they'll make some adjustments.

And this is going to be a long series. I would be very surprised if this series is shorter than six games. And they still got Mark Stone, who I think is the face and the guy that probably is the go-to guy We've built up Jack Eichel and no question. He's come a long way here But this team between Petrangelo and Mark Stone, you'll you'll never write off Well stone last night I mean, I know he scored the two Vegas goals But he made I mean I started running out of hands how many great defensive plays he makes.

And you always hear that like he's the one winger that could theoretically be in the hunt for a Selke one day. I got to be honest with you. He played a fantastic game last night, but he didn't have much help. And that's the bottom line is the Golden Knights got the early power play. They got a four minute power play early. As you see here, it goes off stone and then he made a beautiful move on the even strength goal to make it two nothing. I mean, this was just a gorgeous move,

waiting, waiting, and then burying it through Calvin Pickard and made a number of fine defensive plays. But they had four shots at even strength for the final 40 minutes. And for the entire game, they had 4 shots at even strength for the final 40 minutes and for the entire game. They had 4 scoring chances. I mean, it's just not nearly enough and Bruce Cassidy. I thought made a good point. He goes. We didn't have many

scoring chances and when we did, we didn't even hit the net. So he expects a much better game to I expect a much better game to in fact, even if Edmonton goes ahead and takes game two, I don't think we're shaking hands after four games. I think this is a series, this is a rivalry. These are the two class teams of the West the last couple of years. I think it'd be foolish to expect anything less than a six game series. But again, every expectation I've had in this team, a couple of playoffs has been wrong. So I'm like Costanza, do the opposite of what I'm saying. Tune on toast. So I walked in and I said to McKee today,

you know, is Chris Knoblick, Scottie Bowman maybe? Like, because I'm looking at the Oils decor and you know, Wallman and Bouchard and Klingberg and they have some guys who aren't exactly defensive stalwarts and they give up four scoring chances in the game. So tell me a little bit about Knobluck. We've had him and his demeanor on the show, which is very calm and measured and he doesn't waiver a whole lot. Is that consistent? Is that what's helping the Oilers find their way through? I mean, remember, he came in in the tempest of a 2-9-1 start with... and Kipper, he knows the Edmonton market. I mean, it was meltdown city.

It was... when he came in, it was as bad as I've ever seen it. And he just said to the guys at that time, hey, let's just go out and play. Here's the combinations, let's go play. And that really is a demeanor that served him well as he's ascended through the course of his own coaching career. Not many people know this guy. He's certainly not one that's gonna attract

a ton of attention, but I think his calm in the eye of the storm, and there's plenty of storms on this club. I mean, you've got two of the world's best players. You've got some healthy egos and veterans. When you're an older team, and Kipper's played on some of these teams, there's a lot of egos in the dressing room

because you're all talking about, an older team is a euphemism for saying it's an experienced team and a well established team. And that means every guy is well established. So there's a lot of egos and ice time considerations that you're that you're dealing with when when you're dealing with an older team. And I thought I think Chris has done a great job of managing that situation. And his demeanor suggests if I as a player am prone to some sort of

you know explosion or whatever it's not going to roll with this team. It's a veteran group who appreciates a coach that ultimately knows what he's got in his players is not out talking about what a genius he is or anything of that nature. So I think he's been a real, you know, steadying sort of port in the eye of the storm and it fits well with a veteran group. But Jackie can't play one shift on the blue line. So give me one name, give me one name that has gone beyond the call of duty here to make up for the loss of at home. I think Brett Kulak is is one of the quiet heroes on this team.

His ice time is elevated up into the 24-minute range again, not the sexiest of players, but he can move the puck. He can defend. He's the Oilers best penalty killer with no at home and he is much like the knob lock of the defense in the sense that he steadies everyone else. I mean, Darnell Nurse has unbelievable ability, sometimes gets caught running around, but certainly, you know,

can do a lot of things on the back end. Klingberg, an offensive guy that's been far better than I could have anticipated, especially even with the look we saw in March. He told me his hips actually felt better when he came back, even though he had been fully rehabbed. So he's feeling confident physically. And Jake Wallman, you know, is a guy that certainly has the big shot as Evan Bouchard

does, but similar to Bouchard, can get caught occasionally. Kulak is just smooth as silk. And I think everyone enjoys playing with him. When a guy's struggling, he's a guy you can pair him with. And he's basically done what he's done throughout his career. I think he was a fourth round pick. And this guy has quietly played in every single game that the Oilers have played since he arrived in town. The other thing that's underrated about Kulak is he's there. He's, you know, knock on wood from his standpoint. He's never hurt. He's always there and he gives you quality minutes. So I think when you're missing the 22 minutes from at home and you see Kulak's minutes rise

and no significant drop off. That's a credit to him. The Oilers in Vegas slated for game two Thursday night. Looking forward to your call, Jack and say hi to our good friend, Louis, for us. Okay. We'll do for sure. And you know what? I've got to give JB credit.

