Episode Transcript
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[00:00:18] Speaker B: Now here's your host, Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott. Thank you, Scott Kesey, and welcome to the Parting Shots podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me. Warning Shots podcast Studio Ins Connectivity NEW YORK, well, it's conference finals time in both the NBA and Stanley cup playoffs, and we're going to talk a lot about that on this edition of the podcast. Our good friend Mark Keshis are from ESPN Radio. Of course, the Gilded high School graduate. He'll join us to talk about the NBA playoffs, and he's calling the Celtics Pacers Eastern Conference final for ESPN Radio. Well, he was also there Sunday at Madison Square Garden for the Pacers demolishing of the New York Knicks in game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Will talk to him about that and get his thoughts on that as the entire playoffs as well. Of course, Western Conference, it's the Mavericks and the Timberwolves. Nobody, I don't think at the beginning of the season thought that would happen. Well, the NHL's playoffs or the Eastern Conference finals get underway Wednesday with the Rangers and Panthers, and then on Thursday it's the Oilers and Dallas Stars. We'll talk with Pierre McGuire. We'll look back at the second round of the Stanley cup playoffs and talk about the Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals. We'll have a lot of fun with that as well and talk some other hockey stuff with Pierre. We always enjoy having Pierre on the podcast. So coming up, Mark Kaester talks NBA playoffs. You're listening to the Farting Shots podcast.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Rick Marshall from the Daily Gazette's martial arts podcast. In each episode, I interview artists from around the region, from musicians and comedians to dancers, sculptors, even video game designers. After you finish the latest episode of the Parting Shots podcast, I hope you'll give martial arts a try.
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[00:02:24] Speaker A: Hi, this is Sienna women's basketball head coach Terry Prim. You're listening to the party Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shops.
[00:02:35] Speaker C: Welcome back to the podcast. The NBA playoffs are in their conference finals and the New York Knicks almost got there, but injuries proved to be too much for them to overcome against the Indiana Pacers. Mark Kestre, the voice of the NBA on ESPN radio. And Gilt, one high school graduate was there to see that game, and he's calling the Eastern Conference finals. And Kessie's nice enough to join us for a few minutes here on this Thursday. We're taping before game two of the Celtics Pacers game. And what a wild game won there. Cassidy. About between the Celtics and Pacers, to me, quite frankly, I'll be honest, pacers choked that one away.
[00:03:10] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, there's no doubt they had to have been a little bit sleepless the last couple of nights because, you know, the thin line between these wins and losses and these relative short series and the best of seven and, you know, when it's happening in real time and you know that, you know, Indiana's plus 20 in turnover department, you know that it's, you know, a lot of self inflicted wounds. And some of it is, hey, you gotta tip your hat. Boston's a really good defensive team, but when you look at being up three points with 27 seconds to go, being up three points with 10 seconds to go, and the ball, you know, Jalen Brown having to hit, you know, a tough corner shot, you know, toward the end to tie it and force overtime, and then you realize what a golden opportunity you lost because you could feel it in the building, and I'm sure you could feel it watching on television or listening to us on the radio that, you know, Indiana was imminently about to go up one nothing, you know, on the road like we saw with Dallas last night at Minnesota. And now, you know, you don't get that. And that's, you know, one more game, that of a blown opportunity after, you know, tremendous seven game series with the Knicks. So it'll be fascinating to see what happens tonight in game two because as we pointed out, you know, during the game one broadcast, as it's happening, you know, we've seen many series, and the one that comes to mind for me was that Cleveland Golden State series when LeBron had 50 in game one and they didn't get the win. I believe that was also an overtime game. And then Golden State ultimately swept that series, you know, and you're like, what could have been? And the same for Indiana. Like, you know, they've proven they can compete with Boston, but, you know, you, you had a Celtics team that was off for a week, wasn't as sharp, certainly didn't, you know, you know, hit the shots they wanted to mostly down the stretch outside of the Jalen Brown three pointer, and you didn't steal that win. So all of a sudden, you know, you got to come back. I know Boston hasn't won a game two yet in the previous two series, but, you know, you gave them a win, and now they get to tune up their game.
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:19] Speaker C: And the pacer were coming off that incredible, almost perfect game, like Sunday, game seven against the Knicks. So you would think that they had that momentum going. They mean they could easily stolen game one.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, no doubt. I mean, it changes. Just think of all the narratives that we didn't get to write or speak. You know, Jason Tatum ends up scoring ten points in the fourth quarter. And one of the big stories of the last three years, really, of postseasons for the Boston Celtics was, you know, we call clutch time five points within five minutes. And to be fair, they didn't have a lot of those games this year because they were so dominant. But in the games that were close, you know, there were all these threads that we tied together with, you know, to rely on three point shooting and, you know, not driving to the basket and just not winning those games that were close. And here was one that they did. They executed down the stretch, Tatum gets another five minutes and completely changes what the narrative would have been of Boston down zero one at home, another close game that they almost choked away but lost. And remember, Tatum missed a couple of shots in the final minute of regulation. So he totally gets a change in narrative. And, you know, that. That's just how. I mean, everything switched. We had Tatum on our air after the game. He classified it as an ugly game for Boston. So clearly they know that they were off the hook on this one, and now, you know, they get to work on their own issues, which was, again, they had two decisive game one wins. And so sometimes it's easy to take your foot off the pedal, even though you shouldn't. And now they have a game one win, realizing twice before we've done it, we're not doing it tonight.
