Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Matthews Doesn't Miss

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with the Leafs' win over the Flyers last night - Matthews putting the team on his back, a familiar game script, Bertuzzi's goal-drought nightmare continuing and the trend of slow starts. Then, confidence checks on Samsonov as Woll's status stays mysterious. Later, they are joined by Sportsnet's Luke Fox (35:32) to get into the Leafs' needs, who to target at the trade deadline and who will be made available for trade.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.

we are closing out the week here on the real kipper and born show welcome on in everybody nick kiprios justin born sammy mckeee, Derek Brandeo, Jen Rolnick here for the next two hours. We are live and in color on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590, and Sportsnet Plus from 4 to 6. And you can always catch us a little later if you download us on any of your platforms. So we're glad to have you aboard.

And, of course, send us a text questions opinions love to get them out on this friday yeah lots of text to 595 90 today for the back half of the show because we know we don't plan anything for that so we're leaning on you here we swear we swear we'll get to him this time yes we'll do our best yeah well where do we begin off the toronto maple leafs and the floor uh philadelphia flyers uh we're gonna focus in on austin matthews was that eight minute hat trick yeah it's the eight minute abs it's eight minute hat tricks now we're gonna talk about austin being a terrific shooter for the next hour and not focus on a blown third period lead. How's that?

We talked about it on Leafs Talk last night, but last night was the script night. Like if you're going to write the script of a Leafs game, that's to make it the most believable, that is how you would write the script. That crappy start, right? Crappy start. And then really bad start.

Like that first period was horrible they're one of their stars puts the team on the back gives them a lead soft play in the third period to blow the lead then to go to overtime for the precious loser point specifically kneelander scoring the winner and then kneelander who is dog like for most of the evening shoots it in the net fun fact that's actually an ai generated leafs Leafs game. They read all the Leafs scripts. We had a computer run that one. Same idea. Is Sammy telling us the Leafs

are unpredictably predictable? Is that what he's trying to say? Is it Romeo Cornell? They are who we thought they were? I don't know. I guess the stars come back and the guys who played so great against the Blues just forget how to hockey again. I don't know. They guess the Stars come back and the guys who played so great against the Blues just forget how to hockey again. I don't know.

They are so unpredictable to me. Yeah, like you mentioned, that was a typical Leafs game, but yeah, you never know what you're going to get. So, I mean, we're past 50 games now. So is this it? Like this is the way they're going to look? This is it. Is this now a feeling of, I don't know what times you guys have kind of looked at me and go, playoffs are in jeopardy.

I think St. Louis and Philadelphia have proven that they're not really in jeopardy of losing a playoff spot. But there aren't exactly racing to earn respect in the Atlantic Division here. So this is shaping up for a wild card spot. Leaf season. I guess it depends how you look at it. I'm asking you i mean it's if you look at the the facts uh your honor they are you know ahead of tampa bay in terms of winning percentage so you know they are probably trending towards the three seed if they continue on their current

pace and so does tampa you know they've won a couple of hockey games in a row like there are the things you can just squint and go, it's not that bad. But yeah, I mean, I watch them too, Kip. I don't watch that game last night and go, look out, you know, like the Red Leafs. But they do have the guy who shot it in the net. Yes.

Three times. He's real. He's a human. They have the guy, Mitch Marner, who sets him up, you know, with his eyes closed and finds him on the rink. Like. Yeah, it's remarkable.

It is. Like every night, they are a threat. And last night, in a very short period of time, they proved that they're really good at what they do sometimes. So their top four forwards, the core four guys, score over 60% of their goals now. The percentage is going up, which is light years different than any other team. as i've said to you guys before if you get a little bit of goaltending and those guys do what they do we know that they're very real the um

and by article today i've got the top four forwards the uh average time on ice for all nhl teams their top four forwards where they they slot in. They're not the most. Colorado and Edmonton are the two teams ahead of them with Rantanen, McKinnon, Natchushkin, Drouin. And Drouin, by the way, plays 17, 20, whatever. He snuck right back in there, right? As a top-end

player. Yep. For sure. And then McDavid, Dreisaitl, Nugent, Hopkins, Hyman play a little bit more. Tampa Bay and the Rangers right behind him. So yeah were we know that this is not news that they rely on these guys um saw a tweet yesterday from dimitri filipovich uh least goal scoring leader since december 1st austin matthews has 31 in 30 games william nelander has 15. Mitch Barner has 14. John Tavares has 8. So those are the leaders. And the next closest is

Bobby McMahon with 5. And he had a hat trick the other night. Wow. It basically falls off a cliff. A cliff? That's a gorge. It's all over the planet. I'm a flat earther and I have fallen off the planet. It's gone. So I don't, like this seems even more dependent

than it's ever been. Yeah. Like it really feels that way. But the crazy thing is they're being dependent on the best, you know, one of the three best goal scoring seasons in the history of hockey. You know, what they're being dependent on,

it's special. So that's why you can't write them off. It's like when people say, oh, that team, yeah, they're only good because their goalie's good. It's like, okay, he gets to play. Yeah. You know, like it's. Oh, they're never out of a game.

