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STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS!!! Round 1 Predictions | Fantasy Hockey Podcast · Banger Management - Fantasy Hockey Podcast

0:00
Combat about bowl Bangor Management Fantasy hockey
0:02
podcast. Whoa, whoa, no.
0:07
Very nice. Welcome in one and all to Bangor
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Management, The Fantasy Hockey Podcast with Jake, Josh and
0:15
Kevin. The NHL playoffs are upon us.
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It's the most wonderful time of the year, some might say.
0:21
And I'm so excited. Yeah, I was gonna say I've been
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listen, I've been reveling, basking in the glory of winning
0:29
our championship and I'm back. I'm here to get back on the the
0:32
horse and predict the the perfect bracket and also how
0:35
these players are gonna go. I'm not sure if anybody could
0:39
see the taglines under our name, but they're really, really
0:42
funny. I loved her.
0:47
So this current job and best ever and you got the you know
0:49
the balloons in the background. Josh is 3 times champ and
0:52
coolest host and I'm just Jake. OK, just like Perry.
0:58
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
1:00
Literally what I thought about. Alright, there were
1:03
foreshadowing for our Take it away.
1:04
Anyway, four we dive into Yeah, so we're going to basically be
1:09
going over the first round matchups in today's episode of
1:12
the playoffs. Yeah.
1:14
So there's a lot of playoff leagues out there that obviously
1:17
at this point probably have already drafted your leagues and
1:19
everything like that. I know I was in one of them.
1:22
We got that done like literally right before puck drop of Game
1:24
1. So that was pretty crazy.
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But I think there's a lot of it's so easy to go chalk this
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year and I feel like it's never goes chalk.
1:34
So who? Who's going to give?
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And also like ABS right here rocking the haves on YouTube.
1:41
We're going all the way this year, baby, We're going all the
1:43
way. Oh yeah, not pointing at
1:45
anything. OK, before we dive in, follow us
1:51
on Spotify, Apple podcast, wherever you get your podcasts
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where there subscribe on YouTube and give this video a like if
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you're watching on YouTube, which you should be, you'll see
2:00
all of Kevin's fancy balloons behind him.
2:03
We're celebrating the championship a few weeks later
2:06
and all the socials are in the podcast subscription.
2:08
And be sure to join the Discord community.
2:12
And yeah, let's go over the first round matchups and maybe
2:16
give like a one or two-minute explanation if one of us has a
2:19
dark horse team that we want to talk.
2:21
About Real quick, yeah, thank you for everybody in the Discord
2:26
who joined the Office Pools Bangor management contest,
2:30
challenge, whatever you want to call it.
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I think we ended up we had 50 spas.
2:35
We end up getting like 45 people, so that's pretty cool.
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Um, the winner of the office pools challenge will get a one
2:40
month free tier sub to our Patreon going into next year,
2:44
which I think is gonna be really cool.
2:45
You'll get some cool benefits there.
2:47
It was free to enter. So hopefully listen, you made a
2:50
good team. I tried to give some hints in
2:51
the chat and like how is the best way to kind of build a team
2:54
because office pools is tricky like you're just picking one set
2:57
of players. Everybody can pick any player
2:59
they want, but you got to pick players to make it all the way
3:01
to the yen because no trades, no pickups, no nothing.
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So you're kind of setting your team and who you think is gonna
3:06
go the furthest, furthest scored the most points.
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And Jake's team sucks. So yeah, now get it.
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It's like it's like fantasy and also the anti fantasy in a.
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Way, it's like best ball. It's literally just basketball.
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Yeah, but anybody can pick anybody.
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That's gonna be fun. I can't wait to finish higher
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than you in the standings. OK.
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All right. Start us off, Josh.
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Let's get into the first matchup that we'll be discussing.
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The Buffalo Sabres, who won the Atlantic Division versus the
3:35
Boston Bruins, were the wild card one in the East their
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season series. Boston went three and one
3:40
against Buffalo. Buffalo's best players in terms
3:43
of goals, Tage Thompson with 40 assists, Dolly with 55, Thompson
3:46
with 81 points. Boston their best goal scorer,
3:49
Morgan Geekie 39 goals, pretty nuts.
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Most assists. Pasta was 71 and most points
3:54
passed out with 100. Then in terms of their
3:56
goaltending, Buffaloes got U PL6K UCO Pekkanen their starter,
4:02
especially with Alex Lyon injured.
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He's .909 on the season. 2.49 longest average versus Jeremy
4:08
Swagman in Boston Point 9072.69. These are very similar stats.
4:12
And then power play and penalty kill.
4:13
Boston was 9th on the power play versus Buffalo's 20th, but
4:16
Buffalo was 4th on the penalty kill versus Boston's 24th.
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So that kind of matchup of specialty teams is actually
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very, very even. Yeah, we are.
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We all have a sure would just go ahead and say what we.
4:28
Have. Yeah, We'll give our predictions
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for every round. Yeah.
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Yeah, we. All have Boston and Six.
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Yeah, I thought I was gonna be a hot take with that.
4:35
I think were gonna go Buffalo. So that's one of my hotter
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takes. Yeah.
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The main reason I just think that they're kind of more
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equipped for playoffs. A lot of these teams have,
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that's gonna go a long way in kind of like, I don't think that
4:49
this is a chalk one at all. I think that this is pretty much
4:51
up in the air. Boston, technically the
4:53
underdog, but they do have more playoff experience.
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And we went over the stats for the goalies, right?
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This is average. And that's a big difference
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because they were kind of splitting all year where
5:02
swimming has just been a beast. So one of the best goalies in
5:04
the league, really. So yeah, I think with the
5:07
longevity and he's just kind of more prepared coming into this
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series. I think, I think this one is
5:11
like it's a really close matchup.
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It can really go either way. The reason why Iowa and Boston
5:16
was because I just feel like they have the experience to kind
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of, you know, they've been here before.
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They're playoff team. Buffalo is like they're they're
5:24
getting their tails wet for the first time in the playoffs, and
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I feel like that is sometimes intimidating.
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What is that not to say people they're getting their feet wet
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for the first time and the teams like that usually has some
5:39
struggles early on, like I think we saw it with Ottawa last year.
5:43
Last year. Yeah, and it's just, you know,
5:45
you make the playoffs for the first time, you're excited, but
5:47
then you don't have, like, the mental fortitude to battle
5:50
through when things get harder or whatnot.
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So that's why I went Boston. But would I be surprised if
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Buffalo wins? Absolutely not.
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This is everybody's favorite upset to pick.
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I think yeah, look like when Boston over Buffalo and.
6:05
Pretty much like for me, I'm really bad at predicting the
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playoffs. So I'll say it right now, you
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know, I I never, never do that great.
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It doesn't help that every bracket I've ever done has the
6:13
Habs going to the playoff finals and under the cup.
6:16
But and that's never happened in my lifetime.
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But, but in general, I feel like, you know, but this year I
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pulled up all these stats. I'm trying to like look a bit
6:22
more into it and but at the end of day, you're filling out a
6:25
bracket, right? And there's such an easy
6:27
instinct. Just be like favorite, favorite,
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favorite, favorite, you know, and so there has to be a couple
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where there's no way the favorite doesn't win every
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single match up. I have to choose a couple of
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quote UN quote underdogs. And so it's like you said, this
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one feels like 1 where the underdog has the best chance.
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It's the experience. Like you said, another thing
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that I looked at was the season series Boston going three and
6:45
one versus Buffalo. Obviously just teams match up
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certain ways against each other. So I like looking at season
6:49
Series A lot, but it seems like we're all in alignment there.
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So I don't think there's much else to say there, but I think
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we're all pretty. We wouldn't be surprised if
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we're wrong about this one. This is not one that we're all
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like there's some other ones were much more confident.
7:00
Let's just. Say I would be shocked a series
7:03
like is less than five games or like 5 or less.
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This is to me this series is going 6 or 7.
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Yeah, I think so. I think they're both I think
7:12
they're both very strong teams, which is crazy because I thought
7:15
Boston sucks going into this season, but they've they
7:17
surprised me. Alright, let's go to the next
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one. This is the money one over all
7:20
the most excited to talk about. We've got the Tampa Bay
7:23
Lightning versus your Montreal Canadiens.
