Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Challenging the Champs

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

It is finally a Leafs game day, and Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee set the stage for their matchup against the reigning champion Florida Panthers. They discuss the Panthers' recent struggles, Auston Matthews missing yet another game, Nick Robertson getting a top-six chance, whether or not to split Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander across three lines and much more. Later, Sportsnet.ca's Luke Fox (31:18) joins the show from Florida to discuss the picture at the top of the Atlantic Division, Anthony Stolarz's revenge spot, the Panthers' Stanley Cup hangover and which of the Leafs' call-ups can stick around when players return from injury.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 game day they're far and few but we've got one real kipper and born show hey kiprios justin bourne sammy m McKee, Derek Brandeo, Jake the Snake Schultz. We're live on Sportsnet 590, The Fan, Sportsnet 360, and Sportsnet Plus. It's game day. Leafs visit Sunrise to take on a struggling

Florida Panthers team. Like, we knew coming off a Stanley Cup kind of happens to the best of them. I can imagine like just wearing those stanley cup rings have maybe put a strain on the left side of their yeah things are out of balance have you seen the size of their ring i i did see them yeah off the charts it's like they've become a thing now they're like it's not a ring now it's a bobble i don't know what

you'd call it it's it's but it is unwearable unwearable and they've become a thing now that like it's not a ring. Now it's a bobble. I don't know what you'd call it. But it is unwearable. Unwearable. And they've just like made peace with that. And it's just like a table or display. I don't know. Like yours. You'd like a problem like that.

Your era is perfect. Perfect. Because it's big where like, you know, when you're going to like some big event and you have it on. Even that's fringe, right? I can notice that he has it on, but it's not like, that's absurd. It is. It's a ring that stands out, but you got to get closer to it to really truly get a sense of it. Whereas rings today, you can read the side of them from the CN Tower.

The top of the CN Tower. Is it the Tampa Bay one that like, oh, and it opens up and inside the rink, it's like, I don't need it to do tricks. It's their parking area in there too. It's gold and diamond. Like, it doesn't need to do anything. Not a functional thing. Yeah.

But to your point, Kip, the Florida Panthers in the last seven games, 1-6-0, minus 13 goal differential, 16% power play, 66% penalty kill, 874 save percentage. So let's start with this question. The best time to play the Florida Panthers or the worst? The worst. Couldn't be a worse time. This is a nightmare. This is my nightmare.

You can't win. No. You can't. So I was talking to someone who's around the team and was saying that coach bagged them this week they had a hard bag skate they big video sessions like they're like expecting a full-on effort from the panthers tonight so you're getting the most primed up version of the defending champs you can get while you're rolling out half an AHL lineup. At the least, you're coming it down.

It matters the most. They got to be dialed in the most. It's like this is their Super Bowl down there. Paul Maurice knows he's not going to get audio clips. Paul Maurice is waxing poetic for 12 minutes, sniffing his own farts for 12 of it. Just couldn't get enough of it. Put your heart on that guy.

He's the best. The love affair is over between you and him. What he says, yes, come on the show. I love him, but I hate that guy. Anyways. How do you dislike Palmer? It's a big deal, and you're right. Leafs are coming to town.

Leafs are ahead of them in the standings. They've been scuffling. It's a perfect excuse for Palmer Reese to be,'s let's dial in here boys let's lock it in let's get ready for a big one so should be a good game tonight should be okay so just for that I'm starting a Kippers Clipper with Paul Maurice oh yeah not Craig Berube okay let's get Paul Maurice's thoughts on on facing the Leafs tonight. I don't know. And that's just the honest answer.

So I just don't watch them play enough. I know it's heresy up there. But if they aren't involved in one of our pre-scouts, I'm going to, depending on the schedule that we have or the weight of the game, I'll watch their last game or two or I'll go back and pick a team that plays like us, even sometimes from a systems point of view. And then we've got a really good pre-scout guy, and he's going to give me about 80 clips in Toronto Maple Leafs, and I'm going to order them, set through them, and that's what I'm going to do. But what we'll learn then will be tonight on the ice. In general, I would say

there are certain, every coach has an affinity to a style of game to certain systems and that would be while the toronto make beliefs look slightly different than the st louis blues that's more personnel based but the structure of what they're trying to do and how they're going to play the game is very very similar it's jarring having a coach go on that long a lot of information there yeah uh i like theans on his video coach. That's nice. So he's calling them the blues with more talent is what he's saying now.

He did say that. Yeah. All right. Anything else on Paul Maurice? He gave me a few. I want it all. I want it all. What interests you on our Paul Maurice Kippers Clippers?

Well, I was just. I did this just for you guys. Like, this isn't for me. This. I did this just for you guys. This isn't for me. So whatever you guys... I just listed how bad they've been over the past seven games. Why don't we get Paul Maurice's thoughts on where the Panthers are at. Okay, let's have a listen. By the time you get to that quarter pool, you

have a pretty good handle on your strengths and your weaknesses. You have them every year. Last year certainly we had a whole bunch. And I think what we thought we'd be good at, we've been pretty good at. What we thought we might struggle with, we've probably struggled a little more with. We're not as strong defensively from our net to our forwards as I'd like us to be. Our numbers were pretty good by the end of the year. We've got to work toward that.

