Real Kyper & Bourne - Running Out of Oil

Episode Date: June 14, 2024

Luke Fox joins Justin Bourne and Sam McKee to help break down Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final as the Panthers push the Oilers to the brink of elimination (1:44). He gets into the sleepy start from Edmonton, the lack of production from their stars, Barkov's elite two-way play, Tkachuk's reduced role and if there's any way the Oilers can fight back to win the series. What lessons can Edmonton's players and organization take away from the one-sided Final? Later, they go around the league for news & notes and answer your questions on the text line!The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Welcome to Real Kipper and Bourne with neither Real Kipper or Bourne. I'm Sam McKee. My good friend Justin Bourne has been Toronto trafficked. I am fielding in for Kipper today, who is in parts unknown. And yeah, I'm just sitting here alone on television, you know, just feeling a little bit like that scene in Wayne's World. Is it Dana Carvey when he's like looking into the camera and he's like freaking out? That's kind of how I'm feeling.

And as my great friend Justin walks into the studio and he's like freaking out that's kind of how i'm feeling and as my great friend justin walks into the studio looking strapping uh justin i was just telling everybody that i was feeling a little bit like um dana carvey in waynes world where the camera's on and welcome to the show justin bourne who i said got toronto trafficked it's a very easy city to get around these days yes Yes. And welcome. How are you? I'm good. I'm good. I'm fully prepared to talk about the hockey match last night.

I was not fully prepared for the traffic. It is baffling. Basically, it's even scarier than I do. There we go. You're like, no one wants to hear about it? No, let's have it. I want to hear about it. You just can't get anywhere.

No. Like, I actually was invited by a friend of mine. They're like, hey, do you want to go to meet up for drinks later at Queen and Broadview? Yeah. And I live at Jane and Bloor, and I just literally was like, no. No. The thought of that. I can't imagine the helicopter.

It's the most debilitating thought in the world. So, anyways. Two cities, west and east now. Yeah. Anyway, I made it. You made it. How are you, buddy? I'm doing well.

I think we have Luke. Luke has arrived as well. Oh, wow. Yeah, we got the whole team. The whole team's here so happy to be here hey there he is what's up buddy how are you what's going on how's how's scenic edmonton this time of year well the best the best thing about covering the the stanley cup is seeing hockey at uh the most elite level the second best is being away from Toronto traffic. That's a great point. Well, that's great.

First off, love your Norm MacDonald t-shirt, an absolute hero of mine. Thanks. That guy's the best. Casual Friday. Yeah, casual Friday. So I guess, do you want to start with just a little pullback vibe? What was your takeaway from game three? Did it play out kind of how you thought it might?

No, it didn't. I thought the Oilers would have more jump from the beginning. I thought the crowd was absolutely phenomenal. And speaking of traffic, I'm staying a little ways away from downtown, and the Uber driver was like, buddy, you just got to get out and walk from here. And we were like five blocks away because downtown was just choked yeah everyone walking around had an oiler sweater the scene outside was like maple leaf square times seven like just swarming with oilers fans the vibe was high

you know it was a bit of a earlier start so the sun was out for the first time in a few days 6 p.m local and before the anthem even began the let's go oilers chants were just thunderous and i thought maybe the panthers got a little bit hasty by spending an extra day in florida maybe they might be a little bit jet lag maybe the oilers there they should be more. They should be like shot out of a cannon. And they weren't. It was kind of a patient game at the beginning. And then all Florida needs is for the other team to make mistakes. So in a six-minute and 20-second span, the Oilers made three mistakes in the second period.

And bam, that's the game. They took it over. And yeah, they crawled back a bit in the third. But there was never that sense they were going to crawl all the way back. Florida's just too good at preserving their leads. So as I wrote in my own lineup here, Connor McDavid, Leon Dreisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, and Evan Bouchard have all combined for zero goals in the Stanley Cup final.

It's probably a pretty good recipe to getting swept. Is it not? Like that's just i mean you can talk about all the stuff you want you can talk about their defensive play you can talk about probosky but the lack of production from the guys who carried them has just done them in here that's a crazy thing to read evan rodriguez has as many points as the oilers do goals in the whole series. That's not a rest of the year success. They're getting trucked. And both coaches are trying to spin it so they're not.

After the game, Chris Knobloch was saying, hey, it's not like they're the better team. He even dropped an expected goals reference. And it's like, come on. Game one, I'll give you this. Guys, we've all heard that song and dance against Florida before. They're in the games.

Yeah. But the series is playing out to Florida's identity. And it really reminds me of the Rangers series in a lot of ways. Yeah, the Rangers were in the games and they had chances. But you never felt like anything was beyond Florida's control. Their buy-in. Like every team talks about, oh, we play a team game. We play five-man defense, but these guys actually do. And Matthew Kachuk said it best one day when he said it's a really hard way to

play, you know, finishing every check, you know, prioritizing defense, all those things. Trying to win every single board battle. It's really hard to do, he said, but it's even harder to play against. And I think that's what the Rangers found out. That's what the Lightning found out. That's what the Bruins found out. And now that's what the Oilers are finding out.

And the frustration is starting to seep in, especially with those top guys. They're not used to being kept off the board. No, Leon Drysaddle, DA was on yesterday. He said Drysaddle hasn't gone three straight games without a point since pre-pandemic, like 2020 or something like that. Yeah, March of 2020. Which is wild.

