The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Down to the Wire ft. Shayna Goldman

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Shayna Goldman joins Jeff Marek on the penultimate day of the NHL regular season. Discussing the Montreal Canadiens' opportunity to secure a playoff spot, Darnell Nurse's suspension, the NHL Playoff Picture, and much more...Shout out to our sponsors!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼 Ninja Kitchen Canada: https://www.ninjakitchen.ca/products/ninja-crispi-4-in-1-portable-glass-air-fryer-cooking-system-zidFN101CGY?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=olv&utm_campaign=25Q2-Crispi&utm_content=en👍🏼 JP Wisers: http://www.jpwisers.comReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Flames_Nation🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Stylish selections and design assistance to help you every step of the way. Transform your living space today with Cozy. Visit Cozy.ca, C-O-Z-E-Y.ca, the home of possibilities made easy. Bringing the snark today. Shannon Goldman on the show from the Athletic and the Too Many Men podcast. Looking forward to Hey Shade on the program today. That's an unintentional line by the way. I'll apologize and stop now. Welcome to the show. Glad to have you aboard today, Jeff Merrick, alongside the one and only Zach Phillips.

Producer extraordinaire and the man with the rich, deep, ear to ear smile after his Toronto Maple Leafs. Never in doubt, right? Zach? Never. First place. I've always believed in this team. First place.

I always have faith. I swear man, like there are just some teams, most if not all of them are the Canadian teams, that don't have an 82 game season. You've heard me say it before. It's not an 82 game season that this bearded fellow next to me on the screen has with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's 82 one game seasons. And I've always wondered, how do you live like that? How

do you get on that like Ferris wheel merry-go-round that amusement park that is a Toronto Maple Leafs season like when I started doing the Leafs lunch show with Bill Waters back in 2003 it was one thing But now it has gone into complete overdrive with the way it's covered and how every tiny little thing gets massive scrutiny. Now having said that, I think ultimately that's a good thing because it's almost like the closest thing you have to like NFL fanaticism about a team. And if there are 32 like that, I was making this point about Tony Maranero in the video of Demidoff at the live stream at Pearson. Like if you had that for 32 teams, league's on fire. League's great, it's amazing.

Hot, super hot, spicy, expand more, we got more room. But like, how do you get through a season, man? Well, it's basically living every day like you're on a rollercoaster and I love rollercoasters, Jeff. Yeah, no, I get it. You have to really have that about you. Like, there's no sort of chill moments in the season. There's always that sort of, there's always a sort of sense of anxiety. And now, making it even, I would argue, worse for the Toronto Maple Leafs is they have to play the Ottawa Senators in the opening round. See at least when you're playing Tampa or you're playing the Florida Panthers outside

of this season, the Boston Bruins, you can say, look, these teams are Stanley Cup teams. We're trapped in an awful division. This is like the Blue Jays in the AL East for so many years with the Yankees and the Red Sox, where they weren't gonna do anything other than finish third. And that was a good season for them because it's a murderer's row of teams.

But now, Maple Leafs fans don't have the, well, the team that beat us won the Stanley Cup excuse. With all due respect to that, our senators, I don't think anyone expects they're gonna win the Stanley Cup. They're there, and that's awesome. What are you gonna do when you don't have that? I think it's different though this year.

Like, it was Albrega who kinda, no, no, no, what I mean by that is, it was Albrega who kinda started to make me realize this is the case, is you don't have an excuse this year like you just don't have that you're you're better on paper you're the more experienced team you've been to the cup the state of the cup playoffs before if you lose you have two players coming up to free agency you have a new owner here who might not be so happy with losing the way that you

have been. And you know, for the restless people in Toronto who have asked for the team to be changed after countless failures, maybe that comes because maybe this is the final straw, the most embarrassing one, the last piece before someone in the MLSC front office says, I've had enough before Keith Pelly puts down the hammer. So like, I feel like there's some kind of comfort in that. And then you know what, on the other side, every year I've gone into the playoffs, Jeff, I've said, you know, we should win,

but like maybe you're not favorite to win. Maybe you're not the better team on paper, but hey, we got gotta find a way. I think I'm just gonna be a scumbag and go all in this year. It's seven home games if that's the case. You know, the Leafs are gonna travel out there. The Senators, they don't have the experience.

They're not as good. The Leafs are just gonna roll them. Brady Kichuck, Capital Canuck, I don't give a fuck. Leaves in five. Wow, there you go. All right, and you know, that's a spicy series. Dallas, Colorado I think is the one

that we're all circling here as far as quality of play in the first round. We're gonna get to that in a couple of moments. As we mentioned, Shannon Goldman's gonna be stopping by the program here in about 10 minutes time. So to everybody in the chat, and I can't recall who mentioned it,

but it was something along the lines of, this guarantees that there's gonna be a Canadian team into the second round. So there you go. And that's gonna be one of the questions here. How many Canadian teams get past the first round? And again, we're still waiting to find out about Montreal and Columbus.

Great job by Columbus yesterday, great job by Jet Grease, great job by Adam Fantilly. Want to park some time and talk about CBJ with Shana and park some time and talk about the Montreal Canadiens who are playing the Chicago Wolves tonight, by the way, is what it seems like. When you look at all the players, all the players of Carolina sitting down for this one. It's like, all right You messed up against Chicago Can you beat the Chicago Wolves the American Hockey League?

Bradley Nadeau leads all rookies in AHL scoring with 30. He's playing tonight. Can you beat Chicago? Get in this thing My heart by the way is sort of porn on this one because I love having Montreal in the playoffs and that building and that fans, but then like Columbus and Johnny Goudreau and like all of it, the Goudreau family, like the great season. You don't want that ride to end and they're like really fighting, clawing desperately

to keep this thing alive anyhow. So here we go, coming up on the program today, Daily Outlines, as always, presented by our partners coming up on the program today. Daily Outlines as always presented by our partners and friends at FanDuel. Make every moment more with North America's number one sports book. That is FanDuel and coming up on the program today. She's from the athletic, she's from the Too Many Men podcast, she's Shanna Goldman, she will stop by. We'll talk about the Darnell Nurse suspension which kind of looks to me like that sort of path

of least resistance that makes it look like it's a punishment, but like what's really happening here? We'll get on that in a couple of seconds. We'll get Shana's thoughts on the player poll, specifically the NHLers thoughts on some of the rule variations that the PWHL is using. Playoff picture as well, then, that's come into focus. We should park some time and talk about Ottawa, Toronto with her.

We'll park some time and talk about Dallas, Colorado, Carolina, New Jersey, and this Montreal game tonight. Where, by the way, for those of you who have missed it online, the French language debates here in the Prime Minister's race in Canada has been pushed back from an 8 o'clock start to a 6 p.m. start to accommodate, just sometimes you just love being Canadian, the hockey game, Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes. Not without precedent. It has happened before,

but I just love it. I think it's fantastic. So coming up on the show today, we have a lot about that. So firstly, I wanna park a couple of moments here before we get to Shayna and talk about the Calgary Flames. Now the Calgary Flames, first of all, Bravo to Dustin Wolf, specifically in the third period.

I'm not sure how much of any of that you watched last night. I know you're a busy guy after the Maple Leafs skunked the Buffalo Sabres. We'll get there in a couple of seconds. And you had all of your post-game responsibilities to handle with After Dark and smelling salts. But Dustin Wolf in the third period was fantastic and kept the Calgary Flames in that game last night, even though during the game they lost on that playoff spot. Now the question will become, how do you view the season for the Calgary Flames? Like, you had a chance to make some moves at trade deadline.

