The Rink Hockey Podcast
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The Rink Hockey Podcast
Episode 6 - NHL Playoffs 2026 Western Conference Preview
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The playoffs are here, the matchups are set, and we’ve got opinions. Big ones. Bold ones. Maybe even a couple that’ll get us chirped in the comments. Tonight we’re breaking down every first‑round series, who’s got the edge, who’s in trouble, and who we’re riding with as the chase for the Cup begins. Buckle up — it’s playoff season.
Alright, boys,
Intro
SPEAKER_01we are back, and the first round is officially set, which means it's time for us to argue, overreact, and probably disrespect a few teams along the way. We're gonna give our full, unfiltered thoughts on every matchup, who's bounced early, and who's gonna go on our absolute heating run. We will go over every matchup in the first round and separate the east and the west into two different episodes. We'll start off with the west. If you love hockey talking content, you can follow the rink on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. Huge shout out to our sponsor Connected Room. And today we got Jordan with me. How are you doing tonight, buddy?
SPEAKER_00Good. It's a Friday going into the weekend and uh first round of the playoffs. They're about to start. Maybe can't get better than this.
SPEAKER_01Best time of year. Although, with the way they have the first round scheduled, we'll be watching playoff hockey probably in July with all these weird breaks they've added into matchups here and there.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, building scheduling, I think building scheduling's really got in the way over the last few years, and it's really amplified of late and this year especially. You see a lot of those two-day breaks, even in the first round, which to me is an ideal. And uh you made these brackets so the division so that you don't have the long travel and shouldn't have to worry about that, and then you're still getting two days off. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like it doesn't make sense to me. The whole idea of having these divisions was to spark division rivalries and for travel to be a little bit better within the first few rounds. But then you look at the, for example, just the Tampa Montreal series, having no Saturday night game as criminal already as it is for that, but then not even, I just realized today no Canadian teams have a Saturday night game in the first round. It's absolutely bullshit.
SPEAKER_00Like it's just United Canada's gonna be all American teams.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like it makes zero sense to me whatsoever, but whatever. We're in we're living in Gary Bentman's world, I guess.
SPEAKER_00It's also the big TV deals out of the states, right? Like the TNT and and NBC is paying the big uh the big bucks for broadcasting, and that they're gonna have priority, unfortunately.
SPEAKER_01I la I saw too though, apparently, like I mean I don't know if it's true or not, but I saw that sports that actually paid the most out of everybody, and they got like bent over backwards on what they're actually gonna be allowed to what days they actually got. But yeah. Let's uh let's dive into some of these uh matchups. Like I said, we're gonna start with the West here, and we'll do the East in a separate little episode to split it up nicely. So let's start with the first one. We got Edmonton versus the Los Angeles Kings. And I mean, whoever
Colorado Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings
SPEAKER_01got Colorado was gonna get the short end of the stick here. But I just laughed at the fact that correct me if I'm wrong, Los Angeles first had to go against Edmonton before, and then they sneak in again, and now they're getting Colorado.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, they I think I saw something along the lines where uh the Kings have played uh Edmonton like the last four years in the first round and have lost all their first round matchups, and now they avoided Edmonton Colorado.
SPEAKER_01So just a quick little head-to-head uh note for this one. Uh Colorado was 3010 against LA this uh this season, and I mean Colorado is the president's trophy winning team. So their goals for were 3.65, goals against of 2.43, and a power play percentage of 17.4, which by the way is actually surprisingly kind of low for a team with that much firepower on it. Uh the Pelly kill though lights out at 84%. They basically they beat LA in almost every single one of these categories. In your opinion, what do you think the LA Kings even have to try to do to try to get Colorado off their game?
SPEAKER_00It's a good question. Um I mean, I I was just watching the Flames last night against the Kings in a game that actually mattered for LA, and they lose to the team that's now picking fourth in the NHL draft 3-1. They couldn't score. They couldn't score on a team who was starting an NHL goalie for its first ever NHL start. They scored one goal. If you're gonna play Colorado, you've got to score with them. You've got to be able to put the puck in the back of the net. Colorado's weakest point, even though their goaltending has been good, is is probably their goaltenders, right? Like that's that's even what you would point out to be the weakest, but their goalies have been better this year for sure. Um, but if LA can't put the puck in them, it's not gonna matter. They brought Panarin in there mid-season. I I really like that ad for him. It seemed to spark them and get them into the playoffs, right? Like before that, you thought for sure they're missing, but it it's not gonna be enough, I don't think.
