Real Kyper & Bourne - First Round Forecast

Episode Date: April 2, 2024

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne welcome NHL analyst Jamal Mayers into the studio to kick off the second hour. He looks ahead at first-round matchups and how various teams match up with their likely opponents in a 7-game series. Then, he shares which team has the edge for the final Wild Card spot in the East, John Tortorella's latest post-game outburst and the Senators' looming decisions. Finally, they regroup with Sam McKee for news & notes - checking in on award races, Crosby reaches the point-per-game mark for the 19th time, Torts' future in Philly and Jeff Skinner becomes the first player to get to 1000 career games without a playoff game.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, let's go national on the real Kipper and Boren show. Nick Kiprios, Justin Boren, Sammy McKee, and our in-studio guest, Jamal Mayers, former NHL forward, sports at Hockey Analyst, one of the busiest guys going right now. I love it having an in-studio guest. Yes. So much better.

It is. Can't drop the connection. Marzi, if you can fill out one of these programs, you got the full-time job right there in that chair. I'll give it to you, buddy. We'd love it. We'd love it. There's a lot of notes there.

I'm a little nervous. How are you? Doing well, doing well. Ready for the playoffs to start. Yes, I know. And you, of course, make your home base in st louis yep uh i just asked you off the air if you went by chance to watch uh edmonton oilers and st louis blues last night but you didn't but nonetheless uh an interesting story developing in the western conference where

we thought at least i did that things were dead and buried but there is a small chance with the st louis blues just hanging around they're eight and two in their last 10 games and they they're not out of it is my point based on last night which is kind of strange because like game previous at home they lost three to nothing to to the sharks and he okay, that's the end of them. Put the fork in them. But they're a resilient group. And let's be honest, Edmonton comes in. You know how that works. You see that they had just lost to San Jose.

Maybe they let off the gas a little bit. But you're right. They've managed to stay relevant right to the end. They're still technically in it there's still hope um i'm not sure how much hope the fan base necessarily has at this point but you know they're right there they could still somehow sneak in and which is amazing to me yeah no let's uh talk a little bit about the playoff races that you know keep with the west a little bit you know it's very possible that oilers team could end up drawing vegas which i don't know i thought this oilers team you know best chance in

the west to win a cup is that not a terrible draw for the oilers or do you think it doesn't really matter you kind of got to beat whoever anyway i think they're going to have to slay that that beast or that dragon whether it's in the first round or the second round or perhaps in the conference final, at the end of the day, it's probably not ideal, but I think they're a confident group, and they should probably be thinking, Vegas doesn't want to play us. And so they've solidified their goaltending.

They've turned their season around in regard to how they defend and how committed they are to defending. Connor is doing Connornor like things and and it feels like they have more depth now you know it perhaps it was at the expense of of cane and the development of fogel and and a couple other young guys but that was essential in my opinion for their bottom six to to find and identify what their role is going to be and i feel like they're not so dependent yeah they're top heavy and like a lot of teams are but they have a little bit more depth up front and defending wise i think they do it as a group yes the depth definitely there uh the additions of carrick and adam hen, but on the back end, did they need one significant pickup here on the back end,

a more legitimate top four looking guy? Is CeCe enough to hold his own playing 20 minutes every other night? I guess we're going to find out. I think they probably realize that there's going to be, they're going to have to score sometimes out of their troubles right they're not going to defend to a cup but they're going to have to score the power play is going to have to come up big um they're going to have to do it a different way um but they're not as poor as defensively i think as they have been in the past um they're

an offensive team that will scare a lot of teams and you know i don't think they're gonna i don't think they're gonna win 2-1 i think they're gonna have to win goals that are you know six six and seven goal games and and and that's just gonna have to be their formula and timely saves is gonna be are gonna be important and i think that to me a goaltending is no longer concerned either so um this is a team that i would not want to face you know i and you can answer this too kip but do you think it matters how you play going into the playoffs like when you guys won your cups i don't know how your teams were playing but like does it make a difference or is it just a whole fresh start by the time you get to that game one so i was it's kind of actually a funny question to ask that because that season we started the season and didn't have a regulation loss i believe in 24

games so we started jeez we had tied a couple or maybe we'd lost but we never we haven't lost so we were a team that perhaps with like six games left in that we were weren't playing well but we still found a way to win we're also a team where you'd watch them and like you know sometimes in the playoffs you realize like we don't have our game and then boom we turn it on like it was a faucet and win my whole career that it was a rule that you can't just turn it on but that was the one team that could just turn it on so i would say that's because they'd won a cup previously and they had those players that knew they could do that i would say that's because they'd won a cup previously and they had those players that knew they could do that i would generally still say that the answer is no you can't just turn it on

that you want to be playing you don't have to be playing your best hockey but you can't be playing poorly in 90 in 94 we were you guys traded everyone didn't you yeah we made about six changes at the trade deadline but you were you the president's trophy. We won the president's trophy. And made those changes. We had the comfortable feel that we were the best regular season team. And yet we went into the island, I'm thinking around February, March. And we had not won there in like two and a half years. There was something ridiculous. Yeah, they were pretty good around that time.

