Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Where are you today, That's a great question.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I am in ann Arbor, Michigan. Last time I checked
for the Big Ten Men's lacrosse tournament, I have. I
had the semifinals yesterday. I had the championship game Maryland
and Ohio State tomorrow night. So that's where you'll find me.
It's commencement weekend here. A lot of people are running
around in gowns.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Oh, very good. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Listen, I hate and I mean we knew that it
ends at the end of the first round. For any
like local coverage job, I should say local coverage broadcast
of the games. But I can't believe you finished doing
the Caps Hurricane season or series and.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Then boom, right on the road, we're back out doing lacrosse.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yes, sir, I originally had a six am flight yesterday.
It was funny. The original semi finals were five thirty
and seven thirty yesterday. They moved them up because there
was a possibility of lightning, so they moved the games
to noon. While we were doing Caps Canadians in Game five,
I get a text that says, oh, by the way,
(01:04):
the games have been moved up to noon. I tell
my my big ten network boss, It's okay. I've got
a six am flight. I'll be there at seven point thirty.
Not a problem. By the time I got home, Elliott,
the six am flight, I'm sorry, it's delayed to eight
forty five.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Now I'm doing Now, I'm doing the math. I'm going
Uh oh, I didn't long story condensed. This has never
happened in like thirty five plus years of professional sports casting.
I didn't get to the booth till eleven twenty one
before a noon face off. Oh that's really really cutting
it tight.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Hey on a normal well, that begs the question normal
caps night seven o'clock put drop, what time are you there?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
At four? Four? Here?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
What are you doing? Burning and cutting sticks and taping?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
No, there are a couple of there are a couple
of pre production meetings, and then work really starts on
a seven o'clock show. Work really starts with, for example,
tomorrow night at eight o'clock in ann Arbor, the face
off for Maryland and Ohio State. I'll be in the
I'll be in the booth by five thirty. It's just
that's just me. So two and a half hours is
usually what I like twenty one minute. That's a little
(02:16):
bit uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Hey, Joe B.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Just by comparison, So seven o'clock, put drop, you're at
Capitol one Arena four.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
What time does locker roll in?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
An hour later? He saw? Yeah, he like and Elliott Elliott,
if he could push it, he would do a half
hour before every face he could.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
He'd love that.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I told him. I told him this story last night.
He's like, perfect, I love it. That's what I wanted
to do all the time.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
All right, So before we get to round two between
the Capitals and the Hurricanes, let's look back a little bit.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Round one. We take care of the Montreal.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Canadians in five games, and Joe B, I'll tell you what.
It's usually a cliche line that gets thrown around where
you'll hear they'll go and normally it's about the momentum
of a game, but they'll go, Hey, all it takes
is one big hit and we could flip the momentum
and get going. How big was that hit by Tom
(03:14):
Wilson on Carrie?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
A intense, hugely intense and you use the word there, Elliott,
momentum that both Martin Saint Louis and Spencer Carberry were
throwing around a lot about its value, and you know
it during the regular season, but especially so games change,
Momentum changes, momentum swings, and both head coaches were concerned
(03:37):
with how often they could keep a good old moe
on their side. That hit was so extraordinary and then
within twelve to fifteen seconds later to Haymes turning the
light on. It was a radical shift, and twenty one
thousand people at Bell Center who were raving idiots screaming
(03:57):
their lungs out, shut up quickly, right, and you could
just feel everything turned. The Capitals were just that much
more taller in their skates, more powerful. Everything momentum woom
downhill and it becomes a four goal third period that
really I think signaled, Hey, Washington knows it's the number
(04:18):
one seed and they're gonna put Montreal in their place.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
But you know what, Joe, I will say this, and yes,
it's a one seed against the Nate seed, and Montreal
played very good hockey down the stretch to earn their
way in. However, I will say this, they have a
very good young core of players, from Kawfield to Nick
Suzuki to New Hook to Slapkowsky to Caden Goolie. I
(04:42):
feel like that that could be a team that we
see kicking around the Eastern Conference for a while.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, they're on the rise for sure. And yes they
were top heavy and they're scoring that first line of metrically. Analytically,
everybody will tell you that Slavkovski and Kawfield and so
Zuki in the last six weeks of the regular season
possibly the very best line in the entire league. That's
how well they were driving play. And Washington had them
(05:11):
at the top of their to do list as far
as coveragers were concerned, and they still generated more than
fifty percent of Montreal's total goals in the series. Yeah,
there's a bright future there. You could throw Samuel mountainbau
in there, although I thought we thought we saw a
really good performance from Dobsch subbing in. There are more
(05:31):
players coming through the pipeline there. Yes, the future is bright.
And I still every time I walk into a press
conference and see martinne san Luis at the podium, I'm like,
you're not a head coach, you're my favorite players of
all time? What are you doing up there? But he is,
He's a tremendous head coach and the players love to
play for him. So there's a good thing going. And
(05:52):
I've said this and people say this all the time.
There are some cities, and especially Montreal, when they're good,
the league's the better for it. So all power to
mindre all for improving as they go forward.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
And they have one defenseman that I want to highlight
for a second. The kid is unbelievable Lane Hudson and small,
undersized guy. But I mean, for he's a rookie, He's
gonna win the Calder for Rookie of the Year. He
should for a kid, he plays every situation. He plays
the power play, he plays penalty kill, he plays five
(06:22):
on five. He I mean, he is just a motor.
And his younger brother, Cole, is in the Capsle organization.
