00:00As we bring on Dow Stars broadcaster, Emmy Award winner, and the man who better pick the stars to beat
00:05the Wild in the playoffs, it is Brian Ray. Good morning, sir.
00:11That's like a veiled threat right off the top, gentlemen. I thought it was pretty straightforward.
00:16He is my co-host.
00:17Yeah, right. It wasn't veiled. It was a Tommy Boy 2x4 to the face. Not so much here, but here.
00:23Exactly. So, I gotta ask this, and I know we're still waiting on information, but are you concerned that the
00:31Stars won the battle last night, but lost the war potentially with the Miro injury?
00:39Concerned, I think, is a fair word when you have players leave with injuries this time of year, and especially
00:45with the injuries Dallas already has piled up.
00:50However, they will skate around 12 noon today, and that will be our next opportunity to chat with Glenn Gullitson,
00:58and I agree with Gulley's demeanor last night where get them looked at, see what the information says, and then
01:07you go from there.
01:08So, concerned is a fair word. When your best player, arguably, or one of your two best players leaves the
01:14game and doesn't return, sure, you want to be concerned three games out from starting the playoffs, but let's let
01:21the information come in, and hopefully we have an update a little bit later today on the Miro situation.
01:27And I know we were all curious, with home ice essentially at stake, did this feel like every bit of
01:35a playoff game that we thought it would?
01:37Oh, totally. Yeah, whether you were at the game or watching the game, look, I was at home watching the
01:45game, and watching it, it was a very interesting game for me, not just because of the home ice thing,
01:51but Minnesota just gave you a clear glimpse as to how they are going to play your first round series.
02:01You know exactly what they are going to do. There are no state secrets. That is the M.O. and
02:08the game plan that is coming for you over the next six or seven games in the first round.
02:14It ain't going to be five, I'll tell you that, over the next six or seven games. That is what's
02:18coming on the other side of the ice. Now you know, and you make the adjustments to deal with it.
02:25And how blessed are we, then, as hockey fans, to be able to get that many games of that potential
02:32between those two?
02:34I'd prefer four.
02:36So would I. If you're going to get through them and you've got to deal with Colorado on the other
02:40side, I don't want to go through six or seven games of that. I'd rather go through four.
02:43But it's so much fun to watch.
02:47Yeah, Colorado's going to dust whoever they're taking on at Nashville in that first round or whatever.
02:52So we'll see what happens.
02:54But from a hockey fan perspective, it's going to be an awesome series.
02:57I think it is going to boil down as the best series of the first round when it's all said
03:03and done.
03:04I really do believe that.
03:05The physicality that I saw Miko play with late in that game, and I feel like he's done this a
03:11lot this season.
03:12And, Kevin, we brought up recently, it looks more like Robertson's kind of grown into this role.
03:18He's like, I'll stick my nose in there and get into some fights and all this.
03:22That started to turn up throughout this season.
03:25And you talked about this, you know, that one degree that Gullitson talks about a lot.
03:30They do look like they are starting to gear up for a physical playoff run.
03:35Yeah, and as you said, that is the attitude and the philosophy that Glenn Gullitson wanted to bring to this
03:42team.
03:43And over the last handful of games, you know, like they won the Calgary game, but they didn't look good
03:48for two periods.
03:49They've had games they've won, but it hasn't looked like the team they want to be entering the playoffs.
03:55You know, the message has been clear that they're focused on the details of themselves and putting themselves in the
04:01right place.
04:01They aren't focused necessarily on the opponent.
04:04But I look at a game like that last night, and I think it can accelerate putting your details in
04:10place,
04:11because you knew that opponent on the other side last night was coming for you with everything,
04:16because Minnesota has to not just tie Dallas, they have to be one point better than Dallas if they wanted
04:22home ice.
04:23So you knew they were coming.
04:25And when you get into a game like that, the adrenaline spikes a little quicker.
04:30The senses get a little more intense.
04:34You know, everything just sort of locks in a little bit quicker when you get into a game like that.
04:39So I do think playing that game against that team, the way that team played that game,
04:47you almost build up scar tissue at an accelerated rate of, okay, now we know what we're in for.
04:53Let's go.
04:54Okay, so that being said, you still have three to play.
04:57And you still need, like, the...
04:59A point.
05:00Yeah, you need something, because this thing is not complete yet.
05:03So how do you get yourself back up for, you know, these opponents, too?
05:07That is going to be a very difficult challenge.
05:11But the bottom line is, Dallas needs two points right now.