Probably scoring a little more than I thought we might. And I don't get too particularly excited about that because that ebbs and flows. So we look like favorite word in coaching. There's potential there. We have potential to get better. Well, he wasn't scared to mention the net. And Bobrovsky's numbers have been horrible in the last couple of weeks. And find me a struggling goalie, you'll find me a struggling hockey club.

Yeah, Bobrovsky has allowed five goals in three of his last four regular season meetings with the Maple Leafs. But has allowed only two goals in each of his five starts versus the Maple Leafs in the 2023 playoffs. Yeah, I thought I'd add that in there. Just a reminder that he kept things tight in the postseason. Yeah, I'm sure there's, I mean, the fans there, if they're paying attention to that kind of thing, that they would be seeing the success that Anthony Stolarz is having

and having that sort of backstop to if, you know, they were struggling the way they are with Bobrovsky, maybe they could put Stolarz in there. Kind of, but he's not there, obviously. He's with the Leafs now. But I don't know. He's kind of gotten to the point now where I never thought Bobrovsky was very good. I always thought that he was a bit of a smoke and mirrors guy,

that he always kind of crumbled when it came to the playoffs. And now I just feel the total opposite about him. He could play like this for the whole year, but as soon as the playoffs start, if they're in it, I feel like he can snap it. My perception of him has completely flipped. I don't have that perception for no other reason than I look at that blue line and I say there's a big hole.

And, you know, we've watched what ekman larson's meant to the toronto maple leafs and he's he defends yeah he makes it difficult he was not a passenger with that team and he wasn't a passenger with that team and then you know montour goes and signs for over what 49 million he had seven by seven at least a huge number with seattle cracking and he's made them better and florida got worse on the blue line yeah and he even hinted at that you can't you can't tell me that you know that's not a direct correlation yeah and then i do think yeah that makes it a lot harder on the goaltender right we talked about this situation for these guys tons are the shots predictable do you know where they're coming from

still are 7.1 million dollars so you got even 50 then for uh for montour and you know as i'm watching the leafs this year and yes they are getting great goaltending. We know that. We've watched it, and there's some saves. But it has to be an easier thing to do now, play goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs, than it has in a long, long time. And I'm not a Samsonov fan, and we've well-documented that. There's some nights where we're like, okay, how did he end up in this position?

And look how far off he's on his post. But there's no question that he would have been a better goaltender this year for the Toronto Maple Leafs than he ever was in years previous with this current blue line and the way they play. And, you know, to your point, so the Leafs have gone from... What's his numbers in Vegas, though?

I think decent. Are they? We'll take a look in a sec. But they were 21st in goals against last year they're second right now and part of that is the goaltending inner slot shots against they were 13th last year they're second in the nhl this year it taking those away last year they're 18th in rush chances against this year they're eighth you know they're giving up way fewer rush chances against much easier position to goaltend from and i think stolarz probably had that in florida last year um why don't we listen to their coach to paul marise

tell us about his thoughts on on all still lawyers still ours still layers stars hey what that's right well do we nope no clip four. Paul Maurice. Oh, well. No, no, he plays exactly like he played for us. Exactly. Like, that's him. I think what you've got is a guy that he played maybe in some tough teams, right? And I'm not being disrespectful to the teams he played for, but they were in different parts of their programs. Florida program and Toronto program are pretty solid.

We're going to play a pretty good game in front of you. And then he also got, Programs, the Florida program, the Toronto program, are pretty solid. We're going to play a pretty good game in front of you. And then he also got, I think Robbie Talis is fantastic at what he does. He can find what a player is great at and maximize that. I think it was good for him to work with Sergei and watch Sergei's program. I think they had a wonderful relationship. And his play kind of, I don't even want to say it went like that. It just kind of went like this.

And then it just stayed here. And he was incredibly consistent with his game. He didn't have, he didn't work in a lot of off nights. That's interesting that he actually mentioned the program, the quality of the team he's behind, and how that helped him. Just for Robbie Towers as the goaltending coach for the Florida Panthers. Just if anybody was wondering. Predictability. These guys want to know that I can do this

when I know you're going to be there or you're going to stand there or you're going to take away my backdoor post. Right? Once you get in that predictability, everybody kind of knows where everything falls into place everybody gets better at their position i think that's what's going on with the toronto

maple leafs and i think that's what's been lost a little bit for bobrovsky and the florida panthers oh go ahead so what is interesting is tonight um you know the Panthers have been on this downturn. We hear that they get bagged. They're doing video. Their coach also will listen to him talk about playing with more emotion in a minute. I expect them to try to find the Florida Panthers game, the team they were last year, the in-your-face, scrappy sort of guys. The Leafs don't have Ryan Reeves tonight, so we'll see if there is pushback.

But why don't we just finish our Paul Maurice clips here with clip three on more emotion. Well, we got to do that together. And that's really our challenge for this season is finding that energy source. So you can bring it with anger. You can, you know, you've got desperation if you're trying to make the playoffs.

