Who was the unsung hero of this opening round series win?

Well, there's a, there's kind of a few that, that popped up.

You've got, obviously I think the number one that everyone's been paying attention to is Jackson LaCombe.

He makes the US Olympic team, does not get to play in the Olympics, but you heard Matthew Tkachuk on his podcast talk about how this kid was shutting everyone down at practice.

They were surprised that he couldn't [chuckles] fit the roster 'cause he was just the best guy there every single practice.

And now you're seeing it here in big playoff minutes, and he's not afraid to get pushed around.

He, he was a little timid there at first, but once he started to get adjusted, he destroyed Zach Hyman with a nice back check.

What concerns you most about facing Vegas? I mean, it's a very different type of style that they play compared to Edmonton.

Kyle, what was your first impression of this win by Team USA to get to the gold medal round?

My first impression was excitement.

Glad that they did it.

It was nice to enjoy the game.

Slovakia was honestly my biggest worry.

I was very nervous going into this game yesterday.

We talked about after the women.

nice thing about Redskins but not even that's the nice thing about the Blue Jackets but I will say that yeah the US have a spoil of riches on that blue line when you can say all right Redskins go out there okay Sanderson all right Quinn like it's just goes it's a lot easier for that blue line to be so cohesive when you have that level of depth

Kyle, what was your first impression of this win by Team USA to get to the gold medal round?

My first impression was excitement.

Glad that they did it.

It was nice to enjoy the game.

Slovakia was honestly my biggest worry.

I was very nervous going into this game yesterday.

We talked about after the women.

It's a lot easier for that blue line to be so cohesive when you have that level of depth.

Kyle, your thoughts on that?

Yeah, I definitely saw that the whistles were put away in this one after the first period.

Uh, they are letting the ladies hit, and the ladies were a-hitting.

Uh, there was some big physical plays that happened.

Uh, there was, I forget, I think it was Carpenter was trying to go for the change, or maybe Murphy, and she got just kinda leveled at the, the red line, and no call there.

Uh, not saying that there should be, but they were letting these ladies play physical, and, uh, that call, you know, it was kind of a tough one.

I think that the distance was a little rough, but she didn't go into it in a malicious way.

Kyle?

Kyle, your thoughts on that?

Yeah.

I definitely saw that the whistles were put away in this one after the first period.

Uh, they are letting the ladies hit, and the ladies were a-hitting.

Uh, there was some big physical plays that happened.

Uh, there was, I forget, I think it was Carpenter was trying to go for the change or maybe Murphy, and she got just kind of leveled at the, the red line, and no call there.

Uh, not saying that there should be, but they were letting these ladies play physical and, uh, that call, you know, it was kind of a tough one.

Kyle?

Kyle, your thoughts on that?

Yeah, I definitely saw that the whistles were put away in this one after the first period.

They are letting the ladies hit and the ladies were hitting.

There was some big physical plays that happened.

There was, I forget, I think it was Carpenter was trying to go for the change or maybe Murphy.

And she got just kind of leveled at the red line and no call there.

Not saying that there should be, but they were letting these ladies play physical.

They could have easily have, you know, could have easily have gone sideways for them, but they found a way to win it as credit to the depth of that team has, has put together.

Kyle, your thoughts on that?

Yeah, I definitely saw that the whistles were put away in this one after the first period.

They are letting the ladies hit and the ladies were hitting.

There was some big physical plays that happened.

There was, I forget, I think it was Carpenter was trying to go for the change or maybe Murphy.

And she got just kind of leveled at the red line and no call there.

Not saying that there should be, but they were letting these ladies play physical.

Kyle.

Having an experienced veteran coach has got to have an impact.

Oh, absolutely, and it, it- the biggest thing that's made a difference, I think, is that, a- and you hear it from the players themselves, is that it's fun to come to the rink again, and, and it's, it's fun to show up, and Quenneville's the leading man behind that, is he makes everyone want to come to the rink and work for him.

Uh, he doesn't do these long, grueling practices.

A lot of the times, 30 minutes, that's it.

Uh, work on some special stuff that you need to, one-on-one time.

And, and with his pedigree from being a player to coaching, you're gonna listen what the guy says, and it seems like these guys are just locked in and, and dialed in, and that- they, they take what he's saying for, you know, for everything that he's saying, and, and they, they put it forward.