05:16They can get them.
05:16However they get them, they get them.
05:18But they do need two points right now.
05:20And Minnesota has a favorable schedule as well in their final three.
05:25I would hope the maturity and the presence of this team with what they've gone through
05:30understands these are three very winnable games.
05:34Well, Buffalo's going to be pretty tough.
05:35That's going to be a bonkers game at the end of the season.
05:38But the Rangers this weekend or in Toronto, both of those games are winnable.
05:43Well, don't dip your toe into the water.
05:46Go get it.
05:48And it's tough to get up for games against non-playoff teams that have nothing to play for.
05:54And the other thing, too, it's not just they have nothing to play for.
05:57They can play so loose.
06:00And they can just throw Hail Mary bombs down the field as many times as they want
06:05because they have nothing to lose.
06:08That can be a tough team to play against because you're so used to playing within a structured
06:13system against the other team on the other side.
06:16So it's similar to the Calgary game.
06:19You're going to have to find a way to activate yourself and say, we need to go get these two
06:24points as soon as we can.
06:26I'd rather not let it linger into a third period, come back in overtime like they did against
06:30Calgary.
06:31But you're going to have to find a way to get yourself to that place.
06:34And we know Dallas can get themselves to that place.
06:38You just would like to see them take care of it in the first period on Saturday against
06:42the Rangers.
06:44I loved the goal from Robertson last night.
06:46It was a Robertson-type goal.
06:48It was beautiful.
06:49But that pass from Essel and Dell was fantastic.
06:52Like his play last night, I thought was awesome.
06:56Yeah.
06:56I mean, you could argue he was the best player on the ice for the Stars with everything he
07:01did.
07:01The one caveat, and I'm going to use Essel and Dell doesn't punch Ryan Hartman in that
07:24scrum, one of those power plays and power play goals is coming off the board.
07:28And that's where Dallas, I think, is going to have to be very careful in this series.
07:34Minnesota is going to start something every single scrum.
07:38They want you to do that.
07:41Don't throw the punch.
07:43Give the face wash.
07:44Grab the collar.
07:45Keep it right at the line because they are trying to get you to throw that punch in those
07:52scrums.
07:52That's the one thing, and I'm using Essel and Dell as an example, but the entire Dallas
07:57Stars team.
07:58That's what you need to be careful of in this series because that's what Minnesota told you.
08:03They showed you everything they're going to do, and they were able to get three power
08:07play goals out of it.
08:08But once that game turned back to five on five and even strength, when Dallas got it
08:13to 3-2, if you watched that game last night, and I know I'm kind of shifting gears on where
08:17your question went on Essel and Dell, but when that game got to 3-2, now Minnesota had to
08:23worry about protecting a lead and not letting Dallas tie it.
08:26What's they're good at?
08:28They're pretty good at, typically.
08:30But it became a five-on-five game.
08:33It was no longer shenanigans after the whistle.
08:36It was no longer goading Dallas into penalties.
08:38Now it was five-on-five hockey.
08:40And Dallas was able to wear them down and get that to the finish line once that game
08:46shifted into five-on-five play.
08:49That's what I look at first in this series.
08:52If Dallas can keep it at five-on-five, it's going to, I think, really benefit them.
08:58And it's going to benefit somebody like Essel and Dell, who has to kill every freaking second
09:03of every freaking penalty the Dallas Stars take unless he's the one taking it.
09:07If you keep it at five-on-five, somebody like him also stays fresh.
09:12How long do you get the sense it usually takes to get a feel for an officiating crew in the
09:18series?
09:18I hear what you're saying, just don't engage in nonsense and hopefully you'll be fine.
09:23But how long do you, let's say they do fall into that trap, how long does it take to get
09:27a feel for, ooh, they're going to call this really tight or not?
09:30Yeah, well, they change the officiating crew every single game.
09:34So you have different referees and different ways the game's being called game-to-game in
09:39a series.
09:39I've always felt for players, like they're so good at this, they should know after playing
09:45the first period what direction the game is going.
09:48They really should.
09:50The tough thing is when you determine how the game is going in the first period and you
09:55adjust to that as a player, and then it changes on you for some reason, that's where things
10:01get frustrating, but players, they're so good at understanding how a game is going to be
10:07called and they can adjust to that.
10:09Usually in the first period, players should know how the game is going to occur.
10:15I am, based on what you've told me about what Minnesota's plan is, and I don't know
10:21if you've seen it, but I suggest everybody go out and watch the season finale of Shorzy
10:25and how the North American hockey team went after the European group.
