00:00There is just a couple of days left in the NHL's regular season, but there's still a lot of drama
00:05to be had. Let's break down what we're still watching for in the final couple of days of this
00:10NHL season. So, the NHL's season wraps up later this week, and we still have a little bit to be
00:24decided. Now, recording this Monday before the games get going, so some of these things might
00:30get figured out by the end of today here. So, maybe not the most evergreen segment to do to kick
00:39off
00:39a thousandth episode, but I do think there are a couple of things worth watching here, and even
00:43some of these will be noteworthy here as the week goes on. But we're starting with the Atlantic
00:48division, and how does that top three stack up? The Buffalo Sabres are the chance to wrap up top spot
00:53in the division. Oh, Tal John is away in Adworld. Apologies. I probably should have timed that out
00:59a little bit better. But the Atlantic division, Buffalo has a chance to wrap it up tonight here
01:04on Monday. That home ice advantage in this division, I think, is going to be important. It doesn't get
01:08as much OMG as the Central does with Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota all at the top of it, but
01:15Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and Montreal is quite the gauntlet to have to go through to get out of the Atlantic
01:22when you look at what the other side is going to be doing over in the Metro, and getting that
01:28number
01:28one spot in the division, and getting that opportunity to play a wildcard team. And they're
01:34going to be difficult, right? Like, either Boston or Ottawa is going to be a bit of a difficult
01:38challenge, but I would say both of those teams would power right below where the top three are.
01:43Like, I think it is an appropriate top three in that division. And so, to not have to deal with
01:48Montreal, Tampa Bay, or Buffalo, I guess, if Montreal were able to get it in that first round
01:54matchup is very, very important. So, it's been an amazing story with the Buffalo Sabres all season
02:01long, and they have a chance to cap it all off with a division title. Up next is the last
02:07spot in the
02:07Metro, and a team that has kind of come out of nowhere the last little while to snag it is
02:11the
02:11Philadelphia Flyers. They are a win away from wrapping that spot up. But you look at the potential
02:17matchups, because the one who gets that last spot ends up getting the matchup with Sidney Crosby in
02:23the first round. It's either one more dance with the Philadelphia Flyers, which is a whole lot of
02:29fun, one more matchup with Ovechkin and the Capitals, or a game against an upstart, or a series
02:35story against an upstart Columbus Blue Jackets team. Either way, that shakes out is really, really
02:40interesting. Philadelphia, obviously, they have the edge, and again, by the time you're hearing this
02:46or watching this, they may have it wrapped up. But the hockey that they have been playing this season
02:52has been, or this back part here, has been really, really impressive. And just a team that's kind of
02:57come out of nowhere, and Dan Vladar being the one to backstop that team to a potential top three spot
03:03in the Metro, did not have that on the bingo card for this upcoming season. Another storyline to watch
03:09these last couple of days is the last dance of Alex Ovechkin. We don't know if he's going to retire
03:16at the end of the season. A lot of stuff is starting to feel pretty final about it, right? And
03:20he, for as
03:22flashy and as showy as he has been, he isn't necessarily one to do, like, the big year-long
03:27retirement tour. So it has always felt like this was going to be the last season, and I kind of
03:33wonder
03:33if they made a big deal about a thousand goals between regular season and playoffs, if they made
03:40that big of a deal out of it, because we don't think he's going to get to a thousand in
03:45the regular
03:45season. So let's just celebrate this milestone and do it that way. But an incredible career for Alex
03:51Ovechkin, but I do think we're seeing the last couple of games of it. And, like, we all love a
03:58good
03:58retirement tour, right? We're going to talk pro wrestling here in just a little bit. Pro wrestling
04:03loves a retirement tour these days. But I do think we already did that with him basically a couple of
04:08or last season when he was going for Wayne Gretzky's record. He has certainly, I think we have started to
04:14see that decline. And now he's declined to a 31 goal scorer. But you are starting to see that decline
04:20a little bit. I do think that he's probably, I do think that this is it for him. Tall John
04:26in the chat
04:27saying Alex the Great is, I think, is done. I would take the over on that bet. Yeah, I think
04:33he's done. I think this is it. Now, I think he's done NHL. Maybe he goes off into the KHL
04:38in Russia
04:38and can play there until he's 100. But I think for the NHL version of Alex Ovechkin, I think this
04:45is
04:46probably it. And yeah, toxic, like, only 30 goals. CJ was talking on his show that, like, if this was
04:52a
04:53guy 10 years younger and he's coming off of a 31 goal season, he's going into free agency, he'd be
04:57the hottest free agent in the world, right? But it's because of his age and what he has been before
05:02that you see, oh yeah, he's, oh, he's fallen off so much. But yeah, it's, it's kind of wild to
05:09feel
05:09like, like that this could be it, you know, because you always think you get that one last year. But
05:14I
05:14think this is probably that last year. And Washington, everything is pointing to them knowing,
05:19right? Like they've, they, they make the Carlson trade. They're going in a younger direction.
