Speaker 1: This is Neil Smith, former president and GM of the
Speaker 1: New York Rangers and the New York Islanders. Join me
Speaker 1: and my co host Vic Moren for our podcast NHL
Speaker 1: Wrap Around for all the important news and views around
Speaker 1: the NHL.
Speaker 2: Stanley Cup Playoffs are going on right now. It's an
Speaker 2: off season for the Utah Hockey Club, so we'll bring
Speaker 2: in Neil Smith on a Wednesday afternoon to break it
Speaker 2: all down. Neil, Happy Wednesday, sir, How are you happy Wednesday?
Speaker 3: I'm doing well, Thanks Spence. How about you?
Speaker 4: I'm great. I'm great. So is this time of year
Speaker 4: put a little wind in your sales?
Speaker 2: I mean, there's really nothing quite like the Stanley Cup playoffs?
Speaker 3: Yeah, oh yeah. And the unexpected happens every year in
Speaker 3: different places at different times, and the first round is
Speaker 3: always one of my favorites because you just don't know
Speaker 3: what's going to happen.
Speaker 2: So let's just start big picture, your biggest surprise so
Speaker 2: far now, we are still very very early in a
Speaker 2: couple of series, have only played one game. We've got
Speaker 2: two games in the book in some of the other series,
Speaker 2: but anything stand out as far as a surprise, just
Speaker 2: kind of storyline throughout the early parts of the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Well, I think there's been two things. First of all,
Speaker 3: Minnesota beating Vegas last night in Vegas quite handily, and
Speaker 3: going from a team who didn't score much they are
Speaker 3: always the under to a team that once they got
Speaker 3: Caprisos and Erics and Eck and Bowldy all playing together.
Speaker 3: Now all of a sudden they're putting the puck in
Speaker 3: the net and they eliminated Jack Eikele, the best player
Speaker 3: on Vegas, so they won that game handley. And then
Speaker 3: the other thing that surprised me was the shellacking that
Speaker 3: Florida gave Tampa in Tampa in Game one of that series,
Speaker 3: which was last night. It was skill versus you know, determination,
Speaker 3: and determination won out with the Florida Panthers.
Speaker 2: Of all the series, excuse me, Of all the series,
Speaker 2: which one is I'll say, the most intriguing, the most entertaining,
Speaker 2: which one has your attention more than any of them?
Speaker 3: I think either Ottawa and Toronto, where Toronto is up
Speaker 3: two games to none, because that's the Battle of Ontario
Speaker 3: and you know that's where I'm trump, or the Forida
Speaker 3: matchup with the Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning because
Speaker 3: they're both Stanley Cup contenders, but one of them's got
Speaker 3: to go away after the first round. So I find
Speaker 3: those two things really exciting. Winnipeg and the Winnipeg and
Speaker 3: the Blues. Winnipeg was able to take the two nothing lead,
Speaker 3: very hard to come back on that from that for
Speaker 3: Saint Louis, but they nevertheless put up a real good
Speaker 3: fight so far. But I'd say that the most intriguing
Speaker 3: to me. And then you, I should say, You've also
Speaker 3: got Edmonton in LA where LA had a four goal
Speaker 3: lead and got it erased by Edmonton, but then one
Speaker 3: in overtime in Game one, so that's also intriguing. And Spence,
Speaker 3: this is the fifth year in a row, if you
Speaker 3: can believe that, the fifth year in a row that
Speaker 3: the first round has had the Edmonton l A matchup.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, I didn't realize it had been five years.
Speaker 2: I knew it was back to back years. I read
Speaker 2: that earlier. I didn't realize it had been five years. Geez,
Speaker 2: let me.
Speaker 4: You know all of those series certainly correct answers.
Speaker 2: But the Stars, you know Stars Avalanche series, of course,
Speaker 2: it's out in our neck of the woods. It's another
Speaker 2: another series where there's gonna be a really good team
Speaker 2: that goes home. And first two games have been really good.
Speaker 2: It's had one game apiece. How do you see this
Speaker 2: one playing out?
