Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Big Win in the Big Apple

Episode Date: December 13, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with the Leafs' 7-3 win over the Rangers off a back-to-back, the team's resiliency, Gregor's pay with the top six, Jake McCabe's big hit, whether the Rangers are as good as their record and Matthews looking dominant now that he's playing with urgency. They are joined by Leafs' radio analyst Jim Ralph (29:30), who shares his takeaways from last night's game, the offence starting to come alive, if it's time to run Matthews and Marner together again and gives an evaluation of the 'fill-in' defencemen and Martin Jones' play.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 get ready to rock the real kipper and born show leaf edition this hour wherever you're watching wherever you're listening sportsnet 590 sportsnet 360 sportsnet plus we're glad you're aboard and when you can't catch us live just download us wherever you get your pods and text us at 590 590 if you got any complaints send them over to sammy mckee justin bourne derrick brandeo or general nick do not let me know about it. I only want positive. And that's what we're getting. Scram, beat it. All hour, nothing but positive vibes for the Toronto Maple Leafs. If we went back 24 hours ago, somebody on this desk said,

it's a scheduled loss. It's a scheduled loss. Everybody on this desk. No, you. It's a scheduled loss. Hold on. It's a scheduled loss. Everybody on this desk. No. You. And I agreed because I was spent by then. And I just wanted to leave and get in my car and go home for dinner. Such an accurate assessment by the end of the show.

You could say something absurd. And I'm like, yeah, all right. Not even close. No. To a scheduled loss. No. And we had ample reasons to believe that would be the case. Yeah. You know, I'll say when you are a team with elite talent and the Toronto Maple Leafs are undeniably that,

if you ask anyone in the league, they call them top heavy or whatever people use to say about the Leafs. This sort of thing can happen where they make a couple of plays and shoot it in the net. Like Willie Nylander making that play with the goal he pulled is like, you know, pretty unlikely it's going to happen, but if he pulls it off, it's a great chance. Pulls it off, great chance they score, and all of a sudden

they're off and running. Leafs get their goals. 7-3 win in Madison Square Garden on a back-to-back. Three points out of the state of New York on a Monday Tuesday. Sammy, you did your post-game show with J.D. again. Yes, I did. Did you forget the second letter? J.B., J.D., I'm like, I'm all Jade confused.

Yeah, I did. I did. Actually, every night after the game, you can catch me. And how were those vibes? It was good. It was good. I think I just, a lot of surprise i don't think the the emotion that the number one sort of overarching feeling i had out of that game was you know stealing money

like it's just like it's money that you didn't expect to have and there you go like it's it was a it was a surprising result but a good one nonetheless. Yeah, absolutely. The, you know, like overwhelmed by their play. What were your thoughts on the night? Just in terms of feeling like you weren't fighting it. And I know we're still looking at a second period that probably had a lot of people thinking, oh, here we go again, right? Like this thing's going to be destined for an overtime loss.

Comfortable at 4-1. They get a couple of late ones. You go into the intermission going, third period's up for grabs. Yeah. And it didn't work out that way. No, and, you know, Sheldon had said some stuff, and I'm not sure if this is the clip we have or not,

but he did say some stuff where it's like, when you go into that second period, it's important to sort of have a reminder for the team, you're up one in a tough environment, you're in a good spot to get points, you know, and to not get caught up in the direction of the game. Okay, let's go to Sheldon Key for our first Clippers, Kippers Clipper, on the overview of the win.

I thought for a lot of the game we looked like a tired team, quite honestly. But we did what we needed to do in terms of building a lead. Often when you play in these back-to-backs, it's tougher as the game goes on. But I think there's somewhat of an advantage early in the game

because you just played the night before. We had a hard-fought game last night, so you want to kind of ride that while the other teams sort of feel on their way through the game. That's what you hope happens. So we built a nice lead in the first period, which our guys did a great job in executing, taking advantage of their chances. And then the same thing in the third period there,

just allowing us to pull away, you know, starting with a huge power play goal. Yeah, why would anybody think that they weren't going to show up and play well against the Rangers? They had their third string goalie who has all but a handful of games in the American Hockey League and a safe percentage of what, 870? In the A. In the A.

Yeah. Is that true? Back to back. I didn't really pay close attention. Back to back. Back to back games. Apparently the flu. Shortened blue line.

Yeah. This had all the makings into a 7 or 8-3 win for the New York Rangers. That just did not happen. No. And, you know, credit to the Leafs. Like I said, they came out and they scored those goals, but then they were able to lock it down, get some saves. I thought Jones played really well for them.

He maybe didn't love every goal that went in. The first one. Yeah, a little weird. Didn't really know how that one ended up in the back of the net, and he was kind of sliding into the net. But just if you zoom out on where the leafs are and some of the conversations we were having i don't know was it a month ago you know three weeks ago i don't really know how long is this a playoff team are they good yes and like for legitimate reasons and for them to have put together this stretch of hockey, like you said, missing three of their top six D-men that started on opening night,

with their third string goaltender, having issues in the bottom six, talking about what's wrong with Matthews, he's leading the league in goals. Marner gets two goals last night. It's like we've had all these conversations, and then they're right there in the thick of it again. Well, I never thought that there would be a scenario where they're fighting for their lives to get in the playoffs. Yeah.

