The Hockey PDOcast - Episode 284: 'Wyshing for the Playoffs'

Episode Date: March 29, 2019

Greg Wyshynski joins the show to discuss the remaining playoff races and some intriguing potential postseason matchups. Topics include: The Stars and their makeover since their last appearance (5:00) Washington's return to form since the trade deadline (15:40) Awards Voting and the Norris Trophy (22:00) The repeatability of Tampa Bay's dominance (30:00) Round 1 heavyweight tilt between the Sharks and Knights (41:15) Are the Blues the best team in the Central? (50:45) Every episode of the show is available on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher, and wherever else you may typically get your podcasts. Make sure to subscribe to the show so that you don’t miss out on any new episodes. All ratings and reviews are also greatly appreciated, especially the ones of the 5-star variety!See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

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So when you want to hit reset, reach for the beer that's made to chill. Get Coors Light and the new look delivered straight to your door with Drizzly or Instacart. Celebrate responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden Colorado. Progressing to the mean since 2015, it's the Hockey P.D.O.cast with your host, Dimitri Filipovich. Welcome to the HockeyPedioCast. Demetri Phillipovich and joining me is my good buddy Greg Wachinsky. Craig, what's going on, man? Oh, and just so much. Thanks for having me back. And thank you for doing ESPNna Nice.

This is a little like podcast exchange that we have going on, which is pretty fun. Yeah, we're getting some brand synergy going. Yeah, I was on with you and Emily last week. It was a blast and we're going to kind of rehash some of these topics because while I was on with you guys, we talked about some of these playoff races and fringe playoff teams. And we're going to get into that on this show as well. But man, one thing I admire about you is your motor. You have so many of your own podcasts already and you're still making time to come on a show like this. I really appreciate it.

Well, no, it's my pleasure. It's a chance to talk hockey. You're also real smart. So you're an improvement over my Puck Soup co-hosts, which is good. I mean, Down Goes Brown pretends that he's smart, but he's only smart up until about 1998 and then after that he's not smart anymore.

So talking to you and getting a chance to opine on smart things happening today versus during the Wendell-Clock era is really a huge bonus for me as, you know, as far as, you know, in my personal life. Well, we'll see how much, we'll see how much pop culture we can squeeze into this. I was actually listening. I'm a bit of a wrestling buff myself. Like, I don't really watch too much of the current product by listening to some podcasts on it

just to get through the days. And I listened to a mass man show when you were on with Shoemaker recently. So it was, that was kind of like a weird little crossover, bread blending the, my two worlds. Yeah, I know. It was cool. I mean, it wasn't cool that King Kong Bundy died. Let me just rephrase that.

But it was cool that we had a chance to talk about him because, you know, that was during my formative years as a wrestling fan, WrestleMania 2, with the big blue steel cage, him and Hulk Hogan. And so, you know, Shoemaker and I were around the same age, and we were able to talk about that. And King Kong Mundy's acting career on married with children and things like that.

But, you know, that's fine at all. I'm still trying to get on Shoemaker's media podcast. With Brian Curtis. Oh, yeah, I know. it's one of my favorite pieces. There's three media podcasts that I consume every week because I very much enjoy gazing at my own navel.

It's that one, the Deich one that me and Emily just did, and then Jimmy Trainers' podcast on that side that he took over for Deich. It's pretty good, too. You talk about podcasts and stuff like wrestling podcasts are a big point of consumption for me, the Conrad Thompson history podcast.

You know, Doug Loves movies, I listen to kind of on it. And then, you know, the newsy stuff, the daily and stuff like that. And then there's the media newsy stuff. And then like movie podcasts and stuff, like film spotting. And a few like long-form things too. The best podcast I listened to recently, I put it on Twitter.

And I hope that people do check it out if they like sort of really quirky, weird, funny, bizarre podcasts. Is one called Finding Drago? Do you hear out this one? No, I haven't. What's it about? Okay, so Finding Drago is about, well, I should say Drago. Finding Drago is about Ivan Drago, the Russian, you know, pugilist from Rocky Four, and Creed too, I guess.

And so it's these two guys from Australia, and one of them finds a book that was written by someone as a sequel to Rocky Four. So it's a book from like the 1980s. and it's called Drago on Mountains We Stand. And it ends up being this book that he just becomes obsessed with because A, who would write a sequel book about Ivan Drago in the 1980s, and B, the book turns out to be actually not completely horrible. And so this six or seven episode podcast is about their search for the mysterious author

of this Ivan Drago fan fiction. And the directions it goes can't be spoiled, but it was one of the most entertaining. like it's like cereal but for idiots and uh and so it was very much in my wheelhouse i'll check it out how do you how do you manage to bring me into doing like four minutes of uh of random non-hockey pop culture stuff off the top this is like one thing we do in the pdfas is we get straight to hockey and somehow i have you on and all of a sudden we just go completely off the rails oh demetri it's a skill i like to call procrastination and i'm uh as much work as i do i probably balance it out

with a good balance of procrastination as well. So that's what we're doing right now. Now we'll get to the meat and potatoes of the conversation, though. Yeah, let's get into it. Well, okay, let's start with the Dallas Stars. And I wanted to talk about them a bit with you because I know you've been, I don't necessarily, I'd say you were on the bandwagon,

but I remember, like, we did a little roundtable thing on ESPN a couple weeks ago where we were talking about potential first round upsets and you highlighted the stars taking down the National Predators at the time. And so I kind of caught my eye, and I started watching them, more closely and digging into some of the numbers. And I really don't know what to make of this team

just because it is such a far stylistic departure from the last time they were successful under Lindy Ruff back in 2015-16 when they were one home win away from making a Western Conference final. And this year, their 29th ranked offense and the second-ranked defense, and it's basically completely flipped and they're relying on their goal-tending and I guess the top line and a couple defensemen. But I don't know, like it kind of raises this age-old question of like whether this team is better suited for potentially making some noise in the postseason the way they're constituted and the way they play versus some of those other teams that were really fun to watch during the regular season and we'll get into these back and forth track meets

but come the postseason when you're relying on carrie leaden and an anti-nemi it won't get you that far right but they're not relying on those two anymore they're relying on ben bishop and Anton kudovan which is a completely different equation I mean both those guys are extraordinarily capable I've been dying to see bishop get into another playoff series and I know that there's always concern about his health and currently concerned about his health. But the way he's played this season, especially in the last maybe a month and a half, gives me hope that that defensive ranking is something that's going to carry over into the postseason. And the thing about them that I find really interesting is for a long time,

I think we slotted Dallas in the same company as Colorado and I would say also in Nashville as being sort of that one-line team. you know, the Sagan, Ben Radulov line was so damn good. I think they're actually a better team when they're split up. I think they're a better team when those three guys are on different lines. And I think it's almost the necessity for that to happen in the postseason if they're going to have a prayer of beating any of these deeper teams that they're going to end up playing.

