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00:00But the ice advice is exactly what we need right now.
00:03I'm Donnie Wright, along with Joe Ranieri, welcoming Chris Meany here of NHL.com,
00:07ready to rock and roll because last night we had four exciting games,
00:11and every night providing some new angles here on what we think about some of these series.
00:15Chris, how are you doing this morning?
00:18Doing great. Happy Friday, guys. Always appreciate the invite.
00:21Yeah, busy night on the ice last night, and as we head into the weekend,
00:24a couple teams, a couple Canadian teams in particular, down 0-2 in their series.
00:29Need wins tonight, but yeah, it was last night capped off with another remarkable performance
00:35from Kirill Dalla Dalla Bill Kaprizov last night in the Minnesota Wild.
00:39That's probably the most surprising series we've seen so far to date, guys.
00:44Getting busy right away, Chris. I don't want to waste any time here
00:46because I want to talk about a game that ended up 7-2 last night.
00:50That was the St. Louis Blues getting within 2-1 now of the series with the Winnipeg Jets.
00:55You look at the seven goals by the Blues, like sometimes you think it would be seven goals for a series
00:59that Hellebuck would be able to give up. The Blues were explosive on the ice last night.
01:03What gave? And also, there was a hat trick last night that maybe we didn't expect.
01:08Yeah, Pavel Buchnevich, their big boys showed up last night, and sometimes you hear across all sports,
01:15the NBA as well, you're not out of it until you lose on home ice.
01:19And Winnipeg is one of the toughest places to play hockey, especially a playoff game with the whiteout.
01:24The fans were rolling. The Jets were throwing their body around.
01:27They got goaltending from Connor Hellebuck, and they took care of home ice.
01:30The series shifts to St. Louis. It's another tough place to play hockey.
01:33They have some guys on that squad that have won the Stanley Cup a few years ago.
01:37Jordan Binnington, one of those players, so he was sharp to start.
01:40And the Blues just came out firing, right?
01:42They got a couple quick goals early on in that game.
01:44As I mentioned, their big boys showed up.
01:46Robert Thomas has been fantastic for them since the Four Nations face-off near the end of February.
01:50It was great. Buchnevich scored.
01:52And they have a lot of sandpaper as well, so they can go toe-to-toe with the Jets
01:55in terms of that physical play that Winnipeg likes to bring to the table.
01:59So they are right back into this series.
02:01That's what I was alluding to earlier with some of the Canadian teams having home ice tonight.
02:04But yeah, a good performance from St. Louis.
02:07That was one of my upset picks heading in to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
02:11I still believe that they're really in this thing.
02:13They're going to have to win and take...
02:15Eventually, they're going to have to win a game in Winnipeg, guys.
02:17But if they can take care of home ice and get right back into this series.
02:22Yeah, it was funny, Chris.
02:23We were just talking off air, and I asked you,
02:26how many more times am I going to be able to get my Florida Panthers,
02:30the champions, at plus money and in an underdog role here?
02:35Because they did it again.
02:37But it's amazing because this is exactly what they've done
02:41over the last couple of years in the round, too.
02:43They're built to win in the playoffs.
02:46And what they've done to Tampa in the first couple of games
02:49is what they've done to everybody over the last couple of years.
02:52What changes, if anything, you think in this series?
02:55Yeah, I don't know much.
02:57I think the only thing...
02:58We'll see the status of Captain Alexander Barkoff.
03:02He left last night.
03:03It was a questionable hit, certainly, to say the least,
03:06from Brendan Hagel to knock him out of that game.
03:08But you're right.
03:09I mean, the Florida Panthers, and I tried not to get caught up
03:13in the final month of the season when they were arresting guys
03:15and they didn't have Matthew Kichok.
03:17They just picked up Brad Marsh, and they really had the luxury of arresting.
03:21And I kind of compared them to LeBron James and the Cavs a few years ago.
03:25They didn't care if they had home court or not or who they played.
03:28They were going to play wherever.
03:30They were going to play whoever.
