Real Kyper & Bourne - Sharks Circling Bleeding Oilers

Episode Date: November 9, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with the Oilers ahead of their matchup against the Sharks with must-win implications. They are joined by Bob Stauffer (4:55), host of Oilers Now, to tee up tonight's game for Edmonton, the glaring goaltending issues, McDavid's underwhelming production and why the team could be poised for a bounce-back for the remainder of the season. Next, the guys chat Patrick Kane landing spots, why fans need to readjust expectations for top draft picks and if the Canucks are on fraud-watch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

all right the real kipper and born show goes national right now we are live on sports net sports net 650 in vancouver sports at 960 in calgary and always but always this hour of real kipper and born brought to you by bet three six five eleven games on tap and yes on occasion we get accused by the west that we tend to go to bed early and our kids that is true a lot of those east uh broadcasters who vote on major awards like elliot and all the all of them yes they go to bed early too so i don't feel that bad yeah but i i'm not going to bed early i don't care if i gotta put cute uh like toothpicks to hold my eyes up one of us always watches i'm watching oilers in san jose tonight well you shouldn't have to watch the first because up seven nothing after the first period yeah

there i was about to say there's no guarantee on what could happen tonight but you're you're Well, you should only have to watch the first period. It was up 7-0 after the first period. Yeah. I was about to say there's no guarantee on what could happen tonight, but you're going to guarantee this. I mean, I don't know if Stahl is on the line yet. I don't want him because he'll probably be a big curse guy if I had to guess, but the Oilers are a winning big. There's no chance that the Oilers lose tonight. Oh, my God. I'm asking you.

I agree. This could very well be a two touchdown win. It could be ridiculous. The Oilers are waiting to break out. By the way, the fancy stats still love the Oilers. Really? They beat Philly.

What's the thing? They just got a win. The Oilers aren't getting hot. The Oilers aren't getting hot. The Oilers aren't getting goaltending. Like a cheeky one goes in on a bat. It's not impossible. Okay, I'll go 5%. I still am so confident that at least one of the Alberta teams makes the playoff.

At least one, if not two. You know who's ahead of them right now? Anaheim and Arizona. Someone has to get in in that division wrong a lot i'm not as bullish on seattle either right now no like it's and you call this one too it's but vegas la vancouver there's a wild card spot there may i pander to our vancouver audience yes they're getting in so there's one getting in there's one spot wild card but there's one spot that you weren't expecting to be gone

you're right gone you're right they're they're getting it so the leafs and oilers just completely mirror each other with the one exception that at least matthews and marner aren't taking a ton of heat right now, or at least I shouldn't even say that. I don't know how much heat is on Connor McDavid. It's so hard to put heat on that guy. He's been so good for so long. But the numbers are so underwhelming for him,

and there is a perception out there that he's not 100%. And this could also factor in maybe tonight. Does he have an old Conor McDavid look or a guy that still might be hiding something? I don't even know if he's hiding it per se. I don't even think we can say like he may be whatever he scored 64 times last year he's got two goals so far this year he's definitely not well listen two weeks ago he we i had him at no shot of playing at the outdoor game

and they put him in i think it was pretty clear to everyone in the last week he doesn't look himself if they're eight and two instead of two and8, you know, he's, I don't know, if he's playing these games. But he is a competitor. He is as competitive and driven as anyone in the NHL. I think to a point where it hurts him. He's overdriven. Yeah.

And he plays, to me, like every shift he has to win the Stanley Cup at that moment. Can I have that? Yeah, well, that's like Nathan McKinnon, too. That worked out for... I know you like that. But it catches... Hey, Sam.

Newsflash. He's human. Oh, really? He's actually human yeah and that stuff can weigh on you and it can make you physically and mentally exhausted at times and i'm just wondering where it fits for connor right now and also being great at hockey doesn't make your cartilage and bones heal faster you know whatever it is that's ailing him just still takes a human amount of time so yeah i think tonight san jose sharks they go out and they score a few goals maybe mcdavid could play 17 minutes tonight or something like just not tax him too much all right

all right we got stuff all right we do let's welcome in Bob Stauffer, host of Oilers Now, and does a terrific job covering the Edmonton Oilers on Sportsnet. Stauff, what's going on? Is this a guarantee night for Oiler fans? I lost you there, but I can tell you right now, there's an old saying, right? There's winning and there's misery. This team is going through some misery.

Okay. And I'd like to pinpoint one thing, but it's not just one thing. It's a combination of factors that have them in the position that they're in right now. Okay. So there's only three in the game of hockey. It's called goalies, defense, or forwards. Where do you start?