SPEAKER_01No, I I I look at this and as sad as it is to say I just I don't give LA any chance whatsoever, and it sucks because uh Kopitar, I believe, right, announced retirement. So this is his last uh playoff run, and he's the the poor guy, like I said, we just mentioned, you know, like the short end of the stick for four years, and now they're gonna get the short end of the stick again. But yeah, you know, that's also a tribute to their own um issues where they can't seem to get into the playoffs without getting in through a wild card spot. And you look over at that uh west side there, and it's not exactly the strongest in the uh league per se. And like they just snuck in again with the wild card spot, but and for a while there we were making fun of it. It's like no one wanted the wild card spot the way everyone was bouncing back and forth between there. Yeah, but um you look at LA's lineup, and you know it's great, yes, they add a Panarin, and man, if they didn't add a Panarin, I have no idea where they would be in the series, even worse off than they already are. But the depth on this team just doesn't match Colorado. Colorado, I mean, my opinion, is the deepest team in the uh in the playoffs this year. I mean, when you have a guy like Nazim Kadri right now centering your third line, yeah, you you're there's not much you can do. Like it's just it might be a quick one. I don't know. I'm hoping LA at least gives a little bit of an effort or at least bangs bangs Colorado up a little bit for moving on forward to the next round. But in my opinion, here this is gonna be uh this is gonna be an easy walk for uh Colorado. And I think they're coming into the playoffs almost 100% healthy, I believe. I think uh everyone's back, right? Like uh Landis Cog is playing and everything, and uh I think Manson was hurt for a little bit too, but I'm I'm pretty sure they're all coming back.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, fully. Lekkenen's back, makar's back. The most important position in hockey is the center ice position. If you have good deep center ice position, usually you're a good team. They got McKinnon, they got Nelson, they got Codre, they got Drew. Like, what else are you gonna do about that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's not much LA can do, so like uh we'll give a little we'll also like say we think we're gonna win and how many games. Um I'm going Colorado in five. I'll give I'll give the benefit of the doubt to good old Kopitar for being able to sneak a game out here or there, or here, one game, but other than that, the sympathy Colpitar game, eh? Yeah, I'm giving one sympathy game to Allah.
SPEAKER_00Hopefully, at least it's a home win.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't think they're gonna do much.
SPEAKER_00How about you? What do you think? I I got Colorado in three. I think uh LA just calls it after that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, just give up, they're just gonna leave the ice.
SPEAKER_00We're not even showing up for the fourth game. We're good, thanks.
SPEAKER_01We're good, have a good day.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, obviously in four, but uh, I don't know. There's not much we can do here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, which uh it's funny because you go from that, which is gonna be a really lopsided game, but then you come to the next matchup here,
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild
SPEAKER_01Dallas, Minnesota. Now, this could be an interesting series. I honestly think this might be a little bit more of a coin flip than people give it credit for. Uh, the records this year, they were pretty even. I mean, Minnesota was two and one, but I think that I think one of those games Dallas lost was in a shootout or overtime. So basically Dallas going 1-1-1 across the board. They both have very similar stat lines. Uh, goals for Dallas is at 3.29, Minnesota at a 3.27. Goals against Dallas 2.69 versus a 2.83 on Minnesota. Power play percentage 28.9 for Dallas, 25% for Minnesota, penalty kill 81% for Dallas, 78.8 for Minnesota. These are two very even teams. Yes. What do you what's your thoughts on this one?
SPEAKER_00I think this will be the best uh series in the Western conference. Yeah, um, I think both teams are gritty, they play with a lot of bite, um, they can are able to score goals, both teams can score goals. Um, Minnesota have the Felino brothers who aren't gonna be scared to mix it up a bit and try and get in Dallas's face and get them going. And that's gonna play right into Jamie Ben's game. Ben's gonna love that. Ben's gonna probably tow the line. The only thing with Dallas is you're hoping that he doesn't step over that line, right? Because Ben's known to kind of do that, and if he does that, then they could be in trouble.