7:26
Go, Habs go. So that's the second and third
7:29
seats for the Atlantic Division. Their season series, they tied
7:31
22 and most goals for Tampa Coutre with 44, most assists
7:35
Coutre with 86 and most points control with 130.
7:38
Shocker. And then for the Habs, most
7:41
schools Cofield with 51 should have won the rocket if it wasn't
7:44
for empty net goals FY net merchant McKinnon.
7:46
But none of you guys been seeing those those memes online.
7:50
It's like every time towards the end of the season begins like
7:52
scoring eight goals and online like empty net merchant, you
7:55
know, you would never field, you know, scoring like grass fed
7:59
like goals anyways, so goal over, yeah.
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Goals. It's crazy.
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Most assists, Suzuki was 72 and most points, Duke with 101.
8:07
And then in terms of starter, obviously tap, we've got
8:10
Vasilevsky .912 save percentage, 2.27 goals against average
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versus the Habs, Yakub Dobish .901 and 2.78.
8:17
So obviously Vasilevsky has the edge.
8:19
Dobish has the potential and has throughout the season played at
8:22
times at that level. It's just that's sees the proven
8:25
guy. So obviously you got to give it
8:26
there. In terms of power play, the
8:27
haves are at 10th, Tampa is only at 17th.
8:30
That actually really surprised me seeing that because like.
8:32
A bunch of injuries. Overtime, I mean, yeah, coach
8:35
Rob and Darren Radish and you're only 17th on the power blade.
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That's that's kind of nuts to be.
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But our penalty kill Tampa third in the league, Montreal's 19th.
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So I think I'm giving the edge to tap on the specialty special
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games side. And then in terms of injuries,
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Tampa has Victor Hedman. They recently said that he's
8:51
going to be around the team and might start skating.
8:53
But if I don't think he's going to be at least in for the first
8:56
half of the series, maybe comes back for the second-half, but
8:58
hasn't skated in a month plus those for personal reasons.
9:01
So no one really knows what's going on.
9:02
But I wouldn't really count him as in for the full series.
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The Habs have no adoption and Alex Carrier injured.
9:07
Dobson is a massive, massive loss.
9:09
It's possible back, so it's Kerry.
9:11
I mean, the fact that there are two right-handed for the haves
9:13
means that we have like linebacker coming in and not
9:16
that that's bad. I'm excited to see what you can
9:18
do. But you know, it's about rather
9:19
have Dobson and Kerry. And so I think if they don't
9:22
come back for some point in the series, we're in big trouble.
9:26
I'm counting on them coming back and maybe not playing at 100%,
9:29
but I feel like they're not going to miss out on the
9:31
opportunity in the playoffs. So let's get to our predictions,
9:33
then we'll talk about why we set them.
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I have Montreal in seven haves and seven.
9:37
If you're watching on YouTube, you can see I'm playing at my
9:40
haves and seven that I have right behind me.
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Kevin, what's your prediction? I also have hubs and seven.
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Nice and jakey, said Judas. Just Judas I I have Tom Burns 7.
9:54
Boo. So, so even something as a fan,
9:59
I think that it's this is actually kind of like the best
10:03
case scenario because if we beat Tampa, we could actually go to
10:06
the finals. And I think that's pretty sick.
10:10
The Eastern Conference finals right here, like to me, like the
10:12
winner of this is going to Stanley Cup Final.
10:14
That's kind of how I. Feel so it's kind of like
10:17
ripping off a Band-Aid. If we lose, it's like, OK, we at
10:20
least it didn't have hope. You know what I mean?
10:22
We we didn't have the build up and if we win then actually I
10:25
really think that we can go and then it's whoever we play out of
10:28
the West. The truth is, aside from being a
10:31
fan of these teams, I actually like, well, I actually do like
10:34
Tampa as a team, I have to say. I mean, the biggest teams to be
10:39
a favorite to win at all, It's like Colorado, Tampa, that's you
10:41
can't get more shocked than that.
10:43
That's exactly, that's kind of, you know, that's that's where I
10:46
see things going to be honest. I really think that.
10:49
I almost think our injuries, Carrier and Dobson are more
10:52
consequential than Hedman because Hedman was not having a
10:55
good year. So that's a pretty big deal.
10:57
And I just also think I'd love to see Dobash do well and I
11:02
think he will surprise, but Vasilevsky just has that
11:05
experience. So I mean, I'm, I'm not I'm.
11:08
Unfortunately for any of that logic, I mean, if you're
11:11
especially the Dobson entry scares me.
11:13
If it wasn't for that, I'd feel a lot more confident in my
11:15
prediction that I'm really worried about because that he's
11:18
been one of our biggest strengths this year.
11:19
Very yeah, maybe not under the radar, but he's not the fly.
11:22
It's not like he's Lane Hudson. Lane Hudson is the guy, right.
11:25
So Dobson flies a bit under the radar, but he's been huge for
11:27
us. So I'm curious and hopeful that
11:29
he could come back mid series and and be a big game changer
11:32
for us Goaltending. Exactly like you said, you
11:34
obviously go Vasilevsky, but you just have to believe in the
11:37
power of friendship, you know, and we, we have the second best
11:40
goal scorer in the entire NHL. Yeah, and we have 100 point
11:43
player for the first time in our history and it's just gonna be a
11:47
six series. And I think.
11:48
Yeah, we have the vibes, and I think Tampa is a lot less scary
11:51
in the past. Like I've been reading about it
11:53
a lot. I think they're very not.
11:55
They don't like their decor a lot.
11:56
Their best D is Darren Raddysh, who's been sick this year.
11:59
But who else do they have? J Moser, Yeah.
12:03
J Moser, Ryan McDonagh, Eric Turnock was going to be injured
12:06
after one game. It's yeah, I'm, I'm not.
12:09
I like our defence court a lot better.
12:11
Obviously, losing Dobson makes it a lot closer.
12:13
The one thing I wanna add though is that in the game that they
12:16
played Tampa recently. That was.
12:18
Crazy. It was crazy.
12:20
It was sick. I mean, yeah, Cofield and Sloth
12:22
both got their milestone goals, but it was an absolute cage
12:26
match and they were missing Hagel and Sorelli.
12:30
Yeah. So like the fact that it was 21
12:33
and it was that close in Montreal also, I mean, so home
12:37
ice advantage. I'm just like, this team is so.
12:40
Good. She got caught on goal though.
12:42
Yeah, sick. So I obviously I feel bad saying
12:49
this but I want to give my honest predictions though I
12:51
think it's. Happening, you can tell that
12:52
we're all, we all think to me, close series.
12:54
We all put it in seven, right? Putting it in seven is
12:56
essentially the equivalent of being like, I'm putting this,
12:59
but it could go either way. And whatever happens, happens to
13:03
me, that's like the equivalent of being like, I have no idea,
13:05
here's what I'm putting and and we just go with.
13:07
It obviously on paper Tampa has a lot of the edge, right?
13:10
Like they have the pedigree, they have the experience they
13:13
have, like the depth in their forward lines they have, the
13:15
goaltending they have, the coaching they have, they have
13:18
everything on paper it feels like right, But every year they
13:21
have everything on paper, so and it doesn't always work out
13:24
right, so I do. Think there's no Florida?
13:27
There's no, there's no Florida that's for.
13:28
Sure, Florida in their way. That, that's for sure.
13:32
And I will. Still knock on the Habs, but no.
13:34
I know. Tampa lost the Toronto, they
13:36
were the only team that ever lose to Toronto in the past like
13:39
20 years in the playoffs. So any team that can lose the
13:42
Toronto, we can beat. I, I will say that the Thompson
13:44
injury really almost ruined me like that.
13:46
That was enough to, to put me into.
13:48
I think Tampa maybe has the edge now for sure, because I do think
13:51
it's a, it's a close battle either way.
13:54
The regular season series is tied, obviously, but I just
13:56
think there's something about what we have right now that is
14:00
not quantifiable and building off of what we did last year,
14:06
like our playoff, our playoff appearance was fun but very
14:09
underwhelming. I think this year a lot of guys
14:11
stepped up. A lot of guys kind of grew into
14:13
their own, like, like you see Caulfield getting over 50,
14:17
Suzuki getting over 100. Like these are big milestones.
