Real Kyper & Bourne - Smooth Sailing Sens + Stanley Cup Rematch

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne are joined by Jason York (2:41), former NHL defenceman and co-host of the Coming In Hot Podcast, to discuss the Ottawa Senators' surging three-game win streak, Linus Ullmark's return to form, Drake Batherson's scoring ability, which areas the front office will look to improve in, Michael Andlauer's 'soft-tampering' comments, and more. Then, he looks at what has gone wrong for the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres. Later, Nick, Justin and Daniele Franceschi preview the 2024 Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers and discuss Elias Pettersson's standing in Vancouver following Rich Tocchet's post-game rant.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, it's the national edition of the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. We are live on Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver, Sportsnet 960 in Calgary, and right across your Sportsnet platforms, this hour of Real Kipper and Bourne brought to you by Bet365, Nick Kiprios justin born and disco dan franceschi in for our sammy mckee also on board derrick brandeo and frank the tank barrasca should we lead it off with the read that we didn't do in the first hour that before we forget it's yorkie okay um will we get in trouble if we don't read it? I think we

have to and we should read it. Oh, the answer is yes, we will get in trouble. Okay. I will bear the brunt of it. All right. Let's do it. All right. Food for kids time. It's Sportsnet 590. The fans 50 50 fortune supporting food for kids and we are now in the home stretch. So make

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and data rates apply. Beautifully done. Alright, no more mentioning food the rest of the show because my wife had me on a cleansing. Oh, are you really? Yes. Have you noticed I haven't had any of your chocolates? Yeah.

At your desk? Well, you didn't come in with any sort of muffin or anything today. Nothing. You're not eating food today? Well, no, no. I'm eating, but I'm off, like, you know, the good stuff. At this time of year? It's horrible. Why aren't you doing it like the rest of us slobs January 1st?

I'm trying to finish before I get to the really crazy areas, but I was out of control about it. I was eating anything that didn't wasn't nailed down still doing it man you know i was like i quit it down my one i got i was like that the shark from jaws when you split his stomach open like there'd be a like a license plate coming out in an old running shoe that was me that was me just a lamb euro all right let's go to a guy who's fit as a fiddle could still play the game today jason york former nhl defenseman and now co-host of coming in hot podcast what's going on yorkie baby coming in hot kipper i was just you're killed me you're eating everything and join the club i'm eating everything in sight right now, too.

It's a bad time of year. It's a bad time of the year, but it's a good one to be an Ottawa Senator alumni because they're kind of rolling a little bit here. And just kind of the turnaround, Yorkie, and three in a row, four out of five, and with the Rangers kind of slipping, is there a window right now for the Ottawa Senators? Tell you what, if you're going to point at one thing, Kipper, lean us all, Mark.

This guy's been all world. Do you know, so they played in Carolina on, I think it was Friday night. Up until that time, he had never beaten the Carolina Hurricanes. So that's not just with Otto. That's with the Boston Bruins. That's throughout his whole career. So something's going on in the water here, Kipper, because this team is playing so much differently.

I can't remember the last time they've played this way, and I can't remember the last time, because I was at the game on Saturday night against Pittsburgh where they beat the Penguins in overtime. Allmark got two standing ovations inside the building. I can't remember the last time a goaltender got a standing O in Ottawa. It's been a long time.

Yeah. Well, hey, it makes all the difference. And, like, hate to do this to Sens fans, but, like, this is what it looks like when you get goaltending. Like, the game just, it feels like everyone is playing better when you get a few saves. Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I've been watching them. Is it possible that the elite players,

the top-end guys on the stands, have taken a step too? Because watching Stutzla right now, there's not many guys who control a game the way he does for me. Yeah, you're a big Stutzla guy. Big Stutzla guy. Yeah. You know what's funny? And I've kind of been watching him

closely i usually pay more attention to d but when you watch timmy slicks look he's buying with top travis green has been selling them since day one and you hear you we all hear the turn 200 foot game he's a 200 foot player what exactly does it mean if you watch him on the back check he's tracking as hard as a fourth liner right now because you know guys on the fourth line they don't back check they're not playing right guys when you're guys on your first line get away with it sometimes but on ottawa everybody is accountable right now so they're they're back pressuring and timmy so it's like i'll tell you what guys he's he's been one of the hardest working guys on this team and it shows like you you when you watch this guy he's not going down like he was before because

he's got a little bit of reputation for that. I saw him take a hip check from Radko Gudis. I don't know if you saw that hit against Anaheim about a week ago. Got up, dusted himself off, got right back and started playing. So he's really matured as a player, fellas. And it's not just the offense. It's a 200-foot game. Stutzla, Norris, Kachuk, Sanderson,

