Pressure Cooker Weekend: Teams are Fighting for Playoff Survival

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Welcome to episode 453 of the DFO. Rundown is always brought to you by

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looking very scholastic. Today, Rupp are how you doing?

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Trying to look a little smarter here on this Friday.

There you go. It always works. It's nice.

We're down. We're inside, basically, the final 10 games for lots of the teams.

The playoff races in both sides are good. You still got seven teams battling for five spots

in the Eastern Conference. The Pittsburgh Penguins have endured Sydney Crosby missing games,

coming out of the Olympic break. Malkin getting suspended for five games. They just keep

fine ways to grind it out. Last night, Malkin's hurt. Crosby gets hurt in the game and now he's got

a lower body injury and they still find a way to win. A huge game for the penguins. I have to say,

man, I'm pretty impressed by their resiliency to keep finding ways to win despite injuries to the two

key forts. Yeah, you can almost, you can almost feel the wheels shaking a little bit on the penguins.

It kind of felt like going into last night's game, if they're going to hang on on this great

season that they've had, it's going to have to probably come with a Sydney Crosby driving them

along. So when he left that game, took himself out of the game, like, do you're thinking, oh, no,

no, Malkin already, like you mentioned, but it's just, I know we're always going to refer to those

two because they've been such staples and pillars of that franchise for so long. But the way that

Eric Carlson's playing right now, like, he's got to be thrown into that mix too as far as players

that can step up in those moments and really drag a team along. And he had a really big game

against his former club and the Senators, then Ricardo Raquel coming through. He's had a quiet,

quietly big end of the season here, I think, for the penguins. So yeah, I mean, it's, I guess,

the good news is we saw post-game. We'll still wait to see what we hear on Crosby, but post-game

reports coming out of the locker room there was the Sydney Crosby was walking around in a suit.

Look fine. Wasn't looking like he's limping around or anything. And I was just reading between

the lines, thinking in my experiences, if a player is hurt and going to miss significant time,

or whatever, he's not down in the locker room when media is in there. And especially in Canada,

because there's going to be a lot more media in the locker room in Ottawa. So I think those are

all good signs. Hopefully, he sits back, but the penguins team, they find ways. And it's become

really exciting there in that metro, although the divisions have been kind of blah all year. You've got

between the islanders, the blue jackets, and the penguins. You've got a lot of

toggling back and forth every single night.

Well, yeah, it is wild. And you look at the schedules and the really,

there hasn't been much separation. In fact, the race seems to be getting closer. And,

you know, Montreal's, they're four points up. They got 90. Then the penguins 88, Columbus 87,

the Bruins have 88. They're in the first wildcard spot. The islanders have 87. They're in the second

wildcard spot. And then Ottawa 86 and Detroit at 82. And Detroit Redwings, they got to start

winning some games. They got Buffalo tonight, which is a very tough game. And then they also,

they'll be in Philly. So you got to find a weight. And the Philly Delta flyers keeps, you know,

they're 72 and one. They're like, hey, we're not a fishy out of it either. They got two games

in hand on the islanders and are five points back. Like, I know it's, it's still a long shot. But

the Philadelphia flyers have hung around in this race. And no one's really ever had in the race.

And I understand why is, you know, to me, until you get to within three points, you're probably not

really in it. But with those games in hand, if the flyers, like that Detroit game is massive

for Philadelphia and Detroit on Saturday, like, there's some huge games. Sunday, Columbus is playing

Boston. You know, you got Anaheim and Edmonton. And Edmonton needs a little, it wouldn't need a

lot of help. They'd have to beat the ducks in regulation. And then, you know, hope the ducks

flounder, they got the ducks got a fairly easy schedule down the stretch here. So plus Edmonton

would actually have to win three in a row, up, which they've only done one. So, you know, they

can play great for two games. We've seen that lots this year. But can they, can they actually find

their game three times in a row? They've only done it once. So we'll see about that on Saturday.

The other game that's interesting, Montreal and Nashville, I know they're in different divisions,

but they're you're writing the playoff for a hunt. And then Nashville plays in Tampa Bay. So

they got a huge weekend Saturday and Sunday. And the other game that's big is suddenly the Utah

mammoth who've had a few losses here. They played the LA Kings on Saturday. And you look at the,

you know, everyone's like, Oh, Utah is really safe. Well, if the Kings win in regulation,

they'd be too back of Utah with the game in hand. So that's a massive head to head game,

coming up on Saturday. And for Utah fans, they really haven't, you know, experienced a playoff

race. And, you know, I know, Robert, you were talking about it earlier that, you know, Nashville

head coach Andrew Burnett kind of really summed it up. If you're watching that broadcast,

when New Jersey scored that power play goal, a little bit of a, I guess a kind of lucky goal,

right? He shoots it, goes off the leg. It looked like of a he sure goes in the net. And his

reaction on the bench, Robert was just like, Oh, my God, like you're living and breathing with

every goal now for these teams that are battling on the cusp of the playoff line.

Yeah, I mean, because you're talking about your team in Nashville that's been one of the talks

of the league as far as how they've been playing, put themselves in this situation, this spot.

And then literally just one night against the team out of your conference,

a goal going in off of the other team's players, shin pad or foot, whatever it was on Niko

he's here. And it just, things can change really, really quick. And all of a sudden,

a Kings team that, I don't know, I was kind of thinking a few days ago, like are they,

they're, they're on life support here as far as getting wins and finding ways to get two points

each night. And all of a sudden, they're, they're right in that as well. So it was just,

Utah mammoth, that whole little area in there is those wild card spots are very intriguing.

So I don't, I don't think there's a ton of teams. I don't want to discredit the Seattle crack.

And I just don't see them getting it done. Although they've got a game in hand,

but they're putting, applying some pressure on the situation. I just, I'm not going to,

I'm not going to buy into the whole hype around the Pacific stinks. None of the Pacific teams

would be in the playoffs in the East. I'm not buying any of that stuff. You and I talked about it

on your show on Wednesday. At the end of the day, I don't think any team would choose to play

the admins and oilers over like, you know, Columbus Blue Jackets or Pittsburgh Penguins. I'd be

you're insane if you're telling me that or, or the Vegas Gold Knights. So anyways,

so I don't want to discredit the Pacific, but I believe just because of what the central is,

the top of the central that wild card one, which looked to be Utah spot for so long,

that is, that's big. As far as path and what the path can provide,

it's, it's less resistance than having to go through that central in the first two rounds. So

all of a sudden, you know, Nashville was, was storming back up behind Utah. And then

last night, you had that devastating loss and regulation against the devils for Nashville. You

get the big win for the Utah mammoth. And there's a little bit more breathing room there. So,

but I think wild card one in that West is, is some of the watch.

