Jay Stevens previews Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals following Leon Draisaitl’s overtime winner …
it’s time for the biggest story of the day this is what made the cut with JJ and Alex on 975 the KSL Sports Zone and of course this portion of the show the cut this hour brought to you by Trade Wealth T R A J an Wealth for all of your trusted local needs in retirement with a local financial fiduciary trajewealth.com jay Stevens host of the Utah Puck Report jay I hope you enjoyed game one as much as we did man how could you not enjoy that overtime and game one like all the player all the big names were there and rocking i mean it was awesome i mean you got to love it yeah contrast that with last year right because it’s easy to make the comparisons because it’s the same two teams but the Oilers fell behind 3-0 in that series this time they’ve got the momentum how much of a big deal do you think that is for the Oilers does it matter no to me and you know I could be wrong so I always got to start with that right because I’m gonna get a lot of hate mail and all but to me this was gonna go this way anyway I figured you’re waiting for somebody to break serve but they have home ice advantage you expect them to win their goalender’s been playing great which you know was kind of the question mark in the beginning of the playoffs is how’s Skinner really going to perform this year but they yeah they’ve got momentum all their big names are playing the way they’re supposed to be playing and they barely squeeze He’s through game one in a power play goal in overtime so I think we go seven games here and I think it’s going to be just the same way where every game’s a gut check and every game is just you cannot make a mistake the margin for error is paper thin if you’re watching game two and you look at this and you say “Okay I mean the Panthers played a pretty darn good game.” What do they have to change because it just seemed like it was going to be whoever Yeah got to break maybe the power play like the Oilers did on that last moment there when Leon Dryside put that winner in uh what what do they have to change if anything if you’re the Panthers uh to get this win in game two you want to steal one while you’re up there in Edmonton you could see the momentum go back and forth right you could see the es and flows of the game and you could see when Edmonton was really starting to take charge there in the third period which kind of caused that that power play to be granted right at the end of the period you’ve got to make sure that when those the es and flows are coming that you’re ready for it and the benefit of being the home team is that you get that you get the final change right you’re you get to match the lines better and I think if what you really got to do if you’re Florida is just make sure you change lines quicker which you know that’s easier said than done so that you’re getting that matchup you want because you want your you know you want your second line center matched up against their first line so you can really let your strengths play against their strengths and then try to get your first line some time out there um and really that’s that’s the difference that’s what really has to happen is be prepared for the es and flows don’t get caught flatfooted because that’s kind of what drew that last penalty penalty at the end is just be prepared and skate like the wind for 45 seconds and get off the ice and just you know be ready for anything you know Florida’s known for being the toughest team in the league right i mean any argument with that i mean it seems like that’s that that’s their reputation and especially here in the playoffs that matters but you had them in a situation and Sam Bennett talked about this after the game about how they’ve been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead but for whatever reason they did it in that moment is that out of character for them how concerned are you about that in this situation because you could look at it and say “Well this is a team that won the cup last year they got to be exhausted at this point are are they starting is there is there some kind of momentum loss with this team uh maybe the Oilers are hungrier i don’t know or is it just one night one thing and they’re going to bounce back from this and and they’re gonna they’re gonna they’re going to dig in because of what happened with you know maybe letting one slip away yeah you kind of you you nailed the head on a lot of pens there yes it’s it’s one game it’s one thing yes they are built for the they this is what they’re built for they’re built to be physical and you know we talk a lot about how much fun it is to watch the new style of hockey and how fast it is and how great it is and then the minute playoffs start the what really matters is how physical is your team and how can they play versus a really physical team and now you’ve got two really physical teams right edmonton is built physical they are built for this this series as well so I I like the matchups i mean honestly as you go down and you’re like “This guy matches this guy and this line matches this line and it comes down to who really is just going to have that breakout game and and have that performance you’re going to get those games from Babross like he is truly one of the best of the best and if he can manage to win this cup he’ll go he’ll be a easy Hall of Fame guy.” But