Where's at the top of your list of what needs to change in a hurry here? Well, as you both know, I'm a huge football fan. And I'm going to bring this up because I'm going to tie it back to the hockey. But at the start of the year, the Alabama Crimson Tide, who are coached by probably the greatest NCAA football coach in history. They lost to Texas. And then the next week, elected not to start Jalen Milrow in a game. And at the same time, Deion Sanders had Colorado coach prime off

to a 3-0 start. And everybody was writing, you know, is Nick Saban done? Can he no longer get through anymore? And Deion, he's the star of the rise. And Deion very well may be the star of the rise, but Colorado's hit the skids here a bit. And Coach Saban has been able to get his guys going, and now suddenly they're in position to end up in the SEC championship game.

And so in a span of seven weeks down here in the States where college football in the fall and the nfl dominates uh nick saman has kind of reasserted himself as hey he's not done yet at 70 as a coach but it shows you how quickly things can turn which brings you brings us to the evans and oilers you know the preseason consensus, they're the team, one of the teams in the Western Conference. They got off to a bad start. Jay Wincroft had a 65 winning percentage his first year and a half as head coach of the Oilers.

So he's not touching, you know, making the right decisions. Got to have a quarterback. Alabama's quarterback was developing at the start of the year. He's taken some quantum steps. And if you have a quarterback, you can win. And in hockey, if you have a goaltender, you end up in a situation where it camouflages

a lot of other weaknesses in the game. The Oilers are playing San Jose tonight, guys. The Sharks have had two games where they've given up 10 goals. They have a higher save percentage than the Edmonton Oilers. So everything starts there. Stuart Skinner

emerged last year. Jack Campbell, unfortunately, hasn't been up to the opportunity that was there for him. It hasn't been the easiest team to play in front of. I'll grant you that. There's some structural challenges. But for me, it always starts there. You know, the Leafs, I think, have given up four more goals in, what, all six or seven of their home games this year.

And there's questions right now for Brad Treliving and, you know, do they need to go get a guy in goal? Stuart Skinner, they've taken Campbell out of the equation here. Last year, they did the same thing for Evan Bouchard. Tyson Berry was running the power play. They included Berry in the Ekholm trade. That opened up. Bouchard, you're running the power play from the point.

And I think that what they've done here is they've said to Stuart Skinner, plus there was no way Skinner was going to clear waivers if they set him down. You're the guy. There's no discussion. Go get it done. And it starts tonight. But I do, I got to tell you, when you got goaltenders that are just going to take a look at the number here, 861

save percentage through the first 11 games, there is no team in hockey that survives that out of the gate through 11 games. It's almost impossible. I mean, that's a lower save percentage than guys that had, Nick, when you played.

You'd have goalies at 880, 890. You had 860. It's hard to win. So I'm not blaming the goalies in entirety. I'm just saying the fact that they've had some challenges stopping the puck has played a great part in Edmonton's delayed start to the season. Yeah. You know, when we talk about these teams,

early in the season, you're often babbling, is this team actually their early season results? I wrote a thing about the Canucks the other day who've had unbelievable results and maybe they're not quite as good as those results. The Leafs, you know, they're about where they should be. They're probably not that great a team, or as good as they've been in the last year or two anyway the oilers are not a two

and eight team i think that's safe to say but are they a playoff team are they division contender like where do you see their true talent level if they're getting some saves and things are going okay you know a couple years ago justin edmonton was 16-5 to start the year. Yeah. And they were first in the league in the power play, third in the league in the PK, and they were somewhere between 14th to 20th in their five-on-five exact, you know, in terms of the advanced analytics.

I had a guy call my radio show and say the team needed to fire Dave Tippett right now because it was going to get way worse and they were bluffing their way to a 16-5 start. I called the guy an idiot on the air and I've been called an idiot often by our listeners over the years and then the owners

went out and won two of their next 15 games. It's almost the opposite. It's almost the opposite and Edmonton ended up having to fire dave tippett during the year jay came in on february 10th and the owners went three rounds of the playoffs and i bring that up because they had a lot of numbers which would suggest that there there was going to be a negative bounce back at some point during the year this is the opposite effect edmonton's got the second best expected goals in the league through the first 11 games.

Their power play, which has been number one in the league for three of the last four years, is ninth. But when you're running a 32nd save percentage, 31st in the penalty kill, 31st in goals against, it tells the story. Now, here's the thing that has stunned me, and I heard you guys just before I came on. Edmonton's 26th in the league in offense.

Wow. And goals four per game. They're 26th in the entire league. They were first last year. McDavid doesn't got a goal in the owner's last eight games. He's missed two of them. You rightfully noted he hasn't got a goal in the Oilers' last eight games. He's missed two of them. You rightfully noted he doesn't look 100%. He's going to score.

He hasn't forgotten how to score. But, you know, I don't know how much you guys believe in PDO, but there's a degree of ock luck, and the Oilers haven't had a lot of it, five on five. That said, they've given up way too many egregious opportunities off the run, 21-0 off the rush. I think they're a playoff team. And the weird thing about Edmonton over the last three seasons,

because they've been to playoffs the North Division year, and then they came in second in the division. They were second the last two years. At some point in each of those years, they've had a couple different stretches where they've been under duress and looked challenged. And the one year led to Dave Tippett being fired. So I don't know.