14:19
Sloth becoming the player that he is right now as well.
14:22
There's a lot to like and Dobesh, I've really liked what
14:24
he's been doing recently. I feel like the team has put a
14:27
lot on his back and he's delivered.
14:29
So these are all factors that I'm taking into account, meaning
14:33
like we actually genuinely have a good shot at this.
14:36
And like I said, I think the team that wins this is going to
14:38
the Stanley Cup Final and Mikey office bracket is on the Habs as
14:42
well. I put between Tabs and Tampa,
14:45
changing my mind, swapping out the players.
14:47
I just went off it. I'm going halves.
14:49
Nice. You know, I think is going to be
14:51
a good role player in this series is actually Josh
14:54
Anderson. If you were at the game, JQ, the
14:56
one versus Tampa most recently, and he was everywhere, you
15:00
noticed him like a lot. He was throwing the body.
15:03
And I think it's gonna be one of those series where after every
15:05
single whistle, there's gonna be a scrum and you need to not be
15:08
pushed around. And I don't think Tampa is as
15:10
big and scary as they used to be.
15:12
I think they still have that reputation, but I don't think
15:14
they are. And I think Anderson's going to
15:16
make his his presence known. So I think that's going to be a
15:19
big sub game of the game is just who can have the edge in
15:22
physicality. And I know that the houses are
15:25
not known for that, but I like Anderson.
15:27
I think Slough is really becoming that power forward that
15:29
we want it to be. And I think we have some grid in
15:31
the lineup. Jackye obviously is the main guy
15:34
for that and I don't think we get pushed around.
15:36
So it'll be really interesting to see, but we can just talk
15:38
about this forever, so I think. That's the last thing I'll
15:40
mention is that actually Sorrelli did play in that game,
15:44
so that's kind of an encouraging sign for the Habs.
15:46
It was just missing. Still huge loss, but yeah.
15:50
And one was intact. Hilarious, but also Carrie.
15:58
Carrie may be back. And if he is back, that's
16:00
another thing that's. Really.
16:02
Helped, I mean, well, he kind of if you look at when he got
16:06
traded to the hubs from Nashville, I was like the start
16:08
of the turnaround. He's really important player for
16:10
our team. Totally not fantasy relevant,
16:12
but like an actual IRL player. He that's a big deal to.
16:16
Have him back. Easy to say that I would not be
16:21
shocked if like this series ends up being five games.
16:26
Yes. I actually it's just it's just
16:27
one of those it's just take it might be a hard thing, but I
16:30
feel I feel this is the type of matchup that the two teams are
16:34
so strong, but when one of them has the others number type of
16:38
thing, it just shows consistently.
16:40
Even though all the games might end up being close, it just
16:43
might end up all going the same way.
16:45
Yeah, I mean, anything's possible visualizing.
16:48
Yeah. The one thing I will say that
16:50
makes me nervous about this series is even if such when the
16:53
Habs win, I feel like there's no way they make it out without
16:56
injuries like this is both teams are.
16:58
Whichever team makes it out is gonna have some injuries because
17:00
this is going to be a dirty, rough series.
17:02
And that's the only reason I might not agree about the winner
17:05
of this series making it all the way.
17:06
I think they're gonna be pretty beat up and that's why I didn't
17:08
want this match up. And obviously time I think is
17:10
the scariest matchup, but also in general, I just think it's
17:12
gonna be a dirty series. So we'll see what happens, but
17:15
but I'm very excited to watch today because that's the first
17:17
thing is alright, let's go to the next one because we spend a
17:20
lot of time on that. Next we have Carolina Hurricanes
17:23
versus the Ottawa Senators, first in the Metro, first in the
17:25
Eastern Conference versus Wild Card 2.
17:28
Not actually the worst team to make the playoffs in the East,
17:30
but they are wild card 2 because of Gary Bettman's beautiful way
17:33
of making the playoffs that we all love.
17:35
The season series Carolina won 2 to 1, so that's actually not
17:39
that huge of a difference. Most goals for Carolina, Seth
17:41
Jarvis with 32 mosis, AHO with 53 and points, his AHO with 80
17:45
and then Ottawa all their most is Stutzel, 34 goals, 49
17:49
assists, 83 points. In terms of goal tending, I
17:51
actually originally on my graphic I had Brandon Bussey's
17:53
numbers because they are actually better than Freddie
17:55
Andersen's, but Freddie Anderson got the starting game and he got
17:58
a shutout, so pretty safe to say that he's going to be the
18:01
starter for. Yeah, it's crazy.
18:03
But his numbers have been so bad this year.
18:05
To be fair, it was really towards the end of the season
18:07
that he became an NHL goalie again.
18:08
Yeah, but at the start of the year he was so awful for the
18:11
sorry, not just the start, like 3/4 of the year .8743 point, 05
18:14
goals against average versus Lena Hallmark who hasn't been
18:16
that much better .89 and 2.7, three goals against average.
18:20
I think in terms of goaltending, both teams have super shaky
18:23
goaltending and it can it just who shows up that night.
18:25
If it's like Jekyll or Hyde version of their goalie power
18:28
play and penalty kill, I think it's a pretty obvious one for
18:31
Carolina. Carolina had the 4th best power
18:33
play in the league this year. That's crazy.
18:35
We all we talk about how Rod is stupid this party.
18:38
And and yeah. That's it.
18:40
It's it's crazy how they came up to 4th and Ottawa finished
18:43
eighth. They were like top five.
18:44
I mean, it's not a huge drop, but still.
18:46
I thought they would have the edge on the power play, but they
18:48
don't. Penalty killing.
18:49
No surprise, Caroline. At 11, at 12 so.
18:52
Yeah, that's fair. Carolina at 11th penalty kill,
18:54
Ottawa at 29th. So you're facing the 4th best
18:57
power play versus the 29th best penalty kill to me.
19:00
And the series is 10. Carolina, they played a game
19:02
already yesterday. To me, this is an easy Caroline
19:05
in five. I know this is 1 that people, a
19:06
lot of people were throwing, you know, everyone's looking for an
19:09
underdog to choose and a lot of people are like, oh, Ottawa
19:12
could be the one that takes out Carolina.
19:13
I just think Caroline is not flashy so people underestimate
19:16
them, but they just play a suffocating, boring style of
19:19
pocky which is perfect for the playoffs.
19:20
Why they wanna game 20. So I think Caroline and five.
19:23
There's a reason why Carolina always makes decent conference
19:27
final and then they get right when they actually play a decent
19:30
team. They just know how to win these
19:33
early matchups. And listen, Auto is that one
19:36
team that people people love to bandwagon on Ottawa being
19:40
ohhhhh, they're special, they're wild card.
19:43
They could get it done type of thing.
19:45
And then I mean, I've been heavily invested in Ottawa the
19:48
whole year. I had Bathurst and cousins,
19:49
Brika, Chuck Sanderson for point.
19:52
And I I feel like I know this team, this is this is this is
19:55
squishy team, a squishy team. They're they're they're made of
19:59
Swiss cheese. They can't keep going, they
20:01
can't keep goals out. And there's two inconsistent up
20:04
front. So the power play really comes
20:06
clutch sometimes. But against this Carolina pick,
20:09
I don't see it being, you know, the game breaker that that it
20:12
can be in some games because I'm used to seeing like the Brady
20:15
contracts and cousin the bathrooms all combined for three
20:17
power play points on the night. And I'm super happy.
20:20
I don't see that against the Carolina.
20:22
I think it's going to be like a really grueling series.
20:24
And I don't know if auto is built for that, especially with
20:27
all the drama they've been through this season and like the
20:29
ups and downs and like the feels like there's locker room tension
20:32
too. I'm just not convinced this
20:35
could be a sweep. I'm rooting for Ottawa, don't
20:38
get me wrong. Like I want Ottawa to win.
20:40
Feels crazy saying that as a Habs fan, but the Carolina is
20:44
just too consistent. Yeah, we all put, by the way,
20:49
everyone put Caroline and five. So we're all, we're all in
20:51
agreement on that one. Wouldn't be surprised if it goes
20:53
to six, but honestly it's a yeah, it's a clear Carolina for
20:57
me. They have 720 goal scorers, 20
21:00
plus goal scorers. That's like that's a pretty deep
21:02
team and there's like a bunch of ways that they can score and get
21:07
it done. I think it's going to be kind of
21:09
boring, to be honest. I think that.