Us, a real hunger to get back to a place that we, you know, we fell short the year before but felt we were right there. Now we feel like we're a pretty good team and that energy to drive our game is a hard game to play. I would give the players room to that. Yeah, without being caught on camera, I think everybody has a piece to that, the coach included. So you were going back to talking about how much better they are

defending the inner slot and all these defensive numbers. So the Leafs are a NHL-best 750-point percentage in November this season with a 7-2-1 record. Since the start of the 2021-2022 season, the Maple Leafs have the best November record in the NHL, 37-8-6 for a 784 winning percentage. So this is not new. They are Team November.

This is like, yeah, they are Mr. November here. This is not exactly the month that you want to dominate. April would probably be better. May would be great. But, like, this era of lees hockey has done this almost every year but you feel though that this is different the way they're doing it it does feel different to you enough i've seen enough sample size where i haven't in the past even with their wonderful novembers that there's just a style of play that is much different like it looks like on

some nights that what we witnessed out of the leafs already this year could look like something that we could witness in april and i i think that's the biggest difference between novembers yeah totally agree like uh since we've been doing this show so it's our fourth november together their record has been 12 and 2 11 1 and 3 7 3 and 2 7 2 and 1 so they've just crushed it every year but we were we are seeing a different way of going about it uh which i think is encouraging when you're i gotta think though that we've looked back if we look back three seasons prior oh we said something

we were said did we say that it was different then I don't know if Kip would have I don't know if Kip would have Kip would have been like we'll get we'll get April and we'll see what happens oh but I

how many games have I come in in my last three years and it's said like why are they pinching like why are they where's the where's the two on one what is going on I would say that's been

managing the clock what are you where are you going on here? I would say that's been. Managing the clock. Where are you going, Lilligren? I think that's your most salient criticism of the league. He's leaving those shirts. Nice time, guys. Come on. What are you guys doing? So many times you came in just like, you know, are they aware of the score?

Are they aware of the time on the clock? Like, play the game. I haven't said that. Yeah. At all but one time, maybe. I don't know know have they given up an odd man rush this year he leaves d i know for a fact from having worked with sheldon we're absolutely green lit like go in and play go you know go deep into the offensive zone whatever and you just you don't see that this year and as a result they got guys higher in the zone

and they're they're not chasing the play as much and the penalty kill to me like when one thing went in the other night it felt like a shock yeah like that to me you know the penalty kill this year and you know you got to give credit to uh oh my god the assistant coach is escaping me ben ryan no the the the lane lambert thank you the former islanders coach you gotta give him credit we haven't said his name at all but their penalty kill has been a massive strength for them like it really really has sorry i forgot his name no it's great that's yeah for he hasn't come up on the show yet you made your you proved your own point assistant coaches for the leafs are like referees if you don't talk about them that that's a good thing. Yeah. The fact that we said Mark Savard's name 400 times the first three weeks.

No. Not a word. A week and a half, maybe. It's like a video session. If you watch video, your team does video, and you don't come up. You played good. Okay. No Austin tonight.

Yeah. Or do we know that until we get a Kippers clipper from Craig Bruby? This is a really in-depth clip here from Craig Bruby. Number three, please, Derek. Is Austin in tonight? He's out. Okay. We'll get the full update there, Derek.

Number four. He kind of tipped that hand yesterday. Austin with a, I don't know if one practice is enough. They want two. I reacted during that clip. I was like, stop playing. Yeah, that's fine. Again, they're in it for the long run.

So they're going well. Guys continue to get more confidence outside of him. He's going to come back. He's going to get hot. He's going to be a goal-a-game guy for a month. He's going to go on that heater. He'll be fine. That's the bottom line.

Oh, is that a – Right? I'm sure he'd like to play, though. I mean, why wouldn't you? It's against a rival. Plant the seed. Do we have the full – Yeah, I'll play number four.

Well, they're good. Like, he had a real good practice yesterday, but, you know, he's been off a while. And, you know, getting into a full practice was really important. But I think, you know, both him and I and the organization feel like he needs a little bit more to be ready to go. Is that like a healing thing or more like a stamina thing? No, no, it's not a healing thing. He's feeling good. It's more of stamina and getting up to speed and making sure he's ready.

Like, you know, I don't think there's a, you know, you don't want to rush anybody. You want them to feel comfortable and make sure they're ready to go. Oh, yeah. I will say, hey, Germany. That's a miracle. He's back. He's back. He's risen. You know, is 70% Auston Matthews better than Alex Nealon or Nick Robertson?

I think when you're, like, super bagged, it's like, are you at risk of getting hurt? 70's no good for me in November. I don't need to hear 70. I want. Just play Not now Not now You're going to be mad at me

If they lose 5-1 tonight You're going to be mad at me tomorrow I'm not going to be mad at you I'm never mad at you I would like him to play He's been on He went to Germany He's gone for a week

He's been practicing He's been skating, he went to Germany, he's gone for a week, he's been off, he's been practicing, he's been skating. You know, like, if I was him, I'd want to play. And it seems like it's up to the player, and it just surprises me he doesn't want to play. It's a big game against a division rival who you're supposed to, you know, be going up against. This is where hindsight is 20-20.