You know, it's just... And I circle back to the same thing. Part of it is they just don't have a stopper in goal. When you got one of those five or six best... Like Demko last year was hurt for the Canucks. He's a top 10 goalie for me. And the Canucks finished 31st in the league in save percentage last year. So

it can happen. And I think they got to, I personally believe they'll make the playoffs. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if they win, they got 71 games left. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if they won 48 of their final 71 games. We're talking to Bob Stauffer, host of Oilers Now, and does a terrific job as one of the key panelists

for the Edmonton Oilers on Sportsnet. Stauff, a week before the outdoor game, we saw Connor McDavid go down. Is there any talk at all, any rumblings that they brought him back too early or even if they had a choice on it really try telling Connor that right no excuse like he makes no excuses

he just says I gotta play better you guys watch the game like there's something a little off on the twitch right now with him in terms of... The third gear. The third gear that he has. Yeah, you know,

so now that said, the first 11 minutes against Vancouver on Monday night, the Oilers outshot the Canucks 19-2 and he was playing like a man possessed as only he can. But they got a lot of guys that aren't firing at all cylinders right now. So I know what you're saying.

We'll never know. Two of the Oilers' toughest and most competitive players are McDavid and Dreissel. Connor has come back early from every injury he's ever had. For an Ontario kid, he's pretty tough. Just joking there. They're not as tough in the West as they used to be about 30 years ago.

That I can guarantee you. And then Dreisaitl. Dreisaitl played with a broken ankle against the Calgary Flames and had 17 points in five games. That was an all-time performance. What an injury. He's from the Jason Smith school of toughness where he's got the pain threshold of a cadaver.

That's kind of where Leon's from. So they'd be the last guys to say anything about dealing. Some guys just can't play. Nick, you know this. Some guys can't play hurt. Other guys, they can play through anything. And we'll never know to what degree. They showed some exasperation and some frustration the other night against Vancouver.

I was not bemused as an Oilers broadcaster watching two league MVPs basically get teed up in a game. I think there needs to be a little bit of give and take based on situations there, but whatever. I have no idea as to, I'm going to assume they're not at 100, you know, that Connor in particular is not at 100%, and he'd never tell you, and that's just who he is. You know, yesterday we were practicing at UBC, and the last two players on the ice were McDavid and Dylan Holloway.

And Connor was working with Dylan on some touches around the net and in tight. It was pretty interesting to watch because I think that there's a belief that Holloway and McCloud in particular are a couple of the younger wave guys that they've got to get going here. I read in Elliot'siot's 32 thoughts today he was talking about how the oilers you know expectations were high jay woodcroft has a great winning percentage over his career with the oilers but if you don't win you know early on here and it was kind of like a dot dot dot left us all hanging on that well how do you feel about rumors that jay

woodcroft's job is in jeopardy with the early start is it that dramatic it's a results driven business right yeah but i personally don't believe like i didn't think the owner should have fired todd mcclellan during the 1819 season i didn't agree with that move at that time and peter ellie ended up getting blown out a couple months later i think dallas akins who i personally like i think back when he was with edmonton time and Pete Torelli ended up getting blown out a couple months later. I think Dallas Aikens, who I personally like, I think back when he was with Edmonton in his second year, I actually thought it did him a favor.

I thought, okay, I kind of just... I got to tell you, Jace had a pretty good record. And there's been a confluence of events that have happened. But I would say that you got to start getting some results otherwise and the move of jack campbell justin's is a that's the move that kind of sends a little bit of a

message you know jack was a very popular teammate it to this date has not happened for jack yet edmonton um they obviously knew nobody was going to pick him up on waivers and right now there's a lot of people listening and watching right now saying, well, Edmonton should have known better based on Campbell and Toronto, but there was a limited goaltending market that year, and Mike Smith had retired. So the owners took the swing to this point. It hasn't

worked. The first step is to see whether that jolts the team, and to be frank with you, if they get again, you were shocked that there were 26 in the league goals for. They are due in one of these games to score eight or nine goals in a game it's inevitable that it's going to happen stuff uh and that's that's four million dollars of dead cap space now in the minors uh with with jack ed uh there's a lot of pressure on darnell nurse to try to live up to a player making over $9 million.

This is airtight on the salary cap for the Oilers. Do you see any wiggle room for Ken Holland to go out there and do something? Well, there's always wiggle room if you're willing to exhaust your draft capital. That would be my response to that. Like there's, there's always,

you know, some teams out there. Well, you know, what's the cost? I mean, the Leafs dumped Patrick Marlowe for the last year for what, what was it?