[00:07:05] Speaker C: Yeah, we'll go back to that game seven, the Eastern Conference second round, that Knicks Pacers game, the narrative there, all the home teams won all the games going into that game seven, how shocked were you that the Pacers played so well? The Knicks just looked like they ran out of gas.
[00:07:23] Speaker A: You know, I should not have been shocked. I think, you know, if I take it back to the minutes before tip and, you know, OG an innobe being announced, and it had that Willis Reed kind of feel and Josh Hart, who clearly was, you know, dealing with discomfort with, you know, his abdominal strain from game six, and they're out there warming up. I think you're right. The big shock is that a team shot, you know, 73% from the field for an entire first half on the road. That's the one you didn't expect.
And an Obi hit a couple of tough shots early on, but then it became clear, you know, there was no way he was going to be able to defend and probably shouldn't have been out there on the floor at all and saying all that. You get to the third quarter and the Knicks make this run, and all of a sudden they're within six and you're like, Indiana, my cave and fall apart. And then Brunson breaks his hand or his thumb or wherever he fractured. And then you start thinking, if the Knicks get through this, the Boston Celtics are enjoying watching this game seven. Not only are two teams going at it to a 7th game, but you may get a Knicks team that has so many injuries on it, it may be a walkover in the conference finals.
Racers to kind of stem that tide, shot the ball as well as they did and win a road game. They're still a young team, even, you know, with Miles Turner on the team and Pascal Siakam coming over in a trade. You know, they're largely a team of guys who haven't been this far. And, you know, that, that was a huge dragon to slay, to go into the garden, whether they were injured or not, and pick out that, pick up that win. And that was among the best shooting games you know, you can ever recall. You could talk about Villanova in the championship game in the eighties, you know, when they shot north of 70 to beat Georgetown, it just. It had that feel of, you know, you were watching one of the spectacular shooting displays in playoff history.
[00:09:25] Speaker C: And the fans, I think they even realized that what was happening there just to fit the injuries, and they. They gave the. Stayed around till the end, even though they knew the inevitable was going to happen. You got to give the fans a lot of credit for sticking around and, you know, saluting their team because they. They gave him a lot of great games and memories this year.
[00:09:41] Speaker A: Yeah, you don't see that a lot. You know, I feel like you see it more in baseball and you watch a lot more hockey than I do, but it feels like, you know, a lot of times the NBA crowd just kind of slink away when it looks like it's over. And, you know, and especially, you know, in the garden where people pay a lot of money. There's a lot of folks that just like to be there and be seen. But I think the true fans, and it felt like it was 90% to 95% of the arena, I think they got, you know, they knew it was over and they stayed because this was a team that kind of caught, you know, every once in a while when you think about your favorite teams, college or professional, you know, that one particular team that you're like, wow, I really love watching them play. There's something about them. Maybe there's an intangible we can't put our finger on. And that was this Knicks team. And, you know, maybe it was overcoming all the injuries. Maybe it was Brunson kind of taking that next step, you know, to be among the, you know, the top five or six players in the NBA this year. And it was nice to see that appreciation because, I mean, if there was ever a tank that was on e, that was, I've driven a car before where it kind of coasted into the gas station down a hill where you're about 5 miles past expiration, and that's, that's pretty much what the Knicks were.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:52] Speaker C: I mean, can this, once they get healthy over the off season, can this team challenge in the east next season?
[00:10:59] Speaker A: That's the fascinating part because they do have some decisions to make.
They do have cap room, so they might be able to bring in, you know, like a really good NBA star. And then, of course, when you do that, you start thinking about, hey, we got to mess up with the chemistry here. But I think, yes, if you bring the team back and they get healthy, I don't think Brunson was a flash in the pan. I just think, you know, there's something special about him. Even at his size, you know, whether it be the footwork, you know, he's just unafraid when he goes into the lane and does his thing. I would love to see that team at full strength. You know, there's some really, I know the east doesn't get the fanfare that the west does, but, you know, I think that's a team that might have something there. So I would love to see them kind of run it back, if you will, and get healthy and have a full season of health. I mean, it's going to be hard to kind of have, I don't want to call a Cinderella run, but it had that type of feel that they had that, you know, late season, regular season shot to the number two seed, and while things were kind of falling apart around them, you know, you had a sense that they had a real shot at full strength, or at least at certainly much more health than what they finished with. You know, could have given Boston some troubles in this round of the conference finals.
[00:12:19] Speaker C: Unfortunately, I know they took out my sixers in six games, and the way they were shooting was just uncrabbing. It seemed like they couldn't miss, especially for three point range.