Speaker 3: Well, I'm giving Colorado the edge because Colorado's gotten healthy
Speaker 3: at the right time and unfortunately for Dallas, they've gotten
Speaker 3: injured at the wrong time. So they lost their top
Speaker 3: goal scoring Jason Robertson. They had already lost Heiskin and
Speaker 3: their best defenseman, Mikol Heiskin, and so that doesn't look
Speaker 3: like those guys might make it back in time. And
Speaker 3: Colorado is really strong. And Gabriel Landscott, the captain of
Speaker 3: College whose last game was hoisting the Stanley Cup in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty two, has been going to play tonight according
Speaker 3: to his coach. So he hasn't played since that twenty
Speaker 3: twenty two Stanley Cup and he's.
Speaker 2: Return is tonight, three years away from the game. I mean,
Speaker 2: that's that's a pretty exciting storyline. I want to pan
Speaker 2: back a little bit look at this thing from more
Speaker 2: of a macro viewpoint. And you know, it's always fun
Speaker 2: to hear you educate us on all things NHL as
Speaker 2: it's new to Salt Lake City, and you know, in
Speaker 2: other sports, there are other superlatives and cliches about what
Speaker 2: wins in the postseason. From a hockey standpoint, when you
Speaker 2: go about your business of trying to build a team,
Speaker 2: build a team that is built for the playoffs, what
Speaker 2: are some of the dynamics that lead to success? Just
Speaker 2: generally speaking, what leads to success in playoff hockey?
Speaker 3: I think that the pack mentality is one thing where
Speaker 3: you know you've got one guy after the next coming
Speaker 3: at the other team, and you're not based on skill,
Speaker 3: but you can play it any which way. You can
Speaker 3: play skill if you have to, but you can also play,
Speaker 3: you know, that very physical style because the playoffs do
Speaker 3: get extremely physical. When you see the same guys every
Speaker 3: other night for two weeks, it gets really intense, and
Speaker 3: you've got to be strong enough to be able to
Speaker 3: stand up for that. Florida, who won the Cup last year,
Speaker 3: has gotten healthy right at the right time. Matthew Kachuk
Speaker 3: came back last night, first game back, two goals and
Speaker 3: an assist, and hasn't played for twenty something games, missed
Speaker 3: twenty something games since the Four Nations. He's been out
Speaker 3: since the Four Nations. Came back and got two goals,
Speaker 3: and assists last night in their win over Tampa.
Speaker 2: All right, let's move let's move over to the games
Speaker 2: that are going on tonight.
Speaker 4: Let's get a little preview.
Speaker 2: We got the Canadians and the Capitols Game one, Alvechkin
Speaker 2: two goals assisted on the other Caps to the oldest
Speaker 2: player in Stanley Cup playoff history to factor in all
Speaker 2: of his team goals with a minimum of three. So
Speaker 2: this is this is going to be a barnburner tonight.
Speaker 2: Washington leads one zero. What are you expecting to see
Speaker 2: between Montreal and Washington tonight.
Speaker 3: Well, I was really impressed with the way Montreal came
Speaker 3: back in that game. They sort of seemed to have
Speaker 3: stage fright in the first two periods, but then the
Speaker 3: third period they dominated. They pushed it into overtime and
Speaker 3: Ovechkin got the overtime goal. As you said, during the
Speaker 3: regular season, there was no comparison between Washington Montreal. But
Speaker 3: Montreal has got nothing to lose, and I think tonight
Speaker 3: I would be surprised that Washington can take a two
Speaker 3: lead on them the way that Montreal played the other night.
Speaker 3: They're young, they're very aggressive, and as I said, they
Speaker 3: got nothing to lose. No one expected them to even
Speaker 3: make the playoffs this year.
Speaker 2: Who has You know, one of the things you always
Speaker 2: talk about, You know, in football, quarterback the most important position,
Speaker 2: but you know, when it comes to the most important
Speaker 2: position in team sports, I think most people would still
Speaker 2: sid on quarterback. But you do hear a lot of
Speaker 2: people talk about goalies, and hot goalkeepers at the right
Speaker 2: time can lead teams to Stanley Cupps. We've seen it before.