4 million in real dollars and $6 million on the cap. And it costs them a late first round draft choice. Seth Jarvis. Don't even get me started. That's who Tyler Wright wanted in that draft year. And, you know, those of us out west knew that Seth Jarvis was going to be a highly competitive player. And Carolina got him one pick before the Oilers took Holloway.

And then Holloway ended up breaking his wrist a couple times and delaying his progress a bit. So, yeah. I mean, if Skinner can't get it turned around here over the next, I'm going to assume he's probably going to get seven of the next nine starts, assuming everything goes okay.

Then that takes the pressure off. But you said it already, Pat Burns' infamous line, right? Goaltending is 70% of hockey. Unless you don't have it, then it's 100% of hockey. And the guys in front of those goaltenders,

how much are we blaming them? Do you feel like the decor with CeCe and Kulak and Deharnais, like, is this a good enough decor? I know Speck was all over Woodcroft about Bouchard's pinch on the one goal. Like, where are we with this decor? Is it going to be good enough for them

if they do get going the right direction? Strange, right? Because last year they closed with a 14-0-1 record the regular season. Guys, they outshot Vegas 75-53 in the final two games of the Vegas series. And Vegas went on to win the Stanley Cup.

I think what happened here is the owners have a target on their back. The opposition team, and the one thing that concerns me is they had a relatively easy schedule to start the year. They played a lot of non-playoff teams.

Obviously Vancouver's better and running a hot PDO streak out of the gate, but they got a good team and they got a legit top eight goaltender in the league, and they've played them three times. Edmonton's lost four games where they've had 41 or more shots on goal this year. If they win those games, then we're not talking about it, but specific to the defense, the team defense has to be better. They've got to limit the amount of transition opportunities

they're giving up for opposition teams. That's one of the things. They're giving up way too many odd man breaks. So that would be the first thing. I don't just attribute that to the D. I think that Darnell gets a lot of pressure on him. He cares. He's got a big ticket.

He cashed in in the year of the defenseman. He does not play in the first power play unit, so he's never going to put up 60, 65 points in a season. And, you know, there's some media guys that specifically target what they term as soft defensemen. I'm prepared to live with Bouchard. I'm going to tell you this right now. It would not surprise me in the next two years if Evan puts up 70 or 75 points a year.

Like, he's got that sort of – for Evan, he's just got to smooth out his game. He has elite offensive instincts. Obviously, he's going to be a huge part of the power play. Teams are taking away the owner's seam passes on the power play right now. The owners have the best three in a 1-3-1 in the

league with Nugent Hopkins, McDavid, and Dreisaitl, but they're kind of taking away those little interior passes and Evans been a little reluctant to shoot who would not surprise me if you see him be a little bit more assertive. He's got a, you know, he's same sort of shot that Al McKinnis had, you know, like he

can hammer the pills. So but he's he's got around his game out and he just he's got to minimize the amount of breakdowns and a little bit of negligence that he has defensively at times. I mean, maybe two mistakes on the same goal. That's what infuriated Spectre. So it happens.

I understand why Jay didn't bench him. The owners only have six defensemen up here right now, and they're down 4-2 in a game. They need Bouchard on the ice to help them get a goal back in that situation. So I think the D can play better. I think the forwards will score more and can play better. And the goaltending must be better. And the end result is I do think they'll get things turned around

in a positive direction shortly. I get that there's almost 40 or 70 games to go here. But San Jose tonight, Seattle on Saturday, and then the Islanders in Seattle again before they go out on a big road trip starting in Florida here. Are we going to look back later on in the season and suggest that the next four games

was perhaps a fork in the road? And not sure what side the Oilers take here, but how critical are just even four games and the next eight points? What do you have? Do they need six, seven, or eight points? You nailed it. You nailed it.

Like, you know what? Last year, you guys, the Oilers lost the game in LA 6-3. There were three fights in the third period. Kane was out at the time. And they fell to 21- 6-3 there were three fights in the third period kane was out at the time uh and they fell to 21 18 and 3 and i doubled down on my preseason prediction of 47 of 52 and i got called every name attributed to a homer that you could on our show right i just said look they've got an easier schedule it's gonna get better well we were you know the team wasn't running the metrics that they were running right now. I'm with you. I do think this is an absolutely critical time.

They've got to make hay here over the next four games. Seattle's, much like Edmonton, they shot the lights out last year. They're not shooting the lights out out of the gate. They've had problems. The save percentage for their team through the first two years hasn't been great. There's some opportunities here over the next four games. They've got to make the most of it, and very well. I mean, I don't know if they can compete for first in the Pacific

based on how Vegas has started the year. Todd's a great coach in L.A., does a real good job there. Tuckett's got the Canucks in the right direction here. But my expectation is that this is the window where they get things turned in the right direction to get going here. Well, we'll watch with great anticipation tonight.