I believe Cole already announced he's going back to college
next year.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
But they talk about how similar those two are. Joe.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
If Cole is three fourths as good as Lane, oh,
I can't wait till he gets here.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, it's exciting, isn't it. Cole's playing in the World
Championships for Team USA, the Senior World Championship. So this
is with the big boys, and Lane had a phenomenal season.
I was looking. I didn't realize that he led their
team entirely and assists everybody. Thought when you look at Lane,
when you look at Cole, I think they're probably generously
(07:04):
listed at five nine, five ten, And I've already thought
you at in defense, on defense in the NHL, that's
going to be you know, you you line up, you
mark those guys, you make sure you punish them. We're
talking with the Caps locker and I Alan al coc
and everybody. We're talking with the Caps and they're like, wow,
we've hit him and he's and he's handled it really well.
(07:28):
He's and this is Lane we're speaking of. Sure, and
Cole has the same offensive type dimension. I've watched Cole
in development camps in the offseason since the Caps have
drafted him. They'll come in and bring the bring the
puppies in from time to time, work power, skating work, specialty,
work on you know, skills, clinics with them. Cole is
(07:51):
off the board when it comes to skating dexterity. He
is so much fun to watch. He is small like Lane,
but they get the job and you're exactly right as
as Cole chooses whenever the time is and it's probably
a kin to Ryan Leonard once once the college season
ends next year, I would imagine Cole would turn pro.
(08:12):
It's up to him, obviously, but with Lane setting a
path for his brother, can't wait till Cole gets to Washington.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
And listen, just sticking with the Canadian series and to start,
there were four players that really really stood out to me.
And I'm going to excuse Ovechkin did what I expected
Ovechkin to do.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Right, your best players have to be your best players.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Uh. Tom Wilson did what I expected him to do.
Pierre Luke de Bois, given the role that he was
charged with. You mentioned that top line, it was their
job to go out there and do it. He did
what he needed to do. The four players that stuck
out to me, Logan Thompson was unbelievable in the playoffs
and you need that goalie.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I thought he was unreal.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I thought Dylan Strom for his for what I expected,
I thought he far exceeded what my expectation was.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And then the other two.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Brendan Duhain had an unbelievable my opinion, Joe series against
the Canadians and then the last one. And he never
gets any hype. He doesn't get press. He's just a
quiet dude. I thought Matt Roy was phenomenal against the Canadians.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, bravo on you. Let's go in reverse order. So
Roy has that sneaky strength that imposes its will on
other players. He's always seemingly in the right spot. He's
had to elevate his penalty killing role and that was
a sore spot there for a little bit. In that series.
Montreal generated a lot of offense on the power play,
(09:45):
and I think that was to be expected without Ferivari
and without Produce. So you get Protis back late in
that series. He's one of your top PK guys. I
think Matt Roy is going to rise to that occasion
and get better and better in a PK role. It's
not like he doesn't have it before hand, but he
wasn't a primary penalty killer like Ferivori was during the
regular season. The Caps love matt and deservedly so. Dubois
(10:10):
from the beginning of the season has asked Spencer Carberry
to have the toughest defensive assignment every night. He's the
guy who when the Caps have last change and homice
advantage in this series with Carolina Dubois. The guy that's
gonna say give me Ahou Dubois, the guy that's gonna
say give me McDavid, give me Matthews, give me McKinnon,
(10:32):
on and on. He wants the number one center in
that defensive matchup, and he's flourished at it. And I hope,
I hope Selky Award voters best defensive forward in the
league are taking notice because it's not like Pierre du Boise,
a slov offensively. He's a very good offensive player who's
playing primarily against the other team's top threats. And then
(10:53):
that will continue. Logan Thompson when we go back to
January Elliott, Logan Thompson to me was the best goalie
in the league and the MVP for the Caps.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I'll give you the Caps.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
The Cats were rolling through the season and there was
no goalie better than Thompson. Now, injuries, other ailments, things
that happened down the stretch. Logan's play maybe in the
regular season you could say fell off, but you were
getting almost January LT in that first round, and when
you do that, you can beat anyone. That's how good
(11:27):
he can be. And you cross your fingers and hope
that he can do it for another six seven weeks.
But that was the kind of goaltending that bailed Washington
out in the Montreal series and is going to have
to be there against Carolina, I think, a team that's
far superior offensively to Montreal. So the tests and the
challenges for the Caps and for Thompson grow larger. Dylan
(11:47):
Strom fantastics so often underrated, a point per game guy
in the regular season and just plays and makes the
game at his pace. And usually that expression comes out
of my mouth when I'm talking about Nicholas Baxtrom Backstrom
free years made the game his tempo and excelled at it.
Strom not to the degree of Backstrom yet, but Strom
(12:10):
does a lot of those similar playmaking things.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
So let me ask you this, Joe Benanatti, So Caroline
is going to be a better team than than Montreal, absolutely,
what do you have to What did you see in
round one that maybe maybe fix is the wrong word.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
What needs to what needs to change a little bit?
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Scotty Allen's a really good assistant coach with regard to
to penalty killing. And that's staff. I mean, everybody gives
Spencer all the credit, and you know, I understand why,
and Spencer is likely to be the NHL Coach of
the Year and maybe in a runaway. That's Staff's That
staff's really good, all the way down, from top to bottom.
All the assistants, the skills coaches, the goalie coaches, the
(12:56):
strength and conditioning coaches, video, all that stuff. These guys
are and Emily Angelomatski, this group of coaches is phenomenal.
