January 21, 2026 • 9 mins
Seattle Kraken Head Coach Lane Lambert joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the difficult last week for the team, trying to avoid any losing streak, giving shorthanded goals to teams, fatigue, and advice for Mike Macdonald of the Seahawks.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Crekin Game Day, brought to you by Blood
Works Northwest, who are sending you on a dream cruise
to Alaska. Donate blood in January during National Blood Donor Month.
There's an emergency need for donors right now. One hour
of your time can save a life and when you
win Alaska cruise of a lifetime. More info at blood
Works NW dot org slash win blood Works Northwest Giving
(00:24):
Life Together. Now it's craking game Day with Sufti and
Dick Gay.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Right to the point. Lock Ord settles with an air.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Side LA tone and a bomb restars LA tone.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
It with some authority on the bower. Play that cracket,
fall back to it at what it's four three. I
don't forget.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
The African Council on Problem Gambling wants to remind you
at the end of tonight's game, you should still be
having fun.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Know the real score about gambling.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Visit Keeping funwad dot org Keeping Fun sports fans if
you bet bet responsibly. I really hope that the d
of tonight's game that our next guest is having fun.
The head coach of the Krack and Lane Lambert with
us right now on the radio show before tonight's game
with the New York Islanders at Climate Pledge Arena.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Coach, how are you, I'm all right, I'm all right.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Fun is not my middle name at the moment, that's
for sure.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I get it. I get it. And let's talk about
why it's not fun.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Let's talk about maybe why your middle name could be like,
I don't know, frustrated, maybe one four and two in
the last seven games. Overall, what's going on the last
maybe week and a half, couple weeks, coach?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Too many goals against and we you know, last time
we talked, I think it was before the New Jersey game.
You know, we lost it overtime in that game, and
then we we've given up three games here since since then,
and too many goals against. We've gone up three shorthanded
goals which have really hurt us, you know, three empty netters.
(01:57):
But overall, just five on five, we we haven't been
as solid as we need to be. And you know
there's reasons for it. We have to fix it. And
that's just the bottom line.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
What about the streaky nature of the team, because I
think in the first three four weeks, you guys are
pretty much win to lose to win to lose to
your pre balance. But ever since then it's been long
winning streaks and then long losing streaks. Is there anything
in the nature of your team that might point to why,
you know what it's.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I think, honestly, guys, if you look at the league,
it's a it's a bit of a streaky league. Teams
go into these little lulls, Teams get out of the walls.
You look at Anaheim just losing like seven games in
a row, and you know, you have situations where you know, Utah,
the team we just played, you know, was winless in
about six games. It's it's a difficult league, and there
(02:55):
is a very very fine line between winning and losing,
and and there's some nights when you get on the
wrong side of that line and it just kind of
snowballs a little bit. Scheduling things like that have, you know,
have things to do with it. We like to say
no excuses, and we can't use any excuses. We just
have to be better. But it seems to me, you know,
(03:19):
to answer your question, with our team, it seems like
we're having a little bit of streaky nature to us
beginning of the season. I liked this in December, even
though we were losing, I continued to say that I
felt like we were playing well. I don't say that
same thing right now. I'm not happy with the way
(03:39):
we're playing well.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Coach, you mentioned the short handed goals, and I've never
coached a hockey game in my life. I've never even
sat on a bench during a hockey game, which if
you never liked us to sit next to you, we'd.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Love to be the way that way. But I know one.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Thing that would make me smash my head against the glass,
and that's short hated goals for three games in our
go back and talk more about what's leading to those
and how you fix it starting tonight.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Well, we have we can't be given those up, and
we've given them up at critical times. You know, they've
been first period type of thing. We went into Utah,
had a great start to the game, scored, then we
got a power play, you know, with an opportunity to
go up to nothing, and you know, we lose a
face off, we lose a battle, we get beat up
the ice, and all of a sudden it's one to
one instead of two. Nothing, just backbreaking type of goals
(04:29):
that you you know, then you have to find your
way around. But certainly there's been some individual mistakes. And
you can say that guys on a lot of goals, right,
and there's gonna be mistakes that are made as well.
But you know, there's some individual mistakes made on these
power play goals that we have to correct and clean up.
