So Zach, take it away.

To the last team standing match, I mean, let's be honest.

It's the Carolina Hurricanes.

You're talking defending Stanley Cup champions, bringing back 96% of the roster.

Like, what more do you really need out of these guys? I mean, the fact that he's one of the most dominant playoff run since the 1985 Edmonton Oilers, a- and the fact that they did it in an era where usually some teams have to blow up their roster.

Well, the Hurricanes didn't have to do that.

All these teams are trying to scramble and bring all these guys, and where the Hurricanes are just rolling the entire team back from last year, minus Frederik Andersen, and right now minus Alexander Gergozhishvili.

Mm

But like in general, I think they held up a little bit better, uh, there, uh, And it's going to be interesting to see what happens with the D-backs in the situation they have there with all the injuries.

I thought it was kind of your classic NFL games with ebbs and flows throughout the entire game.

Like the first, the first eight minutes of the game, it's like, man, the cat we're about to run away with this thing.

And then, and then the Raven answer back and then Dallas settles in and we, we go down and score and then we have a turnover and then, you know, they're knocking at the door and you think the game's almost over and we have this great goal line stand and we marched down 97 yards for a touchdown.

And then at the end of the game, we think we won the game.

And then all of a sudden, it's going to overtime.

Oh, wait.

Happy I can

Yeah

... mask of like, oh, is this gonna be the thing? And then all of a sudden it's the gentleman sweep, then it's like, okay, Cup Final, first time in 20 years.

You know, the, like, and the way that how just they were, how they dominated the Canadians, too, at the back end of those four games, you're like, okay, this is different.

Like, this Hurricanes team is healthy, throwing bodies, not afraid of anyone.

They're just dominating.

They're controlling games.

And then we saw the Cup Final.

Yeah

From your experience, how long does it really – take until you feel comfortable when you have two guys next to you that you have not played in a real game with until the previous two weeks.

Yeah, it takes time.

And like we talk about all the time with offensive line play, it's, It's just as important to be next to someone that you feel comfortable with and trust as much as their physical talent.

So, you know, it takes time.

Hopefully these guys have gotten a lot of reps in training camp.

Obviously, you know, I don't think Ronnie Stanley is going to be out there.

He may be questionable.

What's it like when there's outside pressure from the media? How do you try to block that out and just focus on your game in these big pressure situations?

Do you have any thoughts you would like to share on what happens Sunday night in New York?

Yeah, probably not thoughts that you guys want to hear or other fans want to hear, right? But you got a, you know, half glass full type of guy, right? So obviously don't want to start the season like that ever in division rival game.

But, you know, the important thing is can they learn from that and can they grow from that? You know, when you really look at it, you got all these young guys playing defense, a new defensive scheme, even the guys that were here, you know, we've had that penetrating front for the last, since I was here really.

So when you're switching to that three, four defense, there's a lot of new, new variables to it.

So not the start you wanted, but I, you know, I expect them to grow each week and, you know, if we're sitting week five or six and this is happening, obviously there's some questions that need to be answered, but I expect them to get better each week and hopefully they're peaking at the right time.

You know, that's some of the struggles we had when, When I was there and over the last, you know, however many years, though, you start off hot and then you fade and you're not peaking at the right time.

So hopefully they can hit that crescendo effect there and be playing their best ball at the end of the season.

How hard is it to be ready to play real life football in week one?

What effect will that have on that offensive line?

Yeah, I mean, it's, it, you, you're not gonna replace a guy like Tyler Smith.

You know, T.J. Bass, I was able to play with him, [notification tone] uh, for a year at the end of his career, and- Um, he's a great option.

He's got a lot of game experience under his belt.

He'll steady that ship, but, uh, you're not gonna replace a guy like Tyler Smith.

Uh, just a brute force.

Um, we played, uh, the Rams a couple years ago and Tyler had a, a really big game against Aaron Donald, so he's got that natural power explosion that can combat kind of those, some of those things that he's doing.

[laughs]

How do you go about replacing him?

Yeah, it's interesting 'cause I've, I've said it on my show too.

Like I think this is like the first cup team where you don't have to go and get rid of anyone 'cause with the cap going up, everyone's pretty much locked in outside of like, you know, the deal- the whole thing with Alexander and Jeske.

But other than that, I mean, you got everyone rolling back there next year.

So this is probably the first time in forever you're gonna have a whole cup team back together.

But for Freddy Andersen, I mean, you still have Braden Bussey, who you just signed to a three-year contract extension back in February.

He just won you a Stanley Cup winning three games in a row and four, five and six.

What are your biggest concerns now heading into training camp? We're about a month away.

What was it, the last how many minutes did they not allow a shot on goal in that, uh, middle stanza?

I think it was, like, I think it was almost, I think almost, like, 20 minutes.

It was, it was something crazy.

Like, I think it was like the last, like, fif- almost 16 minutes of the second period.

Just absolutely smothered Vegas.