they get the headlines a little bit on this hockey club as being faces, but Batherson, the Drake, just watching him now, he should be in that mix, eh, for one of the faces. So I remember last time I was on with you guys i think we chatted about batherson a little bit he's he's a type of guy six foot three sneaky big you know certain guys you play with and it looks like they got like fly paper or stick them on their hockey stick you want okay how's that puck like sticking on a stick like that he just looks like this year he's playing with a ton of confidence he's strong on pucks he's physical because when when drake plays physical he uh he just adds that extra element to his game but he's uh i'm with you

kipper he's a guy like you look at his contract what he's making right now fellas like he's making foreign change he'd be on my if you're ever considering a trading guy he's almost an untouchable the way he's playing right now fellas yeah i mean 33 points in 30 games i think a lot of people don't realize he's up there with you know brady kachuk and stats and all that and ask you a bit about brady i look i was looking at the shots of the the leaders in ottawa and it's like 65 65 125 for brady 60 like how does this guy end up with so many shots he's not a typical hold the puck ragged skate around is it just constantly getting open in the ozone it's like he's in front of the net and he's hitting the pinata he's getting like five whacks at pucks all right maybe that's it you remember big walt when he played when keith

kachuk kipper you played a lot against Kachuk. He would stay in that radius, that 5-foot, 10-foot radius in front of the net. And he'll get one, he'll get two, he'll get three walks. Like, there's not many guys in the league right now, guys, that are 6'3", whatever Brady is, 215, 220. And it's just, he's such a tough guy to move. So once he establishes his spot in front of the net, you're not moving him. And he's actually, he's such a tough guy to move so once he has he establishes his spot in frill net you're not moving him and he's actually he scored a few goals he's getting some more shots

from the outside too like he's kind of expanded that range so he doesn't have the five foot the three foot range but he's also been pretty good from outside too this team like what more can you say like they've had a real nice stretch here the key is going to be can they keep it up they've got uh they're going on the road starting tomorrow, and they're on the road right into the beginning of January. So that's going to be the tell for the Ottawa Senators. Can they keep playing like this on the road? I want to touch on that road trip, and I'll let you in a second,

just the blue line here. And if it's settled in at all, Nick Jensen's been, for me, a real pleasant surprise here. But the sense I'm getting yorkie is they're still looking for a defenseman here they're going to be one of a dozen teams looking to shore up a blue line and i don't know if that means top four or not but what have you seen out of that blue line on where they started where they now, or where they can get to? What's the ceiling? So a couple of things, Kipper. So first of all, what I'm seeing, number one, you mentioned the guy right there, Jensen.

He's come in and he's allowed Thomas Chabot to go back to playing the way Thomas Chabot. The last time Thomas Chabot played like this was when Dylan DeMello was in town. And that's probably, with all due respect to a lot of these guys that have played with Thomas Chabot since then, Jensen's a real NHL defenseman. He's a legit top four guy. And Chabot hasn't had that type of partner for a long, long time. But Jensen's come in and he's just been, you know those guys you play with, fellas? They can skate.

They just think. They're low maintenance. They just do everything right. Not flashy, but that's what Nick Jensen is, and he's been perfect for Shabbat. So that pairing's been great. Sanderson's been good. He's taken some heat here and there, but I think with Artem Zub on the lineup, that's kind of affected him a little bit.

So even with a healthy Zub, I still thought these guys were going to look for another defenseman, especially if they're going to stay in this race, which I think they will. But, yeah, I think a veteran D doesn't have to be a top four. Just somebody that is a legit NHL defenseman, and it wouldn't hurt either if this guy is a guy that plays with a little bit of bite. Yeah, when I look at this roster and I see, like, I like Sanderson a lot. I think he's a really good player uh and i see hamannik with him i'm like ah man i i don't know yeah you know

that doesn't strike me as a team that like wins in the playoffs so when you look at this roster how serious do you think they are about making a bigger trade about trying to add someone of significance to it and where do you think they would look to to make that ad between the fords dean goaltending well i i think i think they're happy with their goaltending right now for fordsburg's hurt i don't know if you guys saw the video of the e-bug coming into the running up the on-ramp there it was awesome coming up from the outlet malls like come on can somebody not pick this guy i know get a subway system going for goodness sake something going kipper don't don't go get me started on the on the light rail here because that ain't working but um i i think number one i think i think you guys hit the nail on the head i

think in a perfect world you can get a defenseman but that's like getting lying like kipper you said it getting lying everybody wants a defenseman if they could somehow get a defenseman probably another forward another forward that's an NHL-type player. And Steve Stahels is on the record. If he's always looking if it's going to improve this hockey club, especially if they're going to continue to play in the air right now. If this is going to continue, I wouldn't be surprised whatsoever if they tried to add a couple pieces.

All right. Winners three out of four, five out of six i think uh as well and it's one thing i guess to to beat anaheim and pittsburgh yorkie and you mentioned the three nothing uh win against carolina but this road trip man starting in seattle tomorrow night calgary vancouver edmonton winnipeg minnesota oh this, St. Louis, and Detroit. Like, what is going on here? Why? I get it.