[00:12:29] Speaker A: Yeah, that was a wild series. We got to do game two. I wish, you know, we could have done five as well. I mean, that was some of the stuff that went on in that series was, you know, I was a legendary, but certainly memorable. That's probably the best word, memorable. Like for a second round series. You know, that's one where you'll be able to remember, you know, two or three of those games in great detail. That was a lot of fun. And that's another team also, as we know, you're 76 ers that, you know, need to have a little better health on their side moving forward.
[00:12:57] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely.
It's baseball season. Phillies are playing well.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: So I'm not going to.
[00:13:03] Speaker A: It's Philly season. It's yankee season. It's med season right now in the northeast.
[00:13:08] Speaker C: So let me ask you about the Pacers.
I know the NBA in season tournament was, you know, I think a gimmick, but the Pacers got to the championship game with it. I mean, how much can they draw from that, going through that to get to the finals? And here they are actually playing for a real championship.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: You know, I kind of felt like you at the beginning of the question. I was a little sheepish when I brought it up to Rick Carlisle on our tape segment, you know, pre game for game one, just to get an idea of, you know, was that like a marker post, a mile post? In the early part of the season when they beat Boston, they beat the Celtics in Indiana. It was a home game. It was the quarterfinals to get to Las Vegas. And he did agree. You know, he said, you know what? That, that certainly for this, again, there was no Pascal Siakam. So we'll say a team without any championship experience, you know, for them to beat the Celtics, who were off to this great start. And Boston really wanted to be in Vegas, you know, as whether you liked the in season or you thought it was gimmicky, it was still, you know what? We've gotten this far. We don't mind a free trip to Las Vegas. We have no idea what to expect from this tournament, but we'd like to be there and Boston, of course, was setting the tone at that part of the season. So, you know, for Indiana and for the Pacers, that was kind of that first little mile marker on their way to the conference finals that, you know, we can compete with the best of the best. And remember, Tyrese Halliburton was off to a terrific start at that point. I don't think his numbers have been anywhere near that stage, excuse me, since. Because, you know, shortly thereafter, I don't know if it was December or January when he went down with the leg injury. And if you look at his numbers since then, they haven't really come close to what he's been, even though he's had some good games here in the playoffs. So I think I agree. He agreed, Rick agreed. And with your premise as well, that that was a very important time of the season, you know, it still feels like it's 100 years ago, and it probably doesn't mean anything in the real scope of things. But he did market as one of those chapters where it's like, you know what? We got a pretty good team.
[00:15:12] Speaker C: Well, the Lakers won it and they got bounced in the first round. So it could be the equivalent, equivalent of the NHL president's trophy where the president winner doesn't win the Stanley cup or get too far in the playoffs.
[00:15:23] Speaker A: That's right.
That's a great point. We'll have a run like six years from now where the in season tournament winner doesn't even make the playoffs or doesn't win the championship or even come close to it. That's a good point.
[00:15:37] Speaker C: Let me ask you about the Western Conference. Did anybody have the Timberwolves and the Mavericks playing for that finals?
[00:15:45] Speaker A: No, they didn't. Look, we all thought, look, when Denver was down zero two, I think it changed a lot of people's minds where they're like, oh, Minnesota, this is a good team. We overlooked them. They've got some good players. They're just as big as Denver. I think, you know, we've, we've discussed quite a bit that the GM of Minnesota was the GM of Denver, and so he built a team to build the team that he built. And so you're thinking, okay, you know, this is possible. And then, of course, you know, the Nuggets win three in a row and then are up 20 in the third quarter of game seven. So that thing went back and forth with Minnesota. Dallas is a different story. You know, we picked them up, PJ and I, late in that first round series against the Clippers, and I don't know too many, you know, who had predicted that Kyrie Irving was going to have a renaissance season like he has. And then, you know, Oklahoma City had the good year. This year, they're kind of breakthrough season, though. They were young and maybe a little bit smaller, but I still think, you know, folks still didn't think Dallas had enough to get through. And I think through these first two rounds of the playoffs, you know, not even speaking of their game one win over the Timberwolves in the conference finals was that, you know, they made two great trades at the trade deadline. Lucas not healthy, but still plays through it. Kyrie is playing at a level that, you know, we haven't seen, you know, pre pandemic, and now all of a sudden, you know, they've got a formidable team. So together. You're right, nobody could have seen Dallas and Minnesota in the conference finals. But I think as we've gone through these playoffs and watched it a little more closely, you know, maybe shame on us that we didn't give them, you know, enough credit that they could get here. But it's. It's exciting. I mean, you know, I love the fresh blood, if you will, of these four teams and the fact that we've had, you know, two outstanding games to open up both conference finals, I think I hope it bodes well for fans because we may not have the marquee names that we've had in the past, and you could argue Luca and Kyrie might, you know, be among the most marquee, and Tatum and Brown as well. But just seeing these other teams and one of them is going to hoist the trophy, I think, has to be good for the league, I think.
[00:17:57] Speaker C: So how shocking was it to see, as you mentioned, Denver at a 20 point lead in the third quarter just to see them implode the way they did on their home court?
