The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Hockey Show: Brad Marchand is a Florida Panther

Episode Date: March 14, 2025

You read that right: Brad Marchand is a Florida Panther, and the guys on The Hockey Show are still reeling from the news. They kick off the show by breaking down how they reacted to the trade and what the news of Aaron Ekblad's 20-game suspension means for the Panthers. Plus, they share their wins and failures of the week, including a superman punch, a guy trying to fight a mascot, and a goalie flopping on his face. Then, Emily Kaplan of ESPN joins the show to break down the aftermath of the trade deadline and where some of the top contenders in the league left off. Finally, the boys go over the week for the Florida Panthers, including wins over the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs and a brutal loss to the Boston Bruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The tequila that invented tequila. Proximo, Quervil.com. Please drink responsibly. Quervil. Welcome to the hockey show. My name is Roy Bellamy. David Drock is right here. He works for the Hockey News. Ethan is in that chair right there and Rosie is on vacation.

Steen. She deserves that. Well, she's supposed to be Steen, but she's on the chat. She's watching the show. Oh, because she loves us. I don't see why, but she's like she's on the chat she's she's watching the show because she loves us and now I don't see why but she loves us we have ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan on the show and she will talk to us about the trade that line and what's going on in the NHL if you want to watch that for those who are

watching the on the DraftKings Network you can see the interview on YouTube for the love of Tarso page you can find our show on the hockey show playlist folder. Yeah, there's a lot of hockey shows in the playlist. Yeah, I counted those 55 in that folder. I can't believe we've done 55. That's crazy. That's a lot. That's a lot. So, let's get started. Let's drop the puck and talk about the news that the Florida Panthers have been in this week. And it's been a long week.

A little bit of news. Yeah, a little bit of news, good and bad. Let's start with the good. Brad Marshon is a Florida Panther now. We, and I swear to goodness, it's just weird to me. All right, first the news. We're at the practice facility waiting for Bill Zito. And then that news happened.

Yeah. I think I had just texted him at like 2 55 or 2 57. Hey, where you at? Well, no, like it's like the trade that you send him a text be like, are you guys done? And usually you'll get an answer back like, yeah, we're done. Or, and then they'll talk. No answer. No answer. Which was like, okay, whatever. You know, they're still up to something and then 310. Yeah 315 That's crazy, man, and then we're hearing and then yeah, we're hearing speculative So this was the worst part for me was I had to go get a haircut at 330 And my haircut place is in Aventura. So it's about 30 minutes from my house. So I had to leave at 3 o'clock so I'm watching NHL Network, the clock strikes three,

and nothing happens. I'm like, okay, whatever. I get in my car and I get a text message with Freage's tweet that Brad Marshand is going to Florida. And then an hour and a half unfolds where I don't know what the return is. And one of my friends had sent me a tweet that said Anton Lundell was going to Boston and so I'm losing my mind freaking out thinking oh my god we just traded for an injured

Brad Marshawn and we traded or excuse me the Panthers traded for an injured Brad Marshawn and they traded Anton Lundell for him what the hell is going on yeah then as it took longer and longer for the return to get out I'm like no way Brad Marsh on and they traded Anton Lundell for him, what the hell is going on? Then as it took longer and longer for the return to get out, I'm like, no way they traded Anton Lundell. Remember our reaction when, cause I, you know, as this is all happening, like I'm firing off text messages

and I'm trying to find out whatever I can. And I actually got a text from a very good source that said second round pick. And I showed it to Roy and we looked at each other like, no way. No, could not have been. No chance. And that's what ended up happening.

Sure enough. So my friend that sent me the text is a Tampa fan. He saw a text that said that somebody on TSN reported that it was Lundell on a first. And he was like, it better be Lundell or else, this is just highway robbery. And then the details came out, and I started taunting him with the fact that it was a

conditional second rounder three years from now and he was not very happy as a Lightning fan I can tell you that much. Before we move on just a quick question just going through the timeline of your story why does it take you 90 minutes to get a haircut you have less hair than I do. It doesn't take me 90 minutes to get a haircut it's just from the dry to the haircut to, yeah, the shampoo, the haircut, and then afterwards, still all the way, like after the haircut's over,

I still don't know what the trade is. It took like an hour and a half, two hours to have it fully confirmed. You're moving past the point here. Like why do you have to go to Aventura, which is like a nightmare to get to. I've been going to the same guy my entire life. He literally gave me my first haircut, and he go to Aventura which is like a nightmare? I've been going to the same guy my entire life He literally gave me my first haircut and he is in Aventura. I feel like we're learning a lot about Ethan right now

Yeah, all right Yeah from you know the lock of souls to seeing him seeing him in Panthers gear and then seeing him on the ice in Boston Doing a line rushes with the first line. It was It's still It's still weird. It's gonna be so weird when he suits up for his first Panther game and he's at that Panther jersey. I mean any jersey other than Boston is gonna be strange, but a Panther jersey considering the history they've had the last few years?

