The Stanley Cup Playoffs gave us another wild night! Edmonton's furious comeback came up just short vs the Kings, the Jets shut things down late to edge the Blues, and the Stars clawed back to even the series with the Avs. Full recap + analysis of every playoff game from Monday, plus thoughts on broadcasters, goalie performance, and playoff intensity.
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📌 Are the Oilers cooked or can they rebound? Tell me your take 👇
🎧 Full podcast available on Apple & Spotify: Couch Potato Diary
#NHLPlayoffs #StanleyCupPlayoffs #Oilers #Jets #Stars #HockeyTalk #NHL2025 #NHLRecap #GoJetsGo
🔗 Stay Connected & Support the Show
🎧 Listen & Subscribe:
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🧠 Partners & Promos:
C of Dead Apparel → https://www.cofdead403.ca/
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SportsTranscript
00:00the NHL playoffs Stanley Cup playoffs if you're nasty uh continued on Monday night with a few
00:13absolute bangers in the National Hockey League um they the playoffs have been delivering so far
00:21in the NHL we'll break them down in a sec but first just want to remind you guys if you could
00:25share these videos uh that were pointed out if you're watching it um or the podcast too if you're
00:30listening after really do appreciate it all that kind of stuff really does help as we try to spread
00:34the word and um grow this show here really liking uh going live really liking a lot of the stuff that
00:41we've been doing I just want to want some of you who are enjoying these to have more people to enjoy
00:45them with right so uh share the videos that would really be appreciated the big one of the night was
00:49the last one of the night as the Edmonton Oilers um comeback falls one goal short uh as they fall
00:566-5 to the Los Angeles Kings and now first of all I take my shots at Edmonton but credit the Oilers in
01:03this game for that comeback we will disparage it in a moment but to come back in that sort of a way on
01:10the road in under those circumstances was was excellent by them so credit the Oilers credit
01:16McDavid because he was unbelievable in the the comeback and and in that game but a lot of this
01:22comes down to what part of that game are you willing to buy and I'm I'm sorry like the comebacks
01:30are cool comebacks are great they're they're exciting and all of that and maybe there's some
01:32momentum built on this from Edmonton's side but I'm going to trust the part of the game that I saw
01:37when both teams had like the same score and were pushing in the same way not the one where one team
01:45was up by four and took their foot off the gas and then the best player in the world got to be the
01:49best player in the world against a team that looked awfully similar to the one that Zayn Parekh
01:53scored against a couple of nights ago so I'm well while I do appreciate what it took for the Oilers to
01:59come back in this game I am also not going to be sucked in into thinking that well now they've got
02:05them right where they want them because I do think score effects are a thing and I think that the LA
02:10Kings the control they showed to go up by four is a little bit more reminiscent of what I think this
02:16game actually was than the Oilers frantic comeback at the end so which one do I think is more repeatable
02:22I think it's the Kings control that's more repeatable than what the Oilers did in coming
02:27back in that game um I thought Kuzmenko was phenomenal on Monday night and he has been such an
02:33important piece to the Oilers with the speed that he is able to show and the high level skill that he
02:39can bring on the offensive side we know he is limited defensively but you put him with Kopitar
02:45and Kempe and it kind of doesn't matter what he does defensively because those guys are going to
02:49get the job done and then like that Kempe goal I think it was the 4-0 one um where you just kind of
02:55see the high level skill involved because Kopitar like when he retires we are going to remember well
03:00we're going to remember him as a guy who just won a lot but I think a lot of people are just are
03:04going to remember the defensive side of things he's a really talented offensive player as well
03:07and you get Kempe rushing in for a chance he is stopped um Kopitar wins the puck in the corner
03:12slides it across and Kuzmenko the absolutely perfect one-touched quick little it's on my
03:19stick it's off my stick it's in the front of the net it's in the net that was just a high level of
03:24awareness and skill from Kuzmenko to get that puck quickly most guys would be well within their rights
03:30to by the way but most guys would take that for a second one stick handle and then in front and you get a
03:36chance and maybe it doesn't go in but Kuzmenko knew exactly what he wanted to do with that puck
03:41the second it started traveling towards him and it was just a quick boom and in the back of the net