There were teams that all season long were interested in both Rasmus Anderson and Nazam Kadri. Craig Conroy said like no we're not doing this we're not we're not moving our guys it's not as if we're talking about players on expiring contracts but nonetheless I mean even though they didn't make the playoffs and they didn't sell it deadline Zach I still think this is a really positive season for Calgary because the one of the things you don't want to put your team through, don't want to put your kids through, is what empty calorie games after All-Star,

or in this case, Four Nations, feels like to a team. Like you want your team to be competitive. You want your kids to feel like what it's like to have a competitive season. Even if they didn't get there and squandered a chance at a really high draft pick, I don't think it matters I really don't like you see like you know how good someone like Coronado is gonna be you're already seeing like Dustin Wolf and how good he is gonna be you know Kelly Rudy was talking last night

on the broadcast about a conversation he had with Grant Fuhrer and Grant Fuhrer saying you know this kid's gonna be a superstar in the league he's not just gonna be like an NHL or he's going to be a superstar goaltender. And you're seeing that in the rookie season. Now for goalies and a lot of players, you know, year two is always more difficult. I never make my mind up about goaltenders until I see a hundred games. I want to see all the shooters have a look at a goaltender. I want to see the book written on a goaltender and then see that goaltender adapt.

But still, so far, great for Dustin Wolf. And I know it sucks. It's a pill that goes down sideways and gets trapped in your throat and you get that awful, awful uncomfortable feeling. I get that if you're a Calgary Flames fan. But great season. Based on expectations, awesome season for Calgary. Agree, disagree. Agree. I also think the one thing with not trading Anderson and Kaudry that you were kind of, you're okay with doing is, as you mentioned, one, they're under contracts

through next season at least. So they're not expiring. You're not losing these guys for nothing. If you decide in the summer, something up some team calls you they offer you something You can't refuse Godfather style and you make the trade like you can do that Still if you want to run them back and keep it going Yeah, and then it's then you can keep them like you have that option So that's a positive the other thing is you don't want to foster a losing environment

You you want to make sure that you give these kids an opportunity to feel what it's like Even if you don't make the playoffs but to play in pressure games and and feel what it's like to make a push You've succeeded in that and then the other thing that I feel like the flames achieve here You tell me if I'm wrong and if I'm off base on this But I feel like it's better for the Flames in this spot because I hate teams that fit, or not teams, but when teams finish in the middle ground. No mans land.

Congrats, you just missed the playoffs. Minnesota, Minnesota has been that team. But you don't get the pick. Usually Minnesota's right in that mushy middle and have been forever. Now Minnesota's in this year and we'll see what happens. They'll play Vegas in the first round. Stylistically, I love that matchup but we'll get to that at a different time. Yeah, I mean, but that's the thing. Like, you look at winning cycles and right now the Calgary Flames are on their way up. Now, it's not going to mean

the Calgary Flames are going to make the playoffs next year. There's a chance that the Calgary Flames don't make the playoffs this year. But you look at teams that are on their way up and teams that are on their way down, Calgary is a team that is clearly on their way up. And you may make the argument that it's early, and if you're like a hardcore cynic, you look at this and say,

how is this any different than Philadelphia last year? Who teased us all year long, teased us all year long, and then just flamed out at the end, pardon the pun. Yeah. The Calgary Flames, sorry, Calgary Flames are gonna be a good team for a while. I just don't know if they're gonna be a playoff team

as early as next year, but you can count on, I mean, how many fingers does it take to figure out how many teams have a level goaltending? There's not many. Like they're aware of all the great goaltenders gone. Now it's all advantage shooter. The game has shifted. The balance of power has gone to the shooters at the expense of the goaltenders who now have to adapt and the goalie's had it good for a long long time. There are only how many teams. Like you don't need two Like you don't need 10 fingers to count the teams

that have excellent goal tending. But you can look at the Calgary Flames and say, they may be, and again, 100 games for me for goalies, they may be on their way to having the hardest position to satisfy, and that's a goalie position. So good on you. That's what I was gonna say, like I don't think it's that bad

to not have this high pick this year because you've got young guys, you've got probably the most attractive item to older veteran players out there as well in the goalie. And you have a new rink coming by the way. And see that to me is the key. Shane is standing by, we're gonna get there. To me the key is be good for the opening of the rink Right ask Detroit what it feels like when you're bad with a new rank and come middle of April

It sits there Just hanging like the last turkey in the shop as The late kid rock concerts go out. Let's get to Shana. She's the star of the show today. Shana Goldman joins us on the Sheet No Stranger This or other broadcasts from the Athletic and the Too Many Men

podcast. How about that analogy for you to bring you on? It's a it's a Shea Day and you don't want to be the team that has the shiny new rink That is dark in the middle of April see red wings comma Detroit If you're the Calgary Flames, are you not trying to coordinate this so you peek with the rink? You know what I mean? I'm sorry sitting there hearing the last turkey in the shop Literally my brain was like, where did he get this from? What are we doing?

No, you do not want the ring to go dark in the spring. You want things to be on the up and it feels like it is. So they're doing something right. You know, speaking of Detroit, let's only get to all the series and a lot of hot button stuff, but I want to get one thought on Detroit here. It's been nine years now for the Red Wings

without postseason and you know, many are saying like, listen, if his last name doesn't start with a Y and end with a man, maybe we're talking about what happens to the general manager here, but it's Steve Iseman and nothing's gonna happen there and they've already made the move with the coach. $22 million in cap space for the Detroit Red Wings, Larkin's locked up, Siders locked up, et cetera.

I can't help but thinking, like it's not a great free agent class. And I'm getting way ahead of myself here because we haven't even seen the playoffs yet. But if you're the Detroit Red Wings, how do you not make a play for Mitch Marner? How do you not make a play for Mitch Marner? How do you not go after big offer sheet candidates? How don't you do anything? And I would ask this for any general manager, but especially Steve Eisenman, because it felt like he was onto something. And when he added to bring out, I was like, okay, let him cook. He has ideas. I feel like he's going in the right direction.

And last season was the biggest letdown in the world from the Jake Wolman trade to everything but nothingness really that followed I am so disappointed. So I would say yes, how does he not do it? But then again, I look at last year and go Well, he didn't Okay, one more one more negative perhaps, although I think it's a positive season Couple of quick thoughts on the Calgary flames and one of the names I probably should have thrown in there as far as the future Zane Parek is gonna be a good NHL and is gonna be a lot of fun to watch for a couple of quick thoughts on the Calgary Flames and one of the names I probably should have thrown in there as far as the future, Zayn Parekh is gonna be a good NHL and is gonna be a lot of fun to watch for a lot of years. I'm not sure how much of that game last night you caught but Dustin Wolf in the third period was fantastic,

just fantastic for the Calgary Flames. And it might be the hardest position to satisfy, to get a hold on. Like, you know, if you don't have the goalie, man, you can get a lot of your good work undone. Looks like the Calgary Flames may have one here. I like to see about a hundred games before I make up my mind,

but successful season for the Calgary Flames or not a successful season for the Calgary Flames? Yeah, totally successful. And I think success is gonna be measured on a different scale for every single team, right? Because every team starts in a different position or has different expectations. sold a ton of players over the last couple years. They completely changed their direction So this was a retooling team that I think started to gain an identity and also figured out Maybe the most important position with Dustin Wolfe and he was absolutely fantastic. He's gonna get called their votes

He might even get you know top five slotting somewhere in the Vezna race because he's been so good So totally totally great season and you know, I was thinking about this last night watching the game It was really cool was really a moment to me that you have these two teams going For these playoff races against the odds and the blue jackets and the flames Like it just hit me out of nowhere Like if these two teams going for it and all they had to do was keep winning and they were doing that right for A couple games there they both were doing and you're like wow that that could have been something special But the fact that they don't make the playoffs it's not a loss, right?