And the fact that he picked, he's like, y'all been kicking my ass. You knocked me out two straight years. That's respect, right? Yeah. Going to the bad, however, Aaron Echblad was suspended for 20 games. He is 18 plus 2 in the playoffs. Yeah, 18 plus 2. So that's not good.

So that makes the Seth Jones trade even bigger. So yeah, Seth Jones quickly assimilates into how the Panthers are playing. He has done very well so far. He's just gotta get used to his other pair. And right now it's Gus Foisling until the foreseeable future. Well his minutes have gone shooting up.

Yeah. You can already tell, first of all, how much of an impact he's gonna have because like David mentioned, I think he played like 26, 28 minutes, something like that last night. His first three games, 22 minutes, 18 minutes, 21 minutes. His last two games, 28 and 27, 57.

Wow. Yeah. He's been awesome. And the Panthers really, at the same time, the Panthers really miss Aaron Echblad. Yeah. You saw what happened in Boston the other night. And then last night against Toronto, they gave up a goal, the first goal, that is just something the Panthers never do. It's a cross-ice pass Through a wide open lane to a wide open shooter. That's not good That was a great pass by a knee lander when the Panthers are blowing a two goalie in the third period and they're giving up

Wide open passes like that, you know something's up it it they're gonna miss Aaron Ekblad. The good news is it's only gonna be two games In the playoffs, but you better not fall behind to-0 you know you better not. Alright let's get into the wins and fails of the week brought to you by Jägermeister. Serve it cold or don't serve it at all. Jägermeister, damn that's cold. For more visit Jägermeister.com drink responsibly. David what's your win? My win is Simon Benoit of the Toronto Maple Leafs try to Superman punch in a hockey game. Oh wow. And he paid for it. Oh my, dude, but how cool is, like that's something that you see out of like an MMA movie trailer.

Like that's what like Iron Man does to Thanos. Like you don't see that in a hockey game. And I mean credit to Michael Kisteling from Utah. Like he was pumped up. He probably saw that coming. He's like, oh my God, this is happening. I'm gonna hit with a superman This is why this is why I send it as my fill the week initially because he lost the fight You can't Superman punch and then lose the fight here. You're gonna get off the ice and Superman punch You gotta win the fight. No, I always have a counter for that

Always have a counter. No, that was amazing I love that more Superman punches more Superman punches So you can look like that guys flying across the ice like let's go. We're gonna fight Let's fight it up Am I win of the week is from Blackhawks Avalanche on Monday Nathan McKenna became the 100th player in NHL history to reach 1000 career points as 1000 point came as a secondary assist on a drop pass And the goal was by a jury Leckinen it was a thousand points this season. Yeah has a secondary assist on a drop pass. And the goal was by Arturi Lekhinen. It was selected.

He has 1,000 points this season. Yeah. He has so many assists. So many Art Ross trophies, man. Good God. Right now, the nearest active player to 1,000 points is Brad Marshawn. 976 points.

He will end up doing that next year. He's going to end up reaching that milestone. Whether it's with the Panthers or not, don't know. TBD, don't be surprised. Don't be surprised. Don't be surprised. Yeah, exactly. Ethan. Nathan McKinnon, 102 points on the season. Boys, my win of the week goes to Linus Ohmark. Did you guys see this save he made last night?

Yeah, it's the best save of the season. Ottawa Senators who are red hot right now, four in a row, maybe five in a row, playing the Boston Bruins, look at this save. What I love about it is he had zero time to push. He turned his head and just dove and plucked it right out of him. My dad and I were watching NHL Network last night and they showed this replay.

And he thought it was a sick goal because the pass and then the shot by Loura. Look at this save. And he goes head over, or you know, heels overhead, whatever you want to call it there. Oh my goodness. Just a beautiful sprawling save like that. That to me is this, I haven't seen a better save this year. A Superman punch and a Superman save. So it's him and it was Logan Thompson that made that save for the Capitals.

Yes, it was. Yeah. So those are the saves of the year. Logan Thompson's, like he kind of had a chance to turn his body and get a little bit of steam built up before he made that dive. Olmark was down on his knees. He basically had to fall. He had to use whatever core strength he had. That was such an impressive save. Like, as if I needed a reason to love Linus Olmark anymore. That guy's awesome. Fails of the week, David. Fail of the week. Carolina Hurricanes, you failed. And I'm sure we're gonna get into this more,

but holy, how do you make a trade for Miko Rantanen? And no disrespect to Logan Stankovic, but this is a team that's win now. Getting first round picks is not helping you win now, unless you're gonna turn them around and flip them, which they can't do at least until next season. So just a total fail by the Miko Rantanen, the Rico Mantanen, the Miko Rantanen trade Rico Mantan, the Rico, Mico Rantan trade.

