Real Kyper & Bourne - Tying the Series With the Captain’s Hat

Episode Date: April 21, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee open the show by discussing the Maple Leafs' convincing win over the Tampa Bay Lightning to tie the series, why Game 2 might have been Morgan Rielly's best game in the playoffs, how past failures fueled their victory and Matthew Knies' post-season debut. Former NHL President, GM and Head Coach Doug MacLean (44:54) explains why acquiring Ryan O'Reilly was the best move made from Kyle Dubas and his addition to a historically weak third line in Toronto, MacLean's experience in coaching a playoff series, and Brad Treliving's departure in Calgary and what the Flames organization will do next. Then, NHL.com's Lightning's beat writer Chris Kenn (1:07:26) jumps on to look at Game 3 between Toronto and Tampa Bay, the status of Victor Hedman's availability in the series, and the history of the Stanley Cup Champions bouncing back after a loss. 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.

This is Real Kipper and Bourne on Sportsnet 590 The Van. From off the rails Friday to freaky Friday. A total role reversal from game one to game two. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, David Siss-Boombaugh, Derek Brandale, Sammy, Happy, McKee. born david sis boomba derrick brandale sammy happy mckee i mean yeah that i think we all needed that fellas we back i'm thrilled okay it was it was more of a relief than excitement i had i had five two i only missed it by a couple not bad not bad you had overtime no sammy did sammy you had overtime you had four two yeah but a complete turnaround two games can you ever recall in stanley cup history seeing two shellackings like that on opposite sides to open up a series?

No, that was a absolute butt kicking, to say it politely. But I did write today and one of the things I mentioned is like, we have very little to go on so far in terms of analysis because they haven't played well at the same time. They haven't played well overlapping for same time they haven't played well overlapping for like more than 10 minutes of two games so far it's been a very strange series in that way tampa was awful last night but the least deserve every bit of credit for putting him in that position in about 50 minutes doug mcclain former nhl president general manager head coach will be joining us chris kent uh kren from tamp Bay. Beat writer for the NHL.com. Maybe he can give us some insight on his thoughts on Victor Hedman

and whether or not we'll see him as early as this weekend. You hearing anything? In game three. We'll get into it. Don't worry. All right, all right. Don't worry your little pretty head. Well, all right.

Oh, I'm worrying. Okay. Let's get right into it. Sheldon Keefe with our first Kipper's Clipper on what the heck changed. Yeah, it was a great response. Couldn't ask for a better start. Obviously, to earn the power play to begin with and then to shoot at the net right away like that. I thought just our overall focus and execution, I thought, was really sharp tonight.

In that first period, we scored a power play goal, killed two penalties, scored a goal on six on five situation, scored a goal off a faceoff. So the players, I thought, were really good today. And all those situations i just described i mean that's spencer carvery dean chanel with manny mahultra getting the team prepared in all those areas and then the players executing so uh you know and then you know from there i thought we took care of the game well and got better in the second period even not the first time we ever heard him shout out the assistant coaches by name i don't remember ever doing that

before i feel like he does it when he's talking about the power play yeah the penalty kill he'll Not the first time we ever heard him shout out the assistant coaches by name. I don't remember him ever doing that before. I feel like he does it when he's talking about the power play. Yeah. The penalty kill. He'll be pretty, he's pretty willing to give Carberry or Carberry. Yeah. Spencer, he's usually pretty good to give him some credit for that. But yeah, he doesn't do it often.

So much like Toronto in game one, the Lightning never gave themselves a chance. Yeah. Opening face off. We said it. Obviously, people listen. Maybe even the coaching staff. Get your horses out there. Let them lead.

Draw a penalty. What? First horse is... 30 seconds. Can I tell you my favorite part of that is Marner gets the puck. They get the puck back. They give it to Marner. And last game, everything went in and they chased Tampa. They chased the play all night.

He holds on for a second. He makes a pass underneath to Giordano. Everyone had time to build speed. They get in on the four check. Like that leads to the eventual turnover, the penalty. It was that poison patience great first shift tamper bay seemed to have uh control of that uh that opening and was it calorn who put the backhand that mitch intercepted uh i'm not sure who did who thought it was cole was it or

was it was it i think it was cold and cold you're talking about the very first play? Yeah, the one that threw the penalty. Yeah, I'm not sure who it was. It was just a horrific play. It was a pizza. Morgan Riley should give him his Pizzaville sponsor. But that's Mitch, right? You can say everything you want about Mitch's skill level, but the thing that stands out is the hockey IQ.

For sure. To wait for it, to intercept it, his impeccable timing, drives the penalty and wasn't the only one last night from him he had multiple great you guys know how i feel i mean he is the engine he is the mvp he is he is their best player he he really took over that he played really great last night it doesn't have to be versus the other player say it he's he's their best player i would never say that he's better than austin matthews it's just such a an insane personal thing you have to make it about i can say that about connor mcdavid i can say that about

nathan mckinnon he is the if he doesn't go they don't go he is that important all right no can we get back to the hockey game? Sammy? What? Is he not their most important player? Eh. Oh, my God. I think he is one of their most important players. We do not agree. Absolutely.

He's been their best player this year, but I don't think he is their best player. Just my optics of watching him. We know that. Yes. So where were you on Tavares? Best game is a leaf. Certainly up there.

I mean, for the veteran guys to come through in that game, to me, it's Tavares, it's O'Reilly, and it's Morgan Reilly. You know, the three of them, the older guys where you worry about, you know, are these guys overpaid? Are they whatever? Just a fantastic leadership game from those guys. It's just response, pop, just direction, intent, just taking over a game.

That's what I saw from their stars. John Tavares right into his strengths, right? In front of the net, that radius, that ability to get yourself open. Morgan Riley jumps in. Never skated better this year no four assists i think that's high to make belief record for most assists in a playoff game um should we listen to sheldon on morgan we do have that yeah let's do that i thought the line was yeah i have to watch it all back because I know he ended up with four assists tonight, so obviously he's contributing greatly. The play that he made on Tavares' goal in the second period that goes from 3-1 to 4-1,

he jumps up the weak side and joins the rush. I think he's willing to get another option. To me, that's Morgan at his best offensively when he's jumping in like that. That's a big-time play, that initiative there, and it ultimately leads to that goal, which is a game-changing goal, right? I mean, take it from 3-1 to 4-1, and that's

a big moment in the game there for us, and then I just thought defensively, too. I thought he and Shen were real good, but Mo had tight gaps that he killed plays quickly, helped us break the puck out, you know. So it was a good effort, you know, again, by Hamlin. He's certainly, again, another one of those key guys for us that needs to have a big response game, and he certainly did.

Morgan Riley becomes the fourth player in Leaf history with four assists in a playoff game and the first since Doug Gilmore, 1994. I thought Morgan Riley gave the Leafs everything no one on Tampa could. Like, it just, he was doing everything for them in terms of one-man breakout, making the right reads, lugging the puck up the ice, just getting the puck out of his own zone

and taking it the right way. And just to juxtapose that against Tampa, who had no hope of being able to do it the whole night with their decor. So I thought Morgan Rodley was brilliant last night. I basically feel bad about all the conversations we had. Kipper, you say, and remember... Why do you feel bad? Because I was hard on... Are you allowed to go through the whole season and be subpar

and then have a great game and it's all made up? No, it's just because he's been good for them. Not like that good. He's not been that good. That might be the best game of his life. Of course it was. Yeah, I don't know if he's ever played better than that, but he has been good for them in the playoffs before in years past

where he's been a key contributor for them. And I know they've only played seven games, but I feel bad for some of the stuff that I've said about him over the year when you remember what he can play like in the playoffs he's a different guy in the playoffs he really is for sure and you know welcome timing uh obviously just getting his feet moving but you've had criticisms and i have too about his picking a spot yeah and knowing when it's time to go and when it's not time to go and i thought that was the thing he did best last night. He did have a horrific giveaway there on the turnover

that led to Corey Perry going in all alone, but he lost it on the forehand. Do you remember that one? Right at the start of the third period. Yeah. Which is, you know, but those are the things that kind of were highlighted a lot more during the regular season.

Sure. But that was the only blemish of the whole night yeah and maybe out of 20 of them not just morgan himself very little mistakes out there yeah you know the uh coming out the way they did and i also think that the points that the superstars have got everything has put them in a pretty good position here where, and I said this yesterday, you love the stars to not feel like they have to press to get their cookies. We talk about their cookies and getting their stats all the time. Like for Riley, that should take some pressure off him.

If he's worried about contributing offensively, no one has to, Tavares too, you don't have to force it. And hopefully everyone can play within themselves and let the game come to them a little bit now. I expect things to get a little tighter in tampa bay than it's been so far a lot's been made out of ryan o'reilly tavaris second line guys play together not play together since the trade of ryan o'reilly the thought was austin tovaris ryan o'reilly in the third hole and and we saw it when it counted last night yeah and it looked good well what's so crazy is

that third line last night nize uh o'reilly and achari none of those guys were on this hockey team eight weeks ago you know go back to the middle of february or whatever it was whenever they got them maybe not even that long ago and they suddenly feel like they found something like nice skates so well and can create o'reilly so reliable achari has this heavy element like that's a third line that you can play in almost any situation last night they controlled the play nine shots to one for the Leafs when that line was on the ice I mean a significantly different look for them that I don't think there's any chance they would go back to loading up now on the second line I joined the morning show today at seven with Justin Cuthbert and Ailish and Cuthbert said to me something that just really stuck out I thought it was a great point that

it's just I don't remember a more consistent player than ryan o'reilly every shift looks exactly the same like there's no there's no cheat ever with him in terms of just responsible defensively yeah great in the offensive zone below the dots just he is a consistent, consistent player. Every shift looked exactly the same. And I think a key guy from that transformation from game one to game two, that guy set the tone as early as his post-game comments. And I talked about them the other day. It's not sometimes what you say, it's how you say it. And he had conviction in his voice yeah and you know there's other factors too i think that uh you know if they would have had a game like they did to open up this series and maybe

game five or game six you'd be a lot more nervous actually getting what we think might be their worst game of the series over in one and then having the experience that they've had the last four or five years of being knocked out and having your skin a little thicker and more scar tissue there i think also helped them come back yeah no i agree with that why don't we listen to keith talk about that line and we can i got something else on that i thought the line was terrific. You know, we'll watch it all back and everything, but it just felt to me like they were in the offensive zone or at least out of trouble a lot.