It's not at all because that was never the expectation going into it that loss against the ducks last week Was it was back breaking for them and then the ducks played spoiler to them again? But they accomplished a lot and they're taking the right steps moving forward and they're not in the mushy middle because they're not gonna you know just be outside of the playoff picture I think I mean they're not gonna just be in the playoff picture and losing around one like they have a better chance of getting a good draft pick here so you know it's not the worst thing in the world for them I think they took really important steps. Let me get your

thoughts on Columbus here you mentioned the the blue jackets here and you're right like this is you know we're all you know think of the Goudreau family Let me get your thoughts on Columbus here. You mentioned the blue jackets here and you're right. Like this is, you know, we're all, you know, think of the Goudreau family still and will for a long time. And we're cheering on Calgary and we're cheering on the Columbus blue jackets. Now, there's a couple of, maybe you could say unexpected 30 goal scorers this year.

You know, I think when you look at the production for that Alexi Protas has had for the Washington Capitals, bam, like that comes, I don't want to say it comes out of nowhere because the potential was always there, but like that's impressive. Pavel Dorofyev in Vegas, there's another one, but don't look now like Adam Fantilly's got 30 goals. And then Fantilly's got 30 goals

and I'm watching him play lately and he just looks like a totally different guy, totally different player. And I can't help but thinking, okay, that is a byproduct of Shawn Monahan has come back. And now all of a sudden Adam Fentile doesn't get top defensive assignment against him. He must feel so free right now,

and he's playing like it, and he's filling the net, and here's Columbus clawing and scratching, trying to stay in this playoff picture. Let's see what happens tonight with Montreal and Carolina. We'll get there. But do you have a thought on CBJ and a thought on Adam Fantilli? And I'm gonna get to Jack Greaves here in a second too,

but Fantilli and the blue jackets, Trina. He's been great and I think when Sean Monahan was hurt him jumping up to that top line was really good for him. I think he got experience with really really good wingers, which I think he needed, right? It's a big difference between playing on the top line, second line, third line on most teams, especially like these non-playoff caliber teams that tend to be a little bit more top heavy, right? You're not getting that same support as you would. And I think that really got him going this season. And then now you see he can take a step back and not be in as, I don't want to say as meaningful of minutes, but as challenging of minutes, right? And

I think that definitely has helped them out. But this team altogether, it's, they're greater than the sum of their parts. It's really impressive. And there are guys like Kro Marktrenko is a bonafide top line player. And I think that they got a lot of answers with him and something like Kent Johnson looks really good. You have Monahan who is showing his play last year in Winnipeg post-ed line. Wasn't a fluke right? Like maybe he's another example kind of similar to Tom Wilson of maybe we need to rethink injury timelines and just being healthy enough to come back to the lineup is totally different from being healthy enough to be effective and now we're

seeing him at full strength in what he can do. You add that in with someone like Zach Warinski, who to me, it should still get hard trophy votes. I know the last couple weeks were tough before they started winning again, but he's still up there and it's just coming together really well. And it's a credit to the players. It's a credit to management, too, I think, for knowing how to put this group together, not disrupt them too much and jump at anything at the deadline and just kind of like let these guys cook.

And Dean Evison, his coaching has been great. Evison's been outstanding. And here's one other thing that I want to get to here. And it's the obvious, why did it take them so long? Jack Greaves. Jack Greaves who has was like a 935 save percentage, 4-0, two shutouts, was outstanding again yesterday. The story is fantastic. Manny Legacy essentially just brought him to Columbus camp like well I want to bring this guy to camp. Like give it a shot and he would have been playing in Barry I guess and he's made the most of it. Lovable guy, teammates love him, works hard,

waited for his chances, had a couple of games, been up and down. And all of a sudden now the one guy keeping alive, much like Dustin Wolf in Calgary, here's Jack Greaves in Columbus. And listen, Don Waddell has said before, it's like, look, Merzlikin's contract is too hard to trade. It's just too hard to trade.

Like something has to give here because Jack Greaves is looking like he's ready to be the guy between the pipes for Columbus. Yeah. And Merzlikin's he's had a very up and down year because there have been stretches of the season where he was what they needed. He was enough or a little bit more above average, right? But that consistency just isn't there I want to take this a different direction. Okay, the best part of that Greaves is whole run is what's that?

The pun master Allison Lucan is on a roll Talking about him and I think every blue jackets fan probably misses what she brings to the table and like the boom Generates a scoring chance and things like that, but I have seen her just riffing off of jet greaves and I'm like, this is amazing, this is what we need. It was the storyline we didn't know we needed at the end of the season. Okay, so I was talking with someone the other day who said like when he was in Philly two days ago,

he spent the afternoon, well, I don't know, what's the name of the, I'm blanking on it. What's the name of the famous Philly cheese steak shop in Philadelphia? Someone in the chat is going to know. This isn't something that I normally... Your big Philly cheesesteak guy. Quite the opposite, quite the opposite,

but still, that he's just sort of spent the day trying to find the famous cheesesteak place while other guys are like nervous about the game or whatever, the position and all that. Like I want my goalies to be that chill. I really, really want, I was saying yesterday on the show with Zach, like to me, the, the, one of the most impressive goalies I've seen is Carey Price. Mainly because after a game, you listen to his interviews and you

can't tell whether Montreal won the game or lost the game because he is that chill about everything. That's how I want my goalies and I get that impression from Jack Greaves. It's giving like Louis de Ming vibes after what was it? The spicy pork and broccoli and pan-fried. Spicy pork, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, like it doesn't work for everybody, right?

Like not everyone can go into a game that lose, not everyone can play that way, especially when you're playing goal in this situation. But if you can, I think it can be a really good thing. It doesn't mean you don't care about it. It doesn't mean you don't care about the game. But sometimes people need that separation, right? Like you get so ingrained in the day to day

and the routines and you can like bog yourself down and make yourself crazy by just like obsessing over every little shot and every little save. But sometimes, especially in that situation, like I don't see how that can be good for you. Okay. Let me ask you this. Okay. As an American, you look at us up here, okay?

As an American, look at us up here. And you see, okay, so you have a federal election coming up in two weeks. Tonight there is the French language debate. And we have both the leader of the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party, both lobbying for a time change for this, because Quebecers should not have to make a decision

between watching the debate and watching the Habs. So, they pushed the debate back from eight o'clock to six o'clock for a hockey game. Shannon Goldman, your thoughts. I love it. Listen, not everybody has a two screen, a three screen setup to bounce it on. Not everybody can absorb all that information at once and enjoy it and especially with the political climate I feel like that can really drag you down

So separating them is for the best because everybody should be watching that Canadians game tonight it It has so much potential I know like the Kings are gonna be saying a lot of guys and it does feel kind of the world He's any of these teams. It's Chicago wolves. It's like, but you know, it's, you know, what's going to happen in true, like, uh, Habs fashion, like Bradley Doudoe is going to have like four goals, right? It's like 30 in the American league. It always works this way, right?