Sure, I know. If we're sitting here and it's like, I'm just surprised he doesn't want to play. Why is he playing a game in november when he's not ready and he blows his you know whatever just miss one more you get four more days off you go so robertson's in on the big second line you happy he's in he's in the top six no i'm not happy he'll get a goal tonight he totally will the you, it's one of those things where it's like, if they were unhappy with William Nylander

and they sent him to the third line to play with Holmberg and Robertson, you wouldn't suddenly call it the first line. Like, it's still Holmberg and Robertson. It's not the first line. It's not the second line, whatever you want to call it. Yeah, it's a middle six line. So you think he's gonna score tonight camp listen he's he's got a little engine that could right now he's just chugging away something's

gotta go off his ass please play enough hockey with enough on a good team you know like shoot enough pucks please something's gotta go for the poor kid yeah he's not getting the first power play unit though alex nylander is the net front guy on the first i mean if i'm nick robertson and alex nylander is on the first unit and i can't get a goal and i've been with the team this i am unglued i am coming unglued and you can't say anything you know your like job is hanging by a, so you can't be also a bad guy. But he must be absolutely furious. The thing we were saying was last night

he didn't go out for dinner with Willie and Alex. No, you know what he did? He got a subscription to a rage room and shattered vases just through TVs. There's a few, like, in Nick Robertson's Yes Man group chat, there was a few texts exchanged about that. You know, like all the boys that are from back home that still, like, he's in touch with,

they probably were not told about that one. Okay, let's get Craig Berube's thoughts on Alex Nylander on the PP1. Well, skill, right in, you know, right-handed shot. We just kind of moved it around a little bit today, so we'll see how it looks. But he's definitely got the ability to score goals in that slot area and make plays you guys are way better at this

than me Nick doesn't shoot right he shoots left I'm terrible at that I have no idea like I don't know I'm like handedness dyslexic no no please tell me that you do a daily show for the Leafs I can like picture him scoring every player that shoots left or right on the team please tell me I know the decor for sure You do a daily show for the Leafs. I can picture him scoring.

Every player that shoots left or right on the team. Please tell me that. I know the decor for sure, but the forwards, I wouldn't be able to do it. I think I'd get like 90%. I'm the one with the concussions. I'm the one that retired with a concussion. What is wrong with you guys? Some people are wired for certain details.

That's not one that I. Honestly. When I think of like the handiness. I know martyrs are ready. Martyrs are ready. Martyrs are ready. It's a big deal. I know that one of course.

It's costing him a spot right now. It is. Meanwhile he's in his basement practicing flip handed right now. Just seeing if he can make it work. Yeah. It's funny. Phillip Forsberg shot a puck the other day with shooting left, coming down the left side. Did he?

Yeah. And it all flipped over? Yeah, just did the flip over. That's maybe what Nick needs to do. Yeah. He must be losing it. Yeah, he must be. I wrote an article today on American Thanksgiving,

teams who are out, teams who are in. You know, by now, last year, this American Thanksgiving. Teams who are out, teams who are in. You know, by now, last year, this American Thanksgiving cutoff, three teams that were out of the playoffs got in. Year before, three teams that were out got in. So we are looking at three now. There's a few teams that are out that are probably in. You wrote who those teams were?

Edmonton was last year. Edmonton, for sure. Edmonton, yep. Edmontonon the last three years has been out and got in okay yeah uh boston is out right now yeah um and then you can kind of take your pick from there of teams who are close the sabers are in which is kind of crazy but um seattle st louis ottawa you know there's some teams that they're probably all out i don't know ottawa's got a chance. Man. Another one for Ottawa.

Can you definitively say right now that you believe Boston won't make it? Because we watched them last night. We watched them a year. Imagine sitting here. They stink. Don't be super fan right now. Don't be super fan. I've watched a lot of Bruins. They are not good.

Well, they can't score. But they still have Pashnak and Marchand and McAvoy. No, don't be stupid. But imagine. I've watched a lot of Bruins. They are not good. Well, they can't score. They're not. But they still have Pashinak and Marchand and McAvoy. You know, they've got some guys who can score. Just, it's so hard for me to say the Sabres are going to get it done and the Bruins won't. Surely the Sabres are going to get it done. It's true. If I had to pick between those two, it's like, well, crap.

That's kind of what you're dealing with. But anyway, let's listen to Berube in clip seven about where the Leafs are at American Thanksgiving. I think we're in a good spot. I think we've done a real good job with our checking side of things, our penalty kill, you know, how hard we play night in and night out. And, you know, I think our guys have really done a good job of putting the team first and

doing what's best for the team you know we're building our identity and I'm pretty happy right now do we want to get better yes we want to get better there's certain areas that we can be better at you know power play was struggling for a while it's starting to come around I think you know we're really getting some good looks now moving the puck quick and getting it to the net. Our five-on-five scoring can improve too. We still have to learn to score goals a little bit different than they have in the past, but I think it's coming. Ooh, that's a specific reference, right? Well, getting inside, rebounds, tips tips he wants the garbage and what the the superstars are used to

their north south east west kind of big rushes and the stuff that in playoffs dries up he wants to you know he's looking for a little something different they're used to scoring a certain way and that's not entirely listen you also took out your number one goal scorer for... That does affect, yeah. Any team would have... Okay, like... Like the best five-on-five goal scorer maybe in the history of the league to his point.