7 o'clock Pacific. 6 o'clock Mountain. 10 o'clock Eastern. You're going the wrong way. It's 8 o'clock Mountain. 10 o'clock of the East. Only a wrong way. It's 8 o'clock. 10 o'clock of the East. Only a guy from the West can do that on the fly next. All right, that's what you get when you get a hockey player

hosting a national show, okay? I'm telling you, that's the best it gets. Stop. Thanks for doing this, pal. Thanks, guys. All right, Bob Stauffer. You got to see my wife and I trying to calculate time change and what it means for getting more or less sleep for the kids.

Useless. Okay, look at me, national national audience check your local listings okay that's all i got for you um you know we had a long conversation there with stuff that's great and talked about all these different things 861 is a percentage yeah you can give up the chances you want to give up and they're bad defensively you need a safe there's a lot of people including under this roof that have covered hockey for a very long time that picked toronto and edmonton in a stanley cup final not this year not one sports that person said leaves this year but years past for sure not this year all over edmonton though oh 10 there's 10 experts around here that picked them i think 10 that's

there's a lot of people that believed in it yeah oh no doubt here's some oilers facts for you guys even strength expected goals for fourth in the league shot attempts third in the league shot attempts against second in the league like they're there i could go on this boring stuff but they're good by the numbers sharks terrible by the terrible by the numbers. And you're still bullish on Calgary getting back in it. Yeah, the last man in Canada. Not bullish. That's not the right

word. I just don't think there's something. You think there's something there that could get them back in a race. It's a very, very good decor. They have a goalie who has historically been good. Just shoot it in the net a few times, they'll be fine.

Their decor is legitimately excellent. Oh, bring Rasmus Andersen. Yeah, he's exceptional. Calgary loves listening to us talk about how they should trade all their players to the Leafs. That's probably their favorite thing. Highlight of the day, I'm sure. Game time, boys, before we go to break?

Yep. Let her rip, Sammy. All right, it's game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary. Bet365 must be 19 plus, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. A couple things I'm looking at for tonight. 11 games on tap, including the Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

And I saw a picture on Twitter today of Corey Perry on the bench, and the game is in Tampa, so with the Emily Arena, and he went out there when all the Lightning were practicing, and surrounding him, looking at him at the bench, was Kucherov, Hedman, Sergachev, Braden Point, and I forget the other guy.

They're all core guys, and they're all looking at them like they adore him. He is the holding court. The chief scumbag of the Tampa Bay. He is holding court. There's just no way in my mind that he doesn't score tonight against that team.

I looked at it. He's a plus 350 to score tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. I don't know what to make of Tampa Bay because when you watch them against the Leafs, like the good Tampa Bay against the Leafs, you're like, this is Red Army stuff. Well, watching them on the power play, it's like. It is Red Army. You know, it's like a cat with a laser pointer,

watching them pass it around. And just like, do they lose focus do they get bored i know vasilevsky's not there and i don't know do you do you get the sense that those blown leads against the leafs are non-existent if they had the big guy in that well no they did it twice in the playoffs with the big guy in that so so i mean then there's there he became human then but it's one of those things that if it's in your market we're sitting here going god that kucherov takes shifts off like can you believe you know like it's you watch someone enough and you get comfortable with their flaws victor headman kind of low-key hasn't been a great defenseman by the defender by the

fancy numbers lately like i have yet to see a team in the last few years move the puck like them. And that includes championships out of Vegas. And the Oilers do something different where McDavid and Dreisel move. St. Louis, Washington, there's more straight lines and dump and hit and go hard to the net. But as far as moving the puck is, between Point kucherov and stamp coast they don't have that threat to to shoot at any time they disguise their stuff oh my gosh yep so which contender is cory perry gonna get traded to at the deadline the leafs so they're gonna have four million i don't

think he's going anywhere you know the routine half well you can get cory perry for two million and then at that point of the season, it's probably only less than that. The Leafs could have had him for $753 years ago. $750,000. And now you want to cut it in half and give them to take half the salary and give up

another draft pick for him? That ship sailed. He's going to end up back in Tampa. No, I think he's going to stay there. You do? Yeah. Okay. No way. No way. He's going to end up back in Tampa. No, I think he's going to stay there. You do? Yeah. Okay. No way.

No way. He's going to play for another hockey team in March. Who said Jack Campbell's going to get claimed? No one. Okay. Did I? I don't know. Are you hearing voices?

I don't know. I didn't say that. You didn't say that? Absolutely not. And so we're talking about the Oilers this off, and they're playing the sharks tonight and we were talking about how much they're gonna win by i like the oilers minus four and a half goals plus 500 so that means they're gonna win they're gonna win by five goals i love that bet they are

going to eviscerate the san jose sharks tonight so there you go sorry a bunch of sharks swimming in the water. Yeah. Sorry, Edmonton. I've been way off on all my picks this year, so if you're fading me, you might do that. Yeah, yeah. I just think...

