What Each Team Should Be Most Thankful for at This Point in the Season
00:00Regressing to the mean since 2015, it's the Hockey P.D.O.cast with your host, Dmitri Filippovich.Welcome to the HockeyPedocast. My name is Demetri Filippovich. And joining me is my good buddy, Shana Goldman.Shana, what's going on? Hey, thanks for having me today. So we're going to get into the spirit of it beingAmerican Thanksgiving later this week.And so I thought a fun exercise for uswould be to make a listof what teams are thankful forat this point of the season.
00:38Now we can also expand it to thingswe are thankful for as it relates to those teamsjust to give ourselves more runway.But we're going to go back and forthand see how many teams we can get through todayover the next 50 minutes or so.You're the guest.I'll give you the floor.
00:52Who's first in your list?Okay.This is something we are thankful for.It is the exciting starts from thatlike next wave of NHL stars and I think it's big that it's more than just okay macklincelebrini popping off his rookie it's celebrini is amazing now in his second season baddard is hisstride we're seeing shafer and demadoff but i think i think badart is the key to this whole likenext wave because i think we group we group players against each other it's just like always
01:18natural right it's crosbie versus ovechkin it's mac david and mckin and all of those playersthey're always going to be put together so now we actually have what feels like badard versusCelebrini a bit. And I think we knewCelebrini was on that path to start him and it feelslike Bedard's getting there. I mean, you look athis game last night against McKinnon, right? And they playedup against each other a lot of five-on-five. And the Blackhawks actually had theedge and shot attempts with 15 to 3. They had 79% of the
01:41expected goal share. And while it was scoreless, you sawthose more dangerous looks for the Blackhawks. And I think thatis a huge stepping stone becausethe defense hasn't always been perfect, right? And his weapon, his shot,hasn't always been there. The speed's there. So I think we're allthankful for like this new wave ofNHL stars. I think it makes the game so much morefun and exciting. Yeah,
02:00I just had Emily Kaplan on and we spent sometime right off the top talking about Boudard andthe offseason regimenthat he did this year and how he'sstronger and faster and all the stats behindthat. And you can certainly seeit. I think, you know, early on he wasscoring a bunch. Certainly the Blackhawks were winning games
02:16but a lot of the stuff under the hood, the underlyingmetrics of 515 suggested thatthey still had a long waysto go and I think it's been getting betteras the year goes alongand that was a nice little featherin his cap on Sundaydespite the loss especially in that first period
02:29I thought he was creating so muchand certainly looked apart in that matchup roleso that's really excitingI mean the list is so long rightI think because of pointswe're going to look at Celebrityand BedardLeo Carlson
02:40certainly Matthew Schaefer of courseI also wanted to shout outyou know when we talk aboutwhat Leo Carlson and Conrad are doingI think it's very easy to kind of leaveAdam Fantilli out of the shufflebut he kind of quietly herehas seven goals and 12 points
02:54in 12 games in November, I believe, playing on that top line that he had success with lastseason after Monaghan got hurt. And he had an explosion the other day in Toronto against his hometownteam. And it feels like whenever he plays the Leafs, he's one of the best players I've everwatched. So that's incredibly exciting. And it's cool to see him just flying around and being veryproductive as well. So yeah, I think that's a great way to start us. That's something I think we'reall certainly thankful for. First on my list, the Colorado Avalanche. And I'm thankful just for how goodthey are because it gives us one team that's truly separating itself from the rest of the leagueand kind of differentiating itself from the mess that the standings in the NHL are at this point
03:31otherwise everything is so condensed and it's causing a lot of issues I think because the trade marketis so stagnant partly because teams just can't really accurately diagnose where they standeveryone is kind of in it for the most part 20 of the 32 teams as we record are stuck between24 and 28 points right now, and the league uses it as a promotional tool as further proofof the parity that you get in the NHL and how it's so open and anyone can succeed.Another way to look at it for me, though, is that there's kind of this air of mediocrityas well. Part of it is because we've had so many injuries, but everyone is kind of jam-packed rightnow in the middle, and loser points are just being handed out in bunches on a nightly basis,
04:13and then you have the Colorado Avalanche on this island by themselves. They're undeniably great.they're in a league of their own.It feels like they're not even really competing against anyone else right now.They're kind of competing against some all-time, like great historical starts just to seehow high they can take this thing.And we're only 22 games in.I'm sure there's going to be a lull at some point in the season.But right now, I'm just enjoying it to see how long they can go with having just one
04:36regulation loss of their name.I want to tack on to that.I had the Aves goaltending specifically listed because it feels so different from last year, right?Like they came into last year with a really unsteady goaltending crease.And I don't think they got enough credit for it.being able to turn over their entire goldening situation by December.Like to me, that's just absolutely wild.We really don't see you get done.
04:55And there's so much turnover on the roster the whole year that I think that gotovershadowed by all of the second half storylines, the return of Landisog and all of that more.But I think that, you know, Scott Wedgwood was someone I was a little lower on at the timeof the trade because I was a little concerned about that last year in Dallas.But like he has been there rock this year.He's like 11 quality starts in 17 games.Blackwood now is three for four.and I just feel like it's an area that they need to be sound and I think that allows them to play with their strength.
05:24I really like that for the abs.Yeah, it was interesting because over the weekend, just to expand on that, I thought they certainly didn't have their best efforts relative to the standards.They were on the road in a back-to-back.They went into Nashville.They went to Chicago the next day.And they still came out of it with four points in the back of shutouts from Blackwood and Wedgwood.And the first one, the Predators came out firing, getting a ton of scoring chances.and Blackwood was awesome and it was only his fourth game of the season but I think getting him
05:49going is huge for them to kind of even out that split given Wedgwood's age and track record andit's just fun watching them like they can turn it on for a stretch like they did in that secondperiod against the Blackhawks and it's more than enough for them to win on any given nightand then we've seen them in games against the ducks or the oilers kind of where they view it asa measuring stick game bring their very best fastball so certainly thankful for the Abstarokay what's next on your list all right umOilers, the Kings, the Cracken, the Sharks,they all need to be very thankful
06:19for the loser point. The greatAllison Lucan tracks, how many teams havegone to overtime, and the Oilers and Kings haveboth gone ten times. The Cracken and Sharks havebeen to overtime nine times.Vegas hasseven overtime losses. The Crackin,the Blues, the Kings have six
06:35so they're getting those loser points, the Oilers,the Avs, the Penguins have five.And it just feels like we talk about parodythis year. We're seeing a rise inovertimes. We're seeing a rise inloser points being handed out and it's starting up these discussions again which like i personallylove because i think we all have a lot of opinions on what works for overtime right should it go to the shootoutshould overtime be longer or should we have a three to one point system so there can be that more
06:58like differentiation and i think it's going to be really interesting to see how the standings pan out thisyear because everything's so close and because the loser point is playing such an influencing factorand it does every year but i think this year with everything being as close as it is we're going to bepaying a potential a little bit more unless you know the contenders start rising to thethe top and the pretenders slip to the bottom.So I think those teams should be very happy that they have those because it's a bigreason why I say the Cracken are in a playoff spot right now and the Kings are stillholding on.
