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00:00I'm Donnie Wright, along with Joe Ranieri.
00:01Now we welcome in Chris Meany of NHL.com,
00:04who's been known to help us out in some interesting points in the NHL season
00:07and none more interesting when we're talking about the NHL playoffs,
00:10round number one, with so many game sixes on the board.
00:13Chris, thank you for joining us here on a Friday morning.
00:17Yeah, happy Friday, guys.
00:18Appreciate the invite, as always.
00:20Yeah, four games last night.
00:21I'll be honest.
00:22I was hoping that we would see all four series extended to game sevens
00:27because there's nothing better in sports.
00:29But we will certainly have one between the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars.
00:33But, yeah, appreciate the invite, guys.
00:35Awesome stuff, Chris.
00:36Let's get started here.
00:37Game number six last night, which ended in a four-to-two series win for the Maple Leafs.
00:41Am I hearing this correct?
00:43That Toronto's already planning the Stanley Cup parade, you know,
00:46in Toronto right now after that massive round number one victory.
00:49Talk about that one for us, Chris.
00:52Yeah, Gabe Morenci probably helping the fellas out in Toronto
00:55with the parade route down Yonge Street.
00:57Now, you know, all jokes aside, the Leafs got it done,
01:00and their fan base certainly, they were sweating it like they always do
01:04at this time of the season, up 3-0.
01:05The only thing that Matthews' era, that core hadn't done
01:10was blow a 3-0 series lead.
01:11But credit to the Maple Leafs.
01:13Senators came back great.
01:14It made it 2-2 on a weak goal,
01:17but Toronto was able to score moments after that.
01:20And they were the better team in the series.
01:21I know Ottawa held the shot attempts advantage throughout most of the series,
01:26but they were kind of from the outside.
01:28Not a lot of high-danger shots there.
01:30And the big boys for the Maple Leafs showed up,
01:31and I thought Anthony Stollers, besides that late goal from David Perron,
01:35he was brilliant in the series.
01:37So now they have a rematch against the Florida Panthers.
01:39They played them a couple years ago,
01:40and it's going to be a much tougher test for them.
01:42Listen, big players show up at big moments,
01:47and Mark Stone's been doing it for a hot minute, has he not, Chris?
01:51And he did it again for Vegas last night.
01:54Now, is Vegas, in your mind, the frontrunner here coming out of the West,
01:59or what are you thinking?
02:02They certainly have, I'd say, the most experience.
02:06I mean, with no disrespect to Colorado,
02:07they have a couple guys that have won a Stanley Cup before,
02:10and they've been to the dance,
02:12but Vegas is just a couple years removed
02:14from winning the Stanley Cup against the Florida Panthers.
02:16You look at that blue line, Alex Petrangelo has multiple Stanley Cups.
02:20They bring in Noah Hannafin late last year.
02:22Thomas Hurdle as well.
02:23Nice additions.
02:24Those guys joined the team late.
02:26They were bounced early in the first round,
02:27but a lot of experience from those two.
02:29Jack Eichel was amazing.
02:31And you mentioned Mark Stone, right?
02:32He doesn't have the foot speed,
02:34but he still has the game and the smarts.
02:36And he can play in all situations,
02:38right in front of the net on the power play.
02:40He still kills penalties.
02:41He's one of the better defensive players in the NHL.
02:44So there's a lot to like about this Vegas Golden Knight squad.
02:47And credit to Minnesota.
02:48They really pushed them.
02:49A couple games they lost in overtime back-to-back.
02:52You know, it's coin flip, right?
02:54You get to overtime, but if you lose two in a row in a series in overtime,
02:57you're most likely going to be on the wrong side of the series.
03:00But Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy were unbelievable for the Wild.
03:05I think arguably the two best players in the series.
03:07But Vegas held on, and Jack Eichel was quiet to start the series,
03:12but he wasn't to finish it.
03:13He was awesome.
03:14So here we are again with the Golden Knights looking like they're going to go on another run.
03:18Golden Knights move on here.
03:20Let's see what happens out there in the West,
03:21but also talk about the Western Conference.
03:23We do have a Game 7, which yesterday in Game 6, the Avalanche,
03:27using avalanche of goals in the third period to score four times
03:30to go away with a 7-4 victory, which means game number seven in Dallas.
03:34What we love to see.
03:35What did you find out from that game there from the Avalanche?
03:38Oh, man, this series has been amazing.
03:42And much like we saw in Game 4 when Dallas was up 2-1,
03:46Colorado just pushed the pace and put everything towards Jake Ottinger.
03:50They dominated the play.
03:52The shot attempts, the high-danger chances, the scoring chances, everything.
03:55And that was the same sort of deal yesterday,
03:57what we saw with Colorado facing elimination.
03:59I mean, credit to Mikko Rant and Rupe Hintz.
04:02These guys are not going to get talked about here today,
04:04but they combined for eight points, guys, in the second period alone.
04:07They were unbelievable.
04:09But the big boys for Colorado showed up.
04:11Nathan McKinnon, a couple points.
04:12Kale McCarr got his first goal of the series.