Well, yeah, even now wild card two, just to see who's going to get in. And the, the LA

Kings, I'll say this, like the Kings, so they played Utah earlier. I think they played in

last Sunday, lost an overtime. So now they go ahead to head again. Then they got three days off,

and then the Kings have a five game homestand. And it's an odd homestand because they play Nashville

twice, who's not even in their division, but they don't play them back to back. It's, it's a unique

schedule for both the Pregs and the Kings. So the, the Kings come home. The Nashville's in LA

on the second. And then they go to Anaheim or San Jose does Nashville. Then they come back to LA

on the sixth. And you look at the Pregs and the Kings. It's, it's kind of like a best of two,

but we got a game in between for both teams. And you know what? It's, it's kind of wild how

how many games that LA is playing that are crucial that are non divisional games. Utah Saturday,

then to play the Pregs. Those are the teams are chasing. So if you're the LA Kings and,

you know, you're Penaren and, and that team you're saying, Hey, we, this is what you want. You'd

rather play the teams you're chasing because if you beat them, it's in regulation. It's the

proverbial four pointer. And you know, you can gain ground. They don't gain any ground. Whereas

if you win and they're playing someone else, well, now you need a lot of help. So you can control

your own destiny a lot more. So LA couldn't have asked for a, for a better schedule in that regard

here down the stretch because those three games will probably decide obviously got to beat St. Louis

and Vancouver, you know, LA, the rest of their schedule is, is pretty favorable. In fact,

because they've got Vancouver, Toronto, St. Louis, Vancouver again, Calgary, like the only

playoff team that they play the rest of the way is Utah and then the national games and then

they play the orders once. So they've got, they've got a pretty good scared down the stretcher. If,

now, if big if you take advantage of it and all of a sudden, that's a close array. So Utah

can't take your foot off the gas. Everybody thought myself included that, oh, yeah, you know what,

they're pretty comfortable, but suddenly two losses in a row and the Kings win and now you're like,

oh, damn, they're right in the rear view mirror. And that's, I'll say this, that's what made the

playoff race. Like we talked about the Flyers for God's sake, Srepper, like the Philadelphia

Flyers have quietly been one of the hottest teams in NHL and none of us are really talking about it

because they're like, ah, they're not really close, but if the Flyers can win against Detroit,

now Detroit's not in, but if the Flyers can win and you know, somebody else loses a game,

Columbus or Pittsburgh now without Crosby on the weekend, then you're thinking, hey,

like I still, I don't have them there, but they're lurking around and it might be all the

sudden we wake up and it's April seventh and you're like, where the hell do the Flyers come from?

So just putting out the warning that they are circling, they're not in the inner circle yet,

but they're, they're trying to, to muscle their way in. So I'll give them credit for that.

Now, a few milestones we want to talk about, um, Alexander Ovechkin, the ageless wonder,

get a defensive zone start. Everybody was freaking out about that one. Well, so he did have a

defensive zone start. He's been on the ice for defensive face off before because of what,

of icing and stuff, but still that's his first official start in the D zone, which is not

necessarily the most accurate stat, but nonetheless, but he gets a hat trick last night,

Rupert. He's up to 29 goals, which means the annual Mike Rupp bet, which Jason Demers looks

like it's going to be another victory for you for 30 goals, but that's going to be, he needs one

goal, Rupert to have his 20th, 30 goal season 20. Oh, this guy's don't even play in the league

20 years. Never mind 20, 30 goal seasons. And also it would be his, I'm pretty sure that'll be

his 16th consecutive 30 goal season. Oh, no, sorry. Yeah, I mean, that ended during COVID,

but he had a 15 air, but it, either way, it's going to be his 20th for him. Like, he can't retire,

can he? He's going to keep playing his, you know, because he can, he can catch Gretzky next,

you know, not that it's a record that's ever been talked about until now, the total goals,

regular season of playoff record, but he's now at a thousand and three. Gretzky has a thousand

and 16. You're that close, Rupert. You're coming back for another year, aren't you?

If it's me, yes, 100%. You know, it's just, it's always fascinating because we're trying to get in

the minds of, of the greats of what we're trying to predict what they're going to do, but what makes

them great is how different they are in some regards. And what I mean by that is, if you're

scoring 30 goals in this league, I'm like, you could still, you could still play forever. I mean,

it till you, you have a significant drop. Like, is this a significant drop from 50 OV and for what

he's done? Yeah, you could argue that, but it's still 30 goals. Like, look how many 30 goal

scores are in the league and then OV is still doing it for how long he's been around it. It's

pretty impressive for me, but the, the human element of the greats, I think they think the game

a certain way, they want to do certain things out on the ice and he is wired to be a league leading

goal score. He's not really that anymore as far as per season. Now, does that make it not fun

playing because you're not dominating like you once were? I mean, for, for normal human being,

like me, I'm sitting there thinking, I, you're, you're scoring 30. They keep this thing going. Like,

I understand his game has dropped off in other areas, but he's, we're watching it right now. Like,

he can score in bunches. So it's so hard to predict. I can't imagine him going away right now.

I still think he has his passion and loves playing the game. I wonder what the internal

evaluation of that capital's team is from last year, looking like they potentially could be a

contender out of the East this year, not going to make the playoffs. If, if he feels like they can maybe

put together right next year, maybe that goes into the equation too, but I, I would have to think

that he's coming back. I hope he does. He keeps winning me bets with Jason Dimer. So I need him back

as much as he can't. I just think it's, it's awesome at his age. You know, it gets a hat trick.

It's a second hat trick of the year. He joins Gordy Howe and Johnny Busek as the only players to

have multiple hat tricks after the age of 40. But like, I look, if he scores his 30th goal,

which I fully expect that he's got, but he's got nine games left to do it.

That he'll become the 30th, is it the 30th player in the NHL this year with, with 30 goals? Like,

Conor Bedard has 30 goals, Zach Hyman, Bo Horabat. Like, these are, you know, these guys are all

considered like top-line players. If you have 30 guys with 30 goals, that's basically a top-line

player, one on each team on average. And I know that some teams have multiple. I get it. But

that's how hard it is, right? It's like, there's lots of teams who don't have a 30 goal score.

Right. Like Colorado has multiple. Emton has three. Minnesota has Caprice off and, and Boldy.

