Spittin Chiclets - Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 560: Featuring Bob Stauffer & Gary Lawless

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

On Episode 560 of Spittin’ Chiclets, The guys are joined by Bob Stauffer and Gary Lawless as the 1st round finishes up and the 2nd round matchups are set. Playoffs have not disappointed in the slightest and with Whit, Biz and Yand’s teams still in the running, the crew is starting to get heated. An episode you won’t want to miss. Stay Tuned later in the week to catch Game Notes with Murls and Colby every Wednesday at Noon eastern and a Chiclets Episode coming to you LIVE on Friday Morning. 00:00:00 - START 00:00:25 - Stars Vs. Avalanche First round recap 00:20:06 - Gary Lawless Joins the Show 00:20:51 - Blues Vs. Jets First Round Recap 00:47:28 - Edmonton Vs. Vegas Golden Knights 2nd Round Preview 01:05:33 - Bob Stauffer Joins the Show 01:37:41 - Toronto Vs. Florida 2nd Round Preview 01:52:05 - Quick Hits Support the Show: PINK WHITNEY: Take Your Shot with Pink Whitney SPORTCLIPS: Sport Clips. The haircut experience, dialed in for guys. It’s a Game Changer. AURAFRAMES: Exclusive $35-off Carver Mat at https://AuraFrames.com. Promo Code CHICLETS RHOBACK: Use code CHICLETS on https://rhoback.com for a generous 20% off your first purchase through the end of this week DRAFTKINGS: GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, [phone] or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). 21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS). 1 per new customer. $5+ first-time bet req. Max. $200 issued as non-withdrawable Bonus Bets that expire in 7 days (168 hours). Stake removed from payout. Terms: sportsbook.draftkings.com/promos. Ends 5/18/25 at 11:59 PM ET. Sponsored by DK.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/schiclets

Hey, spittin' Chicklets listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Me and Ryan have been officially welcomed to the jungle that is basketball sports. Our white whale, Sidney Crosby! Shave his head! Shave his head! Shave his head! Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette, R.A., Mike Grinelli, Spitton Chicklets. Hockey is the greatest sport in the world and try to argue me and I will friggin go you right there and I can't even fight.

Welcome, welcome welcome welcome to episode 560 of the spitting shickles podcast. Holy shit. I don't know what else to say We just witnessed some of the most memorable game sevens I'll ever see in my life and we are here because of pink Whitney shout out pink Whitney Oh, yes, Keith just just drink it all right now. It's 12.25 Eastern on Monday, May 5th. Happy birthday, Cal and Whitney, and let's get into it, boys. Shout out Pink Whitney, shout out the big bottles, the little bottles, the medium bottles,

and everyone who's ever had a drink of Pink Whitney. We love you and we thank you, and thank you to what Pink Whitney does for this show. Guys, I mean. I don't even know what to say. Guys, let's lead off with this. In the history of the NHL, there had been three times a team was down two goals in the third period in game seven and came back to tie it up.

It just happened on back to back nights. What the fuck? And there were a couple people when I tweeted, that's the craziest first round I've ever seen. What do you mean, dude? It's like, and then I had defenders like, no, man, give me another year that you can talk about the storylines, every comebacks, every game, every series. What are you talking about?

It'd be one game on crack and then the next game would start. There'd be a goal nine seconds in this game going a double overtime, this game having lead changes, like it's been fucking insane. If we could guarantee that we get the second round the same as the first, I'd fight 12 Irish Travelers. I'd fight fucking 20, I'd fight a fucking gorilla one on one. Fuck the other 99 guys.

I'd fight a fucking gorilla one on one. You kind of are one with your long arms and your big hands. Like it's a fair fight. Boys, I mean, I guess we're going to have to start with Colorado Dallas. And I mean, Nico fucking Ratnan. And what he went through the last two months, getting traded against his will,

just blindsided by that, not fitting well in Carolina, going to Dallas, and then doing what he did in those last two games I mean really games five through seven for 11 points base 11 points in the 11 points and The argument that his point production was was mainly because of playing with a guy like Nathan McKinnon Which we realized that playing with him the game is a little bit easier which we realized that playing with him, the game is a little bit easier. But he fucking showed everybody as to why he's a playoff beast,

why he deserved 12 million a year, if not 14 after that performance. And the Colorado Avalanche and their brass must be sitting there on the plane right home being like, Dude, that's what I was thinking, Chris McFarland. Wow. What just happened? What the fuck just happened to us?

Well, the funny part is that they get him out of the West. All right, go to Carolina, buddy. When they saw that news break, that he went to not only back to the West, to Dallas, they were already locked in to play him. It's like, oh fuck. And then what happened? The absolute worst case possible. The worst case Ontario, as you say, Biz, went down in the final 20 minutes of game seven in Dallas. It's just, Keith, can you imagine the guys

on the plane and Chris McFarlane sitting there like, wait, he wanted to stay? He would've, hey, mind you, he was never offered 12 take it or leave it. The fact that a conversation with what I consider the big three, him, McKinnon, McCarr, like those are three foundational pieces that if they would've stayed together, I would've said for sure multiple cups. Because Rottenen, especially when the hockey gets hard,

especially when it gets physical, and the games are won and lost around the blue paint and below the goal line, on the boards, those are the guys that end up coming through. And the fact that they could part ways with them, like, you know what, we're gonna find the next best thing. We're gonna get ahead of this thing. He doesn't look that fast this year.

I think he's maybe lost half a step. Oh yeah, who the fuck was lugging the mail through the neutral zone in game seven? Looked like he was the fittest guy on the ice on that zone rush. And that sound, when he scored that first goal, that sweeping and that ping going bar down, that is hockey porn in its finest, Jans.

Remarkable game seven, remarkable game six, only player in NHL history to have back to back four point games. Both of them in one period. In one period, yeah. Sheer dominance, sheer fucking dominance. I honestly, when you see him after the game, like all I want to be in that locker room so bad

going into the third period. And like, I remember a video of Ray Boric the year that they won it. And he was like, hey, give me the puck. I got one tonight. Like, you know, a lot of guys say that, but I wonder if like, Miko was just like, hey guys, it's my time now.

Like this is my old team. They fucking gave up on me. It's my time now. Like this is my old team. They gave up on me. It's my time to shine right now. Jump on the big, the big boys back and we're going to take these boys down. People are going to try to take away from the one that went off Gerard. But did you see when he went to the pile to give the guys the head and knuckles when he celebrated that first goal that he scored, he had that fucking look in his eyes where when he left that pile, I was like,

oh Jesus, this guy's gonna go full playoff mode right now and beast mode and he did just that. Even that wrap around him. Hints was in his face too. Hints was like him and they were like in each other's face. You could tell they were gonna pop off and they sure did busy. Like, how much booze we're gonna drink,

we have a couple days off, we're finished. Also, the second goal goal the Gerard one He didn't even go that nuts. It was almost like no no no no no It's only tied like biz you texted the group right after the first one you go you see his face there He looks like possessed then the second one. It wasn't a crazy celebration. He just stood up. He was locked in let's go Let's go. He was winning regulation and You got a feel for Nathan McKinnon, who a very raw, honest interview after the game,

he said, they didn't have their best defense, they didn't have their best forward, and we didn't beat them. What do we do now? Or something similar to that, where it's like, he has to be like, fuck me, man, this was my guy. This was my ace. my guy on the right. We went together, we raised Lord Stanley together,

and he didn't even really have an option of sticking it out here once the true story came out. Didn't even get consulted. Didn't even get consulted about it. I think that that's absolutely fucking banana lands. He said, his quote was, this is the most devastating loss of my career. And if you guys look right now, I believe that Nate's played five game sevens. He's never won a game seven. I think Kail McCarr has been a

part of four of those. I don't think he has a point and is minus three or four in those games. So I'm waiting to hear about a Macar injury solely because like when you when you see somebody that's that dominant and that amazing at what they do and then they're just off in the playoffs, you got I just what it wasn't the same Kale Macar and there were moments of what we've come to know like Kim B out in the ice, but it wasn't the overall dominance that we saw when he won the Con Smythe this season

throughout the regular season. It was just, I'm wondering if he was battling something. Maybe he wasn't, but I also, I can't get over that Pete DeBoer is nine and oh in game seven. It's fucking nuts. That's like the odds of that happening to, I mean, game sevens, they're tight games.

It's the inches here and there. It's the Al Pacino quote any given Sunday, and this guy's nine and all. And at the same time, Bednar's never won either. I believe he's 0-4 now. But the hardest part for the Avs and McKinnon is that was a Westerkopf, it's fine on the first round. And it's the way that this playoff format goes.

I've now come over to the side where I don't dislike it and I don't see a need for change, not including one verse 16 ever being an option. But you get these first round matchups and a team gets screwed and goes home. They could could have won it all. But you have memorable like series that you'll never forget. I will never forget that game seven and tonight's Winnipeg st. Louis I'll never forget either one of them. No, no, it was remarkable But then again, like it just goes to show you how important home ice

Advantages like you saw it with Dallas by the way that crowd That crowd has to be top three to five loudest crowds in the National Hockey League Like when they get fucking barking, that is a very, very intimidating place to play. And they don't even have Glassbanger in the lineup. They did have Tits McGee for game seven, which we knew that was going to be a victory. Well, you announced that. Like, how did you hear, I'm guessing, maybe a couple of DMs between the wonderful woman and yourself?

Or was it just news flying around your world? No we actually know this hockey player I'll keep the name off the podcast but his brother is dating her and I caught wind early on and I believe that she does some work on the internet as far as maybe only fans and I mean I think that that's pretty obvious not trying to like insult anyone here like you know make your money how you can, right? I think her profile on Twitter might show that or give that away. Exactly. I'm pretty sure she's sending out pictures of her beaver,

but she had the guns out blazing in game seven. It took a while for them to get going. It took till that third period to get it done. But hey, they came alive and they were busting out in the third period but yeah I mean going back to Pete DeBoer boys like there's a stat here became the first player or coach in NHL history to be part of nine game seven victories he is nine and oh in game sevens a record accumulated with

four different teams since 2012 so I mean, I just feel that he's an extremely calm, demeanor coach where if the game's high or low, you're never really seeing them on the bench elevated or reacting to it. So it seems like he's always prepared. He always knows what to do in every situation. And probably one of those coaches that most people would agree like just like Paul Maurice, I would be shocked if he doesn't eventually win a Stanley Cup just based on his pedigree,

how long he's been involved in the game, how many times he's been to the finals and come up short as well. So just a phenomenal coach. He's got Elaine Nazardine there, Spodder and the rest of that incredible coaching staff. Another guy as far as the clutch genes considered for such a young player, Wyatt Johnston, it was his third game seven of his career. He scored in every single one of those game sevens and none bigger than that one on that spousal cross. He's got him in the net. That was a snipe. He made that look way easier than that shot was. Now what did you guys think of the discussion Blackwood having to have

his stick in that lane? Because it was so close to him. Now I was kind of arguing that if you turn your stick over as a goalie to block it, the chance of it hitting it and going in your five hole is I guess relatively high, but when it's that close to your pads and your crease, is that not on him a little bit of getting the stick down? I think that when it's left to right, it's easier for the goalies, but

when it's coming, you know, from his left to his right, so right to left, I get a little harder to turn you. You can you could put it down flat a little easier than it doesn't open up with a five hole as much, which was your original point. And I think that most goalie coaches would agree like, hey, in that situation, don't stick it out. It felt like it was a few inches away. And I feel like the really good goaltenders who are able to read plays would have poked at

and disrupted that pass. Talking to other coaches via text and or on the panel, no offense, or not to throw bones under the bus. But I think that he said that that was more of a defensive error. Like that that backside winger has to take the back door guy and that net front defenseman has to prevent that pass from going across. So more on this. People were also bitching about the penalty call, like boys, he tackled him. I was at the start and then and if it was

in the neutral zone I would be still. Dude, Sagan's going to get that puck. You're in the offensive zone. That's a penalty. And I felt really bad for Jack Drury. We were on the stream and we did a live stream. It was great. Thank you for anyone who watched for game seven. And it kind of took away from how, like I didn't realize what happened because we're talking and we're interviewing. Bob Doz was on for that. I don't even think he's watching the game and I went downstairs watch the highlights I was like oh my god like that just that just happened but we were kind of

doing the content thing in the middle of it but that was a penalty man that was a penalty I think he got I think they got that one right and and biz quickly you brought up Wyatt Johnson most goals before the age of 22 in Stanley Cup playoffs history. Sidney Crosby at 24, Jaromir Jagger at 19, Patrick Kane at 19, Wyatt Johnson at 17, and this thing could just be getting going for them. I was just on part of my take before we started and Big Cat had me list my teams, my one through eight on who's left. Right away, I said Dallas. I switched it to Florida just because of eight on who's left. Right away I said Dallas. I switched it to Florida just because of them being the champs.