I mean, I couldn't say the same thing about Nashville. I couldn't say the same thing as Colorado. But I think in Dallas's case, when you have Ben and Sagan on different lines, I think they're a better team. I agree. I think the equation needs to be changed a little bit from not necessarily Ben and Sagan, but Sagan and Rajalov at this point. Like, I don't know, just watching some of these games.

Like, I think Jamie Ben still on the right night has, quote, unquote, it and can still ramp his game up and kind of look like an old version of himself. But I think expecting him to be able to consistently carry a line and carry a bunch of guys himself and really be that one-man show just doesn't really seem very feasible with all the miles he's put in his body. And I think Radulov actually can carry a line. I'm not sure if what he can make happen

with Matthias Yanmark and Rupa hints, but it at least gives them another dynamic, although at the same time when they put those three guys together like they did the other night against Florida, I believe. And it may be unfair because everyone's scoring five or six goals on Florida these days. But that line was just,

that line looked amazing and kind of showed you what they could conceivably do a playoff series if they get hot. So yeah, that's going to always be the question. I guess if things are going well, no one's going to question it. And then if they get through their postseason and they lose games one and two, all of a sudden, everyone's going to be clamoring for Montgomery to switch it up and do the opposite of what they've been doing so far.

Yeah. And so the equation for them is pretty simple. One of those lines that those guys are on to catch a little fire and to, you know, be a force-through reckless. They have obviously a top-paring defense duo that I think is quite good. in Klingberg and Lindell. And then you've got to hope that the goaltending continues to do what it's done in the last month.

And the other thing about them, too, is that, you know, as we do this podcast, not exactly the greatest night so far on the road, but they're a pretty damn good road team, too. And they're obviously going to be a lower seed. So, you know, the ability to go into a place and play your style and come away with a win is sort of paramount when you are an underdog in the playoffs. And, you know, down the stretch in this season. previous seasons, they've been able to do it pretty well on the road.

So, I don't know, there's a lot there that I kind of like, I'd like it a lot better if they were slotted to play Nashville in the first round, because I think Nashville is extraordinarily vulnerable. But as they showed in Winnipeg the other night, that's, I mean, it's not other than their own possibility that they could give the Jets a series either. Yeah, I think both those teams, Winnipeg and Nashville definitely seem more vulnerable than it did this time last year and what we thought they'd be coming into the year. So it's not like, you know, it's this completely insurmountable opponent.

but I never know like it's kind of similar I guess a little different because they do have the top and talent offensively to at least score some goals so it's not exactly like the New York Islanders but it's like these teams that I know they're doing things defensively to help their goalies and there's a reason that goleys have better numbers than they've had in years past but at the same time when you're relying on guys like what they have for Bishop and Kudobin to basically have two top 10 seasons from both their goalies like I'm not sure how feasible a formula that really is, although I guess come the postseason, we see time and time again that all it takes is a hot goalie. So if they've been playing this well so far, expecting them to do that for another 10, 15, 20 games potentially

might not be the most unreasonable thing to do. I'm not looking for them to win the cup. I think they can win around. I think if they can win around with what they have in that roster and with a good series out of either of those guys, most likely Bishop. But I mean, as far as advancing, I mean, they're one of several teams

that sort of in that tier of a few dynamic players, a really good defensive pairing, goal-tending that you can write home about, and then not much else. I mean, they've got guys that I like who can make a difference. The Hints Kid, like you mentioned, I think,'s had a really good year. Fask is

a player that I like, although I think he's been a little bit down from his silky push season last season. But there's just not enough firepower on the roster to compete with some of the teams that are going to be dealing with in the West. I think they're good enough to win a round in an upset, but I don't know when you start going up against the Winnipeg's. I mean, the winner, let me just put it this way,

the winner of the San Jose Vegas series. I think it might be a different world for Dallas. Rupa hints the one man who can push Rudolph's balsers for the name of the year. Well, I think he's awesome because every time I see his name, I think of those puzzles they put up before the movie, where you have to unscramble the letters and it spells like Hugh Jackman. Like it looks like the scrambled version of that

when I see his name. And I know that's probably like, I don't know what word you do with culturalists because he's not from the North America. But I don't care. My last name is Wichinsky. People have been goofing on me all my life so I can goof on other people's names.

Yeah. Well, I generally think of myself as being like, I'm biased. I think once we're doing this for long enough, you just re-roof for like the best stories and you approach it that way. But I think what I really dislike is like that team in 2015-16 under Lindy Ruff was so exciting in the way they played. And they came so close to getting over the hump.

And obviously as soon as it fell short against St. Louis, everyone pointed to their style similar to what's going on with Toronto now. And it's like, oh, you know, a lot of hand-wringing about how you can't play that way come to postseason when the game slowed down and you need to be more defensively oriented. And then it feels like after a while if you don't get over that hump and we've seen this with a bunch of teams over the years, it's like the G. who's in place either gets fired or like loses his mind and tries to go completely the other way and makes his team worse in order to get better defensively. And I don't want that to be rewarded and for teams to point to Dallas and be like, oh, see, like this is what you should actually be doing. Like I want more teams to embrace just getting as much, many skilled young fun guys as you can

and trying to win that way as opposed to buying into this whole, the postseason is a different animal type of, type of thinking. but enough about the 2010 capitals. It's funny you should bring it up because I actually had to write the Old February such as it is. We don't do the usual comedy roast that we did on Puck Daddy, but we do do posts on each team as they're eliminated. And I did Vancouver,

and I think Vancouver is a study right now in that very thing, which is they need to populate that lineup with faster, more skilled guys in a pretty major way. And if they can play that style of hockey that you're talking about with the core of young players that they have and with at least the one side of the defense that they'll have next season, the other side's got to be tweaked a little bit, that's a team to me that is a prototypical team

that should be playing that style. But they're going to have to change over like a third of their roster to get there, but the potential's there with the players already have. You don't think Brennan Sutter and Louis Erickson are the answer? I don't You know Jim Benning has done good things And he's done bad things

And then he signs Louis Erickson To a buyout proof contract With trade protection of the first four years Yeah Which is in its own category I think if we stay patient If we give Jim Benning 12 more years He can enact this five-year plan of his

To get the Canucks back in the full season I mean in fairness to him And I know that others have said this. Like, you could argue that the rebuild begins in the Siddines leave. And so, I mean, I know that's kind of cheating a little bit because it's obviously been, I think, four years now since they made the postseason. But I'd give him a little bit more leash to try to see this thing through.