SPEAKER_01100%. I agree with that. I don't uh you know, you look at the rosters that these guys have, and uh Dallas, or not Dallas, sorry, Minnesota made a big ad this year in uh acquiring uh uh Quinn Hughes there. So you look at the fire, the star power on these teams, and I mean Dallas is just absolutely loaded up front, you know. Uh you got Wyatt Johnson, Miko Ranton, and Jason Robertson, and they're still missing, I believe, Rupe hints. I think he's injured. I'm not sure when he's planning on returning, or if at all. But then you look at their back end and their back end, while they they're still great, like Lindell, High Skinnen, Harley, Lundquist, Michelle Myers. I see them more as a well-rounded back end with big guys that can eat a lot of minutes. The only difference between that and Minnesota is I think Minnesota has the offensive edge on the back end with Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber. Um, I also give the edge in goaltending to uh to uh Dallas there with uh Otinger. So I think this is gonna for me, I don't know about you, but this is gonna is gonna come down to what team's goalie steals the show, I think. And uh I mean Otinger showed uh over the years that he sometimes struggles, but sometimes can steal a game. Uh in your opinion, if you're Minnesota, if Gustafson is struggling, if he even is the starter, I don't know if they even know it's a starter, but they've kind of rotated back and forth. You had Waltstad and you had Guseson. Guston kind of took over the reins for most of the season. But do you pull the the uh trigger and switch to Wallstadt if you need to right away?
SPEAKER_00I think I think I think you have to be prepared too, right? Like if Gusaston has uh stinker of a game or a rough start, like you have to be willing to throw Wallstadt in there. I understand he's a rookie, but he put up some good numbers. Uh when they relied on him for stretches this year, he was very reliable. He played good for them. You've got to be able to pull that trigger because that's where they're lacking in this matchup. Umger's the best goalie here, I think. Um I think Uttinger um coming off the Olympics and stuff wasn't the starting goalie, but got that feel around that team and knows what winning's like. Um, you've seen it in previous playoffs. He kind of doesn't shrink to the occasion, usually rises up. Um I guess again, except against uh Edmonton. But uh outside of that, he's been really good in playoffs. Minnesota needs to figure it out to be able to have their goalies match him. That's that's their biggest question.
SPEAKER_01I agree with that. And it also, I guess, it comes down to you know, which superstars kind of take over this up front, too, because we mentioned some of Dallas' superstars up front, but you know, Caprizoff and Matt Boldy on the other side of the fence there ain't nothing to trust. Yep, those slouches over there, and um surprising to me. I don't know about you, but Ryan Hartman's been on an absolute heater as of late, too. I don't know if anyone's kind of been paying attention to what he's been doing, but he's been on fire as of late. But um, I just look at the makeup of these teams and it's gonna be an absolute battle. Uh, I do I'm gonna give the edge a little bit for me to Dallas, just based on the the uh playoff experience, too. Dallas has gone a little bit deeper in runs than uh Minnesota has. Minnesota seems to always kind of struggle sometimes with that. But then I I I think the main factor for me is gonna be the goaltending and power play. Uh, Minnesota's power or penalty kill isn't that great, and Dallas's power play is one of the best in the league, if not the best. So I think that's what it's gonna come down to me. I think it's gonna be a special team. And like you said, they got the Felino brothers on Minnesota, and they're on the fourth line there with Michael McCarron. That's a big line, but that's also a line that could get taken advantage of or take a lot of penalties, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so victimize them for sure. Yeah, I think uh I think Minnesota needs Hughes to have a huge series. Like that that's the big guy that they brought in, that's their superstar.
SPEAKER_01He's gonna have to step up.
SPEAKER_00Um Caprizov, obviously, is a superstar too, but um, I don't I haven't seen Caprizov really rise up in the playoff uh playoffs yet. Um, I'm hoping this year maybe he maybe he can do that. He's always good, don't get me wrong, but he just he doesn't like take over a game. Um, I think their secret power is gonna be Quinn Hughes from the back end, because whenever you can create that kind of offense from the defensive position, yeah, it's it's a superpower. So they're gonna go as that guy goes offensively, and that's kind of what you've seen since he's moved over there. Um so that's that's the biggest thing for Minnesota is being able to have him run the show for them and uh and take advantage of that. Um Dallas Dallas scares me a little bit with the injuries that they have. Um, you know, like Bunting just came back from injury. I don't know how healthy he is. I know Ratnon's been dealing with something of late back and forth with stuff. Uh they don't have hints. I know he's supposed to be coming back at some point, but when, how healthy will he be? Um big loss, yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's a big one for me for that team. Um, you have to like if it pushes every because he plays center most of the time, he plays wings sometimes, but that full duchein up into your second-line center role, and then you have Fasca and Heroniken uh as your centerman there, like it pushes everyone up the lineup, right? So if you get hints back in there, I think Duchenne's a perfect uh third line guy with Jamie Benn and Bunting, that's a disgustingly good third line. But right now, yeah, I agree. The injuries are gonna be a little bit of an issue, maybe, but it'll be interesting to see how it kind of plays out if hints actually comes back or not. I think they need him uh more so down the line. I think they can hopefully come out of this one. Like you said at the very beginning of this, is this for me is the best matchup in the West for the round one. I agree 100%. This is also one of the reasons why I hate the divisional matchups because having these two juggernaut teams playing each other right now in the first round is it's shitty. But uh, it's gonna be a bloodbath round. Who you uh who are you pulling out of this one?