07:26And it'll be really interesting to see how much or doesn't affect the playoff picture at theend of the day.Yeah, the Oilers are 25th right now in point percentage and there are only four pointsback of first in the Pacific, which the ducks currently hold as rough as it's been for them.I had a different one for the Oilers and we may as well get to it here.So they just finished this seven game road trip.They go home for a quick game, the only game on the NHL scheduled Tuesday night against theStars, and then they make a trip to Seattle on Saturday.
07:52But after that, they get to stay at home for an extended period of time with a five-gamehomestand.And I think they're going to be thankful for some time at home because they desperately need it.They've played 16 of their first 24 games on the road.They've only gone 5-8 and 3 there.They're 5-1 and 2 at home.And also they've played a league high 24 games so far, including 12 and 22 days to startNovember with three sets of back-to-backs.
08:14and now they get seven games spread over like 20 plus days or so.And I've been talking a lot about some of their system stuff and the executionand how off it's been.And I think not only being at home,but having more time between games will allow them to do more video and more practiceand actually get down to the root of it.And hopefully that will result in better production from them.And so I think this is a nice little opportunity for them to reset,
08:37move back up to standings and be where we expected them to be heading into the season.Yeah, that is going to be.be really interesting to see. I feel like anytime the league starts off slow, and I thinkthis season definitely did, you can always trust these Canadian teams to shake things up. So I'llplay off of that right now. It's fun to see the chaos of the Oilers. It is fun to see the leaves melt down.But right now, I am so thankful for the Vancouver Canucks for just being themselves. You know,it felt like maybe this would be the year they turned things around after all of last year'sdrama and chaos and, you know, the excitement of the year before them making the playoffs. And even
09:12the season prior to that, then everyone was jumping on J.T. Miller for his efforts and like sixon five. It's like, there's always something to go with. And it felt like, okay, the Pedersen Millersituation is settled. Everyone can just focus, new coach. This is about getting back to theplayoff picture. Nope, absolutely not. We're not even talking about the playoffs. We are talking aboutQuinn Hughes and whether he could be traded and who is playing well, who isn't? Guys likeEvander Cain slipping to the fourth line or getting a ton of minutes for whatever reason.And it just feels like, and now we have the Demco situation. Again, another injury.there's always going to be discourse in Vancouver.
09:45And I think their fan base is so passionate and amazing that they amp it up so much higher.So I'm glad this team is not boring.I'm glad we have something to talk about.And I'm glad that someone like Jim Rutherford loves to speak to the media because he just gives us material on a daily basis,like how rebuilds don't work, citing the Buffalo Sabres instead of the Blackhawks and sharkswho are so excited about the ducks you're seeing these returns from finally.And you even see teams like the Canadians in Blue Jackets jumping into the playoff picture sooner thanexpected. So it's all just incredible. It's the best content. It will never get old.
10:19Yeah, I'm glad there's some passion off the ice because on the ice right now in Vancouver,there's a distinct lack of it. And for all the talk about how little offensive juice they haveand how much they struggle to create there, defensively, what's blown me away is just how badthey've been at that end of the ice. They're 32nd and goals against 31st and expected goals against31st and inner slot shots allowed 31st in terms of how much all offensive zone time.they allow their 30 second on the PK.It has been absolutely dire.So I'm with you there.
10:48Okay, let's stick with the Pacific then.Here's something I'm thankful for.And I think the Kings should be as well.Brand Clark's usage.So the first 17 games, he starts off the year playing 1439 per game at 5-1-5,which is fifth amongst Kings' Defensemen, 17-03, all situations.Last five games, 18, 19 per game at 5-on-5, which leads the team, 21-56, all situations,including a couple games around 23, 24.
11:12minutes. And it's a shame that it required a Drew Dowdy injury for this to finally happen. But I thinkthat usage and the partner switch going from Edmondson and Dumolin is going to bode well forthem, especially in a long-term view. Because I just feel like they, you know, he's coming off this,he's coming off the ELC this summer. And I feel like they really need to get a long look at himin this expanded role. And then for the purposes of this year, there's 28th and goals, 29th and 5-1-5goals. They generate nothing off the rush. And so getting someone who can create, move the puck, push the pace,and give him more minutes to do so,I want to see what that looks like
11:47because the on-ice results right now,as you'd expect for guys like Cici and Dumolin,they're just such black holes offensively.They're averaging about 1.2 or 1.3 goals per hourat 5-on-5 with them on the ice.And so they need to mix that up.The defensive environment is still great.It's going to give them a high baseline
12:02in terms of squeezing out points in the regular season,but they've got to figure this out offensivelynot only if they're going to get past the first roundfor the first time and forever,but just getting back to the playoffs because the West is jam-packed as we talked about it right now.Yeah, I think that it's huge that he's getting this chance because if you look on paper at this roster,you go, okay, what do the Kings need?And it's like, Brian Clark is that.
12:24If you were going to design a player in a lab, it's like that is what they need right now.Like obviously, because they use a Camel McCar, who among us couldn't?But you know what I mean?Like if you're going, okay, an offensively minded defenseman, here you go.It would help if they also had Jordan Spenson, if they gave him a shot too, but that didn't happen.So it's like, okay, you need to, this season, I think is just so critical.for them and their offseason was so perplexing still that it's like if you can get thatyouth movement a little bit and bring in someone who has a totally different skill set from
12:51everyone else on your blue line that's massive because this is a team that year after yearafter year needs more offense um all right i'm going to stay in the west i think the wild shouldbe thankful for wallstead and how excellent he's been um if you look at his last four startsfour straight quality starts uh he saved two point four goals against a goal saved what's expectedover the flames and i get itnot the best offensive team, finishing issues there, but then you go to the Ducks,a team that's been scoring a lot, really good shooters on that team.He saved 2.3 goals.