[00:18:06] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, I never thought we would. It's like there's some things that are constants when you're discussing, you know, who's going to be in the finals, who has a chance to win, who's the best player in the NBA, and a lot of those are Denver and Nikola Jokic. And, you know, Minnesota beat them at their own game. I mean, I was getting ready to go on a week long road trip, so when it got to 20 in the third quarter, and I've been honest about this with all the folks here and anyone who's asked me, I turned off the television, I turned off the radio, and I went upstairs and I went to Pac and I figured I would just, you know, catch the end of the game. And then I got a text from a 518 number, one of my good friends, you know, from Albany, and he said, can you believe how close this game has gotten? I'm like, I better go run back to the television. And it was, you know, it was a three point game and so I, you know, in Denver at altitude, you didn't expect to see it was Jokic that the one was tired because, you know, those three big guys did such a great job of from the Timberwolves against Jokic, you know, whether it be Carl Anthony Towns first and Nas Reed and go bear, I mean, they. I would never have expected to see that. And you knew from the frustration from Michael Malone after the game. Not that it was incomprehensible because I think they all tipped their hat to Minnesota, but it was just, it was nothing that you expected to see. So, yeah, shock was a good word.
[00:19:32] Speaker C: Are we seeing a change in the guard out in the western cars?
[00:19:34] Speaker B: I mean, I was in Golden State.
[00:19:36] Speaker C: Dominated for years, but they seem to be getting old and fading. The Lakers are a mess. I mean, to see these, Oklahoma City had a great year. They were the top seed out in the west. I don't think anybody expected that. So, I mean, is the west changing as we before our eyes?
[00:19:52] Speaker A: It is. It definitely is. And you know, sometimes you like to wait a couple years so you don't make sure, you know, like Sacramento two years ago looks like it's the shooting star team and then they take kind of a step back this past year. But you just look what Oklahoma City's done to bottom out. Get all the draft picks, make good picks, make a good trade, getting Shane Gilders, Alexander, and you look at Minnesota, like we said, that built their team to go up against the best team in the west in Denver. I think Denver was a little bit flawed because they never really recovered from losing their 6th and 7th man last year.
It's hard to keep these teams together. They get very expensive and guys make all mbas teams now and next thing you know, you're paying a guy $70 million a year, you know, a third of your cap. And so it's not as easy, you know, to add on to these teams. But I think your premise is right. You know, the Lakers have been a bit of a mess. You know, we don't know who their coach is going to be or, you know, what they can do to refurbish that roster. Golden State is getting old, there's no doubt about that. You know, that's obvious to see that window we've been shutting for the last five years, even though they got a championship a couple of years ago. And so, you know, you see those three teams we saw at the top this year with Denver and Minnesota and Oklahoma City, and you wonder who may step up behind them. But it's always odd. I remember, you know, when it was Kobe and LeBron, and LeBron was becoming the best player in the NBA currently, and we're like, is this the baton pass? Is it this year? And it wasn't, you know, like, Kobe was still hanging on to that. And then you get two years down the road and you're like, you know what? We were right in 2000. Whenever it was nine or 2010, that was clearly the baton toss. And it feels like there's one of those in the west and maybe even overall in the NBA when you look at the best teams happening and sometimes you can't confirm it for a couple of years, but it certainly has those signs.
[00:21:54] Speaker C: My most important question for you, do you have your table reserved at St. Elmo's in Indianapolis?
[00:22:00] Speaker A: PJ, I think, has a permanent table. I don't know how he does it. You know, sometimes we're at the game and he's got like three potential places, and we're running late. There's a lot of video reviews, and next thing you know, it's like, St. Elmo's will always have a spot for us, no matter what time it is. And I'm like, is that true? We walk in and sure enough. Oh, mister Carlissimo, come right this way. So, yes, there will be some. Even though I'm not a big shrimp cocktail guy, there will be plenty of shrimp cocktail devoured probably close to the midnight hour at some point in Indianapolis on Indianapolis 500 weekend, which I've, you know, I've only had limited trips to the city. I can't imagine what downtown Indy is going to be like on this weekend.
[00:22:43] Speaker C: You have a hotel room at this point.
[00:22:45] Speaker A: You know what? Shockingly, that was, that was the big discussion. Like, we're going to be staying in Muncie. I don't know where they're going to put us. And somebody must have been smart at the worldwide leader of securing some rooms in this potential eventuality. And yes, shockingly, we do have rooms downtown somewhere for the weekend.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: Of course, you get to hang with.
[00:23:06] Speaker C: Mike Breen, Doris Burke, and maybe future Lego coach JJ Reddick.
[00:23:10] Speaker A: That's a good point. I just got to sit next to him. I never seem to sit next to JJ. So I could never get the WoJ scoop. I want a keste bomb. They don't exist.
And I don't like to break news, but maybe they'll be this weekend. I can.
[00:23:23] Speaker C: Well, let's get back to you. And our future hall of Famer Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press will chat NBA Finals as we get closer.