Speaker 2: Who are the best goalies in the playoffs?
Speaker 3: Neil Well, Butbroski for Florida has to be number one
Speaker 3: since he did win the Cup last year and he's
Speaker 3: starting for them and they won their their first game. Massilevski,
Speaker 3: who's won two Stanley Cups for Tampa, didn't look good
Speaker 3: last night, but I can tell you he'll turn that
Speaker 3: around and start playing well. You know, the Toronto has
Speaker 3: got for the first year and a long time, has
Speaker 3: gotten superb goaltending out of Anthony Stolars who was with
Speaker 3: the Panthers as the backup last year but now is
Speaker 3: the number one in Toronto. You've got to have a
Speaker 3: good goaltender to go anywhere in the playoffs because the
Speaker 3: intensity level is so high. You don't have to have
Speaker 3: a superstar like back in my day when you either
Speaker 3: had to have Mike Richt or Marty Brodure or Patrick Waugh.
Speaker 3: But you just have to have a good goalie Aiden
Speaker 3: hill In they has won the Stanley Cup and he's
Speaker 3: not a household name. So if I was saying who
Speaker 3: is the best guys, it's Vassilevski and Bobrovski for sure,
Speaker 3: you know, and then and then it goes down from there,
Speaker 3: not very far down, but it's those I think are
Speaker 3: the two top guys.
Speaker 2: You already referenced that you like Colorado because they're getting
Speaker 2: healthy at the right time.
Speaker 4: Series is deadlock to one. What do you think happens tonight?
Speaker 3: I think that I think that they're probably going to
Speaker 3: win tonight if and Lampscott, if he comes back, that's
Speaker 3: going to give them a huge mental boost and the
Speaker 3: building will be buzzing. Dallas is just doesn't. I don't
Speaker 3: think Dallas has enough. I just don't. I Uh. I
Speaker 3: like their lineup when it's healthy, but it's not healthy
Speaker 3: right now, and with Jason Robertson out and Mikohaskine, I
Speaker 3: just think Colorado will be too much.
Speaker 2: You already referenced the comeback six five victory. Game one,
Speaker 2: Kings became the fourth team and Stanley Cup history to
Speaker 2: blow a four goal lead and then win in regulation.
Speaker 4: What do you think happens tonight in La? I've been
Speaker 4: to La.
Speaker 3: Kings LA are sorry. Edmonton's got Evander Keene coming back.
Speaker 3: Now that's not headline news, but that's certainly a different
Speaker 3: ingredient that you put into your lineup, and I think
Speaker 3: Edmonton will even the series up tonight. It's hard for
Speaker 3: me to believe that Connor McDavid, Leon Dry Sidel and
Speaker 3: Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman and all these other huge
Speaker 3: players they've got will go home down two, but it
Speaker 3: could happen. The Kings are a great home team. But
Speaker 3: you know, they almost put it the other night. It
Speaker 3: was amazing to watch how the Kings sort of fell
Speaker 3: apart there. But we're able to solidify the win at
Speaker 3: the end.
Speaker 2: Since this was our only opportunity to catch up you
Speaker 2: this week, let's get some thoughts on the games we've played.
Speaker 4: Tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Panther's Lightning you already referenced you like this series an
Speaker 2: awful lot. Florida leads one zero, this will be in Tampa.
Speaker 2: What do you think happens tomorrow? I guess I'll say
Speaker 2: afternoon between these two teams.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the game, the game, the first game in Tampa
Speaker 3: was one sided. I think that Tampa will make adjustments.
Speaker 3: I don't think Florida will be able to blow them
Speaker 3: out like six to two like they did in the
Speaker 3: first game. But Tampa's got their hands full of Florida.
Speaker 3: Whoever plays Florida is going to have their hands full
Speaker 3: because these guys are just They play playoff hockey all
Speaker 3: year long, so when the playoffs come, they're used to it.
