Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Did you see the video of Bryce Harper brushing his teeth?
I saw something about it, but I didn't actually watch the video.
Oh, you should go watch the video. Oh, I don't want to tell you. You have to witness it for yourself. Okay, look it up. Okay, so I'm watching. It gets it wet. Oh, my God.
What? Why does he do that? Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers and the 2026 Tacoma. Get yours before red tag days are over. Dom, Elliot and Kyle are with you once again here in Fridge. It happened. The sweep happened in the Western Conference final. The Vegas Golden Knights brought their pillows, the avalanche, the president's trophy.
The pillows not only won out, they did so in four straight. A stunner. sends Vegas back to the Stanley Cup final for the third time in nine years since they came into the National Hockey League. Where would you like to start for a series no one saw coming? The result was one thing, but four straight. Even Mark Stone in the postgame, Elliot, saying, we're as surprised as anyone.
Kyle, if this was the WWE instead of the NHL, I would say it was a loaded pillow Vegas brought to the playoffs. They took it and they put a brick inside or some brass knuckles or a roll of coins, something like that. Yeah, I'm right with you. I'm not surprised Vegas won the series, but I am absolutely gobsmacked, shocked. that they swept them.
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Chapter 2: What were the highlights of the Vegas Golden Knights' sweep over the Colorado Avalanche?
I certainly didn't see that coming at all. And no matter what comes out of here, injury-wise for the Avalanche, we cannot let that take any credit away from Vegas. And I like the fact that Jared Bednar was asked about that postgame when he said, look, Joe Sackick and Chris McFarlane will tell you that over the next couple of days, but everybody deals with it.
I think we're all curious to see exactly what they had there. You could tell on our broadcast that Luke Gazdik has some theories but didn't want to get into them. I have some theories, too. I think Makar has a pretty significant shoulder injury, and I think some people have wondered if he might miss the start of next season because of it. We'll see if that's true or what that is.
But it doesn't take away at all from what Vegas did in this series. They won it, they earned it, they dominated it, and they deserve all the credit in the world. A perfect plan was put together and they executed it brilliantly.
So certainly credit goes to John Tortorella in coming on board late in the conversation here and not reinventing the wheel by any stretch, but even by how he described it, just guidance here and there, but also understanding when to get out of the way. A veteran team that can run the room there and a different voice that seemed to be coming in at the perfect time for that team.
I just wonder, in hindsight, because so much of this year, Elliot, we looked at Vegas and went, they should be much better than this. They should be way better than this. And maybe now we're seeing it. I really liked, and they touched on it on our broadcast on Tuesday night, Ryan Strom's theory of getting through Utah, getting through Anaheim. They learned how to deal with fast teams.
and how to beat them. And it almost made them all the more powerful in facing the most power yet in Colorado in round number three.
What was the biggest problem they had all year? We've talked about it ad nauseum on this podcast, Kyle. They were 28th in save percentage. If you look at Vegas all season, especially right before Bruce Cassidy got fired, their underlying numbers were really good. That was never the issue. You never looked at them and said, this is a bad team. But they weren't getting saves.
And what's Alain Vigneault's old line? If your goaler is better than my goaler, you win. If my goaler is better than your goaler, I win. And that's one of the major reasons that it's turned around for Vegas. And they're getting saves that they weren't getting in the regular season. That is a huge difference. And this is another thing, too, and this is where I do agree with Ryan also.
Vegas has shown that they can nullify speed. They have a disciplined system. They play to it. They gum up the ice. They make it hard for you to get by them. And the other difference in this series, Kyle, was – Against Utah and against Anaheim, they dominated as the series continued.
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of the Eastern Conference Final between the Canadiens and Hurricanes?
You know, he obviously fits in so well with Stone, Eichel, since William Carlson's comeback, and all the role players who know what it takes to win. I think that's a huge thing. But I think the distance he put between himself and his home base was another huge factor in this and one that should not be underestimated.
But, you know, he's got a shot here not only to win the Stanley Cup, but also win the Conn Smythe Trophy. And I was reminded, Kyle, during this game that last summer I was at a golf tournament and there was a relatively recent retired NHL player and his father was at the tournament.
And in the Q&A after, the father was asked, of this former NHL player, was asked about Marner, who by this time had already been traded to Vegas. And he said that he felt that Mitch Marner was going to be the next Larry Murphy player and or Phil Kessel, a player, a talented player who left Toronto and won somewhere else.
Now, I don't know if that father, and I'm going to reach out to him, thought it was going to be this season, but he's right there. He's got a chance right there. And like we said, Kyle, they're not going to have home ice advantage, but they're going to be a lot of people's favorites.
Well, I mean, you use those two examples, as you'll remember, Larry Murphy was traded in season from Toronto to Detroit, won a Stanley Cup immediately, won two Stanley Cups in Detroit immediately. I mean, he, of course, had won previously in Pittsburgh. And then Phil Kessel traded in the offseason of 2015 and immediately goes and wins back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 16 and 17.