Dallas right now guys, the fact that those two are coming back in Robertson and Heskinen and they beat the Avs, it's like this might be their year. And I know it's, we're just seeing them win this legendary game seven, but that team is so deep, they're built to win in the playoffs. And Autinger is cool, dude. He's calm and net. He's the same guy. I don't think he gets too rattled.

I don't think he gets too fired up on a big save. He's just, he's ready to get the job done. Possibly. I think even remember the end of the year biz, even you were talking about it. Like they were giving up a ton of shots. They weren't, they didn't play great towards the end of the year going into playoffs, but he never, you never heard him bitch and complain about it. He wasn't, you know, pissed off at his team, you know, giving up too many shots. Cause you know, some goalies can get, you know, poopy pants about that where they're

Hey, what are you guys doing to me? We've all played with a goalie or two like that. So I love his demeanor, especially that, that series, like the ebbs and flows of any series are huge, but they didn't, it didn't seem to affect him in any way. He was, well, they lost the game. He was the same guy where they won a game, same guy. So him and yeah, I think him and Bob right now, the two guys I would trust the

most, uh, and you know, I wouldn't want to be facing him if I'm the one to peg jets, shut out to the stars players, like elevating their play in front of them. After he led in that second one, I would say that he wanted that McKinnon one back. It was a bit of a squeaker on the blocker side, but after that shutting the door and giving his team an opportunity to come back, full marks to Oughtonger. I think there was obviously some question marks coming into the playoffs. He's the type of goalie that he's always talked about in the top five, top 10 in league and you know when the chips are on the table you know he has proven it in the past maybe not in the later rounds but this could be a this could be his year just like this team and we're talking about and credit to like I mean

I'm gonna go through the list here like Tyler second coming back from injury I didn't know what to expect and what he would bring I thought he was tremendous in the fact that you know he didn't have what to expect and what he would bring. I thought he was tremendous in the fact that, you know, he didn't have many reps coming into the postseason. I think he played maybe one or two games before the end of the season to try to get his feet wet. Really the whole team was leaking oil. Like this is a team, they backed into playoffs. They might've lost their last seven, eight games. And we didn't even, they were unrecognizable. Matt Duchenne,

we talk about Rottenen's revenge, like he gets revenge on his old club, where he was there early. He'd been quiet, he'd been quiet in that series. He'd been quiet, but I thought the last couple games, he looked a lot better. We mentioned Wyatt Johnson, but just that whole decor to a man, especially Harley, and the fact that they lose

Haysken and where you're leaning on him come playoff time to play that 28-30 minutes like he's the he's the peonk right? He's that guy for he's the Morrissey He's that guy for that team where they rely on in every situation including power play and in those crunch moments to execute on the power play and get the job done and Beat a wagon of the Colorado Avalanche. That team from top to bottom deserves full marks for the way they played and competed. And every time you thought that Colorado was going to run away with it, whether it was after game four when they throttled them,

all of a sudden Lannis-Gaugh comes back, they get that lift. It's like, oh man, this has got to be the abs year, right? They got the mojo going, they got their captain back. They got that, that, that feel good feeling and fuck even after game six boys, like just the way they gave that up in the third period, but to go back home, get the W and now give your guys a little bit more time in order to get Hayskinnin and Robertson back. I agree with you, Whit.

It feels like they're the team to beat right now in the Western Conference and Yeah, they deserve it. They deserve all the credit in the world. No one happier Than the Dallas Stars to see this be a Wednesday start and I know it's already Sunday and it makes total sense They have to travel to Winnipeg, but yeah It's just an extra day or two possibly where maybe we don't see those guys game one But it sounds like we will see them in the second round. Back to the Avs quick, the Avalanche have now lost seven game sevens in a row and I believe the last one must be Ray Bork's cup win. That might be their last win in a game seven. Wow.

Incredible that maybe since then they haven't won one, but they are the only NHL, NBA, or Major League Baseball team to lose seven consecutive game sevens, according to OptaStats. So I trust OptaStats, no clue what the hell OptaStats is, but bring it to me, Opta. I feel bad for those guys, I do. Like they had cup aspirations,

they overhauled their entire team, they had Charlie Coyle as a third line center. Jack Drury as a fourth line center. They had Gabe coming back. They had Netches at two thirds the price of Ron Tinen and that front office thought that he could do the same thing at way less money. And it all came apart in one period.

On the road at game seven. Some people, including Avalanche fans, would argue like, hey, we didn't have the depth in order to compete. If we kept running, we would have been too top heavy and then we wouldn't have stood a chance against Dallas anyway. Um, you know, possibly true. You know, people are going to debate that. Um, you know, I think that overall the organization and the overhaul from the start of the year, like two new goalies, a couple of D men,

I mean, upfront, I mean, their second, third and fourth line center, uh, compared to the start of the year, we're all different. Uh, you got an Achushkin back, uh, Landy, you guys mentioned it and Natchez, like that is such an overhaul on the fly and they do deserve credit for that. I just look back to, to thinking you're getting ahead of things with moving Rottenen. And the story is that he came back to bite you're getting ahead of things with moving Rottenen and the story is that he came back to bite you in the ass and he did. He went no spit, no lube, sandpaper finish and you're on the plane with your head in your hands being like, what the fuck just happened to us?

So that's pretty much all I got on Colorado. An iconic comeback, an unbelievable game and very excited to see this Dallas Stars and Winnipeg matchup where both teams two goal comebacks in game seven. Yeah and we're gonna get into that game right now, game six and seven, and kind of break down our different thoughts on that. But before we do, we have two guests tonight. We have Gary Lawless who covers the Vegas Golden Knights and has some Winnipeg ties in his life, I believe. And then we're gonna have Stoff on later. So a big breakdown of Vegas and Oilers

from those two guys covering both those teams. But Gary's very, very invested in watching these Winnipeg games closely. So why don't we bring him in right now and we can break down Winnipeg St. Louis. There he is. There he is, couple of clicks. Couple of clicks for Gary.

I've never met the ends before. How we doing, Gary? How you doing, Keesh? Great to meet you. Great to have you on, Gary. What's going on? I think I'm just going to kind of take it. We'll get to all of us and our thoughts, but breaking it down, they go back to St. Louis. Winnipeg has a chance to get it done. And oh my God, the playoff ghost that Connor Hellebuck is seeing, they reappeared. And he gets pulled for the third straight game, not even on the bench after he gets

pulled. Everyone's kind of like, what is happening to this guy? This is the yips and golf. This is something that's unexplainable. Is it mental? Is it positioning? Nobody knows knows and everyone has different opinions and Somehow some way man. He pulls through in game seven and it happens with them sitting on the bench the last two minutes They're down two goals and Keith sends the Texas Winnipeg better without a goalie like what's going on here?

Just shocking one point six seconds left. Oh my god here. Just shocking. 1.6 seconds left. Oh my God. It was just incredible to see that go down. But I'll say this before any of you guys take this over. Hellebuck looked awesome in the two overtimes and there weren't a ton of chances and Winnipeg took over after the second period. At one point, since the second period began, they were out shooting St. Louis 37 to 16. But is this now what Hellebuck needed to just put everything aside and, dude, we got through the first round and I wasn't even good and thank God and now we go. That's the question, Biz. Gary, Keith, I don't know who wants to take it. Well, I'm going to throw it over to Gary and also congratulate you. Not only your

Golden Knights winning, but your former team, the Winnipeg Jets. So two for two going off to the second round. At least they don't have to meet each other quite yet, but I mean talk about the Hellebuck performance and everything else Winnipeg related. I lived there 18 years, uh, worked there and my wife is born in Winnipeg and my daughter is born in Winnipeg. So we watched the game here tonight and, uh, like they jumped off the couch, they're screaming.

I'm like a little more muted. Like it's, you know, I'm happy for my friends that live in Winnipeg. Not really happy for the jets per se. Although I worked for wall hall. That's where the paycheck comes from. He's part of the most cutthroat organization in pro sports. I think he's rooting for anyone else. He wasn't even watching the game.

Oh, I was watching. It was a, and I actually, uh, Paul Edmonds, the radio guy there. I don't know if he's a good buddy of mine. We covered minor league baseball together and drove all the way up. I 29 for eight years together. His call tonight is fantastic. It's on Twitter. You got to find it and listen to it.

Uh, I watched game six and I texted, you know, you use the word unexplainable wit I texted someone inexplicable. Like it's just, how does this guy be? He's going to win his third Vezna. How do you win three Veznas and then not be able to stop it in the playoffs? And I actually, you know, I kind of felt bad for him. I'm glad that I'm glad he was able to kind of resurrected in overtime. I'll let me ask this though.

What if you're Bill Guerin, is he your guy next year? Like if you watch this unfold, I think order orders, get his name in the hat. And I think you have to, like, to me, if he had a loss this series, it would have been it, it career defining is a little strong because he's still young. He's gonna, he still is going to play for who knows what happens after this, but it would have been an awful moment for him. So they get through and maybe he has found his moment. Scott O'Neill, it's fascinating.

You know, he played for the Jets. The Jets, John Ferguson Sr. traded him to Buffalo and they didn't speak for the longest time and the night they tore down Winnipeg arena, they picked the last night they had a big affair there and Randy Carlisle, who was like a son to Fergie and was the head coach in Winnipeg for the Moose when Scott Ar Arneal got his start there, like, you know, he brought them together and they had this moment where, you know, they Fergie said, sorry, Scotty said, sorry, they had this moment. He gets that job in Columbus gets Seward there.

And then like, I, I, I don't know if he was ever, if he didn't get a chance in Winnipeg, he might not have ever gotten another chance and, I, I don't know if he was ever, if he didn't get a chance in Winnipeg, he might not have ever gotten another chance. And, uh, he was with the Rangers. Uh, he was with Washington. Um, you know, he paid his dues and then gets this moment. So, uh, pretty good for him. I thought he did. I thought, I thought he handled the post game after game. Yeah, he did really well. That's a hard situation. But he was spinning right away, like took the heat off off Hellebuck right away. Said this we imploded we we and they did like the slot.

They were horrible in game six. I was shocked and they were horrible to be even game seven man like like bone said he's like a Jets hockey, especially like in the neutral zone, it's like force them to line, force them to dump, smother them, easier breakouts obviously. They were melting down. They weren't even keeping their F3 above their centerman who was entering the zone.

And the board side guy who was supposed to close them off at the red line, in both situations in the first 70 seconds, he slipped by Connor on that wing and then he got by Velarde on the other and then Connors that F3 who's supposed to be in support he gets drifting over gets outside another breakdown and then he doesn't even back check to pick up uh Kairu. You broke it down pretty well on TV which I'm surprised you know. Yeah once in a while.

Since you worked 15 days in a row. He just texted me I've worked 15 days in a row. You know, I do, I broadcast 82 regular season games. I love that. I went to four nations and now 15 days of. We're going to get you. We're going to get you. So who works harder off right now?

