00:00Change the planes and get to Vegas and look forward to an unbelievable day tomorrow.
00:05We have the ultimate daily double, the Pucks and Ponies.
00:08We got they're running the Beaumont States at Saratoga at about 707 Eastern.
00:13And then an hour later, it'll be puck chop for a huge game three between the Golden Knights and Hurricanes.
00:19So it's my kind of weekend.
00:20And it's always great to catch up with you.
00:22And I hope you and your family are doing well.
00:24We're doing great, man.
00:26I always love hearing your voice.
00:28Well, you know what?
00:29I'm going to ask you about the Belmont real quick.
00:30Give me a quick take on the Belmont.
00:32Renegade's not having to work off the rail like he did at the Derby.
00:35Golden tempo back after taking the Preakness off.
00:38What do you think?
00:41Yeah, if Renegade did not draw the rail in a Derby, Chris, I would have taken Renegade.
00:47I just think he's the best equine athlete in the race.
00:51I think the race sets up for him.
00:53I think there's a little bit more pace in this race than maybe people are talking about
00:58or maybe appears on paper.
00:59So I think the quicker they go, the better it will be.
01:02I think he gets the jump on Golden tempo.
01:03He doesn't have to worry about the rail, as you mentioned.
01:06So I'm going to take a shot with No. 4 Renegade.
01:08And I'm also going to use a No. 3 Chief Wallaby underneath, who I think is going to set a
01:13really
01:13good trip as well.
01:14I think he'll be forward.
01:15He should be able to kick on.
01:17So I'm going to look for a little 4-3.
01:18And I'm also going to use the 8 Emerging Market.
01:21So 4-3-8 and running the Belmont Stakes tomorrow for yours truly.
01:25Love it.
01:26Eddie Olchek with us here.
01:27You know he loves horses.
01:28He loves hockey too.
01:30Man playing in the league for a decade and a half.
01:32He's a Stanley Cup champion with that Rangers team in 1994.
01:36On the call, the Stanley Cup Final on Sirius XM NHL Radio.
01:40Is this the best first two games of a Stanley Cup Final that you can remember, Eddie?
01:46Because both teams battling back from multi-goal deficits the way they have.
01:51I can't believe people thought this was going to be a boring series coming into it with these
01:55two 4-checks.
01:57Yeah.
01:58I mean, I had heard Carolina in 5, all those type of things.
02:02And look, their resume speaks for itself what they did in the playoffs.
02:05I mean, sweep, sweep, and then win in 5.
02:08Vegas is a very good team.
02:10They can defend.
02:11They're proven.
02:12They've won.
02:13So, to me, there is something for that.
02:15And I think for Carolina, this is, it's proven to be their greatest challenge in these playoffs
02:19so far.
02:20All due respect to, you know, to Ottawa and Philadelphia and Montreal.
02:25But, like, this is the ultimate test.
02:26And this is where you want in the Stanley Cup Final.
02:28So, I mean, it's been just flat out awesome the first couple of games.
02:32It looked like Vegas had them over a barrel last night.
02:3650 minutes of that game.
02:37The first 50 minutes of that game, Chris, Vegas played the absolute perfect hockey game
02:42against Carolina.
02:42They gave them nothing.
02:44It was clinical.
02:46I think it was surgical was one of the words I used last night on our broadcast.
02:50And all of a sudden, they win a faceoff.
02:54They got the puck behind their own net, that being the Vegas Golden Knights.
02:57And Rasmus Anderson, for some reason, instead of just advancing the puck on his forehand in
03:03behind Carter Hart's right shoulder, he decides he wants to stop and reverse the play right
03:07in the Logan Stankoven.
03:09And Stankoven picks his pocket, grabs the puck, throws it to the front of the net.
03:13It bounces in off of a Vegas defender.
03:16And all of a sudden, now the crowd's into it.
03:18They've got juice.
03:19And it's a 2-1 game.
03:20And Vegas wasn't able to recover.
03:24I know they scored late to tie it and get into overtime.
03:27But, Chris, when you play that well for that long and you don't give the other team anything,
03:32and then you give them a gift and they take advantage.
03:35Look, that's what Vegas did to Carolina in Game 1.
03:40You know, they pressed up on them.
03:42And Vegas gave them a couple of great opportunities.
03:45And Carolina cashed in.
03:46And then Vegas found their game and eventually, you know, found a way to win the game.
03:50So, this, I always felt that this thing, if it went anything less than 6, I would be shocked.
03:55And certainly it looks like now we're on a collision course to at least go 6 and maybe even 7.
04:00But a couple of huge games coming up in Vegas.
04:03One on Saturday.
04:04And then something to keep an eye on.
04:05They do have two days off in between games 3 and 4.
04:09So, if you're the coaches, tough travel day today.
04:12But play tomorrow.
04:13Tomorrow, you can empty the tank because you've got that extra day in between to, you know,
04:19rejuvenate and hydrate and do all those good things and get ready for a huge Game 4.