03:31When the puck dropped come playoff time for the Panthers,
03:34they were going to take care of business.
03:36And you're right, they flipped the switch.
03:38They're my team to go back to the Stanley Cup Finals
03:40for the third straight season.
03:41Look at Sergey Brodsky.
03:42He's among the leaders now in terms of Conce, my favorite.
03:45He's been good over the first couple games.
03:47Matthew Kichok made a presence right away in Game 1.
03:50Sam Bennett has that same paper.
03:52Brad Marsh, and they're playing him on the third line, guys.
03:55This guy has a ton of playoff experience.
03:57So they're loaded up and down the ice.
03:59They're going to get defenseman Aaron Ekblad back for Game 3.
04:03He was suspended for the final 20, 25 games of the season.
04:05So he's certainly rested and ready to go.
04:08I don't want to count Tampa out.
04:10I think that's still going to be a series.
04:12But my goodness, you see Florida Panthers on the money line plus money.
04:16You're going to have to take them almost every single time, guys,
04:19to ride this thing out.
04:20But yeah, Battle of Florida is going to be fun the rest of the way.
04:22And especially if Barkoff misses some time,
04:25maybe Tampa can get themselves back into the series.
04:28But it is going to be nasty regardless the rest of the way,
04:32considering how that game finished up last night.
04:35Bobrovsky with the shutout yesterday and also equally impressive,
04:38where it's one thing, hey, you're down 2-0.
04:39Let's go back to home ice and even up the series.
04:41No, you lost two games on home ice.
04:42Now the Florida Panthers are saying, boy,
04:44if we can go back to sunrise and just split, it's 3-1.
04:46The rest of the way should be good.
04:48I want to talk about that Golden Knights-Wild series as well,
04:50because you saw the split out in Vegas.
04:52You come home in the wild, really take care of business,
04:54build a 4-1 lead in route to a 5-2 victory over the Golden Knights,
04:58and a series lead here for the Wild, Chris, 2-1.
05:02Yeah, I'm buying what I'm seeing from Minnesota.
05:05And this is another team down the stretch of the season that, you know,
05:08they just weren't healthy all year long.
05:10I mean, you know, Kaprizov was missing time.
05:12Yul Eriksson-Eck was missing time.
05:14A number of blue liners out this season.
05:16Gustafson has been there all year long, and he's been great.
05:19Now, Vegas did control the shot attempts, the high-danger chances.
05:23The scoring chances were 22-6 and 5-5 last night for Vegas.
05:27So, Gustafson was really strong, but Minnesota's another tough place to play.
05:31The barn was rocking last night, and their big boys have been there.
05:34And you can't say the same thing about the Vegas Golden Knights right now.
05:37Where is Jack Eichel? Where is Mark Stone?
05:39Those two players in particular need to step up,
05:42because we haven't seen really anything from them.
05:44And Kaprizov, three goals and seven points here through three games.
05:47Boldy has three goals and seven points.
05:49I mentioned Yul Eriksson-Eck.
05:51They're getting contributions up and down their lineup from a lot of their players.
05:54And the biggest thing, I think there is a buying window for Vegas,
05:58given their experience.
05:59But the biggest thing that I've noticed, guys, through three games,
06:02is the goaltending edge.
06:03Aiden Hill was pulled last night, and I mentioned Gustafson.
06:05He has been the better goalie here.
06:07So, if we're looking for an upset, so far, this is it.
06:10As I mentioned, this has been the most surprising of the eight series so far,
06:15where we see a wildcard team really kind of take it to the Vegas Golden Knights.
06:20They're very much in that game one that they lost as well.
06:22So, again, I do believe that there's a buying window for Vegas,
06:26but some of their big boys are going to have to show up.
06:28And maybe Jack Eichel missing the final six, seven games or so,
06:31and just needed to kind of get going.
06:32But I look at their guys, their leaders, to have a big game for,
06:37if not, they're in trouble.
06:39By the way, let's kick it back up to Canada, too.
06:41How about those Maple Leafs?
06:42What is that I see?