Like, okay, here we go. They've called up all the AHLers here. It's all the, it's all the, uh, the health bombs that are in there tonight. And because it's hockey and weird things happen in hockey and pressure and Montreal and expectation, et cetera. I don't know. Like I was saying like Montreal really needs to close this thing out against Chicago the other day

because I don't want to, if I'm Montreal, I don't want to leave it to this game against Carolina no matter who they're dressing tonight, Shannon Goldman. Yeah, absolutely. And you look at their whole run right in their turnaround since four nations. And I think that there's so many positives to take away from me. And you see how much better the team has been a five on five and how good the big guns have been and how great Lane Hudson and Tim Montembeau have been.

But you did kind of see it fizzle out the last few games, right? The game against Ottawa wasn't ideal. And then you see that shot differential growing against Toronto too. And you know, sure, maybe you can get by with that once in a while, but you can't have that happen on a consistent basis. And then the game against Chicago, that's a massive missed opportunity. Right. So it's a really tough one that you say, OK, now you're going into this Keynes game and in a way it's like this should be easy for you

because they're not dressing their big guys. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. You have to play the team that's in front of you and you can't go into it thinking we should have this in the bag. You just have to work harder. And I think after the last few games, like you have to play the team that's in front of you and you can't go into it thinking we should have this In the bag You just have to work harder and I think after the last few games like they have to show that this is a playoff caliber Team right like they're no more pulling punches no more risking it You just have to play your best every single night and I'm not saying that they're not but like you really have to amp it up and

Not let anything else kind of distract you from it. I Want to read you some because I want to make sure that I get this in before I forget, because I think this one's really important. This is our sort of like transition from one topic to another. This is from Jeremiah, who's sending us pictures of him like sunning himself at the poolside and listening to the show here. I love Shana Goldman. I bought a colorful knitted hat from Shana.

Not only is she a kick-ass writer, she's pretty solid at the crochet again. What's your favorite thing to crochet? Like you do like some of like really, really sweet work, but what's your favorite thing? I'm a blanket person. Like I know you can make clothes and bags and hats and scarves. To me, blankets are the best

because you don't have to think about it, right? You just are in theory, just making a giant rectangle. Now, you could be someone like me, like last season, I had a playoff blanket I specifically was crocheting during the Yankees run. And I didn't always look down at it. And I get to the World Series and I look at it and you could see it had like a complete angle. It was just getting wider with every row because I wasn't playing close enough attention. So there's always this group up, but I think that's the most fun.

I love it. Okay, so that'll transition us to some of the matchups here. Listen, I'm like everybody, I'm fascinated by Dallas and Colorado. I am not one of these people that says, oh, this is so horrible. Oh, we should have this in the third round. We shouldn't have this in the first round.

I mean, outside of Mira Hayskinen and there's a chance he's coming back we should have this in the third round. We shouldn't have this in the first round. I mean, outside of Mirro Hayskinen and there's a chance he's coming back here at some point in the first round, which is great. We have the return of Gabriel Landisgog as you know, my favorite player. So that is great as well. Uh, I do want this in the first round. I do want like one clash of the Titans, at least one in the first round. I don't want any gimmies. I don't want sweeps. I don't want any of it. one clash of the Titans, at least one in the first round. I don't want any gimmies. I don't want sweeps.

I don't want any of it. I want like seven games of, I really don't know which way this one is going to go. How do you look at this Dallas, Colorado, amazing series? We better get seven games of, I don't know who's gonna win. Like this is a drag out fight. I want double over times. I had triple over games of I don't know who's gonna win like this is a drag-out fight I want double over times I had triple over times I won it

all I don't want this in round one I would rather be in two or three I when they're all injured when they're all injured and tired no that's the challenge that is what the playoffs are all about I want my issue isn't as much that like it's oh these two teams are going to head it's the way it's the way the standings get locked in that two and three have to play each other. Like, I just don't think it's fair. I want one to eight. I want it to be fun and exciting. I don't care if you have to go through your own conference or division to get through around three and into the Stanley Cup final.

I get what they're going at here, but no, I would rather it the other way. But since we have it this way, am I going to enjoy the hell out of it? Of course I am. You're crazy for not going to. This is the matchup of round one to me. Right. And I think it's to everybody because you have the Hayes-Gannon factor, the Lannis-Cock factor, you have the Miko Rantunen spite factor. There are so many elements of it for two teams that went head to head last year, went to double over time to end the series. Like this is everything and more.

What's the better handshake alley if Dallas wins or if Colorado wins following Miko Rantanen? What's the more intriguing handshake alley? I mean it's probably if Colorado wins right? Like hey we could do it without you, bestie. We were right to move on. I don't know. No, it's tough. I think it could be interesting either way because you have like Matt Duchene and Ransden moving forward.

That could be really interesting. You know what would be cool though? How about Kivi Ranta scoring a big time goal and him being like the secret storyline of this. Might be, although you know where my heart is. I just want to think that thing. Landiscock scoring the game series clinching goal. I just want like, Kahn Smythe, Gabriel Landiscock.

Listen, I am all for it if that can happen. I'm absolutely here for it. I don't know if we're going to get that, but I still think he's going to be very good. Uh, okay. Also, um, a couple of other series. Uh, I want to get your thoughts on Toronto, Ottawa. Um, the battle of Ontario back in 2004, uh, I was working at a local radio station in Toronto doing a show with Bill Waters, former assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, former agent,

uh, former second overall draft pick in the CFL as well, uh, but I digress. Um, and it was game seven and the burning image a former second overall draft pick in the CFL as well, but I digress. And it was game seven and the burning image that I still have is Joe Nuendyke coming down the left side and throwing knuckleballs between the pads of Patrick Lalim. But we tend to forget, this used to be an amazing rivalry

because these two teams would meet in the playoffs. And normally the way that it would go is Ottawa would dominate, this is like Spetsa, Alfredson days, would dominate Toronto in the regular season and then Toronto would beat them in the playoffs. When you look at these two teams, I think there's like tremendous pressure here on Toronto because they don't have the built in,

well, we lost to Tampa, but they won the cup. well, we lost to Tampa, but they won the cup. Sure, we lost to Florida, but they won the cup. You know what I mean? Sure, we lost to Boston, but they won't lost in the conference final. They don't have that. Here is a team that, and maybe this is all gonna come down

to how Linus Almark plays. This is a team that's, this is their first shot in. Like they were the one that separated themselves from the pack of Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa. They're in. What's intriguing about this one to you other than the obvious, if the Leafs fail this time, perhaps the whole thing crumbles. Yeah, because this is a total trap series. It really is. It's, it's always interesting to see like, to me,

like how much does the regular season series matter at all? Because on paper, the Leafs are the better team, right? The Leafs and the Senators are not that different at five on five in terms of like expected goal share. Like they're both around break even. There's nothing oh my god amazing. They're okay offensive creators. They're pretty good defensive teams, but the Leafs convert on their chances and the Senators don't.