SPEAKER_00Uh I think this I think the series goes the distance. I think you're looking at a seven-game series, six for sure. I'm I'm I'm thinking seven. Um, I'm gonna give the edge to the goaltender and and in Dallas, but I'd not gonna surprise me if Minnesota pulls this off at all.
SPEAKER_01100%. How many games are you gonna do? A two, seven, right? Yeah, seven. Yeah, I got seven. I'm gonna go same thing. I'm going seven for Dallas. Uh, I like I agree with you 100%. I wouldn't be surprised if uh Minnesota pulls this out of the bag, but uh just the fact of that goaltending alone, you don't know what you're gonna get. But like I said, it's a it's a sh it's a wild card shot here. Like it could go either way for me. And I'm actually there's some teams I want to see get eliminated, you know what I mean? Like I don't care as much, but this is one of those uh matchups where uh be happy either way seeing either one of these teams get uh through. So let's uh head on to the next uh matchup here. This one, this one's an interesting one for me too. Uh Vegas versus
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Utah Mammoth
SPEAKER_01the Utah Mammoth. And uh this is the first time Utah's making the playoffs, I'm pretty sure, right? Yeah. Um, so during the season here, back record two, one and oh for Utah, one, two and oh for Vegas. So the series of the season went to Utah. Once again, to the previous series here, very similar stat lines. Goals for 3.21 for Vegas, 327 for Utah, goals against 2.98 for Vegas, 2.90 for Utah, power play percentage, 25% for Vegas, 20% Utah, PK 81.4 to 78%. So once again, another very uh similar matchup. For me on this one, it's a tough one. I do not like how Vegas has looked all year. In my opinion, they are very lucky to even be in the uh playoffs. You know, there was a bunch of stat lines for a long time through this through the season on how they haven't beat any like playoff teams for a certain period of time in the regular season. A lot of their wins came from extra time. Um, but they haven't looked as the Vegas players that everyone seems to remember over the last couple years. That being said, the playoffs are playoffs, they still have big name guys on this team: Marner, Eichel, Stone, Barbashev, Dorfev, Hurdle, uh, Theodore on the back end, Anderson, and then your goaltenders, you got Hart and Hill. They have a couple injuries, but for the most part, they've been this team for the most time. They have Hannafin on the back end as well. So, like, they're a deep team that has playoff experience. And then you look at uh Utah side, where a lot of these guys probably haven't seen playoffs before, they're a very young team, but they're a fun team to watch, you know. Um, they added Uygh from uh Calgary there. You got Sugarchev on the back end, Nate Schmidt, who is a veteran back on the back end. Uh up front, you have young, fun guys like Cooley, Gunther, Krauss, Kowler. Uh, they had a Petrka as well. They have a really spread out offense in uh Utah here, with uh Schmaltz playing line one, Cooley playing line two. So they've spread out their offense pretty nicely. And uh their goaltending is the question mark for me. Uh uh Venjilinka and Vincent. Velka, yeah. Yeah, I'm I'm 100% saying that wrong, and Vanick. Uh so when I look at these two teams, I I I would want Utah to win. I don't know if they can pull it off, but I want Utah to win. Uh I think they're a young, one of those new, young, fast teams that are starting to come up into the league now, and Vegas is an older team that's maybe getting on the slower end of things. That being said, I don't think Utah has anyone that can really match the offensive talent of Eichel, Marner, and Stone on that uh on that uh Vegas team there. So it'll come down to can Utah shut them down or does Vegas shut themselves down? You know what I mean? What do you think?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think uh it's a very interesting matchup. Like Vegas is kind of old, right? Like they have the experience, the a lot of the guys have been there, they're not bringing a ton of speed. Um, they're gonna be a little bit heavy. Um is that gonna benefit them? I'm not sure. They've kind of been pretty bad this last half of the year until uh torts took over the last what eight or so games. Yeah, uh, he seemed to kind of get the fire lit under them and have them kind of buy into what he was doing right away. I think him his coaching style is pretty close to uh who they had there before, so it's not like it's changing up a bunch of stuff. But um just a different voice. Yeah, it was it was definitely a weird fire and hire, but it seems to have worked for them so far.