I did. I did. I did. No. I mean, they were always going to, they get their points. They get their points. That's all I can say. I've said it for all season long.

This team will find a way to get their points. That's not the issue. I know, which is the most dismissive thing to me of, it's very tough to get points, you know, on a nightly basis. They find a way. This is Sheldon Keefe's time, is it not? Like, last year they were without Morgan Riley at this time of year, and then they just went on an absolute tear.

Like, they seem to find their way through. If you do zoom out to your points, Sammy, you know, where they're at right now, they're four points behind the Boston Bruins for the division lead. Their record the last 10 or 11 games is as good as anybody's in the league. In the last 15, it's the best in the league. They're one point behind the Florida Panthers

with two games in hand. They're creating some separation from the Lightning who have four more games played and four less points or fewer points. It hasn't been as pretty as probably you'd like to think, but this is just a team that finds a way during the regular season. Yeah, so what is the statement there? No, there's nothing.

It's just the process, right? It's the process. But what can they do differently then? It's just keep, it's the process, right? It's the process. And there's not much you can do. But what can they do differently then? Like you're saying they get their points in the regular season, great. They can win now. Why is it working now and it doesn't work later? Probably it's just, it's not just the outcome. It's the look or the 60 minutes or those windows where it doesn't look pretty

that you want to clean up. That second period you'd like to clean up. That's the process that moves forward now. It's the optics of the game, not necessarily the end result. And do you think maybe there's something to do with season timing like at the start of the year everyone's excited max capacity fighting for where they're in the lineup for check show your coach whatever everything kind of settles in around game 20 and everyone's like maybe an intensity level down for a bit i think

there's something to be said about that maybe where the leafs just kind of have more talent than everyone there's you go through what you go through over 82 games but there's no way that you can predict that you're whatever you do between game one and game 82 that you could absolutely guarantee that your your peak performance will be april on there's just no rhyme or reason you just just go with what you go through, and you accept it for what it is, but you can also not get so focused on wins and losses or points or where you end up in the standings

because Leaf fans have been through that before. Tampa Bay Lightning fans have been through that before. So it's just about getting yourself ready for the real season in April. But I want to stop you there because this idea is that it's just like, well, you know, you'll just get your points, you get in playoffs, then you figure it out.

They haven't won their division. The only time they won their division was the Canadian year where everything was... It didn't exist. It didn't happen. That year was just... But on a serious note they haven't won this division and maybe it's time for them to give a damn about that as a priority and say hey how about we draw i don't know the capitals as an eight seed instead of playing the

boston bruins in a 2-3 battle or the panthers in a 2-3 battle. Listen, you won't get an argument out of me. If it's there, take it. If there's an opportunity to win the Atlantic, I think we were unanimous before the season started that we believed that the Leafs would be the top team in the Atlantic. We were, for sure. Well, for sure. This show all had the best team. I said they were going to win the President's Trophy.

Yeah. Well, I'll tell you this. They had a little piece of last year with a bit more talent offensively anyway not defensively they could find themselves in a battle for for for top spot they fought like again what we're talking about the last few years 115 points 111 11 now what are they on pace for? 105, 107, nine. It's up there, yeah. It's up there. Like they are good.

They're good in the regular season. The only question is now, how quickly can you get this team to look and feel like the one that you want to start in game one of the Stanley Cup playoffs? You know what I like in a back-to-back is when you have 11 forwards, as much as it's hard for guys because you get a bit more ice you kind of get these unusual looks and unusual you know you get willie kneelander playing with some different guys

gregor yeah you know some different guys get some opportunity in a night where they normally wouldn't gregor plays over 17 minutes last night I don't know that he took advantage of his opportunity last night. I would say he's better than nine. We were talking about that two weeks ago. Give him a little. Throw him a bone. Put him up there. And give him some runway here. Matthew Nyes is out of the lineup.

I'm totally on board on that. And it's what I expected to see. A guy that doesn't belong up there but won't embarrass himself to just buy you time. Yeah, and I don't even know if he doesn't. I'm a little more bullish than most people. I didn't think he was good last night. I thought he was. He's not a top six player in the National Hockey League.

I don't know if he is. I mean, he wasn't passing to the good guys. He has no timing with these guys. He knows he's supposed to give it to them. He wasn't passing to the good guys. He has no timing with these guys who he knows he's supposed to give it to them. He was just skating up the ice. He was like, fire it. And then it's like Matthews is standing there like, maybe, you know, this stick here? Pass it to me. Give him some runway

is all I'm saying. And the one thing that I will say about Gregor, and correct me if I'm wrong, he's only 25. So there might be some growth there. Like if he was 32, I would sit there and say, okay, you know what? Stay in your lane. You are what you are.

I don't know how much more growth there is, you know, with that speed. But can he think the game? Can he be in a position where he can start making plays with the likes of Nylander or Matthews or Marner. Not sure yet. Yeah. I mean, he turned 25 this summer, like a couple months ago. That's young.