They'll get this team ready. Scotty Allen knows he's got
a really big challenge in hand. If the Caps take penalties,
and hopefully they don't, you know, that's up to the officiating.
But if there's an overwhelming amount of Carolina power plays,
(13:18):
that's where that PK unit has to be stout and
has to be better than they were against Montreal, because
Carolina's power play is going to be that much deeper
and that much more of a threat. It all starts
with Sebastianajo. I think he had three power play goals
in the first round, setch Nikoff rising into the power player.
They thought he would be. Jarvis so slick, so savvy.
(13:43):
I mean, they're all good at even strength, but their
talents really come to light if you give them five
on fours and four on three. So yes, I think
the PK needs to be buttoned up. I love Washington
five on five against anybody. I think the Caps five
on five can beat anyone when they get goaltending right
there from Thompson, Am I wrong.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
To say that one of the things that I need
to or I would like to see improven out of it?
And I mean this with no disrespect towards anybody that's
on there. I feel like we need to get a
little more push out of that third line, the Larzeller line,
just a touch more push out of them.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, and then you got a big goal for man Japani.
In the series, Lars has been snake bit Laars is
getting opportunities, it just won't go for him, and it
won't go and it hasn't gone for him in a
long long time. So you know, these are the stories
that are written. And you mentioned the guy and I
didn't address him, and I want to do it now
to Haym to me is the player in the Stanley
(14:40):
Cup playoffs. There's always one or two and they're usually
on the third or fourth line who become motivated, driven beasts,
and that's I think tow Haynes just is that from
the get go. He's that from the jump, and that
fourth line, which had mostly been to ham Dowt and
Radish until the return of Protust, you had to take
(15:02):
more than likely either Radish or Leonard out. Spencer Carbery
elected to take Radish out. Doham is such a dog
on a bone mentality, and that's exactly what you need
as things get you start to climb this mountain into
the second and third and hopefully fourth round. Those are
the guys you need every day, whether it be in
(15:23):
practice or in big games, to say, hey, follow me,
watch by example and do Haan will do anything for
this team to win, and if he can contribute offensively,
it's a bonus, like he did against Montreal. If it
has to be just blood and guts and for checking
and dropping the gloves if necessary, he'll do it. That
(15:44):
to me, from a different line than we were talking about,
is something that's so critically important. But yes, I know
where you're going on the MANJAPANI eller Leonard, and I
thought Leonard's best offensive, best game I thought I've seen
as a pro. And this is an extremely small sample.
Signed size was Game five. He had a number of
(16:06):
quality scoring chances. His shot release was quicker. Things happen
a whole bunch faster in the NHL than they do
sure at at Division one college level. This guy's what's
that expression, He's drinking out of a fire hose right now.
But he's doing it pretty well, and I would imagine
it's going to get a little bit more comfortable for
him as he gets adjusted more and more of the postseason.
(16:27):
For Ryan Leonard, hey, let.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Me ask you this, and not to get too deep
down into the into the weeds and all overly nerdy
and hockey, but if you look at Carolina, the two
things that I think.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
That we also have to focus on.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
They have an unbelievable four check we meaning getting out
of our defensive zone. They make that very very hard
on teams. They love to pressure the puck trying to
come out of the end. So I think Spencer, who again,
he'll figure it out, but working on a breakout to
get it out of our zone will be important. And
they love to shoot a thousand pucks out of goalie constantly.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
There is no bad shot for Carolina. Everything's about shot
volume to the net, and from a goaliees perspective, it's
gonna be rebound control. If they keep throwing pucks to
the net, they want Logan to keep spitting them out.
If Logan controls rebounds, well that helps and that curtails
some of Carolina's impact. But you use the words, you've
(17:25):
done your homework. Well, you've used the key word about
Carolina and what Caps fans can expect over the next
couple of weeks once the series gets started. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
Rod Brendamore believes in up tempo, in your face hockey.
It is relentless, it will not stop. And for the
(17:47):
Capitals defensively, the six defenders, specifically, every time that puck
is dumped in Washington, defenders know they've got to be
checking over their shoulders looking for outlet passes before they
even are arrived, because here comes Carolina's spot check. They
want you. They want to feed you to the boards,
feed you to the glass, force you to make a
(18:08):
bad pass. They're all about creating off of turnovers, and
they create those turnovers with intense pressure. So what's most
important on a dump in Caps have to get back
to the puck quickly there's no leisurely getting back. It's
sprinting back, getting control, eyes up, looking for outlets, looking
(18:31):
for ways to clear, because you're only gonna have split
seconds to do it. It's gonna be really intense. The
guys know it, they're used to it. Sure they've done
well with Carolina, but they know what to expect. And
Brendan Moore will not ease up on that. He will
turn these Tigers loose on the fore check. And and
it's a matter of how Washington deals with it.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
And so a couple of names you mentioned, Sebastian Ajo,
We're gonna hear his name, a Ton, Seth Jarvis, We're
gonna hear his name a ton. You mentioned svetch Nikauf,
who was missing all regular season, and then we got
to the postseason, and all of a sudden, it's like, Okay,
I guess what's time to go play? You know the
other kid on that team that that I feel like gives.
(19:12):
Maybe it's just us, but I feel like he's had
a good year. Jackson Blake is another name. I feel
like we're gonna hear a lot.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
So Blake's on the top line with Ajo and sveetchnikoff
right now and son of a former NHLer doesn't skate
as well as his dad, but boy, he's quick and
you can see the offensive instincts and he's always around
the right places in the on the ice. And you
know there is a little bit of that Danny Briere
(19:40):
Cole Clawfield in him that he knows where to hide.