He scored a couple of key goals inaskans run to a conference final. He didn't get us over the hump, but he did score Good to see you Jack man. Appreciate your time today. We get like it is Jack. Thanks for having me on guys. All right Great stuff did score a couple of key playoff goals. He scored a triple overtime winner. I did triple overtime Yeah, I did a turtle spin on my back after actually I was I did triple overtime. Yeah, I did a turtle spin on my back after actually I was I was so tired I fell behind the play and I was the last man up the ice when they turned it over so I just Got up got to the blue line got a breakaway a breakaway Yeah back in forehand like Matthew thousand times deep thousand times back in on the ice and yeah five holes spun it out

No, no, just put him in the corner some some Spun it out. Nope. No, just put them in the corner some some HL goalie. Keep in mind. This is not exactly buddy a goal so cool Pretty darn good. I can over time where yeah Cod scored an overtime winner in D division a HL last night the boy's out of Game time game time, baby It's game time presented by bet three six five visit the app flit as odds and find out why it's ever ordinary at bet 365 must 19 plus Ontario only please play responsibly

so if you are looking to Bet on the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. It would be a good night to do so. They are heavy underdogs plus 125 on home ice against the Florida Panthers the Florida Panthers tonight minus 150 so Bet 365 has a very similar feeling to us Barney in terms of what's gonna happen in this game tonight Gonna get the best ever from the Panthers as they would imagine But that's a pretty tantalizing number for a team that's been playing pretty well They got Ekblad back in that fact yes the number no question

Which is that score and then the other game tonight on the ice and we're gonna talk to Sean Reynolds about it coming up After the break is the Winnipeg Jets opening up their series I'm wondering you gotta ask them what that start time what the locals are saying about that Can you imagine what they'd be saying here if they're starting at 850 p.m. Peggy's got the raw and I was here I was crying about 8 p.m. It's an hour later Anyways more go prime time. So Winnipeg is plus 100 tonight. Dallas is favorite minus 120.

And what was the thing I was going to look up? Oh yeah, a Samuskevich goal. By the way, Samuskevich had 15 tucks in 72 games this year, 31 points. So you know, not a whole lot of fourth liner scoring 15 goals for you. I'm trying to pull us up quickly here. Yeah, maybe they don't have it up because he's not confirmed into the lineup Yeah, so they do not have it up at this very moment Unfortunately, sorry guys up that Mackie. Yeah, but I think Mackie's gonna find a way to score one tonight Anyways, that was game time because of my bet three six five visit the app for the sods and find out what's ever ordinary

At bet three six five must be plus Ontario only please play responsibly Okay, we'll go to commercial break early here so we can get back to some Jets talk Sean Reynolds Who's been there every step of the way for us? It's coming back. I got to be honest with you when it wasn't looking great for the Winnipeg Jets in game seven. Late in the third, I'm like, man, I don't think we'll ever get Sean on our show ever again.

Would we have had him on for a post-mortem? I wouldn't have done that to him yet. You wouldn't have done it? No, we're not that mean. We don't do that to him. No, we love Sean. But now he's coming just the way he left us last. Excited. Excited.