And not in particular, you know, he takes a penalty in the first period, you know. But I thought he skated well.'s hard on the puck he made a couple great offensive plays so it's a real good performance for him and you know o'reilly and charlie they were just they were they were they're real real pros tonight and just how they took care of him and how they took care of the game when they were out there and that's probably a way that tampa missing two of their key d-man can show up is that guys who aren't maybe the fleetest of foot like o'reilly last night i think he led the team with five um inner slot shots him and tavara's both had five you know like they looked really

good yeah one of the ways that they could expose Tampa's D, I thought missing those guys was as glaring as you possibly could have expected it. They couldn't break a puck out. Watching the Leafs lose six years in a row in the first round, the one thing that I could never say in those six years that I could say last night is they've got a heavy line now. And that is Ryan O'Reilly nize and achari i see heaviness there charlie's made of granite which runs into everything which i i saw out of over the years calorn palat let's not forget palat's not there too it's big okay yeah we talk about ryan one of their most clutch guys they had i think

yeah maybe he has the most game winners over there we talk about mcdonough that guy plays heavy too for them over the years and i'm watching nize last night and yeah there's signs of nervousness right and there's signs of an experience but what what nines can do now for the leafs yarn craw can't right kerfoot can't create his own shot and bunting can't and that is come off a wall and drive it to the net with that heaviness that i just spoke of like already i don't care five games in yeah kerfoot and yarn crock they can't do that that's yeah they can't do that down low like this guy can do it now it's interesting like it's you know we joked about you know old number 58 watching that and probably didn't love it probably didn't love

his chances i'm sure watching a game where your team wins 7-3 in the playoffs and you're suspended and the guy that comes in and replaces you is looking like that probably pretty some mixed emotions but yeah mixed emotions for sure you just go through a little bit of a you know social media right now and so many Leaf fans going, you can't come out of the lineup and what do you do with bunting now? First of all, take a deep

breath. Bunting's still suspended for two games which in the Stanley Cup playoffs can I remind people is like an eternity, two games. Anything can happen. People get get hurt people get sick uh they might be dying who knows what what uh game four will look like so true right yep 100 and you know a pretty good player it just you know let's say that toronto plays well for a couple of games here

they'll definitely have some decision on their hands and you know as you mentioned maybe it's not even worth getting there yet that's still two games away and that's him being contemplating a game five scenario like we're watching now and look at tampa bay. The big story. No Victor Hedman, no Chernak last night. Did the Leafs take advantage of it? A hundred percent they did. Which thank God they did. By the way, Nyes has played four games as a Leaf and he's beat Tampa Bay, Florida, the Rangers, and Tampa Bay.

That's his experience as a Leaf. So is this a time to talk about what you know about Hedman? Anything on Hedman? I don't know much about Hedman. Everybody tells me it's a knee injury whether or not it's uh an old one a new one everybody keeps pointing to the thing they're a suspect a suspected knee situation okay listen i don't expect to see him on the weekend really i told you guys i i didn't see him playing last night i don't see him playing on the weekend i cannot believe for one second you can go all but six minutes in game one not see the light light of day in in game two and be ready in what you know 30 hours we always said

that about the muzzin injuries that were so bad that the non-contact ones were the ones we that worried you the most right where something just went you know that's that's always concerning uh cooper weighed in on them being without headman do you want to listen to coop on headman okay yeah it is what it is. Obviously, everyone in this room knows how important it is. Listen. You said nothing to do with Victor Hedman being out of the game. We've won games in this league without Victor Hedman. I could sit here and go through 100 years of cliches.

One team wins game one, the next team gets blown out in game two. Which one do you want? In the end, did we play hard enough to win? Probably not. Was there a team that was a little bit more urgent? Just flip the screen. Just look at last year's series. It's the exact same. Just flip it.

And now we're going back to Tampa. But it's not because one guy was out. That would be just a poor, poor excuse. That's it. I mean, I think he's saying the right things, but there's no doubt it's significant. God. All I got out of that is

yeah you've you've won games without victor headman but you've probably lost more without him yeah you'd prefer to have him i think coop coop uh coop was a little feisty post game wasn't he who's who's john cooper talking to when he answered to. To me, that's his own team. Yeah, he's got to be talking to his own team, trying to instill some confidence in them. Yeah, to me, it's instilling that we don't have Victor Hedman and we got to find a way to win without him. That's what I heard.

Yeah. Listen. You did start to play Stamkos. We also have Stamkos on Chernak and Hedman being out. Do we want to stick with that theme? Yeah, go for it. Yeah, it is what it is. Obviously, everyone in this room knows how important they are to our back end,

but no one's feeling sorry for you if you're missing guys, especially at this time of the year. That's unfortunately part of the game. Obviously, tough to see them both not be able to play um very very good players very um important to us but we still felt confident that if we put our game plan together that that we could make a competitive effort but we didn't stick to the game plan and and toronto played really well tonight i had sammy cut that because him saying their goal was we thought we could put

together a competitive effort it's like you've won cups before is the goal a competitive effort like they knew they were in trouble yeah they they had off nights like all their stars had off nights yeah like the leafs game one right but you come back with the same roster and if you're the leafs and you made your adjustments i don't know where they go if they don't have victor headman and chernak for for game three i mean they were overwhelmed that blue line line on Tampa was overwhelmed. Going back on pucks in the first, what was it, like eight, nine minutes of the second period?

Watching them go back on pucks and give it back to the Leafs and diving into the bench. The Leafs are coming back. That Purbix, he would not be enjoying seeing any of that game again. You know how much of the puck point and Kucherov and Stamkos have to have in game three to not make them a factor? That's actually a really good point. They got to have the puck every shift, and they got to hold on to it.

And they couldn't do it last night. Yeah, you wonder if that helps the Leafs goalie a little bit. Like they can't just shoot everything and risk giving it back to Toronto. They need to play in Toronto's end and hang on and look for grade A chances, which has been where Samsonov has been at his best, actually. I think he's the number one goalie

in high danger save percentage this year. So that's a nice combination of factors right there. Do you want to go to sammy before we go to vassie sure all right let's go to uh sheldon keith kipper's clipper on his number one goaltender nobody wants to see a guy come in and mope but be moping around or feeling sorry for himself or anything like that and it was the opposite for him he was in he's all smiles he's got energy and he wanted to get working on the ice. And then he did a terrific job.

He competed and battled on the ice. Didn't, you know, to me, wasn't letting anything get by him yesterday in practice. That sends a strong message, I think, to your team. And that's what you're looking for. And then he followed that up here today. I thought the guys took care of him tonight, both in getting a lead for him and in how we defended. Obviously, the two goals we give up, there's some breakdowns there that we don't love, but for the most part, we really took care of him tonight

in terms of the chances and the quality chances we gave up. There wasn't a lot there. But even though we score early, Tampa's got some flurries there. They're throwing some stuff at the net. I think the shots ended up being 6 or 7-1 to start the game. You know, and there wasn't a whole lot of quality to it, but he was busy nonetheless. And, you know, he's got to keep it out for us. And he did that.

So it was a good response for him. That's something for him to build on. And the trend continues that he doesn't have bad games in a row yeah that was like a vasilevsky thing last year i don't know if you guys remember last year's playoffs so it was a major story every time tampa lost it was vasilevsky bounces back and here you're getting it from samson off this year that's encouraging i would say okay uh great job on the telecast by a real good friend of the show and craig simpson he was the first one to talk about uh basilevsky always being in a position where he does not like to come out of the net that of course was confirmed by john cooper on his goaltender. Let's go to that and then comment.

I did, and that was quickly shut down by the goalie. And so that's why he's the best in the world. He's not coming out. And so once again, tip your cap to that kid. Okay, for the record, I tried that during my career. Don't take me out. But they told me, clearly, you're not the best in the world, and you're a healthy scratch.

Listen. Listen. Just give me a chance. Yeah. Okay. How about that, eh? Like, I can respect it because he is Vasilevsky, one of the best clutch goaltenders in history in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But I don't, is it good that you just roll over and say, I'm not really the head coach anymore? It's a good question. Because, like, you'd prefer the guy to rest and not face a bunch of unnecessary work. But, you know, this guy, it's part of how he's played. He has 82 straight games in the playoffs, though, getting pulled. The record is 86. So now it's just about the record now? Is that what you're telling me?

I don't know if he's aware of the record. That's where it's at. But, yeah, like I would say typically I would argue, like, get him out of there. He's not going to do any good. They're down five going into the third period. I mean, they would know better if that serves a purpose for him to get himself mentally ready for game three maybe going in it's just like he knows he's in for 60 he's pot committed i i absolutely love it you do eh i i don't love a lot about the tame and bay lightning very very little in fact but i do

love the fact that he's like i'm the goddamn goalie i'm playing no one else is going in that net i am the goalie i don't care how many go by me if i'm kucherov or point or stamp coast i can get benched a whole third period but that guy can't come out yeah right different rules right for, I guess. I mean, I'm just. You see him with his helmet off? I'm not looking at him in the eye. I'm a big fan, but. I just.

Nuts are equal. I'm just not sure that big picture that that's the healthiest thing for your hockey club. That's all. Yeah. For many different ways. If you really believe that you just got to give the guy a rest or, hey, maybe he gets hurt and this is just an opportunity for Elliot to come in and feel the puck a little bit too. Yeah, just in case he's ever. We got another.

I don't know if anybody noticed, but the tendency is that you get to dress two goalies. It's funny. They cut to Elliott on the bench, and I played college hockey against Elliott, and Elliott just looks like a dad on the bench. He's just like a senior. Or a paid... He's got a full gray beard. A paid actor.