I think he made a mistake putting the cart before the horse in signing his bottom six veteran character guys before he had a team that needed them, you know, in Roussel and Beagle, especially in Beagle's kids. guys. But I'm willing to give him a little bit of a break and see what he's able to come up with, especially on the defense event where, you know, obviously life is going to change in a pretty big way with the full season of Quinn Hughes. And now I'm interested to see what he brings to the other side of that defense where it's basically like Stetscher and Tannos and nothing.

So, I mean, that's really priority number one, I think, for them right now. Yeah. Yeah, well, we'll have more time to talk about the Canucks. Let's let's keep on with some of these other playoff teams. The Blue Jester. jacket. So we're recording this on a Thursday evening and we just saw them come up with a pretty big win against the Montreal Canadians in the grand scheme of things. I think they had five unanswered goals in it.

And it continued this trend that we've seen of late of Sergei Babrovsky looking more like Sergey Bobrovsky and looking really good and stopping a ton of pucks and giving them a chance to win every night. And if this is going to be the new dorm and he's kind of figured out whatever was ailing him earlier on in the year, obviously it elevates their ceiling quite a bit now it's really tough to sort of prognostic because it feels like there is going to be a bunch a bunch more movement although i don't know it looks like we could be headed to another uh washington columbus first round rematch which would be um pretty interesting i think i don't know like

from that perspective um i guess for carolina and columbus they're one point away from each other they both play the same number of games they're both probably just eyeing that being like, oh my God, we've got to do everything we humanly can to stay out of Tampa Bay's bracket. Let's go over to the Metro. What's amazing about Columbus is that at the trade deadline, if I told you that the bar was set

at make the playoffs, what would you have said? You said that's idiocy. They just went all in to get these guys at the trade deadline and improve their team dramatically. The bar should be set at win a playoff round. But now that they're, went through that funk. And now that they're in this mad scramble just to qualify to,

you know, validate the moves that they made, I think the bars would reset. I think that if they make the playoffs and they put up at least a little bit of a fight and then get eliminated by a higher seed, I think everybody keeps their jobs and people feel pretty good about the season, which is amazing to think that that means, I don't think that was the case of the trade deadline. But I certainly think that after what we saw from them post-trade deadline to now, that might be where the bar is. I don't know about you. Yeah, I mean, obviously it depends, right? Like, I think if they have to play Tampa Bay in round one,

I don't think there's going to be any shame in losing to them in five games. Right. I don't know. And then the other alternative is that you lose to the defending cup champions. I mean, either way, I think you have plausible deniability when it comes to your playoff fortunes and saying, ah, it's the work of the draw. Better luck next year. Let's get net two-three series next time.

Well, here's something I've been monitoring closely. since the trade deadline, the Washington Capitals have been playing very, very well. And I guess, you know, after you win a cup, no one, like, it's just, everyone's kind of waiting for the postseason. And even before they won the cup, they were so good in the regular season for so long, then no one cared about their success in winning the Metropolitan Division and how many wins they were banking in the regular season. But I think it is important for them to show what they have shown in the past, whatever, 15, 20 games since the trade deadline. And since they most notably got Carl Hagelin, who's been fantastic for them, It's, it's, at the start of the year, they were, they were winning games, but there were a lot of holes on that team.

And it looked like, I don't know if it was, I'm not buying it. There was a Stanley Cup hangover. I just think they just weren't playing very well. And all of a sudden, some stuff's fallen into place. Other guys have stepped up. And now they've been like a, you know, a top three to five shot share team again at 5-1-5 since the deadline. And Carl Hagen has been awesome. And Brayden Holpey, most importantly, is rounding into form.

And we all know what he's done in the postseason is arguably the best postseason goalie ever. So it's like, now that they're playing. so well, it really does kind of add another element to this where it looked like they were kind of ripe for the picking if they won the Metropolitan Division to potentially be an upset pick in the first round against one of these wildcard teams, especially Carolina, who's been playing such exciting fun hockey. But now that they're playing as well as they are, it looks like there's going to be no easy out for those two teams, although I guess if the alternative is Tampa Bay, both Carolina

and Columbus would still prefer to take their chances with whatever Washington has. Sir, we all know Chris Osgood is the greatest postseason goalie of all time. A man of meager talent, an average means, who elevated his team to multiple Stanley Cups through his postseason acumen. I think Washington is, like you said, a team that really kind of found its footing. There are guys that have, I think, picked up the pace a little bit late, and there are guys that have been good all year. Carlson, John Carlson's been so damn good this season. It is sort of incredible that he's not more in the Norris discussion

because I really thought that he'd be a dude that was going to play as good as he did last year to sing for his supper and get a fat contract and then not be that. He's been better this year, which is kind of amazing. The interesting thing about the Capitals throughout the season was it was less a Stanley Cup hangover than it was a Barry Trots hangover. Todd Rudin, I think, can be a good coach. Everyone I've talked to that has worked with him, endorses him as that guy that you always figured would be a really good head coach. But it's such a Herculian task to go from being the assistant who was the player's guy to the head coach of a defending Stanley Cup champion under the circumstances in which he got the job.

And in talking to him earlier this season for a story, it was pretty apparent that he was still learning how to do it. I mean, he was kind of running things as a democracy versus being a dictator. He was not really sure what to do during a prolonged losing streak, because he had never done it before. Like, he just was never the head coach during a losing street before. So we'll get through that, then you understand maybe a little bit more of the nuance on how to handle things and how to handle personalities and how to handle practices and everything else. So it took them a while.