So we were talking before game three about how Barkov was in such a good spot because the expectations for him are just defend, right? Just be this guy. He's a shutdown Mcid and everyone's going to call it a win but he went out last night i mean everyone has called our barkov underrated for years this feels like a coming out party where it's like this is what it looks like because he was a force on offense too last night phenomenal um and it's great like it's great to see him get the the shine he's getting now and it was almost like a running joke oh who's the most underrated guy in like pavel datsuk was for 10 years and it was like okay yeah yeah but sam sam reinhardt on media day was saying everyone

says that he's like but i see him every day and he's like, it's still true. He's still underrated, even though he has two Selkies, even though people talk about him on shows like this. It's like when you see him go head to head against all these guys, like Pasternak wasn't effective. Kucherov wasn't effective. Panarin wasn't effective. And now McDavid and Dreisaitl are seeing it. Plus, he's getting chances the other way.

You know, and it's just like Evan Bouchard, you got to realize who's coming at you. Move that puck quicker. Yeah. Because all of a sudden, all it takes is one play. And then it goes the other way, and he's just so smart with it. I can't imagine the sort of swing as an Oilers fan because you're watching game two.

Dreisaitl takes the shot Barkov goes down and there's like a little bit of a conversation like is he okay he comes in Maurice is like well he came in okay today and then he gets asked if he's playing he said yes sir he's playing and you're like okay well it's not going to be it's not going to be a hundred percent Barkov it's not going to be the

full Barkov experience and then you get he went for Barkov plus where he makes an unbelievable play uh in the defensive zone to set up the four on four the first goal in the in the game and then just that breakaway where he just comes in and just puts it in blows it by uh Skinner I I've loved watching him play and I think I was texting with Bunkus a little bit about this is I'm probably he probably did this on a show today I'm not sure. But is it a lock, Bobrovsky? Is there any conversation that you can have for Barkov being the

Consummate Trophy winner here? Because he's been unbelievable. It doesn't just have to be Bobrovsky. No, it's a race. And I know that for a fact because after the game, I was having a beverage with some of the people who have a vote. I don't have a vote, but I was there with a handful. We got to get you a vote.

Come on. See who we can do. I think they don't want to give too many to Sportsnet people. Oh, yeah. Anyway, I'm not getting into that. But I was talking with a handful of people who do have a vote, and it was a hot debate. Basically, it's a two-horse race.

Like, Bobrovsky's numbers have been off the charts, and he seems to be getting better and better as the series goes on but there is a case for Barkov like I think say they win game four game five and it's a five four game and Barkov has three points that's different than if Bob pitches another shutout yeah so I I think there is a debate to be had there and i think he's not going to win it but i think if i had a ballot right now in the third spot i'd put gustav forsling he's been unrevealed yeah and he's on maurice had huge praise for him too yeah yeah no he's i mean these guys are legit you know my my take would be that it's bob right now and it sounds like probably yours too but i yeah you can see a world where, you know,

it's not over yet in that regard. The one thing that stood out to me about this series, and I wrote about it last night, is playoffs tests your roster for cracks. And it's pressure over two months. And if you have cracks anywhere, they will show up. And you can win with some exposed cracks. But in this series, Florida, like, you can win with some exposed cracks but in this series florida like you can't find

any obvious cracks last night uh broberg jams on up the wall the holloway who can't get it out and then bennett scores and then you know the uh the tarasenko goal holloway isn't airing on the defensive side of things he's not these guys that were in the american hockey league not that long ago had moments where it gave Florida an advantage. And it just feels like the difference in the two rosters is Florida doesn't have these cracks and Edmonton still has them. Yeah, I'd agree with that.

Holy Justin. Another crack is the goaltender, right? Like Stuart Skinner goes behind the net to play a puck, doesn't play it right. But Brodsky's been amazing at playing the puck in these playoffs. Like he's phenomenal. Sometimes he's like an extra defenseman out there.

So, you know, you don't address your goal tending at the deadline. That might be a crack. There's some injuries. Like health is a factor here. I don't think we should understate that. It's almost the reverse of last year when Florida was going up against Vegas. And after Vegas won the cup, Jonathan Marcheseau says,

we're so healthy, we could play round five. And Florida has to send two guys for off-season shoulder surgery immediately after that game. And Matt Kachuk, their best forward offensively, has a cracked sternum and can't even put a sweater over his head. So there's elements of that too. And I just think Florida is deeper.

And if Edmonton were to have a chance in this series, they need all hands on deck. Evander Kane can't play. Darnell Nurse is barely playing. And they're just not deep enough to survive those kinds of injuries. And you factor in the defensive job Florida is doing on the stars. And it's just not happening for them. The Kachuk one is an interesting conversation

because he really is a guy, if you zoomed out, kind of a casual fan of the Florida Panthers, you would say that he is one of their key guys. But to me, we've been talking about this a lot. His role in this series has been way down there. Yeah, this is an under-discussed thing in this series. I mean, his ice times versus Edmonton, he played 13 in the first game 18 23 in game two and then he has 17 last night you know in the last game against the rangers he played 15 24 it's just his role has seemed so much

and it's almost like i don't know he just takes a lot of the oxygen and then the other guys kind of do what they need to do but i'm surprised how little he's been involved outside of a couple scrums that you've noticed i'm like they're beating them soundly without their supposed he's got five goals in 20 games he's barely contributing it's crazy how much it's kind of his roles switched in this playoff run no you're you're exactly right and it is interesting and and what's fascinating is uh how they you know kachuk says this other guys say it it really feels like they don't care who scores they don't care that it's evan rodriguez with three goals and kachuk has barely made an imprint on the score sheet uh and it's unbelievable how