So it would be following that trend if the first year after leaving Toronto, Mitch Marner gets his hand on the Stanley Cup in reference to those two.
At least they're going to have a bunch of guys asking for trades.
But that's the thing. As you know, there's players in this league, good players in this league, or every player in this league is good, top-end players in this league, role players in this league, that regardless of market, spotlight, whatever, they play the same. But others, it can be different. Yeah.
Mitch, it's been a different story for him in Vegas and certainly through these playoffs because through all the depth and the options they have there, as you said, he's not been a passenger. He is absolutely a frontrunner for the consummate through three rounds. He's been very dynamic and his fingerprints have been all over this for Vegas. So, I mean, he... He looks happy.
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Chapter 4: What recent news involves Evgeni Malkin's contract with the Penguins?
The Vegas Golden Knights, they know they'll start the Stanley Cup Final on the road and await to see who they will play as they now have a bit of time to be home and cooled, awaiting the beginning of the Stanley Cup Final.
I don't think they're going to be that cooled. It's Vegas. That's true. And, you know, the other thing, too, here, Kyle, is that if Montreal comes back and makes this a longer series, they're going to have a similar rest, not quite as long as Carolina, but they're going to have a break.
Yes. And could end up being a very tight turnaround from the end of the Eastern Conference final, the beginning of the Stanley Cup final. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it if we need to. So we will have a bit of news that we'll get to in later block of the show. But before that, it's the final thought, which is presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers.
And that brings us here to the East, Elliot, where we are in Montreal. Three games into the Canadians and Hurricanes, Carolina won back-to-back games in overtime. Andrei Svechnikov, the hero in game number three, here on Monday night. And suddenly, this is turning into a series, Elliot, where, yes, it's taken overtime.
for Carolina to win both of its games but watching you feel like they've had much greater control of things and now everybody is wondering how does Montreal just flat out generate a little more by way of shots to say nothing of more goals and another win or two here
Mike Matheson, after game number three, said we're two shots away from being up 3-0, but it doesn't feel like that. Nothing about what he said is wrong, but none of it feels right. It was funny he said that. I was like, hmm, he's right. But boy, it feels pretty lopsided out there. Well, first of all, credit to Carolina.
They said that was as garbage as we could play in game number one, and we're not going to do that again. And so far, they've proven it. Rod Brindamore talked about something they emphasized that they did better. Asking the Montreal players about it, they basically said that they could tell it was better decisions in the neutral zone and don't let their best players get behind you.
And for the most part, the hurricanes have done that, except when they let Hudson find Suzuki and,
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Chapter 5: How are the Toronto Marlies performing in the Calder Cup Playoffs?
go on a breakaway at the beginning of overtime in game number three. I can only imagine how much regret Suzuki has for that chance that missed. You know, the interesting thing, Marty San Luis had a couple of, sometimes he just tells you what he's thinking or gives you hints with these little sayings. And he said, you know, the game tells you what to do.
And he talked about sometimes you have to give up the puck to get the puck. That first goal, by the way, that Vegas scored against Colorado, in game number four, that flip pass that sent Stone in on the breakaway, I can't help but wonder if that's the kind of thing that San Luis is talking about. Create races. More on the forecheck. That's what we're going to have to do.
I mean, this is a little bit old school, but... Stone looked like Tim Brown, the Hall of Fame wide receiver, catching a pass from Jeff Hostetler there. Maybe that's what Montreal has to try. That was the kind of play when I saw that goal, I said, that's the kind of thing Montreal is going to have to try because right now they are just getting caved in.
by carolina's forecheck and if you look at the shot totals when guys are on the ice kyle montreal's top line is doing okay they're they're fine but the other three lines are really getting caved in and those are the ones where even more you're probably thinking about creating races as opposed to carrying the puck
Yeah, no question. And we've talked about it the last couple of days here, Elliot. I mean, for all you can hang your hat on, well, maybe we're spending a lot of time in our zone, but we feel we're defending well. We're not giving up a ton of chances from the key areas of the ice. I still think if that's where...
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Chapter 6: Which players from the IIHF Worlds could make an NHL impact?
the majority of your energy is being spent. Like you've got nothing left to go play offense after that. You're just doing enough to get out of your zone and survive and get off the ice. And then it's being rammed down your throat again. And we saw that time and time again. here in game number three to the point where, I mean, what, Montreal iced the puck seven times in overtime?
They had more icings in game three than shots on goal. And I don't think that was because of poor decision-making per se. It was just because of how relentless the Hurricanes were. What was the line that Gossespierre gave you after the game?
Oh, yes. Shingasus bear is just an outstanding quote. He said, we drag them into the deep water. And I said, who came up with that one? And he goes, he didn't say who. He said, kind of all of us. It's a team saying. And I go, what does that mean exactly? And he goes... You can't tread water forever. I was like, I like this, and I'm stealing with it.