Yeah, I don't see five goals difference. No? You think the Sharks hang around? No. Here's what I know. Hold on, hold on, hold on. The Flyers 2-1? Edmonton's much like the Leafs here, okay?

Your issues... Your issues have to start in your own zone. And that's where you clean up. That means less gambles. That means less chances. Even if it means lowering your expectations on offense, just take care of your own zone. Here's what I know, though. Try to win a game 2-1,

3-2. That goal that goes in against the Leafs last night off Giordano's skate to make it 4-3. If one of those goes in for San Jose in the first 10 minutes and it's 1-0 San Jose, all I'm saying is things tighten up

a little bit. You know, you're like, this isn't happening. They beat the Flyers 2-1. Flyers actually aren't terrible either. Yeah. Okay, boys. Yeah, they're not as horrible. No, we're not saying San Jose's good. They're not as horrible. I don't know if you noticed or not, but that was their first win. They're terrible. The Sharks are terrible.

We talk about them every day how bad they are. I think, Sammy, if the Oilers are thinking tonight that they're going to light them up like you are suggesting, it can come back in your face pretty quick. Oilers are going to come after me. Their fans are going to come after me. But I think it's going to be a beatdown tonight.

And it needs to be. If you think you're any good of a hockey team, tonight is a night where you have to beat them. You see my expected goals for and against chart that has the teams and the Sharks. Oh, my God. They're on their own. They're off the map. It's a sharky ad. All chart that has the teams and the sharks. Oh, my God. They're on their own. They're off the map. It's a sharky ad. All right.

That would be the cats. Meow. Protect Skinner tonight. That's your number one priority is to protect Skinner. Surprise are going on them? I would have brought in the other guy. Good night to play the other guy. Well, it's like your save percentage for your team's 861 and if you need your somewhere if you need your new number one goalie to build some confidence

not a bad place to start you don't want picard to come in throw pitch a shutout and you're like now what do we do we want to use this guy all right uh that was game time presented by bet365 visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary a bet 365 must be 19 plus ontario only please play responsibly okay we're gonna take a quick break and when we come back we'll discuss a little la kings because uh pretty good hockey game last night in vegas two big strong teams went at it last night and we'll discuss that and a little bit of uh shane wright as well in seattle so plenty more on the real kipper and born show stick around diving deep into leaps raptors jays and nfl the jd bunk is podcast subscribe and

download the show on apple spot, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Los Angeles Kings won their seventh straight road game 4-1 over the big Las Vegas Golden Knights. Statement game. You think? Yeah. I watched that game for the first period and a half. Just the eighth team in league history to win one of their first seven road games to start a season.

Come on. Say that again. That felt wrong. They're the eighth team in league history to win each of their first seven road games. Gotcha. That's what I said, but in a different way. It's exactly what I said, just differently.

And remember what Sheldon said when they came here? That their game really translates to the road because of their center depth? Oh. With the matchups? Yeah. Because it's like they're not, other teams are getting an advantage on them

because they have three horses down the middle. Kopitar with his 400th career goal. Into the empty net. Into the empty net. But. They're 1-2-2 at home. 7-0-0 on the road. Another goal for Trevor Moore.

So I was watching that game. That's just a shot at you, Sammy, a little bit. Because he's a leaf. Different time. That's the next girlfriend that you, Sammy, a little bit. Different time. It's a leaf. Different time. That's my next girlfriend that I moved on. They traded him at the time for something that they needed. It was just, you know, it sucks. And even Dursey, too, kills me watching him crush it with the Coyotes

after they traded him, too. But I was watching that game last night, and the guy that jumps out to me whenever I watch Vegas is Shea Theodore. And I feel like he's really, really underrated when you talk about the sort of top defenseman guys. Why? What did the Ducks? The Ducks are rid of Shea Theodore and Josh Manson.

Every team screwed it up. It's just hindsight's 20-20 here in this in this sammy at the time it wasn't that clear i mean he was a top prospect top prospect but they had if i can recall our hockey night in canada uh kevin bx uh had a no move so that's the guy they would have loved to put up, but he had a no move. He wasn't going anywhere. They had Vantanen. Remember Vantanen? Sammy Vantanen. Yeah, Vantanen.

Vantanen. And then they had Josh Manson, who we know turned out to be a really solid, tough, top four type of guy that can help you win a Stanley Cup. And they picked Chase Theodore, or they traded Theodore. Yeah, they traded him.