Right. And they're always dangerous. Yeah. And that can't be taken lightly. Indeed. Not to be Captain Obvious here but without matthews lesson they probably lose that game one nothing like there was nothing else like no one like did anyone else have chances really like i guess he had the one chance he almost scores on the shift between his

second and third goal he takes it in front yeah the redirect uh that was late in the game i think he took it out of the corner and had an opportunity and got his own rebound and almost slid it back in austin matthews first maple leaf player to score a natural hat trick at home since wendell clark on november 9th 1996 yes i played in that game really do you remember uh the goals uh i, I do remember his hat trick. If I'm not mistaken, I think we beat Edmonton like 8-3. Very 1990 score. Only like one or two players were a minus. Hey, listen, you were a great plus minus player,

so we'll forgive you. I was minus one that game i do remember because i there was a jamie maybe mccowan or jamie baker yeah who says how do you how are you minus one in an eight three win i don't know man i just go out when i'm allowed to i don't know i think i took darby hendrickson down with me too there i think he might have been minus one too i'm looking at the box score. It was a 7-3 final. 7-3. Yeah.

The goal scorers for the Leafs were Bereson, Mike Craig, and then Wendell Clark three times. Yes. Yeah, no, he scored four in that game. He scored in the fourth period and the third period as well. So there you go. And what was he, plus four? I'm just trying to look that up.

Plus five, him and Gilmore? Hold on, hold on, on hold on hold on uh the he was plus four gilmore was plus three mccallan plus two yeah i'm scrolling down here yeah dash one okay get off that website he owned up to it and you're right darby hendrickson is off that website what a crazy thing what a crazy thing to be like wendell clark had a hat trick in 96 and kip's memory to be like darby hendrickson as well. What a crazy thing to be like. Wendell Clark had a hat trick in 96 and Kip's memory to be like, Darby Hendrickson was minus one. Of all things you can't remember, you remember Darby Hendrickson's plus minus.

I remember getting my balls busted. That's what I remember out of that game. So, on this Matthews thing, to go back to Matthews, do you notice anything differently with the way he's scoring this year to find another level yeah um the 40 50 foot wrist shot yeah that are beaten goalies cleanly yeah it's uh it is it's it's a sight to see it is the um so both those ones yesterday were glove side right that kind of mid to low glove this year uh in past years he's shot low

glove uh for 50 of his goals 54 47 this year it's 65 so he's shooting low glove from distance a lot i looked into this today yeah um so that's one way he's changed and also a lot more one-timers oh my god that's all he wants he just wants to fade off into the sunset just like anything in the offensive zone where he doesn't have the puck, he's got the windmill ready. This is the goal I put in my article, was the one where Marner against Ottawa, like there's all the chaos in front of the net,

and he just drifts out to the spot, and he's like, over here. It's working to score goals, but every once in a while, don't you want to kind of disguise it a little bit if it does come to you that you might pass it? It's like the Ovi thing. It's like not if you shoot it in the right spot every time. He's got five hat tricks and 45 goals in 51 games. I'm not going to critique his decision making.

Five hat tricks. It's February. He has 10% of his games. I don't want to come across like a downer here, though. But don't we want to see a more no balanced attack oh for the leafs yeah of course yeah i'd love the guys in the bottom six to shoot in the net once in a while absolutely kept but if this guy's got shot on his mind all the time is it eventually going to catch up here?

I didn't against the Flyers. Can Austin just sit there in the offensive zone with the stick halfway up? Kip, it's the conversation we've had before where it's like, I don't even know what he should do, not shoot in the net three times? I don't have the answer. I'm just saying, though, how long can you keep going where it's just the Austin Matthews show? That's what scares me about the playoffs, boys.

We saw it last year with Florida, where they have a good matchup against them. Barca is one of the elite shutdown centers in the league, and they get nothing, and you lose in five games, and you score two goals in every game. It's like you don't have anyone else chipping in offensively below him. That's what terrifies me. In the regular season, I'm fully confident that he's going to score 65 maybe 70 goals like yeah but when you can nail

down like that that's when it starts to worry to me this isn't necessarily a matthews thing where it's something he's doing to me it's a team building thing because you look at like say football yeah the super bowl or your game planning for the 49ers and you say you got to shut down samuel got to shut down mcafree to shut down McCaffrey McCaffrey, you know, like, and you game plan to stop a couple of guys. And all of a sudden you go,

okay, well, what's, what's the next layer of threat for us for the Leafs? They haven't had it. And they, we've seen that in playoffs when they get shut down, you know,

Nylander was really good. Cause he's the next guy, right? Matthew's partner. And then he was, he had the best playoff run maybe last year, but it's it's the same problem so i mean tough to come away from that game and be like here's a leaf's problem but it is something that they'll have to identify if you had one playmaking centerman like austin for all purposes, acts like a winger, right? With that kind of shot ready, shoot first mentality.