And he laughed, and he also said, he talked about Svechnikov and the scrum, and he said, you know, Svechnikov is the strongest player on the ice. We want him to play like an animal, smartly. And I said, you have all the good sayings. I'm going to be leeching right next to you and all your future scrums. And he was kind of laughing, but I love dragged them into the deep water.
And you look at Montreal, first period took them four and a half minutes to get a shot. Second period, 248. Third period, 1008. And overtime, 732.
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Chapter 7: Why is the Montreal Victoire's Walter Cup victory significant?
They went 25 minutes with one shot, basically. And you can't win like that. You just can't.
Right. And through all of that, I mean, gosh, it all happened so fast. But if Caulfield was able to drag the blade of his skate just an extra three, four inches behind him, it's 3-2 at that point, Montreal. And who knows how the rest of the third period plays out. Maybe they didn't even need overtime for a chance to be one shot away of being up in this series. I think this is a team where...
Look, they haven't been in the spot really that often in these playoffs. I know they lost the opening game to Buffalo in the second round, but otherwise they hadn't trailed in a series. And the situation they're facing here now, it's easy to forget this is the youngest roster in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I just am watching how I get it.
Each game is kind of, they take on a life of its own and teams are making adjustments where they see fit. If Carolina is going to continue to play at the level they know they're capable of and we've seen here through much of Game 2 and Game 3. I'm just not sure if... as damned as Montreal tries to counter it, if it's going to be enough here, like Carolina suddenly is, is a veteran group.
Uh, you think about that core and how many years they've been at it now, that Jordan stall is still an impactful guy. The Taylor hall is playing some really valuable minutes here. It's, uh, They look like a very poised group that had a bad first period to begin this series because they were off for so long. And as Hal said after the game, we've shaken the rust off now.
The game is slowing down again for us, and that's a concerning thing for the Canadians.
A couple of other things. The Canadians are going to have to run some interference in front of Lane Hudson. I know that's not exactly sporting of me to say, but he's getting pounded, and they have to protect him a bit. Clearly, I love Matthew Kachuk's line. He talks about it in his podcast with Brady.
You figure out who on the other team is the head of the snake, and you try to take them out of the series. Well, the head of the snake for the Montreal Canadiens is Lane Hudson, and they're going after him hard. and he's taking an absolute pounding out there.
The Canadians have to do, even if you just run blatant picks in front of them, you almost have to do it from time to time so that he can be protected because he's a gamer, and he's playing incredibly well, and he's not going to back down from anyone, but he's getting hit hard. A couple of other things, Kyle, that really stood out to me, you were in the media room on Tuesday
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Chapter 8: What shoutouts did the hosts give at the end of the episode?
the off day, Frederick Anderson was kind of asked about his route here and his travels here. He looked like he got a little bit emotional thinking about it. And then he kind of stopped and everybody moved on. Did you get that impression too?
A little bit. He... I spoke with him a little bit before the series. And as I'm sure you know, Elliot, and will remember, I mean, that shortened season in Toronto, the last one in Toronto for him, like that was very... Yeah, the bubble. It was very hard on him.
The Canadian... Not the bubble, the Canadian division. Yes. Because that was the best team Toronto had, I really thought.
Yeah. And I just think... The situation of our world at that time and the tough ending for the team that I just think that really wore on him. And he was of the mind of, I need something different now. And he's found that in Carolina. I know it hasn't been perfect the whole way. There's still... The injury bug has followed him at certain times. You know, they've gone deep in the playoffs.
It hasn't always worked out, but he's continuing to sign to re-up there. There's just something about, obviously, the team, the way they play, and just the whole setup there in North Carolina that he seems to really enjoy and I think really appreciates at this stage of his career. So I saw a little bit of that, too. I agree with you.
And it's funny, just a coincidence. So Claude Lemieux brought in the torch in game three. He represents Anderson. Oh, right. He brings in the torch and his client is in the other net. The other one was we had a funny conversation I wanted to mention to everybody with Nick Ehlers. And so one of the Jets told me,
That one of the reasons that Ehlers that they felt that Ehlers wanted to go into the Eastern Conference because he just thought it was the travel was better and it would be better for his body. And that was one of the reasons he wanted to go to the Eastern Conference. And I mentioned this to Ehlers and he looked at me like I sprouted a third eye on my forehead. And you were witness to this.
You saw. Yes, it's true. So he was like, burn that source. So it was it was pretty funny. I got a good laugh out of it. But it was pretty interesting what he talked about. First of all, he said that the travel is actually even worse or a bit. I shouldn't say worse, but more annoying in Carolina was what he said.
Because in Winnipeg, you would go on the road or you'd be at home, and you'd be at home for nine or ten days, and you'd be on the road for nine or ten days. So they were true homestands or road trips. In Carolina, which is, I guess, a little more remote for the Eastern Conference, he says you come home for one, then you're on the road. He just seems that you're always going in and out.
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