Who else has multiples? Tampa Bay has Gensel and, and Hegel. Colorado actually has three as well

with Brock Nelson in there, and Nature's and McKinnon. So, I'd go through the list. Winnipeg has one

Ottawa, but there's more teams who don't have one than there are teams who do. So, yeah, OV,

like, if you're the Washington Capitals and you're like, we've got to make the playoffs next year,

we want OV back. Now, even if I don't care, you score 25 goals next year. Maybe it takes a little

dip. It's still 25 goals, which is hard for the vast majority of the league. And I know we're

used to the 50 goal man, but it's not like he's embarrassing himself. And I just think that that

that record, hey, no one can, you can, people will try to find holes in every argument.

Oh, we can just say, hey, I got every goal scoring record. We're done. No one's ever talked about

the total goal record before. It was never a conversation. The only one he won't own is most

playoffs goals. Just because they don't, they don't play enough games, but he is, his total goal,

like he would need what, 13 to tie, 14 to beat him between this year and next year.

So I really hope he comes back. And then on the other end of it,

Robert, you've got a young guy coming in the league and doing things that his franchises

never seen before. Matthew Schaefer had two assists last night like talking. He played 31 minutes

the other day, which is an initial record for a teenager. Like this guy can skate miles. He's

an unbelievable player picks up two assists. You know, it's 54 points on the season ties the great

Denny Potman for second most points by a rookie defenseman. Stefan Pearson, by the way,

blast from the past, because if you would have asked most people who owns the islander record for

points by demon, I think most of us would have said Denny Potman. But Pearson's like, wait a sec,

I'm still here, but not for much longer because Schaefer needs three points to break that record.

And you know, you just look at his season, man, like, and how many minutes he plays,

Robert, in the situations that he plays, like, there's not many unanimous call their trophies,

but I think this might be unanimous. Yeah, yeah, because if you, I mean, if you're going to go on,

if you're just going to go on points, you're missing so much, you're missing so much of this,

I don't think it's close at all. And that's not a knock on what other other players have done.

We have a lot of really great rookies in the national hockey league right now. But Matthew

Schaefer playing 31, 59 in regulation, in regulation. Like, so let's just play the what if game.

If that game goes over time, it goes ends up making it to a shootout. So you're going to have five

minutes of overtime barring a penalty against the islanders and even maybe with that, you'd still

see the ice time. But in a five minute overtime, he's on the ice for three for sure. So he's

almost going to be 35 minutes. I mean, it's that stuff in desperation, elimination games and

the playoffs you see from time to time. It's dunking Keith type numbers in Chicago. It's pretty

impressive. And then you go into all right, that loss. They didn't show up in a lot of ways.

Again, Chicago, he certainly played those almost 32 minutes in regulation. You come back and then

you have the next game where Matthew Schaefer's got two assists and they beat the Dallas stars

at home. And it's like he's got his fingerprints on every moment of this season. So it's just so

impressive what we're watching. You mentioned the records that he's coming up on and is a teenager

and all the different things he's doing. I think there's a lot of things that we can't even measure.

How good he's been for the New York Islanders. Oh, well, he's he's basically

rejuvenated the organization. Now, Sirokin, let's not overlook Sirokin. Sirokin's been unreal

and probably could win the the best of trophy. I think it's probably him and Vasilevsky. Most

like they'll allow Jeremy Swamon. She gets some votes. He's been unreal in Boston. But if you

look at Sirokin's numbers, but people look, Sirokin's been elite before. No one's like nobody,

and that's why like I hate the the G word. I hate when all these and it's usually sorry,

it's it's some media folks and fans who put out a generational player. You know, Connor Bedard

coming out of his draft was a generational player, which was completely disrespectful for him.

It's way too much pressure on a player. No one talked about generational for Celebrini. No one's

talked generational about Schaefer and look at those two. And they're younger than Bedard for

God's sake. You don't everybody. Some people want to be the quick guy. I want to be the first to

anoint the next great one. Like just sit down and relax and yeah, but Matthew Schaefer had played

like 20 games last year. No one was talking about him at all. Like maybe he'll come to the

islanders, but he'll probably go back as he hasn't played much junior and not only does he make the

team. He's not leading their team in minutes. He's playing in every situation. He's he's got a

really good chance to break Brian Leach's record for most goals by a rookie defenseman in NHL

history for goodness sakes. The islanders franchise record is already, you know, he had the one

he had the one last night. So his that's that the column column Richie goal ended up. That was a

Schaefer Schaefer shot. And I'm like, oh, there it is. There it is. Got the record, but Richie

ends up getting a piece of it. So yeah, that'd be great if you can get that. Oh, wow. It's amazing,

man. Like it's just it's awesome to see. And I think you talk to Islander fans. I think Schaefer

has given them belief that their organization can be can be a contender again down the road.

They've gotten elite goalie. Now you've got elite defenseman. Now that's hard to find an elite

forward, right? Unless you're going to draft in the top five and they ain't going to be drafting

in top five anytime soon in New York. So, um, you know, they've got a good team around them, but

that is no one, not many people thought the islanders would make this much of a jump. And that's

why I think you're up or like if you don't make the playoffs, like you think about the islanders,

Detroit, Ottawa, all these teams that are like, well, you know, Ottawa made it last year. They

want to make it again. Detroit has them made it forever. And there's tons of pressure in that

organization. You know, Columbus is is another one that's like, God, we got to get in. You know,

they bring in the new head coach. Like there's going to be a few teams here that are absolutely

gutted on April 15th, 16th or 17th when the final standings come out in these.

Well, how do you, how would you evaluate? This is, this is not a trick question. Like it's,

it's difficult because we, we talked about all those great things with the island, islanders.

If they were not to, if they did not make the playoffs, how do you self evaluate where

you actually are right now? You know what I mean? Like I don't know because and what I mean by

that is I think they've surprised a lot of people, but it happened on the backs of what I think

is the Vesna winner and the Calder winner who also should be a finalist or at least in the extended

conversation of Norris and extended conversation and hearts and Matthew Schaefer. Like if we want

to, if you want to run that out like 10 names for Norris and and heart, I think Matthew Schaefer,

if you, he should probably be in that conversation. I don't think he'd win the heart, but like he's been

MVP Calder, Calibre. So I guess my point is you have these two extremely dominating seasons,

one from your gold tender, one from your 18 year old kid. Can you, are you, are you a good team?

Are you a, if you just miss, like you know what I'm saying? Like you, we have two pretty,

pretty big seasons individually. So I don't know how you really, are we just assuming that

Matthew Schaefer, while he's going to score 23 goals this year or whatever, are we going to assume

he's going to get 27 goals next year? I, I, I, a little hesitant on that. Are we going to assume

that Ilia Sirokin is going to lead the league in, in steals of, of 15 and goal save above expected?