He doesn't do anything. He just sits there like, if you're not getting in that one, Ryan, you ain't getting in. No. there like if you're not getting that one ryan yeah you ain't getting in no no i like i see what you're saying kipper but i just there's something so cool and unique about him just being like no like i i'm the goalie why would anybody else play goalie here we are going into game three and like another big number against vasilevsky how How many big numbers did we see since January on? Whatever has been ailing them from January on bled like a pig last night on them.

Mitch Marner's goal, those didn't go in on him in previous years. For sure. That was a really soft one to start the game. It's just a slap shot along the ice that goes in right between his legs i will say even when they were getting lit up in the third period he robbed ryan o'reilly with the pad yeah where the puck lands on the goal like he still has these flashes that are just absolutely horrifying well that's actually something i'd like to talk about is when it's three nothing and the leafs are all over him basilevsky has a moment where he's really good he stops tavara's

in tight he stops o'reilly in tight kerfoot in tight craig simpson's going he said no like he's sammy's getting nervous at this point and then cole scores to make it three one and i'm sure your heart skipped a beat a little bit they're back back in it. A little bit. There were some expletives. I was like, oh, here we go. Because it felt, like Craig Simpson said, like it was now time for shutdown mode. Yeah, like Vassiliski was just saying no more. There was a big part of me that was like,

well, the Leafs are scoring three in this game, so hopefully Sammy doesn't let in more than three because it doesn't feel like they're getting another one. But that goal that John Tavares was so big yeah for everybody involved it just took the weight of the world off of everyone's shoulders for him to come in back and put that upstairs it was just so huge for leaf fan psyche for the least players management coaching staff massive goal do you worry about that window though like after they give up the goal and it's 3-1 and all of a sudden everyone has that oh god not again vibe you could feel it they played their own zone the next shift and turn pucks over and yeah they they tighten i think it might have been

a little bit of an overextension maybe on a shift too i don't know if it was willy somebody may have stayed out there a little longer and that's just one thing that you can clean up at 3-0. And there are times I'm watching the game at 3-0, and you're still watching a very aggressive blue line come in. There's times when I saw Hall down deep and Morgan down deep, and I'm like, maybe just pick spots a little better than that and don't need to force anything now. We're up, managing the clock without giving an inch.

Those things kind of crept in. But for the most part, I think they managed it and they did a good job because they didn't give up the 3-2 goal. And one of the things I wrote about, you know, in handling those minutes was a minute after that, or two, sorry,

a few minutes after the three, one goal, the Tavares line gets out there and Tavares has a chance to dump it in. And he cuts back and he again, lets everyone catch up and he cuts back again. They hang on to it. They have an ozone shift. And instead of just giving it back to Tampa and panic,

it slowed things down and all of a sudden like they're they're in the game again so that to me is a measure of like these veteran guys can you calm the pace down for your team a little bit you know three great centers which cooper did not want to give them credit for but boy all three of their centermen well at least two of them depending depending who you sit, were very good last night. Hard to get out of the first block without mentioning the Fist of Cuffs. Again, something that has not been a signature of the Toronto Maple Leafs for a lot of years here.

Then the trade deadline comes, I know, a 180. Whether it was Brendan's decisions or Kyleyle's decisions uh to to have this different look we saw it last night yeah we talked about the leafs being a little bit too quiet in game one in the third period we didn't think for one second they were going to go quietly not with maroon and cory perry and all of them but the leafs did i thought an outstanding job led by luke shen he had the toughest matchup the toughest fight you want to start there or you want to go to even uh giordano's battle with uh zach bogosian where do you want to start shen i think i think shen because he did the right thing right they're up six one and jeno wants to fight

him shen's like what's in that for me like why would i give you that fight now i want nothing to do with it along the sideboards he was like trying to go him off the face off he's like he was just kind of smiling we're not doing a 6-1 thing but then jeno starts chasing him around and you realize that's what's going to happen until you give him a fight you're just going to run and hide all period and so he says fine hangs in there Has to take that fight. Thank you. I agree that it's... 100%.

Yeah. He had to take that fight. And that's a look, again, that isn't one that we've seen with the Toronto Maple Leafs for a lot of years. And it, for me, it had that Wendell Clark feel. Oh, yeah. Okay?

First time in a lot of years i should have got bonesy's call the fight that was wendell like really yeah oh totally like i i may or may not have yelled jumped up from my couch and yelled f him up luke like loud couple times and he both hit each other hard you know had no fun either he took a couple too yo he did but oh yeah when they first kind of changed hands and luke came in with those two lefts yeah i don't know how any human being withstood those two lefts he landed both those lefts right on the button and jeno just stood in there and kept going that was

screwing my job that's as good as a leaf fight as there's been in five or six years like i can't remember like i know simmons has had some big ones but like that was what's so great is it comes from a guy who's playing for them not like they called up clifford to go do a thing or you know simmons is getting six minutes or whatever like shen Shen was a player for them last night. Very good, by the way, in two playoff games so far. For sure. And credit to Hall, too, for getting the breaks. And he did it.

Oh, no. He goes in there against Perry and it stands in there. Listen, I give Justin Hall a lot of credit. It doesn't matter. You didn't turn away, you know, and it is Corey Perry. Yeah. So even the Giordano fight to start, like, they've got a depleted blue line. Zach Bogosian comes in, and it took a strip off of him.

Yeah. Right? Yeah, it was great. He tried to fight Belmar, and the ref got in the way, and Bogosian was like, I'll take the fight And Gio was like uh okay He did great though So I gotta ask you Kipper You know a lot of people at Scotiabank Arena You know

Every time you go down there you're kissing babies And everyone's asking for your autograph and pictures Stop it Do you know yellow hoodie man beside the box Who was pumping his chest at Tanner Janow Is he the new dart guy?

Is he the bumblebee? I don't know. Does anybody know the bumblebee? I don't know. Do you know the bumblebee? You don't know him, Kevin. I don't know the bumblebee. I don't. But man, oh man. He's a tough guy. He's a tough guy.

Do you want a piece of maroon I have to say Sorry Tanner There was a woman Jarring with maroon too Wasn't there Phil Esposito waited on that Oh yeah

Did you see that on the internet Yeah not good He called some people names in the stands but i just love what that guy represented like the scotch bank arena crowd is never like that well let me tell you something i i didn't go to game one yeah but like you said i i know a few people and i know many of them who have stroked some very big checks to MLSC over the years. And they were absolutely sickened by game one. By the crowd or that people left.

Yes. Yeah. And a lot of them did leave. Boy, tough one to sit through. Hold on. They're mad at the fans for leaving? No, no, no. The fans were mad at the Leafs for game one.

Yeah, no, duh. Okay, okay, okay. So my point in all of this is that within 48 hours, think about that emotional roller coaster of being a Leaf fan from going to the bottom of the barrel to what you felt last night for the first time in I don't know how long and again you want to factor in skill toughness brawn go back and i went back to wendell but really go back where you put a whole playoff package together with that everything in the cake every ingredient in the cake fights yeah it didn't

really surprise me to see fans so jacked a party and wired yeah yeah last night including you know what we saw behind the penalty box i'm sure bumblebee is looking at the video today and going, I'm an idiot. Yeah, maybe I went a little too far. Tanner Janot might have had a foot on that guy. Can I ask you something? Is Bumblebee guy awake yet? Or is his eyes still caked over? But can we make Janot got a hold of him?

You know, at the end of the day, even if he said, can you blame me? Yeah. Look where I've been as a Leaf fan. Oh, 100%. We have his back anyway. Bumblebee guy gets me uh i give him a pass i oh i give him more than a pass i give him a standing oh i like i don't know he might so did something happen beforehand because the ref was did he throw something in there i never saw a good angle because the ref was in there like intervening with him and jenoa's got a beat-up

hand and i don't know what the hell happened in there, but God, I loved it. It just reminded me of when the fan fell in with Ty. That's what it just reminded me of. Oh, my God. That can never happen again. Watch the lawsuit, Ty. That's really good. Oh, they're buddies now, eh?

Who are? Him and the guy that fell in? Yeah, the guy that fell in. No. Oh, they've done. I think they've had dinners and drinks and... I also saw Ty playing football on the beach with Tom Brady. So he runs into...

I think Ty was opening a restaurant in New York two days ago. The guy's doing okay. Let's quote all the time. Let's get Ty on the show. They were doing okay. Where else do you want to go? The one thing I do want to hear is Cooper talking about the center matchups. Our own Luke Fox was like...

Oh, did Luke piss him off? Oh, yeah. No, I mean, this is... Good for Luke. Luke asked a... Listen. Luke asked an incredibly good and fair question. And John Cooper...

Let's hear Luke's question. Here we go. John, the challenge for you, how does it change when Toronto goes three centers deep and has O'Reilly in the 3C spot? How does that change? So how many centers deep are we? Let me ask you that. I'm just saying last game they...

Give me points, Sorrelli and Paul, all day against anybody in the league. Let me ask you that. And that's him getting up and walking away. I don't... I get where Luke's going, but what is he really fishing for there? Like, what would be an appropriate answer by a head coach to say,

what are the challenges of... The one that he got, buddy. No, the... Well, no, it's not... I don't know. It's not a gotcha question. It's, well, we have to deploy our line differently. We have to use Paul a little more than we normally would. one that he got buddy no the the well no it's not i don't know it's not a gotcha question it's well we have to deploy our line differently we have to use paul a little more than we normally would

it changes how we roll out our lines that sounds like john cooper to give out all his secrets in a post-game comment and then if he doesn't get that answer he gets this answer which is even better it's a great question it is a excellent question by our man it's not an excellent question you're not gonna get an answer hey let me just throw you my playbook there bob woodward over here needs to go down to a few scrubs what did you expect john cooper to tell him you know what he should have just said scram beat it you should go to that scram that would have been an easier answer for john what do you want mike you want my playbook yeah i love it maybe in our next meeting luke will invite you in

he might who knows i uh love the question from our boy luke yeah you know you love the reaction well anything to make john cooper look a little bit defensive and childish childish and shook up i'm definitely here for but i don't know all, what do you got for us, Sammy? All right. It's time for some playoff picks presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds. So got a few things for you tonight. Isles do or die. If they lose tonight, they're going down 3-0.