They didn't lose him. They traded him. They traded him for future considerations to protect Josh Manton, who they ended up trading anyway. You know, going back to look at that expansion draft would be a fun experiment. So Florida gave Vegas Riley Smith.iley smith and march so they would take march or so like where were wait why is that right yeah there were some bad ones where are 30

other teams to go what was i thinking about why wouldn't i have traded for shea theodore back then yeah he is a really really good player i feel like he's one of the more underrated guys i i love watching him play i've really come to figure out that the guys i love watching play are shifty defense and they move the puck like kim and quinn hughes mccarr like all those guys i just i love it speaking of shifty what do you guys think about patrick kane and his potential destinations no i'm not saying for your leaves person for a team like the kings that like could use a little offensive pop maybe you know that has good defensive structure that is a contender to win a cup you know i don't know how they make that work cap wise or whatever but every team who's a contender has cap issues

could the kings be a fit for someone like him i know the rangers are always in the conversation. You know, I really wish he shut it down last year. I think, and we all love Pat Kane. And, you know, if he's healthy, he can come in and do some great things. But what his trade to the Rangers did last year just kind of proved that it's not an automatic, that a guy that could come in will be an instant hit with the chemistry of your team and how it kind of changes and the way the players feel around you. In Toronto, to me, there's a personal issue a little bit on guys trying to get Austin Matthews the puck all the time

because he's the best shooter in the world right now and he can score every game. So it's like force, force, force the puck. And I'm thinking I saw a little bit of that with the Rangers, that they would come in, he would come in, and now all of a sudden he's such a big star and such a big presence that it's not an automatic. For the LA Kings to be going the way they're going right now,

that's a big move to change that because he's a top six guy, right? You know, I feel a little bit about Kane like I feel about Max Domi in Toronto where it's like in order for that person, that player to have success, you have to put them in a position to succeed offensively, to give them touches on the power play, to play with good players. Otherwise, they don't really work. And a guy like Kane, if you're going to put him on a Stanley Cup contender he's probably not going to be the best guy in that spot like he's not going to be better than the left winger on you know Tampa Bay or whoever you think the best teams are he's not at this point in his career he's not as good as the best players on good teams so you're right Kip it's tough to find a spot where he's on a

Stanley Cup contender yet he's on a team that is going to use him on the first power play unit and can play him with top guys. It's tough to find a perfect fit for a guy like that, particularly because he's not great defensively. But aren't we getting to the point where he's ready to go? Yeah, he is. So, like, you know who would love a guy like him? Do you have any insight on him?

No. It wouldn't surprise me if he picked a destination within seven to ten days dallas stars i'm just saying yeah i don't know some people have told me vancouver oh my i don't think they need him that doesn't work for me how about buffalo's buffalo good enough for him to pick his hometown that would be a that would be a big time swallow some things that were said about patrick kane in vancouver yeah good point i don't think a guy that just owned your franchise you can't do like heartbreak literally the heartbreaker sally like the the song like can't bring it back luongo to this day, dreams of him shooting the puck.

Vancouver, they need help on the blue line, and something's going to give here. There's too much money still. Bavillier? Bavillier makes, I think, over $4 million. I know he scored a couple. He's playing fourth line. But there's not that much value there.

They're trying to free up some money here. Great start, all of that, but I don't think it changes the big picture for them to be trying to still lose some money. He's in the final year of that contract, 4.1. But they'd like to get that out. His two goals were the ninth and tenth goals. I know. I was watching the game. I was like, yeah, 4.1. But they'd like to get that out. And he also, his two goals were the ninth and tenth goals. I know right back, I was watching the game.

I was like, yeah, well, got to get him somewhere. News with Shane Wright being recalled. Eberle, we believe, dodged a big dangerous situation where he was cut in practice. Skated. I think Schwartz got him when he was reaching for a puck or diving for a puck but the first thought was possibly tendon um issues but uh doesn't seem like that he's day to day happened to my dad in practice glove fell off teammates

skated over the back of his wrist tendons all recoiled into his arm not cool hey do you like that should i like warned people about that probably uh so like out for the season my dad yeah yeah that was the end of that for him he they had to like pull him back and like reconnect that was at the end of his career yeah and then it was all with la yeah could not couldn't well it wasn't because of that necessarily that he retired but it was certainly part of the issues yes yeah so you know we are seeing people take more care right with the wrist guards or whatever last night claude geroux was wearing the kind of low pro mock neck looking like yashin out there with that what's a low pro well low profile not like a qmjhl so still plenty of room for something to get in there then.

Is that what you're saying? I'm saying it's slightly safer, but it's not fully safe. Yeah. It's just like no one's wearing a neck brace out there. I mean, that's not happening. So we've seen a few guys here, which lends to, hey, you don't have to mandate it if you want to wear it. Yeah. hey you don't have to mandate it if you want to wear it yeah i i guess it depends what if you're the person paying them and you own the team and you want to protect your assets or if you're the

league that you know it your argument in the past has been like maybe it's performance whatever that undershirt of a neck guard that drew was wearing didn't seem overly invasive to me but just going back to the the shane wright is such a weird draft yeah slavkoski simone nemich and then logan cooley three yeah and then shane wright went forth and remember how everyone was like oh my god arizona passed on him too and it's like logan cooley looks really good yeah that's although only one four goals and seven games in the american hockey league good for him for But Arizona passed on him too, and it's like Logan Cooley looks really good. Yeah, that's looking okay. Four goals in seven games in the American Hockey League. Good for him for, you know, a good start and getting the opportunity. You know who's, speaking of kind of draft picks, high draft picks