yeah like what does it really take when you’re at the Stanley Cup final and does it matter that you were there last year you got to keep in mind both these teams did it last year both these teams went game seven was it harder for Edmonton to come back from 3 0 and then lose it does that take more wind out of your cells or does that put more energy in your anger bucket you know or is it Florida that kind of was it they were up three nothing did that kind of take the wind out of their cells to just barely get through on game seven last year i think it really balances out with these two teams they were both in it last year they both went to game seven edmonton had a little bit easier path this year in the playoffs not just that it was easier that they handled teams easier you know you saw Florida Tampa Bay which I thought was an amazing series but that did take a toll on these guys so honestly I think these guys are such high performance athletes that they’re all going to be ready and it is just going to come down to you know just one mistake again I think this is going to be another onegoal game and I still think we go seven games what did Edmonton do or I I mean not like the series is over or something but they obviously started off three nothing in in last year’s series and Florida felt like they were owning them and I know they give up three losses but that you know Florida ends up winning the cup what changed this year for Edmonton like what’s is this just a pure like revenge tour or what are the things that they’ve actually done from a a a like a a tactical standpoint to maybe look and say “Hey we got to attack this thing a little bit differently with Florida.” I think they’re using Cory Perry in a different way i think they’re getting more discipline out of Kane and Perry although they both took penalties last game um I I think that’s something that last year they they didn’t have as much in the series so I think they’re they’re more of a disciplined team and you’re seeing Conor McDavid and Leon Dryside basically just will this team to better decisions better on ice uh management and I don’t know if you saw during that overtime gold Jettle scored that goal Conor McDavid immediately pointed to Cory Perry who started that setup he’s like you like that was what we needed they’re they’re missing Zack Heyman who when you lost when they lost him I thought they were just going to be done for but they’ve like Kor McDavid and Leon Dryetttle are just bringing this like I will not lose this time and that’s what they said last year they’re like we will be here this isn’t going to feel any better but we’re going to be here next year and we’re going to win and keep in mind Florida three years ago they were in the Stanley Cup championship they lost they used that anger to win it the next year so it could work it it there definitely is a history of that in the NHL you make it one year you lose you make it back the next year you win can’t wait for uh game two tonight 6 p.m mountain time you can watch the game on TNT um this has been a great start to the series in game one i look forward to the rest of it there was some other NHL news today that I I really found interesting um I’m you know we we we didn’t cover the NHL dayto day because we didn’t have a team in the league but now that we do it’s like oh this is just like the NBA where coaches can go to the Eastern or Western Conference Finals and still get fired why in the world did the Dallas Star Stars fire Peter Dbor man you want to talk about shooting yourself in the foot really quickly i don’t I I don’t know if you guys follow me online uh just my personal page because the minute Pete Dbor pulled Jake Ainger eight minutes into that game I said he’s done and then he goes and doubles down they just signed Oer who’s a phenomenal goalender yeah he like it’s one thing to take him out it’s another to also blow him up in the post game right yeah in the post game when you say that about your goalender you blame last year’s loss on him you’ve land you know and you’re just hanging the guy out that you just signed for eight more years you’re gonna lose the room and this isn’t the 80s where coaches can run off and be whatever you want like you still see it with Torella a little bit who’s also been fired but Pete Dbor went off like an 80s or a 70s style coach thought he could say whatever he wanted and treat his team however he wanted but what happened is he said that stuff they had their exit interviews the exit interviews also went on with the players in the GM and every player said “We no longer want Pete D’Vorah as our coach.” He lost the room and he lost his job dang well look we have kind of the same sort of uh Well although the players are kind of showing up a little bit more for for uh for Tom Tibido because a lot of guys were like “No he’s the guy no no he’s the guy.” But at the same time it’s like not all of them not all of them but I think that you get I think you get a lot of specific ones that did and some that didn’t that’s what I was going to say it feels very much like I mean the NBA does the same thing and you know it’s like right now like the athletes are are kings here i know that the coaches are an important piece here but the one but if you don’t have I I mean do you want like a players coach type of a guy and kind of where does Bear fall in all that for the for the mammoth well there’s a real balance for for