Keith just who works harder off? Yeah. We're having a dick measuring contest here. Well, you guys sit in your four seasons hotel. Hey guys, let's go a dick measuring contest here. While you guys sit in your Four Seasons hotel. Hey guys. Let's go back to hockey. Yeah. And back to the game though, something clicked and I would love, that's a moment you just

wish you could see what happened in the locker room after the first intermission. Who knows if it was a player, who knows if it was Scott Arneal, just like there had to be somewhat of a snapping in there. What the fuck boys? Game six, we give that effort. the first period at home with this white out that's what we give and they came out from the second period on game changer an enormous loss I think Morris he played two minutes I do that I don't know what's gonna happen I don't know where that leaves him for the second

round but Neil Pionk oh what a fucking player he gets the assist on the game winner through the first overtime. He played 40 of 80 minutes and that guy that trade with the Rangers for Jacob Truba, they get him resigned right before playoffs. What incredible player. No Shifely. They end up turning around gutted for the Blues. I mean, you talk about Colorado being up to nothing in the third period.

They're up to nothing with two minutes left. I mean, they're up three one with two minutes left. Like boys. Oh my God. Has Neil Kionk worked 15 days in a row? That's all I want to know. You're a fucking asshole. The leaf Florida action is already going. Hey, this guy criticizes the way I breathe. He's all over me. So keep your head up here. Hey, I'm born in 1968 on just on the outskirts of Toronto. Oh yeah. Never, never saw the

Leafs win Stanley Cup. Yeah, we don't need to. Hey, we're not diving into the Leafs just yet. I hate the Leafs so much. I'm a Canadian's fan. I grew up a Canadian's fan because they were, they disgusted me so much throughout the seventies and the eighties. Going back to the, the true betrayed though, and Piyang and pumping this team's tires though, like not only the trades they've made, the drafting, like a guy like Cole Profetti stepping up tonight in the absence of Shrifley on that power play, like that tip, that is as surgical as it gets.

I thought that that was Sidney Crosby in Profetti's Jersey. I thought it beat him six hole sorry Gary I thought it and then you see the replay like oh my god he went bar down with that tip and and a great play by Connor to pass it that hard I mean that is a complete set play and and and they connected again They connected again on the tying goal. It was just, yeah, go ahead, Gary, I'm sorry. I'm just still. They can't blow it on their draft picks, right?

When they draft, they have to develop that guy, he's gotta hit because they're not, when Jack Eichel becomes available, and every team in the NHL could have traded for Jack Eichel, you know, they're not getting that guy. You know, Vegas is Florida, New York, Chicago. They're winning. Well, maybe not Chicago right now, but they're, but those, those big franchises are winning those guys shoveled. They have has the toughest job in the NHL. It's the smallest market, the smallest drink. And there's no other way to say it.

American guys don't want to play in Canada. They don't want to play in Winnipeg. So they've got to hit on guys like Perfetti and I give them credit for developing the way they did. And a huge night for him with Shifely on the, like I thought after they lost in St. Louis, I'm like, they got to go back home. And I thought they were done. When I heard Shife Lee had skated in a track suit, I'm I'm like, well, maybe there's a glimmer of hope for them. Cause I didn't think they could win without Shife. And if you hadn't told me they were going to lose Morrissey, like that's

their, that's their, that's their best forward and their, and their best defenseman. Just what Dallas did. Yeah, well, but Dallas is deeper, right? Like they added Rantin and that's the trade deadline. Like think about that. It's kind of amazing. It's still remarkable that those two teams

lose their best forward and their best defenseman and are able to pull it out, especially in game seven. A few other tire pumps too, like Nikolai Ehlers was hurt, came back in game six. Uh, he's had a tough playoff career, like knock a lie. He's only got four goals and now 39 playoff games, uh, had 14 points coming into tonight in those 38 that he'd played tonight was the 39th. He needed to make a big play. On that tying goal, he ends up like double clutching the first one, he gets it back.

No, he whiffed, bro. Yeah, well double clutching, whiffed, whatever you want to call it. They thought, I think St. Louis thought that he broke his stick, and maybe that's why they got so aggressive coming out to him on the next time, and he makes that beautiful pass over to Lowry who ends up connecting with Perfetti, so he needed. No, sorry. Was it Connor? I thought it was Connor. Or Kyle Connor, excuse me.

Most guys would have shot that though, Biz. I think Connor was shooting that in whiff too. Watch the replay. It's crazy. Because they know how much time's left, right? They're counting down the clock in their head. Most guys would have shot that puck that Ehler shot. He made an unbelievable play over to Connor. And I think it's, you know, a little bit of puck luck, but you know, they got it. And they got it a lot at home, but Biz, me and you, uh, you called me the other night and we were talking about Perfetti. And I was like, I remember this kid in world juniors.

I always thought he was going to pop off and be a stud in you. You were like, he's young. He's a smaller guy. He's going to have to kind of grow into his game a little bit. And this scheme right here could be the thing that really elevates his game and brings him to the next level. Do you agree with that laws? I think he's made huge strides for them.

And that he was a guy that just like Shifeley, like they brought him a stole, they say sent Shifeley back to junior twice for Fetty, same situation. They did not, didn't rush him. They don't want to, they don't want to burn years either. Like they, they need to have control of the player as long as, as they can. That's just the reality there. Um, he started to go inside a little bit. He would have a little bit of perimeteritis I think, uh, earlier on that, but that his

hands are obviously like completely legit. You saw that on both of those. So just to your point, wait on who was like Adam Lowry is one of the best captains in the NHL. He is tough as nails. You know, he, he's the, he fought Reeves in Vegas one night and, you know, like He fought Reeves in Vegas one night and, you know, like they're not this Lowry's a heavyweight, but he doesn't fight.

Not the same, not the same kind of experience has Reeves and, uh, you know, the jets, when that bench, he lifted their bench up with that. He does stuff like that all the time. Big community guy. Uh, I'm pretty happy for him. That's, uh, did you sky see the post game? Like him and bones had an awesome interaction. And then they, they rolled a video from when bones was coached there.

When, when he finally got back to getting behind the bench after his wife had recovered from her illness and just, uh, it just seems like they've established such an amazing culture there. And I know bones retired and handed it off to Arneal but it's obviously continued and his impact still is paying dividends in that locker room and G just hit us with a stat here too. Adam Lowry, some people were questioning on whether he got a piece of it. I think that it ended up hitting his pant leg. I didn't see any part of it hitting him but it changed direction when it got around. But it hit a St. Louis player didn't it?

I know it would have changed it again when it got to Lowry that's why I said it might have hit his pant like I don't think he's the type of guy to go for Ryan Smith and give her the pumpernickel if he didn't touch it. Adam Lowry joined Steve Iserman this was in 1996 in the conference, I don't know, CSF, whatever the fuck that means. Conference Semi-Final. Yeah, geez, confused me more, G. 15 days. As the second captain in NHL history to score an overtime goal in game seven.

So pretty cool stat there from G, other than the fact that you put me in a mental pretzel. Just an awesome game. Conor, we kind of discussed him too. He was fucking tremendous in the second half of that game. He was kind of nowhere to be found in the first part, but what else can you say? He wasn't even nowhere to be found. He lost the puck there right inside the offensive blue line

and Joseph goes down and that was the goal. And I'm wondering your opinion, Biz, I'll start with you. I thought he was coming out. I was like, I think they have to pull him. I thought, and credit to Arneal, man. I was like, it's seven minutes into the game. It's two nothing. Agreed.

I would have pulled him. I mean, I'm the bad, I'm the worst guy to ask about the goalie situation. I would have had fucking Comrie in, in game five. He's your heart trokey candidate. Yeah. So you can't pull him, you're saying. You gotta live by the sword, David.

I couldn't believe they pulled him in game six. Like in game six, I would have after the second and third, I would have said to him, you're going back out and you're going to work through this, figure out what's going on. Cause we need you. You're, you're our guy. You're winning. You're a heart candidate. You got it. We're not winning without you. Well that's why I'm sitting in a fucking podcast chair And I'm not the head coach of a national hockey league team because like I said

I would have had comry and and also I love his his like postgame interviews and stuff That's probably more of the reason why I would have picked him But you got to have some jam at that point not to yank them and stick with your guy there was rumblings that came out of the two times he was pulled in st Louis where he went down the tunnel and like he went and showered and got his like street clothes on and didn't sit out by the bench. Um, I thought that that was a little bit weird. Like I would personally want, like regardless of how he feels about the, how him getting lit up and,

and getting pulled, like come and support your teammates and be there to support them by the bench. Maybe he wanted to avoid getting heckled because sometimes that hallway in St. Louis where you sit as a goalie, the fans do have access to bark at you and maybe get inside your head. Maybe that's the reason, but did you guys hear that and did you guys find that to be weird

that he didn't come back out and sit with his teammates on the bench? Yes, and what if Comrie gets injured? Yeah, I think there's no way he got undressed. Like there's someone would have been like, hey, you can't because I know I think that there was like, like, like I got texts about the fact that he went and got showered up and changed like that. Like this might be a rumor that I've gotten from a few. I got it from a few reputable sources.

I'm also like, I'm not trying to kick. I just thought it was different. And he's had the same approach, approach apparently where he didn't even come back to the bench. Maybe he was still in his gear in the locker room. I just felt that coming back out to the bench to support your teammates was a little bit of a, a weird thing not to do in that moment. But he actually was like, I get the guy from shape. You can have him come in for that Montreal use because he looked awesome. He was a great e-bug. Yeah, Biz, I also think, so they make it 2-1 and I'm like,

oh, the Jets got life. Here we go. The fact's a goal. He was like way over the right and it was a great shot, but it wasn't far down where the crossbar meets the post either, it was beneath that, which NHL standards, there's a big difference between putting it far down there and just getting it in the top shelf, but he's over to the right and it beats him, I'm like, oh my God, I thought that was it. I said, that's it, I said, the way St. Louis

can shut things down and Binnington in big games, I think that's it. And St. Louis, they didn't play bad. It's like they ran out of gas. Like Ty Rue and overtime, even Bush, uh, Bush on the broadcast is like, he's, he's lost a couple of one-on-one battles here. They just look tired. They could win their 50, 50 battles. And like, I felt that they definitely ran out of gas because they were sitting way back more than normal in this series. Um, even

though they were rolling four lines great, like that fourth line for St. Louis was a difference maker in the series. At the point they scored that Faxo goal, they'd outscored them six to one, the fourth line. So like as far as an offensive impact, as far as like flesh wounds, like Faxo was the one who basically took out Shifely

and just the way that Torchenko and Walker, they were relentless and just getting in on the floor check of the bodies but you talked about the way that they close out games like they had a hard time six on five the whole year that was one of their Achilles heels and you saw them allow two goals the first one that made it three two like I was shocked because Schener gets it like by the goal, the defensive zone, and we're taught especially when you're on your backhand and you don't know because you got your back to the play and you're scrambling and most of your guys are tired, you can't just throw

that up the wall on your backhand. You just eat the puck along the wall, you grind away clock, you allow your guys to also get into a better position considering you were scrambling right before that, and then it happened right before that. And then it happened right before their third goal as well. Why did Bushnevich ice that? Hey Gary, I said, Oh my God, skate, skate, like move your feet. And then they clip the camera goes over to Monte and he's kind of like, Oh, I think he

said fucking skate. He's like, fuck it's gay. You know, just like oh, dude You didn't have to ice out he could have buried the game there But not even that there was already a an f1 in the neutral zone If he would have just punted it to the other side of the ice Yeah Create the 50-50 battle if you if you got guys who need to change you can do so

so it wasn't even an issue of skating he had the he had 75% of the rink to just put it into an area, let your guy go be the F1, and then create a neutral zone foretrek where they're gonna have to regroup, dump it in, and then hopefully get a retrieval. There was just so many things in the last three and a half minutes

that went wrong for the St. Louis Blues, whether it was running out of gas and steam. And it sucks, man, because it takes away from such a gutsy effort they had Throughout the series throughout the end of the season the 12-game winning streak Robert Thomas being the highest score From four nations on even though he had to miss that like there were so many positives for the st Louis blues team Fowler setting the point record by a defenseman for a series in playoffs with 10. Like it must suck.