21:11
That's the game yesterday. I didn't watch any game.
21:14
Yesterday. That's crazy.
21:16
OK, I watched it pretty much. I didn't watch the the Philly,
21:18
Pittsburgh one because I was playing my own game at the time,
21:20
but I watched the other two and yeah, the Carolina Ottawa.
21:23
Like it sucks because you know, defence and goaltending and all
21:27
that stuff. It's a big part of hockey.
21:28
But as a neutral fan watching that game I was so bored.
21:32
Yeah, yeah. And that's what I think it's
21:34
going to be all series. Kevin knows the Senators better
21:38
than I do, so I think you put it very well.
21:40
But but honestly, it's it's just more of a function of Carolina
21:43
being that team that always makes a good push in the
21:45
playoffs. Can they get past Tampa or
21:49
Montreal? And when it comes to the, I
21:52
mean, we'll cross that bridge. When we don't make it to the
21:53
Eastern Conference finals and they'll win, if they're lucky,
21:56
one game. That's it.
21:58
So yeah, I, I'm not a big, I'm not a big believer in Ottawa in
22:02
this series, unfortunately. But I also, despite the fact
22:05
that they basically single handedly ruined my fantasy
22:08
season on that Sunday, I also kind of wanted to win.
22:12
I think it'd be fun, but I think it's gonna be Carolina.
22:15
Yeah, in general I always root for the underdogs, but.
22:18
Do you think of Carolina? Do you think if Carolina loses
22:20
this series, Rod gets the sack? No, no, I think he stays there
22:25
until he decides I'm done coaching here.
22:27
Sometimes you just need a change of scenery to get a team over to
22:30
him, like there's a mental barrier there.
22:31
They've never made a Stanley compile.
22:33
They've gotten so close. All I know is if Rod gets fired,
22:37
I'm drafting so many Hurricanes players next year, they're all
22:39
gonna be drafted too low because he's the worst coach for
22:42
fantasy. And that would be.
22:43
Great, so drivers going for 100 points.
22:45
Let's go to the last, like let's go to last matchup of the
22:49
Eastern Conference. We've got Pittsburgh versus
22:51
Philly. As someone currently living in
22:53
Pennsylvania, this is nuts. I was actually at the game where
22:56
Philly clinched the playoffs. It was awesome.
22:59
My brother got going we just thought he was literally just
23:02
posting pictures of the game I'm.
23:03
Like Oh my God, it was literally happened.
23:05
Essentially my brothers company, they have tickets like all sorts
23:08
of sports games, right? And whenever they have
23:11
leftovers, they'll post in like the group slacker teams or
23:14
whatever and be like, hey, we have as many tickets for
23:18
tonight's game. Does anyone want to go?
23:19
So my brother told me ahead of time, he's he said this happens.
23:22
Do you want me to let you know if there's ever any tickets?
23:24
And I said, of course, tell me if there's any Flyers tickets.
23:26
I'm super down. So he messaged me two hours
23:30
before the game. It's an hour drive for me to an
23:32
hour and a half drive for me to get to fill your messages me
23:34
like 2 1/2 hours before the game saying, so I got I have tickets
23:37
for the game tonight if you want to go.
23:38
And I'm like, OK, I'm doing this.
23:40
We're going. So I just get in the car, just
23:42
drive to Philly, get caught in a ton of traffic, but it's fine.
23:45
We get to the game and it's in a suite.
23:47
They have like a week for the for the company.
23:49
Thanks. Yeah, I've never stayed in a
23:50
suite before. I was so hungry also.
23:52
And we get there, there's chicken tenders, pizza, all
23:55
sorts of good stuff. I just load up my plate and sit
23:58
down and start watching the time of my life, even free beer and
24:01
stuff. It was awesome.
24:02
I had a great time and I was rooting for Philly because why
24:06
not? And it's they're fun team to
24:07
watch. And yeah, they were playing East
24:10
Carolina was resting all their top guys and it was an awesome
24:13
game. The arena was not someone they
24:15
clinched. Everyone went crazy.
24:16
It was a it was super fun. So it's really cool.
24:19
Also everyone I know here in Pennsylvania is either a Philly
24:21
or Pittsburgh fan and they hate each other so it's really cool
24:24
environment to be in. If your brother can know like 12
24:26
hours ahead next time I'll hop in the car.
24:29
I'm on my. Way dude, it's sick.
24:32
Honestly, if I ever get more than you know, two hours notice,
24:35
I'll let you know. Let's get into some of the stats
24:37
and we'll talk about who we're predicting.
24:39
So Pittsburgh and Philly, that's the metro and metro three.
24:42
They were actually the 7th and eighth highest teams in the East
24:46
and they get to play each other crazy, whereas the 6th best in
24:49
the NHL gets to play the 5th best in the NHL in Tampa and
24:51
Montreal. Can do something.
24:55
America explain anyways season series they tied 2 all most
25:00
goals for Pittsburgh. Anthony Mantha with 33, Is that
25:02
crazy? I knew he was having a solid
25:04
season. I didn't realize he was the best
25:06
goal scorer this year on Pittsburgh.
25:07
You know, I would think Crosby, Malkin, Raquel, Rust, but no, it
25:12
was Mantha. Most assists.
25:13
In 51 Carolina. Yeah.
25:17
You have the most goals on the. That's actually crazy.
25:21
I think he has like 10 less goals than the best point scorer
25:26
on Calgary this season. Yeah, it's so nice.
25:30
But yeah, most of this air Carlson 51, most points, Crosby
25:33
74. It's so low because he was
25:35
injured for most for like half the season.
25:37
Most goals for Philly, Owen Tippett with 28.
25:39
Most assists connect me with 41, and most points connect me with
25:42
68. These are really low point
25:44
totals for your highest point point getter.
25:46
So this is a battle of the week versus week in my opinion.
25:50
Pittsburgh starting goalie for this series, Stu Skinner .8872
25:54
point 9. Two goals against average versus
25:56
the GOAT Darth Vladar. Dan Vladar of the Philadelphia
25:59
Flyers point 9062.42. Definitely giving the edge in
26:03
goaltending to Philly, but the special teams is pretty abysmal
26:07
for Philly versus Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has the 7th best
26:09
power play and penalty kill. Philly has the worst power play
26:12
in the league surpassing the Colorado Avalanche and they have
26:16
the 21st penalty kill in the league.
26:18
This is going to come down to if Philly could stay out of the
26:21
penalty box because they are not winning the specialty teams
26:23
battle in this game. In this series I'm predicting
26:26
Pittsburgh and six. Kevin has Pittsburgh and six and
26:30
Jakey as Philly in Six. I think that's his dark horse
26:33
team after having Danville Bar on his team and seeing how the
26:35
GOAT works so you guys can get into why you made your choices.
26:39
Jackie Junior pick up three saw last last night's game that's.
26:42
Why, No, I did not. I did not.
26:44
I've been, I've been talking about Philly being one of the
26:47
best underdog teams. He's.
26:50
On the Porter Martone train. I was gonna say Porter Martone,
26:52
man, where is he getting drafted next year in fantasy?
26:54
Honestly, Round 1 he can be like.
26:58
He could probably return the value of like a or thrown player
27:01
and I think we'll get picked in like the 9th or 10th.
27:03
I'll take him instead of Will Cool in the sixth round next
27:05
year. No, it look so if you look at
27:09
this team, they're they're extremely deep on offence.
27:13
Like this is a really sick team. I know we like to give Matt
27:18
Michkov some grief, but the fact that he's on their third line
27:23
and he finished makes sense as strong as he did.
27:26
I mean, you know, the the whole team is good and you were
27:28
listing off the season average stats, which is obviously the
27:32
fair thing to do in this case. But over the last month, Philly
27:34
has been one of the best teams. Yeah, this is kind of my dark
27:37
horse team to to make it far. I mean, I don't know, should I,
27:42
should I get into my next round kind of spoilers just for like
27:45
this? Weekend.