much it's it really is a buy-in they really are are prioritizing defense. I think they could, if they have the guys that could play a more run-and-gun style if they chose to, they just realized, and I think it was going to the final and losing last year, that they have to play this way. This is a winning recipe, and it's not that spectacular in terms of running up the score. It's, hey, we're fine if we just win by one goal and we're fine if that goal comes off the stick of lusteranian or someone like that they

really don't care i think kachuk's been effective but you're right he hasn't been a star yet um and and what's interesting is we're going to get a real peek behind kachuk's final because he's got the amazon crew following him throughout this whole thing. So we might kind of learn about how he's been feeling and what's been going on behind the scenes with him through this. I'm really curious when that drops in the fall. I wouldn't want to be

with those cameramen around Connor after going down 3-0. It's incredible that these guys are the prime hockey team is with these guys because you're going to get both sides of these stories, including Nylander from the opening round and some good stories to be told out of this postseason yet. I'll take you to the Edmonton side of things and just, you know, is it over?

Is there a way, can they make changes to find a way past Florida? What is sort of the roadmap to getting back in this series? Yeah, I mean, it's hard to envision the Florida Panthers losing four in a row the way they're playing. It is. So I do think it's over. That doesn't mean we're guaranteed a sweep. I think this team will go down with a fight.

You know, I guess if you're Edmonton, you're clinging to the third period. We scored some goals. We beat Bobrovsky. We made a push. We didn't just roll over. The second thing is you still have a home game. Use that energy.

And then there's also, I think, a freedom of we literally have nothing to lose now. There's no other game on the schedule after Saturday. So if we get hurt, you don't want to feel like it's over and I left something on the table. So you can go all out. You can go out with some pride. Because there is some embarrassment in getting swept, right? And I think that there should also be some freedom on Knobloch's part.

You know, does he throw a guy like Henrik into the top six because he was a pretty noticeable guy last night and they've been really scrounging to find a guy on to play on the wing in the top six so they tried vander kane he's too hobbled to even sit down on the bench then they tried cory perry last night he was in the top six and he was a healthy scratch the game before so they're getting kind of desperate so maybe um there's a freedom from the coach too to just try some things because there you have nothing to lose if you lose in the next game it's over yeah go ahead sam i was just gonna say like this is a fascinating sort of legacy forward-looking talk for mcdavid because this is kind of the year where you're supposed to where he's been knocking at the door but

knocking at the door once you punch through when you're a mcdavid sort of type player once you get to the final it's usually i guess sid went through it where he lost the first year got back the next year but it's a little later in mcdavid's career it's a fascinating one for me looking forward for him because this is a big hill to climb for them and to get this far and then just to have it be this sort of comprehensive for the other team. It makes you feel like why they'll get a pushback. There's no way they just go out.

Yeah. Right? I don't know. It's a tough one for me, but I just can't imagine what McDavid's thinking right now, especially after saying Stanley Cup or bust at the start of the year, them actually making it,

the stuff he said after game two about how we'll see how he responds and having it go this way. It's going to be a very interesting sort of off season to see how he responds to this because this has got to be brutal for him this is a legacy sort of series and it's it's gone really badly for him yeah it has what i would say is like sweeps are extremely rare the last one we saw was detroit over washington in 98 98. So any team that's good enough. Yeah. Wow, that is crazy.

In the final. Yeah, yeah. That's what I mean. So any team that's good enough to get this point, you know, has some sort of pushback. So I would expect McDavid to have a good game Saturday. As for his legacy, I mean, maybe you take some lessons from the Panthers and say, hey, the Panthers made

it to the final. They learned a few things. Their GM learned a few things. Hey, I'm going to go out and find two more NHL-level defensemen. I'm going to find a penalty killer, penalty-killing center. He just made some tweaks around the edges. So I wonder if the Oilers

say, hey, we can't go in with a Skinner-Pickard tandem and hope to win a cup. Maybe we bulk up there. Maybe we find another defenseman so that we're not, you know, leaning on Cody Ceci with a title on the line. Like, there's small tweaks they can make. They still got Leon and Connor and Hyman and the the core guys and bouchard's coming into his own like there's the core of a good team still there so maybe this just gives them the extra incentive the way it did florida last year it is funny as we head towards free agency and the draft where trades are made that reclamation projects can change the course of your franchise you know

you took gustav forsling was a guy who I think any team in the league could have had a few years ago look what he's done Brandon Montour was kind of down and he's back up Ekman Larson was bought out you know there are a number of guys here where god you feel like it's over for him and then for Hagee for Hagee's another guy even Reinhardt was like you know he was a high pick and it was kind of a slow start for him in Buffalo and then he ends up going there. Like all these guys. But they're high pedigree guys, right?

They are. Look at all the Sabres on this roster. I know. Look at all the Sabres. Kyle Opozo is about to win a Stanley Cup. Opozo. Closest he'll ever get. Reinhardt was a Sabre.

It's like Opozo had a great line today at the media veil. He's like, there are so many, you know, this is the term they use. There are so many dogs that don't make the playoffs. But if they got into the playoffs, you'd see that they can make an impact. That's interesting. And he's one of those guys himself. He's playing a very minimal role, but he's bought into that. But Verhege is a gamer.