NHL now, today, that's young. And in 2019, he scored 43 times in 63 WHL games. Like, it's not like he has no experience being a top-line guy in his life. He was just blowing past guys. They ain't just firing under the bar. See ya. Yeah, like in his life. He was just blowing past guys. They didn't just fire him under the bar. See ya. Yeah, like in that league, when he scored a six. So just to kind of, like we kind of zoomed in on Greg there,

but to zoom back out a little bit, I think the perception of the Leafs over this era, like with Dubas, was that they were like this high-flying, offensively-minded team, right? In the last couple years with Dubas, they weren't that. Not. And I feel like

they've brought in Brad Treliving and everybody thought the perception was going to be like, oh, they're going to be this more defensive, like grittier team. And now they're like the scoring team.

Can't defend a lick. And they score. Like they are like a truly, like I mean, I'm just looking over their last, like the goal totals they've scored in the last month,

they score close to four every game. Like, they are a really, really good offensive team, but their defense, it's like, it's crazy to me how much the perception has flipped and flopped with this team. Because now they are, like, the all-offense, no-defense team. Yeah, they are seven. Which isn't a great recipe. I agree. I'm just bringing it up.

When you go to, you to you know i always check my sport logic my expected goals for expected goals against on the old chart they are creeping towards the best offensive team in the league uh and defensively they're on the wrong half of of middle you know they are not very good that way so they are what people thought they used to be yeah at this point where it's kind of shifting for me a little bit towards brad tree living and in the snot category is jake mccabe all it takes is a couple of big hits and the feeling changes incredibly for me when you're playing against him you're a little more aware like don't tell me that every guy in the league within the end of today will not have seen that hit somewhere on their

phone or on a highlight reel here at sports that you know i did the uh pre-scouts for the marlies for the teams that we would play and when you go in every player has just a note a note about them you know here's something, you know, likes to burn your wide or, you know, something about their whatever. For sure, if you're scouting the kid. Head up. Yep.

You know, head up. You know, he's looking for the big one. He had another big hit Saturday night against Nashville. Evangelista. Evangelista. Smoked him. Yeah. And then last night, and now all of a sudden,

there's a different vibe when you play against the Toronto Maple Leafs if McCabe's on the ice, and that is a good thing. That one last night was as big as I can remember a Leaf hit in a really long time. I saw somebody. Maybe Muzzin. Maybe a Muzzin hit? No, I don't think Muzzin had one like that.

I don't know. Muzzin had a couple. That was straight from, like, my VHS, the Grap had one like that. I don't know. Muzzin had a couple. That was straight from, like, my VHS, the Grapes, like, rock them, sock them when I was a kid. That was, like, a 1998 hit. If we can see the bottom of your skate, you've got rocks. Dude, it was horizontal. For me, if I'm a general manager of a hockey team, one of my prerequisites would always be to have one squirrely, low center of gravity defenseman who's looking to inflict pain. No, it's just like, not even him.

Like he was more, it's like a little gritty face guy that just likes to run into people as hard as possible. And that's him. Squirrely's really good for hockey. And he is like, and he is squirrely. And as soon as Zibinijad comes over to him, Zibinijad did not want to fight.

He immediately gloves off, grabs onto him like, I'm loving McCabe. I'm loving that side of it. Okay, let's go to Sheldon Keefe on clip four on Jake McCabe and his decor. I think our team has played better since he's come back. That's part of it. You know, our game is less chaotic than it was

when he was in previously. You know, time for him to regroup and sort of, you know, restart his season. But, yeah, he's been really good. You know, whether it's him or, you know, the guys we have in the back end that have come in here with the injuries we've had, the guys have just stepped up their game at key times. It's allowed us to get points here, even when we're not at our best. You know, the guys are finding ways and competing hard.

I thought Bobby McMahon comes in, gives us really important minutes here tonight. Talked about Jones. You know, guys have been stepping up all the way through. You know, it's not just the McCabes and the guys that we rely on, you know, Riley Brody and our key forwards, all of that. I think we've been getting really good performances throughout our lineup. Just of note, in what, 12, 13 minutes,

we're going to get Jim Ralph, Toronto Maple Leaf radio color analyst to join us, get his thoughts on last night's game. My boy B-Mac got a shout-out from Sheldon. Bobby McMahon. Yeah. Working hard out there. Yeah.

He's fine. Yeah, he's just... To me, he is generic fourth liner in the NHL. He can skate hard. He'll take it over guys who are worse than that. Yeah, I guess. What do you guys think of a Ranger a ranger team that for the most part getting a lot of accolades this season as a top team but i did not see that at all like the

the access that they gave the leafs or the leafs took from them depending on how you want to look. The stick checking, the easy access. I was quite surprised. Yeah, I think going into this year, the Rangers are a good team. But they're not that different from the Leafs in that they're a pretty flawed team. A lot of their best players are one-way guys. Zibanejad's not going to be physical and he's a one-way guy. And so is Panarin. I just think a lot of their guys are kind of one-way guys.