27:46
Yeah, I know. I have them going to the Eastern
27:49
Conference finals. Wow, you have them beating
27:52
Carolina? Yeah, I do.
27:54
I do. I think they're really, really
27:55
good. And I actually also like
27:58
Pittsburgh. I mean, I think that they're
27:59
both strong. I just think that what Philly
28:01
was able to do as of late, they have a lot of grit.
28:04
They're playing well together. And they're gritty.
28:09
And I, I mean, although, look, although they are a very young
28:14
team, I mean, Porter Martone and and Tyson Forrester are
28:17
essentially both rookies, right? Like, or, I don't know,
28:20
Foresters technically one, but I know Martone officially is like,
28:23
they don't have tape on these guys, but they're NHL ready.
28:25
So yeah. I see the marks on game-winning
28:28
goal last night. Yeah, I did not even see.
28:30
Anything that was filthy, it was absolutely it was.
28:33
He skates in, stops up. The defenseman goes flying past
28:36
him. He curls around and just snipes
28:38
it top it was it was nuts. It was really really sick.
28:41
I'm super impressed with him. I think he was their fancy at
28:44
least this year as well. 100%. Yeah.
28:48
Yeah, I don't I don't think that I don't think this is the
28:51
craziest underdog pick to make. I think this is one of the
28:54
easier underdog picks to make because of how close these two
28:57
teams are. And I forgot to mention, but
28:58
Philly did win the first game. So it's one nothing Philly
29:00
series right now and Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, which is huge.
29:05
Yeah. Look, I've been a Pittsburgh
29:08
doubter all year. I came around around halfway
29:10
through the season because you just can't keep denying the
29:12
facts and the stats. But I don't think this team is
29:15
that good on paper and I think Philly could.
29:17
I don't think she's going to the Eastern Conference finals, but I
29:19
think Philly could upset in this series.
29:21
I'm still going Pittsburgh because I went again with the
29:24
playoff experience, that kind of intangible.
29:25
The same reason I went Boston over Buffalo.
29:27
But again, I wouldn't be shocked if Philly wins.
29:30
They're definitely more exciting team.
29:32
Crosby's last dance can't be getting eliminated in the first
29:35
round of Philly, who made the Stanley Cup finals in the.
29:39
Last thing, this isn't his last year.
29:42
No, but you know what I mean? Like it's, I don't know.
29:44
I I do think that Pittsburgh should have the edge, but there
29:48
is such thing as momentum and there was not a, the other team
29:53
in the lead had more momentum going into the end of the season
29:55
than Philly. So, yeah.
29:57
And I do think that Dan Vladar has really showed his quality as
30:00
of late as well. He's been, he's been a gutter
30:02
they can rely on to get the wins.
30:03
Like this is a team that was fighting for the playoffs and
30:06
while all the teams ahead of them, you know, even Ottawa for
30:08
a while, the Islanders, Columbus, Washington, all these
30:12
teams kept losing and Philly just kept like crawling back,
30:15
crawling back, crawling back. They were consistent.
30:16
Nobody was talking about them until they were actually in the
30:19
playoff picture. And people were like, OK, I
30:21
guess during the conversation right now, and they stole the
30:23
spot from everybody else. That's a big momentum driver for
30:26
them. I'm just worried that they don't
30:28
have the longevity into the series.
30:31
They gotta bank these games early on because I do think that
30:33
Pittsburgh will come strong later on.
30:36
It's so easy to overreact after one game.
30:38
Some games will be so lopsided. The next game will be so outside
30:40
of the other way. I've learned not to overreact to
30:43
to the early, early games in the playoffs series, but I think
30:47
this is gonna be a fun one. It's just crazy that both of
30:49
these teams like not getting ourselves.
30:51
This was the 7th and eighth seed in the Eastern Conference final,
30:53
right? The fact that it's a playoff
30:55
matchup is crazy. I I'm still going with
30:58
Pittsburgh, even though I'm I have that first game of
31:00
knowledge under my belt right now.
31:02
After Trevor Siegrist propelled you into winning the league this
31:06
year, the disrespect he would that clutch overtime goal, that
31:12
moment. Will forever be in my heart.
31:15
Jesus never saw it coming. Yeah.
31:18
Yeah, but I do think their defence is is kind of weak, but
31:22
their offence is just so loaded and Valdaro is sick.
31:25
And I really think like, I don't know if you saw this, but Owen
31:28
Tippett, someone was gonna like open ice hit him.
31:31
I like literally just bounced off him.
31:33
And it was crazy. So sick.
31:36
I love him. Yeah, yeah, I really like
31:39
Philly. What's possibly going to be the
31:41
most lopsided matchup of all time?
31:44
And we've got the Colorado Avalanche first in the Central
31:47
versus the Los Angeles Kings. Wild card 2 in the West.
31:50
The season series was 3. Nothing Colorado.
31:53
Goals, assists and points for Colorado.
31:54
It was all led by McKinnon. 5374 and 127 for LA.
31:58
The most schools was Tempe with 36.
32:00
Then assistant points were Panarin with 56 and 84 for
32:04
Colorado. There's been kind of discussion
32:06
is Wedgewood is, is Blackwood going to be the starter?
32:09
Based on the stats, it should be Wedgwood.
32:10
Wedgwood has a .921 and a 2.02. Those are some of the best stats
32:13
in the entire NHL. Meanwhile, LA, I think they're
32:16
going to Anton Forsberg. They've been gone for towards
32:19
the end. Of they should if they.
32:20
Make sense because Kemper is the worst goalie of all time and I
32:23
hate him and I'll never forgive him for this year.
32:24
So Forsberg had .908 and a 2.57, which is not bad.
32:28
And then in terms of power play, we've got to Battle of the
32:31
Titans here. We've got Colorado 28th in the
32:33
league versus LA, 27th in the league.
32:35
So huge edge for LA there just getting they both suck on the
32:39
power play. But on the penalty kill, we've
32:41
got Colorado who is number 1 on the penalty kill in the entire
32:44
league versus LA who's 30th. So if you're telling me the 27th
32:48
the power play versus the first penalty kill in the league
32:51
versus the 28th ranked power play versus the 30th penalty
32:53
kill in the league, obviously the edge is massively in
32:56
Colorado's favor just like everything else in this matchup.
32:58
In terms of injuries, Colorado says that both Kadri and Mattson
33:01
should be back for game one, which means they have no
33:03
injuries. LA has obviously Fiala out for
33:05
the season and Kuzmenko out for the season.
33:07
This is an easy Colorado and four for me.
33:09
Ellie has no business being in the playoffs.
33:11
It's honestly an embarrassment to the league that they made the
33:13
playoffs with all those now. Honestly they are the worst team
33:15
and I hate them. The amount of you know how many
33:18
regulation wins this garbage team full of losers has this
33:20
year? It's something like 19.
33:22
OK, they sucked. They do not.
33:24
They do not belong in the playoffs.
33:26
It's truly an embarrassment. If Colorado lets them score a
33:28
single goal this series, then that's an embarrassment.
33:30
OK, this is they suck and I hate them.
33:32
Anyways, that's my opinion. Do you?
33:35
It's crazy. There's a conversation on who
33:37
the starting goalie is going to be for Colorado.
33:39
Do you know the last eight games for Colorado?
33:42
Wedgewood got four starts. Blackwood got four starts in
33:46
those four starts. Wedgwood has two shutouts and
33:50
the two other games he had a 947 and a 968 and the last game of
33:55
the season he shot out Seattle and then he also shot out Dallas
33:59
a few games earlier and they beat Edmonton 21 where he
34:01
dropped a 96830 saves. So like he's been on fire.
34:06
There's no doubt in my mind that they're going away.
34:09
Good game one. And he's probably just the guy
34:11
and Blackwood will take over if Wedgwood has a really bad game.
34:14
That's how I see it in my mind. But like you said, we don't
34:17
spend too much time on this one. Colorado is the biggest favorite
34:20
in the whole entire league to win the Cup.
34:22
Like they have the best odds. So they're going to be the
34:25
favorite all the way until the end.
34:26
They make it that far. I think they're really get out
34:28
of test and match in the second round where they either, you
34:31
know, Dallas or Minnesota. That's gonna be like the
34:33
testament to if they could get it done this year or not.
