WOW! MASSIVE Habs Win & Jakub Dobes Was BRILLIANT!

The Montreal Canadiens came back in a big way at the Bell Centre, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2.

After a slow start that saw Carolina jump out early with goals from Nikolaj Ehlers and Jordan Staal, the Canadiens flipped the script. Montreal responded with five unanswered goals, led by Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, who sparked the comeback in the second period. 

Rookie Oliver Kapanen got the Habs on the board, while Ivan Demidov added a clutch third-period goal, and Jake Evans sealed it with an empty-netter. Goaltender Jakub Dobes was outstanding, turning aside 41 shots and giving Montreal a chance to claw back into the game. 

That was Montreal’s 24th comeback win of the season, tying a franchise record and continuing their strong push late in the year. 

On today’s show, Shaun Starr and Marco D’Amico break down:

The Canadiens’ resilience and comeback ability
Cole Caufield’s red-hot scoring pace
Ivan Demidov’s continued impact
Jakub Dobes stepping up in a big spot
What this win means for the Habs playoff push

🔥 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and drop your thoughts in the comments!

#montrealcanadiens #nhl #hockey

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

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SPEAKER_03 2:14

Man, uh, I I the way that game started and the way that I don't think you have your sure mic uh connected this morning or this afternoon. Really?

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Yeah, I see that. Laptop, laptop microphone.

SPEAKER_03 2:27

Everybody, the laptop is in. The microphone is in. Uh, I really the way that that game started versus the way that that game ended were two very completely different emotions. And you know, I I kudos to the Canadians for being able to fight back and all they score five unanswered goals. I mean, that takes some guts some gusto against the at the time, and still, I think right now, the top team in the east. And you know, I I felt like especially, you know, we're gonna talk about the volume of shots and and how the Canadians looked and Jakob Dobesh. We're gonna get into all that, of course. But I think the biggest thing you could take out of yesterday's win outside of the first 10 minutes, they in terms of the way that they went about fighting fire with fire, that was the first time I thought I saw the Canadians intimidate another team. Intimidate another like high-caliber team.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Uh, the Montreal Canadians uh top line remains one of the most dominant lines in the National Hockey League. All three members uh for the better part of three and a half weeks uh are basically in the top 10 of NHL scoring across the board. Everybody looking up at the great Nikita Kucharov, but Suzuki, Caulfield, Slavkovsky. But Marco, we'll dive into Jakob Dobesch's uh career best performance with 41 saves as the shoot from anywhere canes couldn't really get much past him after, you know, what was an interesting first period. Poor Mike Matheson, mistake prone. Uh certainly a couple of incidents involving number eight yesterday that resulted in the in the 2-0 deficit. But it was more than the Canadians' number one line yesterday, wasn't it? Oliver Kapanen, Ivan Demidov, Alex Newhook, the Phil Deneau line, Jake Evans line. It seemed like uh Martin St. Louis got what he's asked for. A little bit more consistent offensive zone pressure from everybody outside of the Suzuki line.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

Yeah, I I honestly it's something we've been talking about for a while. If the Canadians are gonna have success, it can't be a one-line team. And I felt like yesterday was the farthest that they've looked from a one-line team in a while. And not in a sense, because obviously they've they've blown out other teams. Like we saw them blow out the Islanders 7-3, right? But where I think I felt like the matchups at home, none of the lines at five on five were ever that I that I ever feel were just getting out all right, just hammered. I didn't feel that. And in my notes, you know, one of the things that we see right off the top, you know, and I think this is one of the most important things, puck possession time for the Montreal Canadians much higher than the Carolina Hurricanes. Yeah, and the reason for that is Canadians they hold on to the puck until they can make the right play and they play that cycle game so effectively. Whereas I feel like the Carolina Hurricanes got the puck in a semi-dangerous area, shot, shot, shot, shot. And so it wasn't dangerous. Obviously, they got they got their own level of puck luck uh in the in the beginning of the first period, you know, that Mike Matheson deflecting uh a uh what was supposed to be a pass, and then you know, Jordan Stahl getting a tape-to-tape pass from Oliver Kapan and from the blue line, you know, like those things are a little different. But what I what I liked was the attitude, the way they played. Like Josh Anderson is clearly not a hundred a hundred percent. He's close, but he still played with his heart on his sleeve. Zachary Balzuk played a great game, in my opinion. The only thing he didn't do was sh was score. But I thought you know, he's really become more and more effective as a four-checking forward, and you know, you like what you see and still young, so there's there's room to grow. I think Alec, him and Alex Texier work very well together with Jake Evans. Um, Brendan Gallagher played a good enough game, I think, in my opinion. And again, you know, I keep going back to this, but Phil Deneau is just very, you know, underrated, goes right under your radar. You don't really notice him uh until you look at the end of the game and you look at the stat sheet and you're like, damn, that many blocks, that good on the on the on the face-off circle. You know, like again, these are minute details that become much bigger as you get to this stage of the season. But I don't think we can talk about last night's game without talking about how good the second line looked, specifically Ivan Demidov.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Oliver Kapanen gets on the score sheet again. You know, one of a show favorite, just getting to the net, getting to the net, active sticks in the shooting lane. I want to talk about Jaden Strubbel's consistent performance. He's played now, what, five straight games. I I haven't looked it up, and we don't have a producer, so I'm gonna assume that's the first time this season where he's played every game over. It's not so there's the producer there, he's got the stats. But I mean, what's the what's the number? I mean, if it's got to be close.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

I think he's I think he's played over, yeah. Yeah, you're not far for sure. But I remember him playing like I remember there being a time where uh Arbor Jackey sat for like a good seven to eight games.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Um, but yeah, I want to talk about the collective defense and whether or not we're comfortable thinking that with a dozen games to go. Is this an area that is more or less problem-solved that the Canadians have their three pairs on defense from here on to the end of the regular season and into round one of the NHL playoffs? But uh the Carolina Hurricanes, why are the Montreal Canadians? Why do the Montreal Canadians have success against this team? We saw them on New Year's Day in that slug fest goal fest, 12 goals combined against Brandon Bussey in a 7-5 final. Um, we saw Jakob Dobesch play there. And last night, the Canadians, as you point out, I mean, just overwhelmed them. Uh, from the second half of the first period, they played a great second period, and then they pull Carolina pulls their goaltender with four four minutes and change left. That's a long time with the extra guy out there. But what is it about Carolina's game that you think right now this season suits the Montreal Canadians?