13:20I'm sorry, 2.4 goals.Against the Keynes, he was just above average.And then against Winnipeg, he saved 3.5 goals above expected to shut them out.I think Gus has been really good this month, too.It's not just him.I think the goaltending is a big reason they've turned things around after a slower start.I think the goaltending plus, I think the return of Matsukarello has helped reset thatforward depth chart a bit.
13:39so they look a lot more solid than they did to start the year.They were really disappointing a five-on-five, and there's still things to work out.But when your goaltending is giving you quality saves, it gives you more leeway to work things out.And I think when your backup's playing better, too, we've seen it before we're teams.They might play a little bit differently in front of their backup, but then they don't havethat same energy for their starting goalie.I think both goleys are saying, like, you fix what's going on in front of the blue paint,and we've got it from here.
14:02And I think that's really encouraging.I think his development altogether is encouraging because it's a name that we've heard floated forsome time. And I think people get really impatient with prospects. So here it is. You're seeing theresults. Like his name might be in the mix for Team Sweden. I think that's an exciting developmentfor him too. And it'll be interesting to see how they keep deploying these goalies moving forwardbecause, you know, Gusifson has been their guy. I would say two out three years, he's been really good.But if you can keep them fresh for the playoffs too and just figure out something differentor have that answer, right? It's not just like a vibey thing. Look, there's Mark Andre Fleury,
14:33throw him into a playoff game. It's like, here's Walsstead and he could be the next great goalie inMinnesota, it's a good thing for them.Certainly, the Wall of St. Paul, great nickname as well.And I'm with you.I think he had five career games in the NHL heading into the season, and he's got fiveawesome starts in this month alone and gives them some backbone and structure, right?Because early in the year, similar to what we're seeing continue in St. Louis for thosetwo central division teams, like their PK was horrible.
14:57They were giving up so much defensively, losing a lot of net front battles.And they've stabilized that, Zucarillo coming back, allows them to play Boldiewith Erick on the second line.and so everything makes a lot more sense.The Ducks.Forget about the results.A 14 and 7 and 1 start that has them first in the Pacific is obviously great.I'm just thankful for how fun they become,
15:17especially when you compare it to how miserable a viewing experiencetuning into Ducks games was last year.It was such a chore under Greg Cronin,and then now what an exhilarating throw ride.It's been so far.We talk a lot about how the league dynamic has changedwhere teams aren't really shooting the puck anymore.Are you seeing these shot totals in the low,
15:3620s at the end of games.There are games provide us with everything we can ask for.60 combined shots for and against per game,nearly seven combined goals for and against.They became the first team to put 30 plus shots on the Golden Knights over the weekend.And they've tightened up a little bit defensively,but I think they're still very comfortable getting into these situations wherethey're just trading chances off the rush back and forth,
15:57betting on the fact that that shooting talent you mentioned and Lucas Doe-style is going to bebetter than what the other team has.And I think that makes a lot of sense.And we've seen that so far.and they have these flurries within games where it can kind of be slow and quiet,and then all of a sudden they shake loose, they just kind of tee off on the other team.The other teams visibly starts to panic because they realize it's getting away from them.They're losing control, and the ducks are just flying offensively.
16:19And so I wanted to give them some love and just say how thankful I am for kind of bucking the norm in the league,being this high-volume team that's just so fun for 60 minutes, and I really enjoyed watching them play.Yeah, big fan of them so far.definitely interesting and it's you know i think the change of coaching is huge not just just for thefact that they got quite grown in out alone which is wild to me because when he took the jobeverything he said i was like i am so intrigued to see what he does i thought he was going to be likethis rising star coach based on everything he was saying how he was going to communicate with playersand it just all fell apart their style was so boring so now i think you're seeing these players
16:56get freed up and obviously a lot of them there was that natural progression there right likewe knew leo carlson was going to take the next steps and guys that go uh go to uh go to say like theymore to bring to the lineup.But now to see it all come to fruition,and it's not just the goaltending against the world.I think it's huge. It feels like they took that next step after,those it three years ago.They were like this exciting offensive team.
17:16The defense was terrible,but the offense was great,and that's all that mattered.It feels like it was like a delayed gratification here,but it's all working out for the best.While we're on to Ducks,an honorable mention,I was considering making it as my one for them.
17:28Troy Terry must be so thankful for the situation around him improvingbecause he's 28 now.he's been there for seven lean seasons.And these are the team's ranks in goals per 60 during his time of the ducks.Last 28th, last 24th the year, he scored 37 himself, 31, 30, 30.And now he's playing with all this speed and talent, absolutely thriving.He has 25 points and 22 games looks awesome.So I imagine he's thankful for this talent infusion and you playing style.
17:55Okay.What's next on your list?You know what?Hold on Terry real quick.I think I love that you brought that up because he's someone I don't think gets enough love.and you know on a perfect team he's not your best forward i think that's always been the argumentagainst him and it's like seems like such a knock and it's really not it's like you're thisperfect complimentary top six winger every team needs guys like troy terry and he's been so good there
18:15and has done a lot with nothing to have guys now jumping over him on the depth chart that he slotsproperly it's huge for him too i think it's going to allow him to play his best um all rightspeaking of guys who've done a lot with nothing the red wings need to be thankful for dylan larkinand i know like last year a lot of conversation about is he a true one see rightAnd sometimes you get that knock of like, if you're not a master of one thing, right?Like for McKinn, it's that he's so dominant.For McDavid, it's the speed, the skill.Like they are offensive masters, right?
18:45But for Larkin, he doesn't have that one special trait.But he really is a jack of all trades.And it's exactly what the Red Wings need.He is their MVP.That team runs through him.And it's on both ends of the ice.I mean, at even strength.He is playing incredibly tough minutes.