And we felt that that was a must win for us that forget about being in first place forget about people looking at us as legit stanley cup we needed to slay that dragon right there and it was a crazy game in which mike richter started keenan pulled him put glenn healy in heels was worse pulled him back out put mike richter in heels is now screaming at keenan with their drop in f bombs like going crazy and it's like out of control and somehow we came back on a zoobie game winning goal and beat the islanders and we felt at that that was by far the biggest win of the season. And it really helped the psyche. I don't know if the Leafs can feel the same way

with their victory last night against Florida, a team that just thoroughly thrashed them in the second round. But these are things that can stay in your mind going into the playoffs. Absolutely. And you're right. That game was kind of – sometimes you learn lessons and you send a message even when you lose games. Like that was one of those types of games for me watching the Leafs against,

you know, the Panthers in that regard because they sent a message that they weren't going to be pushed around, that they were going to stand up to them, and that if they likely face each other in the playoffs, they're not going to have that mental edge that perhaps going into that prior to that game, even though it's just one game, that maybe that Florida thought they would have mentally over the Leafs.

So how do you feel when you watch some of these scrums? Yesterday, we were talking about the Buffalo game where the end of the game is 3-0 and everyone's squared off, but everyone's gloves are on. Kipper called it a Gen Z brawl. I think that sammy sammy's i'm called a gen z brawl which is very funny you know very funny do you feel like when you watch like all right mcmahon and tucker going at it for a while but no one's fighting like is that today's way of standing up for yourself showing that you're not going to back down or do you think it's like all right just do this wait you can't help but

remember like don't ask our generation well i want to hear it like are you kidding me i want someone to say the thing that everyone's saying just getting to the front of the net i remember you would get punched in the face like it was just like cross check or a punch the game's changed i i would rather they just skate away from each other than do that i don't think it shows anything um because my thinking was always if you if you're alone and you're keep and you drop your I would rather they just skate away from each other than do that. I don't think it shows anything. Because my thinking was always if you're alone and you drop your glove or drop your stick and you're punched, like, once you get to 2-1,000s, it's probably time to fight or not to fight. Well, I said the same thing yesterday.

It's either just don't or do. But the middling thing is the strange part. That part I don't. I'm like, like okay that's enough uh cole perfetti scores the game-winning goal snaps a losing streak for the winnipeg jets a huge victory for them just to start feeling good again uh but can you see a jets colorado first round speaking of tough matchups i, I would love to see that one. The Jets have been, you know, for years,

I feel like they get to the second half of the year and they sort of have been like dwindling a little bit. But I feel like there's enough there this year, you know, they're deep enough up front that they could still give Colorado a good push, no? Yeah, you know, it's funny because I hadn't, I'd done a game there, I just did the game on Saturday against Ottawa because i hadn't i i done a game there i did just did the

game on saturday against ottawa and i had previously i hadn't done a game there or with their their game for i would say three months but three months ago i legitimately thought this is a stanley cup team yeah because they have arguably this season i think the best goalie in the nhl has better numbers than when he actually won the Vezina this year. And they defend as a group. They're committed. They have a standard. They hold each other accountable to.

The question was offense. Where are they going to get it from? They kind of figured that out. They're healthy. And then I watched them play on Saturday. I'm like, this is a shadow of the team. And I start to wonder, okay, is it hard to continue to play that way all season long and they're going to ramp it up when it matters here in a week, week and a half?

Or have they fallen off a little bit and other teams have gotten up a little bit? I still think that they're going to be a really tough out, but they're one of the teams that I would point to and say, it's not trending in the right direction for them. And you're right. This isn't the first time. This has been a yearly thing for the Winnipeg Jets,

and it's very strange because when they're committed to defending, it's like they get impatient at this part of the season. They're like, I don't know if they're looking at their numbers and they're not happy with their own personal numbers or whatever it is, but the formula works. That's the frustrating part, I'm sure, for coaching staff and leadership is it works. We had success.

We're one of the top teams in the league. Let's get back to that. So I'm sure that's a lot of what the conversations are about. Detroit with a huge two points against Tampa Bay. And I'm just wondering, though, is it the Capitals' spot to lose here? Honestly, I like Detroit. You do? You do? And I know that Washington has a game at hand.