Who was it? It was Matt Roy and Tremer Van Reeves, Like,
who told me about Clawfield? This guy knows how to
find the quiet ice right and you don't know where
where is he? Oh, he's over there, Okay, And then
you're gonna get a lot of that out of Blake,
And then you're gonna also talk about before this series
(20:00):
is over, Logan stan Covid and stan Covin is the
guy they got in from Dallas, the part of the
big deal. Yeah for Ranton, And so stan Covin In,
Hall and Cokademi are together now and Logan's another guy
with a really high upside who's starting to feel it
and if you give him chances, he will burn you.
(20:22):
There's a lot to like about Carolina. We haven't even
touched the defensive side and the goaltending, that's the question.
But they're really good, and I understand why people think
they're gonna give Washington a tough time, No doubt about it.
It's gonna be a great series. It's gonna be a
long series.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Is Jalen Chatfield? I mean, we had all the fun
with him at the end of the season. Do we
just go into round two with him as the bad guy?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
You can obviously for what went down first with Rick
Michael early in April. The Caps played the Canes twice
in April. It was the April two game where everybody
got tossed out in the last five and a half minutes.
Carolina won that one. Convince Thompson got hurt. Chatfield pulls
this UFC move on McDonnell, on McMichael, and then Chatfield
(21:09):
pays the price in the comeback game on April tenth,
and when Douhaim tuned him up pretty well. Yeah, he
is easy to dislike. Working in partnership with a former
Cap there in Dimitri Orlov. Their sound defensively, I think
they may have the best, if not one of the
best defensive defenders in Jacob Slave and Brent Burns. I
know is forty years old, but there's still always a
(21:32):
threat there. Gosti spar is wonderful on the power play
and he makes it hum Walker is a guy who
scored against the Caps. Lake. There's a lot to like
on this team. Yeah, Chackfield is one that will instantly
be disliked for what's gone down.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
But you know what bothers me, Joe, Yeah, Caroline is
a good team. It's fine.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
But why if you like, pull up any pull up
any betting app and Joe, I know you love your betting.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
I know you love your gambling. No, no, okaure.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Why you know what this reminds me of the beginning
of the year.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Nobody, nobody.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I didn't feel like the Caps were getting the respect
that they were do based on what they had done
during the off season. And if you pull up all
the betting apps right now, everybody's like, oh, this is
Carolina series.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I don't understand it to save my life.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
True, true, I mean, and it's not like Washington was
beating Patsy's on the way to a Metro Division title,
on the way to an Eastern Conference title. For a
long while there. They were leading the President's Trophy race
and they were still six seven to eight in the
betting public eyes, I can see there's no heavy favorite
(22:43):
for Washington against Carolina. I believe they should be favored
against Carolina. But I can understand why people think this
is six seven in terms of games. Without a doubt,
they're two extremely good hockey teams. And when Spencer, you're
down to the.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Last league, you're down to the last four in the league,
it should be close.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
You should look at all these ago. This is a
six or seven games.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
You're not at You're not at four yet. You're not
at four yet. All right, you're in the second round.
You're not You're not down to the championship.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
No, No, I meant just in the Eastern Conference. Sure, yeah, yeah.
They don't get my face. Don't get my face.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
No, I'm not trying to do that. Spencer will tell
you though, it's just it's hard to win one game
in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And I don't think he's
he's being dismissive about that. It's it's it's true. These
games are all rock fights, right, and this series will
be a rock fight. This is not an easy pushover.
I like Washington in this series, and I like them
because of Logan Thompson. But I know Carolina and Washington
(23:45):
will be a very difficult, tough series with a lot
of push and pull both ways.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Who do you like between between Tampa or Tampa?
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Excuse me, who do you like between Florida and Toronto.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I thought Tampa was gonna take of Florida. Sola obviously
had other Florida obviously had other ideas. I thought Vasilevski
had been playing so well, and you still have three
or four of the top players in all the world
on that on that Tampa team, so more credit is
due to a Florida team that's played so much hockey
in the last few years. I thought they'd be tired,
(24:20):
pooped and bow out. Uh huh, and Florida's gonna be there.
I just Florida to me, if they didn't get beat
by Tampa, I think they can take Toronto. And I
think we're hopefully going to see Florida and Washington in
the conference final. I genuinely think that's what's gonna happen.
That if I were betting, that's the way I would
(24:41):
bet it. I liked Florida against Toronto. No, no, not
to despite or or put down the Leafs. The Leafs
had a little shaky moment there against Ottawa, and I
love Ottawa. There's so many good teams to like. But
Toronto this season against Florida, just think Florida's wherewithal and
(25:02):
know how and knowledge, they'll get it done.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
And you just want that series to go seven games
and you want them slamming bodies like crazy, just wearing
them out for the next round.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Yeah, but that's what it is. That's why this is
the hardest tournament to win in sports. Hey, if Washington
beats Carolina, Hey if Florida beach, you're halfway home. You're
only halfway there.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
All right, dude, Well listen, enjoying an arbor, enjoy lacrosse.
It sucks that we that we lose you guys in
the starting in the second round. But Joe B, it's
awesome tonight late, like we were talking, you guys will
be doing a ton of coverage, a lot of pregame,
post game, all kinds of content for the for the
Capitals on the network.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Joe B.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
I appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Thank you, buddy, Elliot. My pleasure count on me.