You know, moving forward, and I'm not saying that the Leafs are going to trade for another top guy, but, you know, you move Tavares' $11 million out in a year or so, they're dying for a natural playmaking centerman because Tavares isn't that guy. He's got a shoot first mentality, and so does Austin. Does that change? Marner's it. As far as a playmaking centerman,

it really should be him. Do they make him a center? Listen, he's 26 years old now. If he did it in junior, if he could do it in junior because he was physically strong enough, got to believe he can do it now. But there's something to be said to your stat, which I had no idea.

They are still considered one of the worst passing teams in the offensive zone, right? And those two guys have the shoot first mentality. And for Matthews, it's working. I get it. I mean, I wouldn't have the shoot first mentality. And for Matthews, it's working. I get it. I mean, I wouldn't have the guts to tell him stop. It doesn't, you wouldn't create more offense, you know, like it's. Or would you?

They need it all. Or would you? But no, Kipper, they need it all. Like they would be a borderline lottery team if they didn't have him and Marner's production. Like if you look at what they are without those two guys, it's really scary. And they need him to shoot it in the net. Marner's, I mean, how many goals does Marner even have this year? Like, he's been good scoring.

22. Yeah, I mean, that's a good scoring season for Marner. They need him to score. If he doesn't score, they lose. It's still kind of crazy that, like, no matter who plays with Matthews and Marner, they can't get in on the scoring. Bertuzzi can't get in on the scoring. Bertuzzi can't get in on the scoring.

Matthew Nyes can't get in on the scoring. It's kind of strange to me. Well, you look at all the guys that have gotten the opportunity, the audition over the years, you know, from Joe Thornton to Nick Ritchie to, you know, honestly go through every winger the Leafs have had over the past eight years.

Hyman could do it. Bunting. Yeah, and Bunting. And both those guys were, go get in on the forecheck and be around the blue paint sometimes you're gonna get a rebound we do give more credit to bunting for being more creative i think than than uh bertuzzi i don't know i think bertuzzi's good little passer i honestly do it's crazy that he can't get in on the scoring. Did they not use him? I don't know. Is the puck not getting to him? Is it a system?

He can't shoot. He can't shoot? By the way, the one he had last night. Oh, it wasn't even close. They're like, oh, what a chance. I'm like, it wasn't a chance. It's like you're trying not to score. It's going to go in for Bertuzzi.

It is going to. He's going to get points for the Maple Leafs this season. The old Tim Roberts. You got the hope going, which is okay. No, he is going to get points for the Leafs this season. All right. Do you want an overview of the game or do you want Matthews and Marner? Let's do the overview of the game.

Okay. Sheldon, clip one. You know, and I think there's just a comfort level there. I thought in the second period, I thought our pace went up a lot um second period by nature just uh be the long changes and such usually opens the game up a little bit more and so i thought that worked to our benefit and really got us skating uh so our pace increased we got to the neutral zone a lot better than the first period. And then just our battle level, we started to come up with pucks.

And I thought Austin really was the catalyst for us, not just because he shot the puck in the net, but just the way he competed, won loose pucks. I thought he was a beast for us in that second period. He really just kind of get us going and sort of set the example of what was required. I thought we had a lot of guys that

really picked up their game from there. Well, it was a good second period. The first period sucked and Austin was horrible in the first period. I don't think there was one good player in the first period. It looked like a bunch of sick guys. Yeah.

They suck. Yeah. Yeah, which might be legit. Well, like Tavares, that dude wasn't great, but he's coming off,

he's a little older too. Mm-hmm. I think he might've been affected still being sick. Could be. I felt that the Flyers are the nightmare matchup for a team coming out of the sick bay

just like a bunch of grinders trying so hard you know it just felt like they weren't ready for it my uh my midget hockey team won provincials in british columbia and we joined yeah we joined the high school ball hockey tournament and there was a group of kids who were not on hockey teams who tried so hard that we just couldn't handle it. You just get outworked by people who care. I think in the end we actually won by a goal. But it was like, you know. It shouldn't have been a goal.

Yeah, okay, okay. Just didn't need that pressure either. Right. That's Philly to me. Philly's is like, you know, came in there and they just, every puck, they won 85% of the puck battles according to to sport logic in the first period or 84 or something that felt low yeah i mean that's embarrassing yeah to lose puck battles well and you're coming off what you think is a good complete 60 minutes and you'd like to follow it up with another good 60 minutes and you can't close out yeah no it's tough for them to have the complete

games what did you think of the penalties in the third period that ended up putting them as far as gregor's uh roughing penalty against uh uh san sanheim uh been in a few of those the San... Sanheim. Sanheim. Been in a few of those positions where it's like you're both kind of going at it. You think that maybe you could pull both of us off the ice there, but he did get the last cuff that drove his head a little bit back there. Yeah. And that, you know, unfortunately,

I think you want him engaged. You want them kind of greasing it up i can i can kind of live with that but you shouldn't put yourself in that spot in a playoff you got to be ultimate discipline there yeah but there's nothing to be you hope for a kill yeah and i think they did get the kill on that one. Did they not? And then just moments later. Right after. Right after. Yeah.