But I think you figured it out with the way that they've played since the All-Star break. and they're super dangerous. I mean, if you give me Washington and Tampa in a seven-game series, that's where I'm going to have to mull over in a way that I might not mull it over in any other matchup that the lightning have. Yeah, no, I agree with that. Carlson's an interesting topic because, I don't know, do you, I think always forget who votes for what. Are you voting for the Norris this year?

assuming that I have a ballot, I don't know when they go out. And in fact, the fact I just said that Mike Cluon, I don't have it yet. There's always a group of people who don't vote. And I haven't, in all my years of being in the PHWA, which is now I think, I think I've been there since like 2008 or 2009. I've never been one of the people that didn't get a chance to vote. I always assumed that the time in which I don't get a chance to vote would coincide with me pissing off as more people than usual in the PHW.

as of right now, I mean, I think I'm at maybe like four or five that don't talk to me. And the only person in the power structure, the PHWA, that would be really fixing me as Mark Spector, but that's kind of the norm. So I assume that I still get a ballot. And if that's the case, and we get to vote on the heart, the Calder, the Norris, the Selkie, and of course, the Lady Bing, the crown jewel of everybody's voting here. So I would get a Norris vote. we'll do another reward watch on ESPN at the beginning of April

but I think the Norris is definitely right now trending very much in Giordano's direction it was even before Drew Dowdy went on the soapbox and trashed the other candidate on behalf of his

on behalf of Mark Giordano but you know I feel like he's had a strong season I feel like he is that guy much like Doughty was at one point that everybody feels like should have a Norris at this point.

And then he's also got the old guy narrative, which is something that a lot of voters are going to really dig. The fact that he's been able to do this with an over 35 player. So all that stuff coming together for Giordano and him being healthy for once, I think he's probably got it. The real interesting thing is besides him and Byrne, that third guy is going to be because at one point, it looked like it could be Eric Carlson,

but it ain't going to be Eric Carlson anymore. And I do wonder if it's going to be John Carlson or Chris LaTang or is maybe somebody, Morgan Riley, I mean, he's going to no doubt have support from the center of the hockey universe or any number of other guys that could be in that third spot. Yeah, no, I like Giordano.

I mean, it is kind of like an old joke about the Norris Trophy about how it's like, you know, this like narrative award, but he does have the narrative for it going for him that he's 35 and he's come close a couple times before and then usually fallen short because of injury, it hasn't been able to put it all together for a full year.

And so now he's got 72 points, and 75 games, the on-ice impact certainly there, and Calgary's going to win the West. And the thing about the doubty thing, by the way, that still bothers me is that, you know, I know what he's trying to say. He's trying to say that Brent Burns is a, you know, a tilt-a-world

when it comes back to being a defenseman. He's just a welcome match for other, you know, scorers, like he just sucks. I understand what he's trying to say there, but this notion that, you know, offense, and a lot of fans like this, too, the notion that offense shouldn't be as much of a determining

factor as defense when it comes to the award. The award is not for the best defense. It's for the best defense. And the idea that a defenseman, part of his responsibility isn't to be an offensive force. It kind of flies in the face of, A, the role of the defenseman and B, how the awards

always been. For God's sakes, Paul Coffey won it multiple times. It's not exactly Jacob Slavin back there. So the idea that it should go to a well-rounded defenseman, and part of that is also somebody who's going to finish maybe in the top five in scoring, I think, is very much a bedrock of that award

and it's always been that way. Yeah, like, I don't want to get too into those comments because then as soon as everyone keeps talking about and rehashing them, it sort of like scares players away from speaking their mind. And I think it's great for the NHL to have players more candid like that and I'd love more stories like that. But I just, I think it's like actually incorrect

because, I mean, Burns certainly does make his share of mistakes and I think he can be loose with the puck sometimes and he definitely gets lost in his own zone. Like I think where he's a bit of a liability is sometimes he can kind of just roam around a little bit and lose his man. I think in terms of like one-on-one defense and guys attacking him with the puck and turnstiling him, like I don't really see that much at all. I don't think he gets beat more than your typical defenseman. Like the skaters these days with the puck are so good and so talented that it's inevitable that if you're a defenseman,

you're going to wind up on some highlight reels. But he's actually like pretty tenacious with his kind of aggressive poke checking and sort of his wingspan. And I don't see that too many attackers from the. the games that I watch are the sharks, which is quite a few this year, that he's been a big liability. So, I don't know. This whole idea of, like, how we evaluate a defenseman and how we talk about them and sort of just because you're valuing their offense means that you're all of a sudden devaluing

the defense, like all this stuff kind of ties together. And ultimately, as in Burns' case, if he's adding more to the table than he's taking off defensively, that's all that really matters, right? It doesn't really matter. Yeah, I mean, and it's physicality, but because, I mean, he's a big boy. And then, you know, it tracks back to the most classic argument that we've ever had with regard to these topics, which is the Mike Green argument. The idea that, you know, in Green's best season, he didn't win the Norris because of this weird narrative that he was a liability on defense when, you know, as every capital fan scream from the rooftops at that point, if you have the puck, you can't be a liability on defense because the other team doesn't have it. And that's the same, I think, rule that you can apply to Burns on top of the fact.

that he's putting at so many, you know, points on the board that it's, you know, it doesn't equal out at all as far as even if he was a defensive liability. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, other than that, like, it does feel like it's Giordano's and we mentioned Carlson and Burns. I think, you know, the other Carlson and Air Carlson, obviously if he had more than 52 games, as you mentioned, would probably be in this.

I think on a per game basis, he's been as impactful as anyone yet again, even though those, he started off a bit slow. But, yeah, it's, I don't know. I'm excited. Like we're getting the point of the season now where there's still some of these races and we're going to talk about a few more of them. But now we're sort of trending towards the postseason and thinking about some of these individual awards. And I know that some of the arguments are going to heat up. And so I'm excited to rehash some of them.

I'm not. Because it means that I have to have the same damn arguments about the Hart trophy that I have every single year, except now there's two guys instead of one. Now it's going to be, you know, Team McDavid and then a bunch of people from Chicago yelling at me about Patrick Cain. He went hard even though the Blackhawks are a complete non-factor too. Yeah, I think we should do a new rule. If a guy scores 130 points, regardless of what his team's composition is or whether he rate the playoffs or who else is on it,

if he gets 130 points, you know what? I think he should get the award. I think that's... And it's also, with Kutcheroff, though, it's like, it's beyond that. It's like, if you watch the lightning, like the impact that he has in that team is demonstrable. It's not simply just, like, best player on most highest scoring team.