Excited. Yes. With Jets Talk. Let's go, Jets Talk, baby. After the break, Sean Reynolds. Don't go away. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the program. As a reminder, this hour, Real Kipper and Bourne brought to you by Bet365, Nick Kipris,

Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee let's welcome in Sean Reynolds who has had the last few days to catch his breath and we haven't had him on since after game two I think the heroic effort by the Winnipeg Jets so 25 years from now Sean when I just go to Winnipeg Jets. So 25 years from now Sean when I just go to Winnipeg and I just say 1.6 seconds like what are people gonna remember like I just where were you like were you in the press box where were you like what was going through your mind watching this thing unfold game seven. Well, I'll tell you what that number means. What my cousin called me up and he is a massive, he lives out in BC and has for most of his life was born in Winnipeg. He's going to get a 1.6 tattoo. I think he's

going to get it right on, right on the lower back. That's incredible. Yeah. I, it's, I mean, absolutely. And, and you know, the best part about it is I think the actual number was 2.2, but that's what was on the clock. Right. And so you're asking where I was. I mean, I was up in the press box and you're watching this unfold and you're thinking, know I don't know I felt like the Jets were getting in there but they needed a bounce and then they get that bounce to make it three two you know that goal shouldn't go in it's a pass across the ice this is the hockey gods reaching down grabbing the puck and throwing in it past Jordan Binnington in this situation to make it three two and then I mean all the things that unfold, you know, Pavel Buzhnevich has that puck at one point. No one's around him. He can just skate it

right out of the zone, probably kill the clock right there, and the St. Louis Blues are moving on, and he ices it to create that scenario. Then Nikolai Ehlers fans on the shot, it just goes right to Adam Lowry, who gets it right back to him, which just kind of adds, you know what it's like, Nick, you're on the ice, it adds another layer of confusion for the defense, right? Because they're reacting to the missed shot, now it's right back to the guy and then he moves it over to Kyle Connor, Kyle Connor in front of the net. But I mean, when it goes in, the place explodes, you instantly look at the clock because you were thinking there wasn't enough time for this and you see that 1.6

Second so it's funny because in the end, you know, the score sheet is gonna say 2.2 but I think that number was tattooed on the hearts of Winnipeg Jets fans as soon as It was left sitting up on that Jumbotron and I got to tell you I mean the whiteout is an insane environment at at any point. But it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Like it was almost like the players weren't on the ice. People didn't usually, you know, the players score and people jump up and they're waving at the players. It was like everyone turned and looked away from the ice and they were hugging and they were crying.

And it was just this kind of euphoric atmosphere. And, you know, in Winnipeg, there's always this feeling, and this doesn't just go back to the last couple of years, and this is how it's been over the last couple of years. This goes back to the days when, you know, the jets thought maybe this is our year to get past the 80s Edmonton Oilers, and the Oilers would burst their bubble.

And it was, there's just always been this feeling, you know, that something is gonna come and nab the Winnipeg Jets. And this time the tables were turned and it really felt like a slaying of a ghost in there and the relief that came from it was like nothing I've ever felt in a building like that before. Well, and what's crazy, like if you're a an elite golfer, you know, on 18 and you hit one to two feet and it's a memorable shot and everyone loves it, you still have to make the putt. the the the Jets went out and they finished the game.

They made that one point, one point six seconds matter. They made it relevant. And now everyone gets a fresh start. Everyone gets a clean slate. And that includes Connor Hellebuck. That's the conversation everyone's having. So I have to ask you about it. Everyone says to me, do you think you can find it in round two and I said, I don't know I'll ask Reynolds when he's on Yeah, so I mean I feel like there's a lot of people that Connor Helbuck is deified in this market He's a god in this market. So people don't like questioning him when things aren't going well for him people People say, and I think it's, I think we do it on our broadcasts. I think everyone does it in their analysis. He'll go out and his numbers will be like 742 and he'll win the game 7-6 and all the

analysts will say, well, he stopped one more than the other guy. You know what I mean? Like everyone's always looking to apologize for those behavior or for when things aren't going well for him. Connor Hellebuck was the second best goalie in six of seven games in this series. Jordan Bennington was brilliant in this series. His only off game, I thought, was game five. All four of those goals that are scored in game seven, he had no chance of stopping, right? He did everything that he possibly could. I would be probably the most

pessimistic guy in the city of Winnipeg about Conor Hellebuck and his chances of turning things around, but to me I just think that when you win a game like this, I've used this example, it reminds me of you know the Red Sox had that curse going for 80 some odd years and what it took for them was to go down 3-0 to the Yankees back in 2004 and then come storming back and pull off the impossible and After that you just saw them rolling very few people remember that the best team in baseball that year was the st Louis Cardinals who everyone thought was gonna destroy Boston and it went a different way because I think when things like this

Happen all of a sudden there's this feeling of invincibility that you get this confidence. Confidence means everything and the Jets have it in spades now. And I really do think you get through a series like that and Connor Hellebuyck, who the outside stereotype is that the Jets rely far too often on Connor Hellebuyck. That hasn't been true for years now. Connor Hellebuyck has been having a day at the spa behind this ferocious Winnipeg Jets defense for years now. But I think he gets out of this and he thinks to himself, you know what?