And Bertuzzi, did he get benched after he pulled down? I didn't see him after that, but it was pretty late in the game. Yeah. I mean, what would you consider that? Just a lazy stick or bad luck? Yeah, I guess it's one of those move your feet, and if you're that far away, don't be swinging at him anyway. You know, one of those things. But, but again i didn't think it was that bad and it was overly egregious a borderline call i just think the optics of it are awful yeah for a guy that's

making five and a half million that hasn't scored in two months and you take an offensive zone penalty up three two in the third yeah up one with you know five minutes left in the third period yeah tough sell for the coach, I would say. For sure. So, yeah, some frustrating moments there coming down the stretch. Can I ask you just about what you saw from the Flyers in terms of a team that just feels like they're incredibly – that's what an incredibly well-coached team looks like to me,

where it's like they're getting the most out of a lot of – like that team, you look down the lineup, and we talked a lot about them yesterday. It's like they're getting the most out of a lot of guys. Like that team, look down the lineup. And we talked a lot about them yesterday. It's like they're getting the most out of a lot of guys that aren't really great NHLers. They're good, solid. But it's just like. It's Ryan Poehling and Noah Cates and Lawton and Zamula and DeLore.

Organized, disciplined, you know, getting the most out of guys. Good penalty kill. Their power play is not good, but their penalty kill is pretty good. Like it just, it feels like that's what a well-coached team looks like to me you know again going back to that first the most dangerous shorthanded team can't take gambles right yeah can't take gambles max domi got caught got caught geo got caught you know lilligren had guys behind him multiple times i know the coach liked him last night right we have a comment to that effect that he had two assists but i thought again i just i don't see it guys get behind him and he doesn't win puck battles and he frustrates me yeah he was a

just a lucky stick tap away from connecting having a wide open breakaway with 25 seconds left right on the offside call 30 seconds yeah yeah well anyway keith liked him i think why don't we listen to clip three on Timothy Lilligrant? We had to use Lily a lot tonight, and we leaned on him a lot just because, A, the nature of the spot he was playing in and how the game was going. And we put him on the first unit power play today, so that right away ups his minutes.

Probably got too high, quite honestly, into that third period. And I thought maybe Sauce started to see some effects of that. But I thought he did a nice job for us. He did well on the power play. And at five on five, I thought it's a good step for him, for sure. There you go. Tim to Lilligren. How much upside is there between now and the end of the year for lilligren

how much better can he get it would all have to be on the offensive side i think right because he's not never been a great defensive player we've had good offensive games so maybe he has a little bit more to go and a couple assists maybe help him out there but a lot of three on three in the playoffs could help him i think do we see a lot of three on three not so much i mean yeah like people were skated right up the middle of an empty ice and made a simple pass to an elander who shot in the net like it was a good play but yeah people were acting like he was looking like paul coffee it wasn't that was a pretty simple play yeah fair Anyways. Speaking of Bertuzzi on the left side, Matthew Nyes. Again,

good player, tremendous upside, made a horrible play along the boards that came back to bite them. Stuff that you'd almost expect a 21-year year old college rookie to make, which is fine. Right. In the big picture,

right. Learning experience first time in the league, but do you want to keep putting himself in that position where, or do you, do you back off him a little bit? Do you just start him on the third or fourth line in the next game and just let him him a little bit? Do you start him on the third or fourth line in the next game and just let him breathe a little bit? Because that's what I see as a guy that gets a little overwhelmed sometimes.

And, you know, that chip that you think you're going to beat your defender and go down on a rush, that ain't happening in February and March. Yeah, what were they, up 3-2 at the time or something like that? And he tried to poke it and go? No, they were up 3-1. That's what led to the goal to make dropped 3-2 at the time or something like that, and he tried to poke it and go. So they're up 3-1. That's what led to the goal to make it 3-2. And so the commentary in the broadcast was that he needs to go through the defenseman there, like try to chip it and then go through the D

or whatever. But to me, stop. To me, you've got to make sure it's out. What you've got to make sure is that you don't get beat, right? And if you watch him, it's the big six foot pass and then the big swooping turnaround not a stop and start you're not kneelander you don't get willie's grace exactly you know you're you're acting like really a little bit on some of those yes that's a stop and start stop and start yeah and in a perfect world you you don't let the puck get behind you right you stop

and if it chips in you make sure you're defending you're you've eliminated at least one player right the trade-off is okay i may be out of the play but so is the guy beside me yeah and if the puck's out everyone's happy with you right we're up a goal you got the puck out of our d zone let's go set up our structure and you're okay with anything behind you if you know that you have at least one man, that it should be a four-on-four scenario behind you. It's just Kip right now, just looking at daily face-offs, lines,

like Tavares, Nylander, Holmberg is a line because of the left wing position. Like Bertuzzi, we just talked about, guy's got no points in 100 games. That's roughly. So, you know, he's playing third line you know nice is the guy you're talking about can he handle the minutes with matthews and marner we're out of guys kept gregor we're out of guys i know mcmahon

i don't know just i don't know rotate them i don't know yeah yeah yeah it's don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get the buzzer that we all had at House League, and then just, and then one left winger comes on, and the next one goes on. It is a problem. It's crazy, though, because I think in our early, you know, when we started this show,

we talked about how much stronger the left side was. That was like a big talking point for us, because last year, Kipper beat that to death, which was right, because he talked about how bad stronger the left side was. Yeah. That was like a big talking point for us because last year, Kipper beat that to death which was right because he talked about how bad it was and then it's just kind of

we're right back in the same spot. Last year, it was Bunting, Mikheyev, Kerfoot? Not Mikheyev. It's Mikheyev,

not Mikheyev. It was a knock last year. Bunting, Kerfoot, anyway. I can't, Zach Aston Reese was involved at some point.