And just like the Colorado Avalanche, they're sitting there on the plane ride home being like, we had this game in the palm of our hands. Oh, I think. More so. More so. More so. The Fowler pick up, the guy, he was at,

been at Anaheim, I thought he was washed. He reminds me of the deal that Vegas made for Alec Martinez. His numbers in LA had, had become so bad. Like you just looked at him and you're like, what's going on. And then what one of our pro scouts said to me, don't judge a defenseman on a bad team because. You know, there's lots of things going there.

This is a guy Martinez and Fowler in their situations playing a ton of minutes, playing the hard minutes, not getting any help. Martinez comes to Vegas, reborn, was fantastic the whole time he was there, wins a cup, and I thought Fowler was arguably the most impactful player in the lineup for the Blues. He was tremendous. And before we move on, and Gary, you mentioned how much time you spent in Winnipeg. Those Winnipeg fans in that city, they needed a win like this. That would have been so devastating to not only them, but the organization for all the big moves they've made, uh, trusting in their players and really guys that, like you could tell that they love being there.

And you know, you mentioned it earlier, Gary, it's not easy for them to get free agents and lure guys in, but the culture and the team that they've created with guys that actually want to be there and go to bat and fight for that city. Um, it's pretty special. And, and Gary, I'll throw it over to you if you have any more comments on that and just a very, very big gutsy effort to get themselves to the second round. Well, you guys have all stayed at the Fairmont there and you know what Portage in Maine is. Some of your listeners might not.

It's the main intersection in Winnipeg and some loser politician 40 years ago decided to close it off so that you can't walk the sidewalks. You can't walk through Portage of Maine, but whenever something big happens, they shut it down. So like the night that, uh, the story broke that the jets were coming back, all these people went to Portage of Maine, parked their cars there, got out of their cars, they're doing that there tonight. That's amazing.

Portage of Maine is shut down. There's a video of the premier. That's like, you know, it's like the governor of the, of the province of Manitoba and the mayor of Winnipeg. They came out of the game tonight and they did a video after and they told everybody in Winnipeg, you can all be late for work tomorrow. We are officially making it. So yeah, for those people, it's a cool fan base.

The white out. Even though it's my jizz towel, let's go white out baby. One more round. Put one in my belly button for the city of Winnipeg. Let's go baby, white out time, hee-haw! Now on with that. Just what you wanted to hear before bed, eh Gary? I'm unassociated with this.

Yes. Neither are we. No, you're disassociating after I just pumped Winnipeg's tires like that. Now we gotta get your prediction. You're gonna be the first one to go before we move on to the Oilers Vegas series, which you're here to really cover.

Boys, who do you got? Winnipeg, Dallas, I'm gonna start with you, Gary. I got Dallas. I think that we don't know when Shifey's gonna be back. We don't know what's going on with Morrissey. Robertson and Hayskinen are reportedly very close. I think Dallas wins that series. How many games? Six.

I agree with Gary. Probably not the smartest bet for him, seeing he's going to be sleeping in the guest room because his wife's from there, but I agree with that. Bring your towel. A lot of it to do with, I think, Winnipeg, you know, that series was so hard on them. They did most hits in the playoffs so far. They were beating each other up. I don't think Dallas was is physical with the avalanche.

So I think that they're going to come in a little more wounded and I'm going to say Dallas and six as well. I don't mean to disrespect Winnipeg. I really, really don't because it's an amazing story. I think Dallas could sweep him. I think it's going to be five, but without Shifely, and maybe he's back. And Morrissey, I mean, for him not to come back that game, you got to think he's out. At least game one. Maybe he gets shot up and he's good to go.

But what Dallas just did to Colorado and now Ranton and God, he's got his confidence has got to be through the roof. I just, unless Hellebuck, unless Hellebuck had the demons fly out of the Winnipeg, the city of Winnipeg and he turns into Hellebuck at the regular season, I think Dallas makes quick work of him. I kind of go with Yans's theory. I feel like they took out like there was a lot of flesh wounds there from that series with st. Louis like they ran the shit out of them Obviously took out Shifely I think it's gonna be a big task if he's not back ready to go for game one for

Numesdikov to hop out and play that first line role It also bumps up Adam Lowry who did an excellent job tonight But then he has to be second line center and it really fucks up the feng shui of that lineup and what makes them truly special and Winnipeg Jets hockey. I do think Connor Hellebuck is gonna come alive in this series. I think we're gonna see a completely different guy. He's going against his American counterpart in that for that Four Nations team. I think this is going to go seven.

Wow. And I, and I think that Dallas is going to take it. And just simply because they're so fucking deep, they're getting those guys back. It seems like Ottinger is going to raise his play to a different level because he wants to shut up the haters just as much as Hellebuck. And I just really think that that backend for Winnipeg is not only beat up right now, but it's a little bit thin. And they got exposed that series from St. Louis. So I love Winnipeg, I'm so happy for you guys,

incredible gutsy effort, but I'm gonna have to go with Dallas and seven. I hope they knock the crap out of one another. I hope it does go seven. Yeah, me too. Leading into the next segment. Oh, why don't you take it away for us, Gary? We got a big one.

Tell me why you could beat me. Tell me why you could beat me. Explain why you will beat me. Better goalie, better D. I won't say better coach, but a coach that's done it more depth. Like it's the, the, the, the Connor and Leon show can, can win a game. I'm not sure I can win a series. I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to question you on the depth. I mean, I thought how didn't had a good series, but I felt like- Yeah, you scored 23 this year, eh?

No, although I ain't fuckin' talkin' about the regular season. I'm talkin' about how you guys got your ass chewed up by the bottom six from Minnesota. Their Minnesota's bottom six, including that fourth line, was better than Vegas' fourth line. Like, they dominated you guys in that series. Trennan was runnin' you guys through the fuckin' wall.

Aidan Hill couldn't even make a fuckin'- Howden scored three goals and had two game winners. I just said outside of Houghton, I thought that Houghton had a great series toward the end of it. Well that's the fourth line. And then I'm gonna go back to Witt's team. I felt like the depth for Edmonton

raised their level of play in the last three games of that series. Connor Brown looked excellent, Jan Mark, I thought that Arvidsson stepped it up. So, so from the depth perspective, I'm going to push back on you a little bit. I agree with the, with the defense. I agree with the goaltending and then you got the two headed monster up front. And for the first part of that series against Minnesota, we didn't see the Jack Eichel that we're used to seeing.

And the top guys weren't getting it done. Stone and Eichel came alive in the last few games. Do you agree or disagree? A hundred percent. Uh, Jack missed some games at the end of the year. Uh, he was hurt. He was injured and whatever was bothering him. Uh, I think it carried over into the first couple of games.

And then in the middle of the series, like game, game four, he started to feel like Jack Eichel and, uh, you know, he brings a lot out of stone. That, that top line that Vegas has going right now, that's a team Canada line, two elite centers playing on the same line. Like when you, when team Canada picks its team, they don't care if you play wing or center with your club team, they want the best player. So that means, you know, you have McKinnon and Crosby on one line. You put two centers together and that's what they've done now with Eichel and Carlson. And I think there's going to be, it'll be interesting to see what Knobloch does.

If he says, okay, I'm going to, I'm going to run Mc it'll be interesting to see what Knoblock does if he says, okay, I'm going to, I'm going to run McDavid and dry sidle together. And if they match up power on power, Eichel and Carlson are two of the best two way centers in the NHL and Mark Stone is the smartest forward in the NHL. That'll be like, that's must see TV. And I think this series is going seven games. I think all those things that I said, I think it's like this. And, uh, like, it's, this is, we're talking about margins here.

Uh, that's a little disrespectful to Aiden Hill. Aiden Hill's won a Stanley cup and he has been selected to play for team Canada in a best on best event. Calvin Pickard, I know Cal, great guy, great story, but you know, is he on the same level as Aiden Hill? I don't think he can say that, but that's, that's why they're going to play. And it's going to be, that will be, there's a bunch of storylines that are going to be fun to watch these two teams.

Own the Pacific two years ago, Vegas go won the West last year, Edmonton won the West and now one of them, these two teams is going back to the conference final. They are worthy opponents. They respect one another, but they will hate one another. If Andrew Kane is going to do something, him and petrol guaranteed. Exactly. You know what I mean? Like Alex Patranzo, that slash on dry cycle two years ago, changed the series and it was surgical.

He got him like, if he wanted to be, had a, I wrote a book about that season and in the book he told me I had to wanted to break his arm. I could have broke his arm. Well, yeah, anyone could say that. I want to break your neck. I'll hit you from behind. I mean, here's the thing.

Like that, that was one game. He got one game for that. One game. Yeah, one game. I'll one game for that one game. Yeah. One game. I'll still never get over. He didn't get two games. I'll slash them on the elbow. Pat. Hey, since we're talking about Petro, I feel like we also didn't see his best in that first round. I felt like him and Hanifin were on the ice for a lot of goals against partly due to some puck luck in certain situations, but also getting beat. Like I remember the Filino goal where he lost coverage. So like they split them up.

They took them, they, they split them up in about halfway through game three. So their pairings were, uh, McNabb and Theodore. And we should mention McNabb in game six. McNabb draws the draws, the double minor gets clubbed in the face, draws the double minor, Vegas scores on the power play. He breaks the puck out to Stone when Stone makes that area pass to Eichel to make it 2-1. And then McNabb pinches, grabs the puck, throws it into the slot, Stone bats it out of the air. And then when they held, they held Minnesota to one shot in the final two minutes and 28 seconds and Mcdab's on the ice for the whole thing.

He's an underrated player and the, the, the absence of Ecom for Edmonton is a massive storyline in this series. Cause Vegas will like, I'm, I'm, I'm blown away. We're talking about the Oilers and we're not talking about the Kings. Like the Kings lost that series as much as Edmonton wanted. They like the, the, the challenge, the like Bruce Cassidy had two goalie interference challenges to look at in the last series and they came after Hiller's challenge. It, there's been a chill put on head coaches in the NHL after watching what

that did to the Kings and then, you know, by field, not getting that puck out in game five, it's a colossal, colossal meltdown. They, they, I, Jim Hiller is on my, I get to vote for coach of the year. I voted for Scott Arneille. He's number one on my ballot. Carberry was number two and Jim Hiller was number three. Now I was on your show in the pre-season. I said LA was going to miss the playoffs.

I'm not Merles. I don't call the Kings a fraud. Thank you. But I didn't think they were going to make the playoffs. And it blows me away. The Jim Hiller got them in. And then there were a lot of questionable, questionable decisions in that series. Would you take them off your list after what you saw in the

playoffs, the first round? No, it's for the regular season. No, I know. But if it, yeah, he did a, he did a great job in the regular season. Like I got like everyone, the Marty St. Louis, give me a break. Outside of the two headed monster. great job in the regular season. Like, Marty St. Louis, give me a break. Outside of the two headed monster, what scares you the most about the Edmonton Oilers

playing the Vegas Golden Knights? Destiny. I write these essays, like these video essays, I write them throughout the playoffs, and I'm writing my essay for round two that we're gonna publish on Tuesday morning. And you know, it's the city of champions. Like I grew up in Canada.

I'm, I'm a young guy in the eighties when Warren Moon is quarterback for the Eskimos and they win five great cups in a row and Gretzky and coffee and Messier and Fuhrer are like, they changed hockey. This was, uh, like we went from a game that was like, all of a sudden there was speed and finesse, style. It was completely different than everything we, like Paul Coffee is so underrated. The fact that he doesn't like, he's right up against the Mount Rushmore of the greatest players ever and and We like we don't talk about him like that and I really I don't understand that well

He's our D coach now. That's you know, that's a guy that's just he's behind the bench for us And yes bringing back the memories I should be in the fucking lineup the way that they played in that last series for fuck sakes with game five and six all I'm saying is we are the underdogs no doubt and everything you said it's we are no team with Connor McDavid is an underdog look at the Vegas you just told us why they got better goal tending, better defense, better depth. Like what else? I'm not playing better coach. No, no, no. It's a powerful platform.