I can't remember all the games and the matchups, but I looked at it, and they play, I believe, Montreal twice. You can have that if you like. you need to check it out i'll just say i know their path in the next the rest of the season is easier than washington's yeah and that sometimes is helpful because they should win five of those seven games and they get to play washington one of those times so i think the path is set up in the right way for them i don't know how the heck that washington's even in this in this mix but but they are um their coaches coaching staff has to be commended i just think detroit's going to find a way to get

it done based on their schedule yeah you know i I'm watching that game last night, the Islanders-Flyers game. So there are obviously a couple of teams who are in the thick of it. The Isles blow it with nine and a half seconds left. End up going to OT and they do score the OT winner. But boy, they needed the Flyers to not get a point out of that en route to whatever. The Flyers have been stumbling a little bit down the stretch.

I'm curious your thoughts on Tortorella and how he's handled things obviously the Couturier thing has been a big story but even last night after the game he called them soft he said the only guy who played last night was the Russian goalie that they put in the second period like he's all over this team trying to squeeze the last bit out of him here is it helping or hurting how much he's got the pedal to the floor for the flyers i don't think listen he's a very smart hockey guy but i don't i'm surprised he hasn't like uh realized that it's not working right now and and then changed his direction and how he wants to motivate i get it they've been floundering but i think as a veteran player if i were on that team i would be thinking he doesn't believe in us i see it as panic i see it as nervous i see it as not a

proper type of energy and i wonder if his team the players are feeling that negative negativity as him doubting what they're capable of versus challenging them like there's a difference they're not it's to me, it's, they're not, it's not resonating as a challenge. It's like, Oh yeah,

maybe he's right. I think they're not, he's not getting what he wants out of the group. I think he needs to shift because it's become too much of the negativity, too much of the challenging and it's not working. So at some point you got to pivot. And I, that's what I feel.

And this is, this is the same team that he's described them as having huge conas yeah and and then last night really soft which one is it so there's the same players it's i just i i agree i think that's first time for that it does feel like panic yeah where it's like we were supposed to be in, I was going to do this great thing with this team, and now it feels like it's slipping through my fingers. And he's really set himself up, Tortorella. And listen, I'm with you. Really good hockey mind.

Great success. Has won in the past. I get all of that. But he's really set himself up as being one of the focal points on what went wrong at the end of the year. He's made himself a huge story, and it's not the story of the players with their lack of experience or not coming up big in the big moments. It's about, did you suck too much oxygen out of that room? Yes.

So let's say this. Let's say at some point, I would say you tried it for, let's give it two weeks. It's probably been longer if you're really in that room. And you talk to your coaching staff, and it's not working. Wouldn't you shift and say, okay, let's try to show them some positive video. Let's show them some video from earlier in the year.

Let's talk about the things we do well as a group. Let's empower them to feel good about themselves, to not be afraid to make mistakes, to play on your toes and see what happens. I don't know. I just feel like today's players are perhaps a little bit more sensitive. They're still wired the same that if you – i just think you gotta it's like when you have kids right i know that my oldest daughter i after a game i could say that was she's a soccer player i could say to her that that was terrible i don't know why you're even playing

i don't think how you think you're gonna play college soccer after this and i could say that to her and she she would internalize it. She'd be upset with me, and she'd go and – Get to work. But you're looking for a reaction. Yeah, I'm looking for a reaction. But I know her personality that she's going to respond and she's going to kind of go show me.

Versus my middle daughter, if I say the same – if I even say four amazing things and I give her one negative, she only hears the negative right so it's like you have to know your audience you have to know who you're talking i just feel like there should be a shift there i'm surprised yeah what you remember earlier in the year him yelling it as a bobby brink and someone else like he really goes at guys when he gets upset and you know kip's talked about maybe him going into management at some point doug mcclain had uh mentioned uh on one of our shows that uh perhaps he might aspire to leave the bench and

maybe go and do management upper management like work with briere would you ever could you see a guy like craig barubi sliding in there if that's the case that peruby's got his pick doesn't he i think so i i would like you know i would like to see chief in uh in ottawa if i just feel like they need yeah i i've always i don't know about you but i always liked like a coach that showed emotion i know that that's what coaches today are probably a little bit more reserved. I don't know. I always feel like at some point you're going to need – I need the coach to get on the ref.

I need the coach to show some emotion, to get upset. And sometimes it's by design. Sometimes it's to get our attention. I don't know. I just feel like that's what that team needs. I don't know i just feel like that's what that team needs um i don't know i just feel like i always felt like there's there's value in that calculated emotional response from your coach we're gonna we're in this together we're battling together and i could feel yeah the coach's energy i like that too i want to get your thoughts on that ottawa team like it's a unique thing so they've

underachieved this year i think they've been one of the more disappointing teams in terms of what we thought they might do they have these young players they're trying to bring along and it just hasn't happened and maybe some of that is coaching they get rid of a coach they bring in a guy who pretty clearly is going to be a temporary coach but also they have a captain who's a young guy you know he's quite young and then you have claude geroux who comes in who's an older guy you know that's sort of like i don't know if that puts attention in the room where you have an older guy but the younger guy is the captain like what are your thoughts on on the way ottawa's leadership from the coaching to the geroux and brady dynamic and just a way forward for that whole thing that just has been a bit of a mess