03:46phenomenal high level stuff from the Kings and they get a second line going as well
03:51like it just it makes this team dangerous now when you have that top line being able to be a
03:57shutdown line and also a high level scoring one with Fiala and Byfield also adding a bit of offense
04:02like this team has turned into an offensive juggernaut in the back part of this season and
04:06they still have the defensively responsible characteristics that got them to this point
04:11and got them home ice advantage here in the first round like there was one stretch and again McDavid
04:17was brilliant in this game but he has a stretch where he comes rushing down the right wing and how
04:22many times have we seen this he comes busting it down that right wing cuts it into the middle make
04:27some kind of absurd move that you can't even do in the video game and then bing bing boom it's in
04:32the back of the net but instead he does that cut into the middle and the Kings did such a great job
04:37of their defensive responsibility of just being able to push him up and push him up and push him
04:41up so it's like they're not knocking him off they're barely even slowing him down really but
04:45they're altering his course enough that he is now not in a high danger scoring area they all are when
04:51you're him but he's now being pushed just a little bit further away from the front of the net
04:55gets that shot on goal it stopped because now Kemper has a little bit more room to to be able
05:00to decipher what the best player on the planet is going to do and he is able to make a save it's
05:04just those little things that the Kings do that are very important that they pointed out on the
05:09broadcast how they were trying to slow him down a little bit as well in the neutral zone there's
05:13very little slowing down of him you can do but I thought the Kings did a good job with some of those
05:17details of just kind of forcing him up a little bit higher and a little bit further out of his comfort
05:22zone I thought they were great I thought the Kings played a great game and then the Oilers
05:25make a big comeback but again one of those I'm willing to buy and it's it's not the Oilers
05:30frantic comeback in the third period just also one quick note and I know like that full disclosure I
05:37freelancer for Sportsnet on Sportsnet 960 but the freelancer agreement makes it almost insultingly
05:44clear that I'm not an employee so I feel like I can say this stuff and it's okay I don't like having
05:51the local guys calling the game um and that's not a knock like um on Michaels and DeBrusque I think
05:58that they bring a lot of energy and and I I like if if Michaels was a national dude that zero wouldn't
06:05even bat an eye it's like yeah no that's that is a national hockey league national broadcaster zero
06:11whatever but it a it's two things one there is going to be a bit of an inherent bias there and I
06:20like they they they weren't over the top with it but we are we were 23 minutes into the hockey game
06:26it was I think of that two or three nothing for the Kings and they were already talking about well
06:30this Oilers group hasn't dressed together all season long like that this you this unit that they have
06:36playing right now this is unique and they've never done this before with the Oilers and so this Kings
06:41unit aside from a couple of moves this Kings unit has played together all year which you can poke
06:45holes in a McDavid and Hyman have played the last like eight years together uh which is exaggerating
06:50but only a little bit um and like uh you know they have a couple of new pieces in the lineup for sure
06:58they do and maybe there's going to be a bit of a chemistry thing and you would like to not dress a
07:02first-time lineup in the playoffs I will grant you that that's something you talk about when it's
07:05four to one in the third period not two nothing two minutes into the second period so that that
07:11was just a little bit of a we're kind of making excuses for the Oilers and then on um the the
07:16three nothing goal and when you listen to that compared to the four one goal there's a difference
07:22there right and so I just I I understand that um these are very good broadcasters and I also I kind
07:31understand why you do it because uh for some of these games you then get to save money on hotels
07:36and shit right so I I do understand the the aspect of it and if I was a local dude um sorry like local
07:44makes it sound like the whatever but if I'm if I am their regional guy for 82 games I I would
07:50understand why you would then want to do the playoffs right like that that is that that that would be a
07:55cool thing to do no doubt about it but I also think that there is um just an inherent bias with
08:03that that shouldn't be present in the the postseason and now you can very easily counter to me with well