06:43A 3-0 series lead in round number one, Chris.
06:45Is it true?
06:46Are my eyes deceiving me?
06:48It is true, guys.
06:49It looks like the Leafs are going to win a first-round series.
06:52I believe it will be the second time in the last nine years or so.
06:55Battle of Ontario, not much of a battle.
06:57Give the Senators credit.
06:59You know, they've lost the last two games in overtime.
07:01They've played a really good brand of 5-5 hockey as well,
07:04but the biggest difference as well in this series,
07:06Anthony Stolarz, consider him as a consummate pick as well.
07:08They're getting good goaltending.
07:09We got Chris coming right back to re-rack those Stanley Cup odds next.
07:17The early line is rolling right now.
07:19The ice advice, which is exactly what we need right now from Chris Meany.
07:22Before we get to the exciting action that's going to take place tonight on the ice,
07:26I need to re-rack those Stanley Cup odds with you here.
07:29So if we take a look at the FanDuel Sportsbook,
07:30the favorites right now, the Hurricanes at a plus 440 price,
07:34followed by the Panthers, who have a great series so far,
07:36and a 2-0 series lead over the Lightning, followed by the Jets, Stars, and Leafs.
07:40Talk to me about some of this odds market that will be shifting on a day-to-day basis.
07:44Do you still agree, though, the Hurricanes at the plus 440 price right now
07:47as the favorites to win the Cup?
07:50No, I don't agree.
07:52I mean, they definitely have a really good matchup.
07:54They're getting the Devils, who, you know,
07:56obviously they've taken care of the first two games of this series,
07:59but New Jersey's not 100%.
08:00Jack Hughes is not coming back.
08:01His brother Luke is banged up.
08:03They have a couple injuries on the blue line.
08:05So, yeah, they have the shortest number,
08:07but I think it's just because of their first-round matchup.
08:10It looks like they're going to get the Washington Capitals.
08:12I'm going to give the advantage to the Capitals.
08:13Why are the Capitals here 10-1?
08:15I mean, they've been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference all year long.
08:18They're getting fantastic goaltending from Logan Thompson.
08:21Alex Ovechkin has picked up where he left off in the regular season,
08:23had his first ever Stanley Cup playoff overtime game-winning goal
08:27in Game 1 of that series.
08:29They're up 2-0 against a Canadian squad who has their backs against the wall as well.
08:32So, I like that number for the Washington Capitals.
08:36And, you know, we talked about the Florida Panthers.
08:38They were my squad.
08:38I know that's not a fantastic number there,
08:41but we just talked about them flipping the switch.
08:43And until they show me that they lose hockey games come this time of the year,
08:47right, they've been in the finals two straight seasons.
08:50I'm not going to turn my head against picking them,
08:54as you see there, 5-1.
08:55So, I think there's also a buying window, guys, in the Colorado Avalanche.
08:59My Stanley Cup final, it was the Avs in the Panthers.
09:02I know they're down 2-1 in that series,
09:04but they played a great brand of 5-5 hockey.
09:06You look up at the top, Nathan McKenna,
09:07Cale McCire leading the NHL in shot attempts.
09:09They've really put a lot of pucks towards the goal of Jake Ottinger.
09:12They just got their captain, Gabriel Landeskog, back Game 3.
09:15We'll see how many more minutes he can get moving forward in this series.
09:18So, I think that even down 2-1 in that series,
09:21also games that have been in overtime, back-to-back games there.
09:25Colorado's very much alive in this series,
09:27and they were close to, I believe, maybe 6-1 when the puck dropped in the playoffs.
09:33Chris, I love it.
09:34Tonight, back against the wall.
09:36I can't imagine what the crowd is going to be like in Montreal
09:39as playoff hockey is back.
09:41And another one of these series where this could easily be 1-1,
09:45but Capitals handling business.
09:48What do you think we get tonight here?
09:50Yeah, as much as I was just talking to Capitals and their number,
09:54Logan Thompson, I like the Canadians here in this spot.