World Juniors, right? You're getting kicked out of your building. But this is truly make or break, as JB just alluded to. I think so. I think so. Like, just go on this road trip and and stay in the race don't don't play yourself out of the race easier said and done because you got a lot of tough teams you're heading to winnipeg you're heading to vancouver like you got some you got some tough

games coming up i'll tell you i like how this team's playing right now and i i just hope when it's all said and done guys and the dust settles and you got your playoff team set, wouldn't it be great to see a Toronto-Ottawa series once again? Like, it's been too long. We need that. We need an Ottawa-Toronto. You know, Yorkie, as we wake up this morning, the Leafs are in first in the Atlantic, and by points percentage, Ottawa's in the second wildcard spot.

It could happen. Oh, what a Christmas present that would be. It would be awesome. It would be your throw-in. Sportsnet would also be delighted. You know, we didn't get to talk to you last week. What were your thoughts on Ann Lauer's soft tampering comments?

Soft tampering? It's just soft tampering. Real tampering. It's just soft tampering. You know not real tampering. It's just soft tampering. You know, this is just my personal opinion. I think it goes back to, you know, they talked about, well, they got punished the first round draft pick. It's like he came in, he bought the team.

It's like, surprise, you're losing a first round draft pick. It's like, oh, great. And I get it. And I actually like it because I live in this city. I understand this city. People here on auto have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder and they want to protect it. And I liked it.

And Laura's standing up for the little guys. Well, you know, I got, I got no issues with it. Yeah. Listen, I think for sure. It ties into the fact that they got ripped off a pick for sure off of the Pierre Dorian trade. But the other one, too, is that maybe Yorkie's taking one for the team a little bit in terms of not so much what other people think outside of it but how it may maybe felt brady kachuk and his wife and any other player to say i've got your back i think you know maybe it's a rallying point a little bit for the for the guys in the room that's a great point kipper and i'll tell you this with with this team

right now the way the mood has changed and that's that's all Adler like he's come in here and he's he lives in the community here like he's bought a place he lives here like when back when Melnick was here like he would fly in and he wasn't part of the fabric of the community so I think I know he gets it by coming in here living here he goes into the office every day at the work at the rink and he's so he understands this He's out. He's going for dinner. He's talking to people. And I like it. He's talking to the guys on the team.

What do you guys need? What do we need to be better? What are you guys seeing? So it's like a we're in this together thing, Kipper, like you said. And I think players, especially today's player, I think they appreciate that. They get it. And I think it goes a long way. Well, Yorkie, isn't it crazy then to look at what's happening in Buffalo

with Terry Pagula, who a lot of Sabres fans have accused of basically abandoning them in favor of the Bills, who are obviously a money-printing machine at this point. You know, do you look at the Sabres right now, you know, knowing where the Sens have been in the past and just see how frustrating it is. And like, God, it's a long, long road back to the surface from there. It's, I'll tell you, just Ottawa has suffered for a long time

with not making the playoffs. And then you say, okay, it's bad here. Look at Buffalo. What is it, 13 seasons? So yeah, I totally get that. But I'll tell you, I just, there is, there's a different vibe going on in this city right now. I mentioned being at the last game the other night, seeing the people.

I'll tell you, the biggest reason is ownership, which we talked about. It's been such a long time since they've had that legit goaltender like Linus Allmark. I don't know if you guys have saw the numbers lately. His save percentage in this little run they've gone on is off the charts. I think he's leading in a bunch of different categories. He's turned it around totally, guys, because he had that slow start. Now he's come out and he's playing like the Linus Olmark everybody expected. What is it you attribute it to?

Just a focus thing for him? Just finally being acclimated to the surroundings? I didn't even say that there you go there you go that's why he's here is that it yorkie he he was battling an injury early on in the season kipper and i think potentially he might have come back because he always want to get back you're excited new team i just don't think he was 100 right away at the city when he came in here he bought a house and he moved into a neighborhood where all the guys were so there is an adjustment there I also think too the team's just playing better too in front of them like they're not

like before early in the season there was a little looser like they've had games where they've given up I think they held the Bruins one period to no shots in Boston. So I think it's a combination of Allmark and how the team's planned. So it's a more predictable way of playing hockey that the Senators are doing right now, if that makes any sense. They're not giving up those huge chances all

the time. It's just a better team system. And when they do break down, which all teams do, Allmark's been been there he's been really good well we're having a moment moment well we can acknowledge that the sens have good solid ownership and elite star players which is very nice to say let's beat up some other franchises how about the rangers yorkie oh what's good i mean what a mess hey they started 12 and 4 and i think what are they below 500 other 15 14 and 1 now what a mess so we were talking about this today on our show on on the pod this morning i just i don't like

the i don't like the mix of their top players and if if you look around the top teams in the league their best players are usually their hardest workers we just talked about stuxell how hard he's working right now you look at colorado how how hard Nathan McKinnon works. You look at Mark Stone, like these guys are all 200-foot players. Crosby, like Crosby at whatever he is, 36 right now, he's still tracking back. He's still in the right place. He's still on top of the puck.