08:10Breen does um I mean a Cuthbert is the regional guy for the Toronto Maple Leafs and now he does national
08:16games and you're right and I I don't like that one either and I wish he wasn't the regional guy right
08:21like I I wish he was just that I wish he was just doing Wednesday Night Hockey and just doing Hockey
08:26Night in Canada which then encapsulates about 70% of Leafs games anyway but still I wish that there
08:34was just a bit of a separation there and the other reason is this is the Stanley Cup playoffs it's it's
08:39not supposed to sound like the Oilers regular season games right it's not supposed to sound like
08:44what you get to see in February when they're playing Columbus this is supposed to be different that
08:49this is supposed to sound like it is the playoffs and it's supposed to look different and it's
08:53supposed to feel different and it it just it doesn't it sounds like every other Oilers game
08:57and that that just it irks me a little bit and so again not taking a shred of anything away from the
09:04play-by-play guys who are are doing that right and look I'd be saying the same thing if it was Calgary
09:09and I think Abbott's awesome and I I didn't like it when Rick Ball got to call Flames games and Rick Ball
09:13I think is genuinely one of the top two or three play-by-play guys in the National Hockey League
09:18and I was still like ah this sounds like every Flames game though and I don't like it so I I just
09:23wish there was a bit more of a separation there between national broadcasts and regional broadcasts
09:28but that has been a Sportsnet thing for forever um and I am sure it is a financial thing moving on
09:33shall we um we look now at what was another really fun game between the Montreal Canadiens and the
09:40Washington Capitals and again it is a what do you take more seriously do you take the Capitals
09:46controlling most of this game or do you take Montreal playing like their pants are on fire in the third period
09:52and coming out and and forcing this game to overtime again I am still going to believe that
09:58Washington is the better team in the series I am not going to really read too much into what we saw
10:04from that particular comeback for for for Montreal it does feel like a missed opportunity for the Habs
10:09to get that one into overtime and not be able to to finish that comeback off again it's amazing
10:15experience for these kids and it is a really impressive comeback for them I don't want to
10:20take anything away from either of the comebacks Montreal or or Edmonton but Washington is the
10:27better hockey team here and so this felt like a missed opportunity for both of the Canadian teams
10:31in their their their losses yesterday um it felt like a missed opportunity to get one in Washington
10:37for Montreal and get come kind of that confidence and get that whatever instead like overtime that
10:42was controlled by Washington um Dubois with a really strong play in the neutral zone and I am not
10:47one to credit him a whole lot but a really strong play in the neutral zone helps set up some
10:52opportunities McMichael a good back check keeps those opportunities going a bit of controversy on
10:57the the icing with uh Patrick Laine getting knocked over and did he or didn't he or whatever
11:03but um they get an offensive zone face off does Washington and then some excellent work from
11:09Bavillier to get that puck a perfect pass in front and um Alex Ovechkin does his best Bryce Harper
11:14and knocks it into the net and the Washington Capitals escape with a victory so again for Washington
11:21it's a bit of a wake-up it is a lesson that this Montreal team is for real regardless of when they
11:27clinched a playoff spot they they are they are certainly going to be a team that um is going to battle
11:32and is certainly going to be a team that is going to make you work for this one but it was also
11:36we are better than them we got this win let's settle down and let's prove how better we are how
11:41much better we are going into game number two and for Montreal it does feel like a bit of a missed
11:45opportunity but a great learning experience for uh some of their young kids in that one uh the
11:51Dallas Stars get a much needed win over the Colorado Avalanche uh as uh Blackwell gets the goal
11:59in overtime some really good work at the front of the net to set that one up I had it in my notes
12:05who was who was that um but either way Blackwell ends up getting the the job done in overtime in
12:12what was just such a high level very well played hockey game last night um out in uh out in Dallas
12:19it was steel that's who it was it was steel with the battle in front ties up the defenseman that allows
12:23Blackwell to come in get his shot basically circle around the net and come back to the puck and and
12:28score it again a perfect shot not a whole lot that uh Blackwood could do on that but now we got a