[00:23:31] Speaker A: That's a good idea. And we got to come up with, like, some confetti or, you know, hail to the king or something because, yes, all of a sudden he's taken seven steps above us. I don't even know if we deserve to be on the same podcast line as the great Tim Reynolds, but if he allows it, that would be awesome.
[00:23:50] Speaker C: Yeah, we have to go through an agent now to get him.
[00:23:54] Speaker A: That's right. I believe he got a raise, too. And how much he gets to work this podcast. So, you know, if he's getting the twelve cent check, I'm going to check with the union to see if I can maybe at least get a quarter or $0.07.
[00:24:05] Speaker C: Okay, I'll work with that part.
[00:24:06] Speaker B: Right.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: Work on it.
[00:24:08] Speaker C: Cassie, as always, we appreciate a few minutes. And you have game two tonight with PJ, and we'll be listening. So thanks again for coming on.
[00:24:16] Speaker A: Appreciate it, Ken. Have a great one.
[00:24:18] Speaker C: It's Mark Keshiro. Coming up, we're going to talk NHL playoffs with hockey analysts.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: Be able to the conference finals in there as well.
[00:24:24] Speaker C: You're listening to the parting shots podcast.
[00:24:43] Speaker D: If you really want to know what's going on in your community, you have to read the Daily Gazette. We don't take aside. We're right down the middle, and we're going to get to the truth. Our reporters and photographers are out in the field bringing you updates every minute with trust, accuracy, and integrity from the first page to the last page. Independent, probing journalism. We're finding out what's going on in the community where nobody else is covering. It's who we are. It's what we do.
[00:25:13] Speaker E: Hi, this is Union College women's hockey head coach Josh Schiba. You're listening to the parting shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. And now we're down to the final Four in the NHL Stanley cup playoffs. And joining me now is Pierre McGuire, the hockey analyst, also co host of the Sick podcast the Itets with Jimmy Murphy. Pierre, welcome back in exciting times. Now we're getting down to the nitty.
[00:25:38] Speaker E: Gritty here, and it's nice to visit with you. Absolutely. It's been a fantastic run so far through the first two rounds. I think a couple of surprises and some obviously really good series. I think a lot of people are probably surprised at how easily Dallas got through their series with Colorado. I think some people were surprised at how long the Vancouver Edmonton series went to a game seven. And I think some people were probably a bit surprised by Carolina losing to the Rangers outside of the New York metropolitan area. And then I think most people thought Florida would be Boston outside of, obviously the Boston area, where everybody thought the Brunes would win.
[00:26:15] Speaker B: I have to admit, I underestimated the Dallas Stars. I thought coming off that physical, grinding series with Vegas, I thought they wouldn't have anything in the tank. But I think it came down to goaltending. Outinger was the better goaltender and, you know, the Stars end up getting the six. One in the series in six.
[00:26:32] Speaker E: You know what's amazing about Jake Ottinger? If you go back to the start of the playoffs, Ken, they were playing against Vegas and they lost their first two games on home ice. And in game one, the shots were 30 to 15 in favor of the Dallas Stars over the Vegas Golden Knights. And Ottinger wasn't good. And in the next game, Dallas played better, but Ottinger wasn't very good. Again, they go into Vegas or down zero two, everybody thinks it might get swept, and then they run off three straight games and eventually win in a 6th game. But just, just amazing to think about, you know, what, what's gone on with Jake Ottinger from the start of the playoffs. And now he really was calm, cool, collected, and really in charge of his game.
[00:27:10] Speaker B: Yeah. And then Monday night, game seven in Vancouver. You play all year to get home ice for that game seven. And it took the Canucks until the ten minute mark of the third period to realize they were at a game seven. They were down three nothing at that point. They got a couple goals, but what happened? Vancouver just did not look like he wanted to be there.
[00:27:32] Speaker E: I think they were shocked by the blood clotting injury to Brock Fester, number one, who's arguably their mvp this season, along with JT Miller. Those have been the two guys that really stirred it up offensively. Elias Pedersen clearly did not have a great playoff, and he did not have a very distinguished game seven.
You know, they're going with their third string goal. Even though I thought that she loves played phenomenally well the entire playoff that he played. It was not him last night, but still, I think there was a little knock on them, and I just think the wear and tear, you know, the wear and tear of playing hard, arduous series is not easy. And for Vancouver, you look at it, they had to play a long, hard series with Nashville. They had a bunch of guys nicked up in that series. And then they had to play a long, hard series with Edmonton that won seven games. And, you know, I think when it's all said and done, fatigue got the best of the Vancouver to nuts.
[00:28:27] Speaker B: And also, Conor McDavid was not a non factor last night. I mean, it was other guys he didn't expect to score goals, scoring those goals.