05:23They've made some great moves. Like, I don't think it's going to be a massive teardown or anything,
05:27but they're starting to look at the future. And I think that future does not include Alex Ovechkin.
05:34Yeah, Taljon saying the, the Yager move, a hundred percent. I think he does the, the Yager move where
05:39he just plays around in Europe until he's 55 years old. And we have to wait to induct him into
05:44the Hall
05:44of Fame for five years after his retirement or whatever it is. So it's, um, yeah, he, I think
05:50that's definitely the direction that he's going to go. And then the last thing I'm looking for
05:53is Pacific division movement in this last week. You could still see that like the Edmonton Oilers
06:00could be a wildcard team, which would set up like the best from a matchup standpoint. And obviously
06:07we're coming to you from Calgary. So there, there isn't a lot of sympathy held for the Oilers here.
06:11The, the best slate of matchups that you would get is if the Kings go on a heater,
06:15which they've been on already, and they play the Kraken, the Canucks and the Flames
06:19to close out the season. So they go on a run, they move up into a top three spot in
06:24the Pacific,
06:25the Oilers fall out. And then the first round would be Dallas against Minnesota, LA against Anaheim,
06:31Vegas, Utah, and Edmonton going up against the Colorado Avalanche, like just money every night.
06:37That would be absolutely incredible, um, to, to, to get that one locked in. So I think that would
06:43be, that would be golden if we could get that, but where are these teams going to finish? And
06:51like that last wildcard spot is not a pleasant one because you've got to take on Colorado in the
06:56first round. So trying to get out of that and into the Pacific side of the bracket is going to
06:59be very
07:00important for one of these teams. So, or for a couple of these teams, this is going to be really,
07:05really interesting, um, to, to see how it kind of all shakes out here in the last little bit.
07:10So those are the stories that I'm looking at here going into this last week, last few days
07:15of the NHL regular season. A couple more from the chat on, um, on Twitch. I almost gave out the
07:21960
07:21text line here, but, um, uh, Tall John, I think his ability to, to play, um, and give out before
07:27he
07:28gets to 1000 regular season goals. I agree. Like a thousand, that's two more seasons, right? Like that's,
07:33it's too much. It, I don't think he's going to be able to, to get to that one. So recognize
07:38that
07:38celebrate the playoff plus regular season one. He's the greatest goal scorer of all time. And we can
07:43just move on from that. And yes, toxic, the flames would be begging for a 30 goal scorer. Um, might
07:48get
07:48a couple twenties. That's, that's something right. Like Coleman's right there. Coronado's right there.
07:52Frost has already gotten it. So at least there's that, but yes, no, it's, it is funny that like,
07:57if you did the Yager thing with Ovechkin, he all of a sudden becomes the best goal scorer
08:01on the flames by a ton, even though he has fallen off again, quote unquote, um, Edmonton against San
08:07Jose, the best matchup for the Oilers anyway. Um, like that would be, that would be a blast to,
08:13to have that. If, if San Jose could get in, I feel like they're out of it now. Um, that,
08:19that would have been a lot of fun, but for Edmonton, yeah, that would have been an ideal.
08:23Although the way Anaheim's playing right now, like they were the team that I was afraid of for the,
08:27the other Pacific teams a couple of weeks ago, but they have just really dragged toward the
08:32playoffs here. And I don't know if they have enough veteran guys that you can just flip that
08:37switch going into the post season, but we'll see what happens with that. Um, a lot of intriguing
08:42matchups, uh, anyway, the, the way that this could all kind of play out here over the next little
08:46while, but, uh, yeah, keep the chats coming. Uh, we're going to move off the NHL, but if you want
08:50to keep talking hockey, uh, throw them in the chat and we can get back to it in just a
08:53little bit.
08:54And if you're watching this after the fact, um, let me know what you guys are watching for
08:57in the last few days of this NHL's regular season. Uh, if you are watching on YouTube would really
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09:12Like I said, what are you looking for from the NHL season the last little while? Uh, also those on
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