09:57And you're right.
09:57They've hung around with Washington.
10:00There's certainly been moments in the series, guys,
10:03where the Capitals have used their physical presence,
10:06have gotten deep on the forecheck,
10:07and just have, they've had a lot of ozone time.
10:11There's been stretches of both games where they've really dominated play.
10:15But the last two third periods in Game 1 and in Game 2 in particular,
10:18the Canadians used their speed.
10:20They shortened the bench.
10:21And they really dominated play.
10:24So, yeah, they lost Game 1 in overtime.
10:26It was a 3-1 loss in Game 2, but that was an empty netter.
10:29The biggest X factor now in this series, as you mentioned,
10:32is the Bell Center.
10:34This place is, what can you say?
10:39Across all of the buildings in the league,
10:42this is the biggest home advantage for any team in the NHL.
10:47So, the crowd is going to be fired up.
10:49They have a ton of speed.
10:50I think we're going to see some changes in their lineup.
10:52They're going to have maybe Arbor Jack guy bring a physical presence
10:55and match what Washington has given them.
10:58So, the Canadians played great at home this year, too, guys.
11:0023-12-6.
11:0210-0-2 in their last 12 games.
11:03And those were all really must-win games for Montreal.
11:07So, I like them to get back into this series.
11:09Overall, I do like Washington.
11:10I saw this series going 6.
11:12But I think Montreal will take care of business at home ice
11:14and make this a series and use their speed.
11:17Because they have – when they're skating, you know, you can see it.
11:21They're hanging around with Washington.
11:24All three games, all three series 2-0,
11:27which means the home teams held serve here for their home ice advantage.
11:30We talk about the Hurricanes and the Devils now at the Rock in Newark tonight.
11:33The Hurricanes, no surprise, a heavy favorite tonight.
11:36Can things switch around with the Devils?
11:37Can they find lightning in a bottle and sort of play with the Hurricanes?
11:40Or at least, let's get this thing back to Carolina.
11:43Yeah, I don't see a great path for the Devils.
11:47I was talking about earlier.
11:48They're just not 100% healthy.
11:50They had a nice push in game two.
11:52Mark Sherham has been solid for them so far as well.
11:54But Frederick Anderson's been fantastic.
11:56And he's owned the Devils over the course of his career,
11:58especially lately as well.
11:59So I like Carolina, and I look for their big boys like Jackson Blake up on that top line
12:04with Sebastian Ajo and Seth Jarvis to continue to put pucks towards the goal, Taylor Hall as well.
12:08If there's a team, guys, that's going to get back into it like the Canadians, it's the Oilers.
12:13The Edmonton Oilers down 2-0.
12:14You guys know last week when we chatted, I'd like this LA Kings team to take care of business.
12:18But with Edmonton back at home, like the Montreal Canadiens,
12:21that barn is going to be rocking 25-13-3 at home this season.
12:26They were great last year at home, and that's why they've had the advantage
12:29against the Kings over the last three years as they've started this series at home.
12:32I look for Edmonton to get back into it tonight.
12:35Thank you, Chris Meany.
12:36The ice advice?
12:37Yeah, we just got it.
12:38Hour number three, up next.
12:39Year's advice.
12:40Oh, excuse me.
12:40Morning.
12:41Good luck.
12:41Okay.
12:41Absolutely.
12:42Theoux akuma thing.
12:43Yeah.
12:44Got it.
12:45Yeah.
12:46� Heritage.
12:46gerçekicion clip.
12:47All right.
12:48From 20,000 point.
12:49Yeah.
12:49Wow.
12:50Yeah.
12:50Look.
12:51Yeah.
12:52Whoo.
12:53Okay.
12:54Yeah.
12:54It's not powerful.
12:55Yeah.
12:56Where do I know how to capture this gun?
12:58You know, yeah.
12:59Yeah.
13:00The votesorey gueè¿«.
13:01You know, There is, yeah.
13:03You have no fear.
13:03It's safe.
13:04You?
13:06Yeah.
13:06Yeah.