Happy Hour Ep. 5 - Conference Finals!
Happy Friday! Welcome to Episode 5 of the From Center Ice Happy Hour. I'm here to wind down your week talking abotu what's gone on in the hockey world this week.
I've got NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Updates, THE Cale Makar goal, and head injuries.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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Full Podcast Transcript:
00:10
Welcome to From Center Ice the podcast. My name is Courtney and happy Friday. And since it is Friday, this is the From Center Ice Happy Hour.
00:21
And once again I am joining in Happy Hour festivities today.
00:26
And Happy Pride!
00:27
It is the first Happy Hour of the month of June, being Pride Month.
00:32
So I have the jersey behind me here that Mr. Johnny Rockford made for me. It's all customized. It has my number 50 on it. And my name on the back that I have for our Rockford hockey club on EASHL. And I also have House Wine today.
00:52
And this is the limited edition rose bubbles flavor. And for every case sold of it, they donate $2 to the Human Rights Campaign. And it's a nice rainbow can here. So, going all out for the festivities for Pride month here.
01:15
Take a sip of that. It is rather tasty as well, I will say.
01:21
So, yeah. Happy Friday, Happy Pride Month. It's all very exciting.
01:27
And too bad that the NHL teams remaining aren't having like pride nights or whatever in the playoffs. But they, they tend to have pride nights throughout the season, at least for their hockey is for everyone campaign, which we've talked about a bit how hockey really isn't for everyone. It should be for everyone. But that's not always the case.
02:00
But having pride Nights is something that is really fun. And you can see on the internet, when all of the teams turn their logos Rainbow for June, why we need pride nights in the NHL and in hockey.
02:21
Because if you go to the comments, well, do I really have to tell you what you will see there?
02:28
I know people always say never read the comments. But sometimes we read the comments. And it shows why we still need pride nights in the NHL, and everywhere really.
02:41
And I read something on Instagram yesterday, and I think that really summed up in the best way why we still celebrate Pride and why it's important that we have pride nights in sports and such.
02:59
And it said something along the lines of "Pride is important because there are still kids out there tonight who believe they are better off dead than gay."
03:11
And yeah, that's, it's, it's a reality for a lot of people. It's a very tough reality for a lot of people.
03:25
I am incredibly lucky that I have an amazing family. I've said it many times, I am part of the LGBTQ community. I have a girlfriend and she's a Wolves fan. Of course, I've mentioned that before. So rivals with my Piggies here.
03:42
But I have an incredible, amazing, supportive family and friends.
03:49
But not everybody is that lucky. And it's really sad that some families will disown their children just for being gay and for loving somebody that their families don't support. And that's really sad. And not only families, but just you encounter so much hatred out in public and in the wild, that it's really important to have these nights and pride month because the more that you can normalize it, then the better it gets.
04:25
And things have gotten better over time. Still not great. But things have gotten better and more people are open and respectful and welcoming.
04:39
And so yeah it's, it's important. And every time there is a pride night in the NHL, or when pride month comes around, there's always people saying, "Why do they still need pride? I don't care."
04:56
You cared enough to make that comment and that shows that you do actually care, it just makes you uncomfortable to see a rainbow. For whatever reason.
05:08
Ask yourself that, I guess, because I don't know why it should make you uncomfortable if something like that, which doesn't affect your life at all, can make you so angry. Ask yourself that. But yeah, that's, that's my little intro to pride there.
05:31
So maybe that was a little serious, and pride month should be fun. So that's what we're going to do, is we are going to have fun.
05:40
And I will say that people that I talk to on Twitter and in the hockey space, are all very welcoming. And I think that is a beautiful thing. Of course, there's people everywhere on the internet who are full of hate. But there are a lot of people in the hockey community who are open and accepting and welcoming and want hockey to truly be for everyone. And that's what we can strive to do here. So moving on from that.
06:16
We will talk about the NHL playoffs because it is still playoff time.
06:22
Of course. Let me take a drink before we jump into the playoffs here.
06:30
All right.
06:31
So on Monday, when we talked for the Cozy Cast, we did not have the outcome of the Rangers and Carolina series yet because game seven was that night. So obviously, we have that outcome now.
06:49
And the Rangers won that game 6-2. They won the series against the Carolina Hurricanes, which I guess you could say was kind of an upset. I think most people had Carolina coming out of that series. But they didn't. The Rangers fought back. And Carolina had that game has seven winning streak going. They had their home winning streak going. Coming into that game, they hadn't lost a game at home during this year's playoffs, which is crazy. But they also hadn't won on the road, which is also crazy. It was just very confusing year for the Hurricanes, in my opinion, because if you're so good to win every game at home, why can't you just walk into a win on the road? But they didn't. They looked like a completely different team. It was so strange.
