The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame Show: The Hockey Show Won The Stanley Cup!

Episode Date: June 28, 2024

THE FLORIDA PANTHERS WON THE STANLEY CUP! Roy and David Dwork recap the epic Game 7 between the Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers as the Ice Cats took home their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The pair looks back on the night and how they celebrated, then recaps their journey throughout the entire postseason that led to the epic moment where the Panthers hoisted the cup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's free. Yes, you heard that right. From the Christmas lettuce to the juiciest apples, Loblaws is committed to fresh, so you get the best fruits and veggies. Look for new value programs when you shop at Loblaws, in-store and online. Conditions may apply. See in-store for details. Okay, we had a couple of days to reflect on what exactly happened on Monday night. And shave. And shave. We had time to shave. Yeah. Thank God, because I got really tired of this.

How was my face was looking? You look different. Yeah, I look- I've seen you look like this in a while. Yeah, I look clean Yeah, I don't look like a bum took a couple years off Rose is with us today. We are going to reflect on everything that's happened over the past two months Yeah, that was that was a that was a whirlwind for everybody. Yeah, especially Rose

We gotta explain why Rose isn't here with us. She's on Zoom, first off. Yeah, Rose is currently on Zoom, looking as refreshed as one can be with COVID, because she's caught the bug. She got the Canadian COVID. Yeah, she got the Canadian COVID. Yeah. It's a much friendlier COVID. They're not COVID.

Much friendlier COVID. Yeah, much friendlier COVID. Sorry you got me. Much colder COVID. Oh man, I apologize to our Canadian COVID. Much friendlier COVID. Sorry you got me. Much colder COVID. Oh man, I apologize to our Canadian viewers. You guys are awesome. For an example of how she feels,

you can hear the way she feels. Go ahead and talk there, Rose. Well, yeah, you can all feel how I feel. Everybody's like, oh, you sound so sad. I'm a very happy person, but yeah that's how I feel. Yeah, she is a very happy person, but she sounds like shit. So let's go over the past two months. Let's start with Tampa. We did travel to one

road game, and that was the road game that they lost. But it was kind of like Edmonton light, because they were up three nothing in the series. We'd go up there, we're having fun with the fans, we're farting around outside talking to people, and chests were out, right? We were confident and cocky, we were feeling good. The game didn't go that well.

No. But, you know, I think experiencing these away arenas and kind of seeing the fans and their element, it's a lot easier to take when your team ends up winning in the end. I think experiencing these away arenas and kind of seeing the fans and their element, it's a lot easier to take when your team ends up winning in the end. So that made Tampa a little bit easier, as did drinking in the beer garden after we were done.

Oh yeah, that was excellent. You know I love a beer garden, so yeah. We've been to Tampa several times, obviously to watch Panthers games and the playoffs. Rose hasn't. So how was your experience in Tampa? Oh, I didn't go all the way. Rose wasn't in Tampa. Oh, Kirsten was in Tampa. Where were you when we were in Tampa? It was Kirsten. Were you at the women's final four? Is that where you were? I don't even remember where I was. I think you were somewhere with Lucy. Yeah, you were with Lucy.

Yeah, I was somewhere with Lucy. I guess it was the WNBA draft or something like that. Maybe that's what it was. It was like two months ago though. Nonetheless, Rose was not home. Yeah, no. She definitely felt better than what she does now. Well now we just had to take Rose to Tampa next season.

Yeah, we got to show her the Tesla Toys. The eventual. Okay let's go over Boston. We did not go to any road games for that one. But you won't go to Boston. We won't. I'm not welcome to Boston. We didn't really need to go to Boston. No, no, we didn't need to go. But as Paul Maurice said, that series was mean. Yeah, that series was tough as, for example, the Sam Bennett punch to Brian Marchand's face. That was pretty much that summarizes the entire series. And then Pat Maroon basically chasing Panthers around for the last two games, trying to get people to fight. Oh, and speaking of of fighting the David Pasternak Matthew Kachuk fight where he popped his helmet

off that was a cool moment yeah that was a very cool moment so for whatever playoffs series for the rest of time it will be Panthers in five because when Kachuk punched Paster in the face, his hand went up and all five fingers went up. So that was a meme for all time in the Panthers. And then I went in that one. That's cool, right? Because you don't see playoff fights generally.

That doesn't happen. And then you see two superstars going at it. I mean, it wasn't that great of a fight, but they both were throwing haymakers. They were trying to get it in there. So I don't know, just thinking back, like that was a really cool thing. Yeah. On to the Eastern Conference final. We did go to a road game. That was the game five up in Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. Rose was there.

Rose was actually there. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And it was a cold, cold night in the arena. We getting there. Yeah. It started with all of our flights were delayed. Yeah. And I was like, okay we're not gonna make it. We're all in three different flights, right? Oh yeah. We were lucky to get there. Well you had Claire's graduation that day too, so you didn't even have the ability to fly out until like noon. No, no. I had to be a responsible father.