SPEAKER_03 8:25

Well, I first of all, I don't think Carolina plays an overly physical game. Um, I also think that they don't have the skill to match up with the Canadians like one-on-one, like straight up.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:35

Uh, I think the Canadians outskill them significantly in that regard. Where I really think is the biggest difference is on defense. The Canadians' defense may not be as structured as Carolina. Carolina is a very structured team, but Montreal's defense is, I think, what makes the difference because when they jump in the rush, man, it is very difficult to contain and they tend to overwhelm the defensive the team defending against them. You look at that, uh, you look at you know, the the Cole Caulfield goal, where I believe it was the Cole Caulfield goal where Mike Matheson went around the net, and then the puck went to Nick Suzuki, and Suzuki shoots, and then it comes to Cole Caulfield, and Caulfield can just put it into an empty net. Um, you know, Noah Dobson's shot and the way that it's strong enough that it could beat a goalie, but it's well placed enough that it could be double deflected in and Uri Slavkovsky scores, right? Like that's where I feel it's different. Whereas I didn't get that same jam uh from the uh from the Carolina Hurricanes. Now, granted, Shane Gosses Bear wasn't playing, he's their power play quarterback, understood, but the only defenseman on the rest of that roster that, in my opinion, has an ilk of offensive ability is Alexander Nikishin. And I really liked his game last night as well. Um, but when you lose Brent Burns, when you lose Dmitry Orlov, those players pushed the tempo for them last year and year prior to that. And I just don't feel like they have that element. And then when you start playing it, you start playing a team like Montreal who excels on the four-check. That was with that was the biggest thing to me. These are two of the best four-checking teams in the NHL. The only difference is the Canadians withstood the storm defensively from the forecheck from Carolina. They it didn't look good at first, but they got better at it as they went along. And then you look at Montreal, Montreal is able to adequately defend the four check, but they are elite at executing it themselves. And I think that's the bigger difference because when you get to the playoffs, you can outwork, outmuscle, or outskill your opponent. Well, the Canadians outworked and outskilled their opponent last night.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

I want to put the question to the chat. We'll get uh we'll get active with a lot of your comments and questions as we move along today on the live presentation of Star and Domico in the aftermath of the Montreal Canadians a 5-2 win over Carolina at the Bell Center last night. It's on to Columbus tomorrow night. Um, was that the best combination of a Habs win and an out-of-town scoreboard result? A lot of people point to that uh a lot of people point to that Wednesday win in Ottawa. Jacob Fowler, brilliant in that third period where the Canadians won that game 3-2 in Ottawa on Wednesday as maybe the biggest win of the season in the context of division rivals.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

Ottawa would be ahead of them right now if they didn't win that game.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

So, yeah, let's put it to the chat. Was that the best combination? Habs win and the out-of-town scoreboard, where it was upset city with Toronto. Toronto, what are you doing? Beating Boston. I mean, Boston had nothing yesterday in that game, outshot dramatically, and the Chicago Blackhawks taking the Islanders out to the woodshed for a good old-fashioned paddling. Uh, but let's pick up on the on that second line. I mean, does it go back to what you talked about in terms of the lack of physical presence on the Hurricanes back end? Ivan Demidoff, Oliver, Oliver Kapanen, uh Demidoff's first goal in a minute. The last time he scored a goal was that 3-2 win in Ottawa on that Wednesday where he had two points. Uh, picks up another two points, fifth in team scoring. But um, I mean, are we at the point where we're saying they hit a wall and now maybe they've gone through it?

SPEAKER_03 12:18

Uh I'm a sample-sized guy. I need more than a game or two to to say that they're through it. But you're definitely seeing the instances of a player that is slowly rising above it. So, you know, yes, he scored, but the play that impressed me the most was when he was going one-on-one with the defenseman in the low end of the left side of the offensive zone.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

That was crazy.

SPEAKER_03 12:46

Beats him, gets the puck, and then you know, slides it over for an offensive chance. Like that to me is what's changed in Demidov. Um, the other thing you have to factor in is the way that he attacks open ice right now, and the way he is willing to take a hit to make the play. That mindset is what allows him to really kind of impact the game a little bit easier because it creates space for him. And then when you give him that time and space, that's when he gets dangerous. Like that quasi breakaway splitting of the defenseman uh you know, offensive chance, we'll call it, came this close to a highlight real goal, and he did so by attacking with speed, by playing with pace, and I think that's been the biggest thing with Demidov. He's been able to roll off checks, he's been able to play a little bit more of a of a two-way game, he's been more intelligent in his placement on the ice, it just hasn't clicked. And one of the biggest things I was telling uh we would talk about, Sean, was he didn't play fast enough, he wasn't playing with pace last night. He was playing with pace. Last night he was all over the ice, he was skating hard, he was you know zoning in on the four check, he was a very dangerous player because he was playing so quickly. And I think if he is able to add that element where you don't necessarily have to be the fastest straight line skater, but is if you can play with that explosivity in your step, that jump in your step, especially when you're playing in that four-check element, you become so excessively dangerous at this stage of the season. Because if you're able to exert that with his hands, his talent, his ability, then you create your own chances. And where have we seen that, Sean? What is the last player we deemed a universe unidimensional offensive player that's diversified his game and now gets offense from his defense?

SPEAKER_00 14:51

Uh, is it number 13? There we go. Mr. Mr.

SPEAKER_03 14:56

Zach Every Night, Mr. Every Night, Mr. Every Night, and Mr. Mr. Every Night, and some nights when you know his goals aren't bouncing off of Yuri Slavkowski. But it it's just it goes to show you Martin St. Louis' vision for his skill, high skill players is to not only allow them to have an ethical offense in themselves, but to utilize proper habits to help them create further offense through stronger decision making and defense. And I think that element is what's going to allow Ivan Demidov to go from being a first-line player to being an NHL superstar, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

I mean, and the I love the word explosiveness when you talk about 93. I loved, you know, attacking it would be another word, attacking the Hurricane's defense, deking guys out, uh, putting pucks on Frederick Anderson, who did not have the best night in goal, kicking out rebounds, kicking it to the hottest goal score in Cole Caulfield as he scores his 44th of the season. And while you have me on Caulfield, can I complain about something? Do you have time to listen to me complain about one small thing in the game? Like hold on, hold on, hold on.

SPEAKER_03 16:00

Let me check with the wife.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Yeah, hold on. She's busy. Is that he's checking? Can I come? Can we listen to Sean complain? Thumbs up. Yeah, we're good.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

We're good. I got time.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Um, if we're talking about Cole Caulfield as a complete 200-foot player, and everyone, uh everyone in the organization is so proud of how uh 13 has evolved, and he's more than just his goal scorer. He scores from all over the place, and your ice loves passing when he should be shooting to try to get Cole Caulfield another goal. Can can we put Cole Caulfield on the ice with the goal he pulled for four and a half minutes? Is that possible? Is it okay for him to score an empty net goal? Everybody wants to see this guy get the 50. Can he get only ethical put him out there?

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Only ethical goals, only only ethical goals. Besides, how else is Jake Evans gonna score? Yeah, I love the man. I had to make the joke because he's so good at six on five.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:53

He's able, he is really, really um precise in his long-range shooting, and I I give him credit because he got robbed a couple of times over the last few games. No kidding.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

You know, but bro, it's a two-goal, it's a two-goal lead, it's not a one-goal lead. Can you be if you can be a 200-foot player on a two-goal lead, you can help preserve the win.