Do we have Abic Kubel? Yeah. Needless to say, it wasn, anyway. I can't, oh, Zach Aston Reese was involved at some point. Do we have Abic Kubel? Yeah. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty. Yeah. But. You know what keeps kind of looking pretty is Benoit, like running people over. He absolutely crunched York.

York is a game-time decision, I think, for the Flyers next game. He's not feeling great after that hit. He didn't want to fight. Does it seem like I don't know some guys can't just take a hit anymore. I know that was a solid hit.

But it just seems like guys get hurt from those type of hits more so than that we've seen in the past. I think because there's so much less that just no one's braced for impact. That might it yeah yeah that might be it but god he used to take a lot of those hits well i definitely did yeah yeah keep bouncing back up you kind of have to don't miss a shift don't miss a game yeah maybe just not as prepared but benoit you know he does the the most goes to the motions with delorier who is the most seasoned nhl fighter in the league yeah and he's the type of guy you can smell coming to loria yeah just look at him look at that gear he looks very comfortable in a fight

he's at home did you see any hesitation from delorier he knew exactly what he wanted to do no hesitation no waiting for other guys to come in. He just, like, you know, in all honesty, that's what you wish that Brian Reeves would have done from day one, is that to understand. And it's not even a question mark that he took an extra two minute, right? You got the extra two for instigating. Yeah.

But it's like like it's a stupid rule we don't like it but we're gonna live with it but this still needs to get done and they are but that's that's a tortorella team you know uh our own regular contributor mike fuda loves delorier part of his falling out with carolina i think it's because he really wanted to get carolina for a team like that but the guy kills penalties and does what you're talking about, where he's very comfortable answering the bell for people like that. And, you know, you can use him. He's 6'3", 220, but he plays.

Yeah. And Benoit's not the best fighter by any stretch, and he's a gamer. But at least he's willing. You're right. I wouldn't say he was willing last night. Well, but he's like, I'm fighting this. We're doing this. For me, he did enough.

100%. Okay. And you cannot let a guy like Delorier keep you from making that check again. And if it means taking him on, then just do enough where you don't get hurt and you're good to go and i think simone did everything right including protecting himself yeah let's at the very end well do we want to get to to luke should we listen to that we can keep going here okay let's listen to sheldon keith clip six on uh simon benoit he's been very important he's becoming a very popular teammate as well, both in his personality and with how he plays, which I think how he plays allows his personality to come through

and come out and allows him to be comfortable because he knows he's a meaningful piece of our team. Just a competitor, but also just such a great defender, right? Like he's in your way. He's got a good stick on you. I've got to be careful because last time i talked really positively about him i thought he had his worst game the next time out but uh um he's been tremendous for us he's he's he's a real um a real fun guy to coach too because he's he

wants to work he wants you know he wants to learn to ask's asked questions. He's got a good personality. He comes here with a smile. I think he's having a lot of fun. Yeah, just great strides, great pickup. Would you not go to him right now and say, we'll give you a million bucks for two more years? I don't need to. He's a restricted guy. Oh, he's an RFA?

He's not going anywhere. Yeah, yeah, fair enough. But I think you could probably. And you don't need to overpay him. No, you could tack one year onto the one-year deal that you were probably going to give him next year, I think you could probably. And you don't need to overpay him. No, you could. You could tack one year on to the one-year deal that you were probably going to give him next year, I think. Yeah. Right?

Oh, he's fine. He's fine. They love him. And he probably feels like a debt of gratitude to the Toronto Maple Leafs for giving him a chance. So that's a non-issue trying to get him signed. Fair enough. How about McCabe getting hit in the face again last night?

These guys, they exist on every team. Andreas Janssen here for the Leafs is it for a little bit. Connor Carrick. It's usually guys who are like 5'11". But McCabe somehow gets hit in the face every night. His face looks awful right now. It is really bad. But he's not fond of yours either.

He looks like an extra from Peaky Blinders. He looks like he's been through a hard time. Every game he adds a new addition to the mess. It's so bad. It's so bad. I love it. I just think he's not exactly three boxes of chocolates up here no listen no i it's not that he's ugly i'm just saying he's got a bad face right now

through it a little bit yeah he's not gonna be you know an ad for gucci right now is what i'm getting out of your voice anyways samsonov just enough to keep you interested, but yet still a little nervous. Yes or no? I don't know. Nothing about it made me feel any different. That's my point. I think I'm beyond repair.