07:50
And I said, I think it was in the Cozy Cast on Monday, that the Chicago Wolves obviously the affiliate in the AHL of the Carolina Hurricanes. They were the only team remaining in the Calder Cup playoffs who also had their NHL club remaining in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And then that night Carolina was eliminated. So, Canes fans, you know who to blame. It's the Chicago Wolves. They are a curse. So there you go. Your affiliate is the reason why you are not in the Eastern Conference Final.
08:32
But that game was crazy. It started out, and it looked like the Rangers were just the overall better team. I don't know what happened to Carolina coming into that game. But they didn't really look like they came to play a game seven. I don't know if they were relying too heavily on them always winning at home or always winning game sevens and just figured it would happen. But they really didn't come out with very much fire and the Rangers did. And Filip Chytil, two goals in that game in the second period. That kid line is on fire - Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko, My goodness. Maybe Kakko and Lafreniere didn't start out their careers as magnificently as people would have wanted them to being they were a first and second overall pick. But they've really shown up in the playoffs this year now, especially starting in that second round. And when we get to this series in the Eastern Conference Final again. But yeah, Chytil with two goals.
09:51
But there were two injuries in that game for Carolina. And I don't necessarily think had the injuries not happened, that Carolina would have come back and won this game. But they were big injuries.
10:06
So the first one I'll talk about is Antti Raanta. Their goaltender Of course, since Frederik Andersen was injured coming into the playoffs. Raanta was the guy, and Raanta played very well throughout the playoffs. He's got some of the best stats for a goaltender in the playoffs this season.
10:06
And it was a really weird play. He moved to his right from the top of his crease, he moved to the right to try to stop a puck but he went down pretty hard on that right leg and then just fell to the ice. And you could tell he was in pain, tried to get up, but it wasn't happening for him. And so he was out of the game.
10:17
I forget when it happened, in the second period, maybe. But that was . . . That was rough to watch. Raanta is a guy that it's very hard to not root for him to do well, because he's just such a genuine person and such a likable guy.
11:15
So of course, you never want to see injuries to any player, but it's really tough to see him go down like that when he's suffered through a lot of injuries throughout his career. And he had injuries this season for Carolina, they were pretty cursed in the goaltending area with injuries. Which, they went out in the offseason and signed to goaltenders who are known for being injured. So one could have guessed that would happen. But it did happen.
11:49
And so it was really unfortunate that Raanta had to leave that game. And then Pyotr Kochetkov had to come in for them. The rookie goaltender who has spent some time with the Chicago Wolves this season, and he is now back with the Wolves as they continue their Calder Cup Chase.
12:09
And he played pretty well. Of course, he gave up a few goals. But you can't blame him for those. Maybe you would want him to have a stop or two that he didn't. But it's being thrown into a very tough situation. A rookie goaltender not expecting to play the game comes in in a game seven when his team is already not looking great. And then the Rangers just keep going and take the win. So that was tough. It's not on the goalie. It's not Antti Raanta. It's not his fault that the Canes lost to the series. He played absolutely phenomenal in goal for them in the first and the second round, even though he dealt with an injury in round one as well. So who knows how banged up round one was coming into the second round and coming into this game seven, and he's still played out of his mind.
13:05
But the Rangers won.
13:08
And the second injury is Seth Jarvis, their rookie phenom, really. He's a fantastic hockey player. And you could see that last year when he spent some time with the Chicago Wolves when the Junior season hadn't started up yet, because of COVID. He led the American Hockey League in points as a kid who was supposed to be playing in the CHL. But his team hadn't started yet. So they . . . it was all sorts of messed up.
13:41
Usually this CHL/NHL agreement, if you aren't of a certain age, you aren't allowed to play in the American League, you can only play in the NHL or in Junior.
13:51
But since the Junior teams hadn't started up yet, because of COVID, they were allowed to play in the American Hockey League. And unfortunately, Jarvis's team did start up eventually. So he had to go back to Junior. But he was leading the American League in points before that happened. So you could tell he was going to be a great player.
14:12
And then he came into the season and really showed up again and showed up in the playoffs. And then on a very unfortunate play, he had the puck on the right wing in the offensive zone, and Jacob Trouba came in with a hit. And you can argue whether it was a clean hit or a dirty hit. If we want to go through that argument again.
14:42
But the result of that hit was Jarvis went down to the ice. And as he was trying to get off the ice, one of his teammates jumped on whether to jump into the play or trying to help him off the ice. I've seen it both ways. And then Carolina was one called for a Too Many Men penalty. I believe the Rangers scored on that power play.
15:08
But as Jarvis got to the bench, he then fell over on the bench, and then he had to go back to the room. And he was diagnosed, I don't know if they came out and officially said he was diagnosed with a concussion. But it's pretty obvious that that's what happened.
15:26
And during the game, the analysts were like, oh, it's an equipment issue, and said that he lost his blade there as he couldn't get to the bench, but come to find out it was not equipment, it was his brain.