He's fun to watch. And he shows up a lot in you know tight games overtime games reinhardt all of a sudden exploded bill zito needs a ton of credit for taking these castaways so many of the important guys because chuck too are on their second team whether they're a high pick or not and he's kind of found these guys and given them a second life and they're having their best years in florida i think the name for edmonton that is surprising me you talked about connor just the dry sidle hasn't had a point yet throughout this playoff he looked unmanageable like for for teams and even when he's been injured you know two years ago in calgary as a series of a

lifetime with an injury you know he's good in this postseason with an injury it's not like they're physical on him in a way that we haven't seen right like it it just seems to be a team defense from florida that there's just nowhere to go combined with pobrovsky making a few extra extra saves but boy when you get frustrated guys like leon it's tough to figure out why it's so different for him in this series he's got to be a bit banged up, right? Curious to see what injuries are on the Edmonton side. Yeah, there's suspicion that he's banged up. That's one. Number two is I think Florida just plays better team defense. I think they have an excellent goalie,

and I think they're well coached. Like, we were watching from up high last night, and the amount of times Florida almost knew what Edmonton was going to do with the puck before Edmonton did it. It was it was really mind blowing. They really have a good read on what the Oilers are going to do. I think they've done excellent work behind the scenes in terms of their video work and teaching the guys the habits the Oilers have. Even the power play.

McDavid was saying it's not about our structure. We have to almost forget about our structure and play road hockey. Relax. We almost have to freestyle it and be impromptu because if we stick to our plan, they know our plan. Yeah. It's really kind of a fascinating battle of the wits as well. You're out there amongst the gathered media. Any Leafs conversations going on out there?

Anybody, any rumors flying about any conversation? I'm going to get traded at the draft. Keepers not here. You can say whatever you want. Now's your chance. There's conversations. There was one funny instance a couple of nights ago where, you know,

we're in game two of this in Florida. We're game two, you know, big win. One team's two wins away from the cup. And there was like a 30-minute debate on Mitch Marner. It's like, what are we doing here? Let's go.

The Leafs haven't played in months. And we're dealing with two teams, you know, battling for the ultimate trophy. And we're talking about Mitch Marner. So, yeah, there's definitely conversations. I got nothing for you. I really just think it's up to him. Behind the scenes, are they open to moving him?

For sure. But the player holds all the cards. And what I would say is I don't think they want to take this and make it ugly. I think if they find a solution, they want to do it quietly. That's kind of the tree living way. He wants it to be amicable. He wants to respect Mitch's wishes. So I think they're

going to try and work with him. I don't think this gets nasty in the public. I like that Shea Theodore talk. Make that happen, will you? I like that Shea Theodore talk. Anyways, all good. All right, Luke. Well, we appreciate your time today. Enjoy the rest of the series. good. All right, Luke. Well, we appreciate your time today. Enjoy the rest of the series.

Okay. All right, buddy. We'll talk to you soon. That's Luke Fox from Sportsnet.ca. Intrepid reporter. Always ask the hard questions. I got a couple thoughts for you. First, on Bobrovsky.

Okay. Not about the Utah jerseys, is it? Well, we can talk about that later. A couple thoughts on Bobrovsky. Okay. Has there ever been, like like I'm trying to think of this but a contract that's been looked upon as legitimately like the worst awful in the league and there was conversations about like because he signed it with Columbus and the year after he signed that contract with uh in the first year in Florida played 50 games he had in 323 goals

against a 900 say percentage in 50 games first year first year of a hundred million dollar contract with them yeah and then it's 906 it's 913 it's 901 yeah 906 901 like he's had one you know really good uh well i guess this year and then the year before last he was pretty good but he obviously turns it on going into the playoffs but i can't think of a guy whose contract got validated later 180 yeah it doesn't usually go that way like when they're starting to age and you've paid all that money it doesn't really flip like that but man text text that in if you have any answers of a contract that initially looked terrible sounded terrible and all of a sudden you're like, God, they actually got value out of that. Yeah. I mean, that save he made on, was it McLeod?

Yeah. Positional and reaction, yeah. The puck came under him, and his legs are wide open. He got back, got on the goal line, went where he had to be. You know, there's a lot of conversations to be had with you, but, you know, I'm feeling for the Oilers fans because you'd rather just lose that game 5-1.

You're starting to believe there. And you have sort of a seminal moment in a game that'll always leave you wondering what could have happened if that puck just goes over the line. I thought of being McLeod on that bench because I've obviously never at that level, but had those moments where it's like, God, if that just goes, that changes things changes things and it was so close and there was so

much net to shoot at and of course you probably watched the video of it and it's like if i had to just elevate it you just get that on the net as quick as you can the goal is twisted and turning you're just hammering that as fast as you can but man i just them coming back in that third period they had a great push they looked really good i. I don't know. You know what was the most Florida Panthers part of that game going in their favor? Is the puck goes in the corner with Ekblad with like 45 seconds left and almost never came out. They just kept it on the wall. Like it wasn't Edmonton ripping it around the outside, fire peppering shots in there, diving around. Like it was in Florida zone, but they just kept it on the paint.