If you asked 10,000 hockey fans out there, I think a significant amount of them are picking Vegas in this series. And I think your reasons are very valuable or not valuable, but legit and why they're the favorites. But I just saw the way of Vander Kane came on. I saw Hyman all of a sudden. He's running people over at the blue line. He's four checking like a madman. I saw Trent Frederick's game come on and I saw Edmonton in game five and six. I said it on this show already. Look

like last year. And last year no one had him against Dallas either so I need to see the first two games like they they need a split it can't be the same situation leaving Vegas as it was leaving LA but I just think the destiny aspect of Connor McDavid and maybe it's next year maybe it's three years but at some point he's getting one and if they beat Vegas this year, I think it might be the time that it, that it happens. I need one little more tidbit as far as like what you think about this series, Gary, and also what was the reasoning to bring Carlson up to that top line? Like had that happened during the regular season?

Because like you said, that made such a big impact in that round against Minnesota. Do you see them also doing that in this series? Well, we, in the practices that we've seen since that series, that that line has, has remained together. Cassidy is, uh, Cassidy is a genius. He really is. He's not afraid to change things. It was interesting after game three, after they lost game three in Minnesota.

Uh, I said to him, have you thought about changing your lines? And he said, well, if you change your line, sometimes the players think you're panicking. And I can't have the guys perceive panic. So I'm going to talk to them today and I'm going to tell them that I'm not panicking. We're staying the way we are. But if we're not clicking in game four, I've got plans and I'm going to talk to them about the plans. So he gave them a little bit of a heads up. Carlson and Stone is something that he's wanted to try for a long time.

They've played together a little bit, but Carlson and Eichel, that was, uh, that was off the board and he, he said to them, I'm not going to overload you guys. Whoever is first back. Please center is the center down. Wow. He's on, he goes, other than that, play hockey. Like he's, uh, I've got such respect for him. He, he, he has that knack to win.

He really tries to, uh, I'm not getting off. I can see the chat. The longer I can keep stuff up and, and make him grumpy. I know this is going to happen. Let me tell you something. Gary. I'm head-to-head Bob Stauffer and me and he's and it's Gary and murals first me and stuff just a bunch of alphas going nose to nose Gary there are some former players of Bruce Cassidy when you just called him a genius,

flipping the fuck out right now. And I respect you work for the team and I respect he's a Stanley Cup champion, but we're using the genius word a little, a little loose here. A little loose. Realist. He's made the playoffs nine years in a row. He had to.

He's bringing the receipts. Hey, he's a great hockey coach. Genius. Genius. Let him finish, let him finish. I'll tell you this, I'll go one further. He's the best a great hockey coach. Genius. Let him finish. Let him finish. I'll tell you this. When I'll go one farther, he's the best coach in hockey today. You didn't even vote for him.

He's the best coach in hockey today. They are stroking this guy checks, mind you. They're stroking him checks. I work for the team. That's fine. I'm good. Listen, Brian Engblom, a guy that I broke into broadcasting with from Winnipeg played for the Canadians. He said to me one time for 364 days of the

year, I hated Scotty Bowman's guts. And on the 365th, he handed me my ring. Nice. All right. Oh my God. I don't know man. I need stuff in my life right now. I need stuff in my life. Gary. Thank you so much. I need stuff. Any parting words for the fans out there? Gold Knights fans and potentially stuff. Any, any, any quote you want to throw out? Bruce Cassidy is, is legit Matt, Matt Damon in goodwill hunting. Everything is about, everything is about Southie a wet.

Have you ever been to Southie? I'd get beat up there. I'd get beat up there. We can go anywhere. Let's put in a pretzel. If not on my bingo card tonight, G puts me on your Instagram or your Twitter account, and you just said if you ask 10,000 fans,

they're gonna tell Save Vegas, there are 10,000 spit and chick Latakia fans right now calling me fat on social media. You should see, I don't swear when I come on your show. Yeah, you're thinner than Pat Maroon right now. It's like this. So I've been called a thumb and that one's pretty good. You know, it's. You do kind of look like a thumb.

I like that. That one works. He is, I've, I've, I've, people have suggested that it's a, a wing eating contest between Stop and I, that it's a, we, there should be a salad bar as part of the show tonight. Uh, Sumo wrestling has come up. We're going to get you guys a biz 20 promo code for a sweet greens. They might, they might

eat you at the Moss pit. You better stay away from there outside the arena. They might just grab you and just snack away to the finals. Gary, can we get a friendly bet for all my CFL work? Do you guys drink the same alcohol maybe? Can we get a friendly bet between you and Stoff? Like maybe a bottle of Scotch or something? Like what's your- I only Stoff drinks. Stoff doesn't poison his body with that nonsense.

Okay, oh he's on the same regiment as McDavid. He's like doing the hyperbaric chamber and all the protein drink. I need Stoff guys, I need Stoff. I love Gary and he's a listener and he's a friend, but get him off my screen right now, G. Stoff just chimed in. Stoff goes, are you kidding? When don't I drink? Okay, so we'll ask Stoff what the bet's going to be, and then we'll get back to you.

But Gary, thank you so much for the breakdown. We love you, dude. You're a fan favorite. We'll get you back on if they advance. And Vegas man, they got a wagon but they're going against the two-headed monster of Leon Dricyle. Hey, thumbs up Gary. Hey Ants. See you in the final baby. Yeah baby, I'll see you out there. Hey, see you Gary. Okay, see you Whit. Guys, before we continue, I need to talk to you about DraftKings. After the long grind of the regular season and now the first round, the playoff beards

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Did he give us production? Yeah, he took Oilers. Vegas in seven. Vegas in seven. Vegas in seven. All right, bring in Stoff. Bring in Stoff. I hope Stoff shit faced.

First off, Stoff, we apologize. The double overtime, a lot of stuff going on. It's 11.30 right now in Edmonton. We appreciate you staying up for the boys, man. Pump me up right now. Get us fired up for the oil. Yeah. How are the oil going to win this series stuff?

Well, well, first of all, what I want to know, Keith Yandell, I know for a fact when you signed in Philly that Dave Tip had reached out to you at some point during that summer and there was a brief conversation and you ended up going, is that true? You ended up choosing Philadelphia over Edmonton Keith. No, I don't think your tip was still there. Was he? Yeah, he was for the start of the 21, 22 season, right at the start.

I thought there was a conversation. Jim play fair. We're looking at looking at a veteran, a veteran defenseman at that time. So you're saying that's not true. So my information source, stop, that's probably true, but there was, I was going to sign and play with hazy. I wanted to play with hazy.

So I wouldn't have gone out West. It was too far from my family. Hey, one, one oilers jock sniffer is enough on this podcast. These guys would be unbearable if they both paid for the oil and were repping. Oh yeah. Cause you're so reasonable with the leafs, dude. You've turned into a complete lunatic. I want to talk to stop. Hey, just, just for the oil and we're repping. Oh yeah. Cause you're so reasonable with the leafs, dude. You've turned into a complete lunatic.

I want to talk to stuff. Hey, just, just for the record, the Kings were not a fraud. All right. They were not a fraud. You look, I, there's certain stats. I use gold, their financials. One of the stats, they were a legit team. Uh, you know, sometimes things happen when you're talking to six or seven

game series, which I, you know, sometimes things happen when you're talking to six or seven game series, which I, you know, right. I've had this conversation with Gary about what happened back two years ago against Vegas, you know, the orders outshot Vegas 40 to 22 and gained six. They lost that game. They were playing a hybrid defense. We've talked about my passion for zone defense and hockey. The orders got absolutely murdered by I callel and Marsha show on some lawn

cycles and got, you know, taken to the cleaners and lost game six at home. It was close. You lose a six or seven game series. Usually it's a sign that was pretty close. And it's a bounce here and bounce there. You know, you can, yes, LA had tremendous opportunities to at minimum have been three, one after two. They blew two chances to do it.

The orders played one great game. I was game five in the series and, and Edmonton is a team now that's got more experience come playoff time, right? They're just a different team than they were. Remember when they lost to Winnipeg, uh, Connor Hellebuck, the last great playoff goaltending performance he had was back in 2021. You see, he had a nine, 50 save percentage, you know, like Mike Smith was at nine 12 and the orders lost the series.

You know, the orders last year beat Vancouver with an eight 66 save percentage. And this year they beat the Kings with an eight 66 percentage, save percentage. There is no way they beat the Vegas golden Knights at eight 66. So they're going to need to play some better team defense. They're going to need to have some stops. And it would not surprise me if we end up seeing both gold tenders. Just it's, it's, you know, I'm just being pragmatic. Like, you know, and Skinner got a lot of the work last year.

Pickards obviously well liked by his teammates. You can see Connor's response after, uh, uh, the dry summer game, winter and game four. So I, this is going to be a tough series. Vegas got a hell of a team. They've got a great organization. I do think they wanted the margins two years ago. And I think the orders have closed some of those margins, close the gap of it. And part of those margins is is Evander Kane. And you saw the impact he had in that series two years ago against Vegas. He's blowing kisses to people in the crowd.

But we have all seen on the pod and the people watching the Oilers. So for you in that tight group with the team, how often you're around, talk about Frederick's health, talk about Kane's health, talk about these guys who looked way different than the beginning of the series by the end of it. Well, first of all, Ryan, we never knew what the orders had this year. We didn't because Kane missed the entire season. Uh, McDavid and Drysettle and the last 14 games and not one of those games that both of those guys play. Now the team went eight, five and one.

Uh, Leon, the orders were seven and two in games that both of those guys play. Now the team went eight, five, and one, uh, Leon, the orders were seven and two in games that Leon played with McDavid out, but David missed 15, uh, 15 games. And Leon had 16 points in those nine games. So, you know, and, and then the final four games that Connor played without their dry subtle, they won those four games, including beating the jets and Winnipeg in a game in which both teams had about five guys out. So lots of other guys got opportunities and case in point in round one. Ebenson had nine different players of two or more goals.

11 of their 12 forwards scored. Um, the team, I think you could make a compelling argument. They lost a little bit of speed. That's a given, you know, the off season, the McLeod trade. So voice is going to be a good player next year. I'll be on the team, but they lost the third line center that could play 17 minutes of game. It could kill penalties.

Fulvil, um, little bit inconsistent at times, but it's hard to score 20 even strength goals and he's done it two years in a row. And he went plus 36. He's a legit middle six forward. Holloway was coming. I love the guy. I, you know, that one, that one stumps. So they have a very different forward look now than they did during the year. And even in game one and game two, because you saw Frederick and you saw Kane.

Kane is an amazing athlete. He is say what you want. You can have whatever and you saw Kane game. He's an amazing athlete. He is say what you want. You can have whatever opinion you want of them. The guy's a great athlete and it speaks volumes that he can come back and play at the level and. He does give them something. They don't have an abundance of like Connor and Leon are treated with

respect around the league, almost a degree of reverence for being as good as they are. But the others didn't have a lot of bite. And now when you have, you know, Kane coming in, playing in the middle, six role at Frederick playing, you know, third line just gives a different dimension. You guys mentioned a Hyman a little bit earlier, hit 43 hits in round one. Like everyone has to hit and block shots come playoff time. Henry had over 20 hits. Like that's the guy he's, you know, he's 35. You know, it's not his game in the regular season.

So the orders had the fewest hits in the league in the regular season. It was the fourth most first round of playoffs. So they changed their dynamic a bit and there's the impact of those two guys. Stuff. Um, it's long been discussed. Like, can they win with, with Leon and Connor playing together? Um, what's long been discussed. Like can they win with, with Leon and Connor playing together? Um, what is your opinion on that? Do they start the series? I mean, Perry on that wing looks so good. And with playing with Kane playing that well,

you don't mind Nuge and Hyman with Kane and them being together. But what's your opinion on that? And can they win the series with that top line staying intact? I think just like Brian, you'll see the goalies maybe both get into a series. I think you're going to see times when Leon's centering his own line and times when he's high, I think it's just that that's just the inevitability of the situation. Part of it depends on what Vegas does. Like, you know, do they keep the Carlson line together with Eichlin stone?