Where are you today, That's a great question.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I am in ann Arbor, Michigan. Last time I checked
for the Big Ten Men's lacrosse tournament, I have. I
had the semifinals yesterday. I had the championship game Maryland
and Ohio State tomorrow night. So that's where you'll find me.
It's commencement weekend here. A lot of people are running
around in gowns.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Oh, very good. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Listen, I hate and I mean we knew that it
ends at the end of the first round. For any
like local coverage job, I should say local coverage broadcast
of the games. But I can't believe you finished doing
the Caps Hurricane season or series and.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Then boom, right on the road, we're back out doing lacrosse.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yes, sir, I originally had a six am flight yesterday.
It was funny. The original semi finals were five thirty
and seven thirty yesterday. They moved them up because there
was a possibility of lightning, so they moved the games
to noon. While we were doing Caps Canadians in Game five,
I get a text that says, oh, by the way,
(01:04):
the games have been moved up to noon. I tell
my my big ten network boss, It's okay. I've got
a six am flight. I'll be there at seven point thirty.
Not a problem. By the time I got home, Elliott,
the six am flight, I'm sorry, it's delayed to eight
forty five.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Now I'm doing Now, I'm doing the math. I'm going
Uh oh, I didn't long story condensed. This has never
happened in like thirty five plus years of professional sports casting.
I didn't get to the booth till eleven twenty one
before a noon face off. Oh that's really really cutting
it tight.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Hey on a normal well, that begs the question normal
caps night seven o'clock put drop, what time are you there?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
At four? Four? Here?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
What are you doing? Burning and cutting sticks and taping?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
No, there are a couple of there are a couple
of pre production meetings, and then work really starts on
a seven o'clock show. Work really starts with, for example,
tomorrow night at eight o'clock in ann Arbor, the face
off for Maryland and Ohio State. I'll be in the
I'll be in the booth by five thirty. It's just
that's just me. So two and a half hours is
usually what I like twenty one minute. That's a little
(02:16):
bit uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Hey, Joe B.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Just by comparison, So seven o'clock, put drop, you're at
Capitol one Arena four.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
What time does locker roll in?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
An hour later? He saw? Yeah, he like and Elliott Elliott,
if he could push it, he would do a half
hour before every face he could.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
He'd love that.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I told him. I told him this story last night.
He's like, perfect, I love it. That's what I wanted
to do all the time.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
All right, So before we get to round two between
the Capitals and the Hurricanes, let's look back a little bit.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Round one. We take care of the Montreal.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Canadians in five games, and Joe B, I'll tell you what.
It's usually a cliche line that gets thrown around where
you'll hear they'll go and normally it's about the momentum
of a game, but they'll go, Hey, all it takes
is one big hit and we could flip the momentum
and get going. How big was that hit by Tom
(03:14):
Wilson on Carrie?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
A intense, hugely intense and you use the word there, Elliott,
momentum that both Martin Saint Louis and Spencer Carberry were
throwing around a lot about its value, and you know
it during the regular season, but especially so games change,
Momentum changes, momentum swings, and both head coaches were concerned
(03:37):
with how often they could keep a good old moe
on their side. That hit was so extraordinary and then
within twelve to fifteen seconds later to Haymes turning the
light on. It was a radical shift, and twenty one
thousand people at Bell Center who were raving idiots screaming
(03:57):
their lungs out, shut up quickly, right, and you could
just feel everything turned. The Capitals were just that much
more taller in their skates, more powerful. Everything momentum woom
downhill and it becomes a four goal third period that
really I think signaled, Hey, Washington knows it's the number
(04:18):
one seed and they're gonna put Montreal in their place.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
But you know what, Joe, I will say this, and yes,
it's a one seed against the Nate seed, and Montreal
played very good hockey down the stretch to earn their
way in. However, I will say this, they have a
very good young core of players, from Kawfield to Nick
Suzuki to New Hook to Slapkowsky to Caden Goolie. I
(04:42):
feel like that that could be a team that we
see kicking around the Eastern Conference for a while.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, they're on the rise for sure. And yes they
were top heavy and they're scoring that first line of metrically. Analytically,
everybody will tell you that Slavkovski and Kawfield and so
Zuki in the last six weeks of the regular season
possibly the very best line in the entire league. That's
how well they were driving play. And Washington had them
(05:11):
at the top of their to do list as far
as coveragers were concerned, and they still generated more than
fifty percent of Montreal's total goals in the series. Yeah,
there's a bright future there. You could throw Samuel mountainbau
in there, although I thought we thought we saw a
really good performance from Dobsch subbing in. There are more
(05:31):
players coming through the pipeline there. Yes, the future is bright.
And I still every time I walk into a press
conference and see martinne san Luis at the podium, I'm like,
you're not a head coach, you're my favorite players of
all time? What are you doing up there? But he is,
He's a tremendous head coach and the players love to
play for him. So there's a good thing going. And
(05:52):
I've said this and people say this all the time.
There are some cities, and especially Montreal, when they're good,
the league's the better for it. So all power to
mindre all for improving as they go forward.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
And they have one defenseman that I want to highlight
for a second. The kid is unbelievable Lane Hudson and small,
undersized guy. But I mean, for he's a rookie, He's
gonna win the Calder for Rookie of the Year. He
should for a kid, he plays every situation. He plays
the power play, he plays penalty kill, he plays five
(06:22):
on five. He I mean, he is just a motor.
And his younger brother, Cole, is in the Capsle organization.