So the play that happens, but there's just over a minute left, Barkov gets the puck, goes for the empty net, misses it, and, you know, Simmer talks about it. It's like, yeah,

they're a little bit more, they allow that a little bit more these days. Like, guys aren't as afraid to do that. And I was thinking to myself, if there's ever going to be a guy that you think maybe let have one of those, probably be Barkov, who's dominating on both ends for you. then he wins the ensuing draw gets the puck up the boards

wins a battle at the blue line gets it out and it goes down there's 40 seconds left it's a total rush he is just a massive human and like i know it's probably going to be borowski because he's just been sort of the star the whole way over 20 playoff games it's been him but god yeah this has got to be you know one of the feathers in the cap i mean i think a bukala i think of him and that that that brain trust in florida that decided to pick him over everyone was like drew s seth jones you have to take these guys and they took a chance on barkov everybody thought it was a funny pick and you just you might have one of the best players maybe he is the best player in the league like honestly at this point yeah we always do this whenever like you know it goes well for a guy who isn't mcdavid who's in that top class but i'm in

for the conversation because what are you trying to win you're trying to win the stanley cup he is the best player on the best team that's shutting down the best player in the world if you flip barkov and mcdavid and have barkov try to take the oilers in the world. If you flip Barkov and McDavid and have Barkov try to take the Oilers to the final and McDavid try to take the Panthers where they're at, I don't think the Panthers are any different. The Panthers are, they might be better. I mean, they're probably better.

With McDavid? Yeah. It's a fascinating one to me. It is. I mean, they probably wouldn't get to the final to face off against McDavid and the Panthers in this weird world that I've created. But I've loved. But I just,

I I've loved watching him and I'm just blown away by the guy. I was thinking that the Panthers themselves are such a picture of a team because how many guys in the top 20 do they have? Barkov's in the top 20. Matthew Kachuk had 88 points this year, I think in 82 games, which, you know,

that's not top 20 numbers. I know his last two seasons were really good this season you always think these guys are better and then you lay out all the guys in the league you're like all right he's probably not top 20 so then markov is definitely a top 10 guy oh yeah top five it'd be tough yes you think he's gonna be in the top five league wide well if you have him ahead of mcdavid you sure do well i know but like if you're pushing back against my point of saying, like, is he the best player in the best team right now? If we did a draft of players from the start,

where does he go for next season? One season only. Hal, if you include the contracts, or are you just doing, is this like a trade value list? No, I think it's just no one has any contract at all. Next, you get one year out of the player. Next year, who do you want? I think he's a top five pick, probably. I think probably. do i've just you know it's him it's mckinnon

barkov's ahead of matthews so after this playoffs um some already a couple uh ideas about the contract that got better there's one right in our backyard willie kneelander did it look bad when he signed that contract because he held out yeah and then he got was it 6.9 or something and then he was awful coming back and then everyone was like oh my god there's too much money and then it kind of improved and improved so it's a good one and another one is a blue jays one you see kikuchi oh yeah we were ready to dfa the fella and then the best thing that ever happened to him was the pitch clock, and he came in, he didn't have to think about anything,

and away we went. Yeah. That's great. Those are good examples. Okay, why don't we do game time before? No, let's take a break, and then we'll regroup and come back. All right. We will be back with more Real Kipper and Sam McKee after the break.

Breaking down the top stories in hockey and Elliott Friedman every day. The Jeff Merrick Show. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. down the top stories in hockey and elliot friedman every day the jeff merrick show subscribe and download the show on apple spotify or wherever you get your podcasts welcome back to and let me get this right real born in mckee today i think i said real kipper and mckee last time but i'm here as well. Yes. Happy to be here. This hour is brought to you by Bet365. And I believe, Sammy, you're going to tell us a little bit more about Bet365. Yes, I am.

It's game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app play to find out why it's never ordinary. Bet365 must be 19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly. So I'm just looking at some future stuff for, as I pull it up here, the game, which is tomorrow night, right? Why am I not being able to pay this up?

Anyways, Saturday night. It's quite likely. The reason I'm looking at this is because Leon Dreisaitl has to score a goal at some point. He does. Right? I have bet on that back-to-back games. I mean, he's not going to go this far without a goal.

Like, I really feel like he has to get one. It's one of those things where if he doesn't score, it'll be such a phenomenal outlier for him that it's like, I'm okay being wrong, betting that it's going to happen. So two ways I would look at this is, you know, their backs are against the wall they got no tomorrow all that stuff your best player one of your best players scores the first goal of the game leon dry settle first goal the game plays

pays plus 650 don't mind that and i don't mind him a many and any time goal for him as well at plus 155 he's got to score eventually he's really good so there you go zach hyman is the favorite to score a goal in that game at plus 120 so he is it's uh it's a crazy situation they're in given how much talent they have but so i'm thinking to myself going into that game okay you need to get these guys going you need to score goals but like dry saddles with ryan mcleod and cory perry which i know has worked in the playoff but this is what we're talking about when i'm talking about with like cracks in the lineup when there are flaws or whatever that can't be the answer in the cup final yeah as much as mcleod has a bright future and we asked luke while i asked you were not into this con this question

i asked about the con smith and how if it's a lock that brodsky wins it over barkov yeah sergey brodsky right now is a minus 350 favorite to win it alexander barkov is the second favorite at plus 300 the next favorite i guess is connor mcdavid at plus 1600 so you could do worse on that barkov bet let me get if he scores a hat trick yeah and a ceiling game for them to sweep i mean you could do worse than that to me tell me what edmonton's odds are of winning the series. Can you arrange that? Let me see if I can do that.

Yes, I can. To win the series. What happens is a Barkov injury or a Bobrovsky injury. A Bobrovsky injury, I guess. Yeah. But they can't win one. You're right. It's over.