18:58And I think he's doing a really good job during them.Offensively, you see him shine.and he's so smart. I think he's smart. He knows when to be physical, when to make the hit, when to go for the puck, how to change possession, how to transition his team up the ice. He's a great passer. He's a good shot. I think he's just someone who thinks the game at a really high speed and has, everyone talks about hockey IQ. Like to me, it's like, okay, that's still Larkin. The power play influence is great. The penalty kill, he has been huge for this year because some shifts, we saw it a lot last month and they're still doing it. They're just throwing him over the boards to take the face off on the penalty kill because they had no one else who could do it. So he's taking theseshort shifts. Sometimes he's just taking the draw. Sometimes he's helping them clear the puckand then getting off the ice. I think it's just, it's not a perfect way to use him because ideallyyou don't want to like burn him out or you want to have other guys that can be relied on. I thinkthey're working on that. But just in general, like that is an MVP caliber guy to me thatif the Red Wings make the playoffs or anywhere near that playoff picture, even if they're like one
19:52point out, I want to see him get top five votes because he is just such a great all aroundplayer for them. And a lock for based on his play so far and it's only 20 games in.but for a Selke finalist bid as well, right?Because that usage is so important.We talked about on the Sunday show with Drance,where he's eating up a ton of defensive zone startsbecause he's so good on those draws.They're using him against the other team's top players,
20:15which other top scores in the league don't typically have to do all the time,and he's still winning those minutes as handle as he is,completely driving their offense.And then all the shock creation, how exhilarating he is off the rush.I mean, he's been absolutely phenomenal.And I had that on my list as well.I think the Red Wing should be very thankful for him.leveling up, and I think he's going to play a huge role on Team EOSA at this year's Olympics
20:35as well. Next on my list, the Islanders. I think they should be very thankful for MatthewShea for coming in as an 18-year-old defenseman who doesn't even turn 19 until next Septemberand just immediately fundamentally transforming their entire organization from the offenseto how much better they are this year, to how cool and likable he is both on and offthe ice. I'm just so immensely impressed by him. I did a breakdown of his game withwith our pal Harmon dial on Friday for the Patreon subscribers,but he just so in complete control at all times,the way he leads the rush,
21:09distributes it kind of like a point guard in basketball,just making sure everyone gets their touches and feels comfortable and engaged,making sure he gets his shots on net from the point.He played this back-to-back this weekend,where in the first game he plays 27-28 against the Blues,and then the following day plays 27-22 again against the Cracken,and they dominate with him on the ice of 5-on-5 shots on goal.19 to 6 in that game. They used him and Ryan Poulog primarily against Baneers,
21:36Eberley and Marchman. We've been talking a lot about how they've really ramped up hisusage from a matchup perspective playing against the other team's best players. And he's thrivingin that spot now, getting much more comfortable with it with each passing game. And so I thinkit's just incredible. Put it all together, especially with the usage where he's played 25 plusminutes in eight of his 23 games. They got to be thankful for it. And I'm thankful for him coming inand just being such an immediate star right away. Yep. So this wasnext on my list too because like you said he's just a star and it's it goes two ways one you justsee how dynamic he is right off the bat which is really impressive it's impressive for any rookie
22:09defenseman because coaches don't always trust them it's also impressive for someone with the firstoverall pick tag which i think adds so much pressure to the situation and you know we've hadslower starters in years past with first overall picks it could be a jack hues and nico heeshireor rasmus dolly like we've seen it happen before it happens all the time right everyone expectsyou to be connor macdavid day one you might not be he has come in he has been just electricthe attitude, the energy, the vibes, everything.Anytime he has an interview, it's like a must listen.That is a rising star in the game, absolutely.
22:39And it also shows just what the Islanders were missing, right?Like that back end, yes, No Dobson was a really good defenseman for them.I know last year was bad, and I know he made a lot of bad defensive reads.But like, at the end of the day, I still have him as someone who's very good with the high ceiling.But it still doesn't compare to this, right?Like, do I think they'd be better at both of them?Absolutely.But I think right now you look at him against the rest of the blue line.
22:59you go, okay, it givesthe team hope which they haven't had to havehave in a while, right? Like, you might have had hopeif you're an Islander fan that they're going to go into the playoffsand make some noise. Sorokin would be the guy.Barzalca pop off, things like that.And there's other things to be happy about this year. That Sorokin looksso good. And Bo Horvette also looks great.
23:16But I think now it's just, you see the vision.You see the long-term game. And Darche deservesa lot of credit for ripping off the Band-Aidand giving this team the retool they needed.So absolutely agreed on that one.I've got the lightning as beingthankful for the existence of the Syracuse crunch and theHL as a pipeline for call-ups because they've supplied them with enough players to
23:38ice a full lineup every night so far this season with headman McDonough andChernac all banged up they've been leaning on Charles Edward Dastu who started there thisseason and he's kind of salvaged Emil Iliberg on that pair Darren Radish whopreviously had reps there Declan Carlisle most recently then on the forward groupDominic James has been a revelation since coming up Gageman's always playing theirObviously, Jack Finley as well.I think they all got huge reps developing down there and lightning.I've been doing this in the H.L.
24:05For a while.And despite all those injuries, they're 12-7 and 2.They're ninth in the league in points percentage.They're tied with the Sends for first in the Atlantic.They're top 10 again, expected goals for and expected goals against.And they're doing this even with the healthy guys.Braden Point kind of quietly has only three goals on 11 points in 21 games.He's been consistently a 20 plus percent shooting percentage efficiency beast over the past three years.
24:27any sub 7% this year.And so he hasn't even really gotten going yet offensively in scoring.And yet they're still churning out these results.And when they get healthy, I think they're going to be kind of right back to where weexpected them at the start of the season.And they wouldn't be able to do it without Syracuse crunch.Yeah, that lineup has been something this year.I'm going to stick with the Atlantic.
24:50I think the whole Atlantic division should be very thankful for the Panthersstruggling at times this year and the Leafs, leafing it up right now.You know, like the Panthers, I think the results, the standings, it obviously is a little bit concerning.The goaltending hasn't been perfect.They're not finishing their chances.And I think as we've seen them get a little bit better offensively, the defensive structure that we know them to have hasn't been great.I think they'll be fine in the long run there.The Florida Panthers will figure it out.