Like, he's been unbelievable. That kind of usually would dummy down any team. Yeah. So, you know, eventually he's going to come back. Yeah. And now... Max Domi's going to be better. It'll be upon, you know, Max and Austin

to fit into what the Leafs have been doing the last two weeks instead of the other way around where you kind of go back the old way, right? Nice skated with a normal jersey on today at practice. That's great. That's really good. Got the non-contact red off. Yeah.

Like, the style of play may never produce 60 goals for Austin, you know, the rest of his career if he ends up staying here this whole time. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Do you think that might be true? That's fine. I don't think anyone would.

Do you think he could score 50 or 60 in the, you know, dump and chase or, you know, pucks to the net? Definitely. You do, right? I definitely do. You don't? There's a tendency, I think, for the team to have made poor decisions over the years trying to get 34 of the puck.

Yeah. I mean, maybe you force less pucks to him. Yeah. You know, it certainly would drive down his totals a little bit, which I think is something you hope that they're very willing to do at this point. No one is like, I wonder if this guy can score. It's like, we've checked that box.

Yeah, but I think we just haven't seen a lot of it since the start of this year. Remember, he missed time in training camp, and there was some worries with him, and then he plays the start of the year. He didn't look good at the start. Maybe he just hasn't been right all year, and maybe once he comes off of the trip to Germany

and he's feeling better and all that stuff, maybe he starts to fill the net again. But you hope it's in the way that Berube wants. So, but he's been good. He can score anywhere from the net, from distance, side of the net, back of the net. It doesn't really matter. He hit 13 tip-ins.

He led the league in like deflection goals two years ago. You can't argue though that Marner's look has changed since Austin's gone. Oh yeah. Right. What do you think is different? Oh, just shoots more. Handling the puck more right yeah and shoots way more just a couple of plays where he's been able to keep

i know it's probably on my examples on the power play but like there yeah he's way better there he's he's the guy he's the quarterback He's the one dictating pace of everything. Like a couple times where he's kept the puck in just on the blue line. And instead of just rifling it back down there, he's creating. Like, can he do that with Austin beside him on the ice? That's up to him. Yeah. But on that line,

when he's playing with Tavares and McMahon, he is very obviously the puck carrier. He is the guy that has the puck, like much like you would always talk about the center role where he's the one with the puck. He's the one making the decisions on the line. Bobby McMahon driving the net Tavares went in battles below the net. Like he is the pot.

It's a good mix. It's a rare one yes right so but very seldom do you see wingers dictate that type of control when matthews is on his line they're very deferential to each other like i feel like they're too deferential to each other and like it doesn't it's not the right fit but they've done it forever just because i guess because they've been good together at times obviously but i don't know i'm really looking forward to seeing, like if their top six on Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning

is potentially McMahon, Tavares, Marner, and then your second line of Nyes, Matthews, and Nylander. That works. That's an incredibly good top six. That should work. Yeah. I just, you know, we've done this show for so long. I would just love to see them try to have them on three lines.

Just try it. Like, it's not that I think it's the right answer. It's that I don't understand why he just can't give it a game's run. Yeah. You know, and I get that it's hard, right? Like, all these guys want their ice time. And so there's going to be times where you load up a line if you need one or you shift it around.

But, like. Well, he's got kneelander the other night on the whole two minutes of a power play because he needs to build his minutes up because he's not getting them killing penalties well is that why he's out there for two minutes or because there's all their guys are out i think it's to get his minutes up you think he's caving to kneelander's uh i don't know about the word caving but i think it's a give and take situation when you're scoring as much as you are for it and i mean we've had this conversation i told you the minute man you messed with

brad marshand and pasternak that montgomery yeah he was cutting his knees off so you don't want to tangle with the big guy i'm just saying and there's a fine line you don't want to look like you're caving through the roof i know i know and it's been through the roof since he's kind of squeaky oil or squeaky wheel gets the oil absolutely true i think his attention to detail defensively has like been a little bit there like it's probably have a little bit of a compromise there i mean think about the play made on sunday night against uh utah comes back in the defensive zone chops the puck off the guy's stick that can't remember was turns and burns and goes down and gets a goal on the break he's working hard he's trying he's trying making an effort yeah and that's what you want to see we've been witnessed along with a

lot of leaf fans to know the difference between hardworking Willie and Willie. Yeah. Not so hardworking. Seen a lot of both. Let's just say that. Let's just say that. I've seen a lot of both. Okay, let's take a quick break.