Hold on, like that position doesn't happen that way all the time. So, to your point being gutted,

like it's, it becomes, this is exciting. We got the kid of the future, the goalie of the now,

playoffs around the corners, get some excitement in the fan base to all side, that just be

gone. Where now? Who are we now going into this summer? I, I don't think, I mean, they definitely

don't want to think about that, but that's the reality and the cruelty of the NHL right now for

some teams. Well, because you're going to look and like, yeah, how good are they? Because a lot of

them are probably, someone's going to miss the playoffs, maybe the NHL record, like 97, 98's the

record for most points that you missed. And right now, you know, you look at Ottawa, they,

if they went six and four in their next 10 and missed the playoffs, they'd have 98 points. So,

you know, that's, that's a pretty good ending. They might have to go seven and three for goodness

sakes, which is wild. But so you'll be a good team. But again, it doesn't guarantee you because

Calgary had 96 points last year and look at them this year. So there is from year to year,

there's no guarantee. And that's why you can't just assume, ask Detroit, ask Buffalo. Remember

Buffalo and Kevin Adams second year, maybe, oh, they're up to 91 points. They just missed. Okay,

you know what? Finally, we're on the trend. And then boom, they fell backwards for another few

seasons. So there's no guarantee because health, everything else, that's why you want to get in so

bad, especially in the league where half of your league doesn't make the playoffs. It's hard to make

the playoffs. And it's, and this year, it's harder than most like the last two years was much

easier in the Eastern Conference at 91 points or for three teams to make the playoffs the last two

years. And this year, like, you can't get in with 91. You don't have a hole. You're not even going

to be close. You're probably 12th in the, in the conference at that point. So it is. It's a really

good question, rapper, that not a great goalie. Now, Sirokin, I wouldn't expect Sirokin's done

this. Like, that's kind of what you expect out of him. For sure. It is hard. Like, we've seen

lots of rookies have great years. And then, you know, the next year, who knows, but Shaefer does

look like a special player to me and be hard for me to, to assume there'd be a big fallback.

You know, like, maybe you don't score 23, 24, whatever he finishes goals because that's hard to do.

Right? Like, this is, I think, this is the third year. Bouchard scored his 20th last night. So,

this is the third most 20 goal scores in a season in NHL history by defense when there's six

them so far with 20 goals. Right? So that, think about it. It's only happened three times.

So it's, you know, expecting that many goals again, this is probably a little bit unrealistic.

They're not all going to do it. No, it's, and yeah, I mean, it's, it's difficult. It's difficult

to follow up individual standout years with the same, I think, human nature, we want to say,

well, if that's this this year, then next year, it could be equal or even better. And that's just,

it's tough. That's why I always think from year to year, I'm not throwing the islanders in this

situation when you have career years by players. The Washington capitals are a perfect example.

I mean, what happened last year with Washington, they had a lot of players that career, career years.

And you can't just expect that to happen again. It's a career season for a reason.

And, you know, like the Pittsburgh penguins could be of that this year, going into next year,

like, what do they do with Anthony Matha? Are they going to recite Anthony Mathas? He go

for agency, but like, let's say they bring him back because he's been such a good fit there.

Are we going to assume that Anthony Mathas is going to score 30 next year,

and at Justin Brasow is going to get 20 that Eric Carlson is going to be able to be at this

Norris Caliber defense meeting. Like, there's a lot of ass there. Are we going to be healthy?

Are we going to get the good gold tiny that we've gotten from Arthur,

she loves and stew skinner? Like, it's not doesn't happen like that. So that's to the point where

there's a lot of teams here that it's going to be a proper self evaluation. Maybe tough decisions

being made in this off season for some teams of just miss out.

Emerson yourself in all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup. I'm Alex Abnos,

senior sports editor from the Guardian. Whether you're a soccer beginner or you know the game

inside and out, we've got you covered. From one of the fastest growing soccer newsrooms,

the Guardian brings you in depth World Cup coverage that gets into the winners and losers on

and off the pitch. Read, watch, and listen as our journalists connect the dots between the games,

the cultures, and this political moment. We'll have daily newsletters throughout the tournament,

a global perspective, and a squad of Americans, including me on the ground with the U.S.

national team. Plus, if you want to test your soccer knowledge, try on the ball. It's a game

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Well, I think the problem is, if you give footballers an inch, they would take a mile.

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talk with a slight delay. Be sure to listen to our football weekly podcast for On the Move

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Terms apply. Oh, yeah. And Detroit's the one to me. If the Detroit Redwings miss,

but what is that organizing? Because that would be three consecutive marches

that you've fallen out of the playoff race. And I know it's a legend in the organization,

but there hasn't been any actual success of the playoff at that point.

When you have that, and just in, I think you can have extremely talented rosters.

There's a lot of players in the NHL that we've seen over the years that are phenomenal talents.

Some individuals just don't have the ability to crank it up to another level.

Whether that's intensity, whether that's just rising to the occasion, the X-Factor, all those things

that we use to describe moments and sports. And it doesn't just mean the star players.

Like, we've seen fourth liners, six defensemen over the years. That's what makes the NHL

playoff so great is those moments where guys elevate. Everybody elevates. You have to elevate

as a fourth liners, a third liners, second, first, or whatever you are.

There's some players that are really good players in this league, but just can't find another gear.

And they will play a very long career in this league because they're talented.

And I think you have to look at that. If you're Detroit and you have that time of year where March

is not good to you, I'll say to the New Jersey Devils, very talented group. When you have the moments

and keep you keep revisiting and you can't find another level at the certain times when it matters

most, you might not have the right personnel. And that doesn't mean you don't have a

talented group. That might just mean you don't have the right demeanor, the right character,

the right kind of players that could evolve their game over the course of an 82 game season. So

yeah, I think if Detroit does not make it, I think you got to sit there and be like,

not only is it the management, is there some sort of shakeup? You have talents. No one's

going to deny that in Detroit, but why does this keep happening to this group? I hope we don't

get to that point with this team because I want to see Detroit's market back in the playoffs.

But it's a realistic option here if this team misses, like some big changes I think have to be made.

Well, and the other team in the West, what about the Utah mammoth? What if they get, what if they

spit the bit here down the stretch? They've only won three of their last 10 games or three, five and

two. And they're not out of it, but Nashville's three points back with the game in hand,

LA's four points back with the game in hand, and that head-to-head game on Saturday that these

final few weeks are very crucial for Utah as well. I know it's a new franchise, and it's only year

two of the franchise, but the organization has, you know, a lot of their same players

has been there for a while. And are they going to be able to get over the hump? So

yeah, there's going to be lots of questions. You get into April, and now we know who the 16 playoff

teams are. Those teams from 17 to 20 in both sides. There's going to be some major questions

for them in the off season and how they're going to react. And it's not like, you know, you can go

big game hunting in free agency. There's not a lot of, you know, high-end free agents. There's

always going to be some quality free agents. And can you make a good signing and find a guy that

fits in your team? And you know, Bobby McMahon's playing great in Seattle. He's got 25 goals.