25:14It's going to be a different challenge.And getting Kachak is going to help the Leafs.They got to figure out their own messes.There's quite a few of them there.But at the end of the day, it's opening up things in the East because I think going into the year,it was a little bit more open in the metro outside of say the canes like we all knew they'd be therebut it was going to be interesting to see how that all shook out but with the Atlantic it felt likeokay it's going to be Tampa it's going to be Florida it's going to be Toronto you're going to be
25:40if you're Montreal or someone or Detroit or Ottawa you're looking for another wildcard seed similarto last year because even with the injuries I think if I remember it we did the season previewsthe Panthers were projected to be third in the Atlantic so now we're seeing teams likethe Red Wings jump up to the top three who iswould have seen that one coming and you know the senators are there the lightning are able to beso highly ranked right now despite some ups and downs this year and it's made room for teams like thebruin's and it obviously it's not just the panthers and leaves alone like you have the canadiansin their goaltending struggles but i think it just opens things up in the east a little bit more
26:14and it's like if you're someone that likes the idea of okay everyone's you know there's a lot ofparity that's great if you're someone that says well everyone's just really mid okay maybeit'll make that playoff race a little bit more interesting after things have been pretty locked upoutside of a seat or two for the last coupleseasons. So they should be very happyand it gives them that leeway.You know, you can't lose aplayoff spot in November, but you can dig yourself
26:35a really tough hole that you have to find your way out of.Now those teams have to. So if the teamsthat are rising to the topcan kind of find a way to separate themselves, it'll makethings even more interesting. Yeah, I'm with you.I thought, you know, obviously they haven't had Barkoffand Kachuk all season, but thenthe loose terrain and barbecue related
26:51injury really kind of put it over the top for meand that was just such a massive loss. So hopefully he cancome back soon. It sounds like a Chuck will be back in about a month or so. And so they've stillbeen kind of hanging around, which I think is impressive. I mean, even in the most recent game onSaturday, the Stanley Cup final rematch against Doylers, Aaron Eckblad was a late, healthyscratch right before the game. And so they're kind of just trying to piece it together similarto their Florida rival. All right, Shane, let's take our break here. And then when we come back,we will finish up the things we and the NHL teams around the league are thankful for this time
27:19of year. You're listening to the Hockey Ocas streaming on the Sports Night Radio Network.All right, we're back here on the Hockey-Ocast, joined by Shana Goldman.We're doing our list of what we're thankful for this season.We were talking about the Atlantic before, and one team he didn't mention there is the Buffalo Sabres.And I think something myself, the Sabres and their fans, based on what I read online, are certainly thankful for Josh Stone and what a revelation.He's been through all the ups and downs of Buffalo this year, the injuries, the start.out, the losing streak, everything going on that he expect from the Sabres. He's been theirone constant really so far, 15 points in 22 games. He's about 60th in the league and 515 points
28:06for 60. So he's producing like a top line player at even strength. And his impact just extendswell beyond that as well. Like when you watch him play, the motor, the engine, the competitivenesscompletely pops off the screen. He's almost become an instant fixer for them as well becauseTage Thompson was struggling for a while. His 515 metrics were down. And then they put him with him andplague talk on that line and all of a sudden that gets elevated as well pretty much it's going to behard not to succeed when josh don't's out there with you because he's just winning battlesmaking smart plays constantly making good things happen for you and so he's such a dog i feel likehim and zach benson represent everything the saber should aspire to be moving forward as well
28:43because sometimes i've questioned the effort and kind of the body language in terms of a lot ofthe guys who've been there for a while looking like it's taken its toll in terms of where the sabersconstantly find themselves in year over yearand these guys are completely obliviousto it in all the best ways all they justwant to do is go out there and balland they're really good and soregardless of what happens with Tuck where they finish in the
29:05standings this year and if they extend that playoffdrought I feel like getting those two guyssigned up long term on eight year deals comingoff their ELCs is the most importantthing they can come out of this year for Buffaloyeah he's been so much funand like players like him and Bensonyou think of like the Jarvis's and Hegel's
29:21of the world right like those are the kinds of players thatThey're nightmares to play against.They're good in all situations.You can throw them out against top competition.Like, that's the model right there.And it's exactly what the Sabers need.I want to stay in Buffalo.I think that they should be so thankful for Rasmus Dahlene.
29:36We saw what this team look like without him when he was away from the team.And they seriously struggled, right?You know, like they lost the hurricanes, the mammoth, the abs.And while they did somehow beat the Red Wings in just a complete surprising game, like that,that was his first game back.And his game score, that game, he had a 2.7 game score is, you know, great player on the ice for them.And I think it was a big reason they were able to turn things around.You look at every game that he's had since.
30:02And he's putting up some of his best numbers.That game against the Oilers, he had a 3.08 game score against the Blackhawks.It was 4.37, and that was with just two points on the board, and he's still putting up numbers like that.He doesn't always get the same credit as, you know, the McCars and Hughes of the world.And rightfully so right, like they are a tier above the rest.But when we did player tiers this year, we talked to a lot of, to a lot of,of people about Dahlene and Hayskin. And everyone was like, they are right there leading off tier two.Like, these are all around threats, even if the scoring doesn't match up to the other guys.
30:33They just bring it. And I think you just see that difference. Anytime he's not in the lineup,it just feels like the Sabres are kind of lost. Like, he's a stabilizing force on both ends ofthe ice. He's someone that could be a Norris trophy candidate one day. I could see him being aheart trophy candidate one day. And I think he's been playing some of his best hockey the last coupleseasons. So they should be very happy he's back because you can just see a difference every singlegame and sure the competition hasn't been as deep they're playing teams like the black um the black hawksand the flames and a struggling oilers team over the last stretch but the red wings have beenplaying pretty well and i think the game against the canes too sure they're short-handed but i think
31:06it's a big one for the sabers as well yeah and i also add to that like i certainly in the offseasonthere was a lot of rhetoric about bow and byram wanted to be viewed and paid and used as a topdefenseman and then you remove a guy like rasmer stalling from the lineup you give bow and byram thatspot and then you see what the results look like and it's just like there's levels to this certainlyand what byram was able or what byron was able to do versus what dahlene does and how good he isand what a difference maker is at both ends i think that's certainly a good one all right thecarolina hurricanes i don't think we've really mentioned them yet i covered on the sunday show buti wanted to expand on here i think if you're them right now you've got to be thankful for the state
31:43of the east and just looking around and what an advantageous position you're in now you mentionedthe panthers there earlier and the lightnings uh being banged up as welland those two teams, when they get healthy, maybe that'll change the dynamic.But for the time being, unlike the West, where you've got some real heavy hittersand three or four teams that are going to be a nightmare to play in the playoffs, the pathfor them right now through the East has opened all the way up.I think the odds have them about 22 percent to be the Eastern Conference representativein the Stanley Cup final.