And just fine when I watch the Rangers guys, too many of their star players, like a Panera and like a Zibanejek, great players, talented players, but they're not 200-foot players. So, on one hand, we got the New York Rangers and Chris Drury putting names out there available, all the stars,

guys walking in perhaps feeling like they're on eggshells. Today, Frank Cervelli reporting that Pagula goes into the Buffalo dress room and basically says that not to expect anything. We're status quo here and everything's fine.

No problem. Don't feel bad. Let's go. So, Yorkie, where is that fine line in the middle for you? I thought you were going to say it came into the dress room and just blasted everybody and said, you guys are getting a lump of coal this year for Christmas. He's cashing those bills.

He's like, whatever, we're fine here. He told them no big trades. No big trades coming. Oh, boy, yeah. I don't know. Like, when you look at Buffalo's roster on paper, they've got some good players. They've got some real good young defensemen.

They've got some nice prospects up front. They've got forwards with size. I really like Alex Tuck as a player um it's tough to put a finger on it like is there is their goaltending good enough probably not like let's start there like look around the nhl show me good teams usually right we'll show you a good goalie it's they pretty well go hand in hand right but you know the thing that to me is separating ottawa right now from some of these teams, and I'll give you another one here, Detroit, is high-end guys.

Like, if you're only as good as your best players, you look at the guys in the cup finals over recent years, it's all Barkov and Kachuk and McDavid and Dreisaitl and McKinnon and his crew. You know, like, what's Detroit's ceiling for you? You know, we watched them beat the Leafs this weekend, but it's like, are they really going to get there with Larkin and Raymond is their best players.

Yeah. I really liked Detroit's coach, by the way. I think he's a smart coach. I think he's one of the smartest guys in the game. I loved him when he, they had him on to the playoffs that year too. He looked like a super villain there when they had him on.

He was right. Again, like when I look at, I dylan larkin as a player but i look after dylan larkin i just there's there's something to be said about having elite game breakers on your team um i just think it's the tough to put a finger on guys it just when i look at the detroit brotherlings i'm not sure what their identity is like what kind of team are they? What do they do? They're just kind of one of those teams right now for me that's kind of in the murky middle.

And I just don't know what they are. And that's probably why they are where they are right now is because they're really a team with not much of an identity. Hey, we didn't really get a chance to say this, but the reunion of the pizza line in Ottawa, seeing them all together, Alfredson, Heatley, and Jason Spetz. So that was kind of fun. I should have had you out there with him, Yorkie.

I went down and said hi to the boys in the box there. I went to see the heater. That was the heater's first time back in the building too. And he was pretty, Danny was pretty candid too about coming back. And they said, well, you haven't been back in a long time. He's like, well,

nobody invited me. Is that right? Oh, guaranteed. He was just like, what do you want me to do? Just show up? Like you have to care about your alumni.

He goes, I've been waiting for my invite for a long time. And it kind of goes what I was talking about. Like Michael Anlauer strolls in the town and says, you know what?

Let's start reengaging our alumni. Let's start making our history important. Let's bring back Danny Heatley and welcome this guy into our building. I think it was great. And Jason Spezza showed up. They had a nice moment at center ice. They put him in a nice private box. But people, you guys, Kipper, you know this.

Guys around the league talk. How well does this team treat their alumni? Are these guys first class or not? There's some teams I play for I've never gotten a call in my life. They don't even know I exist. But when the Ottawa Senators are doing things differently now, fellas,

and it's starting at the top. Like that to me just was a real classy move. And Danny said that. He's like, hey, I got invited back by Mr. Adlauer. That's why i came back and uh we'll give you and men does a little our friendian men does a little credit to you guys i think uh he might have had his fingerprints on this one as well sharp guy yeah i just know that i took him under my wing here at sportsnet yorkie i want you to know that tell him that

tell him that i'll tell him like As good as your team is currently, you still have to be in touch with your past. I know it was a big thing with the Islanders, and my dad's alumni group, Milbury, came in there, took the pictures off the wall, and all of a sudden, it's going to be the new-era Islanders, and no one went back for 15 years. Now they lean way into it.

I don't want to. Go ahead, Yorkie. It's 100%. It's 100%, Kipper. You go around toronto you like dougie gilmore wendell clark these guys are still enshrined in the tradition and it just to me it just helps sell your brand and that's that's something with i'll give you a great example here in ottawa one of the first things michael and laura did when he came in our box used to be way up in the 400 level 400 level still not bad, but he's like, you know what?

I want these guys lower so people can see them. So they're out, they're walking around, you can move the box down. And it's been just little things like that make a huge difference. That's cool. Yeah, I'm not, I don't want to embarrass any team right now, but I will tell you an organization that's been around a long time offers their alumni a discount on drinks when they come to the game. but I will tell you an organization that's been around a long time offers their alumni a discount on drinks.