Apparently, Rantan had a list of only four teams that he wanted to sign long term with. How do you not realize this is Carolina? And I think Rod Brindamore, their coach, kind of vented about it on a radio show after the trade deadline. We have the audio. Ethan, can you hook me up, please?

There's not been one guy that has left here because they didn't like it here. That was except for Mico, and he did not like it. When he showed up he said there's four teams I'll go play for. You're not one of them. So there's 28 other teams he wasn't going to. The better question is should we have known that before we signed him. Miko was the only one that I've been associated with that said I don't want to, this is not

for me and I think there's other circumstances on that. It's not because of the hockey, it's because I think his family, it wasn't for him. So good. And I appreciate that. He'd let us know that we probably should have known that before we made the deal. Maybe that changes how we go about things. You think? No, Ken. That felt like a shot at his front office when he said we probably should have known that.

And I think a lot of people are giving Carolina credit here for how they handled this, how they got staying open to first round picks. I don't think they deserve it. I think they botched this situation completely and I still would have kept Miko Rantanen for a Stanley Cup run because you're not a better team today than you were and you already weren't Stanley Cup good. Now you're definitely not Stanley Cup good. Well, but that's them realizing like, look, we're not probably going to win the Cup this

year. We didn't make the improvements other teams made. So they kind of had to pivot and focus a little bit more on the future. But that's tough when they made that rancid and trade. That was a win now trade, obviously, and blew up in their faces. So, you know, a cautionary tale, Roy. My fellow of the week comes from predators of sharks on Tuesday now listen I know it's been a bad season for the San Jose Sharks a little bit and their future is bright yeah yeah their future is bright absolutely just not this season but it's not bad enough for a fan to want to fight their mascot. This guy legitimately screwed up against Sharky.

What are we doing here? You can't fight Sharky, man. Sharky's too cute. Sharky's such a nice dog. Sharky's too cute. Yes, yes. You can't, you can't. I understand the fans are a little disgruntled, but to take it out on your own mascot? Yeah. To his credit or her credit, depending on who's in uniform. Sharky walked away but... Sharky's a bigger fish. Yeah, but I would not have blamed him or her if she or he wanted to throw punches on that dude. You remember a few years back, didn't a fan fight Victor E. Ratt? Yes. Was not staying. I remember reaching out to like Sunrise police. Assault charges, yeah.

Find out if that was like legitimate. So mascots, we got to protect our mascots. Protect the mascots. Ethan, your fail. My fail of the week goes to Stuart Skinner and really just the Edmonton Oilers in general. They're 3-7-0 in their last 10 and they didn't go out and get a goalie at the deadline even though everybody said they should have. how he ends up here on this Tage Thompson goal first of all great but you're gonna see him here there's a great picture going around of it where he just face pants totally flops and it just he just looks silly Tage Thompson by the way having a great year I think he's got 34, 35 goals, something like that,

makes Stuart Skinner look silly there. You can't end up flopping around, especially when your job is under fire. The way Stuart Skinner's is, looked silly right there. That's my fail of the week. It's almost like goaltending is hard or something. It's almost like Edmonton should have gone out and gotten more goaltending.

And Stuart Skinner, he got him as close as he could. Coming up next, Emily Kaplan from ESPN. She is their NHL reporter on DKN. You can watch that on YouTube on the Levitage Show page. Find our playlist folder, the hockey show. That's coming up next. Howdy folks, it's Mike Ryan, one to responsibly speak to you about my favorite time, Miller time. Look, a lot of things are coming back in a season MLS is back peas and C's in the MLB you know who puts the ML in those sports Miller Lite that's right from basketball to hockey to game night winner means more moments with the coolest people in your life make these moments even better with Miller Lite the greatest tasting light beer for

people like you and me who love their beer now Now is a perfect time for friends, family, and a great tasting light beer. Tastes like Miller Time! And it's got tastes that you know you can depend on, no games, no gimmicks, just great beer for people who love their beer! Because it's brewed for taste, it just hits different than other light beers because of simple ingredients like malted barley for rich balanced toffee note flavors and that iconic golden color. Miller Lite, great taste, 96 calories. Go to MillerLite.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Tastes like Miller time. Celebrate responsibly, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. All right, we have the hardest working hockey reporter in all the land and around the horn

Hall of Famer Emily Kaplan is joining us today. We're going to get into what happened during the trade deadline first, but as I said, she was on around the horn. She's been there, I would say about 150 appearances probably the horn she's been there I would say about a hundred and fifty appearances probably and she's won 40 times just about it's pretty solid winning percentage yeah it's not bad I'm the hardest working you're the one that actually looked at my stats hey listen research I mean it's kind of further get more reach for, you know, local and national

reporters that show. And it's coming to an end, coming to an end May 23rd, I believe. And that show has been on for just about 20 years now. So, yeah, great. Yeah. It's a great show. And your time on it. Why don't you tell us about your time on it? Yeah. Well, first, like 23 years, my first thought is what a run, like how many shows get that leeway.