32:10And I feel like that's low, given their current position.They're sitting atop the East and the Metro, despite the fact they've had Jacob Slavinfor just like game and a half or so, Keandre Miller missed some time,Shane Gossesparer missed extended time as well.They've used a ton of defensemen, and they just keep kind of humming along.And now they're going home for this seven-game homestand against some of the weaker teams in the leagueand a chance to really beef up their point total.And so I feel like they should be thankful.
32:36They're obviously a great team, and I think they're the best team in the East.But with everything else kind of deteriorating around them and a lot of that mediocrity we talked about,they're the ones that have been immune to it for the most part.And so just comparing it to what the best teams in the West are going to have to go through,I feel like that's what they should be thankful for.Yep, totally agreed on that.All right, let's go totally different direction to a team we know that's going to be bad in the West.The Sharks, in the month of November, their short-handed goaltending has been really, really, really good.
33:04Their team that does take a lot of penalties, and that kind of is a consequence of one being a young team, too, when you don't have the puck, you're the one that's going to take penalties in your way to get back to it.But the season as a whole, they're short-handed goaltending.You know, they've allowed 6.4 goals against per 60.But just in the month of November, it's 1.62 goals against per 60, which is one of the best in the league.In 74 minutes, it's two goals against that they've allowed.They've scored one shorthanded goal for.And their expected goals against over that span of time is 9.4 per 60, just in the month of November.So it just shows that huge gap between goaltending and the team in front of them.
33:41So I think that's really encouraging because when you're a bad team, I think it's very easy to fall out of games if you are just constantly getting beat on the power.play or you know you're falling behind you can't stay in it for 60 minutes i think theirgoaltending has been massive can make a lot of saves behind a poor defense that's huge for themand it just feels like it's allowing them to stay in things and make things inciting andteaching these young players at such an early phase in their career like how to stay in a gamefor 60 minutes and how to stay competitive i think that's huge for them yeah you mentionedwallstead earlier and his stats askarovs are right up there as well he's played eight games innovember as a 960 percentage given up just 12 goals in that
34:19time had another phenomenal performance on Sunday against the Bruins giving up just one goal,making some crazy high degree of difficulty, athletic lateral saves. And he's kind of living upto the hype and all the potential and all the excitement that we saw in flashes and pastseasons kind of sprinkles here or there. And so I think the fact that they're not only competitive,but they've won seven of those eight games, I think is huge for the morale and for making themost out of some of their young forwards. And so I think that's a great one.what teams haven't we done yet?I feel like we've covered most of it.
34:54Actually, we haven't done the Preds.And there's not that much to be thankful for the 30 second in the league and the standings.I'm going to piggyback off with something I've been talking about recently.I think they should be thankful for what's happening in the league around thembecause you look at the summer they had two summers ago when they signed all thoseveterans, those long-term deals.And right out of the gate, they were all struggling.It looked like because of our expectations of how the NHO worked and
35:19functioned in past seasons. They were going to be stuck with that and going to be an absolutecap hell for years. And now the cap's going up. A lot of these teams are in the mix, in thestandings because of how condensed everything is. And there's very few willing sellers right now.And we've seen how some of these deals that we thought previously you'd have to acquire,attach picks to get rid of them. All of a sudden now they're being valued and everyone just wantsplayers because they have cap space and there's not enough guys to go around. And so we'll see ifthey do anything, I don't think anything that Barry Trotz has done the past couple of years shouldinspire a lot of faith that they're thinking about this logically. But if common sense does prevail,
35:55and I imagine they're going to have some bidders, certainly for O'Reilly, but potentially for someof the other veterans they have signed as well, maybe they can get out of this a little bit with someshrewd moves to not only clear the cap, but also acquire more assets as they as they continueto accumulate those and try to rebuild and get back to where they were a couple years ago.Yeah, I would say Andrew Burnett should be very thankful for the fact.that Trots is a former coach and maybe has soft spots for coaches and doesn't want to pin alltheir problems on that right there.All right, we haven't talked about Vegas much.
36:26So I'm going to say they should be so thankful for Shea Theodore for being so good.They went into this year and obviously we've known Shea Theodore is great on both endsat the ice.But for the last years, it's been Petrangelo and Theodore, right?They're both shouldering matchup minutes.Or for a time, it was just Patrangelo handling that heavy workload.But you go through the league right now on hockey stack cards.And you go through defensive ratings, and Theodore is leading with a plus 5.9 right now.
36:52McNabb's right behind him with a plus 5.1.And the two of them are playing the toughest minutes for the Golden Knights.And yes, they have the support of the forward group, right?You have guys like William Carlson when he's healthy and Mark Stone when he's healthy,but also Mitch Marner and Jack Eichael are two excellent, excellent, excellent defensive forwards.And I think the team structure and their system works too.But at the end of the day, you need players to uphold the system and allow it to be that way.and I think Theodore and McNabb have just been, they're so good together.
37:18I think McNabb, we've always known as a good defensive defenseman,and he's not someone that sometimes I think coaches, especially with younger playersand offensive players, we'll see them like staple a defensive guy to an offensive guybecause they think they have these gaps in their games.I think that he keeps up and compliments Theodore well.They've been a pair for so long.And Theodore's just a great all-around threat.So even though his role's been different this year, I think they're really holding down
37:39the fort and just been great on that top pair.Yeah, Theodore's usage in particular, I was talking about this earlier becauseof their depth and how many guys they had in the blue line in the past. He was obviously so efficientin his minutes, but he never really had to play to a level where we generally would expect histalent level to be at and top defense in the league. He'd be around 20, 21, 22 minutes a night. And allof a sudden now he's playing a career high and he's thriving in that spot. And so it's awesometo see. And hopefully he can he can stay healthy because he's a phenomenal player. The Flyers should bethankful for Trevor Zegris coming in and rejuvenating his career and looking as awesome as he has
38:14offensively. He leads a team with 21 points and 20 games. He's getting a ton of usageunder Rick Talk. I think he's playing like 18 and a half or so minutes. They're winning hisfive on five assignments. And it's kind of crazy to think about because we just talked aboutthe ducks and how fun they've been offensively and what a difference it was from the past.And probably their most exciting offensive player from that previous era is gone. And yet they'vestill managed to do what they have. And then Zegris himself has turned around in Philly in anenvironment. It's obviously less conducive tooffensive to success, but has been carrying them.