Forget worrying about how I am. I don't need to be great. We just went out and won a series when I was the second best goalie in six of seven games. Maybe I'm just going to go out, take a deep breath, relax a little bit. I think it's gonna do Connor Hellebuyck well. And if the Jets find Connor Hellebuyck, there's another level that they can take compared to what we saw with them against the Blues.

You're watching and listening to Sean Reynolds who covers the Winnipeg Jets for Hockey Night in Canada and the real Kipper and Bourne show with Jets Talk. Hey, you know, my good buddy here mentions a fresh start here in the second round. But how fresh is it here? Is there not so much a worry but a concern that maybe St. Louis took too much out of them in the first round here? Oh, I mean, it's a it's a good question. That said, you know, the Jets look like tonight they're going to have their full forward group on the ice for the first time in the playoffs.

So, yeah, there was, that was a hard series. But Gable already checked in late to it. Nick Ehlers checked in late to it. Kyle Conner really didn't get, you know, they did the St. Louis Blues through a lot of hits They didn't seem to get a piece of Kyle Connor Mark Scheife Lee's had a couple games rest here So he gets to check back into this I mean, you know, it's a good question because of all the ice time that those guys like Neil Pionk and

Dylan Sandberg had to play in that game seven I don't know. I don't feel that. They don't look like a team that's beaten down to me. They looked pretty darn fresh today when they were skating. The dressing room was a vibrant, vibrant place. And you know how it is, like when you're feeling very poorly physically, it's hard to be up and joking around with your buddies

and going and whipping them with the towel and stuff like that. And that was the vibe I got from the dressing room today. That was a hard series, no doubt. The Winnipeg Jets though, have been grinding all season long. They're not a team that takes nights off. So they're used to this.

They've been trained in the fire. They're the Kung Fu master who made them punch the board 5,000 times to harden up their knuckles. That's this Jets team. So I personally think they're gonna be just fine So only other injury update then is waiting on Josh Morrissey. Is that right and Logan Stanley? Josh Morrissey and Logan Stanley who were both out of the non-contact jerseys today. So they're probably pretty close I I mean, I don't know enough to know what's happening with Miro Heiskanen, other than he looked really good in the morning skate this morning,

and he's not wearing a non-contact jersey either, but I mean, if both Logan Stanley and Josh Morrissey checked into this series before Miro Heiskanen did, I wouldn't be surprised. I am really looking forward to the matchup of Rantanton and versus Kyle Connor and Kyle's shown that he could he can play with the big boys in this league as a winger here and this could be an interesting matchup. Yeah I mean you take

a look at he basically showed up for every game in this series. I don't know. I think he was maybe held off the score sheet in game six But Kyle Connor got it done this this is an interesting one because we've seen Miko ranton and a Whole bunch of times this year because we saw him play all his games with the Colorado Avalanche against the Jets and then I believe Two that he played with Carolina So an extra two there and then one more at the end of the year with Dallas. He's only played the jets this year. No wonder his stats are bad. One, one 10th of his season, 10% of his season is the Winnipeg jets. And

he struggled. He struggled against the jets and that kind of suffocating style. That said, what we saw from him towards the end, I mean, we saw he never really got off the ground in Carolina and he didn't look, you know, the whole Dallas Stars team seemed to be struggling as they headed into the playoffs. That's a different team now. Like there's a game late in the season where there's a chance for Dallas to catch Winnipeg for the president's trophy and they come in, they play each other and the Jets kind of laid a bit of a beating on them. That's not the team the Jets are going to be expecting here tonight. And Miro Heiskenen is not expected to be the player that they played against

earlier. That guy, I've had NHL defenseman describe it to me before. He's just a beast. You can't, you know, you can't overpower him. If he gets the puck on the other side of you, you can't reach the puck because he's so big. But then you add to that elite, elite level skill, playmaking ability and goal scoring ability. I've been told by defenders in this league, he's one of the hardest guys in the league to defend against.