15:39
And the scary part is, in his end of Season presser, he said he doesn't remember most of that game. He doesn't remember, remember the hit. He remembers being driven home after the game, and really not a whole lot from the game and from the hit and getting off the ice. So that's absolutely terrifying. And you could see it on his face when they briefly showed him walking back to the locker room after falling over on the bench. He he looked like he was just not in his body there. So that's really scary.
16:19
And I hope that he's able to make a full recovery over this offseason. Concussions are terrifying. And the NHL really, really, really needs to take head injuries more seriously. Because we have seen way too many guys leave the ice with concussions this season. And way too many guys being stretchered off of the ice this season.
16:47
And it happened here in Chicago on another hit by Jacob Trouba, where Jujhar Khaira was laid out on the ice and knocked out and had to be stretchered off the ice.
16:58
And it's just It breaks my heart every single time that we see a player taken off like that, because it's so scary and some things are bigger than hockey. And one thing that is bigger than hockey is these players' livelihoods after hockey, after their careers are over. And that's way more important than a game. And Seth Jarvis is still so young, that it's just scary to think about. So I hope that he is okay and makes a full recovery over the offseason and is able to come back and be his wonderful hockey playing self.
17:38
But going back to the hit. I don't like it. I've said it many times. I didn't like the hit on max Domi either. But that one was a bit different because he was falling when Trouba made contact.
17:54
I still think that any contact with the head should be an automatic major penalty. They do it in college, I think they need to do it in the NHL.
18:04
But that would require the NHL admitting that concussions and the game of hockey can lead to CTE, which they just refuse to do.
18:19
So as long as they are not being responsible about it, I don't see them taking head injuries as seriously as they should, which is really disappointing. And I think we were reminded of it every time that there is a hit like this, that the NHL doesn't take it seriously.
18:38
But there's been so much going on this season with different teams around the league, that it's really not a big talking point until something like this happens again.
18:51
So hopefully, the NHL franchises can clean up their act a bit here, this offseason and going forward into next season and not have any major horrible stories coming out about them. And we can go back to focusing on the NHL really needing to be responsible for their players and player safety. Of course we can call out the Department of player safety again. But yeah, it's it's just disheartening every single time and I hate to see it and the NHL really needs to step up and do something about it. Because even with these so called legal hits, I think the conversation needs to be about whether they are "legal" or "illegal" rather than "clean" or "dirty", because we see way too many hits in the NHL that are considered legal, but could be argued are very dirty hits and that's probably one of them. Jacob Trouba's a lot bigger than Seth Jarvis, which isn't his fault. But he needs to be more careful in that situation and be more aware. And that's not going to happen until action is taken by the league and discipline is handed out.
20:15
So, I don't know. I don't know, guys, I don't know what the answer is for it. I wish I knew. Do you have any ideas of what this league can do about head injuries? Please let me know if you're watching this on YouTube. Leave it down in the comments for me. If you're not watching this on YouTube, you can youtube.com/c/fromcenterice.
20:38
Otherwise, just reach out on social media or something and let me know.
20:43
But I'll move on from that Carolina/Rangers series here and talking about head injuries.
20:53
I said we were going to have fun, and head injuries are not fun. Joking aside, it's a very important conversation that needs to be had. And so even if it's not super fun, I'm going to keep talking about it because it's important, but we will move on now.
21:10
And I will give you the point leaders for the Carolina Hurricanes how they ended up here in the playoffs as we say a final goodbye to this season's Carolina Hurricanes team.
21:23
And up first is Sebastian Aho. In 14 games played he scored 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points.
21:33
Second, we have Teuvo Teravainen, 4 goals 7 assists 11 points, so you've got twins go in there.
21:41
Third is Vincent Trocheck. He scored 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points in 14 games.
21:49
Up next in fourth we have Tony DeAngelo. 14 games played 1 goal 9 assists, 10 points. And a lot of turnovers that led to goals by the New York Rangers. So I appreciate that.
22:03
And then finally, fifth we have Seth Jarvis, the rookie. In 14 games played he scored 3 goals and added 5 assists for 8 points.
22:15
Again, the kid is really good and I hope that he makes a full recovery because I want to see him come out and tear up the NHL next season.
22:25
In net for the Carolina Hurricanes, I've got both goalies here for you. Up first, Of course, Antti Raanta. 13 games played he had a record of 6-5, a .920 to save percentage in the playoffs and a 2.26 goals against average, just really good numbers there from Raanta.
22:47
And Pyotr Kochetkov, 4 games played. He had a record of 1-2, and he had an .869 save percentage and a 3.89 goals against average. He's a rookie, he wasn't expected to come in and be the savior and he played very, very well in net for them despite what his stats say.
23:10
So, much like Arvid Soderblom here in Chicago when he made NHL appearances.