SPEAKER_03 17:11

No, I'm just listening I get it, I get it, and I get like it's it's like, oh my god, you know, Cole Caulfield could have had a gimme and he would have been a goal behind because right now he's at 44 and Nathan McKin's at 46, and you're like, oh my god, he's so close. But that's just you know the win, the win is most important for Cole Caulfield.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

It is of course important. I wouldn't argue that. I I would never argue that he's very much a team guy, and also, I mean, some some compliments to Martin St. Louis, sometimes who gets thrown thrown under the bus for a variety of reasons. I see media colleagues uh still lambasting Martin St. Louis because they didn't play Dobesh earlier in the season when he was hot and they're trying to get the two goalies going, and and and and people are still complaining about that for some bizarre reason. But he's also, Marco, been a kind of a hands-off coach. He loves to the protection of that room, but he was in there in that first intermission. He had some, we don't, I don't know what he said, but he was there in that first intermission. I mean, a little bit of a wake-up call. How this team self-corrects, Marco, is one of the best attributes around this team. Is that fair to say this season they are outstanding in that department?

SPEAKER_03 18:18

Yeah, no, uh, they don't go on lengthy losing streaks.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

No.

SPEAKER_03 18:23

And they're able to bounce back really well. You know, we could talk about the goaltending choices and how that caught you. Sure. I mean, at the end of the day, um, you know, I think adversity leads to the cream rising to the top. What I would say though is if you were the Montreal Canadians, you owed it to Samuel Montembeau to give him every opportunity to bounce back. But at a certain point, you draw that line. And as fans, you may not be privy to dealing with these players as people, but they as a management team are, and you could try to be as ruthless as you want, but then don't complain when unrestricted free agents don't want to come here, right? You have there's a balance that there's a balance that you have to have, and you have to be human and you have to give them an opportunity. And then after that, if you've given them opportunity after opportunity and it does not work, then you can make a decision that is both ethical and that takes the uh human into account as well, because teams are gonna say, Well, no matter what happens, they're going to give him the benefit of the doubt at first, they're not gonna immediately throw him to the wolves. Look at other high-pressure markets, that happens often, right? Right, it used to happen in Montreal all the time, often. So it's it's just it's fine in the sense that they are where they are. Um, you know, the Canadians have lost points this season for far more frustrating reasons, such as having a goal scored in the last two minutes of the game, just what last Sunday, two Sundays ago, uh against the Anaheim Ducks. Like that to me is infuriating if you're the Montreal Canadians, not the fact that you went with Montembeau over Dobesh or Dobesh over Fowler. It's all in the past now. You're in a race and you still control your fate. So that's what they're doing right now. And we'll see what comes of it. But to me, the pieces are in place, the players understand the roles now. It's about executing and playing a full 60 minutes. If they can do that, I think this team makes the playoffs and makes the playoffs as one of the Atlantic, the three Atlantic teams.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Um, you know, I think it's fair to say at this point here, Marco nor I ask very much of our loyal and dedicated audience whom we love, and we express that, I think, on a regular basis here. So we're at like 660 people watching the live show to now. I'd love to have 660 likes on today's video. And by the way, we're at 14,297 uh subscribers on the YouTube channel. So a golf clap for everybody involved. We're two weeks away from the Masters. Marco can't stop asking me about who my pick is for the Masters. This guy's more of a golf nutcase than I am. In case you were wondering, that that is sarcasm, by the way. Okay. Uh, but the march to 15,000 subs on YouTube uh is is so so close.

SPEAKER_03 21:13

15.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

We're we're getting we're getting well, yeah, incrementals of uh 5,000. I'm just you're building slowly, you know what I mean? So hit that like, hit that subscribe button. And uh right now, Jakob Dobish is hitting all the markers of a number one goaltender. And I wonder what the four games this week, it's on to Columbus at the Bell Center tomorrow, on the road, Nashville, and then Sunday, where Marco and I will be live at McLean's pub beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Please come by and say hi. It's the real deal on Peel, and we'd love to see you there. We've got prizes uh to give away. Um, is it an easy decision going into Thursday's start time for the goaltender, as far as you're concerned? Is there even a debate worth having?

SPEAKER_03 21:52

Dolbech, for me, I think we had this conversation. If Dalbesh came in and played lights out today or yesterday, sorry, then I would. Go back to him on Thursday and then Dobesh. Like I'd give Nashville to Fowler and then Dobesh again against Carolina. Yeah, that's that was my plan right from the get-go. And then you you know reassess the next week because I believe they play on Tuesday after that. You reassess accordingly. Uh, maybe you go back to Fowler for that game so as to give Dobesh a little bit of a rest after the back-to-back situations because then there's another back-to-back situation that's on its way uh that following weekend. So I think you have to temper he looks great in Yaakov Dobesch with look at the schedule. Eight games in 13 days. You have to keep that into consideration. And you don't want to leave Fowler out there for too long, but you also want to ride the hot hand for as long as it makes sense. And I think it would make sense, in my opinion, to let him play to against Columbus. It's a massive game against Columbus. If the Canadians can ward off Columbus at least one of the next two games that they play against them, that would be huge in their own playoff run, but it'd also give them a little bit of a buffer because things are going to start getting a little iffy right now with the Metropolitan Division. If they start faltering and it becomes a little bit like the Pacific, where you're either in the Metropolitan's top three or out of the playoffs entirely, that gives the Canadians a further buffer when it comes to their own playoff push.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Yeah, Columbus, you're right. They're a wagon since they fired their coach. Rick bonus has come in. Uh, you put a question up. I want to get to it around Sam Montebo, who was acting as a screen at practice the other day. But uh just just to finish up on well, Yasperi Kok and Yemi was a uh was a defenseman for the Carolina Hurricanes on their skate. At practice, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

He was a healthy scratch for the 34th time this season. I think the Yasperi Kok and Yemi um experiment is over in Carolina. If they're unable to trade him before the buyout window, because he's under the age, because he's in the right age range, I believe he's gonna be 25 in July. Um, they're able to buy him out at one-third of his buyout cost as opposed to two-thirds once you get over the age of 27. Uh, so I think it's a perfect time to, or 25, I apologize. That's the perfect time to buy him out. He would only count for like 800,000 in the first couple of years and then 400,000 the last four years. I think I think Kakanyemi is on his way out from Carolina. And then, you know, I'll put uh two bucks on uh him potentially landing in Vancouver as a free agent.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

Uh, it's funny, we were talking about that and wondering about his future. You know, it's a you know, guy's 25 years old, 4.8 on the cap. You know, it's it's not a not a bad risk reward play in a second. I want to get to this comment about Sam Montebo. I just want to address that in a second, if you don't mind. Um, but just to finish our thought on on Yaqab Dobish for a second, on like his rebound control, his composure, he's a lot for a guy who we've often described as being like unorthodox in technique and positioning, you know, all over the place, so to speak. Does my eyes, I don't think, are lying to me. He just looks a lot more controlled. And I loved his rebound control yesterday. He was seeing shots, he was sucking them into the midsection, not giving a lot of opportunities to Carolina, who were again, they love to go to the net that team and shoot from everywhere.