When we return, we'll go down South Florida and welcome in Sportsnet.ca's Luke Fox. Luke on the beach. When we return, Darrell Kipper and Bourne. Hey, it's Ailish Forfar. And I'm Justin Cuthbert. Join us as we discuss the most important sports stories of the day and tee up the biggest games of the night. It's the Fan Pre Game, 6 p.m. weekdays on Sportsnet,

Sportsnet 590, The Fan, and wherever you get your podcasts. Toronto Maple Leafs set to battle the Florida Panthers down in South Beach. All right. From Wet Willie's Bar and Grill, let's go to LukeFox. HorseNet.ca. Oh, wait a second. You left there already. You're back

in your hotel room. Sadly, not at a beach bar. I'm in a hotel right by Sawgrass Mills Mall. So I've got an amazing view of a parking lot out here. Still, the weather's better than ours, I can assure you you i can't complain with the weather

so how it's balmy how big of a trip do you think this is between the florida panthers and tampa bay saturday in terms of measuring stick stuff where do you where do you see uh a game tonight that unfortunately won't feature one of the top goal scorers on the planet in Austin Matthews. Yeah, I still place it pretty high, Nick. And that's because in this era of the Maple Leafs, as great of a regular season team as they've been, they actually share the longest active playoff streak with the Boston Bruins. They've never won the Atlantic Division. The only time they won the division was when they had that one-off Canadian division. And you think about the struggles that they've had in the first round,

and wouldn't it be great if they won the division outright, got one of these teams that is playing just to scrap their way into the playoffs in the final weekend, and they have an easy first round instead of a seven-gamer. So, you know, I think they should put emphasis on winning these key, important divisional games this week. It increased their lead. Right now they're up three points on the Panthers with a game in hand, which is a fantastic position, even more fantastic when you consider that Auston Matthews is going to miss a ninth straight game.

Go ahead. Win the Atlantic. You know, get a weaker opponent. Make something of this. Absolutely. And so, you know, the way that they've played this far to get to the top of the Atlantic, how sustainable is it, like, when you compare it to how they've looked, how the numbers looked and everything?

You know, it's been incredible. Are they, are they this good? Yes. And I say that because the goaltending probably isn't this good. The saves rate is off the charts right now. And that's probably going to come down, but you got to think that the offense is going to click and the goals are going to go up.

So I, that they can they could be this i mean they can't win every eight games seven out of every eight games stretch i'm not saying that but i absolutely think that they should be able to win this division because they stick to a system they're better defensively they have better defense men they have better goalies and everyone seems to be buying in so you think maybe the power play even gets a little bit better it was awful for the first month of the season if the penalty kill can tread water if they if they stick to their defensive system score a few more goals make a trade between now and and march 7th and get a guy who can put a few more in i

don't see any reason why they can't do this uh no question coming off of uh a lot of question marks joseph wall has come in last week and uh and kind of solidified his spot again it's not hard to have figured out last week that stolarz was going to find a way to play against his old team tonight. But it just seems like it's a real, real comfortable position right now for Craig Berube to put in whoever goes in. Is there a real sense that it kind of feels like it'll get played 1A, 1B here? Or is there still a sense that Stolarz is so hot that it gives him the upper hand moving forward here? Well, the sense I get is that they

want to mix in both guys, do their best to keep both guys fresh. They got a really compact schedule coming up next week, all the way till Christmas basically. It's going to be pretty easy for them to balance both guys, get them both starts. Whatever the opposite

of a goalie controversy is, that seems to be the vibe around the Leafs. The players seem to have trust in both guys. Joseph Wohl was third star of the week. Anthony Stolarz leads the league in save percentage. They've just been dialed in, and they're playing really good in front of them. Paul Murray said something interesting this morning

because we were asking him about stolars and and he said basically he's the same guy over there that he was for us that he's like he may have been that way before he's like no offense to the other teams but when you play a really structured uh defense in front of your goalie you give him a chance you know to find his groove and i think you know under the Florida system helped the goalie a lot as much as he helped them. Whereas we played on some Edmonton teams with some iffy defenders, a Philly rebuild. He didn't really get to show what he was made of.

And now because these last two teams he's been with have been so strong, he's shining. The Florida Panthers have Sam Reinhardt, who this year in 22 games, he has 16 and 15 for 31 points. He's been unbelievable. You know, one of their few plus players, and he's plus eight. He's been excellent. What do you make of the rest of this Florida Panthers team?

You know, we've talked about their decor a little bit being not as strong as past years, but what are the Leafs going into? What are they facing tonight yeah they're facing a team that that's you know stumbling a little bit i think a team that emotionally has had a really hard time getting to the level like there's a reason why there's a stanley cup hangover and they didn't experience it the first few weeks but we were talking to carter verhage today and he said you

know what we we're a team that feeds off emotion we play best when the games are emotional and he's like i haven't sensed that on the bench this you know this last little stretch yeah yeah which i found really interesting and i think maybe because it's hard to manufacture like you're on such a high you're playing like the most important games of your life and then it's like you go all the way back and start at square one again and you know i was talking to some people around the team and basically the feeling is they don't really care if they win the division they kind of realize they're a good team they may be saving a little bit you know but now it's four losses in a row they've lost six of seven so now the urgency is starting to get turned up.