You know, it's, uh, that, that to me could be an interest in this. It's in, and I do think, you know, Cassie, the record speaks for itself. The guy's a good coach. This is a different coaching matchup. Um, knob block is a very humble coach. Okay. And really, Oh, he's not a genius.

He'd be the last. This is great. I, I, I've known the guy for, I did his games too. In fact, the night he scored five goals for the golden bears, I asked my wife to get married that night on the radio broadcast in the game. So I've had a long, I saw your wife asked you to marry her. No, no, no. She's been a glutton for punishment ever since trust me so much.

So she lives in West Vancouver and else doesn't even live in Everton. So are you still together? Yes. Yeah. You just live apart. She's like, I can't be around him during hockey season. He's coming home talking about goals, four goals against goals, average other word for the orders for 25 years. So she's got more Stanley cup photos in the backyard than I do. I have none, but no, like they're just, to answer your question, those guys are so good. Like I'm watching the, I mean, you're 17 Ryan and you know, when you're on the team, there was some tough miles, um, to say the least, you know, we were, we

were walking, no shoes, no socks through the wilderness, and then you got hurt, you know, and, and I've, I've got a couple things that I've always applied because I wasn't a good enough player. You know, I like the speed, talent, agility, coordination, toughness, character and discipline to play in the Western hockey league, let alone the NHL. But, but as a broadcaster, my rules are simple. Never forget about a player when he's hurt. That's when he's most vulnerable. See how he's doing, but never ask him when he's coming back.

That's right. And number two is when a guy leaves, never disrespect the player when he leaves, like still follow up and see how he's doing, you know, like it was hard before, like he's, and with McLeod, like those guys were kind of a little bit part of their group. And, but for the last 10 years, I've watched the most dynamic advanced player that we've ever seen in the history of this game. It's a joy to watch them. I got 20 years on all you guys.

So close to 20 years of all you guys. So I got, you know, um, he's, you know, I watched way Gretzky and Yari, you know, I was a teenager playing. Double A hockey with guy, get out, skid, head coach at Penn state. You know, it was my center and we'd go to practice and watch messy and low. Absolutely. Kick the crap out of each other and one on one, two on two girls ago. Is this the one it's going to take?

Cause we all have it to do it right. And, but what, what Connor can like, Connor's the most advanced player that's ever played. He's he's generally regarded the best player in the league, but this year. The best player in the league was dry. So he's the best player, but hardest thing to do in hockey score. Sorry. It is.

And he's the only guy that got 50 and he did it in 71 games. So those two do give the orders of punchers chance, but what Knobloch has done over the last year and a half is he's empowered more of the players. You know, he uses very specific guys to kill penalties. He only put McDavid and Hyman back on the PK in the last series because Kaepernick killed all year and got bounced out of the lineup once, uh, Kane and Frederick came in and, and LA played five forwards on the power play. So they wanted to throw a wrinkle for them to think about.

And as the series wore on and negated a bit of the King's efficiency with the extra man, just having the option of McDavid and Hyman together. Yep. Um, you, you touched on Connor and just how dynamic he is, the most you've seen in the last, like, well, ever really. Have you ever seen more of a roller coaster ride of a player than Evan Bouchard? And also, aside from him,

I don't think Darnell looked too great in that first round series against LA. That goal late in the, probably helped his confidence, but who has to step up from that back end outside of Evan Bouchard and then obviously touch on, on what he's brought to their team. Well, at home is a massive loss. He is, he's the best all around defenseman. You know, he's, he's Bouchard's partner five V five. They've been a top three, uh,

expected goals for Perry to the lead since they got put together when he came over in the trade in 23, so, and then he's their number one penalty killing left shot defenseman and he plays with Emerson. So he, he that's two different slots that he affects things. It's also on their second unit power play. And he's, you know what? He's got inherent leadership skills. And there's an old saying in the West, right? In Western Canada, you never go wrong with the guy that comes from a little,

uh, comes from a place that starts with the letter S Sweden in Saskatchewan. They're usually really good guys. You know, Boston guys, what do they call? They're called mass holes, right? But conversely, nobody ever says anything bad about guys from Saskatchewan. Think of you three guys all played. How many bad guys did you actually ever meet? Never met a bad guy from Sask or Sweden.

There you go. So no legit. What's that? That's legit. Sorry. Yeah. It's very, even, even Finland, like even throw Finland in there too. Yeah.

Well, they like, they like, I, I admire certain aspects of their office recreational habits. I care a lot about some of the Fids as well. Well, they like, they like, I admire certain aspects of their office recreational habits. I care a lot about some of the feds as well. So, but, uh, no, it's they're going to miss that calm. Boo shart. See, I like defensemen that can make place and move the puck. And I don't always freak out about like the more you have it, it's probably a

higher probability that you're going to occasionally turn it over. And I don't think you have to sit there like Ryan, you got, you went through some tough times and, and people forgot the severity of the injury that you had. You were never quite the same when you tried to play through it coming back. But the fact is you had a run early during your tenure where you were, you know, an exceptional puck moving defenseman for the team, because you were smart enough to get the puck up to the ice to the young skilled guys that the orders had at that time. But Bob, the thing is, and correct me if I'm wrong, and this is what I dealt with

a lot and I'm not nearly the level player Evan Bouchard is, but it's, it's the, the way it looks when he turns it over. Cause there's a, there's a fan, there's a group, a faction of the fan base that he doesn't care. And it's just the way he plays. He's very relaxed. He has crazy poise with the puck. So when you turn it over, it's like, bear the fuck down. But that's how he scores big goals. And that's how he creates passing lanes on the power play. So it's like living with the positive and the negative. It's just the way it looks. Do you know what I mean by that?

A hundred percent. So Keith, you played for TIP and for Playfair. Okay. And we had Bouchard here during the 2021 bubble or, uh, you know, that was the Scotiabank that was after the sort of bubble playoff must've hated that. Oh, we, we, so we would do these zoom calls and, and, you know, Bouchard was represented by Jeff Jackson, who was Connor's agent. And I'd be like on the zoom calls with tips saying, seriously, man, like I like

Ethan bear and Caleb Jones as players, but Bouchard has a way higher ceiling. You have to live with the mistakes. Like in the current NHL in a salary cap world, you have to have performance from entry level players. They're not finished products. And so I'd have these ongoing discussions and Brian lot would jump in them as a wall once in a while. And, you know, cause he was buddies with tip and played with them back in the day and I'm just like, you just got to ride it out, Ryan, you're he's a bit like

Larry Murphy, who got booed right out of Toronto than one few more Stanley cops with Detroit. Like he, he doesn't. He, it doesn't look like he's got a quick Twitch with the puck. Right. And it like last year when he got, uh, putting the headlock there by Eklat in the playoffs, you know, I wanted him to stick them like George LaRock ran me over one time, invited me out skating with the boys. Crushed me. He said it was the second hardest any ever through.

And I got up and speared him right in the junk. Right. Like I'm not taking that crap from him. I care that he's a heavyweight champ of the league. Like you wish Boosh at times would show a little bit more fire, but that calmness on the fire, it's what makes him great. What you got to take the girl with the bad. And, you know, until yeah, like Paul, he was until two games ago, he was the second highest

scoring defenseman in NHL playoff history. Yeah. It's not easy to do when you're not playing in the live puck era. I think through two games, this series, half the fan base were ready to trade them off. Uh, but you, you heard him. You guys were interviewing them, biz. Uh, you the kids you heard him, you guys were interviewing them. Biz, uh, you were interviewing Leon and he was talking about Bouchard just has IQ and what he brings to the team.

And cause he's a skilled guy. He wants the puck. He knows Evan Bouchard is going to get him in the puck more than, you know, some guy who's going to go up the glass and bang some guys in the corner and get the crowd into the game a little bit. But I think a million percent of what you guys are saying about his demeanor, the way that he looks on the ice, obviously might not look as good as it maybe should, but what he's bringing to the team and in that

locker room and scoring big goals and having the poise he's running. I mean, at the end of the day, he's the quarterback of that power play. You got to win games, especially in playoffs on the power play. He's facilitating it to these high end, high end guys. But, you know, I think he gets a little bit, um, you know, too much of the whipping boy stuff. It kind of goes back to a little bit of the Morgan Riley. He got that too when, you know, he was the main guy on the power play, but it's just. Yeah.

I always feel bad for those guys, probably because I was one of them, but I never really was in that market where, you know, you're getting it too much from the fans or, uh, so I think for him is just playing the way that he can, bringing his calmness to that group. Cause look at, like, look at the way the fans react. You lose a game, you, they want everyone gone. He brings a calmness to that group and especially the other D2, like it's like, Hey, I can go back, make a nice little play to the middle, give it to these guys. So I think he shouldn't do anything differently play the way that he does.

Bring the bush bomb. And, uh, you know, I enjoy watching him. A guy that can make a play like that. Wit is can play on my team any day. Before Wit asked the last question, I was just going to go back to the fact that Echolmes out, you talked about how much they miss him in so many different aspects, um, which D man has to step up in this series in order to fill that void or maybe they do it collectively.

And second, what scares you the most about this Vegas, Vegas golden nights team facing off them in the second round? Well, I think Paul, one of the things that happened was LA's way of play and worked to John Klingberg's advantage coming back because you know, Klingberg was better in the playoffs than he was in the regular season when he played. A long, he looked awesome. He was great. Right.

And I mean, I can remember there was a time where I thought John Klingberg walked the line better than any defenseman. Oh, Shakira Shakira. Right. Like it was, it was unreal what he could do. Right. So the combination like wallman, wallman did not finish the year healthy. He was banged up and he's gotten through some challenges right now. Playing about 20 minutes a game and, and, and so is Klingberg.

So they're kind of offsetting it a bit. Kulak's the one guy that's seen significantly accelerated minute. He can skate, you know, and he lies. You can scale like he's playing 24 minutes a game. Uh, nurse has, you know, the puck does the work. The best guys know that right. And Darnell's like, you know, Darnell is, is also a great athlete. You can skate.

Um, and, and I think that sometimes less is more when he's really at the top of his game, that's the one thing you notice with, uh, with Darnell. So. Who shared is going to play his 25 minutes. Paul coffee is probably going to have, I mean, I joked with coffee after game too. I said, you might be our fourth or fifth best option right now. We are 64. Like, I don't know, you know, like it's just cause he, but he wants to

breed confidence in his players. Like he's not a break. And first, I don't believe in any of that BS about breaking guys down and building them up coaches like that. They need to get out of coaching. Like just that, that doesn't work for today's athlete. Uh, you know, the positive, the negative reinforcement should be about four positives for one negative and that to me, that's you know, the positive, the negative reinforcement should be about four positives for one negative.

And that to me, that's how you get the most. I mean, Paul, you're, uh, you're out in Victoria, right? You got my summers out in Vancouver. They got, yeah, they got two kids that won the Canadian, the U 18 for Canada. They got a kid named Cole Reschney from, from, uh, Macklin just outside of Lloyd. He's he's worked his way up in the middle of first round this year. And then they got a D coming next year. 16 year old James Keaton, Vera Hoffman.

He's the best offenseman. Stoffman texted me about this kid. This guy is the best defenseman out of the West in the last 25 years. He's a, oh, the kid who's going to go first overall. He's going to push. He's no, that's McKenna. He's going to push McKenna. There's there's WHL GMs that think he'll be a better NHL player.

The McKenna is having an unreal. Yeah. I've been, I've been hearing about this kid six foot four already. He was the first D man in 40 years to score 20 goals as a 16 year old. A WHL did not play on James Patrick's first unit power play. He was on the second unit played first unit PK played shutdown, went to the U 18s, Canada bombed everybody. Uh, he set up the game winner in the one game that was close and over

time played 25 minutes of game. We are getting a little bit off the rails. I'm just saying you're in Victoria. I wanted to put a shout out for those guys. Oh, no problem. No problem. All right, but, but, but, but you didn't answer the question. What scares you the most about this Vegas gold Knights team? That's like when you took the media

course, when you guys played and they'd say, well, I'll have the media ask the question again. That's what I was doing there is I was there. It isn't just one thing that scares me, but like, I really respect Vegas's organization. Like when one of my friends bought a WHL team, he said, any advice for me stuff. I said, no trades of Brandon. Kelly McCrimmon is going to destroy it. Oh, he's a savage. He's, he's a top, he's a top flight operator. Obviously everybody knows he was in the mix for the Edmonton job and Vegas

promoted him from assistant chip. They're a well-run team. I do think they won in the margins two years ago against the orders. It was that tight. Uh, they got arguably the best goalie coach in the NHL, which all their guys seem to get better with Sean Burke. Um, you know, he's resuscitated multiple NHL careers. Like Keith, I think you played with a couple guys.