But to tell you, the Edmonton Oilers are plus 1,100, so 11 to 1, which doesn't seem nearly good enough. Wouldn't touch that. Florida Panthers are minus 2,200 if you want to get in on that action. So not a lot there for that. And, yeah, so that's all I got here. If you wanted to bet on the Panthers to win, if you think the Oilers are going to get one, you can bet on the Panthers to win, if you think the Oilers are going to get one,

you can bet on the Panthers to win 4-1 at plus 2-10, Panthers to win 4-2 in the series at plus 700, or Panthers to win in seven at plus 1,200. So a little bit of value there if you think the Oilers are going to come back in the series and make it a bit of a series there. So there you go. That was Game Time presented by Bet365.

Visit the app for the latest odds to find out why it's ever ordinary at Bet365, must be 19 plus, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. How is your golf pool going in the U.S. Open? I didn't place one bet. I didn't make one pool. I didn't do anything. Oh, wow.

No, I'm watching it. Just organic. Just au naturel. Looking at the leaderboard, I'm going to tell you something, buddy. None of my guys I would have picked are near the top, so I avoided everything. I guess I would have picked Bryson, who's doing pretty well, but other than that, no dice.

So did you want to make fun of me for the Utah jersey take? It's tough to make fun of. It's just, of all things to, like, outwardly seek on Twitter to promote, be like, I actually really like these jerseys. I was like, what are you talking about? So I think that new teams, specifically the last however many expansion teams, have totally tried to reinvent the wheel.

Buddy, Vegas's are disgusting. I hate the Kraken. Krakens are beautiful. They're awful. The logo's way too big. It's like all this like weird, like the way they did the stripes. It's all like,

everybody thinks they've got to reinvent the wheel. Think of them all. The Wild. They've never been great. Bad logo. Bad logo. Great colors. Okay, they're all great colors.

Nashville. Columbus. It's like all these guys. Let's make it the ugliest we possibly can. And I just really respect a team that comes out with some nice colors i think it's a the black and that kind of baby blue it's nice and you just have the diagonal like simple is okay boring is okay when it comes to a jersey i really like them i don't think you're in marketing is that you're so what are they supposed to do get a big yeti on there

and like let's have the arms be snowy like it would no that's stupid i. So what are they supposed to do? Get a big Yeti on there? And like, let's have the arms be snowy. Like, no, that's stupid. I don't want any of that either. Yes, you do. No, the Krakens are really nice. They're nice colors. I disagree. I don't think they even picked

one of the Krakens colors. No, it's not the same color. That's more of like a... It's cyan versus teal. Okay. What the hell is cyan? It's a printer color. I've never heard that in my life. i've never heard that my son references so

i just i really think that it's nice that a team doesn't go crazy okay well then let me say this it's garbage they have to do it why it's stupid you don't you got three months initially i tweeted last night that it's not i don't blame utah but i blame the league for not saying hey get a team name get a jersey get a logo let's get this thing going even if you have to unveil it in september or october or whatever it's just you don't need a year and a half to design a jersey they're crying aloud the zigzags did it in a weekend. Wow, yeah, that guy on Reddit did it in a weekend. Yeah, well, there are plenty of guys on Reddit who are better than that guy on Reddit, I promise.

So here's the thing. It's very, a little bit like the PWHL, where everyone was like, hey, can we get some, but like, I didn't hate. They don't have the manpower. Diagonal, diagonal lettering works. It hits. It's fine. It it's traditional none of them look good yes they all look good every jersey that has diagonal lettering on it has always been good i look forward

to seeing the beige walls in your home with rangers we think pictures clutter it up too much pittsburgh all right utah thanks don draper i think we're done with your takes so you wanted to like you would be so appalled if they were just called the utah hockey club Utah. Thanks, Don Draper. I think we're done with your takes. So, you would be so appalled if they were just called the Utah Hockey Club? Utah HC? Yeah, it's ridiculous. You think it's ridiculous? Yeah, it's trying to be something you're not. You're like, oh, European.

We can catch up to those leagues. We'll be just like them. You're not them. You're the NHL. So, I mean, the Washington professional football team, I love that, too. What a racist name. I wish to get rid of the racist names. No, but I like the, I wish they just stayed as the football club. You have clearly identified your takes on things.

Enjoy your oatmeal for breakfast and let's. I'm actually not that basic. I really am not. You know, I've been told by many people I have a little flavor. And I like the basic jerseys, but God. Nothing wrong with being basic. We just don't need you designing things. I didn't really realize what a controversial opinion that was until I put it out there on X.

People were killing me for this. It's not controversial. It's bad. That's all. Okay. All right. Anyways. Take me to the text.

We're getting lots of texts. I also put a bunch of tweets in here from my, I put out a tweet earlier, but I'll, I'll get to a text here. Text is at 590, 590. If you have something and maybe we're done with the Jersey thing. Uh, so talk about flipping players. Cause earlier we talked about what the teams would look like if Barkov was on Edmonton and McDavid was on Florida.

So, okay. Talking flipping players here. Where would the series be? If you flip the goalies, no flipping players here. Where would the series be if you flip the goalies? No disrespect to Skinner. Well, nameless texter from a own sound area code. Seems like you're kind of disrespecting Skinner.

You know, my thoughts, and I put this in my article, which is up on Forstner.ca, is that Skinner has not made any egregious errors. The puck handling one, you know, bit of a tough bounce or whatever. But like, there's no goal where you're like, that's a bad goal. But the point isn't to be

okay. It's the cup final. Bobrovsky's making saves he's not supposed to make. You know, it's like getting to the PGA Tour where parring every hole is not good enough. You need to do better than par. Par might be good this weekend. Yeah, this weekend, sure. So Skinner, to me, has been par.