10:30Set the tone.
10:31Yeah, wear them out for two periods and then try and get your goals in the third.
10:35I think Minnesota's going to be like, we're just going to wear you out, engage in all
10:38the shenanigans, we're going to get you when the referee's not looking kind of stuff.
10:42Should they also have potentially problematic thoughts about women's hockey?
10:48That's right, I'm aware of that part of the show.
10:50It's a very fun show.
10:53That's the one thing I keep seeing over and over is, as he's saying, don't engage in the
10:57shenanigans.
10:58Those are the things that they waste your energy, as well as put you in a place, in the box
11:03or in a place where you're in a little bit of extra trouble that you don't need to be
11:06in.
11:07But I think I can't wait for this series now at this point.
11:11No, it's going to be an excellent series.
11:12And by the way, every time somebody brings up Shorzy, I just have to all of a sudden go,
11:16for what?
11:17Yeah, because that might be my favorite line in the entire series.
11:21Yes.
11:25But it's not that you necessarily have to wait it out and get your goals in the third
11:30period.
11:31It's more, keep the game at five on five.
11:33If Dallas doesn't take those early penalties, you're not spotting Minnesota that early lead.
11:40And Dallas even got the first goal last time.
11:42They scored the first goal, and then you take the penalties, and Minnesota finds a way to
11:47get themselves on top and ultimately push it to 3-1.
11:50And it's really hard, because the Stars are not going to back down.
11:56They're not going to be pushed around.
11:58They've talked about that.
12:00And even Glenn Gullivan has talked about the hand-to-hand combat of a playoff series.
12:04And the Florida Panthers have been the example, because they've won the last two Stanley Cups.
12:08They might have been the best team in the NHL of knowing where the line is, taking you all
12:15the way to the line, and then letting you cross it, and they turn away.
12:20They have been the best at that in the playoffs the last two years.
12:24And I think that's a similar direction that Minnesota is going to try and play this game,
12:30because I do believe at 5-on-5, Dallas is still the deeper team and still a little bit ahead
12:38of them.
12:39And then when you look at advanced metrics and the numbers there, Dallas has better numbers
12:44at 5-on-5 than Minnesota does.
12:46But Minnesota's power play this year is just as lethal as the Stars has been, especially
12:52adding Quinn Hughes.
12:54The power play is now a true weapon for Minnesota, and you learned that the hard way last night.
13:00That is an area where I think they can even up the series with the Stars.
13:04But we have the best Hughes, Kevin.
13:06We have Cameron Hughes.
13:07Oh, goal scorer!
13:09Well done.
13:10I like that.
13:11By the way, I just got to say, how awesome are hockey smiles?
13:15Did you see any photos on social media after he scored that goal?
13:19Yeah.
13:21Like Jack Hughes, when he scored the gold medal, that was a great hockey smile.
13:25Cameron Hughes went, hold my beer.
13:26That is an awesome hockey smile.
13:29I love that.
13:30Now, I realize what the points and the numbers say.
13:34I want to put that to the side for just a second.
13:37Will the Dallas Stars have to beat the best two teams in the West just to make it to the
13:42Western Conference Finals?
13:45Yes, they will.
13:47I don't see any way how Nashville or whoever ends up in that wild card spot is going to beat
13:53Colorado.
13:54I really don't.
13:56So, yes, Dallas will have to go through Minnesota.
13:59They will have to go through Colorado if they're going to get back to the Western Conference Finals.
14:03And do you think Colorado is primed to fall because they fell into the trap of probably winning the Presidents?
14:10Yeah, well, they won it last night, so they have the kiss of death.
14:13They're done, suckers.
14:15Look, I also believe if there is one team in the West that can beat Colorado, it is Dallas.
14:27I don't know about Vegas or Edmonton because I think one of those two teams is ultimately going to get
14:34to the conference final on that side of the bracket.
14:36You know, if Colorado somehow gets to the conference final and they're that banged up, maybe that opens the door.
14:43But just right now, today, when you look at all the teams that are lined up, if you had to
14:49pick one that was best set to knock off Colorado, I do believe it's Dallas.
14:55Appreciate the time, as always, good sir.
14:57We'll probably catch up with you again next week before that series officially kicks off.
15:02It's going to be fun.
15:03I love it.
15:04It's going to be fun for a lot.
15:06Thank you very much, Brian Ray, right here on 105 Through the Fan.
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