The goalie whisperer. I've seen him work his magic on Brasgallov, Mike Smith, Devin Dubnick. The list goes on and on and on and on. He's an Aiden Hill. You know, I mean, Laurent Bussois started the series two years ago as the number one goal and then Hill came in there. Uh, Vegas is completely different than LA. They're much more aggressive on the four check.

That's why, when you mentioned talking about Clingbird, you know, against LA where they're not selling out on the four check, well, now we when you meant to talk about cling bird, you know, against LA, where the harder element on the four check. Well, now we're going to face the team that does. So Vegas has got strength down the middle at center. Uh, they've got big, heavy, tough defense. They play zone D better than any team in the league. I think. Okay.

They do have a head coach with championship pedigree. I think the orders have got a rising star. I think they got a guy at a couple of years from now that might be seen, you know, as one of the, and also help from cough, which is like, well, yeah. And it's, and it, cause it's a different guy, like a different type of guy too. Right. It's so, and I got it, you know, so the, and the orders have a former NHL head

coach on their staff with Gullsson that runs their power play. So they got a good coaching staff, but I, you know, Gary alluded to the respect that the two teams have. Vegas won the series and then went on and won the cup. They got what Edmonton wanted. So there's nobody looking down their nose at Vegas and thinking, Hey, we could just show up here and, and you know, it's just going to happen. The orders are going to have to play far more efficiently and effectively manage the puck better.

And, uh, hopefully at least get a saw from penalty calls. Like the orders had a 60% expected goals for against LA five on five in that series and the Kings had 50% more power plays. That was a strange combination, you know, uh, because I do. And Vegas got a great power play. All your top three power play. The polar good. There's they got a real good team. Like this is going to, you know, I think it's a six or seven game

series and I think it's a toss up. I love, I fucking love when it's only eight teams left. Cause we get to get so much more in the weeds about the matchup and, and dive into the intricacies of the game. Ooh, what a word by me. It's 2 a.m. and I'm buzzing. You're not up. Last question presented by Roback. Use code CHICKLETS on Roback.com for a generous 20% off your first purchase

through the end of this week. That's CHICLETS on R-H-O-B-A-C-K.com. 20% off all hoodies, joggers and more with code CHICKLITS. Stoff, we have seen these two men, Leon Dreisaitl and Connor McDavid do things that only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have done in the playoffs. They're literally mentioned with two of the greatest to ever do it.

And you just said it's a six or seven game series. I think it goes seven. If Edmonds, it could ever win in six. It'd be amazing. How many points do those two have combined at the end of this series? If they win, I think it has to be a minimum of 20. I think he's frozen. He's thinking about the 16 year old player and I'm thinking they might need 12

each. I'm thinking they're going to need 24. I remember I saw Darrell Sutter about a year after the orders beat him in the playoffs and he'd said that Gretzky won the series or Gretzky. He said, you know, we got beat by one player. We got beat by McDavid. I'm like, dry settle at 17 points against you and five games on a program. Like there was, I'm in scored at every game.

It's like, like I know Connor's really good. He scored the game winner, but even Connor had be sitting there saying, Hey, 29 ad every game. He had at least three points on a sprained ankle too. Yeah. He was hurt. God. He's, he's had a, we, we've had two of the best, uh, that represented their teams and you and Gary Lawless, uh, can we have a friendly wager between you two? He said that you don't drink. That was obviously a lie. Maybe a bottle of bourbon or what do you guys drink? I'll, I'll get him some Wilhawk beef jerky.

How's that? He'll kill the animal first too. This guy's a sicko. It's, you know, it is funny that you have Gary and myself, because when Gary said people said he looked like a thumb. Yeah. And my hair is a little bit longer. I look like big pussy from the Sopranos.

So, you know, we, you know, there we go. You know, I'm not, you can tell which three guys here are the X players. That's all I'm going to play it like them. Um, so what, what, what is your prediction for the series games? Six or seven. Well, I mean, obviously, you know, I'm hoping the orders win, but it's going to be a six or seven game series. I'd be stunned if it was last.

I know, but you have to pick one. He's picking the oil bed. Well, I'll pick the orders in seven. Paul, a fucking number with six or seven. You can't just say six or seven. I'll say Edmonton in seven. All right. And I'll say this, the games in Vegas will be low event games and the games

that Edmonton will be higher event games. So just file out one away. It's the way it worked in the, it has a bit to me as to what happens with the crowd in the barn. So I think that you'll see a little bit more frenetic pace at Roger's place. And you know, they'll control things a little bit differently in their own bar. Stoff I want to say thanks for coming on and we love and respect your passion for the game man I cannot wait to watch this

series and it's gonna be a hell of a rip so so thank you for joining us especially with how late it is but we got a lot of amazing hockey to still go here. Anytime you guys are stuck and can't get somebody better out of Edmonton, give me a call. No, stop. You're an alpha. See you later, buddy. Guys, I want to talk about sport clips. Sport clips isn't just where you get a haircut. It's your playbook for looking fresh and you walk in, you catch the game and you sit back while the pros in men's hair handle the rest. And when you're done walking out, feeling like you're ready to take on anything, job interview, first date, doesn't matter. Sport Clips hooks it up and you'll be looking good.

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I love the beef they got going too. Oh, yeah. Two guys that are just a blast to sit there and have a drink with. Right? You can get those guys going on anything. All the stories. Do any guys slurp their team harder than those guys? I think Lawless way more than Stoff. By the way, only Stoff could be asked about just a dream matchup of McDavid versus the Vegas Golden Knights and go on a rant about two kids from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. Where Bizz Summers. It's BC you idiot. Hey, he's been texting me about that, that defenseman though, like since November.

He's like, Oh yeah. He's like, you watch this motherfucker. I thought, I thought he was going to say that kid's going to be playing game two. I didn't know why he was going. No, I think he thinks he's going to. You're getting off the rails here. Yeah. Um, boys, I, um.

What do you got this final, final, final prediction for the series? I am a mush and I don't want to blow it, blow it for the oil. I think I got Vegas and seven here I think it's gonna go the distance. I think it's gonna be an incredible series We are so blessed that we have Mcdavid and of course Leon but more so Mcdavid and Eichel going against each other the one and two overall picks. I Feel like Mcdavid is he's itching for that cup, right? he's there but Eichel is to be there to try to prevent it.

So I, uh, I'm going to have to go with Vegas because of the depth. All right. Ah, for me, for me, it's, and I know it's been said a million times and it's going to be said a million more times. It's the goaltending wit. It scares the living shit out of me. Cause it, it's the only team in the world that has the two, arguably the two best players and you still question them a little bit, right? And it's, you know,

question them, you're questioning the goaltender. Both you and Stoff saying that you're gonna see both goalies in this series scares me even more. I'm going Vegas in six. Sorry to do it, Witty. No, no, I don't take that as a disrespectful thing. I think that what I said to Gary is true. I think most people think Vegas gets it done, and that being the biggest reason.

I think the Oilers win in seven. I know it's, because it seems crazy to me. So maybe I truly don't believe it. But I I think the payback aspect's there. I think McDavid's on a mission. And I just think after what they did in Game 5 in L.A., like something something clicked. And when you got these two guys, this is the one team that could shut them down. I actually think that if they win this series, they're winning the cup. I was like more like, I don't know if they ended up matching up with Colorado

in the conference final, if they somehow got there. They're so fast, but they beat Dallas last year, a different team, obviously, with Ron Tannen, but I think I think it's going to be an incredible series. And I think it's going seven. And I think the Oilers get the win on the road and pay them back for two years ago. So we'll see how it goes. I also believe that if Vegas somehow whooped them in five,

it wouldn't be like the most shocking thing. I know I'm all over the map. But I think Vegas is that good. And the goaltending aspect is petrifying. So we'll leave it at that. Hold on. I got one question for you, Whit. If it does go to a game seven, like you, the goaltending or you just

think having Connor and Leon just put you way over the edge, I was just playing six on five. I know. Like the goaltending doesn't scare you in that, in that situation, a game seven. Uh, I think game sevens are such coin flips. Like you've seen Patrick Wa give up seven goals in a game seven to Detroit. I don't remember the year. No, I almost think that if goaltending losers in the series, that's how Vegas will beat him in five.

You know, I think you get to seven. It's just like anything can happen, right? Connor can go off. We'll see. But we got one more series to talk about. And this man just chugged a bottle of water, showed out body armor based on the fact that he knows he's going back into sicko mode and he's going back into the depths of hell and he's going back in against the biggest bunch of bullies the schoolyards ever seen.

Toronto, Florida, another rematch of two years ago. The one other time Toronto got out of the first round in what seems like a lifetime, they were whooped up in the second round by the Cats. You two were going head to head. I can't wait to see it. Biz, how do you win this series? Fuck. And they are going against Goliath. And I know I have had a lot of- We're in a similar spot, dude. I agree. And I've had a lot of Leafs delusion throughout my past, but this will be the most difficult series this group has ever seen. I actually

think that this Florida team is better than the last time they met them. I think they're deeper. The, the Marsha pickup speaks for itself, especially the way that he's been playing. They are going to not have the ability to take any shifts off. I mean, there can't be these five, six minute stretches where they just fucking go brain dead like they did against the Ottawa Senators. We are gonna have to get the best that we've ever seen from Stolarz.

Every defenseman to a man is gonna have to not only chip in offensively, but win all of their net front battles and play through punishment that they've never seen before because the forecheck of the Florida Panthers is lethal and they're hitting to hurt you they're gonna give you stinky mitts after every frozen puck from Stolar's they can't get invested in the bullshit that is not Toronto Maple Leaf hockey we can't we can't pretend like we're the big bad Maple Leafs like the Florida Panthers. They have to keep cool, calm, and collected and hopefully

off of that stupidity and aggression that sometimes you see from Florida, take power plays and execute on them. And we all know this is not the Ottawa Senators stagnant PK. This is a PK that comes at you relentlessly and the minute that the one guy forces you the next guy is going. You have no time to make plays and they're gonna have to make them quick. They're gonna have to execute at an unreal clip rate on the power play as well as penalty kill because we know Florida Panthers have a lethal power play. So special teams have to be through the roof. And then five on five, not only the big guys, but the depth.

Bobby McMahon, no goals in the last 17 games, nah, nah, nah, throw that out the window. We're gonna need him at least chipping in two or three. We're gonna need patches going exactly the way that he was in game six. If Robertson gets thrown in, fucking we need offensive production from him. two or three. We're gonna need patches going exactly the way that he was in game six. If Robertson gets thrown in, fucking we need offensive production from him. The Holmbergs, the list goes on, the Max Domeys.

Reeves. The core five, shut the fuck up. The core five has to go complete sicko mode in this series. Nice net front presence, every fucking game, aggravating Bob, mode in this series. Nice net front presence every fucking game, aggravating Bob, getting in his eyes. Matthews has to be shooting the pill like we've never seen before. Even better than we saw in his 69 gigadee gigadee goal season.