I believe Cole already announced he's going back to college
next year.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
But they talk about how similar those two are. Joe.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
If Cole is three fourths as good as Lane, oh,
I can't wait till he gets here.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, it's exciting, isn't it. Cole's playing in the World
Championships for Team USA, the Senior World Championship. So this
is with the big boys, and Lane had a phenomenal season.
I was looking. I didn't realize that he led their
team entirely and assists everybody. Thought when you look at Lane,
when you look at Cole, I think they're probably generously
(07:04):
listed at five nine, five ten, And I've already thought
you at in defense, on defense in the NHL, that's
going to be you know, you you line up, you
mark those guys, you make sure you punish them. We're
talking with the Caps locker and I Alan al coc
and everybody. We're talking with the Caps and they're like, wow,
we've hit him and he's and he's handled it really well.
(07:28):
He's and this is Lane we're speaking of. Sure, and
Cole has the same offensive type dimension. I've watched Cole
in development camps in the offseason since the Caps have
drafted him. They'll come in and bring the bring the
puppies in from time to time, work power, skating work, specialty,
work on you know, skills, clinics with them. Cole is
(07:51):
off the board when it comes to skating dexterity. He
is so much fun to watch. He is small like Lane,
but they get the job and you're exactly right as
as Cole chooses whenever the time is and it's probably
a kin to Ryan Leonard once once the college season
ends next year, I would imagine Cole would turn pro.
(08:12):
It's up to him, obviously, but with Lane setting a
path for his brother, can't wait till Cole gets to Washington.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
And listen, just sticking with the Canadian series and to start,
there were four players that really really stood out to me.
And I'm going to excuse Ovechkin did what I expected
Ovechkin to do.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Right, your best players have to be your best players.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Uh. Tom Wilson did what I expected him to do.
Pierre Luke de Bois, given the role that he was
charged with. You mentioned that top line, it was their
job to go out there and do it. He did
what he needed to do. The four players that stuck
out to me, Logan Thompson was unbelievable in the playoffs
and you need that goalie.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I thought he was unreal.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I thought Dylan Strom for his for what I expected,
I thought he far exceeded what my expectation was.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And then the other two.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Brendan Duhain had an unbelievable my opinion, Joe series against
the Canadians and then the last one. And he never
gets any hype. He doesn't get press. He's just a
quiet dude. I thought Matt Roy was phenomenal against the Canadians.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, bravo on you. Let's go in reverse order. So
Roy has that sneaky strength that imposes its will on
other players. He's always seemingly in the right spot. He's
had to elevate his penalty killing role and that was
a sore spot there for a little bit. In that series.
Montreal generated a lot of offense on the power play,
(09:45):
and I think that was to be expected without Ferivari
and without Produce. So you get Protis back late in
that series. He's one of your top PK guys. I
think Matt Roy is going to rise to that occasion
and get better and better in a PK role. It's
not like he doesn't have it before hand, but he
wasn't a primary penalty killer like Ferivori was during the
regular season. The Caps love matt and deservedly so. Dubois
(10:10):
from the beginning of the season has asked Spencer Carberry
to have the toughest defensive assignment every night. He's the
guy who when the Caps have last change and homice
advantage in this series with Carolina Dubois. The guy that's
gonna say give me Ahou Dubois, the guy that's gonna
say give me McDavid, give me Matthews, give me McKinnon,
(10:32):
on and on. He wants the number one center in
that defensive matchup, and he's flourished at it. And I hope,
I hope Selky Award voters best defensive forward in the
league are taking notice because it's not like Pierre du Boise,
a slov offensively. He's a very good offensive player who's
playing primarily against the other team's top threats. And then
(10:53):
that will continue. Logan Thompson when we go back to
January Elliott, Logan Thompson to me was the best goalie
in the league and the MVP for the Caps.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I'll give you the Caps.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
The Cats were rolling through the season and there was
no goalie better than Thompson. Now, injuries, other ailments, things
that happened down the stretch. Logan's play maybe in the
regular season you could say fell off, but you were
getting almost January LT in that first round, and when
you do that, you can beat anyone. That's how good
(11:27):
he can be. And you cross your fingers and hope
that he can do it for another six seven weeks.
But that was the kind of goaltending that bailed Washington
out in the Montreal series and is going to have
to be there against Carolina, I think, a team that's
far superior offensively to Montreal. So the tests and the
challenges for the Caps and for Thompson grow larger. Dylan
(11:47):
Strom fantastics so often underrated, a point per game guy
in the regular season and just plays and makes the
game at his pace. And usually that expression comes out
of my mouth when I'm talking about Nicholas Baxtrom Backstrom
free years made the game his tempo and excelled at it.
Strom not to the degree of Backstrom yet, but Strom
(12:10):
does a lot of those similar playmaking things.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
So let me ask you this, Joe Benanatti, So Caroline
is going to be a better team than than Montreal, absolutely,
what do you have to What did you see in
round one that maybe maybe fix is the wrong word.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
What needs to what needs to change a little bit?
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Scotty Allen's a really good assistant coach with regard to
to penalty killing. And that's staff. I mean, everybody gives
Spencer all the credit, and you know, I understand why,
and Spencer is likely to be the NHL Coach of
the Year and maybe in a runaway. That's Staff's That
staff's really good, all the way down, from top to bottom.
All the assistants, the skills coaches, the goalie coaches, the
(12:56):
strength and conditioning coaches, video, all that stuff. These guys
are and Emily Angelomatski, this group of coaches is phenomenal.