And I think it's all credit to Tony reality, the host who just makes it home for so many of us, the producers behind the scenes, like as you guys know, they're the fabric that make that thing run and then the panelists. But I'll just never forget the first time they called me and asked me if I want to be on it, Eric Solomon, the executive producer, and I was just never forget the first time they called me and asked me if I wanted to be on it. Aaron Solomon, the executive producer, and I was just shook, and I was like, no, I can't do this. I'm not ready. And I came up with every excuse

of why I could do that first show. And I think it was Ramona Shelburne, or maybe it was Mina Kimes. Those were the two women that I consulted before I went on. And they were like, look, you can say no once, but if you say no twice, they're not gonna call back. Like, you've gotta do it. And I'm just so grateful for them because at the time, you can say no once, but if you say no twice, they're not gonna call back, like you've gotta do it. And I'm just so grateful for them because at the time,

you know, I was a print journalist growing up, that's all I ever wanted to do. Like I wanted to write and I wanted to write nuanced stories and TV is something that's new to me. And that show gave me the platform to find my voice on TV. And Tony's so good at just finding what makes us tick and bringing out the best in all of us. He's so selfless in that way.

So it really is a community. It really is a family. It's heartbreaking when I think about that not existing anymore because I was given the opportunity to be a part of such a big legacy show. And I'm just so sad that other generations behind me won't get that opportunity,

that they won't be able to find their confidence on a show like Around the Horn. And I hope there's other opportunities out there for them. But this was a really, really special one. Well, Tony is a good man. We know him around here. And you've been excellent on that show. And we are going to miss that show.

So let's get into hockey right quick. It's been a long week down here. I'm tired. David's tired. Ethan in there, he's, I don't know, what's going on with that guy? He's going up here. Long week, man. Long week. I don't know All right. David's tired. Ethan in there. He's I don't know what's going on with that guy. He's going to be a week man. Long week. I don't know why it felt so long. Because the Florida Panthers got Brad Marshawn and subsequently Aaron Echblad got suspended. So yeah, it's been that long of a week. So based on all the moves that has happened over the past, I would say two weeks.

Yeah. Who won? Who won and who lost the trade deadline? Oh, who wins, who loses. I'm going to do the loser really quickly. I think it's the Detroit Red Wings because they didn't do anything because that race is so crowded in the East. And I remember when they got Patrick Kane, Derek Lulone, who was the coach at the time, told me, you understand what that did to the locker room when Patrick Kane had all these options and he chose Detroit and what a boost that was and it like excelled like accelerated their season and then to get to the trade deadline when you don't have anyone like yes they got Peter Morales like to look goaltending help like I just feel like that's just such a bummer for those guys because they fought so hard and the bill with some adversity and it's like okay but the general manager is basically saying next year.

So you know we'll see how it all shakes out But that to me is like a team that maybe could have used some kind of boost, an extra defensement, an extra forward. Winners? Can I pick Florida? Am I being a bias here? Please pick Florida. I'm begging you to pick Florida. What a deadline.

You know, I just think firstly, Nico Sturm, like I think with this general manager and management staff and really like when you start to understand the Florida Panthers and why they become so good, it's because Bill Zito has surrounded himself with so many great hockey minds and they have really like passionate debates and it's not all group think, but what they've identified is a culture and a fit of player that can fit into that culture. So like Nico Sturm is a great example of like you see him in San Jose and you're like, whatever, what is this guy? You see him as a Florida Panther and you're like, oh, that's exactly what they needed. He'll play his butt off.

I could probably say worse things on your show, but. Oh yeah, we have. Yeah, exactly. And he's gonna be a great Florida Panther. But really, I'm thinking about Brad Marchand and the fact that he got traded from Boston is something that I think we're all gonna have to wrap our head around today.

Don't need to re-litigate these contract negotiations, but like he's 37 years old. He's a franchise legend. Typically you hold onto these guys and management's like, look, we've got a retool and we only have so far we could bend. And when they decide to trade them, from my understanding, they had some like advanced talks with some teams specifically in the West. And Brad told them like, my heart wouldn't be in it. There's one place I want to go that one place is Florida.

Like guys, you've been at this market forever. The top players, the captain of an original six teams, like this is the tapes, the only place I want to go. How insane is that? Not only that, an arch rival. Like it's amazing to see an arch rival who has been knocked out twice in a row by this team have so much respect for them looking at his career and say, that's where I want to go right now.

It's pretty crazy. That's exactly it. No, because they're embarrassed by them in some playoff runs. And basically what Brad Marshand said is like game, recognize game. And like, I hated going against those guys. But if I was going to go to fight with anyone besides the guys in my room right now, those are the guys I want to go to battle with. And I just think that's the coolest thing.