No way. A discount? A discount on drinks. 10% off? That's all I'll say. That's pretty wild. Yeah. Yeah.

So we still. Is it the Hartford Whalers? Because that would make sense. No. We still got some work to do to acknowledge players of the past. Come on, Kipper. No, no, no. What are you talking about?

No, stop it, Yorkie. We'll do the math here, Borny. Well, Kipper's not there. I don't think it's Toronto. It definitely isn't. One thing I know about working for Sportsnet and Rogers, coming here and embarrassing Toronto is not going to do us any good. So it's not going to be Toronto, I tell you that.

Yorkie, great stuff, buddy. Really appreciate your time. Happy holidays, all right? All the best to you and your family. Merry Christmas, everybody. Thanks for having me, guys. Thanks so much, Yorkie. Appreciate it.

That is Jason York. Always great stuff out of him. Did you get a bill in the mail? It's like a 407 bill just shows up three coronas uh yeah interesting uh just to kind of put a bow on the buffalo sabers here and you know pagula and going in there i'm not sure that that's completely the answer either to reinforce everybody like you know no one's going anywhere we got the answer either to reinforce everybody. Like, you know, no one's going anywhere. We got the answer in this room.

I mean, I'm not saying that you got to go super hard, but there has to be something in the middle there that tells everybody this is unacceptable. You just can't feel like win or lose. There's a paycheck and booze. You know, I can't help but think so we've been watching the leafs um be competitive uh for seven years now you know usually finishing second third in their division and i look at the sabers lineup and i go where would this guy fit in

if they were on the leafs and it's a lot of third line players so it's tough to blame the coach easier to blame the gm maybe but maybe i don't really know what they're supposed to do because what he said that the answers are in this room the answers are not in this room it's zach benson peterka you know quinn cousins greenway cool it's zucker like i don't know it that's not going to win you enough games to make playoffs and contend so they do need to do something I mean their best offensive player yesterday was a guy that was out of the lineup for five games prior

it kind of tells the story right your goaltender had him played in what he's called up from the AHL stuck him in there again you can easily find reasons as to why they're in that position and they probably you

know they need everyone they can't be without rasmus dalene but the divisions not that they're even a great division man they have work to do you know what i would like to see them do sorry stuff like st louis getting cam fowler try to win now go get truba like you need to try to win hockey? The Greenway giveaway. Like, I've probably had, you know, two or three of those, like, in my career. And every single one of them, I just wanted to die. Well, and they always end up in your net. He had the natural, God, I screwed up reaction. Yeah.

But I don't know if people truly know what that feels like when you give up the puck like that and you're a winger you're kind of helpless just watching it in your d-zone like don't let this come back to me don't let this come back to me it's like we take a bad penalty you're in the box you're just like oh oh without a doubt uh you got a little game time for us there disco yes indeed kipper uh it's game time presented us there, Disco? Yes, indeed, Kipper. 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+. Ontario only. Play responsibly. So three games in the NHL tonight, including Stanley Cup final rematch. The Panthers in Edmonton to take on the Oilers. The Panthers plus 105 on the money line. The Oilers minus 125. Favorites on the money line. Washington in Dallas.

The Stars favored in that one minus 155. And Colorado on the road against Vancouver coming off a bit of a stinker on Saturday night. They are favored. The Avalanche, that is, minus 135 against the Canucks. Personally, when I look at the three games, I kind of like Edmonton. I don't like the Oilers at home in this matchup. And I'm actually going to reference something that Matthew Kachuk said earlier today when he was talking about playing in a Stanley Cup final rematch.

He referenced how he was so angry last year when they played Vegas. They played Vegas twice, beat them twice. And so I'm going to follow that same trend of being angry when you have to play against the team that beat you in the cup final. And I'm going to say Edmonton tonight. I don't mind them on the money line at minus 125, paying a little bit of that price to get them at home against Florida. Here is Florida's goals for in the last four games.

Three for the win, two for the win, Two for the win. Zero for the loss. Zero for the loss. So they're struggling to score goals right now. Oilers, I saw there's an article on our website about the Oilers saying that they don't care about this. This whole, they beat them last year. They don't care. It's just another game. What do you think?

You're lagging the juice, huh? No. Not another game. Not another game. Not another game. No. They're reaching game seven. Game seven by a goal. So, yes, I like the Edmonton bet.

By the way, Barkov, sort of questionable tonight. I know Paul Murray said he's quote-unquote hopeful that he'll play, but he did not skate today. An injured Barkov would really help. That was game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary. A Bet365 must be 19 plus. Ontario only.

Play responsibly. God, the energy you brought on that thing was unbelievable. Thank you, Kipper. Like all time high. Again, we got even angry you a little bit. Refreshing. Right? Usually we just get sad, sad, sad, sad.