12:33series that this was a must win for Dallas you do not want to go back to Colorado down two games to
12:38none um because then even if you get a split it's still 3-1 and you're you're in some trouble there
12:44so for them to come away with that win was just massive for for them and you could see the urgency
12:52and the desperation of that team and how big this game was for them and um like I think that they
13:00kind of outmatched Colorado when it came to the desperation aspect of it for for Colorado they that
13:06they are obviously like quite good um and generating a lot of chances and getting a lot of of zone time
13:12this was a game where they they had a little bit more trouble keeping Dallas out of their zone
13:17Dallas got significantly more of the puck than they did in in game one the other part of it is
13:23that like Ottinger hasn't been great in this series he's had a couple of moments but there have been
13:27now a few goals that have got through him that you're just wondering how they're getting through
13:32him and so for the avalanche like again you will take it you're putting the pucks on net you are
13:37getting those opportunities some of them are going to go in that's how this sport works but I do think
13:42there is a little bit of hey we've kind of got lucky on a few of these now we maybe need to
13:47generate a few more like actual dangerous scoring opportunities to to take advantage of this and
13:52kind of get back to playing our game because Dallas Dallas up their level for game two in a significant
13:56way and it was it was kind of everyone right but it was the vets like Ben was just an absolute stud
14:02out there at some times winning some puck battles creating some great opportunities say again I believe
14:07got a goal yeah he did he got a goal in the game last night he was noticeable which is very
14:11important for them Hintz was flying Johnston was flying like they just had that speed and
14:16that desperation that you need in a situation like that so the Dallas Stars I think last game
14:23score certainly was not indicative of what that game actually looked like but they were the second
14:28best team in game one and so for them to bounce back in this way and just remind everyone like hey
14:33just so you know we're really good too and put that pressure now on the avalanche going into game
14:39number three I think that was a nice reminder and if Ottinger can really show up and have that
14:44advantage because right now Blackwood is kind of the better goalie he made a phenomenal save at the
14:48start of overtime doesn't matter but he made a phenomenal save at the start of overtime he's been
14:52out goalieing Ottinger so far if that becomes the check mark in Dallas's column that we thought it was
14:56going to be that's going to be really difficult for the avalanche to to overcome as things kind of level
15:02off in this series but again a really fun night of hockey uh last one the Winnipeg Jets hold on for
15:08a victory here over the uh St. Louis Blues in game two and this was such a desperately needed
15:17performance by Connor Hellebuck who ends up giving up just the one goal in in this game in a 2-1
15:24victory over St. Louis and it look I didn't watch 100% of this game so I don't know if it was just like
15:32whatever but just the fact that he skates off the ice after 60 minutes of um of playoff hockey and
15:40there is only a one in that score column it could be on the only fucking shot of the game that don't
15:45matter this guy had allowed three goals in basically every playoff game he'd ever played in and by the
15:50way if he did that in this game they lose so for him to come out and have that type of uh that type of
15:55performance excuse me is so important for him and makes it feel like the Winnipeg Jets really do have
16:02a chance now in this one and one other note the way they defended in the last three minutes of this game
16:08was an art form they did such a great job of limiting what St. Louis could do with the net empty
16:16they're trying to get their forecheck set up they're trying to get anything set up and Winnipeg
16:20they're just cutting it off pionk with a heck of a read and a really good play to cut off a cycle and
16:25clear that puck and they just they didn't let them get set up at all in the offensive zone it made for
16:30a boring ass last couple of minutes because St. Louis that there was no drama the Blues were not
16:35getting set up at all uh but Winnipeg defended their asses off in that spot and played a very
16:40very good defensive game overall and got got what they needed to do they won two games in the White
16:46Hout and now they go back to St. Louis and if they can get just one of those they're going to be in
16:50very good shape considering what now looks like to be a bit of a grinded out series in the rest of
16:56the Central with Dallas and Colorado