And you know, it's it's a situation where you're going
(04:52):
to give up one or two shorthanded goals here or there,
but three games in a row. I don't know if
I've ever given up short three short handed goals in
three consecutive games.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
By the way, just for giggles, can you ever imagine
any scenario where you would allow Dick and I to
join you on the bench during again, you.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Know what, guys, I'm going to tell you right now,
it's not possible, but I will tell you that you
would be extremely shocked at how how it is down there.
It's intense, it's fast. We used to have a goalie
coach in Nashville that he would come down from the
(05:30):
press box with like two minutes left in the game
if it was potentially going into a shootout, and he
absolutely couldn't believe how fast and how much was going
on down there during a game, you know, as opposed
to sitting up a in the stands or b where
he was in the press box. So you, guys, it
(05:51):
would be a heck of experience for you. And then
you also got a dodge pucks. Yeah, we had to
do a few times last week.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Fine, well both both I are known for our agilities,
so that'd be no proble, right anyway, Okay, no problem, I.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Bet you are.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
Yeah, it's fan game's fast enough when we're sitting twenty
rows up, there's no question how much faster it is
down on the eyes lane. Lambert joining us, and you know, coach,
tonight is your tenth game in sixteen days. I know
everybody has to deal with it because of the long
Olympic break, but how much is fatigue starting to be
a factor, both mental and physical.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Well, we're trying to you know, we're trying to keep
that out of our minds. But I just really feel like, guys,
there's some of the things that we've been doing in
the last couple of games that are uncharacteristic, and uh,
you know, we're trying to give our guys as much
rest as possible. You know, we are in we are
in this situation. We knew we had to play all
(06:49):
these games in January. You know, I think we're eleven
of them now into it. So this will be like
you said, it's it's this is our twelfth game and
twenty one days or whatever it's going to be. And uh,
you know it's it's certainly is starting to catch up
a little bit. We've got to find a way to
(07:10):
balance everything out. We got to find a way to
use everybody as much as possible, you know. And with
that being said, you know you still have to find
the matchups that you want. So uh, it is it
is a bit of a balancing actor's no question. And
and you know we do play the most games in
the month of January in the National Hockey League, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Well, Ley Lammer with us and Lane.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Just to wrap it up before tonight's game with the Islanders,
let's let's leave on a real kind of fun positive
note here. I mean, you know what it's like to
be a part of a Stanley Cup champion team. You
know what it's like to play for a title. Uh,
you got to coach across the way here, and Mike
McDonald man, who's going to be coaching his second playoff
game ever this weekend in the NFC Championship, and a
lot of players on that team have never been in
(07:54):
that role before. So I mean, obviously we can't talk
in football terms here, but in hockey terms. What's the
what's the advice for a first time head coach like
Mike McDonald who's going into the biggest game of his
life with a chance to play in the Super Bowl
on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Oh boy, I don't know if I can give advice
to a coach who's going to try and play in
the super Bowl, that's for sure. He's you know, he
from from what I see, what an amazing season, What
an amazing job. You know, they they are an amazing
football team. And the city is jacked up, and so
are we in the crack and organization. We can't wait
(08:30):
for the game, can't wait to watch the game, you know.
I guess my only thing is just enjoy it. Enjoy
it as much as you can. It's a stressful environment,
but enjoy it as much as you can. So that
would be my only advice.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Well, you guys bumped up your game about an hour
right on Sunday to make way for the Hawks. So
I know a lot of people appreciate that chance to
watch you guys against the Devils on Sunday and then
watch the Hawks after.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
So let's go get two.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Wins on Sunday and got to win tonight against the Islanders.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Coach, we'll talking a week, Coach.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
You bet, thanks a lot, guy, you bet.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Man Ley Lambert with us head coach of the crack
In we'll get out of here. Cracking Islanders is next tomorrow.
We're back at the five twenty Bar and Grill. Mike
Hombrin will join us in person at four pm tomorrow,
and then Scott Kaplan, a big mouth, loudmouth sports talk
radio guy and also one of my buddies from LA.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
By the way, he's picking the Rams to win. You'll
be shot to hear that.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
You'll join us tomorrow at six pm, all from the
five twenty Bar and Grill.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
We'll see you. Then enjoy the game with the Islanders
by
Welcome to Crekin Game Day, brought to you by Blood
Works Northwest, who are sending you on a dream cruise
to Alaska. Donate blood in January during National Blood Donor Month.