SPEAKER_01It seems to have worked, yeah. Torts is one of those guys that can get your team fired up, that's for sure. Yeah, if not you're bag skating the next day, so yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00Like he's gonna he's gonna let you know about it. Um their goaltending has been a problem this year. It's it's been pretty bad for a majority of the season. Yeah, neither guy bring a lot of confidence. You got one guy who's been out of hockey for two and a half years with uh some charges that we're just not gonna get into at this time, and uh another guy in Aiden Hill who had one good playoff run and everyone thought he was great, and he hasn't been the number one since.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, I I honestly I like Utah's speed. I like their youth, their energy, I like what they bring as a lineup, I like the skill. Gunther has a heck of a shot. Kelly's been in the league for a long time. He kind of knows um how to lead this team, it seems like. He seems like the right captain for them. Um, you got Cooley, who's really fun to watch. They're back end in Sergachev. Like, he he brings some juice for sure. Uh, and he's been there, right? He's gone on a few runs with Tampa. He he knows what it takes. He'll be able to give some veteran leadership there. The Melchas had a sneaky good year for them, too. In the in that, like, they're in Utah, you don't really talk about them. He's been he's been pretty decent.
SPEAKER_01They've been a quiet team just because it's that's the Utah Mammoth. They're you know, they're they're not really in the spotlight that often, but they have had a really good, sneaky year. Like, to build on what you were saying there, Jordan. Like, if they didn't hire Tortorella for Vegas, I would have been 100% on the Utah train for this one. But Vegas is coming very hot into the playoffs. They're 7-0-3 in the last 10, win streak at 3, and Utah 6-4-0. Like whatever Torts does to really get a team going, he does well. The way I look at this, you can correct me if I'm wrong or what you think, but I think that Vegas might have the more high-end talent with the playoff experience, and maybe I I would kind of lean with them for depth-wise as well. But Utah has like the young kid jitters, basically, is if there's the best way to put it. I give them the edge in goaltending and the edge in speed and game. So it could go either way for me. What do you think?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like I I'm just not a fan of Vegas. I haven't I haven't been for a while. They came in, they kind of got gift dropped as a great team when they came into the league, make the cup finals, like just instantly a contender, and the way they do business there, it's it's the right way. I mean, it's good for hockey, you know. They they've been able to get work around the cap and all this stuff with the LTIR and all that, like right. They like they've been masterclass at doing it, but it makes me not like them. Yeah, um, so with a heart, heart more heart pick, I'm I'm going Utah. I'm going Utah in six and uh going with the youth, the more fun to watch. Uh I just want uh some fresh fresh blood in there.
SPEAKER_01That's fair. I'm agreeing with you. I'm going Utah, but I'm going Utah on five. I think um I think that Utah is gonna surprise the hell out of Vegas here. I think that Vegas is not gonna like underestimate them, but they're just not gonna expect coming out. I am gonna give Vegas kind of just give it a little more depth look. I think Vegas wins game one of this, you know. Young team on Utah, the jitters are gonna be there, the nervousness is gonna be there, but when they settle down, I think they'll take control real quick, uh, real fast too. And that being said, you know, you you can never rule out Eichel and even Hurdle. Hurdle's playing the third line right now, but that guy has had some huge uh uh. He hasn't, and but he can he can break out at any point in time. So I'm not ruling Vegas though, but I am. I'm going Utah on this one here. And then that'll bring us to our uh our final matchup of the West, which is the Edmonton Oilers versus the Anaheim Ducks. And um this one wasn't, I think this was finalized the last night of the NHL, right? It took a little bit longer for this one to be uh finalized. A lot of movement could have happened
Edmonton Oilers vs. Anaheim Ducks
SPEAKER_01in those things. Like I said, the division was very lopsided with who was strong and who wasn't. Um for the records of this one, Edmonton was 2-1-0 this year against Anaheim. Uh goals for Edmonton with 3.41 and a goals uh four for Anaheim of 3 uh 2-1. Goals against for Edmonton though, 3.26 goals against for Anaheim 3.51. And this for me this is one of the big deciding factors for me in this series. Jordan the power play percentage 30 for Emmonton. I think that's top in the league. Um, 18.6% for the uh Anaheim ducks, and both of them have abysmal power uh penalty kills. So 77.7 for Emmonton and 76.9 for Anaheim. So when I look at that, I basically just see Anaheim needs to take zero penalties at this point because if they put this team on the power play, they're getting scored on.