Their D are really good, but... The way that they let Nylander walk into the zone on that first goal with the fire pokers, that must have sent Laviolette up the tree. Going into that dressing room, he must have killed them. That was not... I was like, you guys allowed to body check? Yeah, I know. Like, that's, it was shocking for me to see a blue line

that's supposed to have this reputation led by Trouba. Like, it was, that's a Trouba hit that McCabe levied at Madison Square Garden. Yeah. You know, the, I know that feeling when you're a kneel at your spot, like your goalie's pulled, and if they touch it, the whistle's going to blow, so you might as well try it. Like there's no harm in trying something silly,

and they just let him through. He's like, oh, okay. And he kicked it up to his skid. It was a good play. Hey, I wanted to ask you something that Bunk has brought up to me last night. Okay, can we just, I want to get the clip on Keefe on the Rangers' top guns shutting them down. Sure, sure.

All right, save that thought. Yep. I think it's vital. I think they're a far different team when their top people aren't on the ice. And that's not uncommon for most teams, but there's a great discrepancy with this group. So we needed to manage that that uh that line and you know i think they had their looks they had their time with the puck uh probably more so than we would have liked but uh certainly is is a key both and we talked about that we talked about winning the special teams

a battle or at least drawing even on that which they get their power play goal uh we wiped that out with a huge power play goal in the third and we scored a goal on a delayed penalty at six on five in the first period. So, you know, taking care of that special team as part of it too is another really important piece against this team. Yeah, I just saw for Panarin

and Panarin is supposed to have had this great year so far. He problems the heart. Right? Finalist. Yeah. Did he play last night? Did he play last night? Wheeler shot the puck into the net. It was a nice goal. That was old school Wheeler.

Coming down off the wing. Yeah, I know. It was nice. He's at it. That's one of the rare times the Leafs didn't have a good third man high and he has. Max. 190 feet. Yeah, they were exposed with Lujois there, I thought.

One of the few times it's been noticeable. I didn't see, to go to our conversation last week, I didn't see any alpha dog on the New York Rangers, man. I saw nothing out of their lineup. No, like Kreider's getting a little older. Like Lafreniere's not quite there yet. It's, I don't know. They're fine.

The Rangers are a good team. I'm not trying to say they're not a good team. Great goaltender, but they're, I don't think they're special.. The Rangers are a good team. I'm not trying to say they're not a good team. Great goaltender, but I don't think they're special. Unlike the Leafs, Matthews kind of looked like an alpha dog last night for me. Yeah. Yeah, he's humming right now. He's league-leading goals. Actually, Besser caught him last night.

Besser had a hat trick, too. But a couple from him, a couple from Marner. That's what the Leafs are supposed to look like. Go ahead, Sammy. I don't want to turn it into a negative about Matthews because he's leading the league. But, like, why is it, like, why was that lull? And when, like, your coach was basically like,

yeah, he's trying harder now and he's good again. You know? Like, he's alluded to it multiple times. He had to, like, light a fire under him. Oh, sometimes. Is it just the season's too long? Is that what it is? You know, if anyone could do it every night, they'd be, you know.

Well, they'd be Austin Matthews making $13 million a year. Right. That's why he does it every night. You're supposed to be the highest paid guy, right? Yeah, but to Sammy's point, there are some nights where you're like, he doesn't feel like playing tonight. When I see him the way he played last night and the night before on Long Island, it's like, what happened before?

No, you're right. Because it's like, you can give me that. How can you be that guy? You can feel what that feels like to dominate at that level in the greatest league in the world and then come out and be like, eh. You know, part of it, though, and this is, you know, I do think it's like, you know, the consistency factor. You shot, what's your lowest and highest scores on a golf course this summer? of it though and this is you know i i do think it's like you know the consistency factor you

shot what's your lowest and highest scores on a golf course this summer uh 101 with you was my highest and 76 was my lowest same golfer yeah same guy you know you know what it feels like you know it's just like some days it's hard to do the same thing i think i've told you this before colby armstrong has the best story on phil castle as a teammate in Toronto where 20 minutes in the first period, he's saying, guys, I just don't have it tonight. I just don't have it. You know what's funny, though, about guys like that? You guys are on your own.

I'm useless to you. You guys go on. A guy like that might find one and still shoot it in the net. And often we give offensive players passes when they shoot one in the net. And they can be terrible all night and they just find one in a good spot. That was a Willie story for a lot of his career. Or it would be like these games where he's just a dog and he just picks up the puck and the slot goes bar down for the OT winner.

And you're like, oh, well. Everyone talks about his goals per game and we're in here going, did you watch how bad he was though? You know the one thing that excited me the most about Austin Matthews' game last night? His pass to Mitch on the fourth goal was the best pass I've seen him make in his whole career here. That was a pretty damn good pass. No, it was a great pass. And the beauty of it for me is that if this guy can bring that element to his game where he is less predictable on when he shoots the puck, and we know Kucherov may be the best guy on the planet for that. For sure.

If he can bring more elements to make that pass, he goes to another level when i when i see matthews on pace for like 30 assists or he's sitting like 145 in assists in the league and you're the highest paid guy in the league no good no good yeah okay the uh the one thing i think that is what it just kills me i i love i love your commitment to this i truly respect it like you know i i couldn't become this committed make passes like that you're you're you're next level stuff now well yeah you're mcdavid trophy doing that mcdavid the king that i think where it comes is that not well he's got i mean listen he does have 21 goals and 11 assists. Like, it's a big discrepancy, but he's really good at shooting it in the net.