34:36
But I'm gonna be rooting for LA. I love a big underdog.
34:38
There's no bigger underdog than than LA here.
34:41
Do I think they have any chance? Absolutely not.
34:43
But I'm just putting. It out there absolutely
34:45
embarrassed honestly. Like I think they suck.
34:48
I could picture Anton Forsberg going full Yaroslav Halak like
34:51
this is. I see it happening.
34:53
It's written in the stars. He can let in 0 regulation goals
34:56
the entire series and they'll still lose 10IN overtime all.
34:59
Four games. I I I'm the only one who doesn't
35:04
have it in four. I have Colorado and.
35:05
Five stage we get into the hottest take of the entire
35:08
predictions, which is likely having LA winning a game.
35:11
Yeah, I just, I think it's gonna be like 5-1 or like 5-2 games
35:17
and then they're just gonna win one like 3-2 or two one, you
35:21
know, and then they're just gonna go back to Colorado and
35:23
when that's. The way I honestly, I should put
35:25
some money on Colorado and for it, but the return is probably
35:28
so low it's not even worth it. Yeah, it's honestly so at least
35:32
sucks. I hate them.
35:33
It's just a terrible like, how does a team that loses so many
35:36
games in the regular season make the playoffs?
35:38
If you can't tell, the Ash was a Darcy Kemper owner who had faith
35:42
the whole season until the very end.
35:46
Yeah, I got screwed by the by the matchups because the match
35:49
they had the easiest strength of schedule for like the entire
35:51
rest of season. So I was like, the process is
35:53
there. I gotta hold on to him because
35:54
for that easy schedule coming up, it just so happened my beer
35:56
I'm gonna let in 10 goals versus Calgary.
35:58
Just something stupid I guess. The only thing was really good
36:01
for. I think that it's more of a
36:04
function of Colorado being so good that LA being so trash.
36:07
So it's the same result because Colorado is gonna win.
36:09
But if they were playing another team, I'm like, OK, like, you
36:11
know, maybe LA has something. If Fiala was there, that'd be a
36:14
different story. You just hate them.
36:15
I can't. Think of a single team in the
36:18
playoffs that I think they could beat in a series.
36:20
I don't think you can fill your Pittsburgh in the series.
36:22
I don't think they can be Ottawa series.
36:24
They could definitely need those teams in a series I think.
36:27
There's a lot of time in a series like.
36:29
Colorado, it's just Colorado so strong.
36:31
So I think that's that's kind. Of it, but the first, and we'll
36:34
move on, the first round that they don't actually end up
36:36
playing Edmonton in the first round, they play Colorado.
36:39
They would have a better chance against Edmonton, honestly.
36:42
Yeah, yeah. OK, let's go to the next one.
36:47
This is a fun one. Dallas Stars versus Minnesota
36:49
Wild central 2 versus Central three seed.
36:51
They tied the series 22. This is we're gonna get into the
36:54
stats. These are the most even
36:55
breakdown of stats I've seen of any series in a long time.
36:59
OK, most goals of both teams had the same highest goal scorer.
37:02
Jason Robinson killed he's off. Both had 45 most assists.
37:06
Ranton had 55 Quinn Hughes 69 most points Robertson of 96
37:10
Caprice off with 89. That's super close all across
37:13
the board. Safer percentage.
37:14
We have first of all, big shock guide to change my here the head
37:18
of the episode. I thought Gustafson was gonna be
37:20
the starter for Minnesota. Obviously, yeah, whilst it
37:22
deserves it, but I still thought with you know The Who Gustafson
37:25
is the contract, the pedigree all that.
37:27
I thought it was gonna be him, but they did the correct choice
37:30
went with Walstead. So whilst that's numbers point
37:31
9162.58 versus auditors point 8992.59.
37:35
So it's actually pretty close. But while said better safe
37:38
percentage. And then in terms of the power
37:40
play and penalty kill, Dallas was second best power play,
37:43
Minnesota was third best power play, Dallas 11th best penalty
37:46
kill Minnesota's 15th. This could not be closer.
37:49
The one big difference is Dallas has both Roope Hintz and Tyler
37:52
Sagan injured versus Minnesota having a fully healthy team.
37:55
Last night Minnesota and Dallas played their first game of the
37:58
series. Minnesota wrecked them six to
38:00
110 series Minnesota my prediction Minnesota yeah I've
38:05
got Minnesota in seven and both Kevin and Jackie also have
38:08
Minnesota and 7:00 so we all seem to be of a same mind
38:11
here's. Watch the game.
38:12
Somebody needs to tell me, was it really lopsided or what?
38:14
Did it just happen to be like Minnesota got the goals and
38:17
goals? There are a lot of power plays
38:20
and Minnesota capitalized more. There were a couple snipes.
38:24
I mean, Walstead looked incredible out there.
38:26
They Dallas had their chances for he really played.
38:29
He played fantastic. Aldinger was I want, I won't
38:32
blame him for for the like all the goals, although when you let
38:35
in that many, you have to blame for a couple.
38:37
He just wasn't making any clutch saves from what I saw.
38:40
So I think something was a big one.
38:42
Yeah, goaltending was right. Power play was was a big it was
38:47
a big one. And I think also another thing
38:49
is that all these average season stats for Minnesota, they
38:53
include the pre Quinn Hughes era, right?
38:55
If you take their averages post Quinn Hughes, I'm sure they jump
38:58
up even better. So.
38:59
Off injury as well, don't forget.
39:01
Copies of injury Erickson neck injury, you know, they're
39:03
they're annual missing a couple of weeks right at the end of the
39:06
fantasy season to screw over their owners.
39:08
So yeah, I I think that Minnesota looked incredible.
39:11
I still think it goes to seven because Dallas is too good of a
39:13
team, but I still think Minnesota has the edge on this
39:15
one. And I think a lot of people are
39:16
are all in on Minnesota and their bracket.
39:18
Shots, the results were even, they were both.
39:20
It was 28 a piece. I mean, just just by that it's
39:22
like, yeah, I know the game could still be uneven, obviously
39:25
61, right? But just to say it's definitely
39:28
gonna go, it's definitely gonna go a long way.
39:31
I don't think it's gonna be like an over in four or five at all.
39:35
The the one thing I will say though, was that like I'm really
39:37
hard on Minnesota. I'm surprised a lot of people
39:39
work. I feel like this is a tough
39:41
match. It kind of it's kind of like the
39:42
Tampa Montreal. It feels like super high stakes
39:44
to put all your eggs in one basket here so early on because
39:48
it can either easily go either way.
39:50
And if you're wrong, then you're kind of cooked your playoff
39:53
bracket early on. But I have Minnesota going all
39:56
the way in my office pools team. If anybody saw my draft, I went
39:59
hard. I went, you know, Boldy,
40:01
Kaprizov, Erickson, Eck, even Zuccarello with Quinn Hughes and
40:04
I wanted to put. All said in there, but to me, I,
40:07
I went with a Connor Ingram of Edmonton because I also feel
40:10
like they're gonna match up in the in the the Western
40:13
Conference final. And to me it was like I was
40:15
safe. I was less worried about Tristan
40:17
Jarry giving him a run for his money than Gustafson getting a
40:19
shot at it. Wait, wait, wait.
40:21
You think Minnesota and Edmonton are going to match up in the
40:24
Western Conference Final? Yeah.
40:27
What about? What about Colorado?
40:30
I think Minnesota's beating Colorado.
40:33
Oh my God, this is how do we get to talk about this?
40:37
We can talk about it, we can talk about it after, but that
40:39
that that to me is I I don't think Colorado gets done this
40:43
year. I think it's just too obvious
40:44
and the biggest favorite in everything that it just those
40:47
teams don't always win it. So OK.
40:49
I don't think that's the craziest take.
40:51
I think, I think it's crazy to say Ellie is going to win a
40:53
game, really. I like Minnesota.
40:58
I think they're sick. They're they're, they're really
41:00
good. But.
41:01
If you look at my place bracket too, I have the finals in the
41:04
Stanley Cup finals being Minnesota versus the Habs.