There's an emergency need for donors right now. One hour
of your time can save a life and when you
win Alaska cruise of a lifetime. More info at blood
Works NW dot org slash win blood Works Northwest Giving
(00:24):
Life Together. Now it's craking game Day with Sufti and
Dick Gay.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Right to the point. Lock Ord settles with an air.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Side LA tone and a bomb restars LA tone.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
It with some authority on the bower. Play that cracket,
fall back to it at what it's four three. I
don't forget.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
The African Council on Problem Gambling wants to remind you
at the end of tonight's game, you should still be
having fun.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Know the real score about gambling.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Visit Keeping funwad dot org Keeping Fun sports fans if
you bet bet responsibly. I really hope that the d
of tonight's game that our next guest is having fun.
The head coach of the Krack and Lane Lambert with
us right now on the radio show before tonight's game
with the New York Islanders at Climate Pledge Arena.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Coach, how are you, I'm all right, I'm all right.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Fun is not my middle name at the moment, that's
for sure.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I get it. I get it. And let's talk about
why it's not fun.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Let's talk about maybe why your middle name could be like,
I don't know, frustrated, maybe one four and two in
the last seven games. Overall, what's going on the last
maybe week and a half, couple weeks, coach?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Too many goals against and we you know, last time
we talked, I think it was before the New Jersey game.
You know, we lost it overtime in that game, and
then we we've given up three games here since since then,
and too many goals against. We've gone up three shorthanded
goals which have really hurt us, you know, three empty netters.
(01:57):
But overall, just five on five, we we haven't been
as solid as we need to be. And you know
there's reasons for it. We have to fix it. And
that's just the bottom line.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
What about the streaky nature of the team, because I
think in the first three four weeks, you guys are
pretty much win to lose to win to lose to
your pre balance. But ever since then it's been long
winning streaks and then long losing streaks. Is there anything
in the nature of your team that might point to why,
you know what it's.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I think, honestly, guys, if you look at the league,
it's a it's a bit of a streaky league. Teams
go into these little lulls, Teams get out of the walls.
You look at Anaheim just losing like seven games in
a row, and you know, you have situations where you know, Utah,
the team we just played, you know, was winless in
about six games. It's it's a difficult league, and there
(02:55):
is a very very fine line between winning and losing,
and and there's some nights when you get on the
wrong side of that line and it just kind of
snowballs a little bit. Scheduling things like that have, you know,
have things to do with it. We like to say
no excuses, and we can't use any excuses. We just
have to be better. But it seems to me, you know,
(03:19):
to answer your question, with our team, it seems like
we're having a little bit of streaky nature to us
beginning of the season. I liked this in December, even
though we were losing, I continued to say that I
felt like we were playing well. I don't say that
same thing right now. I'm not happy with the way
(03:39):
we're playing well.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Coach, you mentioned the short handed goals, and I've never
coached a hockey game in my life. I've never even
sat on a bench during a hockey game, which if
you never liked us to sit next to you, we'd.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Love to be the way that way. But I know one.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Thing that would make me smash my head against the glass,
and that's short hated goals for three games in our
go back and talk more about what's leading to those
and how you fix it starting tonight.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Well, we have we can't be given those up, and
we've given them up at critical times. You know, they've
been first period type of thing. We went into Utah,
had a great start to the game, scored, then we
got a power play, you know, with an opportunity to
go up to nothing, and you know, we lose a
face off, we lose a battle, we get beat up
the ice, and all of a sudden it's one to
one instead of two. Nothing, just backbreaking type of goals
(04:29):
that you you know, then you have to find your
way around. But certainly there's been some individual mistakes. And
you can say that guys on a lot of goals, right,
and there's gonna be mistakes that are made as well.
But you know, there's some individual mistakes made on these
power play goals that we have to correct and clean up.
And you know, it's it's a situation where you're going
(04:52):
to give up one or two shorthanded goals here or there,
but three games in a row. I don't know if
I've ever given up short three short handed goals in
three consecutive games.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
By the way, just for giggles, can you ever imagine
any scenario where you would allow Dick and I to
join you on the bench during again, you.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Know what, guys, I'm going to tell you right now,
it's not possible, but I will tell you that you
would be extremely shocked at how how it is down there.