23:17
Don't count the kid out just because of what his stats say for the playoffs. I know he played very well in the regular season as well. So don't just look at the stat line for the kid because he played very well for the Canes.
23:30
But ,moving on to the Eastern Conference Final.
23:35
We have the New York Rangers up against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
23:41
And now there's more yard work going on. So if the mic picks that up, I apologize. I had to start recording this episode late because somebody was just mowing the same patch of grass outside of this room apparently, and it was very loud. But now more people are doing yard work so I apologize if you hear that.
24:01
Anyway, the Eastern Conference Final between the Rangers and the Lightning.
24:05
The Rangers have a 1-0 series lead so far. They won 6-2 in game number one.
24:15
And Filip Chytil, once again, had two goals in that game. And oh my goodness on his second goal, that pas from K'Andre Miller, just through the middle of the ice for the one timer was so beautiful.
24:32
There were a lot of pretty goals scored in that game one. If you didn't watch it, you can go on nhl.com They have the condensed game it's about six to nine minutes for every game and it shows you all of the goals and the major plays.
24:48
But, man, that was pretty. And the first goal of the game by Chris Kreider. Mike Zibanejad, he faked a slap shot but sent the pass over to Kreider who just put it past Vasilevskiy, oh, it was nice. That series, if we can judge anything from Game one, is going to be a lot more exciting than anything we have seen out East so far. It's definitely looking to be better than the Battle of Florida was. Thank goodness. God that was a boring series and so many people were looking forward to it because it was so good last year. But this year, man, Panthers, oof, rough.
25:32
But the Lightning had, I believe, nine days off coming into this game one since they swept the Panthers in the Battle of Florida this year. And you could tell they looked a bit disjointed and maybe not ready to play. But they weren't bad by any means. They just weren't great, I guess. But they weren't great in round one either.
26:00
The Panthers in round two really just made them look great.
26:07
The Rangers were just cutting through their defense all over the ice. Vasilevskiy Didn't look awesome. He did make some big stops, of course, because that's what Vasilevskiy does. He did have a two-pad stack. Because you just never know what the guy's going to do.
26:25
And, but the Rangers just looked really, really good. But they have a home winning streak going and they have home ice advantage in this series. So it's going to be interesting to see how this series plays out. Tampa has a, I believe, 18 game streak going where after they lose a game in the playoffs, they have won 18 straight games to come back in the next game. So that's just ridiculous in and of itself. 18 straight but they are the two time reigning Stanley Cup champs so they have won a lot of playoff games. And Game Two is obviously in New York again. So you have the home winning streak for the Rangers going and you have this 18 game, not losing back to back streak going for the Tampa Bay Lightning and something's got to give here.
27:28
So one of these teams is going to have their streak broken, we just have to see which team it is going to be.
27:39
If I was going to put money on it, I would probably say Tampa wins just because they always seem to annoy me and keep this streak going. And that's pretty much all that I based that on. If you go off of watching game one, then maybe you would say the Rangers win again, Tampa didn't play horribly. They just didn't look like the elite Tampa Bay Lightning that we have seen oftentimes throughout the regular season and post season.
28:16
The first goal of the game for them was a Steven Stamkos blast from the high slot on a one-time slap shot, and oh my goodness, that's just it was a beautiful goal. And I said this in my recap video, but I could acknowledge that now how beautiful that goal was because I know that the Rangers won that game.
28:39
But when it happened, I was like, oh my god, what a goal.
28:43
He just wound up for the slapshot Jan Rutta had the puck, he got it to him in the perfect spot. And Stamkos just blasted it home. It was crazy. Just such a nice goal. And I love slap shots. So maybe that's just catered to me and my weakness for Slap Shot goals. But my God, what a shot that guy has. It was crazy.
29:09
But we have game two of that series tonight. I'm very interested to see how this plays out. One of the streaks has to end we'll see which one it is.
29:20
But let's move out west where we have the Western Conference Final between the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers.
29:30
And I'm going to take a drink again before I start talking about the West here because I can probably talk about one of these goals for the rest of the 30 minutes that I have in this episode, but they have played two games in the Western Conference Finals so far, and both of them have been in Denver because the Avs won the West. And they, being the Colorado Avalanche, have a two to nothing series lead.
30:07
And the two games to start the series couldn't have been more different.
30:13
Game one, the Colorado Avalanche won 8-6. So there were 14 goals scored in that game. All four goaltenders played because Mike Smith was pulled in the second period after allowing. Let's see here. He allowed six I believe because Mikko Koskinen allowed one and then there was the empty netter. Yes. So, six goals for Mike Smith.
30:53
And Darcy Kuemper left the game with an upper body injury. So he didn't leave because of his performance, but because of an injury. And it's speculated maybe it has to do with his eye injury that he suffered in the first round when he was hit by, I believe, Ryan Johansen's stick of the Nashville Predators in the eye. Just through the mask, it was rough to watch. He only missed one game, though, I believe.