04:15He had like 50 shot attempts heading in to that game last night.
04:18It was an empty net goal, but you can erase that storyline,
04:21put it to bed because he's finally hit the score sheet.
04:23And all the other guys showed up.
04:25You know, Gabriel Landeskog hadn't played in over 1,000 days.
04:29He scored in Game 4.
04:31He picked up a couple points yesterday.
04:33Brock Nelson, Valerie Nachushkin, Lekin,
04:34and all the guys for Colorado that you would expect to show up
04:37in a big moment, Martin H's as well, showed up.
04:40So now we have a Game 7.
04:41And it's just been high event hockey.
04:43Usually the Game 7s that we'll see is, you know, tight check-in.
04:47Nobody really wants to make a mistake.
04:48Maybe we'll see that, but there's just so much offense on both sides here.
04:52It's hard to imagine a Game 7 without a few goals scored in it.
04:57So last night was fantastic.
04:59Luckily, we're going to get one more here between these two teams.
05:02And I've said this, you know, throughout the playoffs and heading in.
05:05Whoever wins this series, I do believe will represent the West
05:08in the Stanley Cup Finals.
05:11It's going to be nothing better than a Game 7.
05:14And Kings were certainly hoping they were going to be able to do something.
05:18They didn't do very well all year, and that's win a game on the road.
05:21But nope, Edmonton still owns them, Chris.
05:25And now Edmonton moves on.
05:28Yeah, my goodness.
05:29It must be tough to be a Kings fan.
05:31I know they have a couple cups.
05:32At least Kopitar and Dowdy have Stanley cups.
05:34But four years in a row to lose to the Edmonton Oilers,
05:38the same team in the opening round.
05:40And this one just has got to be the worst of the four
05:43because they finally had home ice advantage.
05:45It was looking like they had a goalie in Darcy Kemper,
05:47who was a Vesna candidate here who just announced in the NHL
05:51over the past couple of days.
05:52And they had a 2-0 series lead.
05:54Forget that.
05:54They were up in Game 3 late in that game.
05:58Gave up a goal.
05:59There was a questionable coaching challenge.
06:01Didn't get on the right side of that coaching challenge.
06:03Puts the Oilers on the power play.
06:05I think seconds later, they took the lead.
06:06And the rest is history.
06:08You look at Conor McDavid and Leon Dreissel.
06:09They combined for 21 points in the series.
06:13And here we go again with Edmonton.
06:16And he's two players who have been the best players in the NHL
06:20over the past few years.
06:21I was looking at the Stanley Cup playoff leaders
06:23over the last four years.
06:25And like nearly 200 points combined.
06:27It's a massive gap between those two players
06:30and the rest of the league.
06:31So, yeah, tough for L.A.
06:34But you could really see the momentum shift in that series
06:38when Edmonton won Game 3.
06:39And, you know, they were dominant again last night on home ice.
06:43Might be a little payback for the Gretzky trade
06:45so many years previous here.
06:47Continuously knocking them out of the playoffs.
06:48That is tough, certainly for a fan base.
06:50Now, we're going to re-rack here
06:51and take a look at some of the Round 2 opportunities.
06:53Even though Round 1 isn't completed yet,
06:56I also, in the next segment, want to ask Chris
06:58whose most impressive team through Round 1 has been so far.
07:01But also, most importantly as well,
07:03Jets Blue solo mission tonight and so much more.
07:06Chris is going to join us again.
07:07Make sure you keep the dial right here
07:08on SiriusXM Channel 159.
07:11Back for another segment here with Chris Meady of NHL.com,
07:13really helping us along in Round 1
07:15and into Round 2.
07:17In just a few moments, we'll preview Jets Blues tonight.
07:19But I did want to ask a question to Chris here.
07:21Even though we're not fully completed through Round 1,
07:23what has your most impressive team been so far to you
07:26in Round 1 so far?
07:27You know, this is not shocking,
07:31but the Florida Panthers are the most impressive team to me.
07:34I look at the Eastern Conference and no surprises.
07:37You know, as much as we joke about the Toronto Maple Leafs,
07:39I figured they would take care of the Ottawa Senators
07:41and the Capitals and the Hurricanes.
07:43They won their series in five.
07:44They were both heavy favorites.
07:46Certainly, the Montreal Canadiens impressed me
07:47with their young core.
07:48They hung around with the Capitals.
07:49But how can I give you the Canadians as an answer
07:52when they won one game?
07:53The Oilers beating the Kings, again, is not really that surprising.
07:59The Vegas Golden Knights were big-time favorites.
08:01A lot of people had the Tampa Bay Lightning
08:03as a chalky Stanley Cup squad
08:05that they would go back to the finals this year.
08:07And I had Florida.
08:09I actually have Florida going back to the finals this year
08:11for a third straight season.
08:13So the reason I say that they're the most impressive
08:15because down the stretch of the season,
08:17people were just counting them out.
08:19They were looking at the odds and saying,
08:20ah, they probably shouldn't be that short.
08:22They haven't looked good down the stretch.
08:25They're banged up.
08:25No Matthew Kachuk.