41:06
And then to my detriment, I saw the EA Sports NHL post their
41:11
bracket and it was haves and Minnesota and I was like no,
41:15
that means I'm wrong. But I I really just Minnesota
41:19
team Listen, I was the only one that had faith in them before
41:21
the season started. You guys both poo poo on me a
41:23
little bit there. OK, well no one could have known
41:25
they were trade for Quinn Hughes changed their whole.
41:28
It definitely does help. I did not expect that.
41:31
I also did not expect wall set to become the goat so.
41:33
Yeah, yeah, honestly, I'm shocked you picking him over
41:36
Walstead. I think that's a looks as an
41:38
outside observer and obviously we have a game under our belt
41:40
now, so it's easier to say yeah. But I just think Edmonton school
41:44
attending is garbage and if you're especially if you're so
41:46
in Minnesota. Rose to to their then Minnesota
41:50
does so yeah, I was kind of like hedging a little bit.
41:53
I just also think Chris and Jerry is cooked and Gus, Gus has
41:56
been, if you look at the stats, he's been horrible to end the
41:59
season and I'm not shocked they went with, Wall said.
42:01
I'm surprised they had the guts to go to do it.
42:04
Would have it been a gutsy pick to go Alstead?
42:07
That'd be hedging. A little.
42:08
It's easy. Yeah, that's fair.
42:10
Yeah. Alright, let's go to the next
42:12
one. Vegas Golden Knights first in
42:14
the Pacific. A huge title to win.
42:16
Very difficult versus Utah. Mammoth.
42:18
First wild card without sarcasm. The Pacific was a joke this
42:22
year, but everyone's been talking about it so much, we
42:24
don't have to keep talking about it.
42:26
The season series, Utah actually won two, one versus Vegas.
42:29
In terms of most goals, it's actually both teams had really
42:32
high goal scorers. Pavada Phev the GOAT, 37 goals.
42:36
Dylan Guenther 39 goals per Utah, most assists for Vegas,
42:40
Jack Eichel was 63 and most points.
42:42
Jack Eichel with 90 versus Utah having Clayton Keller with 62
42:45
and Keller with 88. Very, very similar top players
42:49
in terms of goals, assistant points.
42:50
In terms of goaltending for Utah, it's a clear care of Carol
42:53
of Melka .897 and 2.7 three goals against average.
42:57
I put it in hell for Vegas. I'm not sure who's gonna who's
42:59
going to be. I feel like they default to him
43:00
and give him the chance. 1st .87, you know, save percentage
43:04
and 3.0 four goals against average on the season.
43:06
But obviously they also have the option of Carter Hart in there
43:09
as well or Akira sheet if you want to get a spicy with it.
43:12
Probably not. And then in terms of in terms of
43:14
power play, penalty kill, Vegas was sixth in both power play and
43:17
penalty kill versus Utah being 18th and 19th in those two.
43:20
So a clear special teams advantage to Vegas in terms of
43:23
injuries, Vegas has William Carlson, he's been out for the
43:25
whole season pretty much Utah, Jack McBain, Mendoza, the GOAT,
43:28
he's out. Sean Dursey, Barrett Hayton.
43:31
There's a chance that jersey comes back for game one.
43:33
I don't think McCain, Hatton are coming back, and I do think
43:35
McCain's a very big loss to be honest.
43:37
But maybe I'm just biased from him being the GOAT in fantasy.
43:40
I have Vegas in five. I you know, I love Utah as a
43:45
team. I think again, I think with my
43:47
rankings this time I went on that intangible of playoff
43:49
experience and it could be wrong because it's with those
43:53
intangibles and you know, there's no numbers to really
43:55
back it up. It's more just kind of vibes.
43:56
But I do think it makes a big difference and I think the
43:59
coaching change for Vegas, I'm I'm all in on Tortorella the
44:02
GOAT. So that's what I'm going with.
44:04
Yeah, I'm honestly, this was the one that I struggled with the
44:08
most, which is crazy because I feel like Vegas has the name and
44:11
and everything and Utah is essentially the Arizona Coyotes
44:15
and. And no one.
44:17
No one believed in them but but I, I think it was Kevin who
44:20
called this out a year ago, maybe even a year and a half
44:23
that like there are a really good up and coming team and,
44:26
and. That was the Utah guy.
44:30
I was the Utah guy. Really.
44:31
Utah guy, Yeah. Yeah, so, so I actually think
44:35
that they're gonna be good with a big, big advantage for them is
44:39
goaltending. Velka is way better than any of
44:41
the Vegas goalies. Yeah, so I wouldn't be
44:43
surprised. I do have Vegas in six, but I
44:48
really think that this one such a toss up.
44:51
I went Utah on 7. This was her dark.
44:54
Horse spicy. Well, that has to.
44:55
Be eliminated against Edmonton from.
44:58
But yeah, for. But this was one of my favorite
45:01
upsets to pick because I feel like people weren't really on
45:05
Utah that much and Vegas is just an intimidating team.
45:07
Like, you look at the logo, you're like, OK, this means
45:09
power type of thing, you know? Yeah, people are convinced that
45:11
they can make a run. It's Vegas.
45:13
We all know Vegas can win the Stanley Cup.
45:15
They're the enemies of the league, but I really like this
45:20
Utah team and how they stack up against Vegas.
45:23
And to be fair, Vegas has had a really strong finish to the
45:27
season under John Tortorella. So it did this way my plans a
45:31
little bit. I was definitely less less
45:32
comfortable. But I do think the goaltending
45:35
matchup is going to be huge. And there's something about this
45:38
Vegas team that against them the whole season that I've kind of
45:40
had like a little asterisk next to them being like, OK, maybe
45:44
they're not the full Vegas, the full Vegas and Tortillas
45:47
stacking the lines right now. He's going with that full it was
45:50
Marner, Eichel, Stone was it for their their top line?
45:55
He's putting all his chips up there.
45:57
This could be a blowout or this could be the most grueling 7
46:01
game series in my opinion. And I haven't going Utahs way.
46:03
I just feel like they have enough debt that they can win
46:06
those middle line battles. And I like the goaltending.
46:10
I can easily see Vegas goaltending just crumbling
46:13
because nobody can average 900. So that's that's how my thought
46:18
process goes, but not the sugar coating.
46:21
The special teams are difference here because Vegas is definitely
46:24
really strong there. Yeah, For me, I honestly, I just
46:27
feel like Vegas is advantage in everything except for
46:30
goaltending. But goaltending is a massive
46:32
part of things. So if my prediction is wrong, I
46:34
think it will be because of the goaltending.
46:36
But I think the rest of the team, Vegas is just such a
46:38
behemoth. And I think that, you know, I
46:40
think they were underperforming for a large stretch until the
46:43
Tortorella coaching change. And so I think people actually
46:46
may underestimate them because of that.
46:48
But like you said, they've been on fire since.
46:50
The game one or something? Yeah, this season it's you were
46:54
talk about the momentum with Philly, the momentum here as
46:56
well. It's really hard to stop when
46:59
the team is on fire like that. So I like I like my Vegas pick
47:02
here, but I love Utah as a team. I think they're really fun.
47:04
Alright, let's go to the last one.
47:06
We've got the Edmonton Oilers versus the Anaheim Ducks Pacific
47:10
2 versus Pacific 32 teams that I don't think we have made the
47:13
playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
47:15
Don't quote me on that. I haven't checked in a bit.
47:16
But you know, again, Pacific bad.
47:19
Anyways, the season series Edmonton 121 versus Anaheim,
47:23
most goals, assists and points for Edmonton, obviously McDavid
47:25
with 4890 and 138 insane. And then for Anaheim, most
47:29
schools cutter goatee with 41 most assist Jackson Lacombe with
47:32
48 most points. Cutter got eight with 69.
47:35
Nice. So that's that's a pretty big,
47:38
pretty big lopsided there. 69 is actually exactly half of 138.
47:43
So the highest point getter on Anaheim had half the points of
47:46
the highest point getter on Edmonton.
47:48
Pretty pretty fun stat there. Then for goaltending, I've got
47:52
Connor Ingram starting for Edmonton.
47:53
I'd be shocked if Jerry gets the start.
47:55
He's been .898 versus 2.6 goals against average and Anaheim had
47:59
has got Lucas Dostal .888 and a 3.1 goals against average.
48:03
His season is a very big story of inconsistency.