They'll get this team ready. Scotty Allen knows he's got
a really big challenge in hand. If the Caps take penalties,
and hopefully they don't, you know, that's up to the officiating.
But if there's an overwhelming amount of Carolina power plays,
(13:18):
that's where that PK unit has to be stout and
has to be better than they were against Montreal, because
Carolina's power play is going to be that much deeper
and that much more of a threat. It all starts
with Sebastianajo. I think he had three power play goals
in the first round, setch Nikoff rising into the power player.
They thought he would be. Jarvis so slick, so savvy.
(13:43):
I mean, they're all good at even strength, but their
talents really come to light if you give them five
on fours and four on three. So yes, I think
the PK needs to be buttoned up. I love Washington
five on five against anybody. I think the Caps five
on five can beat anyone when they get goaltending right
there from Thompson, Am I wrong.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
To say that one of the things that I need
to or I would like to see improven out of it?
And I mean this with no disrespect towards anybody that's
on there. I feel like we need to get a
little more push out of that third line, the Larzeller line,
just a touch more push out of them.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, and then you got a big goal for man Japani.
In the series, Lars has been snake bit Laars is
getting opportunities, it just won't go for him, and it
won't go and it hasn't gone for him in a
long long time. So you know, these are the stories
that are written. And you mentioned the guy and I
didn't address him, and I want to do it now
to Haym to me is the player in the Stanley
(14:40):
Cup playoffs. There's always one or two and they're usually
on the third or fourth line who become motivated, driven beasts,
and that's I think tow Haynes just is that from
the get go. He's that from the jump, and that
fourth line, which had mostly been to ham Dowt and
Radish until the return of Protust, you had to take
(15:02):
more than likely either Radish or Leonard out. Spencer Carbery
elected to take Radish out. Doham is such a dog
on a bone mentality, and that's exactly what you need
as things get you start to climb this mountain into
the second and third and hopefully fourth round. Those are
the guys you need every day, whether it be in
(15:23):
practice or in big games, to say, hey, follow me,
watch by example and do Haan will do anything for
this team to win, and if he can contribute offensively,
it's a bonus, like he did against Montreal. If it
has to be just blood and guts and for checking
and dropping the gloves if necessary, he'll do it. That
(15:44):
to me, from a different line than we were talking about,
is something that's so critically important. But yes, I know
where you're going on the MANJAPANI eller Leonard, and I
thought Leonard's best offensive, best game I thought I've seen
as a pro. And this is an extremely small sample.
Signed size was Game five. He had a number of
(16:06):
quality scoring chances. His shot release was quicker. Things happen
a whole bunch faster in the NHL than they do
sure at at Division one college level. This guy's what's
that expression, He's drinking out of a fire hose right now.
But he's doing it pretty well, and I would imagine
it's going to get a little bit more comfortable for
him as he gets adjusted more and more of the postseason.
(16:27):
For Ryan Leonard, hey, let.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Me ask you this, and not to get too deep
down into the into the weeds and all overly nerdy
and hockey, but if you look at Carolina, the two
things that I think.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
That we also have to focus on.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
They have an unbelievable four check we meaning getting out
of our defensive zone. They make that very very hard
on teams. They love to pressure the puck trying to
come out of the end. So I think Spencer, who again,
he'll figure it out, but working on a breakout to
get it out of our zone will be important. And
they love to shoot a thousand pucks out of goalie constantly.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
There is no bad shot for Carolina. Everything's about shot
volume to the net, and from a goaliees perspective, it's
gonna be rebound control. If they keep throwing pucks to
the net, they want Logan to keep spitting them out.
If Logan controls rebounds, well that helps and that curtails
some of Carolina's impact. But you use the words, you've
(17:25):
done your homework. Well, you've used the key word about
Carolina and what Caps fans can expect over the next
couple of weeks once the series gets started. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
Rod Brendamore believes in up tempo, in your face hockey.
It is relentless, it will not stop. And for the
(17:47):
Capitals defensively, the six defenders, specifically, every time that puck
is dumped in Washington, defenders know they've got to be
checking over their shoulders looking for outlet passes before they
even are arrived, because here comes Carolina's spot check. They
want you. They want to feed you to the boards,
feed you to the glass, force you to make a
(18:08):
bad pass. They're all about creating off of turnovers, and
they create those turnovers with intense pressure. So what's most
important on a dump in Caps have to get back
to the puck quickly there's no leisurely getting back. It's
sprinting back, getting control, eyes up, looking for outlets, looking
(18:31):
for ways to clear, because you're only gonna have split
seconds to do it. It's gonna be really intense. The
guys know it, they're used to it. Sure they've done
well with Carolina, but they know what to expect. And
Brendan Moore will not ease up on that. He will
turn these Tigers loose on the fore check. And and
it's a matter of how Washington deals with it.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
And so a couple of names you mentioned, Sebastian Ajo,
We're gonna hear his name, a Ton, Seth Jarvis, We're
gonna hear his name a ton. You mentioned svetch Nikauf,
who was missing all regular season, and then we got
to the postseason, and all of a sudden, it's like, Okay,
I guess what's time to go play? You know the
other kid on that team that that I feel like gives.
(19:12):
Maybe it's just us, but I feel like he's had
a good year. Jackson Blake is another name. I feel
like we're gonna hear a lot.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
So Blake's on the top line with Ajo and sveetchnikoff
right now and son of a former NHLer doesn't skate
as well as his dad, but boy, he's quick and
you can see the offensive instincts and he's always around
the right places in the on the ice. And you
know there is a little bit of that Danny Briere
(19:40):
Cole Clawfield in him that he knows where to hide.