And I think we're finally seeing the full Quenneville method start to show, and I, I think he knew he was gonna have some ups and downs, and he's just been riding that and, and really kept encouraging the players through.

What can they do to improve in these areas? Because number one, you need to be good on special teams to make the playoffs, and then in the playoffs, if you get there, the importance of special teams tends to be magnified.

Well, I'll let Kyle answer first since I've been hogging air time here.

Nah, you're just right there in the middle of it all, Glenn.

Uh, s- we, uh, like I, I think honestly, kinda like Glenn mentioned at the beginning there, you have a lot of these girls that were teammates and, uh, they're, throughout their youth as well.

Um, you know, they're, women's hockey, I think this generation that we're watching is kind of in that middle of where programs really started to pop off for women and that there was still a select amount, so they're playing together and at, you know, after a certain age, that's all who you played with.

And then you get split up, you're playing against each other i- for your different countries.

So there's not only that friendship rivalry, but also the country, just that, that extra edge to it.

And I think now that these girls have s- a platform for themselves and they're becoming professional and their, their whole identity is being hockey players, they really get to go out there and show which country has the best hockey players.

Kyle?

Well, I'll let Kyle answer first since I've been hogging air time here.

Nah, you're just right there in the middle of it all, Glenn.

Uh, s- we, uh [laughs] like I, I think honestly, kind of like Glenn mentioned at the beginning there, you have a lot of these girls that were teammates and, uh, they're, throughout their youth as well, um, you know, they're ...

Women's hockey, I think this generation that we're watching is kind of in that middle of where programs really started to pop off for women, and at, there was still a select amount, so they're playing together, and at, you know, after a certain age, that's all who you played with.

And then you get split up, you're playing against each other in, for your different countries.

So there's not only that friendship rivalry, but also the country, just that, that extra edge to it.

And I think now that these girls have s- a platform for themselves and they're becoming professional and their, their whole identity is being hockey players, they really get to go out there and show which country has the best hockey players.

Kyle?

[laughs]

Like, I, I think honestly, kind of like Glenn mentioned at the beginning there, you have a lot of these girls that were teammates and, uh, they're, throughout their youth as well, um, you know, they're...

Women's hockey, I think this generation that we're watching is kind of in that middle of where programs really started to pop off for women and that there was still a select amount, so they're playing together.

And at, you know, after a certain age, that's all who you played with.

And then you get split up, you're playing against each other in, for your different countries.

So there's not only that friendship rivalry, but also the country, just that, that extra edge to it.

And I think now that these girls have s- a platform for themselves and they're becoming professional and their, their whole identity is being hockey players, they really get to go out there and show which country has the best hockey players.

Kyle?

Well, I'll let Kyle answer first since I've been hogging air time here.

Nah, you're just right there in the middle of it all, Glenn.

Uh, s- we, uh [laughs] ...

Like, I, I think honestly, kind of like Glenn mentioned at the beginning there, you have a lot of these girls that were teammates and, uh, they're, throughout their youth as well.

Um, you know, they're, women's hockey, I think this generation that we're watching is kind of in that middle of where programs really started to pop off for women, and at, there was still a select amount, so they're playing together.

And at, you know, after a certain age, that's all who you played with.

And then you get split up, you're playing against each other in, for your different countries.

Kyle?

Well, I'll let Kyle answer first since I've been hogging

airtime here.

Nah, you're just right there in the middle of it all, Glenn.

I think honestly, kind of like Glenn mentioned at the beginning there, you have a lot of these girls that were teammates and they're throughout their youth as well.

You know, they're women's hockey.

I think this generation that we're watching is kind of in that middle of where programs really started to pop off for women and at there was still a select amount.

So they're playing together.

I think U.S. winning the last six matchups and sweeping the rivalry series, that kind of thing does put a seed of doubt on this gold medal game, which is why maybe tomorrow's game is more important for Canada than it is for the U.S., Kyle.

Anaheim Ducks

went into the deep and take down the Seattle Kraken in Seattle, putting them on a six game win streak.

Pretty good stuff after going on a nine game winless streak.

Now the Ducks taken six in a row taking down the Colorado Avalanche and the Seattle Kraken their first two stops on this road trip.

Looking good for the Ducks right now, even with a roster full of injuries and their main scorers out of the lineup other than Cutter Gauthier.

So good stuff.

Looking good.