SPEAKER_03 25:14

Yeah, I think that was extremely important because they shoot from everywhere for him to have a little bit of control in terms of being able to limit those rebounds, um, being able to, I would say, have more calculated movements. I think we're seeing more and more of that. And it's not by chance. Marco Marciano is really strong at working with Jakob Dobesh, his game just consistently improves in that regard. So I tip my hat to to Marco Marciano's uh ability in that regard. One thing that I will say that I think does set Dobesch apart from what we saw earlier in the season and from uh Samuel Montembo as well in general, the amount of plays that he kills from going behind the net and literally canceling out dump ins, gaining control and making the strong first pass to get the puck going back the other way, I thought was massive and has been massive over the last couple of games that he's played in limiting the amount of time that the opposition has in the Canadian's own zone. Because dump and chasing doesn't really work unless you truly hammer it in. Dumping and chasing doesn't work against the Montreal Canadians when Jakob Dobesch is a Nets. And it's one of the qualities that made Carrie Price so, so good is that he would kill the dumping, scan the ice, and the puck would be out first pass the other way, zone exit complete. That's what we're seeing right now from Jakob Dobesch, on top of seeing a more structured, a more um conservative approach to his movements and his decision making. And I think there was no better uh view of that than the opportunity with the empty net where he got the puck and thought about trying to go for the goal, going for that empty net, yeah, and then freezing it instead. Because he had that angle, he had a shot, but there was also the risk that like a Sebastian Aho could have just gloved it down and come back the other way. So, you know, I like the way that you see that maturation in his game.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Uh, fine. Let's get to this from Paulie here. Uh, Marco, uh, asking about Montebow, can they wave him um and send him to Laval essentially to help them with their playoffs and also to kickstart his career again, uh, preparing for the next season wherever he may end up?

SPEAKER_03 27:32

Yes. So the Canadians cannot wave Samuel Montembo and send him to Laval after the trade deadline. You can't do that. Uh, to send a player to the AHL, they had had to have been on the AHL roster as of the trade deadline for that to happen. So the only player that the Canadians can send to Laval is Jacob Fowler. That's it. And it's from all intents and purposes, from what I'm seeing right now, unlikely to happen. Um, you know, if and when the Canadians crack a playoff spot, well, that that then whatever, all bets are off. It's they're gonna probably try to wrest some guys, who knows? But as of right now, the only player that could be sent down to Laval is Jacob Fowler. I think we all agree, probably not gonna happen. So it is what it is when it comes to those rules. I didn't make them, they belong to the NHL CBA, but uh you can wave a player and pray that another team picks him up. But if the flip if the player clears waivers, they like nothing happens. They still stay on your roster because you can't assign them to the American Hockey League. So it's not like you can get rid of the player, it's not like you save on their cap hit. None of that. None of that.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

Uh asked and answered. I'll get to a couple more questions, but as always, Star and D'Amico uh pride themselves or ourselves on um supporting local businesses, and we thank them for their ongoing support. Like Instacustons and cheapest t-shirts ordered today. Um, and you'll get it tomorrow. Um, hold on a second. Um, cabalatel.com, uh the best in home security, and of course, McLean's pub, the home of Star and D'Amico. And a reminder, our friends at Little Bear, uh pet supply store on St. Catherine, Little Bear Online.com. It's their spring savings event. You get 50% off, and that detail that that rebate is applied at checkout. So get the best for your pets and its needs at LittleBearOnline.com. Um, Robert Baer goes question for the two of us What's the best and worst playoff matchup for the Montreal Canadians? I am kind of nervous about Tampa Bay in this best of seven hypothetical here.

SPEAKER_03 29:33

Yeah, I mean, the Atlantic division is not easy.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

No, no. It's heavy.

SPEAKER_03 29:38

You're if the Canadians finish in the top three of the Atlantic, your two options are Buffalo or Tampa Bay.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 29:45

Either either of those is not ideal. No, the most ideal thing is to try to line up with the Carolina hurricanes. I agree. But that may crew that may cause a couple of heart attacks amongst amongst Habs fans land because being in that wildcard spot, albeit advantageous because you get Carolina, which I think people would prefer over uh Buffalo or a Tampa Bay, as especially especially right now, it also means that you're excessively close from being not in the playoff spot. So pros and cons, pros and cons. I'll say one thing. Yeah, when it comes to playoff matchups, it doesn't matter who you get in the first round. If they can't beat Tampa, they that means they can't go, they can't get past the second round because you're either gonna play Buffalo or you're gonna play Tampa. Yeah, so to me, 100%, unless there's like a massive upset in the wild card setting in settings. So I like I feel, and I please don't take this the wrong way when I say this. This is this is me personally talking, not the reporter, the human. But I think worrying about the matchups of who you're gonna play in the playoffs is very negative. It it shouldn't be about that. If you're that good, then you should be able to beat them. And if you can't beat them, and this isn't a year where the Canadians' window opens, what did you take from that? What did you learn from that? You know, if the Canadians can go to seven games against Tampa Bay, even if they lose, that's massive. Is that more of a learning is that more of a learning opportunity than go losing in five games to the Washington Capitals? I think so. And I do I think that until this team has a legitimate number two center and a you know rock solid defensive core, you know, and and and a number one goalie that is established, not just a rookie. I don't think they're there yet. And so that's totally fine. So that it's Carolina, that it's that it's Buffalo, that it's Tampa Bay, to me, it I don't think it changes anything. You're going to face a really good team regardless. It's the playoffs. Unfortunately, this is not the Western Conference. The East is loaded this year. But I need have fans to remember one thing. You're also cheering for one of the top 10 teams in the NHL right now, in the Montreal Canadian. So, other teams also a little bit nervous about playing the Canadian. Absolutely, they would also be a wild card in that kind of situation. So, just a little bit of reverse psychology, just to keep into consideration of who it is you'd want to play versus who you should play. I am completely open to seeing any of the series that I just mentioned.

SPEAKER_00 32:28

You know, it's funny you say that.

SPEAKER_03 32:30

Sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

I always remember uh the great Roger Federer, in my opinion, the GOAT, uh, at a commencement speech in a university years ago, you know, in the heyday when this guy's racking up Grand Slow, he mentioned how nervous he was. And the one thing that he mentioned was your opponent is just as nervous as you are, perhaps more so on the other side. Never forget that. Just to Marco's point about, yeah, I mean, the Canadians are a pace and offensive team that potentially could be could be a nightmare matchup for you. And and you're 100% on the mark when it comes to learning by losing, learning by going through it, regardless of the amount of games. I think there was a valuable lesson for the majority of the players when they lost to Washington based on the style in which they lost, and understanding that you know, you can make a strong case that they should be more prepared. Um, and listen, you know, be careful what you wish for. You know, Carolina's been to the Eastern Conference final in two of the last three years. Granted, they talked about it.