So do you expect a much different series from Dallas than they saw at a St. Louis? How do you handicap this one? I know you're gonna pick the Jets in the end. I'm sure but a good team in Dallas Well to be honest with you I had thought whoever came out of the series between the Blues and the Jets was going to lose to either the Colorado Avalanche or Dallas Stars when they came out of that When special things like this happen, like that come from behind

win, I think it changes everything. Everything gets thrown out the window. So I almost don't know what to expect on paper. I would suggest the Dallas Stars should win this series. The fact that they're back on top, the fact that a guy like Mikko Rantunen is playing the way we know that he can play, the fact that guys like Robertson are probably coming back in tonight and Heishken will be back. I would think they have that opportunity. The thing that fascinates me is I've got miles of respect for Jim Montgomery and what he does as a game planner.

The Jets as a team, their strength isn't their individuals, right? Like no one's looking at the Jets 2C Vladislavav Domestikov, and being like, yeah, okay, we're going to trade out our 2C for that 2C. And yet, in game five and game seven, he plays huge, huge roles in those games. The Jets are a system. They're a system of hockey that the team is so locked down and committed to and their details are right and their effort is right and so they are one unit and that makes them really really hard to beat. Montgomery did the best job I've seen of any coach this year finding the holes in that system and exploiting them so I asked Pete DeBoer about that coming into the game today and he said you know he's taken a look at it and they've really dug into it.

Now there are two different kinds of teams. The Dallas Stars are a little bit more skill-based than the St. Louis Blues are. So maybe they don't want to be playing the kind of workman-like game that the St. Louis Blues did. But I do think the St. Louis Blues put out a bit of a blueprint on if you want to beat the jet system,

which the Dallas Stars had a hard time doing this year, here's some of the ways that you can do it. So I'm very fascinated to see kind of the coaching, the chess match that happens between these two, because the only way you beat the Winnipeg Jets is if you break their system. And sometimes when you break it, what it looks like is those games in St. Louis

where it gets broke and it shatters, right? And then the other team walks all over them. Everyone's wondering, they always think, oh, the Jets didn't try in that game. No, it's when their system is on, you can't break it and they roll over you. But when you break it, you roll over them. So if this is a very, very tight series, I think it goes the Jets way. If two, three games, the Dallas Stars find a way to break things wide open, ala Monte, the Jets could be in trouble on this one.

Sean, great job bringing your A game once again to our show. Anytime guys. All right. How about covering this second round? Winnipeg Dallas tonight. Going to be a good series boy full host of Forwards yeah, that's great news for the Jets. I mean, there's some talk for you. I get a yeah, he mentioned Montgomery for st. Louis, you know at the end of the day Scott Arneal as the head coach comes out on top at times I was critical of him Not in game seven because I thought pull Hellebuck. An opinion tweet out of you right yeah never seen it before I

know I was just feeling like I retweeted it was just to make sure it was a you know you don't have eight thousand hundred thousand followers so I thought I'd make sure but I actually where it was critical of him leaving Hellebuck in in the other games as well in the blowouts where it's like, you know, 3-1, 4-1, even at 4-1, but 5-1 you can't come back for if he lets in another bad goal. That's the one that and unfortunately in game seven, he didn't let the next one in. Yeah. But man, there's a fine line, right between what message do you send if you pull them or not. We're

not talking about just any goalie. We're talking about what is different because it's him. It's different because it's him. And I don't know if you experience it early. Do you wait until a period's over or or the game's out of hand or do you go maybe it's not his night again and make a switch but- You just live and die with this guy, right? That's what Scott did and good on him.

It paid off one last time. He had one more crack at pulling him or not pulling him and fortunately in game seven it worked out It worked out they did a great job Like after they went down 3-1 they were the better team for the whole third period I thought they really imposed and they did a great job. They treated him like he was an AHL goalie back there. They were selling out on everything like they limited the high danger chances against you're so good

He was dying to give another one up dying to and they didn't let him know I thought he was better because I'm a bunch of times you didn't make one big thing that is out of the blue paint a lot more sure Sure, but what I'm saying is the Jets felt what they they know what was happening with him And they two, and they can't let the series go to set the gates. They turned it up. By the way, because Pete DeBoer's the coach of the other team. Oh yes. I am a little concerned about an emotional let down.

Physically they're fine, but emotionally to come off that high and then go into a game one right now. I'd be like, plate and slate. There could be a tough adjustment early. Or not, I don't know. That's a good point. Plate can get't know. But I've seen it before. Yeah. Where you try to pick up where you left off, but like you've never been at that spot before.