Leafs will probably lose by three. As they always do. Oh, it's so fun to beat up when he's not here. He can't defend himself. Okay, let's take a quick break. When we return, we get into a little bit more of this Stanley Cup final rematch. We got a little sound from a kachuk.

More when we return to Real Kipper and Bourne. Hey, it's Matt Marchese. And I'm Mike Futa. We're discussing the top stories of the day across the NHL and the hockey world. Weekdays at noon. It's the Fan Hockey Show on Sportsnet 590, The Fan, and wherever you get your podcasts. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne. Let's go Dan,

Franceschi, in for Sammy McKee. All right, as we said before the break, Panthers face the Oilers for the first time since the Stanley Cup Final. This one is a prime Amazon game, right, of the week? Yeah. Correct. Pretty good one.

Good, real good. If you're not going to get the leafs in there it's as good as it gets i'm just talking ratings wise um what do you expect like florida yeah they they're coming off a tough loss where they didn't score they didn't have their captain uh florida seems one night they look like they're ready to defend their championship the next night they're like yeah let me tell you who the oilers have beat their last three games uh the vegas golden knights the minnesota wild and the tampa bay lightning yeah they're playing pretty well they are playing well and skinner's playing really well and

darnell nurse is playing as well as we've seen him in a long time they look good he looks good and i mean it's not that hard to see this oilers team i saw something the other day about uh you know people not believing in the oilers well how many people at Sportsnet picked them to win the Cup? I think it was everybody but two. It was like 20 analysts and 17 or 18 picked the Oilers to win the Cup. So this is what we saw. I was one of them.

This team looks like that team that can win a Stanley Cup. They just feel less pressure-filled and more like themselves. I don't know. So yeah, I can see them a little frustrated tonight taking it to Florida pretty good. But I think it actually hurts them that florida's lost the last two games because they're a prideful bunch and uh they got a good coach all right let's go to matthew kachuk on uh facing the edmonton oilers uh yeah i was pretty angry playing against vegas for the first

time last year i mean you there's nothing you can do about the year before, obviously, but you want to, you know, they took away your dream, basically. So I remember that was a very hard-fought game, to say the least, against Vegas last year. So I expect tonight will be a very, very, very intense game with a lot of physicality. I mean, they got a lot of speed and skill, but I'm sure this one's going to be a pretty intense one. I would expect the same.

Yep. Reasonable. A hundred percent. Kind of tough. No, sorry. Like if you're the Panthers and they, you know, the other team really wants to get mad and make it physical and whatever. And it's like, we won the cup already.

Go ahead. Go wild. We also have the coach on the intensity. Interested in hearing Paul Maurice? Are we allowed to play him without Sammy here? I think we should play him extra without Sammy. He hates him so much. All right. Let's go to Paul Maurice on his thoughts.

82 games, it can be a bit of a grind. And finding that energy every night is a challenge. And the good teams find it, but they also, they've got some structure, and they've got good players, so they win enough games. But these games aren't the same as the other, I don't think. We'll talk about the fact we don't like our last two games. They'll talk about, you know, they're playing great right now. But these games are different.

The intensity level in any team that we've played in the playoffs the last two years has just been higher for both teams. Do you think this Florida Panthers team can do it again? Do you think they're good enough? Yeah, I think the hole left between Montour and Ekman Larson is substantial. I am not a Nate Schmidt fan. No? No. Just stylistically?

I think we've seen him in Winnipeg. We've seen him in Vegas. Did he have a pit stop in Vancouver? Yes, he did. Oh, my gosh. Okay. He likes to go, go, go. I'm watching him a few nights where I don't know if he closed gaps well enough.

And that's where I think, again, the loss between two substantial NHL top four, five guys at a championship level has been hard for Paul Maurice's club to overcome it looks like they're gonna scratch Adam Boakvist and Schmidt will play so he's in tonight yeah I mean he's 33 years old right he's been a great player and well he's been a very good player in the league and I don't know that any team with real cup aspirations has him playing you know 18 minutes and the other one I'll let you go I was gonna say that's that's the key, though. I actually think when you look at both of these teams, it's interesting because the parallel of the blue line being a bit of an issue, it exists for both teams, right?

Like Edmonton, and I looked this up earlier today, because we all remember, slow start last year, from November, I think it was 12th onwards, best winning percentage in the NHL, right? This year, almost an identical script. Like since November 18th, they have the third best winning percentage in the NHL. It's 731.

But still, I don't think if we look at it sort of, if we're being honest, both of these teams, there are no illusions that they are good enough. But if they upgrade the blue line, they can both certainly be right back where they were a year ago. But short of that, odds are

it's going to be a very challenging road, I find, for both of these teams. It does seem like a good year for either team to take a big swing. Whatever is available at the deadline. If you're Florida in particular, you've got to strike while the iron's hot. And for the record, we're seldom honest on this show.