[00:28:36] Speaker E: No, Conrad hasn't had a great playoff so far. I think most people would agree that have watched the Edmonton arts. I think part of that is because team's game plan for him, they try to shut him down. The one place he is very effective is obviously the power play. And they've got that one play from him to dry cycle and dry saddle shoots from that wicked bad angle on the right hand side of the ice. And it causes a lot of problems for people. But no, you're absolutely right, Ken. I think the truth is that Conor has not had a very distinguished playoff yet. He needs to be better for them to take the next step. I don't know if they're going to have enough against Dallas, only because when you look at the back end with Tanf now and the way he's played since coming over from Calgary in a matchup situation, of all the defensemen in the Western Conference right now, I mean, obviously there's only two teams left. But I would say even at the start of the playoffs, the guy that probably knew Conor McDavid the best is Chris Tanf. He had to play against him when he was in Vancouver and he had to play against him when he was in Calgary. And now he moves on to Dallas. So in a matchup situation, he really knows a lot about Connor McDavid. I think that makes a big difference.
[00:29:40] Speaker B: Yeah. The Rangers Carolina series, Chris Cry was not going to let that series go to a game seven the way he played in game six with a hat trick and almost Mark Messier like.
[00:29:51] Speaker E: Yeah, I would say in a lot of ways it was like Mark Messier. I think the truth of the matter is on Chris, there's a huge passion to play.
He's a phenomenal slot area player. That's where most people score their goals in the playoffs. He's an unbelievably powerful person on the fore check, and his hockey sense and understanding of the sport has improved so much since he left the Handover academy to go to Boston College way back when. I watch him now, I just. I marvel. I marvel at how good he is, what a great person he is, how hard a worker is. I remember watching him and Garnet Hathaway play at handover like he was yesterday.
[00:30:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:31] Speaker E: It's almost 20 years ago and I'm watching. I'm going, man oh man. And what's amazing, Ken, he's played 117, I think, in his games for the Rangers and he's got 47 goals. That's the most goals ever scored by a New York Ranger player. I think about that all the time now. Look at all the names he's passed. It's just. It's phenomenal. It really is. What a career. What a brilliant career.
[00:30:53] Speaker B: Yeah. You mentioned Garner Hathaway. I'm old enough to remember when you played at Brown.
[00:30:58] Speaker E: And you know what? There are a lot of good players that came out of that brown program. Very good. But they had a lot of players go on and play for hockey. You're absolutely right about that.
[00:31:07] Speaker B: Yeah, that's amazing to me. I'm like I say, I mean, they.
I mean, just unfortunately that the community down there and Brown does not support. They have a nice facility there. Me and Ottawa. I think one of the more underrated facilities in the East AC hockey. But it's one of those things where you just wonder why people go there to play hockey because they're not getting much support. But as you said, they have developed a number of outstanding NHL players.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:33] Speaker E: And you're going to get a chance to see one of them play at RPI this year, I think in Jordan Tenali.
[00:31:37] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was running his dad, John Tennelli, and he always comes to the games when they were at union and. And I had a chance to meet with him when he was inducted in the New York State Hockey hall of Fame. And I also had a chance to bob nice from the year before that. And I always tell them, I mean, a lot of people complain about that game winning goal being offside. That wasn't the goal. That was offside in game six. That was the goal that. The only problem, the problem I had with that goal is Pete Peters not giving much of an effort to get the blocker out there. But it was a goal in the first period. That was the offside when Leon stickle missed. Yeah, I'm still bitter 36 years after the.
[00:32:13] Speaker E: Well, you know, Ken, you know what? You know what's amazing about that? I coached against the late Pat Quinn, who was the coach of the Flyers in that game, and we were playing in Vancouver one afternoon. It was a Sunday afternoon game, believe it or not, and we ended up winning the game. I was head coach of the Hartford Whalers and Leon was one of the officials.
And what was amazing to me, Pat.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: Would never back up on. He kept doing it.
[00:32:40] Speaker E: I don't know. That had to be 15 or 20 years later, you know, and he was just kidding.
And we, you know, usually in the NHL you don't shake hands with the opposition coach. But I walked under the tunnel at the old Pacific Coliseum and I went over to Pat and just said, you know, I hope you're doing well and think so highly of you and, you know, great game and all this stuff. And I said, we're moving on. We're playing in Edmonton in two nights, but we're going to stay in town tonight if you want to meet me for a drink afterwards.
Goes that Leon Stickles still not making the right calls.
[00:33:13] Speaker B: That's a great story.
[00:33:15] Speaker E: Well, it's funny because, you know, you bring that up and not too many people remember that Leon was a liesman. But I have so much respect for Leon as well. He, you know, I coach a lot of games. For whatever reason, he was either a supervisor or an official, and so much respect for the way he carried himself. He was just a true gentleman. He may have missed that call, but I'm telling you, true, true gentleman.
[00:33:33] Speaker B: Yeah. But like I said, I'm a longtime Flyers fan, 36 years. It still bothers me to this day.
[00:33:40] Speaker E: But, but I get it. I get it.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: But at the same time, that flyers are the team in transition. Transition because, I mean, they were, you know, getting away from the broad street, some of those broad street bully guys. And I mean, that 35 game on beach three really got them going. I mean, but you saw the hours. But they were going to be a dynasty anyway, so, yeah, it's, it's, yeah, I'll take my loss and move on, but let's, let's look ahead to this year. Stanley Cup Final Four. Let's start in the east. The Rangers in Florida got underway Wednesday night.