It's such a good story for hockey. These are the type of trades you see in other sports. And I just cannot wait to see what type of impact he has. So you lead me perfectly into what my question was originally. So amazing segue without even realizing it. But putting my panther's hat on for a second, who in the East is going to compete with Florida come playoff time? Because for the reasons you mentioned and so many others that were already on the team before the Tread deadline, when they were already considered one of the cup contenders out of the East, who's going to compete with them, Emily? Because it looks like it's kind of set up for another Florida Cup final run. Whoa.

Excuse me? That was not a- See, that was the worst thing that we say on the show. See, that was an F word coming before cup. That wasn't supposed to be a swear word, but it's okay because it's our show. But if I'll rephrase my question. Try. Who in the Eastern Conference playoffs will compete with the Florida Panthers? I think there's two teams that would really scare me if I was the Florida Panthers.

One are in Florida, the other F team. I just think that the Tampa Bay Lightning, they've hit their stride. Vassi looks like peak, you know, Vassi. And I love what Julian Brice-Waugh does every trade deadline. He's like, I don't care what anyone else thinks the prices are. Like, these are the guys I need and I'll just pay whatever price it is because they're the guys that are going to get me to where I want to go. And you know, we're all making a big deal about Yanni Gord because, you know, we know

Yanni Gord and, you know, we know what he looked like for their cup runs and how that sick checking line. He's not the know Yanni Gord and we know what he looked like for their cup runs and how that's sick checking line. He's not the same Yanni Gord, like he's now in his 30s, he's coming off a major groin surgery, a sports hernia surgery, but he's still like a fierce sports hacker. For them, the bigger part of that deal was Oliver Bjorkstrand, who like Nico Sturm,

like just fits what they needed, you know, in maybe an unflashy way, but like when you watch him, you're like, oh, I get it. So I think the Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning would scare me and then the Toronto Maple Leafs would scare me. And I just think that, you know, they might have figured it out.

I think that their coach Craig Berube has made them a much tougher team to play against. I think the commitment for team defense, it's led by Austin Matthews. I think yes, his numbers are down offensively, but if you watch him defensively, he's really making an impact there. And if they get the goaltending and you guys know him, Anthony Stolar is like, you go up

in the Florida goaltending factory and he looks pretty good, they can make a run this year. No respect for the Metro. I love it. I love it. It's a weird year for them, man. It's a weird, weird year to the Metro. And I feel for the Carolina Hurricanes because I probably would put them in here.

I just think there's just been so much noise. Maybe it's the year that you least expect, but the fact they weren't able to get more roster players than Logan Stankovic for what they gave up for Miko Ranchenen gives me pause. It's perfect. The segue master, Emily Kaplan, right here, because I was going to ask you about the Carolina Hurricanes. I found this situation fascinating throughout the month and a half that it unfolded from the trade from Colorado to the trade to Dallas. How do we, now that the dust has kind of settled, we know, okay, the assessment seems to be

they did okay getting stank COVID and two firsts and we'll see what they do with the two firsts. But everything that's happened and then Tulski coming out and saying, you know, we had more planned, but we didn't get to do it because we kind of ran out of time. Like how do you assess everything that happened over the last month and a half with the Carolina hurricanes and kind of say, did they come out good on the other end of this or should they maybe have just

held on and gone for it with Rantanen? Yeah, it's so tough to say. I think the situation with Rantanen, like, look, I think big picture, nobody, besides maybe the Dallas Stars, and definitely the Dallas Stars, are happy with how this all shook out, right? Like, it became so public, it became such a distraction. Miko Rantanen's a guy that's like so accommodating

to the media, but like, I know he didn't want his business all aired out like this, and like, I think it was just icky and a little bit uncomfortable for everyone. From the Cain's perspective, like we can get into this war of words of like who knew what and when, like did they know, did they believe, who said that he was gonna like

potentially want to sign there? But the truth is, they're always gonna be an aggressive franchise. They're always gonna go for it and make moves that I think the rest of the league might be a little bit more hesitant to make. And sometimes those risks aren't gonna work out, but you have to respect them for

taking the risks. And I also respect people for cutting their losses, you know, too soon. And I think, again, the situation might have just gotten too messy. We're like, yeah, you couldn't hold on to him for the rest of the playoff run. But like, it wasn't really a fit. You knew that there was kind of some noise that he didn't really feel like home in Raleigh or he didn't really like it. Like, do you want to carry on to that?