If I'm Bobby McMahon, I'm definitely going to free agency because, you know what, someone's going

to give me probably more money than I hope, but I still Toronto should be in that team. They

got boat loads of money. And now they're going to be looking for a Bobby McMahon next year,

funny enough. So we'll, we'll see. But I, uh, the final few weeks here, rapper, like we know the

top teams, but even the top teams, you know how it is. Eight of them are going to are going to be

done by the end of April. Eight of those 16 teams. And for, for some of them, you know, I like,

what if Edmonton loses out in the first round, right? What does that organization do in the,

uh, in the offseason? You know, Vegas, like what if Vegas does, it loses out, right? Early on,

you know that their bar is set very high for what their expectations are. So there is, like

Anaheim's the one team, I think, hey, we get in. We're excited. Here we go. Buffalo moving up

Montreal's probably in the same boat. Although, how Montreal, if they lost, how they lose,

I think will be a question because as much as I like their team, I still think that they got

to add a little bit more size in their team. You know, as they go into the postseason,

so to go deeper, ultimately, that's just, that's just the reality of the NHL playoffs, man. It is,

it is a long two month battle and skilled size is an advantage. There's no question.

Did you, did you catch the mammoth capital's game last night, where the Tom Wilson, the Tom Wilson

effect, and in Tom Wilson, we've always talked about him as being a unicorn, and I believe he is.

I mean, he's a 30-year-old guy that can be, you got to know when he's on the ice. And here's

the point I want to make, because you mentioned a couple teams. Montreal being won, I think needs to get,

Montreal needs to get bigger. I think the devils need to get bigger. I think Utah needs to get bigger,

especially in those last two teams in the top six. And so watching that game,

Brandon Tanniff takes a run at Matt Roy, hits him in the numbers, okay? Not overly egregious,

like I don't think it's suspension worthy, but kind of a dirty hit, like a hit where you would take

exception if you're on the Washington capitals. And so they do take exception, and I believe it's

Trevor Van Reamsdike and Tom Wilson come flying in to go after him. Tanniff doesn't fight,

and it starts, you poke the bear with Tom Wilson, and then Brandon Tanniff's running his mouth,

going to the penalty box, like it's whatever. So now you've got Tom Wilson seeing red. And so Tann

ends up, Tanniff ends up fighting Duhame in the game. And he's pretty tough, dude. Duhame is tough,

Duhame is tough, but my point in all this, this is the Tom Wilson factor, and this is like Tom

didn't like to hit. He comes in there, do something about it, wants to fight you. Brandon Tanniff

does not have to fight him, but this team in Utah now is in the Tom Wilson game.

Is now Tom Wilson takes a run at McBain, and people probably argue that's a dirty hit or whatever

you want to call it, runs McBain. And now you've got a response here where you have what's his name,

the big boy. Lawson Crouse Fautum. Lawson Crouse comes out and does the right thing. Comes out

and he challenges Tom Wilson, but he gets an instigator on that. Okay. Now all of a sudden,

you've got Tom Wilson's gotten a power play for the Washington Capitals, and there you go. You get

the power play goal. That's all she wrote. Utah loses out on these big points. So you have to

initiate in some of these situations and have, I don't know if teams have a response to Tom Wilson,

but that shows you right there. Tom Wilson can single-handedly flip a game, and he did in that game.

In the Washington Capitals, where it probably doesn't matter for them, as far as standings, I don't

believe they're going to make it in the playoffs, but that one hurts for Utah. And it happened,

it was kind of self-inflicted as far as, you know, if Tana just stands in there, it's probably dead.

That's something where I think you need to have the diversity in your lineup as far as what players

can do, the edges they bring, the size they bring. That's an area that Utah lacks.

Well, and McBain got a 10-minute misconduct in that altercation, right, early in the third.

So not only do you have the instigator, so you have two guys out, well, one for 17 minutes,

one for 10 minutes, two of your bigger physical players. Now there was no penalties after that

in the third period, but I think you're right, Rapper, about a few things. Sometimes when you're a

team that's playing out the string, there's certain games, and you were on teams that played out the

string, and yeah, you know what, we're professionals. We're going to try very hard. But the truth of

the matter is, as the game goes along, you're either going to get less into it. And sometimes you

slow it down three to one, maybe we're not going to battle back as hard as we normally would

in a December game, right? Because we know there's not much on the line. But now, any time that there's

a melee in games, it gets the juices forward, right? And Wilson's doing the turtle, the turtle,

and good for Dan have to fight because Duhame is a fairly tough guy.

And but now Wilson, as he said, now he's just on, he's out there and he's fired up and he's aggressive

and big hit. Now McBain thankfully came back and he should be fine. And I like McBain and

Crouse. They've got some guys in their top nine that are physical. But if you just look at their

team in hindsight, the Paturka trade isn't what they need it. They needed, they needed

don't to go with Crouse and McBain because don'ts a skilled bigger body, right? And they have

Keller and they have Cooley and Dylan Gunther's a hell of a shooter and, you know, Nick Smalls,

they got some guys, but now they've got five forwards that are all the same. And you throw in

Lawson Crouse, okay? And McBain's a really good third line player. And those are like that trade,

I really think now plus Kesselring for Buffalo. So you get two players, but Buffalo, who had a lot

of small guys, right? That's why they traded Matsavoy because they had Matsavoy and they had

Benson. They had a bunch of water bugs and they can't have all of them, right? Like Matsavoy is a

really good player. He's got more goals now. I think this year than Ryan McCloud and it's a trade

that worked out well for both teams because Emmington needed a scoring winger and Buffalo needed a third

line center. And they got one who's kind of being a second liner at times. But I look at that trade

and I look at where Buffalo's going. I think it helped elevate them quicker and well, Paturka's good.