If the other guy's 10 under, it makes a big difference. And not to get too down the road of this weird conversation, but Skinner's probably better behind the defense that the Panthers play. Yeah. The Panthers have been playing unbelievable structured defense, and I know everybody's pointing to the shot totals in these games, but how many great A goals so they're letting edmonton have the great a's are they getting like it feels like that one from mcleod was one of their only shots they had from

the slot like they do such a good job of making it boring they pack the paint so i think skinner on the florida panthers will be a little bit better because of the defensive structure yeah and bob would be a bit worse but it still would help edmonton if he could they could make that trade before game four correct yes so i got this tweet from uh at not mikey davis so it's not mikey davis thanks mike how sick is it that two teams from florida are gonna win the cup in rogers plays before the oilers do oh i don't know is right? I guess that's where the pandemic up for Tampa Bay. That's tough, though. That's a bit of a curse. Multiple teams winning in here.

They need. Yeah. Like, the Oilers, I think, you just need to win game four and get the hell out of there. Oh, I just thought, how sour is all that media going to be? Traveling back to Florida. Maybe potentially watch. It's not even like in season where everyone's thrilled to go to Florida

because it's January. It's way nicer than it is in Florida right now. No question. You don't say that a lot. So yeah, man, that's brutal. Yeah, stay tuned for the tweets at Air Canada or Delta or whoever for a lost bag. That's when you know people are really on tilt.

They're like, I'm going to use my cachet to host an airline. You ever done it? No. No, me neither. Made a very my cache to host an airline. You ever done it? No. No, me neither. Made a very conscious effort to never do it. Me neither.

I think it's one of the cringiest moves you can possibly do. Like uploading on Instagram being like, my bag, my bods. Like, well, you're fine. You're sitting in a seat

in the sky, pal. That's how Louis C.K. You're in a chair in the sky. Exactly. So this is from at platitude. We think of the elite of the elite being able to flip a switch and change a game what's more likely mcdavid can't or barkov won't let him

well mcdavid can i mean he's not two years into his career we've seen him flip a switch many times and take over games and even serious but not at this point. But not at this point of a playoff run. No, I think the answer here is about Barkov and what he's done to keep those guys quiet when he's out there on the rink. And I think it was Kip the other day talking about how Florida players were saying when he's on the ice, everything falls into place.

You can trust that he's going to be where he's supposed to be. And yeah yeah this to me is much more about barkov gonna be interesting to see what happens to his sort of legacy here it does feel like he's gone from one of the league's very good players to he wins a cup here in the running for con smith future hall of fame yeah one of uh bill simmons favorite things that he does all the time is the belt for the guy who has the belt in the league, like the best player belt. And it's like, I feel there'll be a ton of takes. And I don't think I'll do it.

Maybe I kind of did in the first one. I alluded to him being the best player. But, like, it feels like people will be making the case that he's the best player, that, like, he's going to get the belt. Because, you know, you pass it on. I guess no one on Vegas would have had it. But there's no one in Barkov's class. No, but we were giving it, like, McKinnon, there was definitely

people doing the, is McKinnon better than McDavid thing. For sure, no question. And Makar even got some love in that topic. Yep, for sure. Alright, let me see here. This is from Jim Keoghan, 34. I'm begging you

to please talk about how Dreisaitl and Bouchard will be getting contracts up to 26 million AAV combined this summer. Kiprios loves stressing out Lee Franz every summer about contracts. Can you please pick on another market for once? Yes. Dreisaitl and Bouchard will be getting contracts up to 26 million AAV according to Jim Kiyoga. Well, listen, Dreisaitdle's 14? So that's

I mean, I guess, well Matthews just did 13.5. Yeah. It's tough to make the case that Drysaddle, the difference would be Matthews is a better defensive player. He plays center. Yeah, but you know, until this series Drysaddle's been one of the prolific

playoff performance. He has been far better in playoffs. I don't think he'll pass Matthews. No? Well, I don't think so. If Kip were here, he'd be telling me. Oh, he passed Matthews. No, I actually do think that he'll get more than Matthews.

Especially if he's going to stay at... I'm sorry to Edmonton. I don't mean to pile on here. It's going to be in the ballpark then. Let's say it's 13 and a half or 14. Yeah. Bouchard's not getting 12. I mean, he might get 10.

Might get 10. He might get 10. He's unbelievable. and he's been really good and it's kind of you know it's it's it's wavered here in the last couple games but he's playing so much there's so much on his plate like what's he playing a night i'll make it nine and a half makes that his absolute floor you know god so yeah like let's say they're gonna make 24 between them this is what this is to me why it's so scary being an Oiler fan today,

because this is such, like, it's easy to say, it's such an important year when you make it this far. But, like, all the contract stuff, like, this year is very doable. But, like, the dry saddle thing is coming up. And the Bouchard thing, and that Brown contract that you stuck with, and he's been good for you in the playoffs.

And if you won the cup, you could be like, well well he was great for us in the playoffs so we can live with that and he did the perry thing and like you said the nurse contract well you know we won the cup so it didn't matter yeah when you get swept in the finals all those conversations go from down here all the way up to the top and you start worrying about it again and i i you know i know you think i'm gonna do the thing you want me to do like i actually do feel bad for and like i i'm i'm i'm i'm feeling it and like there's been a ton of people that like are piling on and all the leaf fans but you've already got them losing like not all their fans do oh my god you're dumb then it's over it's over it's now there's nothing that's ever been more

over it's over you have lost the stanley cup i'm sorry that sucks but you know leaf fans being and i'm sorry to do this my leaf fan brethren and sisters but like can't be doing like the wow like just the oilers had a great run they beat a couple really good teams maybe not the kings but they beat the canucks who played well they beat a really good dallas. And now they're getting their, you know what, filled by a really good hockey club. Had a good run and it's been great, but it's over now.