Well, I think, you know, that's one thing we heard Keefe say the other day is he wanted him to be more assertive with the shot. But, Kip, to your point. That's an assertive pass. It is. But you know where I think he sees that and where he can pick that up from? Willie. Two assists that Willieie has to kneel

or to matthews in the past couple games are him holding one of the goalie and finding yes back door right yeah like that's the look where you hold the goalie and all of a sudden your point about these guys who are all shooters if you can also pass listen the only one over the last few years that's had any type of consistency for those type of passes has been Mitch Marner. If you added now Willie consistently and Austin, I think Tavares will always be that net front presence guy. He'll never, he's not a, he's not a disguise.

He's not a great passer either, but he is what he is. He's a shooter from the blue paint guy. But if you can have three of those guys have that element, I think it changes a complete outlook of how they go about their business in the offensive zone. There's just nothing better than a good pass. I will always say that. The best part about the NHL is just the passing,

and that one last night was beautiful. Before I forget, I wanted to ask you something. Yes. And Bunkers brought this up to me last night on Lee's Before I forget, I wanted to ask you something. Yes. And Bunkers brought this up to me last night on Lee's Talk and I didn't think about it. No, but he thought the fight after the McCabe hit for the team from the Rangers that like all they do is cry every time Trouba has to fight

after a clean hit. Yeah. And then they're the team that jumps in after one of the best clean hits. It was a bad look for the Rangers. The thought thought the thought didn't cross my mind but i agree i i didn't think the response from the rangers was very good at all i don't think there needed to be one yeah it was a clean hit the guy got up he said i had this conversation with you a thousand times i don't care if it's clean or not you're trying to hurt my guy that's enough don't hurt my guy how about

that but how about that covers it but the team that's enough don't hurt my guy how about that but how about that covers it but the team that's crying all the time about oh true but oh i shouldn't have to fight after a clean hit every time then there's a clean hit and their whole team jumps on it's a bad look yeah yeah you know the um i wrote an article today up on sportsnet.ca about something you and i have been talking about how there is sort of like this, still these old school guys in the league who recognize that physical play is really important. Trouba's your guy. Jake McCabe has been throwing those hits.

They're both 30 years old, or within two months of 30 years old. They're older guys. And then there's a lot of young guys who just don't expect to ever get hit. I don't know if you saw the Eric Robinson hit on Justin Barron of the Montreal Canadiens, 22-year-old D D man that they have.

He doesn't protect himself at all from this hit. That's coming. Like, you know, he turns his numbers to it and takes kind of a, in a bad spot. The article is about how we're kind of between generations of like these older guys that still want to thump guys.

You think it's going to get weeded out here? Well, it's headed that direction, but I think we're at a point now where you have guys who don't think they're going to get hit and guys who still think there's hitting hard hitting and so it's kind of you got some guys who are vulnerable now and lindgren didn't think for a second that he was going to play the game hard too he throws big hits i was he didn't believe i was shocked that he drops he's looking at the baby and he's looking over his shoulder trying to admire his drop pass man

i was shocked just licking his chalk that's like oh my christmas dinner oh my god like cranberry gravy it's like when you know as an offensive player you can see you're about to get sprung for a breakaway i imagine that's what it's like for a demon to see someone on a tee it's just like oh boy and i guess to the point of why there's these fights after the clean hits is that there's so little contact now. These big bangers are such flashpoints in the game where it's like, oh, my God, that can still happen, and they're immediately closed off. Yeah.

I think it's moments where you're like. You nailed it right there. Where it's like, you're not allowed to do that. And it's like, no, you very much are. That's literally the point. Yeah, and at the playoffs, people do it all the time. I know. David Camp will tell you Radko Gutis hit him pretty good.

Ask Slavin about Sam Bennett. Yeah, about Sam Bennett. Yeah. Woo. Yeah. Yeah. Choo-choo. Pretty much anyone on the Panthers, really.

Yeah. Just don't go sniffing around there with your head down. Right. All right, we're going to take a quick break, Sammy. Yeah, let's do it. Sounds good. All right. More real real kipper and born after the break jim ralph the voice of the toronto maple leafs coming up next breaking down the biggest trends in hockey the hockey pdo cast with dimitri filipovich be sure to subscribe on apple spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, let's welcome in Jim Ralph,

Toronto Maple Leaf Radio color analyst. Ralphie, how are you, man? Oh, man, they make it easy for you and Joe Bowen on a night like that. What we saw at MSG. Yeah, you guys usually only have me on after losses. That's the big plan. You're a ray of sunshine,

Ralphie. We wanted to hear you. All the positive things. What was your major takeaway from their beatdown of the Rangers? Well, I mean, part of it is Igor Shusterkin. I think that's three games in a row he's had a tough outing. So, you know,

I think that plays into it a little bit. But, you know, I like the fact that the power play came through for them in the third period. You know, after the Rangers scored a couple to make it 4-3. I thought that's one of the things that's sort of been hidden

in all these blown leads and sometimes in different plays is the power play can be so huge at certain points in a game. And I thought it was huge that they came through and the Marner goal not only came through, but actually results from a point shot being deflected with guys in front, I thought was a pretty unique way of going about it. It doesn't seem like a 7-3 score is indicative of still maybe a game that could be up for grabs going into the third period.