Or do you want to try to cut your loss early and see what you can recoup? Now, Mika Ranjan did tell them at least a week before the trade deadline that he wasn't going to sign. So I think that we can have a conversation of like, yes, you have to go field your best offers. But the fact that it got down to the absolute wire, we weren't able to flip those first. Maybe that's an experience that they can learn from. But big picture, I think that they can go to sleep at night knowing that they're going to take some risks because they want to win a Stanley Cup. They need a game-breaking talent. They got one who was available, didn't work out. They'll try again. The New Jersey Devils beat the Edmonton Oilers and the Oilers are, we're going to get into them in a little bit because they've been bad. But the Devils also have been mediocre. They've been hovering over 500, around 500,

over the last 16 games. And Columbus is trying to catch up with them. They're six points behind and third place in the Metro. They lost Jack Hughes for the season. He's not going to be back into the training camp. Jonas Seigenthaler is done for the regular season. He might come back. Dougie Hamilton, we don't even know when he's going to show up. So the Devils have lost two defensemen. Where do you see them coming out at the end of the season? Yeah, I heard the timeline for Dougie Hamilton. Like the return is somewhere in the first round, the targeting.

So we should see him if they go on a run, but it's challenging, right? Like those are, I mean, Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes and Jogges, notice they go on, those are is, no, just be gone. Those are important players that are hard to replace. I think the Devils definitely have a buy committee approach right now, and I think they can do it. I think that their goaltending has held up enough.

I think that this is opportunities for guys. I think of Timo Meyer, right? When they traded for him, he was a top power play guy, and he can't even get on the first unit when Jack Hughes is around. So like now you get an opportunity for Tima Meyer to get there and their power play has held up okay without him. You know, Luke Hughes is taking on a lot more minutes. Simone Nemect. Like his training camp was derailed after, you know, he was hurt in Olympic qualifying.

Like now is an opportunity for him to step up and take that development year. So I see them finishing and getting a spot in the playoffs. I think it'll be a battle, whoever they face in the first round, it's looking like Carolina. They have a chance for an upset because I tend to think, like, once you get to the playoffs, it really can be anyone's game and it's whoever's the most committed. And I really do like Sheldon Keefe as a coach.

And I think he's just so detail oriented that if he gets these guys dialed in, you know, they can almost win in spite of what they're missing or like because of what they're missing and use that as motivation. The Aulas, as we mentioned, are bad right now. They've lost 12 of their last 20 and the Kings are catching up to them for second place in the Pacific. Now, they got the Islanders. The Kings are ahead of them in the standings right now.

Oh, the Kings are ahead of them now. Oh, that's how bad it's been then but they got the islanders tonight and that should be an automatic win for him and I say that because karma is gonna get you Islanders It's gonna get you if I got the streak. I still got I got the streak going David. I got the streak going Okay. Thank you. Okay. Just wanted to make sure I don't like the islanders this year. I'm sorry The the oldest though, what's going to happen with them? I don't know. There you go.

I really don't. There's something all season has just been a mess. Like they just don't feel like the same team that they ended last season on. I think some of their off season moves just haven't panned out. You know, you can blame goal tending, you can blame a little bit of a leaky defense, whatever it is, just the Juju is a little bit off. Maybe they're one of those teams now that they know how hard it is to get to that spot and just flip the switch when it gets to the playoffs, but it's looking now like they won't even get home ice advantage in the first round, which is pretty shocking when you consider that they've got the two

best players in the world. And finally, the second wild card spot for both conferences are jam packed. Fun race. It's a fun race. It's like four teams respectively in each conference competing for the last spot. And not the Panthers. So at the end of the season, who do you see grabbing the last spots in each conference? Yeah, well, so it feels like Ottawa has taken that first wild card spot and good on them, right? Like they took the jump out of all those teams that were looking, you know, to take that jump along with Buffalo and Red Wings.

I just get the gut that the Rangers aren't done. And I know you guys probably don't want to hear that. I'm with you. I hate it, but I'm with you. Yeah, I just, you know, when you've got I hate it, but I'm with you. Yeah. I just, you know, when you've got Igor Svastarkin and you have all of that experience and I think that JT Miller is dragging a lot of them into this fight. I just have this gut feeling that they're going to squeeze it out, even though I think all of our hearts as hockey fans are pulling for the Columbus Blue Jackets because what

a story that would be. And then in the West, I really like the way Utah's coming on lately. I just think that they're healthy, you know, to be able to celebrate that market and its first year of existence would be really cool. So that's kind of my gut there, even though it really does feel like a toss up between so many of those teams.

Wow, that's really in Utah. That would be fun though, yeah. Yeah, that would be great. Would be a nightmare for Vancouver. Sure would. What a nightmare would be for van Dream season Vancouver like is this a nightmare? I think Vancouver making the playoffs would feel a little bit unorthodox considering the season They've had like it'll be a moral victory for them. Yeah, I'd rather see Utah. Honestly. I'd rather see Calgary

Yeah, I'd rather see Quinn Hughes. Sorry guys. Oh, that's your opinion. I love watching Quinn Hughes play hockey David starts to read American Prince Yeah, absolutely Alright, Emily Kaplan, we are going to see you when you get down to Florida because I mean it's Florida Panthers, the defending champion They're gonna make the playoffs Can't wait to see you coming back down here. It's great to have you on the show. Thank you Emily Oh, I know. We've got a big game big game against Elise on ESPN sometime in April in Florida so I'll look out for you guys and I have a feeling I will be there May, June, lots of time for Lauderdale.