That has been a problem all year and I don't I know the Senators have been better with it since Four Nations, but that's kind of the theme of it, right? And then you look at the special teams battle and you go well the senators draw a ton of penalties But they don't do as much on the power play the Leafs are thriving with a five forward unit Which you know, there might be some conversations of can you pull that off in the playoffs and I say hell Yeah, go for it because the power play has burned you in the past. Don't fix what what isn't broken, right? But then you look at the regular season series and you go, well, the senators have had their number, do you throw out all logic and just go by vibes alone?

Like who is to say it's a really intriguing series because you're going to get. Guys like Brady Kachuk and you're going to go, are we going to get playoff Brady Kachuk, the guy that we saw in four nations and can Austin Matthews match that energy, right? Can Mitch Marner match that energy versus a guy making his playoff debut Is that gonna be a conversation is you know our knives into bears who have been? Excellent in the regular season going to pick up the pace to balance out You know the top six a little bit so it's not solely on the shoulders of guys like Nylander Marner and Matthews

And you know what's gonna happen with Ottawa they're gonna be those pesky sins like and then of course you mentioned the goaltending there there are so many storylines to go with here. It is such an interesting series. And while I don't love Battle of Florida round one, I'd rather that round two, it does work out for the best because we're getting two bangers in the Atlantic. We are getting two bangers. And here's the thing about a team

that makes its playoff debut after sort of wandering in the wilderness for a while. Man, right away, Shane, you realize who the passengers are. Like you realize really fast who the passengers are on a team. No one expects obviously Brady Kachuck to be one of those guys, but I really do wonder, and I wonder that on both sides, because the Maple Leafs aren't exempt of being accused of having too many passengers come playoff time. And we're about to see that with the Ottawa senators, like who's here for playoff hockey and who's not.

To me, maybe I'm just oversimplifying this. To me, the whole, the whole series revolves around Linus Almark. And here's a guy that's never had really, never really had a chance, I suppose. There were injury issues with the Boston Bruins, but has never been in that spot to say, all right, time for me to bite down hard on my mouth guard and win some games here. Like, Linus Allmarks, I've mentioned this so many times,

his skill is top 10 in the league. As far as the nuts and bolts of being a goaltender, his skill is super elite. And then playoffs start and your skill only carries you so far. Like you can't surf on skill. How many times have we seen that? You gotta have something else.

And to me, if Allmark has that something else, we got a real series here. But if he doesn't, I wonder, could this one be over quick? That's why I think the whole thing revolves around Al Mark. I like that. I like that take because it is really interesting. He has 10 playoff games under his belt. I think it was in his entire career,

10 appearances in the postseason. And we came into the season going, okay, can he be a number one guy? Right? Can he be the number one guy right can he can he be the guy can he do this without Jeremy Swainman sharing the net with him and he answered that sure he only played 43 regular season games and injuries had a lot to do with it but I think despite some like rough goes when he got back and getting back up to speed in general he's been very good and he's coming into the postseason hot if I remember correctly out of his last seven games he

has six out of seven or quality starts. And I believe he saved about like 8.7 goals above expected along that way. And then you're going to have on the other side, someone like Solars, another guy who's new to his team, right? He has 35 minutes of postseason experience. That's it. He was on the bench for the rest of it. And it was on his way to a Stanley Cup. But he's been outstanding too. His last eight starts, he's been spectacular, right? I think he has three shutouts in his last eight starts eight Oh, no, and I think it was like 12 goals saved 12 expected if I remember correctly, I did the math earlier so

But you know, we don't know does he have what it takes in the postseason Can he be the number one guy because he's never had to be that and sure he opened the season that way with wool Injured he stepped up and played a starting role. Can he play a starting role in the postseason now? I want to say yes because I think sometimes when you start switching around goalies, you usually do it too late and things get really messy from there. But I think that narrative is going to be the case on both sides of this matchup. And I'm really intrigued to see how both of them handle this. Randy Workman in the chat says, Ulmarc is an elite goalie. He is like, his skill is elite amongst the elite. I just want to see him like have a big pressure moment, you know, and I've brought this example before.

And I can recall when he was in the American league with Rochester getting texts when Rochester would play Utica and it was Thatcher Demko versus Linus Allmark. And they were just like save for save for save for save for save like you love, you're a big tennis fan. Like it was like tennis batch saved down the other way saved down the other, saved down there. Like that's like, it was Allmark versus Demko.

And that was like the big pressure game in the American hockey league, shifting gears. You did mention the Battle of Florida here. I love having this one early. I love it, just the same reason I like Colorado and Dallas early, give it to me. Is there a chance here to get ahead of ourselves that the Florida Panthers,

because it does very much seem like, holy smokes here, like don't ever count out Tampa. And this season's another reminder, don't ever count out Tampa. It feels like this is Tampa's time again. How do you look at this one? And do we think like there's any chance here?

We always wonder of a repeat Stanley Cup. Um, I like that you're sticking to your guns and you're saying this is it for round one. And I do respect that you're not like changing your tone. I'm going to stick to my guns and say, I'd rather see this in round two or three, but beaten up and injured. Yeah. Okay, good. Okay.

It's the best in the East right now. Like that is, that is my opinion. I think we were getting the best in the East going head to head in round one. And see, I'm playing this really slippery game where I predicted an Avs, Lightning, Stanley Cup at the beginning of the year. I've stuck to it all year and the two teams I picked could totally go home in round one because they have the toughest matchups. But no, you look at this matchup right now and you are going to get an ideally healthy

Florida Panthers team that's super deep, right? They're really good on defense. I think having Eklad back is going to help really solidify the top four. We know Bobrovsky can be really good in a postseason environment, and they have what it takes to win, sure. But on the Lightning side of it, you see this elite core, elite, elite, elite core, playing the way that they need to. And I think that this is such a huge moment for them

because you honestly don't know how they're going to play next year. And I'm not saying Victor Headman and Ryan McDonough are going to fall off a cliff or anything like that, right? But they're in their 30s. Everyone's going to get a year older. And you do have to wonder how they're going to maintain it. Right. Yes, they have Yorkshire for another year. I could totally see Gord extending there.

And then, you know, the group stays together and they go for it next year with a similar team. But like, you really don't know how things are going to work out. And I think that everything is just firing on the right cylinders this season for them. That depth that they have, right. They have Gord and Kuturov and Point playing on that top line together. So Gensel, who is, you know, another 40 plus goal scorer can play with Hagel and Sorelli and take on top competition. That's really great for them.

And then when Bjorkstrand is healthy, you have him with Nick Paul in that third line. That's the depth that they've been missing. I think they plugged really important holes. I think that they addressed what they needed very well at the deadline. And I think Vasilevsky, after a very slow start to the season, I was getting a little bit concerned there in December, has turned it around and he looks like playoff Vasilevsky, who can be the best goalie in the world when the pressure rises. So it's going to be a tough one. We better get six or seven games here. That's all I, just please do it. I hope so. Give me that six or seven.

Same as Dallas, Colorado. Give me six or seven. Uh, I want to ask you about Winnipeg and, uh, and Washington here in a second, but you mentioned Andre Vasilevsky, uh, and the NHL PA players poll, um, Andre Vasilevsky, who's the best goalie overall. I think it's like 660 players surveyed for this one. Uh, Vasilevsky comes in at just over 31%. But here's what I wanted to ask you about.

So Wish and I yesterday talked a lot about the players poll, but there's one thing that I really want to get your thoughts on as someone who thinks about the game a lot. And that is this one question for these players. Which PWHL rule book change would you like to see in the NHL? Now first of all, I applaud the PA poll and whoever put it together this year because the default PWHL question is always, who's your favorite player? Name a woman.