I mean, he's clearly a driver for that team, too. I mean, I hope it's not a situation where people just, you know, take it for granted that he's just doing this because the rest of the team is doing it. And we're taking it for granted that John Cooper is just, you know, standing back there playing Fortnite while the lightning are skating around and scoring a bunch of goals and not having an active hand and making this team good. Like, I hope it's not a case where they're so good that other guys don't get their just due because people just assume that it's all, you know, candy and sweets for this team since October. Yeah. Well, everyone talks about the, you know, the state tax and how that makes it easier for the lightning to pay guys a bit less and sneak them under the cap.

I'm very curious to see the other clause of, like, how much of his paychecks, Braden Point winds up giving to Kuturov moving forward because he certainly earned him a pretty penny. I mean, if you watch like all those, I mean, Brin Point is an incredible talent himself. And even before he was playing with Kutrov last year, he was kind of cementing himself as this, you know, dominant defensive center that could have his two-way game and it was an ascending star in this league. But it's clear, especially on the power play this year, just how much space Kuturav's ability to both shoot and pass from that half wall creates for him. Like,

he's basically, he has the passing of Nick Baxter with the shot of Echkin. And he's the same player. And so he just opens, opens doors for both Stampcos and Point and all those guys. So, yeah, it's a silly argument. It feels like people that are, trashing on him for that, don't really watch a lot of lightning games. They just kind of want to argue about something online, and I guess that's just the world we live in. Yeah, or they hate Russians.

That's the other thing. The other thing about it is interesting about the point contract is, you know, I think a lot of us, myself included, have given Steve Azerman this air of Jedi Master as far as the contracts he's been able to get signed and the meticulous way he put this team together when he was the general manager. And so this is going to be Julian Breezebois's time to try to shake down a guy who deserves a lot of money

and a pretty big term if he wants it and get him in at a number that's going to help them keep this team together and also help them, let's not forget, repopulate a blue line that's going to lose some guys after this season. So it's going to be fun to see exactly what they end up with with a point. Well, you know, we were talking about, you know, to bring it full circle, where at the start of the show we were talking about the Dallas Stars and some of these other teams that played this type of offensive brand of hockey and then fell short in the postseason and really went out of their way to change things to potentially change their fortunes. And I don't know, like with this lightning theme, they've been so good this year that it feels

like even if they do lose in the second round to the Bruins or lose in the conference final or in the Stanley Cup final, it feels like people won't freak out too much just because their season's been that dominant. And a lot of these guys will be coming back. But a part of me is very interested to see what a potential fallout or reaction would be if they do fall short again because it just seems like they've stacked the decks so much right now similar to like the Golden State Warriors in an NBA for example where it's like people are just kind of viewing it as inevitable that they're going to win it all this year just based on how good

they've been so it seems like everyone's kind of waiting to see if that's going to happen or if they are going to fall short and then what the reaction is going to be to that I don't know like do you do you think there's going to be any sort of a you know hyperbolic overreaction if they do wind up, especially if they don't make the Stanley Cup final again, do you think we're going to see both externally from media and from fans but also potentially from the team and

in the moves they make the summer? I think it depends how they lose, right? The problem with the lightning right now in the postseason is that they breeze through two rounds and then they get themselves into a game seven situation in the conference final

and then they joke. That's kind of how it's worked the last two times. they've been in the playoffs. So I talked to John Cooper earlier this season, and there was a recognition of, you know, the thing that the Lightning has to do is do their best to avoid these prolonged series. Like, the reason that they go along against these teams

is not that they're overmatch. It's just that they sometimes, you know, self-destructed in an opportune times and extend series by losing a game six, for example, that they shouldn't extend. So, you know, that's going to be an interesting thing. If it ends up being a game seven and a bad bounce or a game seven,

and they just don't, you know, play up to standards. That's one thing. If they end up losing five, you know, in five games to the Bruins, who just punch them in the face the entire time, they don't know how to handle it. Well, then that's another thing. And then all of a sudden we're going to start having these conversations about toughness and things like that.

So I really think it depends on how they go out versus anything else. But again, like, the accomplishment is what it is. No one can take away what they've done from them from this regular season. And the other thing on top of it, too, I think it's hockey fans, is that we are so conditioned to see teams that are on the level of the lightning not win, that it almost becomes okay if you don't. Because we know how this thing works with so many other parade of President's trophy winners in the past that it's almost like it'd be the exception of the rule if this team actually rolled to the playoffs and won the cup. Yeah, no, it's true. I mean, it's, and the scary thing is that obviously they've done an immaculate job of constructing this team, and they're going to have some financial stuff to deal with in the next, you know, either this summer or the following summer,

and they're going to have to shed some guys similar to how the Blackhawks had to do all those years with potentially a Tyler Johnson or what have you. But I think they're well, well suited because if you watch these games, like I, man, like Anthony Sorrelli is one of my favorite players to watch right now and Matthew Joseph as well. And so, like, they have guys like this that could very conceivably, I mean, Mikhail Surgichab on the back end, like, they have guys that could very easily bump up a role to a higher line or a higher pairing and probably do just as well as the guys they already have now. So that's kind of the scary proposition that all of their stars are pretty much in their prime right now. And they have, because of all the good drafting they've done over the years, all these young, cheap guys on their way to fill the gap. So, yeah, I guess if you're the rest of the NHL, you're kind of trying to wait this one out. And then I know people are going to keep because it is the Leafs. It's going to be like, oh, this is the first year we're having this conversation. But, like, man, I think they have a pretty good team. They obviously are flawed. But in any other circumstance, I'd be like, you know what?