38:47And I think he certainly looked apart. I was watching thatgame on Saturday against the Devils, and bothhim and the team looked phenomenal off the rush.And I know it's been a bit of a struggle in termsof creating shots and chances this season, butRick Tocket has them playing very competitivegood hockey, and they're one of those teams in the mixright now in the Metro and the East in general.
39:04All right, staying with the East, team we haven'thit a lot on. Let's go with the Bruins. They shouldbe so thankful for Morgan Geeheebecause, I mean, he just won'tstop scoring goals. And he was someone that looked like a regression candidate last yearfrom just the shooting percentage alone. But then you also factor in the fact that he played a lotof Poshnach. They made a really good dynamic duo. He was going to be put in favorable minutes thisyear. And that has obviously happened. I think Poshnock has been amazing. I think Swamen has been.
39:28I think McAvoy looked great before his injury too. So you're getting those core players,which I think we all knew were going to be good, right? Like even if they had down years, like their lowerlevels are still pretty good. And Swamen bouncing back. And McAvoy looking strong to start the year,it's really encouraging because those are the players you're building around.but you also need supporting playersand I think Boston's had a tough timefinding good guys like Zadoroff in his first yearhe struggled he looks better this year but
39:52you know in general like the Elizeland home contract hasn't been perfectso to have some like he which is exactly with anyany guys who can score goalsI think he's been a revelation for them for the last two yearsand if they're going to turn this thing around quicklywhich it does feel like they're doing otherwise we'd be talking aboutMcAvoy and Swamen and players not being here in the long runlike if they're going to go like Washington Capitals mode
40:12and try to turn this thingthis around and reload for next year and be good.He's someone they should want to keep aroundbecause I think he's a versatile enough forward and I thinkhe just plays so well with Paschranockand your lineup's not too heavy then.It's not like you're going, okay, you need an otherworldlyone C or winger to compliment
40:27him. If you want to have lineup balance, sometimes ithelps to have that one two punch like you do inFlorida would say Barkoff and Kachuk generallysplit, you know, across two lines. I thinkhe's going to allow for that if they canidentify the right forwards to play around them.Certainly. I mean, him having 17 goalsis here being tied for the league lead with McKinnon,
40:43as outrageous part of that is getting to share the ice with Pasternak and I think hisrole as a playmaker and facilitator over the years has been very impressive but geeky himselfI mean the shot is legit and some of his work around the net and how he makes himself availablefor those looks from Pasternak deserves a lot of credit as well and so he's been awesome thisseason the Winnipeg Jets don't really have that much to be thankful for right now just becauseof how many injuries they've gone through now Connor Hullabuck being the most recent onebut I'm going to give them being thankful for Dylan Sandberg coming back who missed thethe start of the season. He's played five games now. They're getting outscored with him in the
41:15ice 5-1-5, but his underlying metrics have taken another jump from last year. He's 57% shots,60% expected goals, 63% high-danger chances. His partner, Neil Piong, got hurt just a coupleminutes in in their most recent game on Sunday. He was bouncing around between playing withDylan DeMello, playing with Colin Miller. He's such a stabilizer for them. And now, especiallywithout Hellebuck available for the next couple weeks and potentially month plus, they're going toneed it because even while they were churning out results with Lowry,and Perfetti and him out early in the year.Their 5.15 metrics were completely in the tank.
41:46And so just having the puck more often, being in better positions, insulating thegoal tending a little bit is going to be huge.And he's probably, I mean, almost certainly their best pathway towards accomplishing that.All right.We hit on the Blackhawks a little bit, but circling back to them, Spencer Knight has beenincredible for them.He saved 20.75 goals above expected to leave the league.And yes, he has a tougher workload, so his numbers are going to look more favorable.
42:08But he's responding to his workload better than anyone.And he did last year after he was traded to the Blackhawks.And I think has proven that the guy we all thought he could become he is.And I think it took him a little bit longer to get there.When he came back to the Panthers, it was a little bit tough for him.And I think he struggled in the HL.But you saw him get it together last year at the NHL level.And that was really encouraging.
42:28But then you didn't know how that was going to translate from going from one of the best defensive teams to one of the worst.But he has been the guy, the steady guy.And I think he's just carrying that into this year.It's giving them a chance to win on most nights when they probably should have.and it's similar to what we were talking about with the sharks.If you can have a goal 10 that's going to keep you in for 60 minutes,that's great seasoning for these players.And I think it's helping them stick around and win games.
42:50Maybe you wouldn't expect them to like the game against the Leafs,where, you know, it's these late goals because you're getting the quality goaltending.You're getting a chance to win.And I think that's allowing, you know, guys to find their footing in these shutdownroles or for offensive players, they're bringing the goal support.So it's just figuring out everything in between.I think you're finally seeing those signs of progress.And it's a big reason why.
43:09Like it changes the vibe.the energy, and that is what they needed more than anything.Yeah, similar to what we said about Ascaro, for some of these young teams that obviouslyaren't going to have the puck a lot, when you give up the backbreaking goals, especially,it can just be so deflating and totally take the energy out of the situation.So having that is huge as a backbone.The Pittsburgh Penguins, and I know you wrote recently about coaching changes, and we'realways fascinated to see what first time NHL head coaches are going to look like.
43:35And I've been giving Dan Hughes a lot of credit because you certainly look at this personnelgroup and then subtracting guys like Brezzo, who was playing so well for them at the start of theyear, Raquel as well, there's not that much to work with relatively. I know they had a bit ofa disappointing weekend where they lost both games at home, scored just two points, two goals combinedagainst the Cracken and the Minnesota Wild. But for the season, they're still top 10 andexpected goals generated, slot shots, inner slot shots, offensive zone possession. There's so muchthought applied to their usage, the deployment, the way they play and move the park to compensate forsome of that lack of team speed and we'll see what it ultimately nets out to.
44:13But I think the first 20 plus games of Dan Mues and HL coach have been very impressivegiven what he's working with, their top five in both special teams as well.And so I think they should be thankful for that because we've heard the players talkabout, you know, what a drag last year was in particular, how the relationship with MikeSullivan and kind of eroded and so just bringing in a new voice and kind of bringing new lifeto that organization, I think has been huge.and then you've got Ben Kindle stepping in,some of the veterans playing much better
44:41and looking more rejuvenated.And so I feel like that's exciting.And Dan Muses, there's a lot of credit for all of that.Yeah, definitely.One of the most interesting coaching hires.And I wonder if we see him Excel,if it'll, you know, what other teams are going to take from this?And I think Excel has to be used relative to expectations this year.