I think I am, you know, if he has three straight shutouts, I still think I'm going to wince when he sees shots. I don't understand how you could ever not feel that way between now and the end of the regular season. How's the wall doing? We don't know. Is he going to play on our Monday game that you and I are on the desk again? Family Day Monday, 1 p.m. start.

JB and I will be on the desk with Elliot and David Amber. I'd say they're probably an outside shot at him playing next week. Do you want to switch seats so you can sit near DA so you look small? I'm really tired of being made to look like a little boy beside Amber's pipes. Bursting out of his jacket in the foreground. You can keep that seat. right um one last thing i wanted to bring up with you connect me again last night you love me god so good yeah so good

him and geo have a little thing i remember geo had the flying bomb on him last year right uh matthews i saw that saw that clip from last year yeah and i just remember rupper remember rupper went crazy about that and i'm sure matthews wants that scrub from the year, and I just remember Ruppert. Remember Ruppert went crazy about that? And I'm sure Matthews wants that scrub from the internet. It's a bad clip. It's a bad clip. Maybe that's the source of Kip's hate for him. It's a bad clip.

Austin's a lover, not a fighter. When I saw that clip, all the takes and feelings came rushing back over. I don't know. I moved on from this. I need therapy. It was bad, but connecting a hooks Gio in the you-know-where and then gets into it with him, screaming at him the whole time, scores a game

tying goal, heart and soul. We don't care about Sheldon Keefe's comments on the OT period, right? At the end of the day, why do you feel that's important? It's interesting because we whined about the three-on-three and how they screwed it up for however long yeah and then we got past that okay we don't we can it's he's praising your boy mitch so maybe we can we can play it all right let her rip clip five i'm in the way austin and mitch uh took care of the puck got a line change with

possession allowed fresh guys to go out and play against tired people to uh to allow us to win which took care of the puck, got a line change with possession, allowed fresh guys to go out and play against tired people to allow us to win the game. And over time, those were subtle little plays that I don't think they'll get credit for a point on it, but that's a big moment in the game too, despite the fact they shot the puck in the net a lot as a tandem. That decision to give up on the play and get fresh people out there so we're playing fresher than the opponent,

that was a really big moment in that overtime. Let us win the game. There you go. 50-plus games, and we've learned how to line change. Yeah. That's what I heard there. I knew you'd love that. And they're fresh.

16 did get an assist from the bench on that, so it did work out for everyone. We all, they got a touch on it and they got a fresh change. They got it figured out. Yeah. Did you see, there's a clip going around Jacques Martin talking to the Senators guys about their line changes. He was mic'd up or someone was mic'd up and just talking about, hey,

we're trying to do 20 to 30 seconds. We're trying to put your line mates in a good position. Like, it's so funny when players are young and in the NHl they still need that coaching that junior hockey like i don't recall national hockey league yeah well first of all like i don't even recall any of the superstars that i ever played with in my career sucking up two minute shifts well i mean there was just one alex kovalev shift that lasted 13 minutes but besides that one it was just it wasn't a huge huge concern like it is now and i'm just like is it just a pure selfishness is it them uh resting while they're on the ice that they feel like they could now exert another 30 seconds because they have been cruising a little bit out there.

Like, I don't know where it's coming from. Is it maybe that Bobby McMahon is the leading goal scorer since December? He's other than the big four? I do think it's also part of like an analytics thing where it's like, you know, your good players, even tired, are more useful than your not good players, fresh. And they know that. And the good ones know that. Yeah.

Okay. Or at least if they don't know it, they think it anyway. It's a cookie night. It's a cookie night. All right, let's go to break. Okay, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll join up with our very own Sportsnet.ca writer, Luke Fox.

That and more when Real kipper and born return the best blue jay show out there period blair and barker be sure to subscribe and download the show on apple spotify or wherever you get your podcasts welcome back into the real kipper and born show let's go to luke fox now writer for sportsnet.ca he's at the game last night luke uh let me ask you something uh last night's performance austin matthews m Marner, no secondary scoring. Like, you could take a dozen of your stories from earlier this year and just put a date on it

and nobody would really know the difference, right? It's kind of a classic Leaf game. You know, they don't really deserve it, but they've paid these guys, these game breakers, so handsomely, and they tend to deliver on nights like this. That first

period, my goodness were they getting outworked. I don't know if they won one board battle. It felt like getting across the center line was an achievement. They were in disarray. The Flyers wanted it more. They were more

structured, more more organized hungrier and then the shorthanded goal was an absolute disaster and then a guy like austin matthews just throws on a cake three goals in under eight minutes and just a phenomenal performance and the thing is all three of his shots were from distance and they all beat them clean like just what a treat right to have a guy like that that can break a game open and save a really mediocre to poor performance on the whole yeah um it really you know as we were saying on the show off the top like they do have those guys that is part of what makes them still a you know a threat in any playoff series how do you feel uh heading towards the trade deadline three weeks out what what sort of level of change needs to happen for

you to feel like they're you know 50 50 chance of winning round one against a team like boston or tampa or even florida well i don't know about florida but i okay leave florida out of what i just said i think they could have a chance against Boston or Tampa. Really what I think is, and you don't want to play with fire, but I think their best option might be to go through the wild card and go through the Metro. I think they match up better against those teams, to be honest. But that's pretty tricky trying to slip into the wild card.