Name one woman challenge. That's it, right? It's the name one woman challenge. That's it, right? It's the name one woman challenge. So I like this one because it recognizes a difference in the games, it recognizes an accomplishment, it recognizes something that PWHL is doing different and getting NHL players' thoughts on it.

So number one, 29.7%. So it's still not like overwhelming. We all know hockey players are very conservative and everything's fine, it's okay, everything don't change anything. The jailbreak goal, and that is short-handed goal ends the penalty. Now we had someone in our chat yesterday say,

actually, let's take it one step further. Not only is the penalty over, but the team that got penalized gets the power play time that's left on that. That's your line right there, Shana? Is that because I know you like the jailbreak rule, right? But that's your line. You're not giving out free power play time. No, you got to earn those. Another player has to take a stick to the base, get tripped, something like that. If you want that power play. No, I think that convolutes it too much. And there's the other rule I don't love, which is the if you're on the ice for the phase, get tripped, something like that, if you want that power play. No, I think that convolutes it too much. And there's the other rule I don't love,

which is the, if you're on the ice for the penalty, you have to stay out for the start of the penalty kill, because I do like to see you like that. No, I don't like that. And it's because of the potential for player injury. I don't like a lot of tired hockey players out there. That's why. I understand like introducing fatigue

and why it's important for interest, but I just don't like the idea of keeping a lot of tired hockey players on the ice because the chance of injury goes up. Also, I think that you have PK specialists and in women's hockey, a lot of them are super offensive, right? We see a lot of power kills and I think that it almost like devalues those players a lot who that third line player who might not stand out as much because she isn't playing, you know, the best minutes and doesn't have the top defense pair to support her and she's not going to score 30 something 40 something goals. But her bread and butter is being a two way player, which is what so many women's hockey players are brought up to be. I feel like it takes away from them. But the jailbreak aspect of it is the best because we have always had the same opinion on this. You are then killing off the penalty and not just enduring a penalty. You want to name it penalty endure or penalty kill.

If you're killing it, you're scoring a goal. Listen, I can't believe all these things. I just grew up my whole life hearing, oh, it's a penalty kill, a penalty kill. No, it's not. You're trying to endure two minutes until your player gets free. Okay, only have a couple of minutes with you. So I do wanna ask you about,

the top teams in each conference, the Winnipeg Jets and the Washington Capitals, it's pretty rare that two teams are the top of their division yet I don't know many, if any people, who give them a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Can you see the Caps winning the Cup? Can you see the Jets winning the Cup? They're number one in their conference, each of them.

Where are you at on Winnipeg? And they'll face off against St. Louis. Shen versus Shen. The four nations goalies against each other once again. Pick your storyline there and then I'll take the four nations goalie storyline. That one I like. The Shen versus Shen. It's not the Kachak bowl. It doesn't reach those heights. We'll get there one day with the Hudson bowl. We're not yet. Not there. Because you have like two really

different goalies here, right? You have Connor Hellebuck, who is the best in the world in the regular season year after year. He can play 75 to 80% of the regular season, which goalies just don't do anymore versus someone like Jordan Bennington, who to me is a very erratic goalie. I would not want, if I was a fan of the blues, I would be so tense watching every single game. I think he distracts himself from it. I think sometimes in the high pressure environments, we see him get away from his game and get into things that maybe he shouldn't. It's great for entertainment purposes, but it's not for, I don't know, actual playing. But then, you know, on the other side of it, you have these two goalies who are very different in high pressure environments in that Connor

Hollenbeck has not shined in the playoffs yet. The best postseason that he had came after the 56 game regular season that was condensed in 2021. And yes, he played 75% of the games I think it shook out to maybe it was 80% that year. But there's a big difference when you're playing 40 games versus 60 something games, right? And I wonder if they preserved him enough because he didn't have to play that full season that that's why he was better. And maybe this is me just getting away with the narratives And I feel like I've talked about this one a lot But you know there's reason for it because we just don't see goalies play those workloads And I can't explain any other reason why he turns into a pumpkin in the postseason right like last year the defense let him

Down completely, but he was also not great against Colorado, and I don't think it's the pressure environment I think four nations gave us that sample of, he can handle himself when the pressure rises. Bennington makes a name for himself because he can be clutch. Right. And you think of the Blues run when they won the Stanley Cup and you think of him 14 Canada, even though I don't think he was very good leading up to that final. But when they needed him to be perfect, he was really damn good. So it does make for an interesting narrative. But there's so much more in that series.

That is such an exciting one. I'm very excited that it worked out that St. Louis is playing them instead of Vegas, because I think it makes for a better series. Yeah, you and I, we've talked about this before on various other programs that I've hosted, have a mutual admiration for Robert Thomas. Now, Zach Phillips, who plays the keyboards

on the program here, played hockey with Robert Thomas. So we get a fill of Robert Thomas' stories. But the most, and you've talked about this before, one of the most underrated playmakers in the game, period, Robert Thomas. It'll be great to see him in the postseason here. Your thoughts on the Blues and someone that post-Forenation, much like Nick Suzuki and, well, I guess,

Nikita Kucherov, but he's always great, has really set a new standard for himself. This is the best we've ever seen Robert Thomas play. Your thoughts on the team and the player. Yeah, I know we both hype them up. Way back in the day when we looked at who are the best passers in the league, truly. Yeah, right? That Johnson Huberto is popping off.

We still went with Robert Thomas, CS five on five play. It's tough when you look at the blue season because yes, the coaching effect is real here. Absolutely positively real. But also they didn't have Robert Thomas a lot in the blue season because yes, the coaching effect is real here. Absolutely positively real But also they didn't have Robert Thomas lot in the beginning of the season like he was injured and getting him back was everything and more to this team because Now everybody slotted more appropriately right and then that's gonna be one thing But then you consider what he actually brings on a nightly basis and he's an elite playmaker. He's really good in transition

He's gotten a lot better defensively over the years and he has a really good shot when he chooses to use it Like he's a little bit of everything But you just see him with someone like how a bitch now bitch and I think the two of them are so good together and they're Playing with Jimmy Staggart right now and you're going okay Like it's next man up and it's actually working out because I was genuinely worried What this team is gonna look like without Dylan Holloway on that second line, but I think they're managing really really what really well So I think the Blues are an exciting team to watch the way they defend off the rush has been one of the biggest improvements for them since Four Nations and since the coaching change. So I'm very curious how that's going to look

against a team like the Jets who are really good off the rush. And we'll see who comes out on top of that one. And that one too, like, I don't think this is going to be five games and done. I think, you know, this one could be a six game series very easily. Okay, fill in the blank on this one. Then we'll shift gears away from St. Louis. Robert Thomas has the best blank in the NHL. Passing ability. Smile. I don't know.

Teeth. The best looking teeth in the, no one has a brighter set of, they got his teeth fixed that in the summer. And they just, it's just like spectacularly stunning how white and perfect he is. I didn't know if you were going hair, but I did not expect this.