SPEAKER_03 33:25

Haven't won a game during it.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

That's right, exactly. I think they're on eight-game conference losing streak, right? Um, but when you look at the fact that their experience is the equalizer of Freddie Anderson, Brandon Bussey, uh, what about the Buffalo Sabres, as heavy as they are? They haven't been to the playoffs in 14 years. Are they prepared? Are they have they been through it? Do they know what it takes to win games? So, like it's it's a tough question, but I ultimately I agree. I think you're putting undue stress on yourself by worrying about it. Let's settle it when we get there, right?

SPEAKER_03 33:54

Exactly. A lot can change, a lot can happen even during a series. We know this, so not no sense in worrying about it right now. Just get to the playoffs first and then worry about who you're gonna play.

SPEAKER_00 34:04

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

That would be my number one. Um, Habs Chat asks if I have any news on Michael Hage. Is he joining the Habs or is he doing what Hagins is doing? We will have an entire episode dedicated to this exact question based on the information that I've received on tomorrow's episode. So for those that aren't yet members of the channel, like, subscribe, hit the notification button because it'll drop tomorrow at 10 a.m. And Sean and I will be able to go a little bit in depth into A, what the timeline looks like, and B, what the options are, because there's more than just two options for the Montreal Canadians and Michael Hage. Uh, and I could tell you that it'll probably be one of the most talked-about subjects uh leading into the month of April. So definitely something you guys should keep an eye out for. Uh, we invite you again to like and subscribe just so that when it does drop, you guys get notified tomorrow right away.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

Uh, again, on that on that theme, you want to answer this from uh one of the members of the Star and Demico show, uh, Michael Hage would not a Hobie Baker. Surf's looking for an explanation and the criteria for the Hobie Baker. Still surprised that Hage was not top 10 after a great season, leading the number one seeded team into the NCAA tournament.

SPEAKER_03 35:17

Yeah, well, I mean, it's because there were two really good options, right? And one of them is called TJ Hughes, noted uh Montreal Canadiens fan from the great city of Hamilton, Ontario. Um, TJ Hughes was is a senior this season. It's his last year of the NCAA. Tech generally speaking, the Hobie Baker voting doesn't like to include more than one player per team, kind of defeats the purpose. If you're the most valuable player, but there's two of you on the same team. See what I'm going with this? And so they naturally will give the nod to the the older player, the senior, or the junior, because it's it's it's obviously uh freshman, sophomore, junior, senior in in college. They'll go senior first, and so TJ Hughes being the senior and having the same amount of points as uh Michael Hage at the moment of the uh of the uh vote coming out. Uh the nod went to TJ Hughes, who had let's call a spade a spade, a fantastic season. And I would go one further. Michigan has the best center line in all of the NCAA because of those two. Um, and uh, you know, I I do believe that you know you worry about the Hobie Baker. Look at past Hobie Baker winners, other than Cole Caulfield, of course. It's not always the creme de la creme. There are some guys that fizzled out, it doesn't mean much. I think Michael Hage is happier with the Big Ten championship and the opportunity to be to the top seed in the NCAA championship tournament, which starts Friday, than being a you know a maybe a uh win the uh the Hobie Baker. Though I do think that there are other candidates that are a little bit more deserving at this time, including one Ethan Wittenbeck.

SPEAKER_00 36:59

Um, I want to talk about the Montreal Canadians uh three pairs on defense here. Uh, as always, uh, one of our VIP members who's been with the show arguably since day one, Rod Langway fan club. Uh Dom Lacision in the Athletic uh had their NHL awards update, and the Montreal Canadians uh were populated all over the place. Uh, with Nick Suzuki right now as the front runner over Yanni Gord of the Lightning for the Selkie Award. Lane Hudson Marco was fourth in the in the projections for the Hart trophy. Ivan Demidov, well up there on the on the Calder for rookie of the year. As Rod asked, is Nick Suzuki the front runner for the Selkie, or does his lack of PK minutes knock him down a few pegs? Is it his trophy to lose today?

SPEAKER_03 37:47

I think so.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

I think so.

SPEAKER_03 37:49

I think so. Uh, we talked about it earlier this season, but I think so. I think you know, uh, it's a PWHA vote, right? So the Professional Hockey Writers Association is is the voting body on this award. And I think everyone's kind of smart enough to see that the only reason that Nick Suzuki isn't getting PK time is because Martin St. Louis doesn't want to play him 26 minutes a game.

SPEAKER_02 38:13

Right.

SPEAKER_03 38:14

It's literally a management thing. Even Doug Armstrong, in his explanation as to why he selected Nick Suzuki for Team Canada, pointed out that it wasn't from a lack of ability that Nick Suzuki doesn't play two to three minutes on the penalty kill. It's because if he plays on the penalty kill, Jake Evans, Phil Deneau, and Oliver Kapanen are gonna end up playing 10-12 minutes a game, and he's gonna end up playing 26 because he's used profusely on the power play and you know into Herculean levels at five on five. And especially when the Canadians are down a goal at six on five, where he'll spend two and a half to three minutes in the last five minutes of the game on the ice defending the lead. So it's not an it's not a capacity issue, it's an it's a deployment issue. And this is you can make the same kind of argument that fans are saying, oh, why don't you put out Cole Caulfield uh when the net's empty so that he can pads he can stat pad and get a couple of empty net goals so he can keep pace with McKinnon? Well, like I think the same applies on the penalty kill. The only time the Canadians really started giving uh Suzuki penalty kill time is when there were injuries in the lineup, and Alex Newhook went down with an injury, or uh, there was a moment in time where Newhook and Anderson were out of the lineup at the same time, and Nick Suzuki was getting regular shifts. Like he's still about a minute of PK time on average, but he's part of the best five-on-five line in hockey, they're one of the best defensive lines in hockey. To me, killing penalties is but one option, one aspect of defense. But if the five on five play, which makes up 85% of your total minutes, is impeccable defensive play, then are we talking about the best defensive forward in the league? Right? Because I think we can all understand that if you can play exceptional defense at five on five, rule of thumb is you could probably play good defense at five on four as well, right? And so this is where I see uh the argument going. I I agree with Dom. Um, I think that it does hurt him. And if you know Sasha Barkov were playing and on pace and close to about 80-90 points, given his impact on the penalty kill as well, he would probably get the not accordingly. But because Nico Heesher is not having a really good season, you know, and and Florida is really starting to let all let a lot of goals in, which I believe kind of takes Reinhard out of the mix as well. Marner is not having a really strong season defensively with Vegas. I think that they have no choice but to overlook the fact that he's not consistently on the power play. I believe Nick Suzuki wins the Selkie. I uh I I honestly, if I got to vote on it, he'd have my vote.

SPEAKER_00 41:06

Uh, it's interesting you talk about Suzuki over 21 minutes, over four minutes on the power play, and not a bad penalty kill for the 27 27th ranked uh shorthanded unit in the NHL after Slavkovsky on a long, lengthy shift, dumps it over to glass for a delay of game penalty. Unbelievable kill for the Montreal Canadians as uh they were holding on to that 3-2 lead, and Carolina comes in with a pretty decent power play, but a huge moment in that game as the Canadians beat the Hurricanes of 5-2. Um, unusual, isn't it? We're talking about a Canadians team, Marco, that scored 12 goals over their last two games, and Lane Hudson left both games with zero points.