They're screwed. Yeah. So I was looking at some odds on there, and if you want to do a same-game parlay, this is interesting that you could do Sorokin and him to have over 31 saves, and you figure the only way they're going to win is with that. That pays plus 230, so it's an interesting one for a team with their back against the wall. Boston going to South Florida tonight.

Bergeron didn't travel, so he's not playing in either the game in Florida, which is a huge development. I don't know if you have any more on that, Kipper, but I'll mark a game-time decision. If you think the Cats have figured something out here and are going to go and hold home ice advantage, you can bet the series score after four games will be 3-1 for the Panthers at plus 500.

So if you think that the Cats are going to hold serve, it's an interesting one, but I don't know if you have any more on Bergeron, Kip, but is missing these two going to be back for game five? Yeah, I don't. Do we believe it was a flu-like virus or something like this? For Bergeron, it was an illness, but it's a nagging injury, they said. So flu and nagging injury now.

Man just needs some time to get well i saw some quotes about how you know bergeron's been there for them the team needs to be there for him to get him back in the series but i think florida is an interesting option at this point but of the things you just mentioned islanders win plus sorokin other teams without tara vinen they're in new York, plus 230. What would you think of the slash on Tara Vinen? Greasy. High. Late. You didn't like it? No, it's a slash we see a hundred times in a game.

It just happened to break his wrist. So I don't know. You can't turn a suspension in for something that's common in a game yeah just because you decided not to wear wrist guards or you know what i mean yeah for sure i think it's really funny now if you're the rangers and you're looking at things rangers up to nothing heading back to madison square garden the hurricanes are up to nothing and without patoretty, Svechnikov, Taravainen. Like not saying the path's clear, but the conference finals are pretty attainable. And the last thing I do, how you have for playoff picks,

is Edmonton and Kings going at it again tonight. You can bet on Connor McDavid to have the most goals in the series. He's three behind Leon, obviously, but his odds have gone all the way down. What's he got, one assist in two games? What were the odds, Harry? Plus 750 for him to have the most goals in the series. He'd have the most by tonight. So he's going to have an explosion sooner or later.

So no goals in the first two games for McDavid or Austin. Matthews, yeah. Yeah, it's crazy. Teams do a good job. Four assists, though, for Austin for that. You've been okay. That was playoff picks presented by Bet365. You know what, you just go back to the start of our show.

I don't think he was great last night. He was physical. Physical, I thought he was doing his best, but definitely not his best. So you're coming on my side then. Marner's way better than Matthews. There's a lot of Leafs fans who enjoy both of their favorite players and don't feel the need to pick one. Can I just say something before we quickly go to break

and talk to Doug McClain? We just did 43 minutes. We didn't mention the referees, boys. Good for us. Because you didn't. No. There was nothing to mention. They did a good job. It was fine. A couple of greasy ones. I got news for you.

There was never nothing to mention. Do you think there's anything about the refs that needed to be mentioned last night? I got news for you. There was never nothing to mention. What do you mean? There's just... Do you think there's anything about the rest that needed to be mentioned last night? I thought they did a good job. We owed a public narrative some oxygen last game. There's bad calls in every game and every series.

Of course. We're just... We're beyond that now. Great. Great. I thought they did an excellent job. Your team won 7-2. Well, yeah.

Of course they did a great job they kept control of that game in the third period it could have turned into a total hoot nanny and they were sending people pack and every left right and center people packing and people giving fights instead of letting people run around kept it calm anyways okay that was exhausting let's let someone else talk for a bit. How about Doug McClain? That works for me. You know, we could actually, I could introduce him. We could all go down on the second floor to Tim's and then come back up.

Still be telling us about Boca del Vista? Pickleball. El Boca Vista? I don't know. Shooting 84. What's next? We'll find out after the break. Hi, my name is Doug McClain and my nickname is Mac.

Doug McClain on off the rails Friday after the break. This is real kipper and born on sports net five 90, the van. Wait till welcoming Mac. Didn't he dump on all over matthew nyes didn't he just say i don't remember did he probably not you're almost scared to tell me i don't remember honestly don't okay mac which one was it you like matth Matthew Nyes or you thought long shot at best, he can make a difference or come in and play at all? Which one was it?

Well, I think what I said is he's a young kid with no experience and just be patient and see what happens. You don't have to panic to put him in the lineup. You put him in the lineup as the series progresses, which is exactly what they did. They put him in the lineup. You put him in the lineup as the series progresses, which is exactly what they did. They put him in in game two. So I thought he was fine. I mean, you've got him as a superstar.

I've got him as fine. Okay. All right. Fair enough. I mean, look, I'll tell you what, though. I'll tell you what. We talked three weeks ago, like, what were they thinking about

putting John Tavares on the wing with Ryan O'Reilly? Yeah, I give you full credit on that one. I said it was like ludicrous to even think that way because they haven't, the one thing they've never had in one playoff series in the last whatever number of years has had a third line. And what was the difference in the last whatever number of years has had a third line and what was the difference in the game last night they finally had a third line and your guy was part of it you know the kid was part of the third line with achari and and they played and they got they got 14 and a half minutes

out of achari they got 13 minutes out of knives. And O'Reilly was almost 19 minutes. And it was a really good third line, which they've never had. They had a bunch of wimps on third lines. And finally, they've got a third line that can play head-to-head with the other team's best line. So it seems unlikely. That's why the Ryan O''reilly acquisition is the best one

dubas has ever made in my opinion and i know he's slow and i know he's not the same player he was but he's still smart he's got he's got what it takes he's a winner yeah do you think that this uh tampa d situation like if they're without headman and chernak can they win this series like i know that sounds traumatic but boy that those are significant losses that's like saying can the could the brones have won the cup without teddy green and bobby or no they're not going to win this series without their two best. Like, what team in the NHL, in today's NHL, salary cap NHL, can win against a top team without their two best defensemen? That's where they are.

Hedman is not their best defenseman. He may be the best defenseman in the entire NHL, all-round best defenseman in the NHL. They're not going to win the series if they don't get these two guys back, especially Hedman. And I give the Leafs full credit. They come out the first shift,

didn't matter what, they played their tails off, and the game was over five, six minutes into the game. It was over with the way they were playing. But I'm telling you, Hedman is a – well, I'm not – you know, you'd have to be an idiot to say that Hedman isn't a monumental loss. So if they don't get him back, even if he's back at 70%, he can – you know, then it's going to be a series.

Okay. And Cherenak's – they don't have enough depth. They don't have enough depth. McDonough, I mean, they talked about it before the series. McDonough was a big loss, and they had to do it because of the cap. So, you know, I mean, it's still going to be a hell of a series. It's a long way from over. But they've got to get these guys healthy.

If as early as Saturday that 70% turns to zero, we listen to John Cooper, his press conferences. We pick it apart. Can he convince them without Victor Hedman that they can, if not, keep this close, win it? Can he on his own? Without Hedman? Yeah.

Without Hedman? Can he rally the troops without Hedman? Do they still have some world-class talent, Mac? Without Hedman? Yeah. Without Hedman? Can he rally the troops without Hedman? Can he? Do they still have some world-class talent, Mac? I agree they do. But you know what? They don't have world-class talent on the back end. I mean, Radish is an American League defenseman.

The other kid that's been there up all year is really a little above an american league defenseman what's his name pervin he's a little above an american league defenseman bagoosian is near cole cole is near the end of the road bagoosian's near the end of the load this road this is not a good blue line without headman and and Chernak. And people say, well, you can win without them, but I'm sorry that not with the thinness they have on the back end. And they didn't

want Foote because he was the same as the bottom three. He wasn't really good enough to be an impact guy at playoff time, and they went by him for the perfect kid or whatever his name is. So they're in tough on the back end. And Basilewski last night, I didn't – I mean, look, I mean, they were great plays, and so you can't help them.

But he can't be that bad. He's got to be a star. For sure. He can beat the Leafs. Basilewski has to be a star. And I haven't heard his name really mentioned. I didn't like his game a little bit. They were shooting balloons through him last night.

When you shoot balloons through your goalie, it's not a good thing. Shooting pucks but balloons? All right. Not a good thing. We haven't had a chance to get your take on the bunting hit suspension and how the team looks without him. Play my clip from a week ago. And that's all you need,

isn't it? I don't, we've had concussions. Didn't you listen to my, didn't you listen to my car? You said, what about bunny? And I said,

bunting, like, when are they going to wake him up? Like I watched this act for the last half of the season, you know, running around shooting his mouth off. You know, running around, shooting his mouth off. You know, I didn't like it. I didn't like the way he was playing.

I didn't like anything about his game, to be quite honest, other than he plays with the top guys and he picks up points. I didn't like his game. I didn't like his act. They're better without him. Better off without him, in my opinion. I know a lot can happen in the next two games to get Mike. Listen, don't get me wrong. He might be the nicest kid in the

face of the world, and I know he's overcome obstacles, and I give him full marks. He's in the NHL, but I don't like the act. That's all. You don't need that act at playoff time. I mentioned earlier in the show that he's still got two games to go and a lot can happen to get him even back

in the lineup, possibly out of necessity. But, you know, take us to the time that you went to the Stanley Cup final. How many opportunities did you have to really change your lineup? Was it as simple as win and you're in or other factors come into play over a long stretch? You know what? I remember a move I made that I got. Actually, there's a book out on the Miami Ice, it's called. And I was reading through it years ago.

And I remember there was one move I made. I put Marty Stracke in the lineup. Didn't start with him in the lineup because I wanted a little more grit and that type of play. And Marty Stracke went in the lineup. Didn't start with him in the lineup because I wanted a little more grit and you know that type of play and Marty Stracca went in the lineup and he was a difference maker in our series. This kid played unbelievable for us and you know I ended up restarting his career. So you make the odd subtle lineup but you know what it's very few and far between. I mean the look of their lineup last night with the way they played, they're not changing that anytime soon.