It's intense, it's fast. We used to have a goalie
coach in Nashville that he would come down from the
(05:30):
press box with like two minutes left in the game
if it was potentially going into a shootout, and he
absolutely couldn't believe how fast and how much was going
on down there during a game, you know, as opposed
to sitting up a in the stands or b where
he was in the press box. So you, guys, it
(05:51):
would be a heck of experience for you. And then
you also got a dodge pucks. Yeah, we had to
do a few times last week.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Fine, well both both I are known for our agilities,
so that'd be no proble, right anyway, Okay, no problem, I.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Bet you are.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
Yeah, it's fan game's fast enough when we're sitting twenty
rows up, there's no question how much faster it is
down on the eyes lane. Lambert joining us, and you know, coach,
tonight is your tenth game in sixteen days. I know
everybody has to deal with it because of the long
Olympic break, but how much is fatigue starting to be
a factor, both mental and physical.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Well, we're trying to you know, we're trying to keep
that out of our minds. But I just really feel like, guys,
there's some of the things that we've been doing in
the last couple of games that are uncharacteristic, and uh,
you know, we're trying to give our guys as much
rest as possible. You know, we are in we are
in this situation. We knew we had to play all
(06:49):
these games in January. You know, I think we're eleven
of them now into it. So this will be like
you said, it's it's this is our twelfth game and
twenty one days or whatever it's going to be. And uh,
you know it's it's certainly is starting to catch up
a little bit. We've got to find a way to
(07:10):
balance everything out. We got to find a way to
use everybody as much as possible, you know. And with
that being said, you know you still have to find
the matchups that you want. So uh, it is it
is a bit of a balancing actor's no question. And
and you know we do play the most games in
the month of January in the National Hockey League, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Well, Ley Lammer with us and Lane.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Just to wrap it up before tonight's game with the Islanders,
let's let's leave on a real kind of fun positive
note here. I mean, you know what it's like to
be a part of a Stanley Cup champion team. You
know what it's like to play for a title. Uh,
you got to coach across the way here, and Mike
McDonald man, who's going to be coaching his second playoff
game ever this weekend in the NFC Championship, and a
lot of players on that team have never been in
(07:54):
that role before. So I mean, obviously we can't talk
in football terms here, but in hockey terms. What's the
what's the advice for a first time head coach like
Mike McDonald who's going into the biggest game of his
life with a chance to play in the Super Bowl
on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Oh boy, I don't know if I can give advice
to a coach who's going to try and play in
the super Bowl, that's for sure. He's you know, he
from from what I see, what an amazing season, What
an amazing job. You know, they they are an amazing
football team. And the city is jacked up, and so
are we in the crack and organization. We can't wait
(08:30):
for the game, can't wait to watch the game, you know.
I guess my only thing is just enjoy it. Enjoy
it as much as you can. It's a stressful environment,
but enjoy it as much as you can. So that
would be my only advice.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Well, you guys bumped up your game about an hour
right on Sunday to make way for the Hawks. So
I know a lot of people appreciate that chance to
watch you guys against the Devils on Sunday and then
watch the Hawks after.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
So let's go get two.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Wins on Sunday and got to win tonight against the Islanders.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Coach, we'll talking a week, Coach.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
You bet, thanks a lot, guy, you bet.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Man Ley Lambert with us head coach of the crack
In we'll get out of here. Cracking Islanders is next tomorrow.
We're back at the five twenty Bar and Grill. Mike
Hombrin will join us in person at four pm tomorrow,
and then Scott Kaplan, a big mouth, loudmouth sports talk
radio guy and also one of my buddies from LA.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
By the way, he's picking the Rams to win. You'll
be shot to hear that.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
You'll join us tomorrow at six pm, all from the
five twenty Bar and Grill.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
We'll see you. Then enjoy the game with the Islanders
by
Popular Podcasts
Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt, Bowen & The Olympics
Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.
iHeartOlympics: The Latest
Listen to the latest news from the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Milan Cortina Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina are here and have everyone talking. iHeartPodcasts is buzzing with content in honor of the XXV Winter Olympics We’re bringing you episodes from a variety of iHeartPodcast shows to help you keep up with the action. Follow Milan Cortina Winter Olympics so you don’t miss any coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and if you like what you hear, be sure to follow each Podcast in the feed for more great content from iHeartPodcasts.