There's no way you could ever have a more emotional first win than that. Like that's as emotional as it gets. We'll see. We'll see how early they can pick up that energy going into game one tonight. Okay. We got to a couple things first off I'll GM search is one But it's not really what I want to talk about. I want to talk with the Ann Lauer thing. Oh So the sense fan he sent a letter to the sense fans, right? Are you guys gonna make fun of yes, Michael? Yeah, absolutely What do you say? Would you like me to read the excerpt that it's just funny because of one part Your page you laugh. Okay, here we go

I mean, it's a little the writing is a little smaller your passion was on full display at our home games in the playoffs I've never seen anything like the ovation inside Canadian Tiger Center when we tied game six in the third period I'm not sure there is another fan base that would have stayed in their seats to cheer on their team after they were eliminated You know just fence. You're like, I'm sorry what if If the empty net goal by Ridley Gregg was the highlight from last year. I Can't almost stop reading certainly your passion and appreciation in game six Which since shivers down my spine was the highlight of this season. That's all Mode and I love what the sense of doing selling a product

He's got to sell season ticket the highlight of the season was an empty netter where his guy got cross checked in the neck for him It was and then guess what happened of that least got the hottest. They've been all year. They won six and are right after that. So the highlight of his season was burning the Leafs onto a six game. Honey thing to be like the best part of the year was an empty netter. You don't have to say anything bad. You don't say anything bad. That's the most embarrassing thing ever.

Sorry. Not the most embarrassing thing ever. Like that is like everybody talks sends don't want to be little brother sends don't want to be little brother and then all they do is be Like we're the little brother. It's just they can't stop with the little brother I had to open the door a new toy for Michael and our still Feeling it out and he's trying to sell and he's got Corporate partners and he's got a lot of partners at the ownership side. Let him create some energy, buddy.

The two highlights of his two seasons were an empty netter against the Leafs and losing to the Leafs. Okay. Great. We opened the door. You know what? I opened the door. Hey Michael, come and spend a couple of days here.

We'll watch Sammy work as a producer and then you get to critique him. Oh, I'm terrible. I mean, he knows that. If critique him. Oh, I'm terrible. I mean he knows He watches the show he knows that Hi, Michael. All right Isles GM search sped up by draft lottery win Sounds like the Isles are Arthur staple to Kenny Holland serious Kenny Holland like seems to be front-runner Sounds like if Bergevin doesn't get thrown a bag by LA, he'd be next up.

Can I ask you guys a question? Yeah. All due respect to those guys who have awesome careers. Is there not anyone new? New guys don't exist. Is it just not allowed to go new? I think as an ownership group, sometimes you're just scared of too new or too inexperienced.

Yeah, like I don't want a rookie there either. No, it's true. It's tough It's a tough spot and those guys have both been good. So like Kenny Hall and tons of cops been the Engineer of great teams, but it's just can you throw search? Throw all the money at Doug Armstrong and We already tried that here in Toronto Quickly

Mammoths are do you tell our dear, dear friend Ryan Smith. What's up, baby? I got our boy Jake. That is a spectacular sweat. Look at that, look at the mountain range in the head there, the Wasatch Mountains. What do you think? I think that would look really good.

Oh no! Hanging behind us. Yes. No! It would look really good. Captain Clay, you've got her. We've got the one without the logo really good. Oh no! Hanging behind us. Yes. No! It would look really good. Captain Clayton color. We've got the one without the logo and now we need one with the logo.

I full credit to them for keeping the very basic clean jersey. Colors are great. I kind of thought initially like, eh, you know, uninspired, it's their jersey. I like that they didn't do some whole new overall. And the Away Whites do not have that logo on them. It says Utah on it still like that. They didn't do some whole new and they all and the away whites Do not have that logo on them. It says Utah on it still with with that logo on the shoulder, which I love So there you go, man with baby. That's a really good handle. Great job. Ry are close personal friend. Yeah

Very fast two hours in hockey right here on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Our thanks to Luke Fox in the first hour, Jack Michaels in the second hour, and of course our Sean Reynolds. Two games on tap tonight, Florida and Toronto, 7 p.m. Eastern, Dallas and Winnipeg, 9.30 p.m. Eastern. Sit back, relax, enjoy the night. We're back tomorrow on The Real Kipper and Warren Show.