So, you know, he'll probably get back in the lineup because they're going to have some injuries. And he's got experience and he can score. But surely to God he's going to come back and keep his mouth shut and just play hockey. Speaking of players who don't keep their mouth shut and keep playing hockey what are your thoughts on cory perry's effectiveness 27 minutes ice time two goals two assists 4.7 pims he's a leaf killer doug what is the deal with can he continue to be this effective even as the games get closer and the stakes get higher in the series

he's an amazing guy i mean we thought a few years ago when somebody signed him and gave him a million buck i mean cory perry's a heart trophy winner he's a he's a stanley cup winner he's one of the i mean i'll never forget watching him play in london we were praying we were going to get him with the first pick in the third round and i think he went in the second round of that draft and and he went i don't know what 27 28th in the draft we were praying he was going to slip because we had a high pick in the second round the that draft and and he went i don't know what 27 28th in the draft we were praying he was going to slip because we had a high pick in the second round the guy's a winner like i know he's a different player now he plays a different game but he still he'll do anything to win

anything to win and he's an important guy in their team i mean he went 25 games without a point guys before that game that tells you what he what he does at playoff time still. And you know what? He'll be a factor. He'll still be a factor because there's nobody on the Tampa Bay Lightning that wants to win more than Corey Perry. And, you know, that's a pretty important ingredient at playoff time. And if you had lots of those guys or a few of those guys on your team in New York,

that'll do whatever it takes. I mean, this guy was a heart trophy winner, and now he's an antagonizing fourth liner. How many guys do that in their career? Mac, I think it was Dallas that took him off of Anaheim, and then they got rid of him. Then he actually did really well in Montreal. And then I think Bergevin got rid of him. Then he actually did really well in Montreal. And then I think Bergevin got rid of him. And here he is today in Tampa. And they all got rid of him because he was too slow.

You know, he can't skate. He can't play with today's pace. Not an issue. You know what? You know, I mean, it's no different than the other kid, the St. Louis kid on their fourth line that just goes out. The only guy you can play for is John Cooper because he played for him in junior.

Maroon. You know, I mean, Pat Maroon. I mean, it's unbelievable. I mean, I thought Pat Maroon was done seven years ago, you know, and I remember watching that kid play in the North American League for John Cooper. So, you know, they find a role, and they fit in with that team of superstars. So, look, it's going to be an interesting series.

I mean, these two first games were bizarre. Toronto couldn't get out of their way in game one and looked pathetic, and Samsonoff was awful. And then you go into the second game, and Tampa Bay looked pathetic, andilevsky was no good. And the Leafs played really well and played, played a hell of a game, full marks to them.

So we'll see what happens in game three. Mac, I want to ask you before we, we leave just your thoughts on Brad tree living, bailing very quickly in Calgary. My, my info is that they would have liked to sign him at some point in this season he waited it out and uh decided that uh it wasn't a a great fit for him

moving forward here what what happens in calgary what what uh you know daryaryl's still there. Don Maloney has resurfaced as a big player now in the National Hockey League management team there in Calgary. Where does it go from here? Well, you know, I mean, look, it went south with Daryl. I mean, you know, the rumblings are that, you know, from the time Daryl, I mean, I watched the interview with the kid playing his first NHL game, the call-up kid, and Daryl was a complete ass in that interview. And I love Darryl. I love Darryl. I've known him a long time. I knew the family. I coached Brian Sutter. Dwayne was my

assistant in Florida. I loved the family. But what he did was so bad and so wrong. And Tree Living is the opposite type of guy to that. Tree Living's a good person. And Darryl was way out of line. And I suspect from that point on, and people have said it to me, that their relationship was never the same. You know, Tree will resurface. I mean, I see him being a top candidate for any job.

I mean, he's a good person. He's an honest person. He's an honest person. He's a straight shooter. He knows the game, and he's great with the media. He handles the media really well. He's the sort of guy that's the face of your franchise that as an ownership group you would feel really good about. That's my perception of Bradtree Living,

and I don't know him that well, but that's what I see and what I listen to when he speaks. Last thought on the Edmonton Oilers. Connor still hasn't warmed up, but they still look good. Are you convinced that this team could go to a final? I said, you know, six weeks ago watching Boston and Edmonton play and Edmonton were struggling at the time. Could it be a Stanley Cup final? And I went into the playoffs thinking

that could be a Stanley Cup final. Boston and Edmonton again. Till he met up with an old friend of his called Philip Dano. What about this guy? The job he does at playoff time.

Is he the Esa Tickenen of today's NHL playoffs? The way he drives people crazy? I mean, he's kept Connor pretty well under wraps in a couple of games. I don't know how long that could last. I don't know either. He's done a hell of a job, but Connor McDavid's pretty tough to tame. But you know what? Yeah, they've got a chance.

I mean, the Ekholm deal really changed their defense because Bouchard became a real player with Ekholm. So it'll be – I'm still worried about Edmond as goaltend. And, you know, you just don't know how long Skinner can keep this going. And look at the – sorry, Doug, I was going to ask you about the other Canadian team there, the winnipeg jets not sure if you had a chance to watch any of that but uh you know they took one off vegas in vegas uh your thoughts on their chances of actually completing the upset you know what is

really funny i was watching the game uh minnesota wild and winnipeg playing late in the season and i watched adam lowry who was a little runt running around our dressing room in Florida when his dad Dave played for me, and I watched him come off the bench and challenge Ryan Reeves. And people say, well, it's not an important part of the game. It's not. Well, I know one thing.

The Winnipeg Jets, when they watched that fight with Ryan Reeves and Adam Lowry, they all grew about six inches. And I think it was a major, major rallying point for the Winnipeg Jets hockey team that had been floundering for three or four months, from first place to lucky to make the playoffs. But Adam Lowry, to me, is one guy like,

who wouldn't want to have this kid on your hockey team? He'll do whatever it takes. So I think they've grown because of that. Isn't it bizarre? People think I'm nuts, but I'm telling you, I watched that and I thought, oh, man, is this guy a leader for his hockey team? Because he's not a fighter, but he sure fought that. We know he can fight, but he's not a fighter.

He doesn't play that game, but he sure fought that. We know he can fight, but he's not a fighter. He doesn't play that game. But he's a horse. And Dubois. My God. Line A for Dubois. Seriously. Jeff Rimmer, what are you thinking about making that play? Hey, did...

Because him and Torch got into it on the bench. We're getting rid of Dubois. Oh, my God. Get rid of Torrance. Keep Dubois. Hey. I mean, look at this horse. Oh, my God.

So you got Dubois and Lowry. Pretty good start to center ice. Panthers. I hope they keep it going. Hey, Panthers, leave you a ticket tonight. Any chance you want to go there and throw a rat on the ice i'm really nervous i'm really nervous why i hold i hold the record with 22 playoff wins for the florida panthers and paul maurice's got one and i mean is there a chance he could catch can

he catch me this year i I think that's impossible. You're safe. I'm okay for another year. You're okay for another year. Even Quenville couldn't get close to me. Paul, anyway, not that it matters. I'm like Gretzky and Ovechkin. It's like me and Paul Maurice now.

Alright, go back to pickleball. That's a heck of a way to leave off the rails All right. Go back to pickleball. That's a, that's a heck of a way to leave off the rails Friday. Thanks for doing this Mac. Take care boys. Okay. Doug McClain.

Thanks Mac. Yeah, that's quite a record there. 22 wins. What do you think Coop's got in Tampa Bay since 2013? That'll be a tough one. Yeah, that'll be a tough one. Um, 22 wins. What do you think Koops got in Tampa Bay since 2013? That'll be a tough one. Yeah.

That'll be a tough one. Calgary's going to be interesting here. So this week when I wrote, I got a section of... Kipper's Corner? Yeah, Kipper's Corner. And then I do one that says, change my mind if I... And last year or even the beginning of this year with Calgary struggles, I said, Daryl's not going anywhere. And I think I changed my mind.

You think so? You're 51% he's gone? No, I'm 50-50 that he's back next year. I think there's a chance he will not come back. Yeah. By his own choosing? I don't know. That's a possibility that he could say that I've had enough.

But he's got, I think, if I'm not mistaken, maybe as much as two more years on his contract. Wow. That could be anywhere between six and eight million bucks. So, but Don Maloney's there now. And, you know, he had to get all the information from the players after. And there's some players that want their voices heard on Daryl this year.

Do Don and Daryl have any sort of a previous relationship would they know each other the the connection for don and calgary was with brad tree living right not with daryl right yeah you wonder which makes it really interesting right because uh don now has to evaluate well and their ownership has to say are you willing to get rid of a guy who's owed three mil four mil a year per year you know maybe the owner's saying i'm not paying another guy so you figure out how to make it work with daryl i mean i don't know yeah i don't know all of these things yeah happen in these types of scenarios for sure i do wonder about our boy you mentioned mike futa as a name like you know has a history at Daryl Sutter, has been a successful manager in the NHL.

You also wonder when you go to your owner and be like, well, there's five players worth of combined $17 million that don't want to be here anymore because of this one man who makes two. Good point, Sam. Yeah. Do you want to keep the good players? Yeah. Do you want to keep good players or do you want to keep this guy?