04:22But Game 3, most importantly.
04:24But this thing, it's been epic.
04:26It really has.
04:27And it's great for business.
04:28It's great for the greatest game in the world.
04:30And certainly great to be a part of it on the radio side in the final.
04:34Before I let you run, Eddie, because I know you've got to catch this flight.
04:36I've got to ask.
04:37Torch's challenge of the Barbashev goal, or the non-goal, would you have done that knowing
04:45that Carolina's power play has struggled so mightily and said, hey, I'll roll the dice
04:48here.
04:49If we get the goal on replay, great.
04:51We've got the lead with a couple minutes left.
04:53If not, we've been stopping their power play so far.
04:57Yeah, I'm going to answer it this way.
05:01I saw what Vegas saw.
05:03That's what I saw on the replays that I was watching and, again, doing the color on radio.
05:09I saw what they saw.
05:11But, and again, with a few commas, you have to understand the situation.
05:17You have to understand the score, the circumstances, most importantly.
05:21That's where you weigh, do you go ahead and try to challenge that?
05:26I didn't mind the challenge at all.
05:29I did not.
05:30But, you know, you have these situations where, okay, do we want to run?
05:36Are we 120% sure that this is going to be a goal?
05:41And I think that that's how you have to weigh it.
05:44And I give Torch's credit.
05:46He said, I would challenge this 10 out of 10 again.
05:49And it happened in round three in the Eastern Conference final at Montreal, the first goal
05:55of the game that Stankoven scored against Montreal to give him a 1-0 lead.
06:01I thought it was goaltender interference.
06:03He went in there.
06:04The goaltender was not able to play his position.
06:08I thought it was a good challenge for Montreal.
06:11And the goal ended up standing, and Montreal ended up being shorthanded.
06:15And Martin St. Louis, the head coach of the Canadiens, Chris, said the same thing.
06:18I thought that was 100% goaltender interference.
06:21So, in saying that, I think it's always easy after the fact.
06:27But I think the circumstance of that situation, of that challenge, that late in the game, in
06:31a 2-2 game like that, you know, I think there is some debate.
06:35But I saw what they saw.
06:37So, in the moment, for sure, I probably would have done the same thing that John Tortorella did.
06:42Edzo, really appreciate you taking the time in between flights to hop on for just a couple
06:46of minutes.
06:47Looking forward to the rest of the Stanley Cup Final.
06:49And, of course, the Belmont tomorrow, my friend.
06:51We'll catch up again soon.
06:52Be well.
06:54Appreciate it, Chris.
06:54You too, man.
06:56Yep.
06:56Eddie Olchek, NHL on TNT.
06:58And he's on the call of the Stanley Cup Final with his Seattle Kraken teammate, John Forslund,
07:03on Sirius XM NHL Radio.
07:05You know he loves the ponies, too.
07:07Belmont Stakes post-time, 7.04 p.m. Eastern tomorrow.
07:11You heard him mention Logan Stankoven there a couple of times.
07:14Stankoven has been huge.
07:16He's going to be a Conn Smythe nominee.
07:20He's going to be up there on the list, if not the guy to win it, if the Hurricanes win
07:24the Stanley Cup.
07:26He's been one of those depth pieces for Carolina that's been so important.
07:30Without the top line producing, Sebastian Ajo, Seth Jarvis, they've been struggling, Svechnikov.
07:38And they were finally able to get some production out of one of those guys on the top line last
07:43night.
07:43Moving Seth Jarvis down to play with Jordan Stahl just a little bit.
07:47And then he gets the game-winning goal in overtime.
07:50After Stahl draws a penalty on the power plate, Jarvis gets it.
07:56That could be, bang, the awakening that Seth Jarvis, maybe Sebastian Ajo, if you put Jarvis
08:03right back up there with him on the top line again to start game three tomorrow night, that
08:07that top line for Carolina needs.
08:09And if all of a sudden their top line starts producing offense as well, I think that overtime
08:14goal ends up being the pivot point in this series.
08:18I don't think it's a five-game series.
08:19It's still at least six, but it's a pivot point, definitely.
08:23Also interesting to see what kind of a loss Braden McNabb could be for Vegas on the blue
08:28line after getting hit in the face with a slap shot.
08:33But there's a lot going on in this series, and it's going to be a really, really good
08:38one for the remainder of it.
08:39It's been excellent through the first two games.
08:41We really appreciate Eddie Olchek taking time.
08:44Mark Stone, who had the game-tying goal that sent it to overtime for Vegas last night, was
08:49one of the names I was ready to bring up.
08:52Because last night, I'm sitting there thinking about what we're going to talk about this morning
08:55here on You Better You Bet.
08:56Chris Mack in for Nick Kostos today here on Westwood One Sports.
09:00And I was going to bring up the clutch gene in general across all sports, because Mark
09:05Stone, who's won a cup with Vegas, is a great example of a guy who is a clutch player.
Comments