SPEAKER_03 41:44

Sorry, it skipped as you asked the question.

SPEAKER_00 41:46

Zero points for Lane Hudson for his team that scored 12 combined goals in two games.

SPEAKER_03 41:51

I that's a really good point. Um, one of the reasons for that is because you're seeing Caden Gooley and um Alex Carrier play with the first line, and Lane Hudson is actually being deployed with the the third and fourth line as it as to give because we talked about this, they haven't really been producing much offense. So they're throwing Lane Hudson with their their two lower scoring lines to try and start something and try to get some offense going. Yeah, yeah, it's come at the expense of Lane Hudson's stats over the last three games, but what concerns me more is they've given that responsibility to Lane Hudson and the turnovers are increasing accordingly. The suicide plays are increasing accordingly because he's trying so much to put the five the four other players on the ice on his back to try and create offense because the the rest of them aren't really making anything happen.

SPEAKER_00 42:53

Bro, that toe dragon the first period that sprung Taylor Hall in a breakaway. My goodness, what do you do?

SPEAKER_03 42:58

Exactly. And so I think it's I think mixing and matching a little bit with the uh the lines is maybe something that could help a little bit more. I get so yeah, but you look at last night, the reason why Caden Gooley and and Alex Carey were paired together with the top line is because the top line was being put out against Sebastian Aho's line, which is the number one line for Carolina. So they were being put out there in a shutdownslash produce offense capacity, which they did beautifully. But then you have Lane Hudson going out there with Phil Deneau's line with respect to all three players out there at forward. Yeah, the most dangerous player on the ice is Lane Hudson.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

So what are we talking about? Hudson Dobson?

SPEAKER_03 43:49

Well, there were instances where you saw Hudson uh Hudson Dobson when there was an offensive zone face off, and I like that strategy. But I'd like to see Martin Saint Louis kind of mix it up a little bit at five on five. On the rush, you know, on the fly changes, where it's not that Hudson is stuck with some of these guys on the third and fourth line. That being said, it's also a mark of confidence from your coach that he he would hope that you elevate those guys. That's what good players do. So the only thing I ask, the only thing that you could ask Elaine Hudson is to maybe elevate those guys without making the crazy dangerous plays. Because I think that's where he gets, he tries to do too much, makes a mistake, and then for whatever reason, the winger or Strubble isn't back in time to cover for a pinching Lane Hudson. And then obviously Hudson looks terrible when there's a breakaway that goes the other way. So that's why I'm saying you have to you have to temper a little bit. I think they're galaxy braining a little bit right now to try and counter certain teams and outcoach certain teams, but you got to give Martin St. Louis credit. He outcoached Rob Brindemore yesterday.

SPEAKER_00 45:04

I mean, there was so much talk, and I see a couple of people point this out here. Um, you know, a lot of people asking about uh who are the Canadians gonna move in the summer. We're gonna have plenty of time to like dissect that um and look at the options and explore all those options. But in the here and now, 12 games to go. The push for the playoffs is on and on in a big way, and that has our attention. Um, but I think things have calmed down because there was a lot of chatter, right? Before I guess Struble came in and and and you know has been playing five straight games and it looks like things are a little bit more stable. Gooley back on a strong side again with Alex Harrier.

SPEAKER_03 45:38

But Hudson, but Hudson are not on a strong side. I agree, but it's not by chance.

SPEAKER_00 45:42

Are you thinking then that it hasn't cooled down that you know before games 80, 81, 82, are Rhinebacker and Engstrom still an option today? Is that worth discussing? Or it's let Laval kind of finish up and let them go. The Canadians are gonna ride or die with their six guys.

SPEAKER_03 46:00

I don't think there's a need to call them up. I if they want to give them a cup of coffee at the end of the season once they've clinched, yeah, no problem. Do what you gotta do. Yeah, yeah. But after that, you know, like why why remove them from there other than to test them? But if you can give them that test at the end of the season, there's no sense in rushing them in right now because you already have Arbor Jackey sitting in the stands as your seventh defenseman. So who you get like who are you gonna take out of the lineup in that sense? And why would you do that in the way that they're playing? Look, I'm not a fan of the way that Alex Carey has played of late, but there is a big jump in the way in the caliber of hockey that you see in the American Hockey League right now to what you're seeing in the NHL in the last 10 games of the season. And I just I always put a little bit of caution. You may think that Alex Carey is a dubster fire in his own end. That's your opinion. I think that there's there's a little bit more gray in that evaluation, but it won't be pretty if you bring up Reinbacker or Engstrom and they don't look good and then are sent down with more questions than answers than when they were called up.

SPEAKER_00 47:10

Yeah, I don't disagree.

SPEAKER_03 47:11

That's where I'm kind of you don't you don't you want to put young players in the right situations, and I think that's just that's where I'm that's where I'm at right now.

SPEAKER_00 47:20

And it's you know, and we spoke about it, you know, Marco joins um yours truly and Connor McKenna every Wednesday at eight on TSN 690 for Habs Breakfast, uh, talking about the puzzle uh and the complicated task at hand of figuring out you know the Canadian's roster moving forward. Arbor Jack eyes are RFA at the end of the season, same with Kirby Doc. And you got Engstrom and Rhymbach come up. And and what's gonna happen? You know, how are they gonna how are they gonna figure this all out? As Marco mentioned, Arbor Jacke again sitting. I saw there was a photo going around of the press box with the guys there, Montebo and Jackai. Chris Nylon was sitting next to Arbor Jackeye. And and uh, but the way Jaden Struble's been playing, um, for me, I mean, there's there's no reason, you know, for any of the games coming up that Arbor Jackeye kind of takes his place. I like his I like Strubble's maneuverability. He makes some good decisions at the blue line, dodges checks, puts pucks to the net, makes things happen. I've I I think to me that is a big separating point between why Struble stayed in and why Jack, I think, has a uh uh uh has a hard time staying in. Marco getting called out, flip-flopping on bringing up Ryanbacker every week, says Leo.

SPEAKER_03 48:24

Yeah, I know get him, get him. I've said this before, and I've said it again. They have four call-ups. I've enunciated which of those players they could be in terms of the timing, in terms of when they can call them up. I'm simply answering the questions of fans as to can they call him up, will he be called up? But my two cents clinch and then call them up unless there's an injury or unless there's an absolute need to play them because you have other players that could play right now, right? Unless there's a need, unless you want to evaluate where they're at in their development. That's those would be the reasons, but you can do that at the end of the season as well once you've clinched and there's no problem. And that that was my that has been my take since the very beginning. I don't care if they call up David Reinbacker, I don't care if they call up Adam Eggstrom. Didn't doesn't affect me in any way, shape, or form. But here are the reasons why they could be called up, and that's what I've done since the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 49:24

Yeah, uh, I guess now it's my turn to get called out with that thinking. Uh you can call me Sean. Uh Jackey shouldn't have been taken out of the lineup. As I mentioned before, and I stand by this. I got nothing personal against Arbor Jackey, but uh I I mean, I don't even think there's a debate. I don't think Arbor Jackey could play with Lane Hudson the way Jaden Struble plays with Lane Hudson. And in terms of the maneuverability, as I mentioned, uh to evade someone on him inside the blue line as he keeps the puck in. Um that's just my opinion. You're you're obviously here to provide yours, and I respect that, no doubt. Um, I demand a dance when we clinch a player. I I ain't dancing, I'm no trained monkey Jason. I'm not dancing for you, baby. That's not happened.