If we're being honest. If you're going to use that phrase, you got to use it on another show. If we're being honest. It doesn't work here. We always speak in hyperbole and we don't tell the truth. The other thing that sticks out for me for Florida as well is just Bobrovsky has not had a level of consistency either and i don't know what his save percentage is i haven't brought it up here but i don't know if you have it right

there but it's there's some nights when he kind of looks like old new old yeah old bob middle bob i will say you know when i sort sort the five-on-five save percentage by goaltending, like just goaltending, so Bob specifically, Florida's fifth worst in the NHL. So they're not getting saves, and we talked about Ottawa earlier. Suddenly they look better when they get saves. Funny how that happens. You probably have Bob now.

No, no, I don't. My computer crashed up. You're all good. Classic. That's a Sammy move right there. At all strengths, they're fifth worst in the league. Big difference. All right.

Just a reminder, this hour of Real Kipper and Bourne brought to you by Bet365 Vancouver. What did you make out of the Boston Bruin game where they kind of handed them their lunch and Brad Marchand kind of got the last laugh a little bit can't taunting taunting the crowd with the old i can't hear you or i can hear you one of the two right yeah i get a kick out of this canucks team it's uh they have a lot of potential but it does feel like Talkett is having a harder time squeezing that out of them this year.

Like they can get to these great heights, but they have some real stinker performances too. They're a very strange team to me, and it feels like there's a lot going on behind the scenes that maybe we're not sure about. We do have a Talkett clip on the Canucks lacking emotional pushback. Why don't we get to

that now in chat about it let's talk it we have let's face facts for four or five guys they're struggling they're struggling to get emotionally invested in the game and that's my job to get these guys still certain guys we gotta we gotta find another gear from them they gotta understand that it's it's the nhl and you can't you can't play one good game and too bad you got or whatever you gotta be this is a game a sport the nhl where you have to be jacked up to play the game you have to be emotionally in the game and sometimes the guys are takes them like 30 minutes to get in the game for whatever reason. Wow. It's pretty general.

I mean, he's getting one of the most jacked up guys back in the lineup in Miller. Yeah. Is he not? Like that guy leads the league in, I think, jacked up emotion. Jacked upness. Yeah, I mean, they are, listen, they're a 600 winning percentage team this year. They just got Thatcher Demko back miller is coming back like besser had missed time earlier in the year they're so who's he talking about pd you think are we allowed to talk about pd well elliot traded him

to the buffalo sabers pd's like nylander where like if you mention him a certain section of the fan base no matter what you say you cannot criticize this man. You're not going to get emotional PD. Are you? Are you kind of excluding him and you're talking to others?

I don't know. You're allowed to ask for emotion I think. What did you say about Elliot trading him? Elliot had a dream I think. What did you say about Elliott trading him? Elliott had a dream, I think. I don't know. Yeah, a little epiphany. A little hypothetical trade. And he's got that market kind of a bit of an uproar.

Yeah. On his podcast, he mentioned Pedersen to Buffalo for Byram. Yep, Bowen Byram and Dylan Cousins. And to be clear, this was not a report. This was him being like, would that work? Well, if it happens, then he's going to say I reported it. And if it doesn't happen, then it was just off the top

of my head. Right. He's covered. That's what the insiders do. A little from column A, a little from column B. It is interesting because the Sabres so badly have to do something. And the very thing I said in this hour, I think, is that they just don't have the elite top-end guys to build around. Like Thompson's great, and then Darlene, not loving power.

You throw EP40 in the mix. I wouldn't make this trade-off from Vancouver at all. For Cousins and Byram? But you would? I like it. Do you? Really? Well, I think Cousins is 23 years old.

He is, yeah. He has a 30-goal season under his belt, if I'm not mistaken. He's under contract for a long time, and he's a worker bee, you know, very much in the talk it mold. Byram has high upside. I know that he's not going to be quinn hughes though hughes is going to play powerpoint one how good he's going to be either yeah you don't love by well like colorado kind of a good smart team yeah why would they just i will say

get rid of them when there's multiple teams that are like no one else can have this you worry yeah you do worry. You worry for sure when a guy's available and he's young and talented and it's like, why? Why is he available again? Because they want to trade him at the apex value. That's what it is. It's the perception of trading him at his peak a little bit too early

but then in hindsight it'll look pretty beneficial. Yeah. And the teams know first. I've seen that enough being around teams where they're like this guy ain't it. And are we convinced that Miller and Pettersson are just, they're going to be Vancouver Canucks for the next two or three years? Well, if Pettersson isn't, probably increases the odds that Miller is. Or vice versa. Right.

That you get rid of Miller. But if you were to pick a horse to ride and you're rick talkett and jim rutherford all the we know what type of horse they would pick but this is where miller's left everybody with such uh no uh unanswered you know questions like okay does, does he want to stay long-term? Are you okay? Do you want to go back to the States? What's going on here? So I would think that Petey, off of his recent signing,

is more committed long-term than what I don't know about Miller. You know what stands out to me, guys, as it relates to Pettersson? There was a show actually, I think it was maybe May or June we were doing, and I was filling in for Sammy as well, but we actually talked about Pettersson exit interview with the Canucks where he mentioned, I need to get away from all this, right? Where he kind of like was really, really hypersensitive to the idea of noise being out there.