48:06
He was the best goalie in the league and the worst goal in the
48:08
league, the best and the worst. So whichever dose style shows up
48:10
will make a big difference. But looking at specialty teams,
48:12
power play for Edmonton, ranked number one, no surprise penalty
48:15
kill ranked eighteen versus Anaheim, power play is 23 and
48:18
penalties 26. Obviously a massive, massive
48:21
advantage for Edmonton. Pretty much every single stat
48:23
that I've listed, Edmonton had the edge in terms of injuries.
48:26
I had Leon Dreidel listed. They said he's skating in full
48:28
contact. I'd be surprised if he's not in
48:30
for game one. Good for him and and for
48:34
Edmonton. And then for Anaheim, I think
48:37
got Gus. I don't think he's coming back
48:38
for game one, but we'll see. So not many injuries on either
48:41
side. Tricep, if he does come back I
48:42
doubt he's at 100%. We've seen him play on one leg
48:45
in the playoffs and be an absolute machine so I'm not too
48:47
worried about it. I think him being in the lineup,
48:49
regardless of his level of health is a huge win for
48:52
Edmonton. I have Edmonton and four.
48:54
It's just hard looking at all these stats to think of what
48:57
Anaheim has over them. Really it's the goaltending as
48:59
usual. Same thing with the Vegas
49:01
series. So 4 might be a bit aggressive
49:03
because goaltending could cost you a single game here, they're
49:05
easily, but I just feel like Edmonton is just so far
49:08
advantage here. I, I think it's going to be
49:10
close actually, but I do think Edmonton is going to win.
49:13
I just the series, I have them. I have Edmonton and Seven.
49:19
Going. Seven, Yes.
49:21
Yeah. No, look, I mean, with the
49:23
Ducks, a big part of the story this year was the inconsistency
49:28
from Dostall, as you mentioned. So as you as you said,
49:31
Dostall's, you know, depending on how he's playing, that's
49:34
gonna make a huge difference. Also, Carlson's injury, and
49:37
that's really when things went horribly for them.
49:40
And with him back, I mean, you, you you hear the stats and as
49:44
far as the top point scorers on the team, the fact that Leo
49:47
Carlson's not there, you know that there's something going on.
49:50
And it was that big injury and he was out for awhile and then
49:52
they were horrible. And then when he's there, they
49:56
play well. He's very talismanic to the
49:57
team. And they have they're nice.
50:00
Yeah, they're very deep on offence.
50:02
And the John Carlson acquisition is actually a really big deal
50:05
for them. He's been playing well.
50:06
And I think that he could he could make a big difference and
50:09
bring a lot of that experience. He got Crider, you got Carlson,
50:11
you have the the the veteran presence on this team that can
50:14
handle Truba. Yeah, exactly.
50:17
So there's a lot to like with them actually.
50:19
I just think that Edmonton has more skill.
50:22
They've gone to the sound like a finals over the past two years.
50:26
I don't think it's happening again, but I do think that
50:29
they're gonna win around probably too.
50:31
Just like who on Anaheim is stopping McDavid and dryside?
50:35
Like let's say you can stop one of them to stop both of them,
50:38
you need to have a pretty strong decor, I think.
50:40
And I just don't see it with Anaheim, especially if I mean
50:43
whether Gus is in or out and he'll add physicality this
50:45
series, but I don't think he's a very good defender anymore at at
50:47
his age. And then Truba, you know, he had
50:50
a solid season fantasy wise. And but I don't think I'm not
50:53
looking at trooper versus McDavid and going like, OK,
50:55
cooler safe. It's really coming down to Mike
50:57
Carlson and and Jackson Lacombe, the former forward.
51:00
So I think look, the two of them together, maybe you can combine,
51:04
hold back McDavid and then dry side just comes in and recs you
51:07
or you hold back dry saddle. I don't know.
51:09
I just don't see their defence being enough to hold the
51:12
offensive firepower and the, the specialty units, the special
51:16
unit, special teams, special teams.
51:18
There it is. They're just going to, every
51:20
time they get a power play, they're gonna finish with like
51:22
50% power play percentage on the series.
51:24
It's gonna be nuts #1 versus #26.
51:27
Yeah, I guess like I I just find that like you're looking at the
51:31
the depth the third line on, on, you know, on Anaheim can do some
51:35
damage. You got paling Mctavish and and
51:39
Gautier. That's your third line.
51:41
You're 40 goal scorer. I think every game is going to
51:44
be 6/5 for Edmonton. Like it's gonna that's not gonna
51:47
be any. It's gonna be a fun series to
51:48
watch and be the opposite of the Carolina Ottawa series.
51:50
It's gonna be a good time. There's gonna be no goaltending
51:53
optional points for everyone, so it's going to be fun.
51:56
But I think Edmonton definitely has the.
51:57
Edge So I went until the very end to share this information
52:03
and if you guys joined the Bangor Management Bracket
52:06
Challenge that was posted in the discord and I guess as we
52:09
listening to this, you might have the chance to join if the
52:11
if it's not closed off yet, I think the bracket challenge
52:14
closed on Monday at 7:00, but I will say my bracket has Edmonton
52:19
winning the Stanley Cup against the Montreal Canadiens.
52:22
I thought you had Minnesota. Yeah, so in my official bracket,
52:26
I submitted, I put Edmonton beating Montreal in the finals.
52:30
I have Edmonton and Minnesota in the Western Conference final.
52:34
But there's also reason why I went Connor Ingram on my on my
52:37
office pools. I think this is the year that
52:40
Edmonton finally gets it done. Nothing.
52:42
His Florida is not there. Florida is not there, but also
52:45
this is a team that every year they have the same mentality, is
52:47
like the team is so good but can go in and get them done.
52:51
And every year the same thing they've made.
52:52
They've made this sound like a final twice in a row.
52:54
They've gotten so close even with Stuart Skinner.
52:56
Think Connor Ingram is basically very similar to Stuart Skinner,
52:59
kind of like the same guy. But we haven't seen Connor
53:01
Ingram playing for this team in the playoffs yet.
53:03
And he's had a strong finish to the season like his last in the
53:06
last three games to end the season.
53:07
He played Colorado and LA and he only letting one goal against
53:11
both of those teams ended up losing both games, but you only
53:13
get one goal. He had like really good save
53:15
percentages. So I think that he's he has a
53:17
better shot at this than than Stuart Skinner and Connor
53:22
McDavid and Leon Russell. How can you bet against them?
53:24
Like getting it done when it needs to be done?
53:26
Like to me, they're winning. Wanna get down for?
53:28
Easily, yeah. Yeah, wasn't really.
53:32
For this moment, you got shafted in the fantasy season, but he is
53:36
ready for the playoffs, Yeah. I think that's a good start. 5.
53:42
Points, Yeah, huge Team Canada snub.
53:44
I think that's a good way to end it.
53:45
Let's all say who we think is winning the Cup at this point.
53:47
So Kevin, you're going with Edmonton?
53:49
To me, it's me, it's Edmonton or Minnesota, so and I'm going.
53:52
To choose to yeah, you have to choose one.
53:54
It's the winner of those teams is making it and I think
53:56
Edmonton is gonna take it this season.
53:59
Think or want both? I'm I'm doing you go first.
54:03
I'll. Are they both the same?
54:05
OK, I think Colorado is gonna win.
54:07
OK, I'm going with to me, this is the most obvious pick and
54:11
it's 100% gonna be right. I've never been wrong in my
54:13
life. And it's gonna be your Montreal
54:15
Canadiens. Everyone could pull the tape
54:20
when it happens. I hope to be part of the parade
54:22
because, you know, my belief is what's going to propel them all
54:25
the way to the cup. So very excited to see that
54:27
happen. Let's wrap it up, though.
54:28
That was a was a great, great episode.
54:30
Thanks. Everyone for listening follow us
54:32
on Spotify, Apple podcast, wherever you get your podcasts
54:34
where there if you watch on YouTube, give this video a like
54:37
and subscribe to our channel. Follow all the socials there in
54:40
the podcast subscription and be sure to join the discord
54:43
community. Take it away, Ernie.
54:46
But about bow banger management fantasy hockey podcast.
54:49
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Go Habs, go.
54:54
Sound like poop poop.