this season yeah i think that there's been to me there's been a bit of a mess this season. Yeah, I think that there's been, to me, there's been a lot of growth with their bottom six, in particular their fourth line. And you guys know this. When you're one of those guys, you have to recognize time, score, situation. And sometimes Brady has an unbelievable hockey mind, and when he recognizes his team isn't doing the things,

he does those things that I think the bottom six should be doing because he recognized it. Like jawing and energy. And just energy where games start slipping in those shifts, and he wants to respond physically. He's the guy with three 30-goal seasons in a row who's our leading scorer he doesn't need to be doing that so sometimes i feel for brady watching him try to do all of it and sometimes he needs help and and in that part of it um so i think that's important i also think

i know perhaps they're stevie stales i know ste Stahels is the right guy. He's a smart hockey guy. It's hard, though, when you don't have a coach, right? So what – everybody knows he's the placeholder. All the players know it. They're kind of like – I don't know how to say this the right way. The most disappointing part for the way that they're playing right now and they're playing so well is I call it selfish hockey. This time of year, people could perceive it as they're playing for each other

that's no they're not you're playing for yourself they're playing for their next contract they're playing for their next position playing for another team to see how good they and where they can go next or how much more money they can make that's the easy time to play and to me it would make me upset if you're brady watching these guys competing now down the stretch when we needed you in October and November. So until they get the next guy in there that establishes the standard, and I also would suggest this. If you look on paper, really, really amazing core up front.

This is probably a crazy thought. As good as Bathurston is, is that mix the right mix? Like, that I think you have to analyze too. Because to me, as good as he is in all those pieces, it's like, is it really working the way you wanted it to work? Like, it's been three years. And so I just thinktawa's got to be careful even though brady signed long term like he what if he says i've had enough i don't know yeah that'd

be devastating well the one thing that i and listen i'm i'm like everybody else i'm a huge brady kachuk fan and i've got no problem with him being the captain of the Ottawa Senators, but I don't know if it came a little too early for him where he's still learning how to be a pro or a great teammate. There's no question, I think, that he was heading in that direction.

But when you put a guy that young, that early in a situation, you better make sure he's well insulated with other veterans that can still pull him aside and he can lean on others to say, what do you think about this situation? What should I do? What should I say?

And I look around the room and I see nobody with the exception of Claude Giroux. Shabbat and Norris and Sanderson. Who else is there to help Brady Kachuk how to be an NHL captain you're a thousand percent right people don't realize how that works right I remember when Eric Brewer got named the captain he was my roommate got traded for prongs not easy shoes to fill and he you could argue whether he was ready or not for that job I remember taking you know we're roommates so so I said,

listen, Brew, in front of the team, anything you say, I'm going to support you. But when I don't agree with you, I will pull you aside and I'll say I'm not sure you handled that right because I want to make sure that this works. And so, you know, not that I have, you know, but you have a voice. You've been around, you know. You have a voice. And've been around, you know.

You have a voice. And you're like, guys are listening. If you react like whatever, then they're going to take on that energy. So you want to make sure it's heading in the right direction. You're 1,000% right. They have to, and not just one more, they need three more veteran-type players that can, like, help him. Because he's going to make mistakes but he he does need

guidance as much as he's been around it his whole life is not as much as he's his intentions are in the right spot kipper you're 100 right is that hard though like you know some veterans they they sign three veteran guys this summer and they come in and they say hey brady you know maybe this maybe that whatever like that's tough i think it takes some humility as i'm the captain this this is my team you know kind of don't tell me how to run this show i guess it's not saying it can't be done but that's a hard dynamic it all depends on who's coming into that room and what have they done and how well respected they are they that then That's a hand-picked guy you're talking about.

That's not just plucking somebody for the sake of saying, oh, you've spent 10 years in the league. You've got to do your homework on who's coming in. And listen, Steyos or Anlauer, the owner or somebody, can also go up to Matthew Kachuk and say, hey, listen, there's still a lot of growth in your game here. Be wise to listen to this guy or, you know, have this guy take you under his wing because he can teach you how to go to the next level here.

Yeah. Oh, and I think that he's a smart enough kid. He's a very mature kid. He's a very mature kid. He's going to want that. He wants that next step. He wants that next. And he knows at the end of the day, you're financially secure. You're an all-star.

You're respected by your peers. Like, he missing the one piece like the winning piece yeah so like i think and i also think he is a humble enough kid to realize listen no one wants to be called out in front of the group you have to know what the personalities and the in the and who you could do that to and and who you can pull aside. And if you bring the right person in, I think he's going to be open to it and recognize why they're bringing these people in. It's only going to take three dinners and two road trips where he's going to be like, I can learn from this guy.