Just, that stuff sticks with you, right? Like it says something about the type of personality he is. And in the right environment, Bourne, I think you're right on. Like very similar to Willie in that respect. In the right situation, can be a chameleon right you you just embrace and admire all the skill and talent you forget about the other stuff but when you need to lean on that guy to be the guy or one of the top dogs a little bit of a different story at times he was leaned on pretty heavy to sign that contract when he did and he did well for

himself uh jason bruff who we have on the show from hallford and bruff a great tweet uh is my anxious canucks fan brain just led me to the bio calculator for uh calculator for dylan cousins you know already seen like the trade happened and it goes wrong and how do we solve this the other one in the equation is brock besser i've had him on my sportsnet.ca uh intriguing list rather move him and keep um pd so he's also in play i don't know if you guys caught jimmy rutherford with ray farrow and uh scott oak on after hours but he brought up brock besser situation and really non-committal either way yeah not reinforcing that we'd like to keep them or we want them so not don waddell on olivier no by the way we had olivier or him on our show what'd he say that guy's not going anywhere yeah going anywhere yeah didn't get that out of jimmy rutherford on brock besser so

there's another piece that that could fit in with changing the makeup substantially of the team i don't believe without you know moving on miller or pd i don't believe that they would trade miller or pd purely because the guys don't get along great like that's not the end of the world i'm sure you had some teammates that you didn't love but you know here's 20 some guys you don't have to sit by him at dinner you don't have to go out with them okay i don't know again i'm not talking specifics on miller and pd and their scenario you're talking about but i'm saying that if one player if one player has problems with one player then there's a chance that multi-players have trouble with one

player. So it's not just we're moving somebody out because he's pissed off one person. You're moving someone out because he's a problem. Because there's probably more than one player that kind of feels the same way

about a particular player. And again, I am not talking about Petey versus Miller or the Vancouver Canucks versus Miller. I am saying in general, when I've been in dressing rooms, when we know a certain guy's a tough egg in the room,

it's usually because he's upset more than one guy that's i don't know if that helps you or not it does help me a lot yeah because it does make sense it's you know i i had asked someone about uh miller's situation who not not that they knew about it but just when players go through a hard time off the ice and i asked them about burnout and this person's fairly versed in this sort of thing and when they said it's never just burnout right there's always something else that triggers it there's an event there's whatever it it works with your point that it's never just one guy

these things that come out that it's like oh oh, it's burnout. Oh, these guys. There's always behind the scenes a whole flowering issue from this one that gets brought forward for the rest of us to see. So that would be interesting. Well, plenty of intriguing storylines in Vancouver, man. 32% of Canucks fans, according to Brough's poll, would do Cousins and Byram for Petey. 68 say hell no. I will say this, though, that Petey signs that

eight-year deal. This is the only window that his no move doesn't kick in, right? So keep that in mind. It's in mind. If Vancouver ever entertained the thought of trading

Petey, they would have to do it by March because. Would you like a talented but mercurial center? I shouldn't say that. They'd have to trade him. I have to rephrase that. They would have to trade him to have an effect on this season, meaning that they could trade him in the summer they could trade

him at the draft okay they could trade him up until july 1st when his no move kicks in right and the reason why he didn't get a no move is because he wasn't eligible he was too young to get it on the first year of this deal i The Canucks have this window. Yeah. Gotcha. Alright, well that is something to keep an eye on. Alright, what else you got? Well, we had our games for tonight. There's actually

not much time left here, Kip, to dig too much. Let's talk about the games tonight. Florida-Edmonton. That's the prediction. I think Edmonton's feeling it right now and i think i think there's still some question marks on on florida we got washington dallas washington dallas washington dallas when are we going to really start believing in washington guys i'm not gonna do it no you are no i'm not you are really no dallas and dylan strome's turning himself into a nice

really nice player dare i say all-star caliber he's having a great year and even in the absence of ovi has done a good job of continuing to produce offense your boy chicken's doing well there too but still i got dallas tonight bounce backounce back for Vancouver in the late one against Colorado. Yeah. I think Taco. Yeah. Too much of an A on Saturday. He'll get them going.

Like the Avs. Okay. Our thanks to Gord Stelic in the first hour and Jason York at the top of the hour. Hey, who's getting here? The focus is on the Stanley Cup rematch. Enjoy it. Enjoy your game. And we're right back here tomorrow.

Now, where is our Sammy going to make a cameo appearance on our show? I don't know if it's customs or not. I'm way back. Boy, that Josh Allen looks good. Yeah. Yes. 48 points, and he said they left a few out there after the game. If I'm Pugula, I forget I own the Sabres, too. Enjoy your night, everybody.

We're back tomorrow on the Real Kipper Inborn Show.