I like their chances in the postseason. But having to go Boston, Tampa Bay, potentially back to back in rounds one and two is just like just an absolute murderous row that seems unfair and impossible. Two things. First off, it's a testament to how good their AHL affiliate in Syracuse is, that they are constantly turning out these guys. And it's a testament to how important it was to keep Breezeball away from Montreal, which a lot of people thought was going to be his manifest destiny at some point to be the GM there

to make sure that that development system was kept in place. So kudos to them on that. But it also works the other way for the Lightning. I mean, you talk about the Leafs knowing that, oh, God, we've got to go through the Bruins and the Lightning. Well, Lightning know that after they play their first-fought match in which they're seated correctly, then they got to go and play either the second best team in the NHL

or like the fourth or fifth best team in the NHL whoever wins the Leaves Bruin series which is insane to me and not to climb on the soapbox once again but the idea that we don't recede after the first round is just a giant cluster. It completely did they're going to end up with like a hundred and thirty-two points

and their reward is to have to play the Bruins in the second round. That is insane. That's insane! And it's doing it because that way it's easier for somebody, the one guy who's holding an office pool to know what the bracket looks like beforehand. It's just, it's nuts to me if they do that. And I, you know, for all to talk about how to, you know, change the playoff format, like, just do that. Just make sure that you protect your top seeds, you know, to value 82 games of the regular season. Yeah, it's so stupid. Like,

what's the, if you're going to have the 82 games and they're obviously going to have them because it's a cash grab and anyone that is, you know, hoping that they're going to remove some of these games and ease the load on players, that's never going to happen. So don't hold your breath on that. It's like, what's the point? point of winning all these games and being that successful if it's not going to make your road any easier like i guess you know you guarantee home ice advantage but i mean we've seen time and time again in the hl that's not as big of a deal as maybe some other sports so it's like it just seems what you're basically reinforcing the teams should take the NBA route of resting guys due to low

quote unquote load management and not necessarily going full out for all 82 games because at the end of the day there's not an equivalent prize to it Yeah, exactly. And, you know, but the problem, the answer is they don't care. Like, they just say they absolutely don't care about protecting their top seeds. They, the top seed in the east is going to be Tampa Bay. The top seed in the West is going to be Calgary. Maybe it would be a different conversation if the Rangers were on a five-year run of getting eliminated in a second round

and they keep on winning president's trophies. They just don't care. They, they know that Boston, Tampa Bay is a series that's going to draw money. And so, you know, or even Tampa Bay, or even Tampa Bay, Toronto. I was going to draw money. So it doesn't matter to them to protect the lightning because essentially in what Gary Bedman sees as a parody-filled league, there's no incentive to protect the top seeds, even if the rest of us are like, well, then why are you watching 82 games

of this nonsense just to see someone get one round of reward for it? All right, Greg, let's take a quick little break here to hear from a sponsor, and then we're going to finish up this conversation on the other end of things. Sponsoring today's episode of the Hockey P.D.O. cast is Seek. Seekek knows that getting tickets online can be far too complicated, with hundreds of websites and varying levels of reliability. It's hard to know who to trust out there. And that's why Seekkeek's the way to go, because they're going to take all the guessing

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so I don't want to act like they've been full health and they're just walking through this and not really caring about where they finish. I'm sure they're trying to win as many games as they can. But their recent stretch here and sort of how they've fallen off and let Calgary run away with this Pacific Division and I guess Western Conference number one seed, has been very puzzling to watch because now they are locking themselves into that round one matchup against Vegas. And while they are going to have home ice and presumably if they get those two guys back, they'll still be the favorite.

Vegas has been the best team in the league for the past since the trade-d-line, I guess, since they got Mark Stone. And speaking of rewards for awesome regular seasons, getting that as a round-one matchup seems just insane. I mean, I can't wait to watch it as a fan. but the fact that one of those two teams is going to be sitting at home watching from round two on is a little bit disappointing. It is, but I will defend the NHL on this one, because if you look at what would have been a 1 through 8 seating for the Western Conference, this could be the 3-6 series anyway.

So we might have gotten it anyway in the old format. So it's not the same thing as Boston and Toronto, which obviously would have never happened in the old format. that we might have gotten this one anyway. I agree. I feel like they're biting their time as we're doing this podcast inexplicably again. They're losing it home to an inferior opponent. They kind of know what their destiny is going to be.

They're just kind of playing through the string. But the big concern for them obviously is when the rest of your team is of a Stanley Cup quality, which I truly believe at the forward position and most of the defense on the blue line, the fact that when Eric Carlson's healthy, you could try out Brent Burns and Eric Carlson for 55 minutes a game if you wanted to. These are things to me that are of a Stanley Cup quality. But when you look at your say percentage as a team, and you see that it is tied with the Florida Panthers

for the worst in hockey this late in the season, the idea that Doug Wilson did not go out and address his position is a dereliction of duty. And I know that it's loyalty to Martin Jones. And I know that they think that Arundel is just peachy. like go make that sort of insurance policy move, even for an injury, to get somebody in there that might be able to help out. Get that third man in on your goalie position because the idea that you've invested this much money and this much capital and this much treasure into this team

where, you know, half the league has a San Jose draft pick right now from all the deals that have made. And then you're going to rely on goaltending that has been demonstrably faulty this season is just baffling to me. Yeah, it's stunning. Sub-900. I know goal-thending numbers are down a little bit this year. The league average is 9-10,

but man, yeah, the 898 for Martin Jones and he's basically like a lock to give up three or four goals every night these days. And they have the offense, certainly, to cover up for that and still win a bunch of games, 5, 3, 5, 4, and they very well might do so in the postseason. But it's tough.

And we'll see, you know, how Flurry looks in when he comes back. But for Vegas, just how they've looked with Mark Stoner lineup and now the fact that they can roll those two lines and really match up. Like they are a real big problem for anyone that's going to play them. And I think, you know, I think that matchup last year that we saw in round two, which Vegas one and six, I believe, was kind of flew under the radar a bit because I thought it was some of the most fun hockey we got to see. But.

Oh, yeah. I'm really looking forward. Like, it seems like this year's matchup is going to be that except juiced up and both teams are coming in way better and load it up to really just. exchange a bunch of haymakers and it seems like that could like very conceivably be a Western Conference final caliber matchup in round one.

So I guess, you know, it's going to be great to watch and it's great for the league to be able to market that. But at the same time, I do feel for whichever one of those two teams winds up losing in seven games. Yeah, and it's conceivable at the winter of that series wins the West. I mean, it's quite possible

those of the two best teams in the West. Yeah, and on top of the top two lines for Vegas, I mean, they've had guys that have had really good seasons and Cody Ekin's had a good season. That fourth line is, I mean, I know that we joke about, you know, we goof on the Islanders for boasting the best fourth line in hockey. But the biggest fourth line with Belmarin-Reeb is pretty damn good too. So I still wish they had that one sort of foundational defenseman to kind of bring it all together.