It's crazy, though, looking at his stats and bio. You know, 6'4", 225, 330 goal seasons, 24 years old. Like, you know, that's an impact player. If he can get, you know, in playoffs, I think he'd be just a wonderful force for them. We got Jamal Mayers in studio on the Real Kipper and Bourne show. We are talking Stanley Cup playoffs. We're talking captaincy.

We are talking 101 parenting. We do it all on this show so jammer before before you take off uh you know we know who's the favorites right give me a team that some people might be sleeping on here once we start this uh this playoff run and i don't know where you would put carolina so i'll tell you a funny story so my brother said i think carolina is like a real good sleeper team and at the time they were first i'm like that's not a sleeper i almost said dallas and i was like uh first in the center i do like dallas and i do like carolina and carolina, you know, in doing one of the games there and talking to Rod, you could tell that –

how do you say this the right way? But you could tell that he liked the way his team was playing, but perhaps the goaltending wasn't – he didn't say it, but you could kind of tell, like, the way that the season was going. And the fact that they didn't make a move at the deadline when everyone in hockey was thinking, like, you need a goalie. And they must have known they're going to get a healthy Anderson back. They're a team with the additions they made at the deadline that are going to be really,

really tough out, I think, for a lot of teams. And then the reason why I like Dallas, to be honest, is because I think teams that have older guys, guys that haven't won before, give guys that are 26, 25, maybe they've had a ton of personal success, it's always more fun in hockey to do it for somebody other than yourself. I think those teams that find those connections and those guys they can lean on for, they have an extra incentive and reason to do it,

and I always think those teams are dangerous. Kip likes them both, too. Jammer, what do you got tonight on the network? I'm just going to talk hockey. 630 Hockey Central? Yes. You got a game tonight, or are you off tonight? We got three games, I think.

There's too many games. Lots of games. Well, we look forward to watching you tonight, pal. Thanks for doing this. Well, I appreciate it. Appreciate it, Jammer. Thanks a lot. Jamal Mayers in studio.

Does a terrific job here in the network. We're going to take a quick break, and we come back. Sammy McKee, game time, plus a little Sid Talk and the Elite Company with only Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe will tell you in what category when we return to Real Kipper and Born. Breaking down the top stories in the NHL every day. The Jeff Merrick Show. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. let's welcome in our sammy mckee back in the producer's chair where jamal mares sat moments ago and did a terrific job oh kip tried to hire him as producer yeah sorry about that too busy

though too busy wouldn't want to fight him for it. That's for sure. Big Mitch. Oh, my God. It crunched my hand. Did you like the captaincy conversation? I did. I loved the conversation about Brady Kachuk.

I think there's a lot to that and what you're talking about. We've heard kind of rumblings out of the air about that sort of thing. But I think the Brewer following up for Pronger thing is the very salient point. It's tough. That age, man. Not everyone's Sid. I don't know. A few years ago, there's some around me, I think at SportsNet,

even like four or five years ago where people were talking like a captaincy is overrated. It's just a letter. I've had those conversations with people. I'm like, what are you talking about? This is like a huge part of your identity, your makeup, what you're about. You need somebody to rep 20, 25 other guys in the playoffs here. There needs to be a face, a leader. He's the face to the media.

He's the liaison to the coach to let them know what guys are what's going on in the room he's you know he's a lot of things to a lot of different people and it's not just here's the best player put a letter on him it's a alpha dog it's a responsibility game time game time all right boys it's game time presented by bet 365 visit the app latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at bet365 must be 19 plus ontario only please play responsibly now kipper was asking me about to do something in game time he was talking about the big awards because you're we're getting close to that time though you're wanting me to i think i think a lot of people are feeling like i don don't know, it's still wide open for you with half a dozen games to go.

I mean, it's wide open for the Hart Trophy. Art Ross wide open. Obviously, that's not voted on. Norris Trophy, is there movement now? Has Yossi got himself in there? Has Makar got himself in there? So, Bet365. People are talking about at home wow they don't bet three six five does not agree that it's wide open for the heart agree we do not agree uh minus 350 for nathan mckinnon to win the heart

still kucherov plus 500 conor mcdavid plus 550 austin matthews all the way up to plus 2200 plus i 50 conor mcdavid he's gonna lead the league in scoring and 100 assists 100 assists to me 550 that's a good number i'm looking at this and what this gives me you know we talk about how there's some teams that don't have a ton of talent and expanding or whatever but the top end of the league is breathtakingly good like i mean austin matthews is in the conversation to score 70 goals here he gets two last night he's he's eight and eight games eight games which he has done many times in his career yeah he's plus 2200 to win the heart like how many years are there that the guy that would be that far down with a potential 70 goal season it's just the top of the

league right now there There are unbelievable talents. It's amazing. That Kucherov conversation yesterday moved some people. The all-star game thing, people had some reactions to that. I think Kuch made a point that some people are like, oh, I never thought of that.