So Leaf fans don't pile on too much. I know it's fun, but don't pile on too much. Yeah, it is. It does set the table for the off season. One thing we learned, you know, watching Toronto losing the second round to Florida quite handily in five

games is that it almost invalidated the, like getting losing the second round to Florida quite handily in five games, is that it almost invalidated the, like, getting through the first round thing. It really took away from their zest there. So, you know, I'm hoping Edmonton wins a couple of games, gives them some juice. David and Dreisaitl, they're gamers, man. They're not going away. This is from new...

You're lagging the juice, huh? This is from new star winger from the Zig Zags and sports employee Michael Greco. Stars versus Panthers would have been a much better cup final. Yet again, we are reminded that goaltenders and defense win championships. No chance, Greco. No chance.

Love, love the guy. But Stars versus Panthers. Well, I shouldn't say... We couldn't have convinced people to watch that. I think... The hockey may have been... But I kind of agree with you. Would that have been more fun? Like, they shouldn't say, we couldn't have convinced people to watch that. I think. The hockey may have been. But I kind of agree with you. Would that have been more fun?

Like, they don't have, I mean, their star power isn't as high as the Oilers, and it's like the Canadian market. I don't think it would have been a better fun. No. Like, it's hard to really even think about it, but I think Florida would have beat them pretty handily as well. There's moments where this, where McDavid gets the puck, and you get pulled out of your seat. He's starting

to get some momentum going like where you can see there's some threat to florida i gotta tell you this one thing i will give cory perry credit for a guy who's been in the stanley cup final with five different teams he knew his role in that game last night he fell on bob six times ever he's jawing to people from the bench he's trying to like he's trying to disrupt the flow this florida team just has that confidence right now that no matter what happens they're okay and paul maurice has really set the table for them with the tone he took remember the boston series i think boston won a couple of games and he was like you know he was laughing about it in the press conference like they just have such a confidence. Did you see the...

Because they always do the give out the puck thing after the game, and they give it to the best player. See what Kachuk did last night? He gave it to their travel guy. And everyone goes nuts. It's like, God, they just get it. Why do they just get it so hard? God, they just be toned up one time.

We had a show where it was like, can you believe Marner didn't give it to Jordan Bean? I know. Where it should have gone to the video coach. It drives me crazy. But I, yeah, it's funny. All right. We got a couple left before we shut her down for the weekend.

What happened to Mackenzie Hughes this week? What did happen to Mackenzie Hughes? Oh, my. I think he made like a 10. Did he? Yeah, it was going up and down. It did not look great. So that's a tough one.

I was going to say that, It did not look great. So that's, it's a tough one. I was going to say that, where did I have this text here? For our Calgary fans. Yeah. Who are listening. Congratulations. On this happening? You survived.

You survived. Your, your, you know, your friends down the road who, you know, I'm sure you have family members who are Oilers fans. I'm sure you have, you had to listen to a lot of junk over the last little while. And you know what'm sure you have family members who are oiler fans i'm sure you

have you had to listen to a lot of junk over the last little while and you know what else they're going through right they got no water calgary yeah they're like water main broke the the pipe that carries 60 of their water to calgary so these people are like without a hot shower for a week at least rationing water i don't listen to the news, so that's a tough one. I do want to give a shout out to my friend Haley Adler, who went, she got every single series prediction correct, which I have never heard of before. Did she bet on it or anything? She was in a pool for no money and went 100% in her picks.

So next year, you can all look forward to her writing my articles for me. What? No way. which is really fantastic yeah i just i can't imagine the relief for the calgarians today you know you say they have no water but like that's a breath of fresh air that's a that's a rush of water well listen dan shuddon fre Though, fandom is a very important thing, and the Oilers have had a lot of success against Calgary. They put them out in the playoffs. You know, Conor McDavid scored a series-winning goal in their run last year or two years ago,

and you had to hear all about it. You're right. And now they just, you know... Dodge another bullet here. If they get swept, you can say, Ah, Oilers and Calgary won the same amount of playoff games, so there you go. So, night you think florida wins to stand the cup in edmonton i do who gets the cup after the captain that's a great question borny one i

haven't even thought of you probably bet on that i uh i gotta believe it's kyle lopozo really yeah first yeah sasha barkov is the captain it typically goes to the oldest guy the longest tenured guy the uh sean mackindoe calls him the i believe the old guy who old guy who doesn't want a cup whatever the old graybeards i think okpozo barely played playoff games was in buffalo for so long long island shouldn't say that he played playoff games with uh long island but i think it'd be him. Ekblad. Ekblad and Larson has been through it a bit. Yeah, I'm having a tough time here.

There's a lot of options. I think it's Ekblad because he's been a long-tenured guy. To me, my pick is definitely Ekblad. They've been playing together forever. But I'd see Ocpozo too. God, I wonder who the least, who Tavares passes it to. What a conversation that would be to have one day.

No, never. Best of luck to Edmonton on Saturday night. Yeah, you're going to need it. You will see us back here on Monday covering game four. This has been Real Kipper and Born.