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Okay, granted it is Buffalo. But yeah, I mean, they pretty much shut them down early. AJ Greer had a goal in a fight. It was a nice, boring game for the Panthers. Nothing to write home about. No, it was kind of their second in a row because they just beaten Columbus in a similar fashion. Another shutout win. Uh, at that point, uh, they had given up what one goal in four games, I think after that Buffalo win.

And, uh, it was just nice to see them rounding back into form after the four nations break and considering the guys that were out of the lineup, uh, Florida's they're chugging on right now. Yeah. Yeah. I was at that game and it was first of all, awesome to hear fans already latching onto Vanecek and chanting, Vinny, Vinny just shows how far hockey fans have come in Florida that they're so knowledgeable that they know it back then you wouldn't have even known, you know,

that we just picked up this goalie. Like nobody would have known who he was. So it was really cool to see them latch onto a guy right away and really know what was going on. And then he was awesome. I mean, the Panthers defensively were stymieing. They didn't allow anything. And they've been on fire defensively since the Four Nations break. Absolutely on fire.

The fans are still saying night though. Three shots on goal in the third period of that game. Yes. It never once felt like Buffalo had any chance in that game. Never once. Yeah. But the complete opposite happened in Boston on Tuesday. Panthers lost three to two and all three of those goals for Boston came in the third. It was not good because I mean, it's a very rare thing to see the Panthers blow a lead in the third period. And it was a two goal lead at that.

And they are now 28, 3, and 0 when leading after two periods. But here's a very telling stat since you brought up shots on goal for Buffalo on Saturday. 5 on 5 in the third period for the Panthers, they had two shot attempts. And one of them was stopped by Jeremy Swainman. Two shot attempts on 5 on 5 in Two shot attempts. That's bad. On five on five in the third period.

That's bad. That's not good. This is a Panthers team that generally gets like 70, 80 shot attempts per game, if not more, like their offensive zone puck on their stick possession team. So to see Boston kind of flip the strip on them and do to Florida what Florida generally does

to other teams in the third period, take them to shut down city. The Panthers Usually take teams there. They're not brought there. So that was a little jarring and as Ethan brought up earlier glaring the Aaron egg black injury in that game. Yeah when they're when it when the Panthers blow a two-goal lead in the third period You know something's up defensively. Yeah, I'm looking around. I'm kind of saying oh, right That egg black guys pretty important a like they really need him. Uh,

they miss him. Yeah. I don't know why I do that ever since I got back from Canada. And it's not like I even went to, I went to French Canada anyway. It's like, it's like Chris written him over here talking. Yeah. At the weekend. Anyway. Uh, yeah. The Panthers, it was amazing to me how horrible that loss felt because it's so rare over the last three years for them to blow a two goal lead. I don't even know what the numbers are, but for it to be that rare just shows how this isn't really concerning. It's just a blip. Yeah, it's just a blip.

When they have Aaron Ap Blatt in the playoffs Which is when it actually matters, right? They should be okay. They shouldn't do this and also it was funny to see It was also yeah, absolutely not and it was also very funny to see how badly Boston wanted to win that game simply because their captain wanted to come to Florida so badly that was very very funny He does adore and I hope of a madman out there. Yeah, he finally got his fight against Sam Bennett. And I hope they raise a banner

for winning a meaningless game in March. They raise a banner for that fight. I'm still surprised after going there for the Four Nations and staring at all the banners they had. I'm still kind of shocked that Boston has only won six Stanley Cups ever. Like, it's Boston. I mean, between the time of Bobby Orr and

Raymond Bork and I mean in 2011 right? They've had great teams, they've had great players. I mean the span of time between Bobby Orr and him winning the Stanley Cup that year we dove after scoring on the St. Louis Blues to the time where Brad Marshawn is at, I'm sorry, Sedano Chowris left in the Stanley Cup. That is a very long time. It was like what, 40, was it 1970 to 2011? Just about, yeah. Something like that, but I'm not sad about it. I'm, you know, only six Stanley Cups, boo hoo.