Maybe I don't hate that as much. Good old Otzi. Otzi. I think Otzi and Koch set it up because he's coming to toronto uh the night before that's why he was so keen i'm just joking that was me that asked that question so hey good timing for kucherov to come back to the scene of the crime for sure with a good explanation on why he tanked maybe somebody somebody will ask him. Maybe Luke Fox will ask him. Almost certainly maybe Luke. So the Norris trophy that you mentioned there,

Quinn Hughes is minus 500. Done. Kale McCarr is plus 400. And your boy, Roman Yossi, most underrated player in the league, according to Kipper, plus 2,000. So 20 to 1. So they think it's over.

20-1. I gotta tell you, a couple of these long shots are pretty good. You know who else has shown tremendous life still on the Nashville Predators on defense? Who's that? McDonough? Ryan McDonough. Is he a reason why they're still?

I think so. Yeah. Yeah. And what a hockey player his you know when they won the stanley cup probably the most underrated contributor on that team just he must have blocked 6 000 shots that playoff so there you go uh did you want any other futures or kipper you're good with that i'm good all right uh just quickly look at the lines for tonight um there was a game that i wanted to bring up uh the ve Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks tonight in Vegas.

I saw a video of Tomas Hertel skating in a white jersey at practice, which usually means I can play hockey again. So the Vancouver Canucks are plus 105 in Vegas tonight. I like the Canucks plus 105. So give me that tonight in vegas so that's the only one i want to bring up and that was game time presented by bet365 visit the app play the stars and find out why it's never ordinary at bet365 must be 19 plus ontario only please play responsibly and just as a reminder real kipper and born always brought to you by bet365 as well. All right, boys. Sid Crosby.

I don't know if you caught last night the show he put on Broadway, but he is sick good. What? No, you're right. How do we have this conversation without the other conversation? I don't know.

I don't know, but I'm just saying that this guy has got a signature redirect move that is like something that we've never seen before. Yeah, he's able to, it's like a cutter. It's a forehand. You know what I mean? It's like it comes across angled. It's a forehand redirect that almost can come off like a shot, but it doesn't.

It's like a 70-degree. Yeah. It's just a bizarre. It's like a club in your bag you've never seen before. It's like a cheer club. It's like an infomercial club. They're like, it's the 72-degree double. It's like, what?

Why am I going to use that? He could sell that. Oh, yeah. The Crosby tipper did you know that him getting to 82 points last last night ties him with gretzky uh with wayne gretzky oh wayne not brent no 19th point per game season how at 17 and a gretzky and sid cross sid at 19. So I know how we'll talk about it without talking about next year where he's going.

Where he's going. I mean, listen, I don't know what I'm saying here. But I've mentioned this to you guys on the show before. And this is where for my generation, like every generation is like he's the GOAT. He's one of the best players of all time and people like push back on it it's the old guys say no the young guys say yes it's like lebron versus mj all these different montana versus brady for a while was a thing to me he is on the mount rushmore of hockey he is one of the best four players in the history of the game

and sydney crosby deserves to be talked about in that, in those conversations. He's one of the best in the history of the game, a top five guy, a top four guy, if you will. He's unbelievable. I'm only going to ask you this one question because of him. Okay. Are we sure they're out of the playoffs? Oh my God. What did you just say to him?

Yeah, I just, I'm just looking at their schedule. There are. God, no. I'm just looking at their schedule. There are... God, no. I'm not sure. There's 16 points still on the table for them. I know Washington's going to have to go in the tank and Detroit's going to have to go in the tank. Not even.

They need any of Philly or Washington to go in the tank, either of them. But, like, it's Sid. So, there, Wyshyninsky put out a stat uh tweet today about the the current probabilities to make the stanley cup playoffs from statletes that he has them at four percent but listen their next two games are against new jersey and washington um you know so that's the season right there against washington for sure they win a couple of games there you know it's the the reason it's such a low number, Sam,

is because there's so many teams involved. You know, they're only five points behind Washington with a game in hand on Philly. So two games in hand on Philly. Sorry, six points up on them. Catchable teams, we'll see. They'd have to get red hot. It's unlikely, Kip, but yeah,

I can see how they could have to get red hot it's unlikely kip but yeah i can see how they could get to i would 90 points i'm putting all my feelings about kyle dubas completely to the side there are a few things that would make me happier than a sydney crosby red hot run to drag the carcass of the pittsburgh penguins into the playoffs 13 points in like five games he's unbelievable he is tied for 15 top 15 NHL scoring in his 19th season. I just don't want people to be like, oh, but this guy, oh, this guy. Just full stop, he's one of the best all time.