Best chompers, I'm telling you Shaina. Real quick, are you a Capitals believer? Yes and no. I feel like I've spent so much of this season, I spent so much of the season defending them saying they're actually good. I remember the beginning of the year I got to write a whole thing on like what's working for them right and really diving into the game and seeing how good they were off the rush and seeing that depth in their forward group and everyone was like this team isn't for real they're gonna fall apart right I don't buy it and then it seems like everyone's trying to buy in and obviously

they're going through it this last stretch I think goaltending has a lot to do with it but I it's not just they're gonna get Logan Thompson back and be perfect because I Didn't love where his game was trending before his injury either when they started giving him I don't think it was because of the workload like I think his his game was trending in the wrong direction So hopefully this gives him that reset that he needs I could see them winning a series against the Blue Jackets and Canadians because I think we can easily Pinpoint all the flaws with both of those teams, right? And yes, the Blue Jackets beat the Capitals back to back and they have the juice right now and the Canadians have been that

surprise upset team all year too. But the Capitals are really just a deep group and I think that we can't sell them short. I think they took really big swings in the off season for reclamation projects and they've worked out almost perfectly, right? Like I think that this coaching staff knows how to deploy this group in the right way to maximize them and that's huge So I think that they could do something this postseason. I just don't view them as the true Best in the East. I'm gonna go with someone from the Atlantic for that It is fascinating that you know, as I mentioned earlier, like here's Winnipeg top team. Here's Washington top team no one's whispering Stanley Cup around either one of them. But we'll see as far as reclamation projects, like this is a team full of, you know, second chances,

or maybe in Pierre-Luc Dubois' case, third or fourth chances. Like, I'm always curious about how those, Dillenstrom's another one, how these players respond in the postseason when they have that chance to sort of rewrite the story of how people talk about them and how people feel about them. Like there's a lot of guys like that with the Washington Capitals and Spencer Carberry just knows exactly. He is obviously the right coach for this team. He's going to win the Jack Adams, but he understands like, and, and, and, and knows how to communicate

with these players, master communicator. I mean, he's like John Cooper-esque when it comes to communication. And, and, and you can tell. Um, okay. So you're all set for, uh, for playoffs. And listen, I'll tell you, um, one of the things I'm most impressed about it, maybe I just missed it because I'm, you know, losing my hearing. Did you just do like 30 minutes without the dogs barking?

Yeah, I did how'd that happen Someone else is home to take the dogs outside and I believe they're watching Champions League in the yard, so oh geez they're not yelling at me. Okay, very good Well, enjoy that and enjoy the playoffs and we will check back soon, my friend. We'll check back soon. Thanks, Shannon. Thanks for having me. There she is, the great Shannon Goldman from The Athletic and the Too Many Men podcast.

Oh, boy, a lot there. Thanks to Shannon Goldman for stopping by as always. More on the, listen, more on the playoffs as the playoffs get closer and closer. Tonight's gonna be a fascinating night for one very specific reason, that is of course the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes. We're gonna get there in a couple of seconds but first time now for the crispy inbox presented by the ninja crispy four-in-one portable glass air fryer watch this meet the first of its kind the ninja crispy portable cooking system the power of a full-sized air fryer in the palm of your hand so you

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the the crispy inbox email us at the sheet at the nation network.com the sheet at the nation network.com is the way to get in and good to see your smiling face again after talking to Shana. Zach Phillips, what do we have in the crispy inbox today to amuse people? So this one is hey Jeff and the sheet folk, Alex from Vancouver here always been interested in Jeff's Perspective and creativity when it comes to topics and ideas about the game of hockey as a whole With the ever-increasing reality that we may have a 34 team in the league in the near future

Along with possibly more games within one season and comes a topic that you have already discussed We can even the talent pool of the league. I'm curious your thoughts on the NHL introducing some sort of mercy rule in games that are legitimately not in reach for a lesser skilled team. Say 10 minutes remaining and one team is up 8 on the other team or something like that from a hopeful but realistic Canucks fan. Um, thanks for the compliment. Thanks for the question. The sheet at the nation network.com. Uh, first of all, they will never do that.

Um, I can't, nor can I see any teams wanting that. Like I can't see a team wanting to quit. Uh, I just, it doesn't matter what the score is. I can't see them wanting to quit, but the one place that I thought about, Zach, and this sucks. Like I really don't like this and we see it all the time. We most recently saw it in a game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Columbus Blue Jackets around Tage Thompson. You know what really sucks?

Sometimes you see games that get out of hand. It's like 8-1, 9-1, and there always be like one player who puts up like a five spot. So-and-so's got five points. Oh look, now he's got six. What inevitably happens to that player in the third period? They get shut down. Because you don't want to embarrass the other team, run out, PP1. I used to think growing up, we talked a lot about records this year. We talked a lot about Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Greskey for good reason. I'm beginning to think more and more that Darrell Sillers 10 point game will never be broken.

And it's not to do with the quality of player, quite the opposite. It's this dumb idea that you don't want to embarrass the other team. You have a guy who's going to set a record. Let's say someone gets, and again, like Tage Thompson a few years ago was on his way in that game in Columbus and they shut him down the third. Like, you have a guy who's got, let's say, Zach, seven points in two periods, and the score is nine-nothing. What happens to that player?

He gets sat down, and the minutes of- might not even see the ice. Right? You're just gonna run out your bottom six guy, PP2, all of it, right? What happened to the idea of this guy can make history? It completely takes a back seat to, oh, we don't want to offend the other team. We don't want to rub their noses in it. We don't want to be that, that's so classless. There's nothing classless about trying to break a record, but that's where we're at in the NHL. Unfortunately, no team, no coach really out there wants to embrace the idea that they may have an 11 point player in a game. It's almost like they'd be embarrassed about it because they'd be running up the score. That's what really sucks. That's, and

because of that, like I grew up thinking like, wow that's awesome, I can't wait to see someone break that record. And you know, from the, from the maternity war to the crematorium, it may not happen in my lifetime or Ever for that matter and that pisses me off because the skill is there. Yeah, but the Sittler 10 may stay because of that It pisses me off in all aspects of life whether it's the oh guys chasing point records or teams winning by X amounts. Hey, Jeff, you know what the simplest solution is to not lose by 10 goals or to not allow

a guy to have 10, 11 points? Be better. Be better. Be a better team. Have better goaltending, have better defense. Why do we have to be like, oh, oh, let's coddle this person because you know, or this team because you know, they're not that good. So let's get them out of here early and wrap up this embarrassing night. No, be embarrassed,

be better. I like in baseball when they bring in a position player to pitch and the other team just like, oh, licking chops here we go bomb bomb bomb bomb 18-1 keep going boys bomb-bomb I love that I absolutely love it don't have that in hockey don't have that in hockey. It drives me nuts I think that's part of where we're at in society as a whole now and things that happen like my high school we weren't allowed to play in our final years the sport that you played because the school was too good. How about

everybody just gets better? Yeah. My oldest goes there now too. I know it's it's uh but it's everything. it's interesting. I just thought I just It doesn't answer the question other than I don't think that they'll ever introduce a mercy rule In the in the NHL Bravo for thinking about it and suggesting it But what it does wink at is like there's some records that probably never get broken because you don't want to be classless I don't think for one second and it was like Darrell like that was really classless the way you broke, you know rockets for one second and it was like Darryl like that was really classless the way you broke you know Rockets point record there like in 76 against poor Dave Reese who's never recovered never played another NHL game and there's Jerry Cheever's then backup goal he just came out from the Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA who doesn't want to go in and do mop up duty so he puts a towel

over his head and says like I'm not going in on this one so class no one I assure you no one thought that Darrell Sittler was classless for running up his points in that game they're like this is awesome this is great good on you Darrell he still dines out on it every February was it February 9th or whatever it was Sittler Dave Reese day Reese never played again After that one no one says classless. They go like right on man. That was awesome. Yeah That's it Got that off my chest to feel better It's good. Go get now. It's good. Yes blast that one off feel good now

Okay, so we got some games tonight, and there's one massive game after the French debate. It is time now to remind you that there are games this evening, and this is as always brought to you by, and the sheet is powered by, FanDuel. Home of the same game parlay, make every moment more on FanDuel. FanDuel, proud to connect fans to the major sports moments that matter to them. How many games do we have on the board tonight? Young Zach, we have six. And we get at it early.