SPEAKER_00Um if you looked at that and said Anaheim had an 87-88% penalty kill, they're one on the top in the league. You feel a little bit better about it, but because their penalty kills so bad, it's like uh going up against this team. I don't know if you can take any penalties.
SPEAKER_01I agree. And I look at these this matchup and I'm I don't I don't want to like shit on Anaheim too much. I just don't believe in them as of yet. I think they've been they're a younger team, they have a lot of young players in there. And I look at Edmonton's side, and even without Dry Sidal in the lineup, I'm giving the edge to Dry Sidal. I don't know when uh Dry Sidal plans on returning, but if they're and he's still semi-injured, and I go up two games on Anaheim, I think about not even rushing him back at that point. Why risk it? Kind of thing, right? Especially if if Anaheim's gonna be taking penalties and their and their penalty kill is not the greatest, they're not gonna be able to shut down the offense that uh Edmonton has. And you look at uh high thing, Hyman played last game, they played last night, and I watched a little bit of that game, and they did once they got their league, they did start to shelter uh their players like McDavid and Bouchard more. But that first line of McDavid, Hyman, and Savoy looked amazing last night. And if they continue to ride that high into the playoffs, they might it it'll be a pretty stellar line to have, especially when you look at it and you got Hopkins and Dry Sidal in your lineup a little bit farther down now. But um I you know, I just it's funny because I look at these lines, and as a guy that I'm a Montreal fan, so I watch the East more so you don't get to watch these West teams a little bit. So there's a lot of names in here that I mean I don't even recognize, but for me, the big question mark will be goaltending. Um I think Anaheim has the edge in goaltending, but I think Edmonton has the edge in everything else besides maybe a defensive game, they struggle a lot, like they they let in a lot of goals, but I mean so did Anaheim. So this could be a very high-scoring series at the end of the day.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean Edmonton, like Dry Siddle, if he was healthy down the stretch here, they're they're first in in the Pacific, right? Like, I don't think it's really that close. Um they had to deal with it uh without their second best player and still finish second. I think they can probably beat Anaheim with it out him. He is on the ice, he's skating. I don't know how close he is. I've heard at some point in this round he could come back. But like you said, if you get up two games, why bother? Why? Right? Rest them, let him wait.
SPEAKER_01Like unless he's uh if he's 100%, sure, whatever. Then yeah, put him in the game. But if it's like, oh, he could return, then in my opinion, if you're up to if you're up two games in this series and he could return, I'm not risking it. Like you're you're clearly handling the job without him. Bring him in the next rounds when you're gonna really need it. You're gonna be versing a really fast Utah team or a really veteran build of Vegas next round. So that's when you're really gonna need him.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, don't bring in a 75-80% when you have the lead in the series and let him rest and get closer to 100 and uh be good. Like they put this top line together with Hyman and this Savoy, and Savois has really taken off on McDavid's wing over the last month or so. He's been seems to be like a really good link with McDavid. They kind of know where each other are. He plays well on the street.
SPEAKER_01He's starting to build it, yeah. Yeah, which he's got eight points, I think, in his last 10 games. He's starting to really get the groove beside him.
SPEAKER_00Yep. So it's I think he brings some speed. He's able to he's able to skate a little bit with uh McDavid, which no one else has really been able to do. Um, obviously not to the same extent, but he's able to kind of keep pace. He keeps pace, yeah. Yeah, Bouchard, I think, as much as people hate on him and how bad his defensive game is, he is a game changer. He's an offensive, yeah. Yeah, he he's a game changer. He's got the boosh bomb, he's just gonna unload it from the point and get one through. Like, he probably has four goals in in this first round just from slapshots on the powerpoint.