I had to be super dad that day. Well, you have to put in the effort, because we were out of town for basically half the last couple months. Yeah. It was like that. Yeah, it definitely felt like that. And I felt like I touched down at around 5, 6 o'clock.

That's what it felt like. We're lucky that I had the 8 o'clock start time. But I remember Rose trickling in, you trickling in, everybody getting to the arena, but we all got there, and that was a pretty cool night at Madison Square Garden. For me, it was a dream. Like, that's my favorite arena to go to, to watch hockey, is Madison Square Garden.

I love the Rangers fans, I love the building, I love New York City, but doing that in the playoffs, and the Rangers taking a one-nothing lead in that game, and that building just exploding like that. That's one of those things that I'm taking with me from this run was the Madison Square Garden feel. Yeah, and the fire engine going off on that one. That was very cool.

That was cool. Rose, what was your experience in New York? Well, first of all, I was supposed to get there before Roy and my flight ended up going. You're always supposed to get there before Roy and my flight ended up... You're always supposed to get there before me. Yeah, I know. But my flight ended up leaving after you. Remember?

Because of the weather. An maintenance issue or something? Yeah. I don't remember why. And then I landed and I had to go and get an Uber and I was like, I have a bag, so I had to go to the hotel, run to the hotel, put it in the hotel, then grab another Uber and then just run. And I think I just missed like a minute of the game

whenever I got there. Oh, and I ended up in the players press box because I was looking for you guys. Oh. Remember? I was looking for you guys. Oh All of a sudden she's like I think I'm surrounded by players I go up the stairs I look to my left and there's a rose around all the Florida Panthers scratches Just like this little girl with all these massive hockey players and you were lost But you looked like you were very comfortable and in your own element when I rescued you situation You looked like you were doing okay on your own there.

Poor Rose over here standing next to Josh Mahur. Yeah, right? She's just looking for Barkie. Oh, it was a nice. Yeah, well she ended up getting very much next to Alexander Barkov. We'll get to that in a little bit, but the day after we filmed some content, we were going around the entire borough of Manhattan.

That was fun. Well, other than the hot dog hunt Rose sent us on. Which eventually that video's got to make its way to the public because I don't think it's actually been posted yet. So we're going to have to maybe that'll be like a summer special our day in New York. A supercut of the entire playoffs. Well, Rose, I mean, I'll tell everybody now, Rose got us I Love New York. Yeah, supercut of the entire playoffs. Well, Rose, I mean, I'll tell everybody now, Rose got us I Love New York shirts that we had to wear around Manhattan while talking

to all the Rangers fans about the loss that they just suffered the night before. And then she sent us on a race, which, you know, I put the air quotes up because Roy obviously was not taking this race very seriously. Hell no, I wasn't. To find hot dogs randomly in the city. Yeah, and Rose was just sitting there with her feet up, waiting for us to show up. Mm-hmm. So yeah, but yeah, this video needs to, we gotta figure out a way to get it.

Yeah, here's the thing that I believe that was a problem. I was thinking, okay, it will know chopped onions. Yes same. Diced onions put on there. But the onions they gave us were marinated in what tomato sauce? Something like that like ketchup. And it was weird because we went to two very different hot dog stands. We went in opposite directions. We ended up with the same gross looking thing. Yeah I mean the way I take my hot dogs is definitely not like that. I mean it's sauerkraut sweet relish

Spicy mustard boom done. I like the sweet and salty mix on your hot dog actually that's yeah I don't ever want to say those words in that order again That sounds good. I'm like a ketchup mustard chopped onions. I'm fine with a little sauerkraut relish whatever like I'm good with decorating up My hot dog. Yeah,'m a toasted bun. Good job Yeah, I'm a foodie But the hot dogs rose that we get were not what I was expecting and I cannot finish it because that was That was not no bueno. So that was on you. What was your experience that day? Well, I was expecting you

To finish the hot dog and when you you didn't, you guys lost. So I won again. It was a forfeit. Rose is the winner of this whole playoff thing. Well, obviously, now you've got your big prize of COVID. So congratulations to you. Woohoo. All right, off to the Stanley Cup final.

Oh my god. We were in a pickle in this situation because I was expecting the Panthers to win this one in six, so I was preparing, okay, we're going to end up going up to Edmonton for game six. We said we would go for a A game. A game. A game. Well, yeah, because who thinks that you're going to go there twice, right? Yeah.

The Panthers had to go and win the first three games. Yeah, we had zero choice but to go up to Edmonton for game four and that did not go well at all. It's okay now, but go... So game three ends on like a Thursday night, game four is on Saturday. So we at like midnight Thursday are like scrambling to book our travel to get up to Edmonton for this, what we think is going to be, you know, crowning moment in the franchise's history. And then it was eight to one that they lost. Yeah.