Yeah. to keep the good players yeah you want to do you want to keep good players or do you want to keep this guy yeah and then that's that's surfacing real quickly here that uh players in their exits meetings uh voice their concerns on daryl yeah doesn't so i mean that's that shouldn't come as a shock to anyone that was a bad year boy they had a miserable time start to finish yeah and how does it get rectified and there's certain things like does daryl need to follow anyone to arizona like babcock did with austin you may have to because that stuff asked if yeah if there's a future there that mending fences is a big part of coachplayer relationships These days But that stuff doesn't work You're just

You're stacking deck chairs On the Titanic Like Well If the relationship Has been flawed And you can be like I disagree with you there

You disagree? Well I mean How'd it work out for Babs? Ever heard the You ever heard the term Old dogs, new tricks? Yeah Not happened for a while

Hey Naz I'm sorry i was a dick this year uh i'm gonna go and be better now yeah maybe it's not gonna work for daryl and naz but i think it's worthwhile to sit down have a face-to-face to someone work through your differences i think that's can be productive yeah we'll have to kind of see from afar on on the calgary flames scenario okay we're going to take a quick break chris krenn toronto or uh tampa bay lightning beat writer for nhl.com we'll see if we can sniff anything out on victor headman out of him as yes the series heads south toronto tampa bay game three saturday night ch Chris Crenn, after the break.

This is Real Kipper and Born on Sportsnet 590, The Van. As the series shifts to Florida, let's welcome in Chris Crenn. Covers the Tampa Bay Lightning for NHL.com. Chris, hope all is well. Catch an early flight this morning. Where are you? Yeah, we touched down about two hours ago now. I got to Tampa.

Just feeling kind of the polar opposite of the weather here. It's very hot down in Florida. It was a little bit chiller than I expected up in Toronto but all good here in the sunrise and I'm ready to go for game three the only polar opposite we know is from game one to game two exactly yeah that's exactly right just the sense

of going down there losing game two split usually feels like a victory for the road teams, but does this feel different for Tampa? I mean, a little bit, but at the same time, it's just a group that's been here before and done this right. I think they're looking at it as, you know, we played a really good game one and, you know,

if the games were flipped and game one was played game two and game two was won, you know, if the games were flipped and game one was played game two and game two was won, you know, I think they'd be feeling pretty good today. So we've seen this team just be really good over the past several years at turning the page. And I think that's really important after a big loss, but it's also important after a big win. And you got to just turn that page

and look towards the next game. Can't think about the last one too much. And I think that's what they're trying to do. Going into game three in a building that they played really well in this year and you know that like i said they're just a very seasoned veteran group that should be able to handle something like this okay chris we appreciate you joining us i would love to get your take on john cooper you spend the full year getting to interact with this guy we spend a playoff series back-to-back years

picking apart his quotes is he any different in the playoffs than the regular season is there more message sending or do you deal with this man exactly the same all the time well i love coop i mean it's you guys know it's a little bit of a different media market up in toronto than it is down here in tampa obviously so i think it's um you know it's not as intense. He's not getting all the million questions a day. But he's the same pretty much all year, I would say. I mean, he does probably crank it up a little bit in the playoffs. I think he's, you know, he's been really good at making everything. It feels like everything he says in the media is calculated.

And I think he's using it to his advantage, or he tries to use it to his advantage. You know, so, yeah, he's a great guy. I really love covering him. And to me, I think, you know, this is a guy that could potentially go down as one of the best coaches in nhl history so i'm i'm really feel blessed to be able to cover the team and be around him every day he's a really smart guy and um very entertaining to cover as well along with the team obviously so uh here in canada if we lose a star player this time of year there's about a thousand so-called insiders

who all want to figure out what the heck's going on and what's hurt and how long he'll be out on a smaller scale. Is that going on right now with Victor Hedman? I mean, he was asked about it today. We got to the airport, and he did a little media session when we got there. He said they're going to be getting some more stuff done today, getting looked at today, now that they're back in in Tampa and he said he should have an update tomorrow so um you know how it is in the playoffs they're not going to give

you too much but no I don't think there's too many people down here uh digging for information but you know you hope he can go I thought that in game two he might take the warm-up um and see how he felt so to see him not out there for that was a little bit surprising uh but you know he's obviously a really key part of their team, as is Eric Chernak. I think he's a guy that's kind of not being talked about enough for being on the lineup. I mean, it's one of their big penalty killers against a team

that has pretty historically strong power play in Toronto. So they're missing both those guys a lot right now. Hopefully they can get him back soon. Sorry, was he limping at all, Victor? Yeah, I missed what you said about how he was walking, how he looked. Was he happy, sad? No, I'm not sure.

We'll see how he does. I mean, I hope he can come back. Like I said before, he's just a key part of their back end, obviously, a really big player. And Chernak, has he had concussion history? Like, it's tough to imagine that he'll come back. And I guess a similar question for Ace Amant, just where these guys are in terms of availability the rest of the way.

Yeah, we'll see. I mean, I think that's kind of a case-by-case basis sometimes. You just hope that, you know, that's an injury that you don't want to rush a guy back. It's not like a lower body or something like that. It's just something that you don't want to rush back. It could have an effect later on in his life. Ace Amant was back on the ice yesterday, though,

skating during the morning skate. So we'll see how soon he's able to come back and if he would later on in his life. AC Mom was back on the ice yesterday, though, skating during the morning skate, so we'll see how soon he's able to come back and if he would be inserted into the lineup. He got in because Genoa was unable to play. I think he gives them a good spark. He has good speed. He's a feisty little player, but they went out and gave up a lot of picks for Tanner Genoa to be in the lineup as well.

In terms of turn-act availability, really can't give you much there. I don't know. That was obviously a tough hit to watch, and hopefully he can recover pretty quickly. It's just, like I said, those kind of feel like they're case-by-case bases sometimes. Last night we had a very tough crowd at the Scotiabank Arena led by a bumblebee behind the penalty box.

What's Tampa Bay's answer to the Bumblebee in game three? Is it back to the Hulk, Hulk Hogan? What do you guys have in store for us? I haven't seen Hulk Hogan in a while at the Caves, actually. But, I mean, there is the one fan that he's been there since, man, I lived in Tampa when I was younger, too. I can remember back in the 04 Cup, he was there, a bald guy. He always has the sleeveless shirt, can remember back in the 04 Cup, he was there, bald guy, always has the sleeveless shirt and he sits

in the lower bowl and he always goes down when they go to clean the ice at the TV timeouts and he's putting his mouth right there in the glass yelling at the opposing goalie whenever he can. So I'm sure he'll be at the game and Thunderbugs had some pretty good antics themselves before the mascot. So they're going to do whatever they can to get

a little advantage down here on home ice. Well, given the history of this team and how they have rallied and bounced back, we know Vasilevsky had a long run, right, of his bounce-back performances. That was a bit of a story of the postseason last year. How have you felt about the play of the stars there? Obviously, Vasilevsky being one of them, but Kucherov, Stamko is the guys that they're going to need to be great for them. Yeah, I mean, I think those guys are really good at pulling the group into the fight

and playing their best hockey around this time of year, Kucherov in particular. You know, he's a point-for-game player in the playoffs, and I thought he was dominant in Game 1 at some really nice plays with the puck, and you're right about Vasilevsky. I mean, he's, to me, one of the best players in all of sport at playing his best when the lights are brightest. And I think that's a talent in and of itself. And like you said, he's been able to bounce back in games time and time again.

His numbers are ridiculous in some of those games after losses. So I'll tell you what, the three Russian players on this team in Vasilevsky, Kucherov, and Sergeyev, I mean, those guys all are really focused guys who are driven and want to be the best players at their position. So I don't think the Lightning are worried about any of them. And we know what Stamkos brings to the table with his leadership, and I think we all saw it at its best last year in the postseason,

his willingness to do whatever it took to win. The guy, you know, that's pretty much been heralded as just a goal scorer and obviously a really good playmaker, too. But he's laying in front of shots and throwing the body around. So I know he'll be ready to go as well. Chris, really appreciate your time, man. Thanks for doing this. Enjoy game three.

Thanks a lot, guys. Thanks for having me. Yep. Thank you. All right. Carlton versus what is it? The Thunderbug. Did he say Thunderbug? Thunderbug, did he say?

Thunderbug. Thunderbug. Thunderbug. Hell of a nickname. It's the call me in high school. Give me some over-unders or odds on that. Carlton gives him the people's elbow. It's night-night time for old Thunderbug.

A bear has to eat a bug. Yeah, I think so. No? I like Carlton's chance. Yeah, he's got him. He also drove you somewhere once, so he's our pal. He drove me to an NHL exhibition game. Yeah, that's the thing. Very embarrassing.

That's the thing about that crowd down there. It doesn't, like, that building is not one that scares me. Like, I know they're good to you. I got to tell you, that guy did not sound scared about anything. Not that. Yes, Tampa. Yeah, they're fine. They're perfect.

They're fine. Oh, Chris that we just talked to yeah no fear he's one of those spoiled rotten reporters who thinks they go to the stanley cup final every year to be fair he's usually right yeah yeah all he's saying to them for sure they get i'm just saying that's what happens when you constantly cover a team that wins all the time you know what i mean it's like hey, they're missing two great players. And Vassilis, they're in trouble. He said, nah, they sort it out.

They'll be fine. He went to a John Cooper school. They never lose two games in a row in the playoffs, bud. You're not a little alarmed? Yeah. No, not even a little bit. All right. Yeah.

You think people in Toronto are flocking down to that game where there's going to be like 4,000 Leaf fans there. Oh, yeah. This time of year is a great time. April in Toronto, beat it. Get around. Get around a golf and be back at the hotel by 4.30, shower, nap, and then go to the game.

That's just a dream. That's the Michael Jordan plan, isn't it? Didn't I recently see a story about that? Him playing golf on game day? Yeah, with JR. Yeah. With Jeremy Roenick. Yeah.

It was about that he would- And Jeremy beat him for- Fight 36, having beers. Beat him for like two or four grand. Double or nothing. Score 50 or whatever. I think he said 40. And MJ put up 50, right?

Yeah. That's just not right. That's built different that's superstar status I said prior to last night's game that the Leafs would go down there and probably split and we'd be coming back

yeah you said if they won last night they're coming back 2-2 I think the odds got better after last night that they could come home 3-1. Well, I'm telling you, this is why some of Chris's answers surprised me because if I'm Tampa Bay, it's like we just got our asses handed to us, excuse me, but also you're missing crucial people. The goalie doesn't look very good.