44:58It's not just about the good starts, what they do all year,that if you see the vision, things coming along,the future looking bright, if it'll kind of get other teams to go,you know, maybe we should go outside the box becauseI felt like when he got hired, you heard so much aboutlike, does he have thatsame vibe and energy that everybody needsas a head coach and because he's kind of
45:15nerdy and it's like, yeah, look, look what he's doing.So love that.Staying in the Metro, we haven't talked a ton about the devils.I don't think Nemishhas been perfect, but I thinkhis development and growth over thisseason, just the course ofthese last two months, I think it's something to be
45:31pretty thankful for. I mean, he wentsix straight games, I think.without being on the ice for a five and five a goal against and that obviously ended in theirlast game he was on the ice for two against the flyers but and the defensive numbers haven'tbeen perfect but i think that's just like a confidence boost thing like yes you can get complacent ifyou're not on the ice for goals against and think you're doing everything great and it doesn'tmatter but the process does matter i think he's been playing a bigger role he's been betteroffensively and i think his growth is pretty big for this blue line because i don't think we know
45:59what the future holds for guys like dougie hamilton obviously now there are some really key injuriesAnd I feel like when Pesci got hurt, everything started to, I don't want to say fall apart,but just start breaking down a little bit more.And I think he's here, after a really good start, has struggled a little bit more, too,over this last stretch of play.Now, obviously, they're without Jack Hughes.But if you can have other guys stepping up and they have a bit, it's going to help themkeep things afloat.
46:21And his progress is one of them because he was a top pick for them.And I think he's had a lot of ups and downs over the last couple seasons.And, you know, when he was finally getting looks at the NHL level, he wasn't doingenough to earn his minutes a nice time. It's not like this is someone that you're like,wow, he's really good. He's just not trusted. It's like, wow, is he NHL caliber really becausehe looks better than the HL, but he doesn't look ready here. So I think just his opportunityhas been big this year, but I think overall you're starting to see him get it together and hopefullyyou know, he can turn them into something more sustainable. Yeah, absolutely. Those games
46:53where he was playing 25, 26 minutes, how much he's creating offensively as well. And similarto what we said about Brand Clark, another guy who's entering the final year of his ELC, they've got somedecisions to make. And so getting these viewings and getting these reps from him, I think,is massive for both the individual and the team moving forward. And so it's awesome to see himbounce back because he had that stretch where they went out west on the road trip and he wasmaking some mistakes and struggling and getting buried a little bit. And then he really bouncedback from that. And I think that resiliency is huge. The last team that I had on my list of WashingtonCapitals, I wanted to give them being thankful for their pro scouting staff because they did it
47:30once again with Justin sort of. I know it's only been a couple games, but PLD goes out. He'sgoing to be out for an extended period of time. They plug him in at second line center playingbetween Alexi Proto's and Tom Wilson and that line has been phenomenal for them. He certainlylooks the part surprisingly as a center because I wasn't really envisioning that for him. Theykind of put themselves out there with that trade in the off season because they traded a coupleassets for a guy who was very unproven and they're getting the most out of them the way theyhave with pretty much everyone. They've acquired the past couple years and so I think that'simpressive and they should be thankful that they've got this organizational foundation, I guess,
48:04and ability to do so time and time again with a lot of guys like this.All right.Last one on my list, I'm going to go with the Dallas Stars.They should be thankful for Jason Robertson.He has been excellent this year.And I think they've needed more offensively at times.They lost last year because their five-on-five offense just wasn't there.It's bit them before in the playoffs.
48:21And I think to start the year, it was a little bit shaky too.But I think he's been really good.And I think he's going to make life a little bit easier for them one way or another becausehis contract situation is going to be talked about a lot a lot this is a team with some reallybig contracts on the books you have to navigate around that they have to decide if they want himor if they feel like that cap should be dedicated to working on the roster elsewhere especially nowthat he's not the number one winger on the team but at the end of the day if he's playing wellit's good for two reasons they can either trade his right somewhere else or it makes the
48:48decision that much simpler of saying okay now you know to extend him and you know i'm curioushow much of it does come down to what he can do in the playoffs because that has come under firebefore. I thought he was good last year againstEdmonton. It just didn't always show on the score sheet, but he waslike that one pop that they had off the rushbecause they're offense stride up so much.So I think it's a good thing for everyone in Dallas that he's playing this well to startthe season. We'll see how that works out.
49:11Like Olympics-wise, but at the end of the day, like the stars need him to be one of the guysbecause that's their whole strength, right?It's that they are one of the best forward groups in the league.So they're going to need him to be consistently excellent.So I'm really excited to watch the situation unfold.Maybe it's because free agency is so boring, and I think that'll spice up the situation even more.If more teams are like, hey, we need a winger and we can't get one any other way, other than the trade market, if that adds anything to the situation or not.But I just think him playing, it's good for everyone.
49:40Yeah, he's been going nuclear offensively carrying them.He looks healthy.He's moving so much better than he was last year when he came back from that foot surgery.And even in their most recent game, I know they wind up losing in the shootouts at a flames, but they were down to nothing.And he just kind of willed them to that point, at least for scoring the goal off the rush.and then making the play to set up the power play goal that tied it late.And so he's been phenomenal.And especially with some of the injuries they've had up front,
50:02I feel like he's compensating for that greatly.All right, Shana, that was fun.That was a nice little exercise, ran through the league.I thank God everyone into the Thanksgiving spiritand celebrated some of the stuff where we've enjoyed so far this season.What do you want to promote in the way out?What are you been cooking up at the athletic recently?I'm going to have something about the teams in and out of the playoff picture at Thanksgiving.
50:23and I have a vibe check coming the following weekabout what we've learned in the month of November.All right, good stuff.Well, I'm glad we finally got to do thisfor the first time this season.Looking forward to having you on soon.Again, if you want to help us out,subscribe to the PDOCAS Patreon
50:36for access to extra shows every week.Join the Discord.Give us a five-star review.And that's all for today.Plenty of content here recently.We had Emily Kaplan on.We did a Sunday special at Drens.Now this show with Shayna,
50:46we got another show coming on Wednesdaybefore we did a couple days off.Thank you for listeningto the HockeyOcast streamingon the Sportsnet Radio Network.work.
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