Top five guy. And what a competitor. The man. The absolute man. And this is a guy that we were questioning where his future was, right, with the concussions. Yeah. I wonder if we get a sponsor for our daily, you know, massage of Sidney Crosby.

Well, we had to do it that way or else he'd be like, where's he going to play next year for a hundred times? Jiffy Lube brought to you. Can we focus on the 70 degree hockey stick that he's going to sell? I'm just selling products over here, boys. But yeah, you mentioned those times, those years he missed. And I think I've brought this up on the show before,

but without those years missed, and you know, they're talking about the chase for Ovi for beating Gretzky. 2,000 points. Yeah, 2,000 points. Very viable. 100% would have been a chase for it. Because what is he at now?

He's close to 1,600. Yeah. Anyways, it's just, you know, there you go. So in that playoff race, the Islanders sit ahead of them 79 points. The Red Wings, 82 points. The Capitals are in with 82 points as well. So it's tight.

Well, there was a rather large game last night between your New York Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers. So we don't often do this. First of all, I put a clip in there that I didn't tell David Sissaboon Bob about, so he's probably going to get pissed off about me. I don't even think I told Derek about it, but he can check it. We did

a full scrum of a coach and the reporters. This is a two-minute long clip of John Tortorella addressing the reporters after the game last night. Are you ready for that? Oh, 100%. You guys had all the momentum and things kind of came to a stop. What was your assessment of where things were?

Soft. One guy played, the goalie. How encouraging is it that he came in like that cold and was able to... Terrific. He's the only guy that played. Is that pretty surprising? Considering you said you trust your team, you don't have to tell them or remind them, and then they do that.

You're finding things out here, okay, when these games are at a whole different plane, okay? It's still regular season, right? But it's a whole different plane, okay? It's still regular season, right? But it's a whole different plane. So we're finding things out. You talked after the last game about that was kind of what you felt like wasn't a great performance. Are you concerned at all that tonight it kind of lingered again, that you just said it was a soft game per se?

Not the whole game and not the whole group. There are certain people that they don't have a clue how to play or just don't have it in them to play in these type of situations. And this is why I'm glad we're playing them. Because we have to figure things out as far as what we're going to become as a team here. That was embarrassing in the second period for the Philadelphia Flyer uniform, the way we played. Embarrassing.

High marks as far as how we came back in the third. Some guys. With regards to Ivan, why did you make the decision to bring him in and how impressed were you in his performance tonight? I wanted to bring him in. It just didn't look right with Urs, and I'm totally impressed. I put him in a hell of a spot. And he's the only goddamn player that played in the second period.

He is on? No. Wait's wait hold on one more a couple days off before you started back to back is that kind of what you were talking about over some guys need some wrestlers that you just want yeah yeah we can talk about that to rest this that the other thing if you don't have enough balls to play in these type of games rest doesn't do us any good doesn't do us any good. Doesn't do us any good. We suck. We haven't forechecked. We haven't done anything. What happened to their cojones from earlier in the year? Did you see we had big balls? Yeah.

The marble sack broke. They're all over the floor. I like them again. You like them again? I love that. I think I can separate the Couturier stuff, which I hated, but him doing that I think is totally fair play for a coach. I think if you feel that way, you're allowed to go

and then lean into it like that. I guess I'd agree with you if it wasn't just so torts being torts. And again, there's a certain element of attracting attention for himself and being the subject and being the most talked about guy and that's the part that bothers me if if it was just a one-off sammy it's fair it's fair but not what seems now like every other week how about the line they don't have a clue how to play about his guys like in you know big games down the stretch here he's talking about his players they don't have a clue how to play you're the coach you're supposed to have a clue how to play it's great that you're learning about these guys as you go over whatever.

But to me, if I'm in the dressing room, what chance do we have down the stretch if we don't know how to play? There are certain people that they don't have a clue how to play. That's the NHL. I know. I'm pretty sure they have a clue. They have a very favorable schedule. Their next three games are buffalo columbus montreal if if this thing really melts down and you do a a look back on the philadelphia

flyers i point it right into the direction the name the the time sean couturier was named captain of the philadelphia flyers that's when it derailed when he was named captain or when he was named captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. That's when it derailed. When he was named captain or when he was scratched? No, when he was named captain because the scratch came right after. Yeah. And I don't know what happened, but from 30,000 feet above, it looks awfully like a coach

that was told who his captain was and didn't like it. And behaved like a brat about it. You know what's really fascinating? Do you know who their last game of the year is against? Washington. Wow. Capitals Flyers play on April 16th,

and presumably they're going to be in a dogfight down the stretch here. The Flyers only have six games left. Can you see Keith Jones and Daniel Breer doing another year of this? I hope Keith Jones coaches