He's not good as Don and Kesselring and he doesn't bring you the element that Don brings. Like

Don is just big and strong and and hard in battles and Paturka's just he's a good player,

but he's not that player. Yeah, no, it's you you added offense, but you have some of those guys,

like it's always going to help you adding offense. But how about to take a little edge off the

offense and add something else, edge to your game? Yeah, those are things that I just I'm watching

that game and and then again, I I'd lost in crowds. I I love what he did. I love that, you know,

that McBain and what he brings to the table. But at the end of the day, the way it kind of works is

when you do something dumb and I think that Washington considered what Brandon Tan have did on that

head is dirty and dumb, you don't get to pick. It's this isn't like to choose your, you know, journey

book. Remember those books when you're younger where you kind of pick your path. You don't get a

pick. And so as much as I respected, he went and fought to him that doesn't answer it and Tom Wilson

was was out to set a to set a tone in the late night game and it changed everything and I don't

know if there's an answer to it because Tom Wilson is so unique, but that was that was some loss

points on the board there for Utah. Oh, and it'll play off race now suddenly, man, like that

LA Utah game. I'm happy I got the NHL package is that's a game I'll be watching. Right. There's

a few of them this week and I love it. But there's lots of games that had head to head and you got

two desperate teams there. The King's got a little bit of Mojo going. So that should be a fun game

on Saturday. Let's bring in Pat Puff to the play, Patty. How you doing? I'm doing great and happy

Friday, everyone. Phil in the blank, a presentation of bet 365 hockey fans. Check out bet 365's three

goal early payout when your team goes up three or in basketball by 15. You get paid. It's that

simple. Download the app today must be 19 plus. Please play responsibly. First question for you

guys. Super simple. You've talked about player teams that are on the bubble right now. But if you

had to pick one team currently outside of the playoff picture, who are you putting your money on at

Granks? Who so Ottawa Detroit LA. Yeah, Philly. It's a good question. Man, if Ottawa's defense

was healthy, I'd pick them. But I'll say the Kings. I think the I think the LA Kings they're

schedule. They've got a lot of games they can control against teams are chasing and then they got

lots of games against Vancouver's and Calgary's and Toronto's and other teams that have got nothing to

play for and are near the bottom five. So I will take the LA Kings. I'm going to go with your

initial one. You mentioned Ottawa. Ottawa, I think the way they've played all year sets them up

to win each night. They have some good defensive structure. They're D. The D is a concern. I think

the second game without Shabbat and Sanderson. You saw a little bit more minutes with Yakum Chuk.

Donovan got a little bit more. So they're going to start kind of they're slowly feeding these guys

more minutes. So we'll see how that works out. But the bigger thing for me, Linus Allmark starting to

look good again. And he has been for a little while. He's been he's been decent for a little

stretch, but it's continuing and then he made some pretty big saves in the game against the penguin.

So this is the time where it doesn't matter what's happened up to this point with their gold

if Linus Allmark can be Allmark for them down the stretch here. I think they get in.

Yeah, those are two really good answers. I think I think mine's Ottawa just for that reason.

I'm an Allmark believer. And honestly, we've talked about their depth a lot recently and it's

sneakier than I thought it was all season. My last question, you know, McKinnon is getting close

to 50 goals here. He's at 48 now. Coffee is at 44. I guess my question to you guys,

feeling the blank, how many 50 goal scores are we going to get this season? It's starting to look

like two, but McDavid has started to shoot the puck more. Are you giving him a shot at it?

Right. Oh, man, it's so hard to count him out in that department. But I'm probably leaning more

to I think Cole Caulfield gets there. He seems to be on a mission for that right now. I mean,

I think what Connor is, Danny, there's nothing this guy can't do. But I mean, it's they,

I could see him. I could see him in the closing. How are they got 10 games left?

Is that where they're at Edmonton? No, I could see nine games. I mean, I could see him getting,

you know, 18 assists in these last games. So it's like, we're talking about goal scoring.

So I think only two. I think you're going to have McKinnon and Caulfield.

Yeah. Well, Caulfield's got 11 games. If they play all the games, you know, McKinnon looks

like pretty much a lock to get it. And McDavid does have the second most shots on goal this year

in the NHL behind only Nathan McKinnon. So he's been shooting, you know, obviously,

Winston's dry settles gone out him and Bouchard have had to carry more of the weight offensively.

And that's something they're more than capable of. But nine and nine, if David's done

10 and 10 a few times in his career, but I will say no. So I will sell and say buy on two.

Yeah, I think two is even incredible for Caulfield to get there. I mean, his season high before

this 37. So to get 50, a great accomplishment for him. And the last one is a bit of a thinker.

But I just want to talk about the young kids that are coming up a lot of ELCs being signed lately.

So I'm going to throw a few names at you. Caleb Denoy and Utah, James Hagen's and Boston,

Isaac Menon for the Islanders, H is in for the Islanders, Cole Hudson for Washington,

Tyson Gross for Calgary, all a few names that have kind of been talked about more recently.

And some will play this year's some won't. But my question, fill in the blank, which of these

players are you most excited about? And is there any that you think can make an impact this year,

Greg's.

Emerson yourself and all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup. I'm Alex Abnos,

Senior Sports Editor from the Guardian. Whether you're a soccer beginner or you know the game

inside and out, we've got you covered. From one of the fastest growing soccer newsrooms,

the Guardian brings you in-depth World Cup coverage that gets into the winners and losers on

and off the pitch. Read, watch, and listen as our journalists connect the dots between the games,

the cultures, and this political moment. We'll have daily newsletters throughout the tournament,

a global perspective, and a squad of Americans, including me on the ground with the U.S.

National Team. Plus, if you want to test your soccer knowledge, try on the ball. It's a game

in the Guardian app, and it's really, really fun. And if you're into stuff like this...

Well, I think the problem is, if you give footballers an inch, they would take a mile.

Is it too much when it's this close? It's a bit much. It's a bit too real. Maybe you can just talk

with a slight delay. Be sure to listen to our Football Weekly podcast for On the Move expert

analysis, the Guardian. Bringing you the whole picture on soccer. Search Guardian Soccer for more.

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Difficult this year. You come in late in the year and into basically the hornet's nest of the NHL.

Like it is. It's, you know, big boy hockey right now. Like you just even in the last week here,

I found the games have have tightened up and there there is a play I want to talk to

Rapper about where you just, you know, you see guys who aren't normally physical suddenly being

way more physical. So I'm going to sell on anybody really making an impact now. I think it's even

hard for rookies who have been here all season to make an impact late in the year. I think it just

gets harder like Schaefer excluded. You know, there's a few exceptions, but Bennett sent it.

That could send it. He's having a good year. So I will sell on them.

Hudson and Washington's probably the guy that I'm, you know, I know it's only one game,

but I was like, woof, he caught my eye.

Yeah, I mean, Cole Hudson had an incredible play in last night's game too. Just the way he's been,

he's the one for me, the names you listed there. I don't, I think because of some of those team

circumstances, we might not even see them at the national hockey level. I think you can see Hagen's

obviously, I did play I think last night. He's not an ATO. He's not even eligible to come to the

NHL. Yeah, so he's got his provenance there, but then it just you're talking about a couple

players with the Islanders, Ruins. I mean, these are, these are teams that are in the playoff run.