You want to be feeling good and getting points. Uh, I don't feel like they're one Chris Tannev away. I honestly feel like they need two defensemen and I think they need a third line center. Uh, I, I questioned their depth at a lot of positions and then the goaltending, you're just crossing your fingers that Joseph wall comes back healthy and they seem to be taking the right approach there but it's not like past years where it felt like they were one or two pieces away it feels like they might be three or more so then the the big question and it's it's why trey living is getting paid very handsomely is he has to decide whether the pieces that are

out there are worth his very limited capital in terms of draft picks and prospects, because right now the prices are high. If someone was willing to pay a first for Tana, it would probably already be done. So it's, it feels like a bit of a game of chicken. And I really think if there's a way he needs to do find a Jake McCabe deal, a, a haggle deal, someone that has a little bit of term, if he's going to spend a first, um, but who is that?

Is that guy out there? Is there a GM out there with a defenseman with some term or a good checking center with some term that he can pry. You know, Boone Jenner had like a move like that would excite me a little bit more because he has some term on the contract, because I don't know if you go all in just for this year, but I think you have to think about improving for next year as well. We're talking to leaf and NHL writer for sports.net.ca Luke Fox.

So you mentioned Joseph Wall. Is there a sense that we could see him as early as next week, family day, afternoon, St. Louis? Maybe. I mean, that would be kind of poetic, right, because he's from St. Louis. So I guess we'll see. You know, he hasn't even been cleared to back up yet.

They've been very careful. And we asked Sheldon Keefe about that recently, and basically he said, you know, we're ready to start having those conversations. Not we're ready to have them get in the game. We're ready to have a conversation about it. But he said right now Brad's been very busy with, he's had a lot on his plate, meaning the Morgan Riley appeal.

And so that's where he is today is in New York. So it seems like the goaltending thing's taken a back seat. And luckily for the Leafs, Samsonov's, you know, piled up two wins here. So it's given them a little bit of breathing room. I don't know if it'll be as early as, as St. Louis. What I'm circling is the back-to-back. They got the Coyotes and the Golden Knights back-to-back.

And as you guys know, they've been very reluctant to throw Dennis Hildemy into the next year. So I would target maybe one of those games for the return of Joseph Wall. Because who knows what's going on with Martin Jones. they're being very secretive about what his injury is do you think uh riley's appeal could come back in a positive way like could they get him back after four and not five maybe yeah that would be the that'd be the most justin i think like uh i think just for think optically um and i think if the commissioner goes against his own Department of Player Safety more than one game, it kind of looks bad on the department. So I think either he upholds it and Riley has to serve the whole five

or they shave one game and he gets back one game early. Working in Riley's favor are two things. It's the fact that he does have a very squeaky clean record. I mean, he played half the season without even taking a penalty. You know, he's been in the league, I think, 11 years or something like that now. Never really been called to the mat before. The other thing is Greg didn't miss a shift.

He's perfectly fine. No injury. So those are the two things working in his favor. Of course, not working in his favor is he made contact. He used the stick. He had a moment to think about it. The whistle had gone. The buzzer had gone for a goal.

It wasn't part of the flow of play. Yeah, we get it. Yeah. Anyway. Anyway. But the one time in recent memory that Bettman did go against was Spezza, and one of the main reasons was the clean record. So, you know, you can cross your fingers

and hope that that works in Riley's favor as well. How did you find Samsonov last night? Do you think it's pretty much a lock here, Wall and Samsonov, between now and the end of the year? It feels like that if you know health health willing it does feel like that i thought he was he was fine i thought he was good in the first period when basically you know the puck was in their their end the whole time still a couple moments where he drops a stick one time his stick ended up in his own net uh and it's just

like i don't understand why he he loses his stick so often. He was swimming a little bit for me. But he gets the win, and I think that's the only thing. You just have to not choke under pressure. When the game gets tight, you need to make that extra save. And he was one save better, and he's been that way for a couple of games now. He's been much better since he had that little break away from the team so uh i don't think he's you know stealing the net

from joseph wool uh i think you know as long as wool looks healthy and shows well i think he'll be the game one starter but i think samson off has bounced back pretty incredibly from where he was. Yeah, no, at the very least, he can go in there and hold his head up high, and he was decent last night. So credit to him there for sure. Looking kind of up and down the lineup for them last night, I thought TJ Brody's looked a little bit more comfortable since being moved to the left side. You know, is that something that maybe they're going to try to prioritize?

Have you agreed with me on that? It just looks a little better to me. No, Borny, is that something that maybe they're going to try to prioritize? Have you agreed with me on that? It just looks a little better to me. No, I, uh, Borny, I agree with you a hundred percent. He's, and it's like, uh, he's played so much on his off side. You kind of, uh, just assume that that that's where he needs to be and that's where he should be. And then all of a sudden he gets a little break and he's not accepting passes all awkwardly. And he's, you know and he does look more comfortable.