I'm still not sold on the idea that the group that they have back there can necessarily win you a cup at the end of the day. but the rest of the team is especially at the four position is great and the other thing about them too is that it is not a you know a stop sign at the end of the road if they don't win this year I mean they're going to be good for a number of years at least the next three with this group so I it's it's pretty exciting to see them getting multiple shots at a playoff glory mostly because I get to go there and have a per diem so I mean these are these are more of the the most important things when it comes to teams that I pull for in the postseason. I was going to say, it seems like you have a little bit of bias there. I mean, listen, to sit here and say that I am rooting for a Vegas, Nashville, Western Conference final, and then, you know, for Montreal to get in, make a run, and then I get a Vegas Montreal Family Cup final. I mean, I'd be fine with that.

It doesn't mean that I'm actively rooting for them. maybe just subtly rooting for them. A little fist bump to the reporter next to me on press row when things go good for a city that we want to spend time in June. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Is there anything, any other storylines or any other, you know, potential matchups or teams that we should talk about?

Like, it seems like we've covered most of it, but... What do you make of the penguins? Oh, man. I mean, my longstanding theory is assuming they're healthy, I don't want to be the person to bet against Sidney Crosby and Havgeny Malkin. You know, we'll see. Like, he's never going to get the love for it

because Kuturav's having the year he's having and he's sort of, you know, it's a blessing of curse because he's been so good for so long that people just kind of take it for granted. But the year Crosby's having, like I think if I had a ballot, I'd probably consider having him as, strongly consider having him as number two

for the heart and maybe even number one for the Selki. And so, like, the fact that he's still pulling up out all these new tricks and amazing us with what he's capable of at this point of his career with all the games he's played and everything he's accomplished is nuts to me. And when you have him playing at that level, you can win any series. Now, I think they clearly have some flaws and against the right team. Those are going to get exposed.

You know, potentially the Islanders in round one, I do not think are the team that is going to expose those flaws. So, I don't know, it would be very fascinating to watch another installment of Washington Pittsburgh. I'll never get bored of it. So I'm fully expecting. Yeah. And in the last couple of weeks, I mean, Matt, I know this for a fact because he's on my fantasy team. But Matt Murray has been really good.

And then sort of snapping back into form after really kind of being lost in the wilderness from most of the season when he's played and, you know, obviously been injured too. So, yeah, they're one of those, they're like a corpse, right? Like you expect to jump up and be a zombie and bite you on the neck. Or maybe he's just going to lie there. You're not quite sure what they are right now as far as their ability to make a run. But, you know, Latang has been great, provided he's healthy, and they've got guys in that lineup that just will scare you.

And, you know, playoff time, game one, you look across the ice and see those jerseys and see Sidney Crosby. You're like, uh-oh. Maybe every team would say that outside of the Capitol, so I think now they've exercised the demon and don't really care about the penguins anymore. But other teams might say, uh-oh. Yeah, well, you know what I'm saying? Oh, about Eric Goodbranson and Jack Johnson eating up a ton of minutes in a series where they might have to go up against the top line. Yeah, Branson's been a lot better than either of us thought he'd be there.

I mean, Jack Johnson's terrible, but DeBrensen's not been a disaster for them. I mean, he's been able to both chew his gum and move in the right direction. I guess I'll give him to that. I mean, yeah, no, you're right. Obviously, you know, it's all relative. and my expectations were so low that, you know, I guess he has exceeded them. But, yeah, it's these people that are like, Erica Branson, he's legit. Look at what he's doing on a winning team.

It's like, ah, let's relax. I think there's a lot of other reasons why the Penguins are good beyond their third-paring defensemen. No, I think that's fair. I think he's in that category of like if Cody Cici got traded at the deadline and then didn't fall down like every other shift, then people would be like, look out well he's playing for this contending team. I think it's the same kind of thing with good brass. Yeah.

Yeah. No, it's true. I mean, you do see it time and time again. And I'm not citing this is another example of that. But I guess like Justin Schultz is a great example of that. It's like sometimes we do take for granted the idea of like the surroundings helping a player. And then sort of when you're on a miserable franchise that is going nowhere and then you all of a sudden you get to play with other guys who cover up for a lot of your flaws. It's amazing how much better you can look.

Sure. And then there's also the coaching thing too. I mean, I think Sergey Gont chart is a really good job. those guys and has created. You know, I think he did a hell of the job with Ian Cole. He did a hell of a job with Justin Schultz. It kind of reminds you when Leonard Robinson was with the Devils and all of a sudden, like, Bryce Salvador was like a top ten defenseman

for like a two months in the season. Sometimes coaching can go a long way. Look no further than New York Islanders as Mitch Corrin turns Robin Liner into a dozen of candidates. Yeah, well, not unless Thomas Grace wins at first. exactly yeah I don't know there isn't much else here

like we haven't really talked about the blues are you buying or selling the idea that they're the best team in the Central Division right now no I'll I'll I know you're Jordan Binnington's agent so I don't think it's Winnipeg

but I do think that the interesting thing if you if you're kind of game planning a Nashville St. Louis series which is a distinct possibility. I think you're looking at a St. Louis team that is what Nashville wants to be,

which is a team that has more than one line that can score, which is a team that does play a cohesive system in front of their goaltender at all times, and which is a team that has gotten consistently good goaltending, which I don't necessarily think that National has gotten throughout the season, and certainly I'm concerned about them getting into postseason. So a little worse. about that matchup from a national perspective,

but as far as the blue is making a run, look, I mean, I think the resurrection of this team to be in the playoffs is going to be good enough for them. You know, they should have been a playoff team to begin with. We all learn a lesson to not hire a bad coach

and have them stand next to a good coach than I hope he becomes a good coach. So if nothing else, lessons were learned, they'll make the playoffs, everybody will be happy, and Jordan Bennington will be a caller finalist. Yeah, I am growing, like I love the Predators.