So I don't necessarily see the opportunities there. So I think Cole Hudson is the one found the stretch

that I think would impress me the most. And anyone you're looking forward to next year, mostly?

I, I mean, teams. Yeah, I think for me, a player that's interesting to me, we've seen him for

a little bit. Not, not, not like I come out of college or whatever, but like as far as, you know,

he's, he's had pro time and that's probably Gabe Perot. I think Gabe Perot has been really nice

for the Rangers. And I think they're finally at this point where he's going to be forced fed.

Power play and line one minutes. So he's one that I think I'm going in the next season,

really looking forward to watching. All right. That's fair. I'm feeling the blank presentation

of bad 365. Things are tightening up. It's getting exciting. It's going to be a good weekend.

There you go. Thanks, Paddy. Yeah, another play, rapper. I don't know if you caught it in the,

in the Emmington, Vegas game late in the firm. McNabb caught Dickinson with a pretty hard hit.

Play goes on. And it's right near the end of the first period. And Dickinson comes barreling in and

I don't know if the buzzer went or not, but man, he ran over Shay Theodore. Now there's a little bit

of a melee. And you know, there's just to get to be four players with, with roughing minors in it.

But it was funny because before the game, Jason Dickinson was asked about, you know,

old Vegas. And he goes, well, I don't really have much hate for Vegas. But because he hasn't,

like Jason Dickinson hasn't been in a playoff battle. He's only rarely ever had fans in the

stands once in 19. He, of course, went to the cup final with Dallas in 2020. But there's no

fans, right? And it's different. Conor Murphy talked about, that's the only time Conor Murphy's

ever played a playoff game was in 2020 with no fans. And he goes, I'm not even sure it counts

because it's just the intensity is different. But I looked at Jason Dickinson, who's not an

overly aggressive player. He's a really good third line checking center. But man, if you watch that,

like he's steamrolled Shay Theodore. Now he's not Tom Wilson. But I just, I felt like

there's, you want to adhere yourself to a new team and just say, guys, I'm here to be in the fight.

I'm not going to have to fight per se. But I'm here. And I'll, I'll hit guys. And you need more

guys like that. Dickinson's a pretty good skater. He's a big body, 62, 200 pounds. And, you know,

that was, to me, that was like a playoff game. Very close last night. I know it's a regular

season game. So it's not a playoff game. But that played by Dickinson. To me, it was like, okay,

I'm in the rivalry now because, you know, I haven't said in Vegas. There's a good chance,

not a guarantee, but a good chance they could meet in the first round. They play again next Saturday.

And when I see plays like that from players, I'm sure there's guys you played with that all of a

sudden, you're like, oh, it's, it's playoff hockey now. And guys who aren't necessarily more aggressive

have to be more aggressive in the playoffs. Do you have a teammate that you remember? You were just

like always impressed at how, you know what, that guy come playoff time would, would alter his

game a bit. Yeah, I love that play by Dickinson too, because I felt like that, that both teams

quite frankly needed that game last night, the way that the temperament was in the game,

the way the game went. I think both teams are trying to find themselves. And you just need

some, maybe some more emotion to get you ready for the playoffs. I thought it was, it was

what was absolutely needed. I think Edmonton needs more stuff from that, from their players,

like that too. It just stirred up a little bit more, stirring the pot. Max Talbot is one that

comes to mind when you asked about during the career. And in Max Talbot in 09 had that

two goal game seven against Detroit for the Pittsburgh Penguins. But he was always wanting.

You remember thinking back in time, remember, I think it was that same playoff run. Remember,

he did the, he was shushing the Philadelphia crowd. That was Dan Parsillo, who he basically

got it into Fightnum. Max got the wheels beat off him. But he turned, he kind of did the shush

to the crowd there in Philly and really turned the vibes around the penguins. And you talk about

just upping the ante, just beating a gamer. Max Talbot brought that stuff. So I loved watching him do

that. I got to play with him for a couple seasons. So just one of those players that understands

certain situations we need more emotion. And he'd be willing to get his butt kicked in order to do

that. Yeah, well, and you know, I think that's important, right? Like you got to sacrifice,

but it just shows your teammates like I'm here. No one cares at the end of the day how tough you are

and how well you do in fights, especially nowadays, because vast majority doesn't fight. But when

a guy does, most guys looks like I can respect the guy who's willing, because guess what? In any fight,

and we saw it last night, I don't know if you saw the Baron, Manson Tilt, like, gosh, Manson,

tough man. I was like his fifth fight to a guy fighting his third fight. And when those fights

get a little bit wild, where you're swinging from your ankles, which is kind of what it was.

If you watch how that punch landed, those are the ones that are dangerous, right? Like you're just

haymakers coming out of nowhere, rapper. I'm sure when you fought lots, those are the ones that

could hit you more than, okay, I can see his left hand and right hand. I see it coming.

It's a little bit different than when he's coming from below the knees like that one. But

just in any tilt, man, you can you can get wall up. It doesn't matter who you are. And I think

I know it didn't matter when you played junior hockey and somebody who was willing to fight

fought. I was just like, you know, good for him. And it really gets the bench going because it's

it's more of a pack mentality. You get into those scrums and more guys are in there and you're

grabbing guys and throwing them around. It just it elevates the energy on your bench and we're

starting to see that more here. I think we've seen more, you know, scrums. Can I just put out one

public service announcement, please? Stop for the love of God. And I love Jesse Granger. Stop

calling it a brawl. It's not a brawl when no one's fighting. It's a scrum, okay? Scrums,

brawls, two very different things. We need to know that. It's your job people to understand the

difference between a brawl and a scrub. That's it. Sorry, Jesse. I love you. Hey, that's fair because

you hear that a lot of times, you know, hey, you see last night, you see the you see all the fights

in the blah, blah, blah game. And then it's like, oh my god, I missed that one. You go on. You

check it out. I'm like, there's no fights in the game. Like scrums after whistles, that that's

just kind of that's just that's just normal interaction in a hockey game. Is it not especially

this time of year? So I like that. Yes, say you're throughout there. I think it's something that

needs to be corrected out there. Yes, it's just it irks me to no end. There is some talk

about, you know, there's been a lot of talk about, you know, they just had the GM meetings and

and some changes and, you know, we're on record breaking pace for the most games going to overtime

this year. What's your appetite to alter the overtime rule, no over and back, whether it's

the far blue defensive blue line or center ice, what's your thoughts on it?