The Leafs may catch them on an angry night. Yeah, I think so. Just one thing before you ask a question. Carter Verhage, lowest shooting percentage in the NHL amongst players who also have five goals. He's got a ton of shots. Puck's not going in for him. Outside of whether or not they can grab enough emotion, and if the Leafs can't pull it out of them tonight, then I don't think there's a team that can.

So just, but the loss of Oliver Ekman-Larsen and Brandon Montour, who's on pace for, what, 20, 25 goals for Seattle. And, like, no amount of emotion can make up the loss of talent there. No, that's a great point. That's a great point, Nick. I mean, they still have a pretty good top two in Aaron Ekblad and Forsling.

Like, those guys are warriors. But you're right, they took a hit. And someone from Florida was mentioning to me that they think Oliver Ekman-Larsen is the bigger loss, actually, than Montour. Really? Montour has the points, but Ekman-Larsen could play with anyone on their D-Corp. He was that guy that could move around. At the beginning of the season, they need him to run PP1, and he did it.

Deeper into the season, he was playing farther down the lineup and taking on a more physical role. He was a bit more versatile, and they really miss him. Again, we're talking about a contender and you'd have to think that if they identify defense as their weakness which which it has been they actually rank quite low in goals allowed um that they'll address that because they certainly still do fancy themselves a contender and want to bring back a second cup there look what have you made of the new guys so You've got Alex Nylander's playing power play one,

Grabenkin's getting his third game. Steve just involved, Minton's there. What are some thoughts on these new Maple Leafs and who might, who might be around maybe a little bit longer? Well, Fraser Minton is the most complete for sure. And I think he might stick around longer just because of the situation they're in, the fact they moved David Camp all the way to LTI. So he's out until mid-December, and they just don't have centermen.

So I think he could have the longest stay just because of that, because he plays up the middle. He's a pure centerman. It was interesting that he was getting looks on the penalty kill and on PP1 before Alex Nyander took took that spot starting today um so i think he's the the most mature but really all these guys i think the organization would rather have stuff down on the farm and continuing to develop grabenkin seems to me like the the most fringiest guy i loved his first game i love his interviews i think this guy's personality is

off the charts yeah but he uh you know just judging by his ice time um you could tell that he wasn't being used a ton in that utah game and that's probably a game where you'd feel comfortable using him and he was still like barely used so i i think he you know first year in north america he probably ends up back down there once a healthy body started to come back because Matthew Nyes also ditched the no contact sweater today. So his return could be closer than we think. We had a conversation on Nick Robertson and it'd be nice if he could just get a bounce here and there,

but does everybody feel the same way down there? Because we also mentioned that he can't be overly happy watching Alex Nylander come in and take a PP1 spot. What's he on, his fifth team now? Who's that, Alex? Alex, yeah. Alex, yeah. Yeah, fifth franchise.

It's a tough look. I mean, you know, Berube tried to explain it as well he's the right right shot we want we want that look um you know nick nick's a lefty but uh this guy can't buy a goal you know uh he's hit some posts he had this one last game against utah that just a gaping net and he couldn't even put that one in and And, you know, it has to start eating at your confidence. Guys coming up from the minors and surpassing him in terms of power play opportunities, top six opportunities. He will be in the top six tonight,

but it just feels like the writing's on the wall. And that doesn't mean that this guy can't find it eventually. I just think a change of scenery is necessary for both sides at some point here. Yeah, it does kind of feel like in inevitability at some point like the uh the one thing i was gonna say you're talking about grobenkin like to stay in the lineup as one of these guys not that complicated hey like get the puck out get the puck in like to keep ruby happy is that is it not that simple oh yeah and uh i don't know if you noticed the last game. I think it was the end of the period when he drove somebody into the boards and pissed them off. Like, it was a nothing play, but it's a something play.

Do you want that something play, though? Yes. Yeah, you like that part. Yeah, you do. Yeah, yeah. It's just another way that you can show people that when you're out there, you're keeping your opposition a little honest. And, you know, just those little things that stick out for a guy like Craig Berube

would be that hit at the end of the period where you didn't have to. You could have gone away quietly. You could have had the team go quietly. He wants paycheck. Yeah, you want paycheck. Yeah. What about Z? He had one of those hits in the first game too yeah yeah yeah in the numbers

a little bit at least would love someone who's annoying and unfortunately nick nick can't do that no right he can't provide that element so then what about alex steves i know uh bucala wrote an article about how he could fill a void on the fourth line and actually have some offense to his game where's i haven't seen the offense yet but um he's fine he's been fine he's been fine uh to me he's he's a tweener um and he doesn't he hasn't made any glaring errors and that's that's part of the gig i guess you know you'd want to finish your shifts in the other team's own don't make any glaring giveaways it would be nice for him though if he could make a play and chip in he seems pretty on the fringe to me yeah all right luke enjoy the game tonight enjoy florida

um two days off between florida games well everyone's fingers are crossed that they actually take the days off and they don't throw it throw a practice us at us and yeah us thanks Thanksgiving tomorrow. Luke, thanks, pal. Okay, thanks. Appreciate it. Back to wet willies for the two-for-one special. I would not be a good road reporter. I would definitely lead to my demise.