This is going to be a physical series, a grinding series, and I can see this one going seven.
[00:34:14] Speaker E: Oh, I don't think you're far off the one thing that people need to know about this series because probably a lot of the people in our listening area are obviously Ranger fans. The Rangers are slick through the neutral zone. They're really fast. They're the most improved face off team in the NHL. They can really cause a lot of havoc with their puck possession game. But the problem is the Florida Panthers turn every game into a street fight, and when a game becomes a street fight, it's hard for that skill to really become pronounced. So for the Rangers, they've got to make sure that face offs really are a priority for them. They've got to have puck possession. They can't just aimlessly throw the puck in deep and hope to get it back. They've got to really make sure they possess the puck. I think I'm not a big stats guy. There's one stat. There are two stats that I'm really going to pay attention to in this series. One face off percentages, one loss, obviously, and if the Rangers dominate that, they've got a good chance to win. And the other one I'm going to watch for is puck possession time. If the Rangers are dominating puck possession in this series, then I think they got a better than good chance to win. But, and this is my but if the Florida Panthers dictate on that hit clock, if the Florida Panthers are within a percentage or two on the face off dot compared to Rangers, I think Rangers are going to have a tough time winning the series.
[00:35:36] Speaker B: I think the Rangers cannot afford to have Matthew Kachuk and Sam Bennett get under their skin. If they do, that's going to be a problem.
[00:35:43] Speaker E: Well, those are two guys that you're spot on talking about, but there are other guys that you got to pay attention to deeper in the lineup. And this is the thing that I think what Paul Maurice has done there is really smart. He's empowered guys to go out there and play a nasty game, and when they do take penalties, he doesn't bench them. A guy like Nick Cousins, who used to play for the Flyers, as you know, Ryan Lomberg, a kid out of the University of Maine, you know, Kevin Stenlan, who's a big guy who's been a reclamation project, big, strong, physical guy, very good in the face off, elite penalty killer. But physical, those guys matter and they cause problems. So they insulate Bennett, they insulate Kaczuk, they insulate all those verhege, another guy that's not afraid to play with edge. So that's the thing that I'll be watching for. And then I think the best thing is for the Rangers.
The face off situation and game so improved from a year ago, and I'm going to give Michael Peka a lot of credit for that. Michael went in there with Peter Laviolette this year, and he's done a great job with all the Ranger center raceman starting with Nika's abandoned Jack and obviously going down to Vinnie Trochak and getting Alexander Wenberg at the trade deadline and even Barkley Goodrell, I think that's a huge part of what they're doing in New York is face off plays, and Michael Pecken deserves a lot of credit.
[00:37:05] Speaker B: Let's look over at the Western Conference, Dallas. It's going to be a busy time in Dallas between the stars and the NBA's Mavericks. They're also in the Western Conference finals. There's so it's a good, great times down in Dallas Circle and of course taking on Edmonton in the Western Conference final. I think you mentioned Conor McDavid has not had a great playoff. He's got to come to the fore here and I think the goaltending, it's going to come down to that. If Ottinger continues to play well and Skinner struggles, this may be over quick.
[00:37:32] Speaker E: It may. And the fact that Dallas has gotten out of most of their series pretty quick and they haven't had a lot of travel and when you look at obviously Edmonton, it's been a little bit more travel. Edmonton to Los Angeles sounds close. It's not that close. It's a little further than people think.
But one of the things that I talked about a little off the top playing Christopher Tanf and Essa Lindell, heavy minutes against Conor McDavid I think is going to cause Edmonton some problems. So supplemental scoring is really going to have to matter for Edmonton. And if they don't get supplemental scoring, I think it's going to be a problem for them to win. So, you know, we've already talked about dry set out. We're going to talk about Evander Cain, Nugent Hopkins has to elevate his game. I think everybody knows that Zach Hyman's had an amazing year and a great playoff, so those guys still have to maintain. But if you're looking at dark horses for Edmonton, one kid to watch. I played at the University of Wisconsin for a good friend of mine, Tony Granado, Dylan Holloway, and he's a really good player. I would say the stats aren't very friendly to him right now, but probably in the last five or six games he has been outstanding for Edmonton. He's been probably one of the most consistent players. So if you're looking for a, you know, a dark horse type player to be a guy that can really elevate and help Edmonton, I think Dylan Holloway is your guy.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: Yep. Well, the, we last talked Toronto had not made any moves as far as the coaching situation, but Sheldon Keef was fired shortly after being eliminated by the Bruins. And the new head coach is someone I covered with the Hershey Bears back in the day and a guy I honestly, Pierre, I never thought was coaching material, but Craig Brew is going to be taking over the Maple Leafs. Is this a good move for them?