Who was it? It was Matt Roy and Tremer Van Reeves, Like,
who told me about Clawfield? This guy knows how to
find the quiet ice right and you don't know where
where is he? Oh, he's over there, Okay, And then
you're gonna get a lot of that out of Blake,
And then you're gonna also talk about before this series
(20:00):
is over, Logan stan Covid and stan Covin is the
guy they got in from Dallas, the part of the
big deal. Yeah for Ranton, And so stan Covin In,
Hall and Cokademi are together now and Logan's another guy
with a really high upside who's starting to feel it
and if you give him chances, he will burn you.
(20:22):
There's a lot to like about Carolina. We haven't even
touched the defensive side and the goaltending, that's the question.
But they're really good, and I understand why people think
they're gonna give Washington a tough time, No doubt about it.
It's gonna be a great series. It's gonna be a
long series.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Is Jalen Chatfield? I mean, we had all the fun
with him at the end of the season. Do we
just go into round two with him as the bad guy?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
You can obviously for what went down first with Rick
Michael early in April. The Caps played the Canes twice
in April. It was the April two game where everybody
got tossed out in the last five and a half minutes.
Carolina won that one. Convince Thompson got hurt. Chatfield pulls
this UFC move on McDonnell, on McMichael, and then Chatfield
(21:09):
pays the price in the comeback game on April tenth,
and when Douhaim tuned him up pretty well. Yeah, he
is easy to dislike. Working in partnership with a former
Cap there in Dimitri Orlov. Their sound defensively, I think
they may have the best, if not one of the
best defensive defenders in Jacob Slave and Brent Burns. I
know is forty years old, but there's still always a
(21:32):
threat there. Gosti spar is wonderful on the power play
and he makes it hum Walker is a guy who
scored against the Caps. Lake. There's a lot to like
on this team. Yeah, Chackfield is one that will instantly
be disliked for what's gone down.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
But you know what bothers me, Joe, Yeah, Caroline is
a good team. It's fine.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
But why if you like, pull up any pull up
any betting app and Joe, I know you love your betting.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
I know you love your gambling. No, no, okaure.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Why you know what this reminds me of the beginning
of the year.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Nobody, nobody.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I didn't feel like the Caps were getting the respect
that they were do based on what they had done
during the off season. And if you pull up all
the betting apps right now, everybody's like, oh, this is
Carolina series.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I don't understand it to save my life.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
True, true, I mean, and it's not like Washington was
beating Patsy's on the way to a Metro Division title,
on the way to an Eastern Conference title. For a
long while there. They were leading the President's Trophy race
and they were still six seven to eight in the
betting public eyes, I can see there's no heavy favorite
(22:43):
for Washington against Carolina. I believe they should be favored
against Carolina. But I can understand why people think this
is six seven in terms of games. Without a doubt,
they're two extremely good hockey teams. And when Spencer, you're
down to the.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Last league, you're down to the last four in the league,
it should be close.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
You should look at all these ago. This is a
six or seven games.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
You're not at You're not at four yet. You're not
at four yet. All right, you're in the second round.
You're not You're not down to the championship.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
No, No, I meant just in the Eastern Conference. Sure, yeah, yeah.
They don't get my face. Don't get my face.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
No, I'm not trying to do that. Spencer will tell
you though, it's just it's hard to win one game
in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And I don't think he's
he's being dismissive about that. It's it's it's true. These
games are all rock fights, right, and this series will
be a rock fight. This is not an easy pushover.
I like Washington in this series, and I like them
because of Logan Thompson. But I know Carolina and Washington
(23:45):
will be a very difficult, tough series with a lot
of push and pull both ways.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Who do you like between between Tampa or Tampa?
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Excuse me, who do you like between Florida and Toronto.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I thought Tampa was gonna take of Florida. Sola obviously
had other Florida obviously had other ideas. I thought Vasilevski
had been playing so well, and you still have three
or four of the top players in all the world
on that on that Tampa team, so more credit is
due to a Florida team that's played so much hockey
in the last few years. I thought they'd be tired,
(24:20):
pooped and bow out. Uh huh, and Florida's gonna be there.
I just Florida to me, if they didn't get beat
by Tampa, I think they can take Toronto. And I
think we're hopefully going to see Florida and Washington in
the conference final. I genuinely think that's what's gonna happen.
That if I were betting, that's the way I would
(24:41):
bet it. I liked Florida against Toronto. No, no, not
to despite or or put down the Leafs. The Leafs
had a little shaky moment there against Ottawa, and I
love Ottawa. There's so many good teams to like. But
Toronto this season against Florida, just think Florida's wherewithal and
(25:02):
know how and knowledge, they'll get it done.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
And you just want that series to go seven games
and you want them slamming bodies like crazy, just wearing
them out for the next round.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Yeah, but that's what it is. That's why this is
the hardest tournament to win in sports. Hey, if Washington
beats Carolina, Hey if Florida beach, you're halfway home. You're
only halfway there.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
All right, dude, Well listen, enjoying an arbor, enjoy lacrosse.
It sucks that we that we lose you guys in
the starting in the second round. But Joe B, it's
awesome tonight late, like we were talking, you guys will
be doing a ton of coverage, a lot of pregame,
post game, all kinds of content for the for the
Capitals on the network.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Joe B.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
I appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Thank you, buddy, Elliot. My pleasure count on me.
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