If you're Tampa, I think you're feeling the heat at one, one here and not to get ahead. But if Boston and Florida are going to beat the crap out of each other, I want to get out of this one as fast as I can. And I don't want Corey Perry and Maroon dragging us out seven seven games here like those guys can't matter as much as they've mattered it's just impossible perry he got the cory perry hat trick last night scored a goal got in a fight and had the whole crowd chant he sucks that's the cory perry hat trick he loved it i'm sure oh how could he not did he have an assist last night too do you have a gordy how

he probably did he had he's got two and two on the series so he probably didn't find it he was awesome again all right uh no did we mention anything about uh friday being uh texts or youtube questions or anything like that i sent a tweet earlier today and got a bunch of responses so uh you want to start i would like to start uh start. Do you want to talk about any other series? Do you want to say that to the end? We'll probably get asked some of the questions anyway. This is an interesting one from Gerg on Twitter.

I'm sorry, can you spell that please? G-E-R-G. Gerg. Sands vowels. Alright. Anyone else notice Sorelli? Took a hard hit, missed a couple shifts, then sat down. Yeah, on the blue line. Usually he's a top PKer.

He's out on the ice if he's feeling 100%. Surprised no one asked Cooper for his status postgame. Did he collide with Austin? He did. At the blue line? Tangled, yeah. Yeah, that's a great point. I don't know what's going on there.

I know at the time I had thought that maybe he had the wind knocked out of him. I saw someone speculating head stuff, which is much worse. He's wiry. He's strong. But he's not big or carry a lot of weight. Hyper durable. Yeah, he plays hard. He's a great hockey player.

But that would be, I mean, that would be a death sentence for tampa we noticed we did notice oh yeah come on gurg we noticed that kind of thing sorelli played he's played the matthews line the most he's the most time on ice against them so uh yeah like i said crucial to tampa bay okay so this is from the ghost of grabbo um also a great handle you love the grabbo coolman line oh i love i love mikhail grabowski i do much realistically where does bunting fit into this lineup when not with knives playing as well as he did and the lines looking so good say the leafs keep the same lineup win the next two games and 58 is available for game five who are you taking out and where does he play don't change a winning lineup so he just doesn't get in doesn't get in horny so i i don't typically subscribe to that sort of thing

but if you beat tampa three times in a row you're mental to change anything you know like it's not like you win one game you're down three nothing you won a game and one of your like best players is suddenly healthy or something like this is like he's a fringe guy here's what i'll say about bunting in tampa bay that i think goes under discussed is that the type of game he plays makes tampa bay better it it's right into their wheelhouse it It's like a guy who's excellent at hitting curveballs dealing with a pure curveball

pitcher. Bunting makes the game agitated, yappy, penalty filled. It's everything that's a strength of Tampa's. And you know who doesn't like that? The Leafs in general. No. Yeah, above that though. Austin. Right. That's not good for Austin good point

yeah no he doesn't want to be in scrums and talking to people and no no he just wants to shoot it in the net that's actually a great point that I had never thought of that like every time he's playing he's gonna be like oh like oh my god he's like I shot one towards the net no good no good for Austin. Interesting point that I never even thought of. Also thought Jaren Kroc, even though he didn't do anything overly noticeable offensively last night, he works so hard. Like, he gets pucks.

He's in on the forecheck. He's in the right spots. Easy to play with. As long as a lot of other things are going well, yes. Yeah. No, I mean, listen, he's not ideal as my first line left winger but compared to it bunting offers so anyway to answer that question if they win two more games he doesn't get in for me if it's two two you might have to look at how aston reese is playing

and nize is playing otherwise i don't know unless lafferty's a complete dog but he has oh lafferty it's been awesome fourth line goal last night oh lafferty yeah and old and uh asin reese got to pick up the change poke it home so yeah all three of them it's looking tough it's a great spot for the leafs to be in yeah you love not having room for good players um this one i just want to read to kind of make fun of this is from owen uh lamacraft on twitter as a leaf fan is there anything worse than leaf fans after a playoff win same people that were leaving early game one were trying to jump into the box to fight guys then people on the street acting like we won the cup let's out. We still need 15 more wins. I don't know. It's the playoffs.

We've got to remind is it Owen? Owen. That Sammy you set the bar. I did? It's so low that everyone's following you. Well I also

think part of being a sports fan is getting to cheer for the ups like you feel the downs yeah like not there's hardly been any pressure pressure is a privilege boys for the fans too yeah you know you get to act like a you know go in the streets and have some fun that's the whole point of this it does add to the um i don't know what's the proper way to phrase this uh white people hate leaf fans what's that that they're see i don't think the least fans are over celebrating compared to the next fan base i i see a lot of cynicism in the fan base i see a lot of owen yeah like owen like you must be so sick at parties. This is also the overall perception of the jealousy and the grotesque ability to spend money.

Yeah, I will say, so I don't want to hear Mitch Marner and Austin Matthews in their interviews go, you like that? How good was game one? We're in a good spot baby but the fans yeah fans can do it oh my god they're all busy with their uh skip the dish commercials get paid and their gambling commercials like they lead the league in endorsements oh no you know what every time i see something like that all i can think of is like that has to be a draw when they're trying to get ufas like ryan o'reilly

is in an osmos commercial shout out osmos he is yes yeah he yeah he is now i missed that i saw i saw one pop up on the uh on my uh computer yeah today where do they have time to do this but this is great like come here i didn't pay a lot of attention to that opening but they also dragged him i guess to massey hall to do an opening for music he's a he's a great guitar player he's a great guitar player okay i love that did that get you real pumped up for game two yeah sammy yeah. Yeah, I loved it. Good. I loved it. I was just smitten. But like people say I look like a man. Not, not too many.

Yeah. Not too many guys on other teams. Not too many guys on other teams get those same opportunities. These guys who have been knocked out consecutively in the first round. Yeah. Go get your money. Go get that hot swarm of dollars. Go get it. Uh, just make sure that they skip the the dishes Doesn't turn into skip the playoffs

I mean, Noel Achari got a cookie commercial Yeah, like I love that Like, yeah, okay, you can come here and make The soup guy Yeah, Micaiah Let's see how many Campbell's commercials Hey, Campbell, hey, he plays in Vancouver. Have you noticed?

And by the way, the extent of the soup thing was once in an interview. He said he likes soup. I like soup. And they're like, oh, it's the soup guy. Let's give you a commercial. And it's like, whoa. Whoa. That really ticks off people outside of Toronto.

Great. Good. Great. Good. Great. That makes me happy. Speaking of pissing off people outside of Toronto, our wonderful technical director, Derek Brandeo, told me that they are playing the Toronto Maple Leafs game on Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver tomorrow night.

So that should go over well for the people of Vancouver. The radio. Yes. Yeah, a little fresh audio for the people of Vancouver. The radio. Yes. Yeah, a little fresh audio for the boys out there. They just love that. So enjoy that, Vancouver. Yeah.

I know you'll love that. Is there a reason why? Yeah. Good free content, baby. Waves are everywhere, man. Anyways, what was I going to say here now? Okay.

I think, this is from Zardo on Twitter. I think Maroon, Perry, and Janot chirping back at fans while in the penalty box just shows that their confidence is a lot more shot than in previous years. Fans chirped at the players in every arena. They stooped a little low by showing it actually affected them. Hashtag in their kitchen. I actually think it's a fair point.

No. No? No, it's a fair point. No. No? No, it happens all the time. In November and February, games are over. Okay, but it's April. I know, and the microscope's big time now, so you watch every move. But leaving the ice, guys get into it with fans

and on the way back into the dress room it just happens it's just that that competitive nature is always there no one likes to lose a game in november february or april if a fan's in your face you're you're chirping back at him it's not that uncommon i will say i love that cooper doesn't make a big deal out of that stuff he's not like be a professional we're setting you know he's like he lets them kind of do their thing he trusts listen the the worm brain by the way yeah the worm brain it's also i'm listening of cory perry and pat maroon i don't know that there's two better players of the nhl at knowing when to be idiots and knowing when not to be idiots they are exceptional idiots and that to me shows their intelligence they know when to

do it okay what did you guys tell us idiots elite idiots a break in the action everybody saw it yeah we know maroon giving his boy ryan o'reilly yeah the stick in his glove. I loved Ryan O'Reilly. No reaction. Dead straight. No reaction. But if I'm the league right now, I'm giving Pat a call.

What are you talking about? No, no, no. I don't care if you're buddies or not. You don't stick your stick in another team's bench. You don't put it in someone's glove. You don't do any of that. I don't care if you guys go to Marineland or Canada's Wonderland during the summer. Whatever.

Do whatever you want. Nobody touches anybody on the bench with their stick yeah feels like a very like a technicality it's like no butterfly kisses like they clearly are as a league i can't decipher now who's buddies and who's not yeah i understand that point it's really tough to watch that moment and be like you know i get your point you can't stick your stick in the bench but to ryan o'reilly's credit i could not have done what he did with one of my best pals goofing around i think part of the reason why ryan o'reilly uh stayed stone face is because he didn't know how to react to it yeah you don't want to engage pat maroon you're on the other team

scram beat it yeah i don't care. Right now, we're enemies. I want to beat you up. I want to stomp on your throat right now. I can't believe how often Shin and Maroon get into it, given that they're kind of, you know, have a relationship. They seem to like each other. These guys, competitive nature. Yes.

And what other thing did I want to say? Just the whole Tanner, you know, thing is, did they give up five draft picks for him? Yes, one in every round. Oopsies. I didn't really notice him until he went against Luke Shen. Like, was that, and I know he came off of like, I almost like lost my leg moment, which give him full credit for being on the ice you guys want to hear the bones he called a fight if yeah we'll be there in a second good but if if you are well enough to play you have to have more of an impact

than just uh a meaningless fight or not a fight. You didn't see any hits? Nothing. Nothing. He just non-impactful returned for him. And now his hand hurts. Want to hear the fight? Let's hear it. Joe Bowling. And Luke Shen. And who is this? Oh, it's Tanner Jeannot. Wouldn't you Jeannot?