game 82. I hope by the time it all derails. Great point. It's been a bit of a circus here for the last you know even since the the well hold on though the flyers were supposed to be garbages here they were they were basically tanking he's going to take them into the playoffs you're going to fire him yeah you are yeah you are just based on all this circus things yeah that much yeah think back to the the go chase stuff and people are talking with this guy for jack adams 10 minutes ago killing the reporter about the hayes stuff this stuff couturier a lot boys it's okay to lose your

playoff spot because of inexperience and all the things that he mentioned, but this is the same group that you were talking about having the biggest set of balls. Yeah. I don't know. He phrased it, not me. No, he has his words, yeah. His words. You know, what I think would be really a big factor in my decision-making

where I, let's say they miss playoffs and i'm jones and brayer is if you're on the team this year and he's talking about you this way and it's hard it's hard having a coach like this you played for keenan i had a hard junior coach but whatever but we won we won like crazy we won our league and you can justify how it makes you feel and the misery of going to the rink when you're having success. If you get treated like that and you lose, it's tough to play for that guy again the next year. It's tough to be like, yeah, sign me up for that again. The stuff that

didn't work last year, I had a great time. So you might lose some buy-in from some guys if it doesn't work. All right, we got a few minutes left. I wanted to bring this up, but we ran out of time in our first hour, Leaf edition. But last night we had Sportsnet's National Game of the Week on Monday, Toronto and Florida.

Did you catch the post-game interview between Ryan Reeves and our Sean McKenzie about having a shirt on? Do you know anything more than I do? Because he wanted to do the interview shirtless, and Sean told him, go put a shirt on. Is that what happened? No. It is the implication.

He had a shirt on. He had a shirt on when he did the interview. He was talking about wanting to do it with a shirt off. Yeah, that's right. But did someone tell him he couldn't is the question. He made it sound like he was not allowed to do it without a shirt. Willie does his shirtless all the time. Willie rarely has a tarp on.

Yeah. This man's nipples out every day of the week. I mean, yeah, if I had Ryan Reeves' body, I'd probably do one of every interview with no tarp on. You know, he's a huge jack guy. He made a reference that, and I know he's just tongue-in-cheek, and I get all of that. You know, he's a card a card yeah he's a card but like that's what's gonna get you up there with the

nfl and that's what he said he said if you want to market that you don't want to catch the nfl we got to market this body i love it get him out there no shirt well one of the mandatory no shirt one of the all-time one of my favorite favorite clips ever was when Scott Oak was interviewing him. And he, Scott Oak knows him from Winnipeg. And he's like, oh, you know what I look like. You see me in the hot tub, Scotty. Like, he's like, yeah. I love, like, I feel like Ryan Reeves, I would love to hang out with Ryan Reeves.

I don't know what he's like, you know, in the room. He seems like a boisterous guy. Seems like a lot of fun to be around. Could we take this show to another level if we did one show uh shirtless it'd be bad for i don't think we would have more shows sports net would just i don't think i would stop laughing if i looked across and saw nothing but skin boys i to hit the gym if we're doing that. I would need to get in front of a light box of some variety. See my veins through the... The way it would reflect off my white, it would be like...

Oh, my God. I feel like... It would not be good for our show. Dipping you in vanilla. Tarps off. I do love a good tarps off in the summer, though, boys. I love it. You're a big tarps off guy? Oh, yeah, big time. As soon as I can, I will. I like to drive tarps off. You're though boys I love it As soon as I can I will

I like to drive tarps off Really? That's a type of guy If you're going on a long road trip It's the summer, windows are down Get the tarp off, great feeling Just listen to the nitty gritty dirt band Alright I'm putting it back on the rails here

Washington at Buffalo tonight. Jeff Skinner, if I'm not mistaken, playing in his 1,000th game. That is correct. The only player in NHL history to play 1,000 games and Zippo in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I feel for him because no one is talking about the accomplishment without the asterisk. That is just crazy.

It's crazy. It's a lot of bad luck. 14 years, and he's got the same number of NHL playoff games as you two. I know. It's pathetic. And, like, I don't know if he's going to get them. He's got two years left on that deal. Get out of there. Oh, yeah. Who's going to get him. He's got two years left on that deal.

Get out of there. Oh, yeah. Who's going to take on 9.25? Buff's coming, boys. Buffalo's coming. Oh, yeah. I'm not having one more of these convos preseason. Here come the Senators and the Sabres. You have to zap me before we have this conversation.

Our thanks to Sportsnet analyst Jamal Mayers and Sportsnet.ca's Luke Fox in our first hour another eight games on tap tonight pick yours and we're back tomorrow on Real Kipper and Born if you get a chance give us a rating and review we'd love to hear from you have a great night everybody