Montreal looking to close out, lock up a spot. Here's who's not in for Carolina tonight. Like, I'm sorry, like if Montreal can't do this after squandering against the Chicago Blackhawks and all the subsequent shootout drama with Frank Nazar. Sebastian Ajo in a suit. Also in a suit. Jackson Blake.

Jalen Chatfield putting on a tie. Seth Jarvis munching on Skittles tonight. Jordan Martinook in a suit. Jacob Slaven in a suit. Jordan Stahl in a big suit. Especially his pants. That guy's got a big butt. It's like jogger.

Jordan Stahl in a suit tonight. Real big hockey butt. It's always the bane of hockey players. I remember asking Cassie that once. I remember asking Cassie, Cassie, what was the worst thing about being a woman's hockey player? She goes, buying pants. She can't buy pants because they got like hockey, but like buying pants is hard. Buying pants is hard as a woman.

It's a lot different now. Anyhow, that's the big one. Caroline, how are we gonna get a fucking Cassie Campbell buying pants? Caroline and Montreal, the big one tonight. So see if Montreal can close this one out. The other two that I do want to mention, Edmonton and San Jose, Darnell and their serving as one game suspension. I looked at that and said, you know what, I understand it, set some kind of a standard before the playoffs. Wish brought up the example of Andrew Mangiapane, and it's probably that's the one that they looked at and used it as a comparable. It's one of those, it's not gonna affect the Oilers,

not gonna affect where they're playing in the playoffs. Nurse sits down for one game, whoop-de-doo. Well, I mean, I'm sure his accountant isn't too thrilled, but nonetheless. We should probably, one day we should probably talk about how, if you're, and I don't know, the NHL has the appetite to do this in the CBA, but the nature

of the fines like shouldn't there be a fine that's up to what it would cost for one game because Darnell Nurse makes like nine million bucks and like a five thousand dollar fine means like nothing to Darnell Nurse tip money that you walk around with in your pocket shouldn't there be a fine that leads up to what would be a one game suspension? And maybe it is like the equivalent of the one, anyhow. Vancouver and Vegas, most likely Brock Bester's last game was a Canuck. If you know anything about Brock Bester's story, he's someone that's easy to cheer for

and his you know very public relationship as he's talked about and everybody's talked about with his now late father. I always love the stories about hearing Brock Bester, you know driving his dogs to Vancouver as well. That's how we would get the training camp. He would drive because he's bringing his dogs, god damn it. So Brock Buster's last game was a Vancouver Canuck, but the Biggie, the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes. You have a thought on this one,

like the Habs can't squander another one here, right? And keep the door open for Columbus. Now I am torn by the way, because Johnny Gaudreau and Columbus, but then like Montreal and that building and those fans in the playoffs goes to the forum. Sean Bellovo, Roger Richard.

I want drama. I want drama and if it happens tonight and they win and they beat Carolina I think they just need one point right? That's the way it is. Yeah so they get one point goes to overtime. It's over against the Chicago tonight Yeah, but if they lose, oh boy if they lose Tomorrow night is a fun

Fun night the lead up the game having to win in regulation. If not, it's over like that's it. That's the end Give me the canes. Give me the canes. Give me the canes in regulation. Let's get to tomorrow and put the pressure on the Blue Jackets and see what happens. Jack Greaves, can you run it back? Well, what can he do? That's what I want to see. I like cinema.

I like the drama, the last games. It means everything. That's what I want to see. So I take it right down to game 82 will be the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Islanders. Last game of the regular season will be the Calgary Flames and the Los Angeles Kings. Anything we're leaving on the table here before we wrap up here, young Zacharu?

No, that is all for today. I did, by the way, find the Louis Domingue, not the best clip. That is one of my favorite audio drops of all time. I went did by the way find the Louie de Ming not the best clip. That is Drops of all time. I went just had to find it So good the spicy pork and broccoli not the best But otherwise We're good, huh? Okay. Listen anything from the chat. There's some stuff here

Anything from the chat? There's some stuff here. Sarah Nurse is awesome. Big Willy Styles. Yes she is. Yes she is. Anything else from the chat I should be aware of? No. I put up like 20 polls today. Saw that. Yeah. It was an active active active chat here oh points I was getting made fun of but Jeremiah Jeremiah submits I thought Sam Gagne was gonna score 10 in that game he got eight yeah that was like the same that Sam Gagne game where I just like everything was going in yeah that was awesome I thought like oh sit oh sit there here comes Sam Gagne it would have

been great if Sam got there by the way in the players poll For players who you could see in media Kevin Hayes won it but Eric Comrie should have Put Sam Gagne in there put Sam Sam Gagne in that mix 100% he should have been in there That's all I got for you All right, darling. I'm got for you. That's a good show today I think. Shayna was awesome. I was, as I always like to say, a mediocre man was always at

his best. So I thought I was at my best on behalf of the mediocre man out there. How's that young Zach? Oh I'm glad. I'm glad. Thanks bud. Thanks bud. Yeah I really said that one home. Thanks to Shayna for stopping by the program today. As always you can listen to her on the Too Many Men podcast with Sarah Sivian and Alison Lucan. You can read her at The Athletic where she's doing playoff previews. Think she's got one up right now on Dallas and Colorado and also one on Carolina and New Jersey. So check that out at the athletic. In the meantime thanks to you for watching slash listening slash participating in

the chat. Always appreciate that. Good to see a lot of the regulars in there and good to see Jeremiah. Thanks for the picture. Sonning himself. Nice legs Jeremiah. Don't be shy about dragging a razor along one of those. Enjoy tonight whatever happens between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes. If you get a chance to check out the Vancouver Canucks, Brock Buster's most likely last game as a Vancouver Canuck. And then we're getting into playoff spirit here. You know, I mean, who knows? Maybe the Columbus game tomorrow does mean something. And we'll have one more day to talk about

the Columbus Blue Jackets and this incredible season that they've had. But no matter what happens, we're back tomorrow, three o'clock Eastern. Morning Cup of hockey tomorrow at nine a.m. Eastern with Colby Cohen and Johnny Lazarus. Daily face-off at noon and then me, Zach Arou and whoever we can drag

on the program. How about that? Tomorrow, three o'clock Eastern, this sheet. Thanks for joining me. I can't get out my head, lost all ambitions day to day Guess I can call it a rut I went to the dark man, he tried to give me a little medicine I'm like, nah man, that's fine I'm not against those methods, but I knew It's me and myself and how this gon' be fixin' my mind Two on the record I turned on the music It's me, myself and how this gon' be fixin' my mind I do wanna break it I turned on the music

I do wanna break it I turned on the music There's enough air battle that you're sometimes losing Helping on the days that went wrong