Speaker 3: That's the way they play. So that'll be That'll be
Speaker 3: in a very intense matchup.
Speaker 2: We'll move over now to another series that you like
Speaker 2: an awful lot based off of where you are from.
Speaker 2: We're all from somewhere. Maple leafs Senators. That will be tomorrow.
Speaker 2: That is five o'clock mound time ESPN two Toronto leads
Speaker 2: two zero.
Speaker 4: Canada will get back into it.
Speaker 3: I think Anawak can get a win. I don't think that.
Speaker 3: I don't think they're going to win both games in Ottawa.
Speaker 3: I think they're gonna win one of them, which would
Speaker 3: put them down three to one, which would mean that
Speaker 3: Toronto's going to win the series either in five or
Speaker 3: six or seven. But Ottawa is a good, feisty young team.
Speaker 3: Haven't been in the playoffs for many years, so this
Speaker 3: is their first exposure. Brady Katuck Matthew's brother Matthew Kachuck
Speaker 3: that I talked about in Florida. Brady plays, he's the
Speaker 3: captain of Ottawa, had his first taste of playoff hockey
Speaker 3: in his career in this series, so they're all new
Speaker 3: to it. Being down two oh though to Toronto is
Speaker 3: not a good place to be.
Speaker 2: Golden Knight's Wild That will be tomorrow seven o'clock. That's
Speaker 2: on TBS in Minnesota. Deadlocke to one apiece as they
Speaker 2: go back to As they go to Minnesota, what do
Speaker 2: you think happens tomorrow night.
Speaker 3: I think it's going to be a toss up, I
Speaker 3: really do. I was really impressed with Minnesota Vegas. Vegas
Speaker 3: ended the season way ahead of Minnesota, but Minnesota's gotten healthy.
Speaker 3: They really played well in that game last night, and
Speaker 3: nothing would surprise me. They're back on home ice. But
Speaker 3: you know what, Jack Eichel's not going to go very
Speaker 3: long with no points and he's got none to this point,
Speaker 3: so we'll see. I can't give you a winner on
Speaker 3: that one. I just want to see it.
Speaker 2: Winnipeg was historic all year with theirnette and the best
Speaker 2: team out this way in the Western Conference. Can the
Speaker 2: Blues at least make this interesting?
Speaker 3: I think the same as I said for Ottawa. They're
Speaker 3: down two going home. Eighty six percent of the teams
Speaker 3: that have a two dozing lead win the series. I
Speaker 3: think that the Jets will win this series. I don't
Speaker 3: think the Jets will win both games at Enterprise Center
Speaker 3: in Saint Louis. I think St. Lewis will take one
Speaker 3: of them. And about the same analysis, Spence that I
Speaker 3: gave you for Ottawa and Toronto. I think Winnipeg's clearly
Speaker 3: the better team, but Ottawa is feisty and trying hard to,
Speaker 3: you know, to battle a giant.
Speaker 2: Of all the teams that did not make the playoffs,
Speaker 2: which team surprised you the most?
Speaker 4: Who's the best team not involved in the tournament?
Speaker 3: You know, it's interesting. I was talking about this today
Speaker 3: with somebody, and in the East, the best team I
Speaker 3: think of the teams that didn't make it are the
Speaker 3: Buffalo Sabers. But because they're so messed up, their talent
Speaker 3: can't come through, and they missed the playoffs again for
Speaker 3: the fourteenth straight year. But if you looked at their talent,
Speaker 3: I think they've got better talent than the Red Wings
Speaker 3: or the Columbus Blue Jackets and so on. So that's
Speaker 3: what I think on that side. On the other side,
Speaker 3: on the western side of the Utah side, Calgary had
Speaker 3: a spectacular year, Vancouver had a spectacularly bad year, and
Speaker 3: Utah made up some ground as we've talked about. But
Speaker 3: I think that Calgary surprised me, and they've got a
Speaker 3: real good goaltender and they will be right in there
Speaker 3: in the mix. You can mark this down if you
Speaker 3: want for next year's conversations. Calgary and Utah will be
Speaker 3: fighting for a spot next year, fighting each other for
Speaker 3: a spot.