31:23
But it was rumored to be that flaring up again, and he pulled himself out of the game because he wasn't seeing the puck very well, which, if you watch the goal that Edmonton scored right before Darcy Kuemper comes out of the game, he makes the initial stop, and then the puck just dies next to him in the crease. It's just sitting next to him on his right side. And then I forget who scores the goal. Derek Ryan, maybe, comes in and pokes it into the empty side of the net. But Darcy Kuemper didn't know where the puck was. And so if he wasn't able to see very well because of that eye injury, then that makes sense why he just made zero attempt to move and save it. So I hope that Darcy's doing okay.
32:15
Pavel Francouz had to come in in relief, and he played pretty well. Of course, the game ended up 8-6. So all the goaltenders allowed at least one. Mikko Koskinen only allowed one goal. So he was, I guess, the best goaltender of that game, if you want to give him that award.
32:36
But the Avs still won it. So there was that.
32:42
And then they also won Game two by a score of 4-0.
32:51
Today is Pavel Francouz's birthday. So happy birthday, Frankie. It is his 32nd birthday. And he got a playoff shutout last night, making 24 stops. So good birthday present for him.
33:05
And he played very well in that game.
33:08
But on the other side of the ice, Mike Smith played very well for Edmonton as well. Of course, the Avs scored 4 goals. Three of those being in under 3 minutes in the Second period, which was crazy.
33:24
In the first period of that game, too, it looked like neither team was ever going to be able to score because both goaltenders were just making saves left and right.
33:35
Pavel Francouz even made a save from like the top of the right circle, which was interesting. He is a very adventurous goaltender but it worked for him because he made the stop on a Cody Ceci, I believe, shot. Yeah, just a crazy game.
33:55
But I think the tone was set for that game within the first minute when Connor McDavid entered the zone and he was just one on one with Cale Makar. And Makar just effortlessly poked the puck away from him, and Connor McDavid didn't even get a scoring chance.
34:12
So, man, the defense for Colorado really stepped up in game two.
34:18
Of course, Francouz got a shut out and only faced 24 shots, so they had to be a lot better but they helped him out in that one. They were blocking shots, they were clearing pucks away, and they weren't really letting Edmonton set up or get good scoring chances. They just looked really really good.
34:36
Maybe the best game of the playoffs for the Colorado defense and specifically Cale Makar. He looked absolutely fantastic in game number two. And it was a big bounce back game for Josh Manson. He was on the ice for at least four of the goals that Edmonton scored in game one and maybe, you could say, directly responsible for some of them going in. And he came out and game two and he had a goal. And he had a huge shot block with the inside of his foot. And it was just a good bounce back game for him and for the team as a whole, which is weird to say because Colorado won game one, but they didn't look super awesome doing it.
35:25
Maybe they looked great offensively, or maybe Mike Smith looked terrible in net, giving up six of those goals. But the Avs really came out to play in game two, and they shut Edmonton down. But the Oilers also didn't look like they had much life in them. And it was interesting because their coach Jay Woodcroft, he split up McDavid and Draisaitl in Game Two, which I don't know was a great decision because that line of McDavid, Draisaitl, and unfortunately Evander Kane was absolutely tearing up Calgary in the second round, and they also scored in game one. Evander Kane got a goal. Think McDavid got a goal. Can't remember if Draisaitl did or not. But yeah, so splitting them up for a game was interesting. It'll be interesting, for lack of a better word to say, Going into game three if they are reunited, or if they are still on different lines.
36:37
But Edmonton really couldn't get anything going. They did have some chances. And Francouz was up to the task and made the stops. But for most of the game, the Avs really controlled it. And they controlled most of game one as well. But Edmonton took advantage of their opportunities and scored goals. Six of them. They hammered that far stick side of the goaltender like St. Louis did all in round two. So it was very nice to see a game where that did not happen because it's been driving me insane. Yeah, so that was good to see.
37:20
But going back to game number one, there was a goal scored in the final seconds of the first period.
37:32
You know what, I need to take a drink before I talk about this.
37:40
There was a final minute goal by Cale Makar. And it was reviewed. Because there was a huge discussion about whether or not the play was offside and should have been called back. And that offside or onside goal by Cale Makar, in the final minute of the first period of game one, may have been the worst thing to ever happen to me in hockey, because everything about it has driven me insane.
38:22
The officials got the call right. I will start with that.
38:26
But, and this is my own fault, I keep reading the replies on tweets about this goal.
38:35
And people just will not take the time to understand why it was onside. And this is partially the fault of the league and the analysis of the goal. Because they've thrown around the term possession, saying that Cale Makar didn't have possession of the puck, which isn't true. He technically did. And they have thrown around it being a delayed offside. And it also wasn't really that. I mean, technically, it was because he was waiting for his teammate to get onside. But by the rule book, it was not a delayed offside because Cale Makar had possession of the puck. And the delayed offside call in the rule book comes when either the puck is loose or the defending team has the puck. So trying to find another way for this to make sense that I haven't already said so. The puck was in the Edmonton Oilers defensive zone. And Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche was in the zone on the forecheck trying to get the puck.