Too much of that sort of stuff. Now what? A lot of sitting in a hotel being like, I could sit here. Pints are only 10 bucks. Every once in a while, we all scroll through the internet and Instagram. And there's. Who does?

Grebenkin. After a game. Getting kind of one of those internet. Man on the street interviews. Man on the street interviews. I wish I could give credit to those. I forget what their thing is but they're on tiktok and like they interview fans after the game and they get it's

hilarious like they do a really good job but banking probably played right into it okay give him the paycheck line for the leafs that are ultra protective of their players can you imagine the pr team like why is it bad right like why is it bad like why is it bad because some of that stuff there's always a chance that something bad could come out of it especially with a guy with broken English and maybe it's

interpreted a little differently maybe they take him down a path that he's not being protected right there's a lot of pitfalls that can fall in that. But it's safe with a forecheck, backcheck, paycheck, which everybody loves. I'm sure everyone sold the t-shirts.

Which everybody loves until he asks for money that Sam or you think is too much money. And then the cuteness is gone with a forecheck, back check, and paycheck. Play that ELC out and cash it in. Then we'll see how cute it is. Marner should try that line this year. Shouldn't he?

Four check, back check, paycheck. I think we're past that point. What if he wore that on a t-shirt? I would love it if he wore that. I know you would. Should we play the clips we got some barubi talking about the florida panthers tonight end of the leafs hour why don't we get the the coach's thoughts on handling florida clip one well we play our game i mean you know i think we

just go out and focus on playing our game get and get our forward check going be physical you know all those types of things and just you know we want to initiate tonight as much as possible. Initiate. Yeah, I'm looking at the Leafs lineup. Who's initiating tonight? I mean, not even being sarcastic. You don't have Ryan Reeves. You don't have Max Domi.

Matthew Nye is at least a big guy who's not in. Back end, Hawk and Paw's not in, which, is he okay? Why is Hawk and Paw not playing this game? Because Benoit's been good. Yeah, he's been good. He's been way better. So, like, I don't, and we talked about it with,

he's got a wobbly knee. I don't know if you want to, he's bone on bone. What do I want this guy for then? I can't use him. He hasn't played in 10 days. I don't know why you wouldn't want to test him out on a game like tonight.

But you can't take. You know, Minton, Nylander, Kropankin. You're not taking Timmons out. No, they're not taking Timmons out. You're not taking. By the way. Benoit. Benoit's better than Hockenpah.

All-time quote for me today. In The Athletic, they had an article on Connor Timmons and his rise to being a consistent player. And they put a mic in Nick Robertson's face and said, what do you think of him? He goes, well, not the fastest guy in the team, not the strongest guy. But, you know, he finds seams or something like that. I was like, what?

How is that your review? He goes, ah, he's getting an opportunity. He's taking advantage of it. Makes you save those for, like, left wingers. He's not doing them any good. Pounding on a defenseman. No, and he skates. He's a good skater, Tim.

He's big. I don't know. You know, and for all in the trust tree here, this has the makings of it could be a bad night for the Charmé police. Oh, gosh. I think so, too. No, I don't see that. Oh, I don't.

No, I think they're playing really well, and they're. They are. Yeah, but you look at some of the competition over this stretch. Like, it's been a pretty. I think they're playing really well. They are. Yeah, but you look at some of the competition over this stretch. Like, it's been a pretty. I think they're going to pound that blue line. Florida's blue line. You think so? Yeah, I do.

I think they're going to spend a lot of time in the Panthers zone. You're asking a lot of McMahon, Holberg. Yeah, I am. I am. They should see nothing but opportunity here to drive another stake in the Atlantic. It's a big game. It's a big game tonight, but Florida knows it's a big game, and they've won some big games in the past.

Kemper, I'm surprised that you're as bullish on this. But he does this. Oh, he's building them up. Build them up to strip them down, baby. No, no, I like their look. Yeah. up to strip them down, baby. No, no. I like their look. Yeah. I do.

I like their look. It's heavier. It's more predictable. And they work. They work hard. And they take pride in being on the right side of the puck. And I have not said that in a long time. No, you're right.

And it's interesting because, like, Maurice is kind of underselling the game side of the puck. And I have not said that in a long time. No, you're right. And it's interesting because, like, Maurice is kind of underselling the game a little bit publicly. You know, I think what he said that, like, I don't watch him much or whatever. But I think internally they're aware of what the standings look like, of what this means, and the noise that will surround it one way or the other. Can't wait for it. Should be a really good game.

And I believe you're on the panel tonight on Sportsnet. I am really excited about it tonight. Someone's sick. Everyone's sick. It's like the Leafs. Marlies are up. You're getting called up, eh? It's exciting.

It's your big chance. It's exciting. Don't blow it. Pucks in deep. Yeah. All right? It's exciting. Okay.

Still got another hour here to go as we go national. We're going to hunt down Doug Armstrong, president of hockey operations, St. Louis Blues, and we'll discuss his new head coach, Jim Montgomery. That and more when we return.