You know, don't cry in your Super Bowl trophies, Boston fans, but anyway. And the other team that plays in that building. 72 to 2011. They had, thank you, they, the Celtics on the other hand had a shit ton of banners. Yeah, a lot of numbers. They have it separated by like side of the arena. Alright, no penalties for time this week because Rosie is in here, milkshakes for breakfast for everybody, but enough with the Celtics talk. We don't talk about basketball around here. We don't talk basketball. I mean they occupy the same building. Thursday, last night, yesterday, the big one, yesterday the the big one that was

the big one right there that was the litmus test the Panthers played the Maple Leafs and won 3-2. Battle for first. Yes the battle for first place in the Atlantic division now it was not a good start two minutes into the game giving up a goal like that but they settled down. Yeah they didn't give up another shot for a while after that. Yeah Max Domi was a madman out there. He had a goal and assist. It was a rush goal at that and that somehow got past Bob. Max Domey scoring on you on a rush on a bad line change, mind you. Yeah, that should not have happened. Well, it was not a great goal by Bob. Even Paul Maurice addressed it after the game. When Bob gives up one he doesn't like, he usually doesn't give up another one. And he didn't.

But I mean, if that's the worst that they're gonna do, they get caught in a line change and they give up a bad goal, the goalie wants to get back, I can deal with that. That's, as opposed to making a mental mistake or a guy falling or something like that, okay. And they still didn't win.

Sam Bennett scored twice. He's got two pets adopted last night. On behalf of the Humane Society of Broward, Benny's buddies has now helped adopt 22 pets this season. 21 goals for the Panthers, one for Team Canada. So that's 22. He is six goals away from his career high of 28 on the season. I want to talk about this play

that was made by Seth Jones on the second goal that Sam Briggs scored. Yeah, so in this video you're gonna see the goal first, you're gonna see Rhino between the legs to Bennett for a great finish, but watch this play by Seth Jones to keep it in. This ultimately leads to the goal, so he hooks the puck back in while he's on his belly. Watch it again here. This is absolutely an incredible play. And the Panthers were able to keep it in the zone. The power play was running down. They keep it in, work it around,

Mackie down to Rhino to Bennet for the goal. Get him out of position on that one, based on that play by Seth Jones keeping it in, because they were expecting to go the other way. And don't forget, that pass from Rhino here, between the legs to Bennett, that was the vintage Florida Panthers play on the power play usually it's Matthew Kachuk to Sam Reinhardt This time it was Sam Reinhardt to Sam Bennett was awesome to see Sam Reinhardt Mackie Samuskevich respectively to

Assist in that game. They got two games left against the Toronto Maple Leafs on the season the schedule makers is What are we doing here? I like first of all back loading five back-to-back games for the Florida Panthers That's one and a lot of those games against the division Yep, like they still got three games against Montreal this season left like what we do more against Toronto, right? Yeah, two more against Toronto reward of being the champions. Yeah Make lives the make our lives are it's harder still the Panthers Yeah, yeah still the Panthers still the Panthers. Yeah, yeah. Still the Panthers.

Still the Panthers. And plenty more TJ Luxmo games to go. Tomorrow they play Montreal, who are a point behind the Blue Jackets for second in the wild card spot. Columbus lost four, not in the Vegas, by the way, so they didn't gain any ground. Montreal, after losing eight of

nine Have won six of the last nine games. Yeah, turn it around a little bit Yeah, getting hot at the right time cold Caulfield 32 goals Nick Suzuki 69 points the Panthers lost their first matchup back in December for nothing, so That's what we're looking at tomorrow. It fun going to the Bell Center. At the Bell Center. Great memories in Central Bell, let me tell you boys. But no the rest of the road trip is really important as well like that was such a big win for the Panthers last night. One because it created a four-point gap to the Maple Leafs which assures that even if they win their game in hand the Panthers would still have a two-point

lead on them. And a regulation one as well. Right. And the game, the standings could have been tied. It could have been, they could have been even on points, had the Leafs won that game. But then you look at the rest of the road trip. Montreal is no slouch right now. The Islanders, you know, we all know how the Islanders are playing. And then the Blue Jackets- They suck. The Blue Jackets and the Capitals cap off the road trip. This is a very difficult road trip for the Panthers. Had they lost last night, all of a sudden you're looking at an even more difficult road trip,

trying to get off two tough losses, especially after they had a 3-1 lead again in the third period. Could have been a brutal loss, but that was absolutely huge for the Panthers to shut that game down and win, because they need to get some more points the rest of this road trip.

So one and one on this road trip right now, and they're looking at trying to dispatch the Montreal Canadians on Saturday. That's David Dwork. Ethan, thank you for producing. Rosie, we miss you. Mike Malley in the back along with Jason doing video. My name is Roy Bellamy.

We will talk to you next week. Okay, goodbye. Who is that? Oh, is that, is that Danny GQ as well? Oh, we got an engineer back there as well. How about that? And of course they put themselves on TV because they're important.

And Gino, don't forget Gino. Gino is also back there. The better Fuentes. We appreciate you Gino. Nobody puts Gino in the corner. What's going on? The better Fuentes. Yeah man, I didn't see you because of the lower thirds.

Sorry Gino. There you go. That's my bad. Okay, goodbye.