Jesus Christ. I mean, it was cool. And now that they've won, like I'm saying, like it was a cool experience, but walking out of the arena in Edmonton after game four and seeing like the insanity that was on the streets out there, like the three of us were walking around for hours,

drinking, you know, bar hopping. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, but the party just never stopped. And in Canada, Potsledo, so people were walking down the street smoking joints with their shots and I don't know, it was just, it was cool. The Panthers winning makes it cooler for me, but I'm glad we got to experience that now that I'm not suffering from it anymore. Yeah. And then the Panthers ended up losing three straight. Back the game six, which they lost for the third straight game. Yeah, we were too tired to really think about anything outside of get our content.

Get a drink, go home, get home. Well, because at that point, our dreams are like on the brink of being crushed. Yeah. And in a most historically significant and awful way. And exhaustion, I mean, just from all the travel. So get us home to game seven, but that made it all worth it. Before we talk about game seven, Rose, what were your experiences in both trips to Edmonton? Well, for game four, I was watching game three in Brightside and they won and I was like, okay, I have to go to Edmonton. Oh yeah.

So shout out to Kristen who at 2 a.m. we were booking the flights, but the flight, because it was so late, I had to go Miami, Houston. And when I got in Houston, because our tire, I don't know what happened to our tire, it exploded. Yeah. They didn't let us out of the plane. I lost my connection to Denver, so they had to change my connection to San Francisco. I fly to San Francisco,

then from San Francisco to Edmonton. But then the plane just started flying around Edmonton I'm like, when are we gonna let and they were like, oh no, there's there's lightning and there's a warning of tornado So we're gonna be here waiting for that to end and then they're like, oh we run out of gas So we're gonna go all the way to Calgary We're out of gas, sorry. The tire blew and we're out of gas. Please flip your seat back to tray tables

and they're upright in locked positions. Yeah, so they sent us back to Calgary, we filled up the tank, and then finally we made it to Edmonton. And then the second time it was much better, like Roy and I, we were travel buddies,

so at least I had someone to talk to. Then I drove all the way from Calgary to Edmonton on the way there. I am a very professional driver. I'm sorry, what was that? You're a professional driver? So who's driving when next time we go to Tampa? I am. Roy or Roy? No, I am. I'm definitely sleeping in the back. Yeah, Roy is driving and I am DJing. Oh, nice. Shit. All right, what was that?

My flight experience for a game, I mean, you guys already know my flight experience. It was bad. I mean, There was no good experience. No. Game four, I was with Rose. We traveled to the Houston, the tire blew. But Rose's connection was far earlier than mine because I had a five hour layover. Then I ended up in Denver.

And then another five hour layover going up to Edmonton. So that was what, 10 hours worth of layovers. And I got there pretty much late, so it was that. And then coming back, I went to Toronto, and then went to Montreal, and then went back to Miami. Because I ended up having to change my flight just in case the Panthers won in fact

I had to change my flight. You changed your flight when we were in Edmonton. Yeah I had to change my flight to later in case the Panthers won Party but going out at 730 in the morning after covering the Stanley Cup final game is entirely too early anyway So I had to change it regardless. So it all worked out Yeah, three Canadian cities on the way back before going back to Miami. Game six's travel was much better. Flew up from Miami to Chicago to Calgary with Rose, drove back, flew back to Charlotte, back to Miami with Rose. Much easier, but we were, bleep that out. We were exhausted.

Yeah. So off to game seven. Game seven, where, I don't know about you guys, but I was in a shitty mood all day before game seven. I felt really bad for my wife. I was such an asshole around the house. I just, I was done. With all the travel, the three straight losses,

I was just done. And so getting to the game, but once we got there and we're all together and they scored the first goal and then I just lost my mind. Yeah. I lost my mind. Yeah, that was great. The pressure went out the window.

Yeah, journalism died that night. I was doing live hits for the Panthers, sorry, not for the Panthers, but about the Panthers for the show. I was not happy. I was angry, obviously, because, I mean, we're going to game seven. This could be the worst collapse in sports history. I'm thinking to myself, okay, I mean, it's a 50-50 shot.