that sometimes don't end up being that face of your franchise, but Byfield in L.A.? Yeah, you like what's coming? Well, first of all, he's turning himself into an important player for the L.A. Kings. And, you know, talk about a guy that can hunt pucks down, a guy that can make plays. I don't think he'll ever be a star but he will be a very

good player for the la kings for a very long time and sometimes it takes time for some of these guys and i don't know where shane wright fits in all of this with seattle but you know for for these top picks top three picks no guarantees no for sure and that's where the fans got to readjust yeah there doesn't always happen like their their mindset here and you know the the biggest one i i feel for right now is uh slavkoski yeah in montreal I don't know whether those fans in Montreal will ever, ever accept him for not being a superstar

at first pick overall. Yeah, like definitely should have played in the American League last year. But PJ Stock on yesterday, he's talking about how Slavkovsky needs to start bodying people and being physical and it's like, that's not... I understand he's a big player, but he needs touches of the puck and he needs a chance to develop the offensive side of the game as much as anything by the way um you mentioned by field Lafreniere

good year so far 12 games in he's got four goals only six points but his underlying numbers are among the best on the Rangers that line is drive and. Stay in the lineup. That's a 27 goal pace. If the team's winning, then you go a long way into buying yourself time. I don't know how general managers look at these drafts and sleep

at night. Reputation. How about the scouts out there that rink to rink all winter and you're you gotta no one knows anything it's impossible no there's some good ones there are some good ones it's so hard is all because you're not just predicting um you know a player's talent level but also their physical development like will they just grow their genetics whatever but that personal drive thing is crazy is the dog in them meter, if you will.

Like, is a guy going to discover that he likes to drink, you know, and party? Like, it's just impossible to know all the factors. So, tough job. Vancouver in Ottawa tonight. They'll start a little bit of an eastern swing. The Leafs, of course, will entertain the Canucks as well here. Ottawa need to follow up last night. We heard Elliot on the Wednesday Night Hockey

talking about a big third period for them, and they came through, three goals. Yeah, and that's how you get the season going, how you get rolling. Okay, it's 3-3 heading into a third period. You're 4-6. You're in Toronto. You go hang three on them you win the

game you go to vancouver you know this can be the start of something great for them so i guess vancouver is going to ottawa so sure you know big night for them to to really get back to 500 and feel like this season's not lost and vancouver loves coming to the east and just kicking ass well they've been resting in canada they've just been watching games but it's also a chance to show the other side of the country here that uh i don't know what's what's been going on in the last uh month plus is uh is the real deal like the these will be statement games for vanc well. Oh yeah. The audacity. 4 p.m. games for them. They're out there.

Yeah. I had the audacity to suggest in an article yesterday on sports net that Vancouver is not the 2023 Boston Bruins. And there's a swarm of locusts. People were not. Well, you know, like here in your nine,

top couple of reasons. I mean, they've gotten exceptional goaltending, which they can expect to get, but their expected goals is more middle of the pack. And they've got, I think they're first in the NHL in goals four. Their expected goals is like 17th. I, for one, Justin, totally believe in the Vancouver Canucks.

They are just a great squad. And I think they're very good. I do think they're very good. I think they finish outside or above the wild card seating in that division their their opposition tonight you were talking about ottawa stutzla um who is just getting better every game i watch him he is officially a leaf killer 18 points in 18 games against the least by far as most he's earned the status now he's a leaf killer claude geroux with a great performance last night too matthew joseph that they were talking about trading in ottawa you know this

is how they're gonna make room or whatever for don't drink him well the pinto thing may have saved them joseph who is a playing fantastic he's a point per game guy now playing on the top line oh you gotta get pinto in well you gotta get pinto in but they're gonna get him in for 750 halfway through the season when it was going to be two point whatever. This may work out for them. Not that it's a positive, but it may be in the end. Were you overly impressed with

the blue line of Ottawa? Chikrin? Chikrin's awesome. As long as you can stay healthy. Chikrin and Sanderson are studs. A healthy Ottawa decor is great. The second they're down a guy or two, it's pretty thin. But Zub did take a morning skate today,

and they're expecting him to be back in the lineup. They also called up Matthew Highmore from Belleville. All right. Just like that. Two hours done. Another day. That's it. Our thanks to Gord Stelic and Bob Stauffer.

Hey, did they have a closer to this the zoom camera contest today no rather than be too close too far we're the judges who was closer to the camera at one point stoff's breath got on the screen i think love you bob appreciate you coming on so excited to be on our show he was jumping through the lens that's what happened all right enjoy your 11 games tonight everybody and we're back tomorrow on the real kipper and born show