Speaker 2: You know what, I'm just realizing, and I don't have
Speaker 2: a question. I'm just going to say it into this
Speaker 2: microphone to get your reaction. Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit
Speaker 2: Red Wings, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, your old New
Speaker 2: York Islanders. There are a lot of you know, a
Speaker 2: lot of teams that were accustomed to seeing like Banner
Speaker 2: carrying teams for pro hockey that are not in the
Speaker 2: Stanley Cup playoffs. Like I said, I out of question. That's
Speaker 2: kind of interesting though. Those are big, big brands.
Speaker 3: And let me give you a fact that this is
Speaker 3: the first time in history that the four US based
Speaker 3: Original Six teams being the Rangers, Chicago, Boston, and Detroit,
Speaker 3: have all been out of the playoffs. All four of
Speaker 3: the American based Original Six seeing the playoffs for the
Speaker 3: first time ever. And you're right, Pittsburgh has been out
Speaker 3: for a couple of years now, but they've certainly still
Speaker 3: got Crosby and Malcolm and so on, and we're used
Speaker 3: to seeing them. The New York Islanders, of course, had
Speaker 3: their heyday long ago, but in Boston Bruins were only
Speaker 3: two years removed from from setting not just a franchise
Speaker 3: record of wins and points, a league record of wins
Speaker 3: and points just two years ago, and now the bottom's
Speaker 3: fallen out on them.
Speaker 2: Pretty wild to consider, all right, Neil, Before I set
Speaker 2: you loose, just a thought on the Utah Hockey Club,
Speaker 2: And of course I've already asked you about what they
Speaker 2: need to add and what Bill Armstrong could do but
Speaker 2: we had some postseason media with Bill Armstrong and coach Tourney.
Speaker 2: They held exit interviews and now the players go on
Speaker 2: their ways. Just so for our fans around here, what
Speaker 2: is this time of year like for front offices that
Speaker 2: are not involved in the Stanley Cup playoffs, namely the
Speaker 2: Utah Hockey Club.
Speaker 3: Well, I think Bill Armstrong's meeting having scouting meetings, may
Speaker 3: go over to the World Championships and look at that
Speaker 3: and look at the best players over there. Definitely looking
Speaker 3: at high high end junior talent, college talent, people that
Speaker 3: are going to be in the entry draft. He's going
Speaker 3: to be going with his scouts to see that. So
Speaker 3: they're going to be preparing and they're gonna have lots
Speaker 3: of time to do it. They're going to be preparing
Speaker 3: for the entry draft they're going to and they got
Speaker 3: a lot of picks. They're going to be preparing for
Speaker 3: free agency seeing who's available. So they've they've got a
Speaker 3: lot of time. That's what you do in the offseason.
Speaker 3: You you study what's out there. You already know what
Speaker 3: you need and what you think can be replaced because
Speaker 3: you've watched the two games. But this is a time
Speaker 3: when I can tell you Bill Armstrong's not spending a
Speaker 3: lot of nights at home right now.
Speaker 2: A lot of new hockey fans out here, Neil, how
Speaker 2: can they go find your podcast?
Speaker 3: Well, go find it on any any podcast platform, if
Speaker 3: you can get on Spotify or Apple or Amazon or
Speaker 3: any of them, or or YouTube, NHL wrap around and
Speaker 3: we're doing a Stanley Cup date. How do you like that?
Speaker 3: Plan for Stanley Date? Every day? And so the little thing.
Speaker 3: They'll come out telling everybody what happened the night before
Speaker 3: and where everything stands. And we're having a lot of
Speaker 3: pun at it. And I think a lot of people
Speaker 3: could learn things from the podcast, not just from me certainly,
Speaker 3: but from the guests that we have on the show.
Speaker 2: Great time of you're my friend, Thank you for your
Speaker 2: time and have a great week.
Speaker 4: Enjoy it.
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, thank you, Spence, you too.
Speaker 4: All right.
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