I'm not happy that we have this 50-50 shot. This series should have been over and done with. We should have had the parade already. But yeah, we get into the arena. The coolest thing about that was the beginning was the national anthems they had an Alanis Morris set that wasn't even the coolest thing nobody heard like yeah nobody could hear her singing no because everybody was singing that was cool both both national anthems were being sung by the fans that I've never seen that before well what we saw up in Edmonton with the Oilers fans basically they all just in unison sing Oh Canada

and it's really cool because it's like 20,000 people singing at the same time so that kind of trickled down to Florida because there was a decent amount of Oilers fans at game seven a lot of them made the trip and so Oh Canada went first everybody sung and then the you know being Americans that we are like bleep that we're gonna one-up you. It was spite singing. Yeah, it was spite singing. Yeah, that's exactly right. How patriotic. I mean, kind of fits right about now, doesn't it? I guess so. As I'm in my USA jersey. Yeah. Carter Verhege, golden assist, played a game of his life, Sam Reinhart, the cup-winning goal and

and Bob was great. Bob was spectacular. It was very appropriate, right? Verhege has an amazingly tenacious game, very very Carter Verhege, the game of the series, the game of the playoffs for him. Sam Reinhardt, the big goal scorer from the season, gets the game-winning goal. Bob has a great game other than one goal. I mean that the whole thing just feels like very Panthers. Yeah, and then they finished it in the corner in the double zero and then the cup was lifted. Connor McDavid won the ConceMighty, did not show up for that one, nor do I blame him.

So- Look at that right there, man. Paul Maurice with the cup, that was- Let's get to that. We go downstairs and Rose, who was already sick before we even found out that she had COVID, she was not feeling well, but she was determined to show up to this game. So it was both her and Danny. We had a mission for Rose.

This whole playoff, she wanted one thing. That's it. I said, if I didn't have that one thing, I would quit. What was it? Tell her what was the one thing. I said, I want my picture with Marquee. If not, one thing. I will quit. What was it? So tell her what was the one thing I Said I want my picture with Barkey. If not, I quit I go I don't know do anything else in my life if they win the Stanley Cup we will get that picture you know, and we're gonna pass that along to

To the boys in the back so they can put it up on the screen for you. Yeah, she got that picture back so they can put it up on the screen for you. Yeah, she got that picture. We were herded down into like a bullpen area, which was actually the dining area for the broadcast. Yeah, in the bowels of the arena. In the bowels of the arena. And the go-horn blew because that was the Panthers team picture with the cup.

And then we got herded into the ice. So seeing all the Panthers fans over here and like looking got herded into the ice. That's so seeing all the Panthers fans over here and like looking at us going into going on to the ice they're cheering it's still loud everybody's happy that was that was a moment. That was cool I think at least for us and you know for you a little bit more because you and I were both there in Vegas last year you were in Tampa the year before but the year before it was Colorado-Tampa So there was no like vested interest there. Well, no, there was actually

interest because yeah, because I was obviously pulling for Colorado. Comparatively, you know, so last year we're in Vegas Heartbreaking, but it was going on the ice and being out it was very it was a cool experience Yeah, that was right after the Paul Maurice press conference where that was, made me feel better. Yeah, well, you know, half the team was hurt. And Paul Maurice being Paul Maurice just kind of finds a way to soothe with his words. But I feel like those experiences made walking onto the ice in South Florida, at Amarant Bay in Corina with all the Panthers fans, with every, you know,

how many people on the ice were we celebrating with because we had personal relationships with them? Like, that was what I had been envisioning for 12 months after doing it in Vegas, but doing it with the wrong team in the wrong arena. So the way it all ended, at home, on that ice, after going through it and hating part of it, like I wouldn and hating part of it like I wouldn't trade any of it at this point yeah celebrating with the likes of Aaron Brown and Jonah McPherson George Richards Kobe guy Alex Bonds Garner yeah

that was Billy Lindsay and Doug Plagin's Steve Goldstein Randy molar that was celebrating Billy was it's still kind of resonating with me. Bill Lindsay, just his call on the final goal and his emotions on the ice like that. There's just a lot that's kind of sticking with me. Yeah, Rose, what was your experience on the ice? The ice, I was very, very sick. So I was a little bit out of it, but when I saw Varkey so close, I was very, very sick. So I was a little bit out of it.

But when I saw Barky so close, I was like, okay, this is all worth it. And a lot of people told me, hey, don't go, you feel sick. I didn't know it was COVID. If I knew it was COVID, I wouldn't have been there. But I was like, after everything we've done, after all of this, I'm very invested in this team now.

I am a hockey fan now. So how can I not go? And it was worth it. Like seeing both of you reactions and all of the fans and then the lifting of the cup and Barkey and etc. It was just, we're you as you as you said like and I was glad to be part of it. So Very very happy and very very sick And on that note on that note, that is the end of the National Hockey League season

So what's coming up next is the NHL draft and free agency begins on Monday and we're gonna start the off season all. And oh boy, we got a lot of stuff that we gotta do this upcoming off season because a lot of moves are gonna have to be made and a lot of hearts are gonna have to be broken and we're gonna see a lot of new people on this team.

And we can't wait for it as we go into the offseason portion of the hockey show. What the fuck. For Rose, for David Drowick of the hockey news, my name is Roy Bellamy. We will see you in a couple weeks because I am taking a little bit of time off. Thank God.