40:06
Edmonton cleared it out to the neutral zone. And Nichushkin was still in the defensive zone for Edmonton, aka the Colorado offensive zone. Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, obviously, picks up the puck at center ice, starts skating it toward the blue line. And then Nichushkin is making his way back to the blue line to touch up. So Makar pushes the puck into the zone, but he doesn't touch the puck over the blue line.
40:43
So the last time he touches the puck is before Valeri Nichushkin touches up at the blue line, making the play on side, is before the puck crosses the blue line.
40:56
Now, what would have made this play offside is if either Makar is touching the puck after it crosses the blue line, while Nichushkin is still not touched up at the blue line. Or if Cale Makar was in the offensive zone before nichushkin came back and touched up.
40:56
And I'm also doing a horrible job of it because I am not just pointing it out on the replay while doing it. I'm trying to paint a visual with words while trying to explain why the most minute detail made it a good goal. But everything I have been reading about this is so frustrating to me, because people just refuse to grasp it. And I don't blame anybody who doesn't want to go searching through the NHL rulebook. Because it's kind of daunting. I mean, if you look it up on the computer, you can Ctrl+ or Command+F it and search offside. It still takes a minute to find the actual rule. And then you have the offside rule, you have the delayed offside, and you can read through all of it. But nowhere in the rulebook does it say that what happened on the ice there for Cale Makar's goal would make it a goal that should be called back.
41:25
The big points here are that, one, Cale Makar does not enter the offensive zone with his skates until Valeri Nichushkin touches up. If he does, at any point, that automatically makes it offside because he could not enter the zone before his teammate leaves or touches up. His skates stay on side until Nichushkin touches the blue line, making it onside.
41:55
Also, Cale Makar is not touching the puck while Nichushkin is technically offside, in the offensive zone. He touches it before it crosses the blue line, which is fine, because you can have control of the puck while your teammate is still offside. As long as you are not in the offensive zone as well.
42:20
See, just trying to explain this without video of what's going on is difficult. And it's really the fault of the NHL, because they don't make anything easy to understand. And they have their rulebook written in a way that people can nitpick every single little play that happens here.
42:48
But basically, since Makar himself was onside, and he doesn't touch the puck again until Nichushkin is considered onside, the play is allowed to continue. And it is a good goal. And the officials got it right. Which is not something that I have said very often throughout the playoffs this year, but they got this one right.
43:19
And people will not accept this as fact. They keep saying he had possession of the puck, so it has to be offside. But nowhere in the offside rule does it say anything about possession when it comes to a play like this, so that word just doesn't matter. Just erase it from your vocabulary. Possession does not matter here. Because what matters is he's not touching the puck.
43:49
And I know this comes down to semantics and it comes down to the smallest detail. But that's just how it is in hockey. It's a game of inches. It's a game of bounces. And this one really was a game of inches because he was not touching the puck.
44:06
Yeah, so it's really frustrating to see people talking about this and just going off of the talking points from the analysts, and not taking the time to look into why it was a good goal. Even though most of the people on the broadcast agreed it was a good goal. It's just how they explained it. They didn't explain it in a way that really made sense to the average viewer.
45:45
And maybe I will have to make a separate video just outlining it frame by frame why this was a good goal for people to finally understand this. But it's been driving me nuts since it happened and people will not let this go. And that goal, it wasn't even a game winning goal. So it's not like the one in Calgary that they called back because it was apparently a distinct kicking motion, which it wasn't. That was very much a good goal. And they took it off the board because they said he kicked it, which he didn't.
46:23
And there have been many more goals allowed throughout the season, which were very much kicked in that they did not call back on review.
46:33
So basically, what this boils down to is the NHL doesn't know their own rules. They don't call things consistently, the officials don't call things consistently. And when it goes to review in the Toronto war room, they don't call things consistently.
46:51
And if they did, then there wouldn't be as many arguments about penalties, or good goals or goals that were called back. Because if there's any sort of consistency, people would know what the rules are. But players don't know the rules. Coaches don't know the rules. Analysts don't know the rules. Fans don't know the rules. So once again, I ask the NHL, how do you expect to get casual fans if people who invest their lives into this sport and into this league do not know the rules?
47:27
It's so frustrating, but I have to move on from talking about this goal, or else I will lose my mind. But it was a good goal, the officials made the right call here. And if you still disagree, I urge you to go read the rulebook. And just ignore the delayed offside because that the how it is written in the rulebook is not describing this scenario here and then erase the word possession from your vocabulary while you are reviewing the scope because that also doesn't matter.