Luke with a left hand. Another left hand. Popped him right on the button. Another left hand, another left hand, popped him right on the button. Another left hand, another left. Janelle trying to throw a left himself. And Luke Shaddaa tagged him a couple of times. They're still throwing punches. And now the linesmen move in.

Wow. Good for Joe. That's awesome. That gets you fired up boys someone uh messaged us that you know other fan bases seem to have the media that covers their team be fans of the team i think he's referring to jack edwards or jack michaels or whoever you think the person who calls your regional games are that likes you're an employee of the team right it's okay but i think the complaint was that least fans don't get that

they don't get it anywhere and other teams do but joe oh you just get world-class broadcasting i do want to give it a shout out to how good chris cuthbert and craig simpson were yesterday joe should still be calling the game for lee fans i'm saying that this person enjoys having someone like that who is, you know, if you listen to that fight, you never know that Tanner Janot split him open. Another left hand! Popped him right on the butt!

And it's Jack in Edmonton, right? His call reminds me of that comedian Sam Kinison where he's like just talking. But some people want their hometown flavor in their viewing, you know? I get it.

I do. Holy mackerel! But like Jack Edwards in Boston takes a beating from everybody except a Bruin fan. 100%. And that's his job. It's, in many ways, it's a two-and-a-half-hour infomercial for the Boston Bruins. That's right.

And I can't believe how good our people are. Like, Simmer is so on point with, you know, right after they score last night to make it 3-1, he's talking about the crucial moments that this is for this team and everyone's you know the air is out of the building like he's setting the scene so well it's just you get such a professional call and yeah i think there are people though who wish they didn't get a professional call and they got that like when people tune in to real kipper and born we think it uh we call a semi pro call i mean, I'm the idiot. You guys can be the professional.

It's nice to have this. He's the semi. Yeah. It's been amateur hour at its best. Sammy McKee. Okay. Sammy McKee. Sammy McKee.

I love it. What is Nye's ceiling to you guys? Can he be Tom Wilson good for the Leafs in a couple years? Gary from Saga. No. Tom's mean. First of all, take a close look at his face. He's pretty.

Maybe the sweetest guy you'll ever see. Have you seen Tom Wilson's face? He's not exactly. He's also beautiful. He ain't exactly an uncle. I just know when it hits him. As long as he doesn't fight. He just seems like a really pleasant person.

I don't know if he's got that mean streak in him. I hope he does. You know, I think you can develop that given the confidence. Well confidence well you know i'll use as a kind word to put it even the confidence he has you can develop that don't touch me yeah he's so who i am don't touch me he is you have to have that to play the way he's played yeah really touches uh did you i loved the moment last night though he's a player that they caught on the broadcast where Nyes got that penalty when they were on the 5-on-3 and he slashed the stick out of the hand

penalty, clear penalty and the look on his mom's face was just the look that a million hockey moms across all places what are you doing? I guarantee that she brought that up to him right after the game I actually thought of her because he mentioned I think think she's a doctor, nurse or something,

works in some sort of health care. And she says she's always worried about him getting hurt. And he had a moment in Eyes Did where he was working through something. He twisted a knee or something. With a knee or an ankle or whatever. And I'm sure mom was watching and going. He cringed a little bit in between whistles. He was, you know, testing it and all that,

so hopefully nothing too impactful there. Yeah, he kind of had like a weird little spill where he kind of, like, his legs went out from underneath him and he fell down, so he's fine. If he can be half the player he was last night for them, it will be value this postseason run. A lot of comparisons of him coming in were with Chris Kreider. Yeah.

And I think he's a little different than that. He's way better than Chris Kreider was when he came in. Okay, yeah. I'm just speaking of early. Yeah. It took Chris Kreider,

I think, a lot longer to get to the point where he is. To me, Chris is this way. He is fast straight away and he is big and he stops the net front. Like, Nize, a lot of deception to his game

what nice has for me is fast twitch yeah you write just a quick like for big man guys and he's you know east west east west and then north yeah yeah he can go so what a showing so what's the ceiling what's the ceiling uh power forward maybe how many goals 25 30 40 goal score one day yeah maybe that's exact range i'd have had he can get over 30 at some point cool but not tom wilson well so tom wilson's just different i don't think a tom is like a puck carrier tom's got a streak he's a four checker and he's a hitter and he's a tom's eyes could roll back like a slot machine a casino rama the wires he's a he's a wire cross guy yeah um which is a different kind of value pickers pickering casino i should say is that where he's from yeah it's closer okay don't know my local casinos a lot of questions about you know the the graciness

of this series and them talking about simmons getting into the one of these games you know i got a text about that while we were on the show today my buddy said i'm just getting simmons in okay the lineup's just it's too good right now remember leaf fans what you are you're you're you're skilled team last night was enough in the lineup that took care of the stuff that needed to be more than that. Right? So like, listen,

Wayne served a purpose from one to 82. Again, a lot can happen between now game three, game four. Maybe he needs to come back in. Maybe he was, but it's just, it's not needed.

You don't have to have that conversation going into game three no you don't need the wayne simmons conversation and without you know with bunting coming back for game five which is definitely going to happen in this series you know wayne's likely not to get in the next two games bunting would be the next guy in like it's a tough road for wayne simmons to get in necessarily say that you'd see a world where simmons i don't know i'd have to see where we are and what's missing and where where bunting could fit in yeah it's gonna be interesting he plays fourth line over aston reese i don't know, maybe he's healthy scratched. Yeah.

Wearing a bright yellow hoodie, front row at a Leafs playoff game is all I need to know about you. Come on, man. WTF. That's actually the most egregious thing. That's Eric from my boy Eric in Georgetown who plays defense for my team for sure. Every team, every guy, every person has a blue or a white piece of clothing, do they not? Yes. The Bumblebee was hoping to get spotted.

He was buzzing around the box. He's Marlins man, as he was. Yeah, he was buzzing around there, hoping to get spotted. The attention he was after. We talked about him. There we go. I don't really have a whole lot else here, boys. So, you guys want to talk about the series last night?

Yeah, I do. I do. else here boys so you guys want to talk about the series last night yeah i do i do i want to talk about vegas because uh there was a stretch early in game two where you're like oh like vegas is in trouble here that it looked like much like seattle where it was like winnipeg could come out of this up to nothing yeah and then i don't know what happened mark stone he had an assist to put them ahead and then the fourth goal and then the fifth goal and he just took the game away no you know who's underrated is that william carlson he's a great playoff player man he's been great since he got picked up yeah in the expansion i think uh, from Columbus, if I'm not mistaken. Big guy. But just to touch on Mark Stone, he's so good. Yeah.

He's so good. He's coming off, I guess, a major back surgery or back issue. You're never guaranteed with the back. Yeah. Like, it's almost like concussion-like where it's like sometimes you just don't know. But when he's going, as Austin says about Willie, when he's going, he's going. When he's going, he's going, right?

And if Mark Stone's going here, it's going to make Vegas a much tougher out. And he's so, he appears to to me i don't know him well i've talked to him a couple times but he is he's got this air quiet arrogance yeah positive he's one of those guys much like ovechkin sometimes you think he's scored his first nhl goal when you see the passion come out of the man and the emotion. He feels like a guy who's going to win a cup or multiple cups. He cares about winning so much.

He's a passionate man. So passionate. Yeah. And it's not a cocky, arrogant. It's just a pure passion this guy has. Yeah. I really enjoy watching him. There's one thing that he does better than

almost anyone in the league and it actually reminds me of marner is his ability to read plays and anticipation and pick pucks off and go the other way yeah like he's so so good at that and i think he's got a chance to come in and just alleviate some of the pressure off eichel too who did score his first playoff goal last night he goes better with mark stone there 100 no everyone is yeah and not just for the obvious reasons he's a great player but it's that psychological thing of yeah he's the leader he's the guy and i can just kind of maybe do my thing a little better here. Yeah.

I mean, that decor of theirs is so good. They just need someone to score enough goals. Martinez, Petrangelo, McNabb, Theodore, Haag, White Cloud. They just need someone to score a little bit. Okay. Any concerns for the Boston Bruins? Finally. You think they're nervous right now? Is this...

All Murkoff giving six up. No Bergeron in Florida. No Bergeron on the trip they have to go to swayman tonight like this is not the biggest adversity they've had all year it is number one i think i think if i was a bruins fan and but i mean i can't put myself in those shoes because of you know success but i would be concerned heading into this game. The Florida Panthers thoroughly outplayed us in two straight games in our barn. Yeah. And you're going down there shorthanded.

Your goalie was just as bad as he's been all year. He's questionable for tonight. This is, I think. The type of place they bounce back. For sure. This has been the type of place people go, oh, right, they're the Bruins. Yeah, like this is where they go down, they win like five zip, right? And they're dominant.

But if they go down there and lose this one. Oh, yeah, this is big. They've been on their heels pretty significantly. Sounds like Bergeron won't be back until at least game five. Yeah. That escalated quickly. Yeah. I did also read something during the show here that it may be about his dad.

So there's lots going on in his world. What a week, boys. Holy hell, it's already Friday, eh? Unbelievable. Not the all-star break anymore. And we're just getting started. 7-3, 7-2 to open the series. Big numbers on YouTube.

Another day where we cracked well over 2,000, I think, watchers, viewers. If you're still sticking around, hit the like button. We love it. When you guys do that, it's going to be a great weekend. Game three, Toronto and Tampa.

Yeah. It goes Saturday. And then we're back. This one Saturday, Monday. Yeah. How pivotal game three. I it's crucial because I worry every game.

You don't win. When Hedman is out is one game closer to Hedman. Not being out. I think you got to get him while you can. Least win Saturday. It's going to be a closer hockey game, I guarantee. I think Sammy's right. They're comfortable in that building.

Yeah. Good to see an overtime game here. Okay. Our thanks, as always, off the rails. Friday, Doug McClain, Chris Krenn, Lightning Beat Writer. Enjoy the weekend. Stay safe, everybody. And we're back on Monday, real Kipper and Born. We'll see you next time.