Obviously, the offense took over in the third, but still the feeling that maybe it's tough to string together consistent 60-minute efforts that look good, but the one thing that is consistent, if you're playing the Leafs, and that is, Ralphie, you can't sleep on their offense, man. You just, you're asleep for five seconds, man. They're going to bury a puck on you. Yeah, and you know, it's funny. You know, the Kingsplits, Miner, and. You just, you're asleep for five seconds, man. They're going to bury a puck on you. Yeah. And you know, it's funny, you know,

the King splits Marner and Matthews up and yet every time they're on the ice together, whether it's the power play or, you know, the, the Marner five on five goal, it's Matthews and Marner. It would seem to be creating the magic. So you almost wonder if that part of the offense isn't going to be put back together out of necessity and um but you're right i mean whether it's you know neil enders run at the start of the year matthews it seems if he gets one he gets two or three um you know they've you've seen it you know

late in games that they've been able to come back and get something out of it and you know the allender game on monday night was the latest example r Raffi, the Leafs' decor right now seems to be three guys that will be a part of their team in the playoffs. Obviously, Brody and Riley and McCabe. And then three guys you're not sure will be there if you have Lilligren and you have Giordano and who knows who else. What have you made of the three guys,

Benoit, Lagasin, Lajoie, and Timmons, actually four guys, I guess, that have been playing fill-in duty. Yeah, you know what, I think they've been solid. You know, to be fair, I think there are moments where you notice where you say, okay, this is why he hasn't been a regular in the NHL, whether it's, you know, Benoit or Lagasin even, where you say, you know, there's something there,

but there are those moments where you say, you know, the failure to there, but there are those moments where you say, you know, the failure to get it out or the failure to make the little play that doesn't create the hornet's nest in your own zone. But, you know, I think they've filled in admirably. I mean, I think that's exactly, you know, why you want to have depth on the blue line and you want to get guys that have some NHL experience. And, you know, I think think that showed well for them.

But I think overall, at times, they've been much better in front of their own goaltenders as well, maybe the last five or six games. That makes everybody look a lot better. We're talking to Jim Ralph, Toronto Maple Leaf radio color analyst. There's got to be an appreciation for Martin Jones, Ralphie, coming in cold against Ottawa and then holding the fort, I guess, last night

for a guy that's played a handful of games in the American Hockey League and didn't exactly light it on fire there either. Hey, well, there's nothing wrong with not lighting the American Hockey League on fire. Look where it's gotten you. Well, no, it's not about me. But I think you love the fact, and I think you gave them what they needed,

which is just don't give up that one that looks bad that's going to sink the team and put you behind. I think so much. You watch the highlights every night, or you behind. And, you know, I think so much, you know, you watch the highlights every night or you watch different games, and it's amazing how many times the game has turned on that one goal that you're going, you need to save there. And, you know, I think the way you always look at a goal-winning performance or a goal against where you say, okay, if he stopped it,

would that be considered a great save, an outstanding save? And if the answer is no, then it's one that you're thinking, man, you know, you've got to have that. And I thought with Martin Jones, you know, even when he went in the final 10 minutes against Ottawa, that never happened. There was never that goal that you went, oh, no. You know, this might change the momentum of the entire game.

So that's what I really liked about it. He stopped everything he should have stopped and, you know, throw in a couple of breakaways that he had in the second period as well. Has something changed for you with this group? Like there was a point we had to show maybe a dozen games into the year. Maybe Kip wasn't on board, but Sammy and I had the like, is this team good conversation? And all of a sudden there are four points out of a division lead here. Kip wasn't on board, but Sammy and I had the, like, is this team good conversation?

And all of a sudden, they're four points out of a division lead here, and there's not too many teams ahead of them. You feel like they couldn't catch it. What's changed for them to have so much success of late? I don't know. I mean, it's about, I think the loss in Pittsburgh is only a regulation loss and what is the last 11 or 12 now? Yeah. And it's just funny i think because all

the games though borny have been so close and can go every you know and that's why last night you know seems to stick out with a 7-3 win in new york but every game is so close you don't feel like they've they've been as good as they they've shown in the standings where you think well you know if the overtime records reversed or, you know, if they didn't blow this lead or, you know, if they didn't self-implode in this game, we'd think they were a better team. And then you look around the league and you're going, cramps, you're four points back of Boston now.

And have lost the place in overtime. So it's probably just part of whether you're covering the leafs or you're a leaf fan um you know you you get to that point where you think that uh every game is based on how they play and has nothing to do with the opposition but you know obviously you see other teams around the league have their own warts um we just don't care as much about it. Ralph, we were talking earlier about Jake McCabe, and this week, a couple games, we've seen some really big hits. What do you think that does in terms of changing the perception of the Leafs when you see some of those big hits?