SPEAKER_03 50:04

I mean, you can you're not gonna dance for him, but you made that pose on the couch at Morella's no problem.

SPEAKER_00 50:09

Correct, and apparently that was the end of it. Uh, you know, we thank Morella on the Star Javico show. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 50:18

Um, this is a good question. I would like to get into. Um, why are you guys still doubting Kapanin's ceiling? Um, mainly because I'm that high on his floor.

SPEAKER_02 50:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:29

Again, like you look at the way that Kapanin plays, look at the way he scores goals, look at the way the plays come about with him. Has Ivan Demidov gotten a play, uh a rub from playing with Kapanin? Like, has no, it's the other way. Yeah, has has any of the 15 goals that Demidov has scored come from a brilliant play from Oliver Kapanin?

SPEAKER_00 50:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:55

So the only thing And who drives the line?

SPEAKER_00 50:57

Kaplan hasn't shown you you can drive the line.

SPEAKER_03 50:59

Yeah, the only the only thing I'm saying here is this is a guy that's probably going to finish with about about you know between 35 to 40 points this season, which is very respectable. But to to assume that a player that was drafted six years ago, so he's 24 at the in at the end of this calendar year, uh is going to be your second line center when uh he doesn't drive play. It's it's a difficult task to ask of a player, especially when when you look at it, I think he's a center all day, every day. I think he's an absolute center. But I think that's the kind of player that the way that he plays, the way the the just the way that he thinks the game is more suited for a third line with second wave power play minutes on a regular basis. If the Canadians are gonna contend, you're gonna want a player that's far closer to performance in terms of offensive play driving to that of Nick Suzuki than where Kapanin is. Can Kapanan improve? Absolutely. We've seen it with other players in the sorry in the past. The only thing I would say is it's habits and it's the way they go about constructing hockey plays in their minds. Kapanin is a finisher, but to be a top six center in this NHL, you need to be a dual threat. And we just haven't seen the duality of that threat when it comes to playing playmaking and driving the offense with his mind. And I'm not saying he's a dumb player by any stretch, I'm just saying he doesn't have the vision of an Ivan Demidov or a Yuri Slavkowski.

SPEAKER_00 52:37

You know, I don't I don't regret the Canadians' decision to re-up with Jake Evans, but boy, would I love to see Oliver Kapanen and be the third line center and grow eventually grow into that role. Um, he's so smart. I mean, the coaches uh praised him throughout the course of the season for how he thinks through the game. I totally believe, you know, when the day comes, and I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, I think it would be an upgrade on Jake Evans as this Canadians team opens up their window of Stanley Cup contention. And they right, okay. So there's an argument there, right? I mean, um in in just that ability. Um, so yeah, I think and what does that mean for Owen Beck in the future? I mean, are they looking at the future of Suzuki, question mark, Kapanin, Owen Beck as the three right now centers? Florian Jacke's future, Florian Jacke.

SPEAKER_03 53:27

So, like that's the whole point that I'm trying to get at, right? Where if you have Oliver Kapanin in a three-seat chair, you're you're cooking with gasoline because then the player that's in your second in your two-seat chair has to be better than Kapanin, which means it's going to be a really good player, and that puts you in a in a situation where you're really kind of able to go in there and be a three-line offensive team. And you look at, you know, the way that that the games have gone of late, especially with uh with Kapanin. Like, I'm floored by the way that he's able to find soft ice and play, but you're gonna need that overall style of play when it comes time to being able to execute in those elements. And you know, like I looked at Ivan Demidov right now, like one, two, three, four, five primary assists, right? In terms of the way he's impacted Oliver Kapanin's game. And then you go and look at how some of those plays happen, like the goal that uh Kapan had scored against Columbus, where Ivan Demidov had a secondary assist, but that was the play that made that goal. Like Mike Matheson may have had the primary assist, but he was the body that just made the quick pass over to Kapan and the play was made by Ivan Demidov, and we've seen this time and time again uh in the past, where a lot of the plays happen because of the ice that Ivan Demidov opens up.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

Right.

SPEAKER_03 54:55

And I think that's the biggest that's to me is the biggest the biggest reason why I talk about Ivan Demidov and the impact that he's had on Kapan because I don't feel like it's it's a reciprocal in that sense. I think that Demidov is getting a lot of his five-on-five scoring, a lot of it comes from his own effort and play, individual play, or you know, being able to pad those stats by being on the top power play unit with Caulfield, Suzuki, Slavkovsky, and Lane Hudson.

SPEAKER_00 55:28

Uh, this one from Frankie McCumber, is it fair to say Struble and Hudson in the future can be a Lindell and Heiskinen type of duo?

SPEAKER_03 55:34

I don't think so. I don't I I think if the Canadians are to contend, they're gonna need uh no with respect to Jaden Struble, and they tried, but I think they're gonna need to upgrade in that on that front.

SPEAKER_00 55:50

Um, NSA goes for those uh building up Struble, please explain. He's playing way too deep to play with Hudson. Have you noticed that in every game there's a breakaway? Guess who's on the ice? I noticed on the breakaway what uh Struble's partner did on that play that resulted in Taylor Hall trying to make it 2-0 and an unbelievable stop by by Yakub Dobesh. But Marco, you want to tackle this on Struble's situational play when he's out there with Hudson?

SPEAKER_03 56:17

Um listen, the the thing with Jaden Struble is his mobility, the way the safe play, the neutral zone impact, the way he's able to, you know, not complicate his game. I just feel like the some of the parts have more of an overall impact to the style that the Canadians want to play. Uh, if y'all are trying to insinuate that the reason why Lane Hudson is playing poorly is because he's being paired with Jaden Strubbel specifically. Um, I've got Ocean View property in Nevada to sell you.

SPEAKER_00 56:57

Oh, lovely.

SPEAKER_03 56:58

Um, what I would say more along those lines is the lines, the forward lines that Lane Hudson is being matched up with are kind of, and we all know that Lane takes this upon himself. He told me as such. Um, he takes a lot of that responsibility onto himself, tries to do too much, and then gets caught. And you could blame playing on his offside. That I'm with you 100%, and it speaks to what I said before. The Canadians will be looking to rebalance their defensive core in the summer. They tried to bring in a right shot defenseman. I've spoken to you about this before on the show. That deal just didn't, it fell through before uh the C before the trade deadline came in. So there's not much you can do with with a failed trade. So I will say that. The other element to keep into consideration, Jaden Struble isn't the one forcing Lane Hudson to make the decisions that he's making at for uh in the offensive zone that are resulting in all those turnovers. He's not, it's not like his passing is putting a guy like uh they're aiming for someone higher than White Cloud Surf. Um, they're not looking to what's the word here? They're not the Jaden Struble's not putting Lane Hudson in bad spots. Lane Hudson trying to do too much is putting Lane Hudson in bad spots, and Lane Hudson being matched up against non-off, sorry, with non-offensive players and trying to take that offensive responsibility onto himself is what's also allowing for the for this kind of you know turnovers. What I would say is knowing that Lane Hudson is going to be taking those chances, there needs to be better communication between Strubel and Hudson so that Strubel significantly curls back into the neutral zone so that they don't have breakaways against that, in my opinion, I think is what they're looking for.