[00:39:18] Speaker E: Well, the one thing, if you were to talk to leaf management, if you were to talk to leaf players, if you were to talk to fans around the team, they'll say the one thing the Leafs need, they need a kick in the butt. If there's one guy that can give him a kick in the butt, it's going to be Craig Barubi. I was around his team a lot in St. Louis the year they won the cup. I did every single game St. Louis played home and away.
And I would tell you right now, he was a big part of that, along with Jordan Bennington, by the way, and a tower of power defense. People forget how big and physical that defense was, led by Alex Petrangelo, kid like Colton Paraco. There were. There were so many big Bobby Berto, there were so many big, physical guys back there that made a difference. But what got them through, if you remember Ken, and it was a game in Philadelphia in early January that year, in 2019, Craig had just taken over and the team was floundering. They were in last place in the NHL and they ended up winning the game in Philly. And that kind of was their departure point. They took off from there. One of the reasons why they took off, they put this guy in that they didn't want in their organization. And Jordan Bennington and Ruby empowered him to play and he did, and the team just took off. It was unbelievable. And being around them, that team felt they were never going to lose a game. And they won a game seven in the Stanley cup final on the road when they should have lost that game for Bennington, they should have lost that game.
[00:40:41] Speaker B: That was amazing. That job Craig did there. And I can say that I knew Craig and Hershey. He was a fighter, really much talent, but he made him. He made himself a great NHL career. I mean, he lasted a long time there. I know a lot of penalties, but there must have been somewhere along the way he got the coaching bug. And because he's, like I say, you know, he was head coach of the Flyers course at that time, the Flyers didn't really have much in the way of talent. And of course, you know, the job he did in St. Louis and now he's going. Toronto hasn't won a cup since 1970. 67. I was three years old when that was happening. So how much pressure is he under?
[00:41:20] Speaker E: A lot.
There's a new president there obviously, Keith Pelley. He oversees everything. It's called Mlse Maple Leaf sports entertainment. Keith's involved with running their football team, the Toronto Argonauts, their soccer team, their basketball team, the Toronto Raptors and their biggest property, obviously the Toronto Maple Leaf. He's also involved with running the football soccer stadium which is called BMO field and then Scotiabank place which is where the Raptors and the leash play and all the country. It's a massive job. But I worked for Keith for a long time. Eleven years.
And I would tell you right now, he doesn't mess around.
So they hired Craig Daruby for a reason. That is, they want the country club gone. They want guys to pay attention to detail. They are going to be a well run, hard edged NHL team. And if guys don't buy into what he's selling, I think guys will be on the first train out. I really do. So it's going to be very interesting to watch. Very, very interesting to watch.
[00:42:19] Speaker B: Let's see how things go in these conference finals and we'll talk before the Stanley cup final.
[00:42:23] Speaker E: Thanks so much, Ken. I really appreciate it. Delight being on with you and your listeners. Thank you so much.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: I always appreciate your insight, Peter, and you know that. So appreciate again, Pierre.
[00:42:32] Speaker E: Anytime.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: That's Pierre Maguire and I'll be back to have my picks for the conference finals and latest going on around the country or something like that. You're listening to the parting Shots podcast.
[00:43:10] Speaker A: Meet Andrew Waite. He's a dedicated journalist with a passion for research and a commitment to getting all sides of the story, whether it's a local issue or an upstate trend. I do the stories and interviews that shed light on what's important to you. Stay informed. Read Andrew Waite in the Daily Gazette it's my job to offer commentary about what's happening in our community and what it means to our readers. The Gazette reporting based on accuracy and integrity.
[00:43:38] Speaker B: It's who we are.
[00:43:39] Speaker A: It's what we do.
Hi, this is Andrew Catalan of CB's sports and formerly of news Channel 13 WNYT. You're listening to the parting shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken shot.
[00:43:53] Speaker B: Back to wrap up the podcast and I'll give you my NHL picks. I did very, very well in the second round going three and one. The only one I missed was Colorado because I said with Pierre I just underestimated Dallas Stars, so I won't, won't do that again. So I'm eleven to one so far in this postseason. That's pretty good for me because if you had read my picks over the years, I usually screw up somewhere along the way and usually have a losing record. But my picks for the conference finals are going with the Rangers in six and the Dallas Stars in five. So that's my final pick. The Stanley cup final will feature the Rangers and the Dallas Stars. Well, there was no daily Gazette auto racing contest last week because NASCAR had their all star races. It will resume Sunday with the Coca Cola 600. And when we have the auto racing contest, I'll announce the winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Saturday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the auto racing contest banner.
Just because Covid-19 mandates are easy, that does not mean you should relax, be vigilant. If you have not gotten vaccinated or received a booster shot, please do so. Do it for yourself, do it for your family, and do it for your friends.
That wraps up another edition of the parting Shots podcast. I want to thank Mark Kestessor and Pierre Maguire for being on the show. If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email them to me at shot. That's schottailygazette.com. follow me on x and threads at Slap Shots the views expressed on the parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Daily Gazette Company. The Parting Shots podcast is a production of the Daily Gazette Company. I am Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott. Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next time from the parting Shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day. Good sports.