Marner, as much as he makes plays, he has to find the back of the net too. He has to score some big goals for us. I know he's the setup guy. He's got to start, he's got to get the mucking and grinding just as much as the next guy. Willie Stiles, no shifts off. He can't go brain dead. He's got to be playing full 60s as well. And JT, he just needs to play exactly like he has in the first round and in series before this. Like he is consistent as consistent comes. We're gonna need everybody. We're gonna need everybody. We're going against Goliath. But I believe that my Leafs, along with all these Omens that Hockey Illuminati's brought,

it's our year. It's our year. It's our year. It's our year. I'm gonna belief and I got the Leafs taking them to seven and beating them at home and rectifying the demons. That was a hell of a rant. It was an exact, it was a very matter of fact, stay on topic, way to beat the Panthers and I respect the hell out of you for that. Thank you. I think you're getting smoked. I don't, I'm not being a hater, I just look at this team. Like, they added Marshawn, and he's playing with Lundell and Lusterine, and it's like,

Fuck me dude. You look at the top two lines, he's not even on it. So you're throwing out that third line against what? Domi? Like, that could be an enormous thing. I'll say this about the series, and it sounds crazy saying it about the second round, because it's not the cup final. It's a life-changing series for Mitch Marner. And if he goes on to light up this entire second round, no matter what happens in the conference final, Leafs fans will be saying, give him whatever he wants. If they get through this round and Mitch Marner is the best player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it's a blank check. It changes his life. It looks, you look back and remember him in that second round.

And maybe I'm totally off base if they got Smoked in the third round, but they're not gonna get smoked if they somehow get by Because they can beat Washington or Carolina. So it's it's a Mitch Marner legacy series I think it's a I think also for Matthews as well going to get bark off in that matchup. Yeah I mean, this is a guy who this is a guy who commands 13 million dollars a year. Like this is his opportunity to show that he can go against another one of the best two-way centers in the league and they should be fresher man. Florida's played a lot of hockey. Like they should be looking at this like

a massive, massive opportunity and the same thing goes for Nice. There's rumbling that he wants to try to get an offer sheet. We'll fucking earn it. This is where you make your money. When the chips are on the table and you got Pablo, you got Marner, and you got Nye's, and then Willie got paid too. This is the core four plus Nye's massive opportunity

to show that they deserve every penny they want and that they've gotten and They're going against the best and in order to be the best you got to beat the best and they got the coach who can Bring them there So fucking time to get it done boys and and it's a chance to shut up every person like me and Agreed I think that I think that that's something like when I say more people are picking Vegas over Edmonton, I don't, I don't know if there's one non Leafs fan picking Toronto. I love it. And then we go over to the man, Yance.

Why are you going to wax them Yance? Why? So the reason why is you hear Biz going his rant is we need this guy to do this, what she's never done. We need this guy to be this. We need this guy to do this. Biz, you need all these guys to do something they have never done. All I need from the Florida Panthers

is do what they have been doing. They know how to win hockey games. More importantly, they know how to win playoff hockey games. They are built for this Sasha Barkov up for late our Selfies talking selkie sam reinhardt up for selkie There's two guys who can shut down the core for then you got the back end bringing in a guy like Seth Jones Oh, why would you bring in a guy like Seth Jones when you have that blood is one of our defense?

We got busted for steroid use Yeah, well, yeah So it's just one of those things that Florida just needs to play their game Just play the way that they have the last three years They are not worried about this series as much as you are This is just another step in the direction that they want to get to Thing that scares me for you biz Carter, Carter Verhaggie, little sleepy the first three or four games.

He woke up one of the most streaky players I've ever played with. He's going to come in hot. Every guy, a lot of guys in that team are from the Toronto area too. They're going to want to beat this team more than anybody else. They're going to bring the guys into the fight even more. Who's going to match up with Sam Bennett on your side? Don't see him. Ryan fucking Reeves, buddy.

Yeah, Reeves, Nyes has to play a little bit like Bennett to kind of get that offer sheet that you're talking about. Have you seen the lefts that he throws? Did you watch the White Cloud fight? Yeah, who did he dummy this year? Who was that? White Cloud. White Cloud, he handled his own business. You don't think Max Domey would fight a guy like Sam Bennett?

You would know Harvey. Yeah, I don't know if you guys remember this. There's a little bad blood between Max Domi, Aaron Echblad, Domi when he was in Montreal, suckered Echie, broke his nose a couple years ago. So there's a little more hatred than people kind of know in this series. So that'll be a fun one to watch.

You won't see Echie in the first game because of an unfair suspension that he got. But I think just for as a hockey fan going into this series, which starts tomorrow night or tonight, as you're listening is going to be so much fun to watch just the storylines, the, the players, where they're going to be signing next year. You hear rumblings, Bennett might be going to Toronto next year. Marner might be going somewhere else. So there are so many different storylines, but at the end of the day, as

you like to call them biz Goliath is going to come out on top. They got Sergey Brobroski playing against the guy that used to back him up. That is not a position you want to be in. You want to have a clear cut number one guy that is going to bring you to the dance where you want to be. I don't think Stolarz is the guy to beat Florida. Yeah. He might know some of their tricks.

He might know, you know, what, what guys like to shoot, you know, cause he faced them all for two years. They got Lorentz and Oliver Ekman-Larsen. So there's probably a lot that they're helping provide the coaching staff with, with little tidbits and things that they might do in certain situations. So a little bit of an advantage there for the Toronto Maple Leafs is as well as having a bit of a winning pedigree around and those types of guys who can rub off on the Leafs to try to get this thing done and get over the hump.

And, and you know, you touched on it. They've been there and done that and credit to them. But like I said, too, in order to be the best you got to be you got to be best Yeah, and this is an opportunity if the toronto maple leafs aren't looking like at this like an opportunity Then they're already broken and they're already dead But they are because chief's got them in the right mindset and you're going to see a different toronto maple leafs team And this is going to go a lot farther than you guys think And I believe that the leafs will prevail and I look forward to the opportunity

with them and I'm happy that the way that I handled myself on the zoom call today. Buddy, you're very. It's a series that hasn't started yet, though. It's a different team. It's a different me. I still think that Ryan Reeves should play game one. I still think Craig Barube should challenge Paul Maurice to a scrap at center ice. I do love your talk about the core five as you call them now. This stat I didn't read out earlier. McDavid and Dreissel have 245 points in 160 playoff

games. Marner, Nylander, Matthews and Tavares have 216 points in 252 games. Now saying that. Stats are for losers? No, no, no like you could say that but I'm saying Wayne said it I didn't say I'm saying They they could take over a series as those two have done so many times like it has to happen, right? And maybe this is they maybe this is the series where they all get eight to twelve points And it's like holy fuck like Like at some point you would think based on the stats in the regular season that it'll happen. I don't think it'll be this year

but as Keith said, the drama involved in this and part of the drama is it's starting in Toronto. They got the job done, they got the division. Take advantage of it. And if you don't, this thing could be over in five again. So I can't wait biz great breakdown Keith break And I will say all joking aside Echblad I think he got hosed on the whatever the supplement that got put in his drink and he ended up getting the 20 gamer

I was just busting balls with Kachuk There were some people who were on the inside about the Kachuk thing they were on my side guys I don't take it that seriously. If you're going to bring on a guy and surprise me, I'm not going to throw softballs. I don't give a fuck. If you want to judge me for it, judge me for it. At the end of the day, literally suck my cock.

I don't care. I'm going to ask those questions every day of the week, twice on Sundays. We're here to fuck around and have a good time. I don't view it as this like, I don't put these guys on the pedestal. You weren't on TNT. Well, I'd still fucking ask that on TNT.

I fuck around, I don't care. I guess that's very true. Yeah, like I don't put people who play a sport on this pedestal. I'm here to have a good time, I'm here to sling it around, and that's why spit and that's why you're the best in the business biz and not even I never said that I'm just

saying that I'm throwing Maddie Kachuk softballs so I appreciate you getting them on and this upcoming week we will have some very special guests coming on so tonight in studio getting away from the Leafs Florida Chatter before we give our predictions unless everybody said the game amounts did you guys already go I'm going forward and sex yes Florida and five I got Leafs in seven um you don't do this when you're in studio Charles Barkley said I think this is going over time when it was three one when a blues over Winnipeg I said don't you God don't you say that Bob McEnany what happens boom boom we're there another three hours after

he said it so he owes me one so we'll be getting Chuck on on the podcast at some point next week and I'll even send out a text to 99 to try to get him on for his predictions or at least some breakdowns of whatever's going on. So I think Chuck had a Toronto Edmonton finals and his prediction. I think he's on the leaf. So I would love to get his, Oh, that's why you're getting them on. No, no, now we know. Now we know. But that's pretty much all I got. Um, I don't think there's anything else to talk about. This has gone pretty long. And, um, yeah, just one quick thing.

Couple quick things. Frederick Anderson signed a one-year contract extension. I don't know, worth mentioning that. See what goes on with his health. 2.75. The flame signed Matt Coronado. That's a nice deal. 6.5 million per season to a seven-year deal.

He looked really good this year. Young player that they drafted. That's a nice pick up there. For the first time in its 30-year history, the NHL draft lottery will be drawn live in studio, allowing team personnel and viewers to learn of the results simultaneously. You know that in prior years, it's been delayed and then there's all this discussion of what went on and it's just kind of better that I think they're doing it the way they are for the first time ever, and I think that, is that Monday night? Is that tonight, G?

Yeah, the fifth, yep. Yeah, so that's it, and Carberry, Arneal, and Martin St. Louis finalist for the Jack Adams Award, you never really want to win that now, it seems like, like you're just gassed, like the NFL. The last five Jack Adams winners are not on the team that they won it with. It's not a award.

Sweet award. You've got a great show. Oh, this has been, oh go ahead. No, I was just gonna say awesome show. Thank you to Stoff, thank you to Lawless. And for me, it's right now 2.15 a.m. on Monday, May 5th, a year ago today. Cal Whitney was born.

That's awesome. It's just like being a dad is the best thing in the world, man. And, you know, he had a liver biopsy 12 days after he was born. It was just the scariest time of my life. And all of a sudden, boom, it's a year later and he's got the best older brother. So just just very thankful for everything. And playoffs been great. I love working with you guys. This was a great show and can't wait for the second round boys. And big thanks to G, Fish, Pasha, Dale Morningstar aka memes like all the people behind the scenes for us who who have put in all the work especially the fact that we're going not only with game notes but two pods a week

so three times a week really. New guy Nick we got a new guy in the mix as well. I'm sure you guys will be hearing stories about him when we get on the road with him in the finals. Bring him in the mix. But, and of course the fans, man, like you guys have responded so well, whether it's the live streams, the live podcasts, which I'm sure we'll have a few more of those,

supporting game notes in the chat. So we love you guys. An incredible first round agreed with wit, probably the best that I've ever seen and the best the NHL has ever had. So it just ended and we're off to an incredible second round that has even better matchups. We got McJesus and Eichel. We got the Leafs in the, in the former champs. We got OV going against the Canes. Nobody believes in the Canes. And of course that juggernaut of a central division in Dallas and Winnipeg going at it. So, um, it's going to be awesome. We love you guys. And, uh,

yeah. Oh, last thing. You can now get the Greensboro gargoyles hat on the merch website for spitting chiclets. Um, they'll be coming to the ECHL next season. And I think I've pretty much covered it all. Yance. Yeah, I got no more tummy sticks. I, yeah, I just wanted to, I just wanted to let all the Toronto Maple Leafs fans. This isn't about them. All the Maple Leafs players. I love a lot of those guys.

Coach Berube, great guy. A lot of guys in the management. I really respect their, this is about beating you biz. I am going to fucking hate your guts for the next five games. And I'm going to go against murals. This is due to turn disgusting. I'm going to make star maps of every Florida Panthers player to give out to the fans. And I'm going to tweet it out, including your address. I'm going to have them fucking up to the wee hours of the morning answering

fucking fire alarms. You wait till you see the show that I put on for these Florida Panthers including the rat king himself Brad Marsha. I'm gonna have everyone from Dublin come over to Houston and punch your eyes shut. Hey you listening Brad Marsha? It's time I get my revenge on you. Cut it cut it. I don't want to see this guy anymore. It's time I get my revenge revenge on you get him out of here. Have a great great great We'll see you Wednesday game Friday spitting chickens live Any other way, he let it pop the door open I don't know any other way, this feeling is so hard to wait

I don't know any other way, he if not to go away I don't know any other way This feeling is so hard to break I'll get you someday