It's just who's playing the right. I mean, they only have one natural righty in the lineup. They already got Jake McKay playing his offside. Outside of Lilligren, who has one good game, one bad game, he's really yet to string together a nice sample of five or six games where you're like, this guy has found his groove. It's like they need more righties.

And Connor Timmons, it sounds like we're talking weeks here. It doesn't seem like his return from mono is imminent. So, you know, I think that's why when you hear the trade rumors, it's Tanev, it's Sean Walker, it's a lot of righties being linked to the Leafs. And I think it feels like a tale as old as time that the Leafs are looking for a right-shot defenseman, but they absolutely need one and maybe two. If they could get two, it would be fantastic to get Brody on his left

because I agree with you, he has looked better there. Hey, Luke, enjoy the rest of your night. on his left because I agree with you. He has looked better there. Hey, Luke, enjoy the rest of your night. Thanks for coming on, and we'll wait for Saturday night's game against Anaheim. Thanks, Luke. Yeah, they should have no problem with the Ducks, right? Yeah, yeah, okay.

No problem at all. Thanks, Luke. None. Easy two. Easy two points. All right, take care, guys. Luke Fox from Sportsnet.ca. What does it say that that's our reaction to them, Doc? Anyway.

Is getting one game reduced for Morgan Riley a huge victory here? Yes. It is. Yeah, for me. Where? Because it wasn't a five-game suspension, Kip, and anything other than that, it's better. But four is good.

You're good with four. It was three, but better with four than five. It's better. But four, four is good. You're good with four. It was three. But better with four than five. It's just a little bit of a win. And it's a little bit of something to piss off other fan bases when they get all bent out of shape. So, yeah, it's a win. I see. I don't know.

I mean, give them another day off. I mean. Oh, you've seen the standings? They're not really in a, that game doesn't matter position, Kip. Yeah, they kind of are for me. Buddy, they're with a point of being up or down think their best shot right now is a wild card situation. Well, no argument there, but that doesn't mean you try to not win. I'm not saying that you don't win.

You can't be like, we won't win this one. Right now, if it stands as is, he's going back in against Arizona, correct? St. Louis, Philly, Anaheim, St. Louis. Oh, he misses Arizona. He comes back for Vegas. Yeah. That's a good game for bringing him back. Yeah, it would be nice.

Nice to get him back for Vegas. That's in Vegas, right? They play in Vegas and then right away they play back here. I think it's less about earning another game and more about, I think, just getting Gary to admit that his department was wrong. Maybe is that the case? Is that what? You are nailing it, buddy.

Yeah. That's bang on. They're wrong. All right. That makes sense to me. They're wrong. And I'm petty. And I'm happy to hear everybody yell about how the Leafs aren't tough.

And finally, they do something tough. And it's like, oh, you're gone five games. Anyways, I got to read. I want to thank Commissioner Gary Batman. On Tuesday, February 20th, Scotiabank Arena will celebrate its 25th anniversary. It'll be opening its doors to the community by offering the opportunity to skate on the lease home ice and shoot around in the Raptors' private in-venue practice court. For this occasion, we are offering two passes to this limited-time event.

To enter, listen daily to Real Kipper and born for the code word. Then text the code word to 595 90. Today's code word is Toronto. Text Toronto to 595 90 right now. These are getting tougher for your chance to win. Today was the last code word. And if you don't do not win with us, passes are available at Scotia bank arena.com slash 25th anniversary.

Today's code word is kipper oh what was it again mississauga it's toronto toronto got it already the code word all right great job thank you thank you i get the sense that offers are in for Chris Tanov. Yeah. And I think Calgary's... Everyone submit your final offers? I don't know. No, not final, final. But Calgary's sitting on a ton of offers,

and my understanding is that the Leafs have one of them in there. I can't... Would he have... I don't know if it would include a first-rounder or not. That remains to be seen. But Tanov could find himself a new team, I don't know if it would include a first rounder or not that remains to be seen but Tanev could find himself a new team by next week. Is there a chance that

they've seen the offers and now it's a matter of Tanev talking to those teams about an extension before anything happens? Excellent point by you and there's no question that some teams whoever has offers for them they have them as rentals or resigning him, which changes the dynamics of everything.

But I told you guys that this guy, he's in a position to ask for $5 million next year. It just scares you a little. You don't want to get the tail end of a warrior's career because you respect him to death, but you just can't do it forever. What do you think, Sammy? He could help right now, boy. Oh, yeah. Wouldn't you love to see him with Morgan Rielly? of a warrior's career because you respect him to death, but you just can't do it forever. What do you think, Sammy? He could help right now, boy. Oh, yeah. Wouldn't you love to see him with Morgan Rielly?

I actually might play him with TJ Brody. Go flame. That's if TJ's not part of the package. Yeah, maybe. He's got to unload a little bit, right? Yeah, we'll see what happens, boys. Okay, our thanks to Luke Fox from Sportsnet.ca for joining us.

Plenty more still to come on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show as we go national next. Don't go away. We're back after these words.