I love watching them. I love Nashville becoming this, you know, surprising hockey market over the past couple years. Every postseason, I change my Twitter name to Philipovich Forsberg. And whenever he does something crazy, I get all these fans from Nashville thinking that I'm him and, you know, telling me they love me. And it's great. It's a good time. But I'm becoming increasingly worried about that round one matchup against St. Louis, if that is going to be the case. because it seems like a nightmare fit stylistically from the perspective of like if you just blanket the Forsberg or Arvidsen-Johansen line with Ryan O'Reilly,

who also has a case to be the Salky winner this year and his line. I just don't see where the offense is going to come from from Nationals' perspective. And one thing St. Louis does have going in its favor is that it can come at you in waves and it has so much depth and it has guys even on its third, fourth line that can chip in with legitimate. offense. And so if it comes down to a depth battle in those top two top lines cancel each other out, I really do like St. Louis in that matchup, even though they don't have home ice, and even though they do have a young goalie who hasn't played that many games. And listen, it's not even set in concrete that he's going to be the starter. There's a movement of

foot in St. Louis to give Jake Allen the crease because he's the guy who has playoff experience while Bennington doesn't. So that's, And Alan, you know, I'm not like definitely an Alan fan, but he's played pretty good down the stretch here for them, too. I agree with you, and I also think that it's so frustrated. It must be so frustrating for the predators to see Kyle Turris get signed to this long-term contract, how to be the solution as the secondary scoring behind the Johansson line, and then he can't do it. And then he's now all of a sudden like a scratch, I think, recently. They go out, they make the Granlin trade, they make the Simmons trade.

Neither of them really coalesce with a line to make it into something that's dangerous. dangerous. It has got to be a real worry to be going into the postseason with the same two concerns that you had after the elimination last season, which is that no one but the Johansen line can score, and then we have a goalie that maybe is going to melt down in a big spot, but we have to play him because he's, you know, our guy. So it seems like a broken record, but it's exactly where they ended last year, and I feel like it's exactly where they go into the playoffs this year. Yeah, it is a shame because I do value the perspective, like what, Boyle's done from the perspective of so many

NHLGMs are overly cautious and overly conservative and never want to push their chips in and he certainly you can't fault him for going for it and taking his swings and bringing guys in and signing guys unfortunately it just seems like some of those recent acquisitions have been unfortunate or just bad bets right and so it hasn't really worked out and they still are looking for that secondary scoring and they certainly have not gotten it yet from Wayne Simmons and Michael Granlin and so yeah they're going to struggle in that series to generate offense

if O'Reilly's blanketing that top line. And so I'm very curious to see how that plays out. And that's sort of the fun part of the postseason. We don't typically think of like X's and O's matchups like that in hockey that much, as much as we do in some other sports. But it does come down to that and sort of how two teams match up with each other and taking advantage of each other's weaknesses. So I'm really curious to see how that's going to play out.

Yeah, indeed. It's going to be fun. All right, let's get out of here, Greg. Plug some stuff. What are you working on these days? where can people find your work? What can they look forward to from you moving forward here as we get towards the postseason? Yeah, for sure.

So, I mean, it's going to be a ton of stuff and you're going to be a part of it. But, yeah, I mean, it's going to be a flood of coverage. And Emily and I are going to be hitting the road pretty soon to start doing some stuff even before the playoffs begin to cover some of these races that they go down to the wire. You know, we're going to have a playhouse central. There's going to be a lot of sort of audio and video components

what we're going to be doing as well. So it's going to be a lot of fun. But you can find ESPN on ice with me and Emily Kaplan on iTunes, and that is, of course, a hour-long show in which we cover hockey in a very irreverent but clean way. And then you can find Puck Sue, which is where I say the F word a lot, and talk about things that sometimes aren't hockey and have a weird guess on. And that is, of course, with myself and Ryan Lambert and down goes Brown. And if you want extra stuff from that podcast, you've got the Patreon,

that podcast, in which you get six bonus things a month for, five bucks, including two bonus podcasts, including one that being down goes round just did, looking at the biggest meltdowns, regular season meltdowns in NHL history, which is a fun look back at, well, a lot of Leafs teams. And yeah, so that's me. And thanks everybody for supporting our work. And also, thanks for checking out the work that we do at ESPN. I know that it's a tough hill to climb sometimes to get people to come back to ESPN and read about hockey and see what we're doing with

But it's been fun. I think we're doing really good work. And then obviously with the games being on ESPN Plus and having a highlight show every night, we're under Bucci Gras, the coverage is there. And I'm glad that people are checking it out and really liking it. Well, yeah, I guess I've been working with you since December.

I'm really looking forward to the postseason. It's been a blast so far. And you're right. I think we were doing some cool stuff. And I'm looking forward to seeing what we get up to in these coming weeks and months, man. So thanks for taking time to come chat. And hopefully we'll be able to get you back on

as some of these postseason series get going and we finally get some meaningful hockey. My pleasure. Thank you for having me. Cheers, man. Before we get out of here, I just wanted to touch on a couple of housekeeping things for those of you that have still stayed listening and haven't turned out the episode yet. Hopefully, if you're one of those people and you haven't done so already, I can encourage you to go over to iTunes and leave the PDO cast a positive rating and review.

all the five-star reviews you guys have left have meant a lot for the show and help keep us up near the top of the charts and we'll mean a lot for helping the show continue to grow and prosper in the weeks and months and hopefully years to come so please take at least it takes only a minute of your time to go and do so and it means a lot to me and hopefully you'll be able to do that and the other thing is that you can check out the show on various different platforms now obviously we've been going on sound cloud and iTunes and Google Play and Stitcher and all those for a while now. We're also on Spotify. So if that's your cup of tea and you are generally on there listening to all your favorite playlist and it's easier for you to just hop over to a podcast on there as well rather than opening a new app, we're there. And I believe the most recent 250 episodes or so are catalog there. So definitely check all of that out and subscribe to it so that as new episodes are published,

you'll be notified and you'll know rather than missing out on them, which is going to be incredibly important here in the coming weeks of come, considering that the shop life on some of these shows, especially once we get into these postseason series, is incredibly short with new games happening every other day. So definitely do that. And yeah, I think that's it for now. So I appreciate everyone that has listened

and has helped make this transition over to Yahoo and all the other things we're doing. as smooth and effortless as possible. I'm looking forward to seeing what is to come in the coming weeks here. So until then, we're going to get out of here now. We're going to listen to the outro music. And we'll be back sometime next week. I've got a couple exciting shows planned.

So until then. The Hockey P.DOCAST with Dmitri Filipovich. Follow on Twitter at Dim Philipovich and on SoundCloud at soundcloud.com slash hockeypedocast.