SPEAKER_01Like he's got 13 points in the last 10 games. Like, yeah, the guy's a point machine. And out of those, everyone keeps on, you know, I'm just gonna say it because everyone calls him a power play merchant. And while I agree to that to an extent, out of those 13 points in 10 games, only three of them are coming on the power play as of right now. So he's putting up five on five stats as well. He's eating a a huge amount of ice time, 25 uh or 24 and a half minutes of ice time is what he had in the last his average in the last 10 games there. And um, to your point, Jordan, like if you look at the rest of that defensive back end, no one's putting up points in the last 10 games. Uh Bouchard's almost outscoring. Actually, I think he is outscoring almost every he is. So uh Eckholm's got three assists in the last 10 games, Nurse has three assists in the last 10 games, Murphy has three assists in the last 10 games. You got Wallman with one assist and Embers Emerson with nothing. So Bouchard alone is outscoring everybody by himself there. Yeah, he's at a pivotal or a pivotal uh key to this team's success, whether you want to admit it or not. Um so it's gonna be hard to shut these guys down if you're Anaheim, but they're no slouch on that end either. They did make a great ad with John Carlson. They have, in my opinion, some big hitters on this team, which might throw Edmonton off their game. We've seen in the past Emmonton struggles sometimes when you come at them with the physical side. And you know, you look up and down this lineup here, and you got Carlson, uh, you got Seneca, who's come out of this year as a rookie doing really well. Goodie is doing well, um Troy Terry's having a good season, and then you had Carlson on your back end to balance out already Lacomb, and then you have Truba as well. And of course, we all know, yeah. I mean, we've talked about it before, you got Ratko Goodis there as well. So we all know what Ratko Goodis is gonna bring to this series, is gonna be some probably some dirty pitch cheap shots. So you you're gonna have to really manage your ice time too for Edmonton. Like I'm keeping McDavid and those guys away from that guy as much as possible, but even though you would want that matchup because McDavid could twist good around 18 different times, like you want them all down, yeah. Yeah, but is it the one time that Gudis gets a good clean hit on him? It might not be exactly the cleanest, you know what I mean? So it it it's up uh it's interesting to see how they're gonna match these teams up. I mean, I think Emmonton has the depth overall, and uh obviously they have the offensive firepower over Anaheim going into the playoffs as well. Emmonton is actually coming in pretty odd at 6'2 and two, and Anaheim has just looked awful.
SPEAKER_00They're yeah, Anaheim's been bad of late, right? Like they've been stumbled and tripped and fell down the stretch here.
SPEAKER_01Um anyone else won games, they probably would be on the out looking in. It's just no one in that area is just winning anything at the end of the year. They're all just getting killed.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, yeah, I think I think it's a little bit of a worry. Like you said, with Trouma and Goudis back there, both guys are mean, throw like just look to throw big hits. They they want to hurt you when they hit, um, and both guys don't really care if it's uh the cleanest of hits. Um, Goudis, yeah, I felt bad about the Matthews hitting me on me, he comes out and fights in Toronto. Guarantee you he'll do that exact same thing again if he has a chance in this Edmonton series.
SPEAKER_01We already learned that there's no punishments basically for it from the player safety department. So even if there is, what's who's gonna argue that oh goodis got suspended for four games, but he took out McDavid with him, like oh whoop-dee diddle do, you know what I mean? Right? So I think Emitton needs to be careful with that as well.
SPEAKER_00And Truba in playoffs past has a history of throwing pretty big borderline hits. I don't know if you remember a few years ago we had that one on Crosby that gave him a concussion where he missed a couple games. He had another one uh against Carolina with the Rangers. Like he just he always throws those kind of hits at some point in a series. Yeah. Um, you just have to hope it's not on your you know key guys. And that's why I think if you can keep Dry Siddhart out of it and win without him, you do that. Um this team is fun to watch, though. Like Seneca is fun, Cutter Goche has a ton of skill. Great shot. Uh Leo Carlson is gonna be a top 15 center in this league someday. Um they kind of remind me of Montreal from last year, where very young, probably a little bit ahead of what was projected for them this year. Like you thought they might battle to get into the playoffs, but they might not get there. They're a little bit ahead of what they uh right, they're a little bit ahead of what you probably expected them of. So as long as they can put up a fight, you're probably as an Anaheim fan, you're probably happy.