48:05
Anyway. My other point I have about this series is Artturi Lehkonen was an absolutely fantastic pickup for the Colorado Avalanche, and maybe a very underrated pickup when they got him. But let's see here in the playoffs last year, he was with the Montreal Canadiens who did go to the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Which I still can't believe Montreal went to the Cup final. It's basically just on the back of Carey Price. And that's it.
48:44
But in the playoffs last year, he played 17 games had 3 goals and 1 assist. Pretty pedestrian, really, I mean, he did score some big goals. I think he scored the goal against Vegas that took them to the Stanley Cup Final, if I'm recalling correctly.
49:04
But this year in the regular season with Montreal he played 58 games had 13 goals 16 assists and 29 points which isn't bad at all. And then he came over to Colorado he played 16 games in the regular season, scored 6 goals and added 3 assists for 8 points, or 9 points. Sorry, I can math.
49:27
Which you know isn't super awesome, but switching teams midseason is kind of difficult, but where he has really showed up here is in the playoffs.
49:38
So in the playoffs so far with the Colorado Avalanche he's played 12 games. He has 5 goals and 3 assists for 8 points. So only one point less so far than he had with Colorado in the regular season. In four less games played, but it It's not even his points that are really standing out - which he scored the first goal of the game in game two. But it came off of him being strong on the forecheck. And that happened for the second goal of the game as well.
50:16
But it's also something that has stuck out to me in all three rounds so far is how Artturi Lehkonen is always in on the forecheck and causing problems for the opposing defense.
50:29
And many times when he's in there for checking he gets the turnover and the Avalanche either get a scoring chance, or they have a chance at a scoring chance and his teammates just mess it up.
50:43
But him and Landeskog together have been absolutely dynamite there fore checking the puck and getting it back from the defenders without having to exit the zone.
50:55
And just what a great pickup by the Colorado Avalanche. And he's not going to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. Even if Colorado does go all the way and do the thing. He won't get the MVP of the playoffs award, but it cannot be understated how impactful he has been for this Avalanche team in the playoffs so far. So I just wanted to give Artturi Lehkonen a shout out because he has stood out to me in every single series even if he's not putting up points but being strong on the forecheck has resulted in a lot of good things for the Avalanche so far.
51:43
But moving on from the Western Conference Final, we have a Blackhawks prospect playing in the WHL championship series. And that is Jalen Luypen with the Oil Kings. They are facing off against the Seattle Thunderbirds, and their series starts tonight. So good luck to Jalen, and let's hope he does well. I'll try to keep y'all updated as the series goes on to see how far he goes. I believe he is the only Blackhawks prospect left in the juniors championship tournaments. So he is our last hope so good luck, Jalen, I hope you do well.
52:32
But moving on to other NHL news. There was news out of Carolina today. And that is that Jake Gardiner has been fully medically cleared. And he'll be able to play hockey again, which is awesome to hear. He missed all of this season because he had hip and back surgeries at the beginning of the year. So he didn't play at all this season. And he only played 26 Games last season because of injury. But now he's been fully cleared medically, and he'll be able to return to playing hockey and I hope that he has a good return. I don't know if he will stay with Carolina, cuz they've got their defense pretty much settled there. They have one of the best defense cores in the league. Of course, there's some question marks. Now Tony DeAngelo is a free agent. So we'll see what they do there. And I think Ethan Bear is an RFA. So whether they choose to qualify him or not, maybe he's a UFA, I would have to look again. So those two are up for debate.
53:45
And then you have Jake Gardiner, which if they want to send him up to Chicago. I mean, go ahead. Our defense is pretty locked up itself in terms of contract, but we can fit Jake there on the blue line. But I just hope that no matter where he ends up next season that he has a good comeback and he still has some good hockey games left in him. He was far from the bad player that maybe he was made out to be in Toronto, he was more of a scapegoat. But always rootin for Jake to do well, and I'm glad that he was cleared to play and I hope he does come back and play NHL hockey and I hope he plays good NHL hockey for whatever team he ends up playing for next season.
54:34
But heading north of the border here up to Canada and to the Montreal Canadiens who, once again we're in the Stanley Cup final last year, Martin St. Louis was given the official title of Head Coach. He was named the interim head coach on February 9, and after Dominique Ducharme was fired. And they played very well after St. Louis came in. Before he came in, they played 45 games and went 8-30-7. That's right. They lost 30 games in regulation. They had a .256 points percentage.
55:19
But after taking over for the Habs in February, the Canadiens played 37 games under Martin St. Louis. And they went 14-19-4 and had a .432 points percentage. They were 24th in the NHL in that span between February 9 and the end of the regular season. Whereas under Ducharme, they were dead last in the NHL. Not shockingly since they went 8-30-7.
55:56
So let's hope that the magic under St. Louis continues. Especially Cole Caulfield, he played a lot better under St. Louis than under Ducharme, so good for him.