I'm open. I'm open to it. You know, I, depending on what it is, I mean, we've heard stuff

from the red line. We've heard different things that the blue line or you gain, are you talking

about like, kind of, you know, once you, like basketball, once, once you cross center,

you can't purposely go back now under possession. Yeah, I like that. Like to me, I do like that.

I mean, if we're going to stick with, if we're going to stick with the overtime, which it looks

like, you know, we're going to the way it is three on three. I still think there's ways to tweak it

because it's still, it's there's times where it's funny. Last night, I was doing the, the prime

post to coast, the whip around show. So we had, we had a two box and we had two overtime games,

I don't remember which games are where there's like five or six and overtime games last night.

Or we had two games on side by side. So we're kind of, we're talking about them. One of them was

like back and forth. And the other one was just possession, check it out, skate outside,

regroup, skate outside, regroup. And I'm watching them side by side. I'm like, we need more

we need more of this one. You know what I mean? And I think that that would help in some way.

I think we're always going to coach the fun out of some things. And it probably would even if

you had that, that we'd find some way that you'd dull it a little bit. But man, if you can

provide just a little more, I mean, that those high octane chances going each way. I mean, that's

some good stuff. I'd be open for that. I think that would be something that can help improve it.

Yeah. Well, there was the crack at lightning and the penguin senators. Those are probably two of

the games that were going on simultaneous. Unless it was the late game, the ducks, flames and the

orders and the golden nights. But those are the ones that looked to be simultaneous. And I just,

I don't, I don't, I hate over and back. You see guy, they come in. Oh, now I exit out of the zone.

Like we never rarely in five on five. Do you ever see a team purposely leave the offensive zone?

Ever. But you do it in three on three almost all the time. So that's the, that's a good point too

because when we're watching it, you, you're, we want to watch the best players in the world. That's

what three on three is for as far as get the best players on the ice with more time and more space.

But for an example, and I'll just use Conner as an example. If you get out there and it's a shift,

even with Edmonton having the puck, it could be the other team having the puck. But if even Edmonton

has the puck and they're allowed to just keep checking back, checking back, checking back. It's like

after so long, you're like, all right, he's at the end of his shift. Finally, when there's a break,

he's at the end of his shift. And then there's two line made chain. Maybe Conner's a bad example

because he could still go one on three and score. But for the most part, most guys cannot do that.

And you're going to be in situations where it's like, all right, man, we just sat here and we got

flirted with for the last 45 seconds of this guy in the ice. And all I saw him do is circle back

the neutral zone five times. So yeah, we get the best players out there. But let's have some sort of

vehicle to force teams into bad spots on the ice where you can start getting some open,

opening up the game a little bit more. Because that's frustrating. When you're sitting there

watching it over time and there's plenty of teams out there to have their first group

being they put out there. That's your goal scoring group in overtime. The next one might be just

to keep it neutral until that next group gets back and rested. I don't want to watch them play their

whole shift in the neutral zone. No, I, I wholeheartedly agree with you. So it is and it's such an easy

change. This is not a fabric of the NHL. You can just say no over and back. It's simple. I just

don't understand what why they wouldn't do it. Like there's no, you don't want more shootouts.

You want more games solves and actual as close to five on five as you can. So that would be my

thoughts. Rapper, you get two games this weekend to watch one on Saturday, one on Sunday. What

are your guaranteed watches this weekend in the playoff race in the national? So they got a baby

crying in the background. I was trying to mute it a little bit. So you got a 15 game Saturday.

So lots of options. I'm going to probably go. I'm going to probably go Saturday with

that mammoth Kings that we're talking about. It's tough because I kind of really I can watch

them both through different times. Senators lightning is a good one, but I'm going to stick with

picking one for the day you taught in the LA Kings just because of the ramifications of that one.

And then when you push over to the games on Sunday, it's got to be Bruins Blue Jackets. That's

the ones that that's the one that has the the biggest things at stake as far as a playoff spot. So

I mean, that's where it's fun right now. Every night, there is these these moments where you're

starting to see some real movement in the standings every single night. I think we've been waiting

for that. It feels like all season long in summer guards. And I think we're starting to see it.

Well, I'll be at the Emton Anaheim games of one including that one. So later on, I'll be watching

the Montreal National game intrigued by that one. Just because two teams in different conferences,

but they're both in the race. Obviously, Montreal. Plus, there's the cold coffee 50 gold watch. So

I always like the goal scores. And on Sunday, it's impossible to overlook Boston Columbus. That's

that's the game of the day. There's not as many options. But Anaheim, I'm sorry, LA and Utah is

is a must watch, I think, for a lot of people. But the Pittsburgh game against Dallas. How they

going to look without Crosby? And then Ottawa Tampa Bay and that depleted defense score. And

as Jake Sanderson coming back, I hear he's close. Could he, could he ride in? Because man,

could they use him? They got brutal news on Shabbat. And why don't you make it that play? Were you

surprised? JT Mailer clearly cross checks him in the wrist. Like there's no debate on that.

Broke his wrist. Were you surprised? There was no call.

When you watch the replay, yeah, I mean, in the course of the, I guess, game feed and life speed,

it just looks like they were going to bump up and he, I mean, it's a cross check. But like that

motion of a cross check, that happens 50 times in a game. The results were bad. And when you

saw Sanderson kind of react like that and then go off the ice, not Sanderson Shabbat, I think that,

I don't know, you never want referees to make a call based on the results. But it's pretty

obvious that something bad happened there. Yeah, little, little, little, little dirty. He had the,

I was looking though, he, you know, Shabbat always has like hit those sleeves. He always has his,

his sweater pulled up on his elbow pads a little bit. And you can see he's got a decent exposure on

his, on his wrist to elbow pads. And it looked like a column just perfectly right there. So,

yeah, dirty play. But I, you know, we see those cross checks often and I wasn't overly surprised.

There was no call. Well, fair. Rapper, have a great weekend, man,

hockey fans and lots of cities have, have games to be excited, slash nervous about. It's,

it's a wonderful time of year. By the time we talk next week, hey, last week we talk, the race

is actually a little bit tighter. So could it get even tighter between now and next Friday?

Who knows? We shall see. And hey, don't look now. But the mid is sort of wild. Only three

back of Dallas for a whole mice in the central. Now, Dallas, of course, they, they do play and

beat up Pittsburgh team. But the way air Carlson's going, you never know, the Dallas stars,

that's a, you know, they're not locked in either. Even at the top, man, you got the, the Tampa

floor or Tampa Buffalo and Carolina race for first in the east and first in the Atlantic. God,

there's races all over the place. I'm loving it. So have a great weekend, everyone. That's

the rundown is always brought to you by bad 365.

Emmercing yourself in all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup, I'm Alex Abnos,

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