Well, Kipper, I think you can go back to our era where if you drop, if you get over the line and you drop the puck back, don't turn around and look at it. You know, that's something, that rule's been around forever, but it was, you know, it was a clean hit, but I mean, I do think you need, you know, Luke Shen was brought in

for that reason last year. You need somebody that occasionally has to stand up and make that big hit. Sometimes you get caught, and you end up giving up an odd man rush because of it, even if it gets your guy. But I think you always want to make sure the opposition's coming over the line with their head up.

And some players handle that a little better than others, but I think it's great to have that threat that, you know, you've got that toughness. I mean, Jacob Truba, who seems to have a credit card from the National Hockey League, you know, that's what you see. Every second night is another big Truba hit, and you better believe guys are aware when he's on the ice. Yeah, no, it makes a big difference.

And for a Leafs team that doesn't have that reputation, nice to have that element to it. You know, the Leafs get by, I think, last night. You know, maybe not the dominant team, but they just have the elite players, right? And Matthews and Marner, fun little stat here. That's the 69th time that they have scored in the same game, and the Leafs are 64-5 in those games.

Is that a good record? That seems okay. Well, yes. Of course, you must have got that off the broadcast last night because that's where it was heard first. Is that right? Were you looking that up, Jimmy, doing some Googling? Yeah, that's why i missed the last four goals

so give me your thoughts you know on this leaves team people call them top heavy like if those guys are humming like that you can be top heavy it's not such a criticism is it no and and you know what the guy i don't know if you guys are going to bring it up or not i'm a huge Noah Greger fan. Yay, me too. And it was great to see him move up. I think he was over 17 minutes of ice time, made a great feed to Austin Matthews for a chance,

I think it was in the first period. And, you know, I think he's got a very underrated shot. But, you know, you see his speed. He can be physical. And, you know, whether he ends up back on the fourth line. And I thought Kemp and Bobby McMahon spent a little too much time in their own zone. I know they were, you know, it was kind of a makeshift fourth line by Dress in the 7B. But I just think, you know, if you can get those bottom six guys

to produce, even camp three goals in his last four games, I think you absolutely can ride your top two lines. But as long as your third and fourth lines are playing even or a little better, I think that's what sets you up. The other thing I wanted to ask you, Ralph, when it comes to Austin Matthews and our boy Sammy, kind of brought this up earlier in the show,

is like what goes on those seven or eight games when there's just a lull in his game? Is it strictly a matter of focus, hard work? What do you see on some nights when it doesn't appear that he's one of the top players in the world? Yeah, I mean, he does go through those stretches Kip, where you say, God,

he could have had three or four tonight. Nothing went in. And then you're right. There's games where you're going, I'm not sure he had a legitimate scoring chance. And then, you know, you start looking at other guys around the league. When you start going, you see Brady Kachuk's got five or six two-goal games

and only two games where he scored one goal. So it seems to be the – you must have gone through that well in junior anyway. A few times. After five or six games. A few times. Then it dries up. I know in the American League I never saw you score, you score that one hat trick, but that was about it. You guys know that, eh?

My only professional hat trick came against Jim Ralph? Yes. We did know that, and I love it. I got it on the side of the building here at Rogers. Ralphie? Well, I'll give you a worse one. In the minors, Brett Hall scored his 40th, his 45th, and his

50th on me. In the same game? Oh Hall scored his 40th, his 45th, and his 50th on me. In the same game? Oh, same game, yeah. So that was worse than Kipper's three. So how do you handicap their chances then? Looking at the division, what is this team for real? Are they as good as the Bruins or the Panthers or Red Wings, Lightning and the Chase group here?

I mean, I still think you've got to believe that you've got to upgrade your blue line, even when you get Giordano and Lilligrum back. You know, I think that would be the number one concern if you're going to go on some kind of extended playoff run. And so I still think, you know, up front front i think they're fine uh i think you've got different combinations you can play with uh uh to be dangerous you know i i've at times loved the fourth line um you know even though they got off to the horrible start um but the um you know i just think that the defensively you've got to look at the one part of your game that you've got to improve on. Whether it's toughness, whether you want to replace Klingberg

with a guy that's more puck-moving, which you could say Connor Timmons has been able to do that back in the lineup. I think that's the one area I'm sure that Brett Trillivine is looking at and saying, we need one, maybe two guys to upgrade the back end. Leafs against

Columbus tomorrow night and then Kyle Dubas makes a visit Saturday night. You think Kyle's looking forward to it? Maybe the scoreboard tribute, yeah. Do you think he's going to get a video just throwing water bottles?

Who did it? Didn't Columbus do that for Jonathan Quick? Scoreboard tribute, yeah. Do you think he's going to get a video just throwing water bottles? I know. Who did it? Didn't Columbus do that for Jonathan Quick? No, did they really? Yeah, I think it was all in fun. Yeah, he never played a game for them. But maybe I saw it on Instagram or something, and somebody just made it up.

But, yeah, it'll be interesting to see Powell come back. And obviously, they're not off to the greatest start for them. But it'll be interesting to see. And we always keep bringing it up that Pittsburgh's actually the last team to shut the Leafs out over two years ago. When they were in Toronto. So, yeah, we try to get that stat out as early as we can because it seems as soon as you say it, the Leafs end up scoring. As the puck drops, you're giving that one?