SPEAKER_00 58:55

Um, on to Columbus, as we mentioned before. Um, personally, if we're up to me, I I'd go back to Jakob Dobish. I mean, that it was it was 40 shots, 41 shot, 41 saves, excuse me, for Dobesh. Uh, and he's is he not? He's got to be close. Uh shit, I should have looked this up. Um, Kerry Price's uh record for rookie wins. I I know he's past Patrick Waugh now, um, but he's having a phenomenal season, win number 23 for Dobesh. But uh, I mean, Marco, I mean, there was some big time saves, but it wasn't a barrage of high danger scoring opportunities, right? I mean, is there concern about the workload going into tomorrow night against Columbus at the Bell Center?

SPEAKER_03 59:31

I I wouldn't have a worry about it. No, no, because he last played he last played on Thursday last week, right? Yeah, and then Fowler played Saturday, and then he played this Tuesday. Am I correct?

SPEAKER_00 59:46

That sounds right.

SPEAKER_03 59:47

Yeah, so he had four days off, and then he has today off, and then if he plays tomorrow, he'll have three days off until Sunday. So I don't see a problem with it at all.

SPEAKER_00 59:59

And he played Tuesday, Thursday last week just to round out your point.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:02

So yeah, yeah, exactly. So like there's enough balance of rest and play, but at this stage of the season, you like you gotta win your games. I like whoa, you gotta win him, and you put you put your I'm not saying ride him until the end, yeah, but at the same time, you know, I also feel like you have to keep Jacob Fowler in the loop and you have to keep him playing as well. So there's a there's a rest slash performance strategy involved, and that's the reason why I would go to Dobesh and then give him the three days off after that, have Fowler in on Saturday and go back to Dobesh uh to in the harder game against Carolina in the second of a back-to-back.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:46

Uh Marco, can I can I just can I just end on this? I want to mention it before I get into it. Um, screw the Ottawa Senators, but also I'm kind of impressed, man, with what they're doing. Lassie Thompson out, Thomas Shabbat out, Jake Sanderson out. Um they're getting these call-ups, they're getting these unbelievable performances, Marco. I mean, Ottawa, Ottawa has climbed to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. I mean, pretty impressive to watch this team kind of operate. And uh, I mean, what the with the injuries that they've suffered and what they're doing, um, it's been pretty, pretty impressive, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:22

It's crazy what happens when you get decent goaltending.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:26

Isn't that right? All Mark with eight saves against the Rangers. Shame on you, New York, with nine shots on goal.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:32

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, you know, Canadians fans kind of hope for a repeat performance when they're in uh when they're playing New York next week. But I think with Ottawa, you know, give them credit, but at the same time, I do feel like these injuries are gonna catch up with them.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:47

That's it.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:48

They play teams that didn't take them seriously, and Allmark stole that game against against Detroit. He he really did. So are they gonna keep getting lucky? Because obviously beating the Rangers is one thing, but you know, they also have Buffalo coming up on their schedule, they also have Tampa coming up on their schedule. Like this is the thing the Canadians play the least amount of Atlantic division teams, they mostly play metro division teams here on out, right? Columbus, Carolina, New York, Devils, Devils, Columbus again, uh, the Islanders, the Flyers. Right off the bat, I just named you seven of their last what 11 games are against Metro Division teams. So this is why I'm saying like the Atlantic, the rest of the Atlantic is going to fight it out. And that might be beneficial to the Canadians if those games don't go to overtime.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:43

Agreed. We'll see who hangs on. Boston gonna hang on. Um, the New York Islanders, what's gonna happen with uh the Detroit Red Wings who are on the out one point out of a playoff spot? They've been yeah, they've been bad. There's a team that can't that hasn't been able to deal with injuries, right? They get caught back, but you know, still haven't been able to to to do anything without Dylan Larkin.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:02

Well, they got Dylan Larkin back, and he got robbed twice in the last minute by Omar. So yeah, again, I the thing is is that when you play over your head at this stage of the season, it's fun, but the law of averages sometimes catches up to you, always. So yes, that's why you know, as long as the Canadians continue to play their game and to do their thing, the Canadians' time to feast is next week.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:28

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:28

Next week they play the Rangers and the Devils, the Devils twice.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:32

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:32

Um, you know, so that if they come out of those games, if they get the six points there, they'll have given themselves the necessary cushion to be in a playoff spot.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:43

Because I thought honestly, when when we previewed this week with four games on tap, I was like, what's a satisfactory result? I was like six points. I I had five. I had five as a satisfactory result.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:54

Yeah, five is like the baseline for the Canadians to stay in this race, they absolutely need five of eight this week.

unknown 1:04:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:02

Well, twos in the bank on to Columbus tomorrow, and we'll be here to recap it as always. Uh, make sure to like and subscribe to the channel. And don't forget, members will get an early preview of our video coming out as we talk about what's going on with Michael Hage after the James Hagen decision with the Boston Bruins. We'll dig into that. Uh, members get a look at it first. It'll be released uh nationwide on uh Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Always wanted to say that. So that's done. Uh thanks as always to our nationwide.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:30

We have worldwide now. We have fans that are watching us from all over the world.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:35

There's pitbull, Mr. Worldwide. Thank you very much. That's well said. I should I should be more confident.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:40

Should I go and get sunglasses and I'll I could just be pitbull or are we just gonna keep the Professor D'Amico going?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:45

And then I'll put the comment on you got to dance. I I think you gotta, I think you gotta put the glasses on. We gotta let the chrome dome shine, and you gotta be Mr. Worldwide when the Canadians make the playoffs, brother.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:55

Listen, I will not, no offense, ladies and gentlemen, I will not cheer for the Canadians making the playoffs, but I will watch you guys cheer and I'll be happy to see you guys happy about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:04

I'll be cheering. Bet you bet your bottom dollar. I'll be cheering. Uh, cheapest t-shirts.com, Instacustoms, McClain's Cabalatel, and Little Bear Online.com with their spring savings are the best sponsors on the best show. That's Star and D'Amico right here. Thank you everybody for spending 65 minutes with us. Looking forward to our Friday show as the Montreal Canadians look to once again uh play another strong home game. We'll be here to recap it all. All right, Marco. Thanks, brother.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:26

Thank you, everybody, and have a great day. Thank you all for following, and we'll be back at you tomorrow with a really fun video.