08:26No Aaron Ekblad due to his suspension.
08:28Barkoff doesn't look right.
08:30Carter Verhaggy is, you know, not scoring like he usually does.
08:34And they flipped a switch.
08:36And they look like the champs.
08:38And they dominated a really good Tampa Bay Lightning team.
08:41They took care of them in five games.
08:43So that is the most impressive team to me.
08:45We don't see a lot of three-peats.
08:47We haven't seen it in quite some time in the NHL.
08:50We were talking about it come Super Bowl time.
08:51Never happens.
08:52So very impressive.
08:54You have to respect what we've seen from the Panthers so far.
08:58Well, we're hoping to get,
08:59and I think we're going to get one more game seven here
09:03in the opening round for it's all said and done tonight.
09:05Winnipeg taking on St. Louis.
09:08St. Louis at home.
09:10Gotta feel confident.
09:12Some injury concerns with Winnipeg.
09:14What are we getting here tonight, you think?
09:15Yeah, you know, no Mark Stifley.
09:19He didn't travel with Winnipeg.
09:20That's significant.
09:22He's their number one center.
09:24Amazing chemistry with Kyle Connor.
09:25They're both inside the top 12 in goals scored this year.
09:28And they just got Gabriel Velarde,
09:30the linemate from those two guys,
09:32back in the lineup.
09:33But unfortunately, no Stifley.
09:35So that leaves them pretty thin up the middle.
09:37Like Vladislav Domestikov,
09:39it sounds like he's going to play on the first line.
09:42And, you know, that's, it's not great.
09:44It's not a great outlook for the Jets.
09:46And I wanted them to be aggressive at the deadline.
09:48We all know how good Connor Hellebuck is overall.
09:50He's going to win another Vezna.
09:52He may win the Hart Trophy is one of the nominations as well
09:55that the NHL announced this week.
09:57But you can't put it all on him.
09:59And he hasn't been great in this series in St. Louis.
10:01He was pulled in game three.
10:03He was pulled in game four.
10:04The Blues outscored the Jets 12 to three in those two games.
10:08So I do expect St. Louis to get the better of the Jets here tonight
10:13and force a seven.
10:14So I'd be looking at some guys like Pablo Buchnevich
10:17and Robert Thomas to hit the score sheet.
10:19They had five points each in those two games.
10:21They have seven points each in the series.
10:22Maybe you can have some combo for both of those guys
10:24to pick up a point.
10:25Colton Pareko leads the team in shot attempts and shots.
10:29He's an offenseman, 22 attempts and 12 shots.
10:32And Cam Fowler has 21 attempts and 10 shots and nine points.
10:35So they've gotten a lot of offense from their blue line.
10:37And I think that's an underrated part of the St. Louis Blues.
10:40They have a lot of offensive defensemen like Justin Falk as well
10:43who can put the puck towards the goal and contribute on the power play.
10:46So I do like the Blues tonight to take care of business at home.
10:49I do expect it to be a lower scoring game.
10:51The Jets are going to have to tighten things up.
10:52But I don't really know where they're going to get their offense from
10:55without their number one center tonight.
10:57Can we get to a game number seven?
10:59We'll certainly find out tonight.
11:00But some of these teams have already moved on into round number two
11:03and the FanDuel Sportsbook has those priced out.
11:05If we take a look at the East here, the Capitals and the Hurricanes,
11:07the Hurricanes are a minus 150 live favorite there.
11:10If we take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers,
11:12the Panthers had a minus 176 price being the favorite.
11:15And then a close one here out West, the Edmonton Oilers,
11:18minus 118 against the Vegas Golden Knights, minus 102.
11:21Looking at these three series, anything surprising?
11:23The price points are also just a quick preview on what they anticipate
11:26from these three series.
11:28It should be awesome.
11:30Washington and Carolina should be fantastic.
11:32If you like physical play, you're going to get it in this series.
11:35We saw a little bit of it in between Washington and the Canadians.
11:38But these two teams do not like each other.
11:40In fact, they hate each other.
11:41And there's been some bad blood going back to the last time they played in the playoffs.
11:45I remember when Sveshnikov was just a rookie.
11:48Alice Ovechkin dropped him, fought him.
11:50And then earlier this year, we saw a lot of nastiness with Tom Wilson
11:53and some of the players.
11:54I'm surprised to see the number for Carolina.
11:57I think that they're a little bit overrated.
12:00They dominate play at five and five.
12:02They like to own the puck.
12:03They get pucks in deep with their speed.
12:05They really are a possession team.
12:07And they check a lot of boxes analytically at five and five.
12:10But I think Washington's more sound.
12:11I think they have more offense.
12:12I think they're a deeper squad.
12:14And I think they have a better goalie than Logan Thompson.
12:16So I do like the Caps to take care of Carolina.
12:19And I like Florida.
12:20I'll give the Leafs maybe one or two games.
12:23I think in five or six, the Panthers will take care of Toronto.
12:25They're just an opportunity.
12:27That's Chris Meaney, NHL.com.
12:29Thanks for joining us on a Friday for NHL Action this weekend.