Yeah. And we were doing even the Islander game because I think Sorokin has most shutouts in the last three or four years of anybody in the league and uh varlamov the backup is tied for the second most shutout so we got a route right early and then matthew scored in the power play so we're still we'll we'll be mentioning that very early on saturday if the streak's still going jb's writing all these things down and then we're going to credit our own show. That's right. We're just, yeah, we're credit thieves here.

We're scouring the internet. According to your insider. Yeah, you can use that. Ralphie, really appreciate your time, man, as always. Thanks for doing this. Thanks for having me, boys. Thanks, Ralphie. What would be on Dubas'

video tribute? Just a lot of... Him... That's not working. Oh, there we go. Him yelling at the fans in Tampa. Whipping water bottles. Do you remember that?

Oh, it was awesome. That was the most I ever liked him. Running down... You liked that. You didn't like that. Yeah. Running down the stairs, chasing the ambulance when Tavares was hurt, because that would show him how much he cares.

He did it with Mikheyev too. That was when he got his arm cut or whatever it was. Are we implying this was insincere? No. No, no, no. I would never. No. No.

But Sammy told us he won't do any interviews. He won't conduct any type of engagement that shows any signs that he ever worked here. I think he's coming in studio for our show. What? No way. We're going to have him in studio. I think it would be an interesting hour. He just had a list of points to rebut over the last few years.

I, to me. Cadry. Let's just do an hour show on the Kadri trade. Everything's great. Maybe this is more of a conversation for later in the week, but if they did do a video tribute to Kyle Dubas, that would be one of the more fascinating fan responses to me. I agree.

What do you guys think? I think it's Johnny T, a thousand points. Boo. I think it's booze? I think it's Johnny T, 8,000 points. Boo? I think it's boos. I do get a sense that... It's not all cheers. I know that.

Yeah, that's for sure. I get a sense that there's kind of like that 50-50 draw out there. That they love him or they hate him. It could be politics here. I was just going to say, it's full Democrats, Republicans. Oh, it's left and right. There's no centrists. You're in or out.

The Dubocites. Yeah. Although, I don't know what I'd classify myself as. I would say that the quote-unquote Dubocites have been a little quieter since the start of the year. Because they were pretty horned up over the carlson trade they were really doing some laps in the carlson trade and they were talking about how he's going to read they like the graves contract they were

really in on the but i was thinking go quieter i was thinking like if you're brad tree living and you've come here to toronto clingberg's playing. Reeves has not been impactful. So Domi and who's his other guy? Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi. Domi, Bertuzzi, and Gregor. And Gregor, and Lagasin, and Benoit. Yeah, okay. So don't sleep on those boys. You're right. So I wonder though if he's the, if he added those guys to the

Calgary Flames teams he had, they're still bad. Right? Yeah, you're right. They're still bad. So I don't wonder wonder i do wonder if he comes here and watches this team just race car the you know the new york rangers in madison square garden and goes this is nice yeah nice job good job appreciate this collection i like i'm glad you didn't trade any of these guys i like those four guys but you know that could have used a couple more treats in the cupboards yeah could have used a couple more treats in the cupboards. Yeah. Could have used a cookie in there. Could have left a couple.

Speaking of politics, they should do polls. No, they should do polls for popularity polls on where. Our show should start doing it. Yes. On where you are, like in politics, they go, like, how confident are you? What's it called? Ticket holders. What's it called?

The, is it the polls? Yeah. Or like, but the, the like the pre-election polls. Primary polls. I don't know what they call them. Confidence poll. I don't know. But, you know, like don't tell me.

Sammy, could you call a thousand fans before the next show? I was going to say, get that on your Twitter. I know you like to Twitter. Put all these tweets out on X. No, you've got the wrong guy now. I think it has to be your feed, though. Yeah, because you appeal to both sides of the aisle. I don't care.

I think it's dangerous. I'm going to go to it when I absolutely have to. Yeah, it's on fire at all times. You need the oven mix for that. I will say this. Brad Tree Living, climbing. Climbing for sure. Climbing.

His popularity has climbed in the last three weeks. I would say November 1st, he was not very popular. You know, like after three weeks of the season where... I think the perception of him has changed since Lagasin and Menlois. Bertuzzi found it. But those guys have changed it because Bertuzzi had found it earlier. But Gregor, those three underlying guys. He got it when the hockey gods gave him a breakfast ball on the Klingberg contract. If you were still watching Klingy gift one to Panarin last night.

He's also still standing on the tee trembling over his sack. It's not down the fairway. He's lining it up like a putt. Just give me another minute with this one. Are you a guy to hit? You got the choice, right? You can hit four from the fairway, or you can hit three off the tee, correct?

I've never heard of that. It's a new golf thing, isn't it? Is that Rosedale rules? If you push one in the woods, you have the choice of, I think, having a lateral where it went in to hit four. Love that. Or do you hit three?

No, every time. Every single time. I think I'm still falling out of the woods and hitting three. I think it's my choice. Oh, yeah, you're going to have a lock. And then you go into the fairway. All right, we'll figure it out in the next hour. More Real Kipper and more. We go national next.

Stick around.