SPEAKER_01I agree. Uh, I agree with that. Uh and I'm also just I'm giving the experience obviously nod to Emmonton. They've been in this before, they know what they're doing, and McDavid's probably more motivated than ever. Uh, I'm going Emmonton with this in five games just because of uh I'm sure Ana's gonna be fun to watch. They're gonna have some great plays, they're gonna gain a lot of experience in this. I just don't think they can uh withstand the star power of Edmonton. And yeah, I I I just don't think that they could uh shut down McDavid for the the whole series, and if they even if they do, I'm sure Drystyle's coming back or Hopkins is there, you know. I mean there's there's just yeah, there's too many, there's too much star power on that end.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Emmonton's been too hot down the stretch here. They know when to turn it on, they've been here before. You kind of just expect them to get into their you know comfort zone and and roll in this series. I think Dostell can maybe steal a game for Anaheim. Um there are are they gonna be able to score a bunch on Ingram?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't know. What goalie shows up for Emmetton, right? Like that's a true that's a true point, too.
SPEAKER_00That's a big question.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they brought Charry, they brought Jari in thinking he was the answer, and it looks like he's the backup and Ingram's taking the reins, right? Like that's that's a big factor. What goaltender shows up?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and uh so I think I think that's that's a big point, but as long as they get Hafice in goaltending, I'm I'm also going with Edmonton. Um, I actually have it in six. I think uh Anaheim will get one stolen uh with Dostel, and I think maybe they can squeak out a high scoring game at some point that really pisses off uh Nick David, and maybe he has uh outburst with the media after it or something.
SPEAKER_01Another meltdown in the locker room or the media. Yeah, that's fair. Well, those are the uh West teams. Uh any last things you want to add to the West side here, Jordan, before we uh close this one off and move on to the East?
SPEAKER_00Uh not a ton. Um the it sucks that all these games are gonna be so late. I love like my favorite team to watch in playoff hockey is the Oilers. I just want being able to watch McDavid at one of the highest, most important time of year. And you have to stay up so late to watch them, which is unfortunate. Yeah, um, but ultimately in this round, there's not a lot in the West that excites me. I'm not super pumped for any of these series. Dallas, Minnesota, probably the most interesting, but I have no invested interest there. I don't really love watching either team, so yeah, there's not a lot there for me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's also funny. Emitting doesn't even start till Monday. Like, yeah, going back to the schedule, I don't know. These schedules just uh they don't make a lot of sense to me, but I agree. I think the most the best series to watch in this west side is gonna be Dallas, Minnesota. If you're a Colorado fan, I mean you could probably skip round one. That being said, you know, it crazier things have happened, you know. There's been crazy if the playoffs anything can happen, but uh I I don't know. I don't think anyone's gonna stop Colorado coming out of the West. Jordan, if we're just talking about first round, but if you have to pick a team coming
Western Conference Favorite and Dark Horse Pick
SPEAKER_01out of the west, who you got?
SPEAKER_00It's hard, it's hard for me to bet against McDavid and Drysidal. Um if Dreisidal is healthy or close to like you've seen them get there with him not a hundred percent before a couple years ago. Um, if he's not a hundred percent healthy, McDavid can still kind of do what he needs to do and and get them there, and it it's enough. But this Colorado team's so deep. Uh, there's so many centers there. The only thing that scares me is that their second round matchups either gonna be Dallas or Minnesota, and that's gonna be a bloodbath. Nice thing for Colorado is they have the Kings in the first round. So yeah, it shouldn't be a big stressful one there. Um I will go Edmonton, though. I think those are those two who's gonna face. Yeah, I think it'll be Colorado Edmonton. I'm gonna take Edmonton. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01What's your dark horse?
SPEAKER_00Uh Dark Horse, Utah. I think Utah would be my dark horse. If they could get on a roll and kind of play loose and free and have that speed really uh take over games, I think uh I think they could actually be a pretty scary team that people may be a little bit underestimate. So I think they might be fun to watch and hopefully can actually put a little bit of a run here together. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna go Colorado coming out of the uh West there. Uh President's trophy curse, I think, is not going to matter this year at all. I think Colorado's rolling right through. And my dark horse, I mean, they're not really a dark horse, but they are because no one's really giving them of a credit, is I'm going Minnesota. They have the hardest path right to the finals. They had to go through Dallas and most likely going through Colorado. So that's my dark horse. Uh, so
Outro
SPEAKER_01that'll wrap up the uh West. We'll put a pin in that. We'll see how these all play out. Uh, if you guys want to hear our thoughts on the East, hop on over to episode seven. Thanks for listening, everyone.