how that runs right it it’s not always determined on what the players want it’s why they want it if the players would have said he’s too mean or he’s too hard or whatever then the GM would have been like tough it out and they would have kept D’Vorah but Dbor really did kind of sabotage the team with that and then he went after their best player and threw him under the bus and so he lost the room bear is a phenomenal coach with development and you saw it i mean there was a time where he benched Culie and everybody’s like “Oh you can’t do that.” But he he’s the guy you want and everybody respects him and loves him and thinks he’s amazing they’re also a little bit of afraid of him because he’s just you know he’s got he he demands discipline he demands work and he’s a he’s a guy that you’re he is a player’s coach you want him in the locker room you don’t mind being a little bit afraid of him and you know that he’s got your best interest at heart and he’s going to do the right thing for you and for the team and I think that’s the difference between how Deborah handled things and how Bears handled things the entire time we’ve seen him yeah it’s good i think that’s exactly what you want from a boss right you need to have respect for them but you also want to feel like they’re human and they can understand you so and I think he’s definitely shown that he has that balance all right we’re three weeks away from the NHL draft i’m going to ask you to put your GM hat on i’m not don’t want you to tell me who you’re going to pick what I’m going to ask you is if you’re in charge are you keeping the pick or trading it so if I’m in charge with the mammoth right now I’m keeping that pick i’m going after somebody that I can get the great thing about this with number four you can get a guy like Porter Marone that’s going to come in and probably make your roster right away and he’s got grit and there’s a couple of these guys right i’m just using his name as an example even though that’s who I think they should pick but I was wrong last year but you get a guy like that and he comes in and he makes your roster or you send him back to juniors and you let him play another another year right and then you bring him back the year after so then you sign him and you’ve got three years at $950,000 with that player that’s like a key player in your lineup and that gives you that much longer to play with your salary cap and and mess with all the other things you want to bring in you can go out and get a Sam Bennett and and instantly change an entire line where if you trade it and you go you get a player right now that could take that same spot in the lineup but already has four or five years of experience in the NHL which would be amazing right but then you’re locking somebody up you’re taking 5 to7 million out of your cap right now and you’re locking that 5 to seven to you know depending on who you get could even be 10 million right and you lock that up for five to eight years where you’re still in that fouryear the fourth or fifth year of your rebuild and you could really solidify your lineup with a new guy at a lot cheaper uh rate and then develop him as well and then and that puts you right at the same timeline and just brings in another key piece of your rebuild so trading a number four pick is too it’s just too tough to pass up you gota you got to take that guy there’s too much talent available there so it are you are you locked in on Martone or how how do you how do you see those top four guys i don’t know how much um work you’ve put in and watching those guys and and is it that Mark Tone just looks like he’s going to fall for or is that somebody you’ve identified out of these guys that are going to be in the top five that Utah should go with i he’s I’ve watched a lot of tape on a lot of the guys obviously I want Hagens uh I I know he’s fallen a little bit on some of the radar and I don’t think it’s as much that he’s fallen as some of these other players have really jumped up so to me Porter Porter Martell really fits that build but you know you can’t go wrong with the guys that are up there and if if one of those guys dropped like if if you get a a Misa you know if that guy drops a little bit and you can pick him up at four when everybody thought he’d go two cuz you’ve got kind of a a weird draft this year where people are like “Okay this guy is going first for sure but second third fourth there’s a lot of uh you know it just really depends on what you want.” And you know the Sharks really want Misa but if he’s there you take him hagens like it’s it’s going to be crazy to see but Utah is just in the driver’s seat and whether it’s Marone or Hagens or Misa they’re going to be golden and and we’re going to see the impact immediately the next time we have our uh show next Monday uh the Oilers and Panthers will already have game two in the books and then game three will be on Monday um that’s going to be a fun one it’s been awesome so far i hope that these uh these games still spell out really really close games for the rest of this final but we’ll see we’ll we’ll see how it goes he is Jay Stevens Utah Puck Report thanks for joining us Jay we’ll chat with you again man thanks guys there you go the finest mustache in the
Jay Stevens, Host of the Utah Puck Report, joins the program to break down and recap Game 1, Leon Draisaitl’s overtime winner for the Oilers, and what to look forward in Game 2.