56:09
And other semi news out of Montreal is that Kent Hughes, their GM, would like to have clarity on Price's status for next season before free agency opens. So we'll see what happens with Carey Price. Hopefully he makes a comeback and can play a full regular season for them, but we shall see.
56:31
And in Boston, heading out there, Charlie McAvoy had shoulder surgery, and he's going to be out for six months. So he joins Brad Marchand there on the injury list since he also had surgery.
56:49
Let's see other NHL news. We have some award winners.
56:53
The Messier NHL leadership award went to Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings. So he was given the award for best leadership in the NHL, and he was also voted by teammates as the Ace Bailey Memorial Award winner each of the past two seasons. And that is for the most inspirational player on their team for the Kings there. So, good for Anze.
57:20
And we have the Jack Adams Award winner for best head coach and that was given to Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames. And in his first full season with the Flames this year they went 50-21-11, which is fantastic. They won their division before ultimately getting beaten by the Edmonton Oilers in five games in the second round.
57:47
Gosh, and also in the NHL, the Arizona Coyotes, which are always an adventure. The Tempe city council voted five to two for the city and the developer to continue conversations about building the coyotes new arena in Tempe. So there's that. And the coyotes proposal included the arena, but also hotels, apartments, retail stores and a sportsbook in the area.
58:24
So they want to develop like a full entertainment region there in Tempe. And of course Bettman endorsed the plan for the new arena because we all know that he loves his Arizona coyotes. But he said that also once the project is done, the coyotes have to sign an agreement that they would not be allowed to relocate for 30 years. Yep.
58:52
So we'll see what happens there.
58:55
Of course they're gonna play at ASU for the next few seasons - Arizona State University.
59:02
But that is it for the NHL news and we are winding down this episode.
59:08
Usually after the NHL news, I would jump into the AHL playoffs, but they have not started their next round yet. That starts tonight. So let me jump into the schedule for this weekend in both the American Hockey League and the NHL.
59:25
And up first in the American League tonight. Friday night the Chicago Wolves take on the Stockton Heat in game one of the Western Conference Final. Tomorrow, Saturday, the Laval Rocket take on the Springfield Thunderbirds in game one of the Eastern Conference Final. And then Sunday is Game Two between the Laval Rocket and Springfield Thunderbirds. So they aren't alternating days. Laval and Springfield have to play back to back Saturday and Sunday because, you know, things just make sense that way.
59:58
But Of course, if you're not familiar with the affiliates, Chicago Wolves are affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes.
1:00:06
The Stockton Heat are affiliated with the Calgary Flames, the Laval Rocket and the Montreal Canadiens, and then the Springfield Thunderbirds and the St. Louis Blues.
1:00:17
But the weekend schedule for the NHL. Tonight, Friday night, we have game two between the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Saturday we have game three between the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers as it shifts back to Edmonton. And then Sunday, we have game three between the Rangers and the Lightning as it heads down to Tampa.
1:00:39
So that is your weekend schedule.
1:00:41
That is what's been going on in the NHL playoffs. That's what's been going on in the NHL.
1:00:46
This is Friday. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.
1:00:50
Thank you so much for tuning in and watching this Happy Hour to wind down your week. I hope you enjoyed it.
1:00:58
Happy June. Happy Friday. Happy Pride.
1:01:02
On that note, let me take another drink from my house wine here.
1:01:10
And once again, I will shout out Mr. Jonny Rockford who made the From Center Ice logo, he does all the graphics for us. He made me this jersey that is behind me here. And if you go to Jonnyrockford.com, you can find so many more of his designs that you can buy on T shirts, hoodies, tank tops, all sorts of stuff.
1:01:31
He's got some pride designs on there that I've bought a few of which, hopefully, if they get delivered in time will be on display here in the Happy Hour or the Cozy Cast depending on when I get them.
1:01:45
So we've hit the hour mark here. And that will be all for me in this Happy Hour episode.
1:01:51
Once again. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Let's hope for some great hockey games. And I will catch you all in the Cozy Cast on Monday to talk about what's happened this weekend.
1:02:03
But if you want to hear more from me or From Center Ice, head on over to fromcenterice.com There's links to all the places you can find us over there. If you want to follow along on social media you can find the links for those platforms either in the show notes or in the description on YouTube.
1:02:21
If you are watching on YouTube, go ahead and subscribe if you haven't yet like this video for this podcast episode. If you are listening on a podcast app and you would like to watch on YouTube, it's youtube.com/c/fromcenterice. Or if you are happy with your audio version, go ahead and leave me a rating and a review.
1:02:42
I would so very much appreciate that.
1:02:46
But all of that being said I appreciate every single one of you for tuning in and watching this episode here of the From Center Ice Happy Hour, and I will catch you all in the next episode.
1:02:59
Bye guys.
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