And for Rod Brind'Amour, I mean, he's the face of the franchise.

I think now it's, like, what? 102 of 104 playoff wins for the Hurricanes, either as the head coach or as, as the captain, which is crazy to...

Talk a little bit about that.

What did the Canes do well that spurred the comeback, and is it something they can a- adjust and incorporate into their game going forward?

They just stuck to their system.

They just, you know, kept grinding.

I mean, know they, um, they absolutely blended the lines up to the n- to the max degree.

I mean, there was like guys that I have not seen together all year.

It's just somehow it, the blend worked.

They pushed.

If you're Rod Brind'Amour, who are you playing in goal for game four and why?

From the Hurricanes' side, what are we watching for? Maybe one or two we expect, and then maybe someone we, uh, don't expect to hear much about having an impact.

I mean, if you're looking for guys who have impact outside of the names you talk about, I mean, Nicola Ehlers, you know, had a career year with the Hurricanes.

The big question is, can he stay healthy? He was the only guy that played 82 games.

Of course, Sean Walker would've been there too if he didn't take a day off, and the same for Jackson Blake.

But Nicola Ehlers has been absolutely unreal.

I mean, two, you know, big goals in the Eastern Conference Final.

I mean, you're talking about a guy who's got four goals and nine points in his first playoff with the Hurricanes, and he's playing on the third line with Jordan Stall and Jordan Martinook, which is considered the shutdown line for the Hurricanes, but he's still getting it done.

Let's save predictions for last, but if you got a stat or an X factor, let's hear it.

First of all, why do you think they are favored in this Stanley Cup Final?

Yeah.

No, of course, and thank you, Gil, as always, for the invite.

But it's, uh, I think just 'cause of the fact of what they've done.

I mean, they're a team that got there in 13 games.

They're the first team since the, you know, the redoing of the playoffs where it's four rounds of best of seven.

They're the first team to go 12 and one, you know, to get there, too.

Who are some of the other Carolina players who, if the Canes win the Cup, do you feel they're favorites to get that Conn Smythe?

Do you think some of the criticism directed at Frederik Andersen was fair after game one, and, and are you glad they stuck with him in game two?

I really think it wasn't really fair to Andersen 'cause that's a lot of people upset with him.

Like, "Oh, you should have pulled him after he was down 3-1," and this, that, and the other.

Like, "Oh, well, if he's in the goal in game two, this series is gonna be over." And I give, what, maybe one goal, maybe two, and two is kind of stretching it.

Maybe one goal I could say was maybe his fault.

But when you give Montreal 14 high danger chances and a bazillion breakaways, like what do you think is gonna happen, Gil? I mean, that's gonna be tough on a goalie who's basically on an island for 10 and a half minutes in the first period, and he's not really getting the goal support, and he's not really getting the defense at home because guys are pinching at the wrong time.

You know, they're leaving guys open when they don't really need to.

How important was it that Nikolai Ehlers stepped up the way he did in game two?

Like, what did Carolina do to win those games so, uh, definitively?

I would definitely say, y- you know, they've gotten really more aggressive on their forecheck.

Like, they're already, they already were aggressive on their forecheck.

I think the fact they've taken their intensity and their physicality up to another notch while sticking with their system, it's almost like the physicality intensity was the extra layer on top of what their system already was, and now it's kind of like you're seeing what a full steam ahead, everything's falling into place type of w- system that the Hurricanes can work with 'cause everyone, this is the healthiest and most complete team the Hurricanes have had.

And I think, you know, the penalty kill going 38 for 40 through the first two rounds is absolutely insane.

Like, Boston still has the best penalty kill even though they only played six games, and they were, like, 23 for 24 against Buffalo.

But I think that's been a big key is the penalty kill has been absolutely huge 'cause I think they, they on average time on ice-wise, shorthanded, eight and a half minutes.

Who are the key players to watch for Carolina if Montreal, uh, let's say you're, you're, you're the coaching staff of Montreal, who are you watching?

What, what, what is this team doing so well that they're 8-0 in the playoffs right now?

[sighs] I mean, that is a great question.

I think just 'cause of the fact that this is probably the healthiest team they've had, knock on wood, m- into the playoffs at this stage.

Because over the years, you know, you've had Sean Walker out, Jalen Chatfield out, couple...

You know, the first on the Hurricanes when, you know, when they were in that, that two conference finals in three years.

You know, you lost Andrei Svechnikov, Jesper Fast in game two, lost Brett Pesce in the round, round one against the Islanders.

So they, surprisingly enough, like, the Hurricanes are just able to stay healthy.

How important is it that the goaltending issue just seems to be settled? There's a clear-cut goalie and he's playing outstanding.

Talk to me about the impact that Keiondre Miller has had on this team since he joined it.

Yeah, I think, you know, some people look at the numbers and be like, "Wow, why is it so low?" And stuff like that.

And it's a, it's a new system.

It's tough going from what the Rangers have done to what the Carolina Hurricanes do, especially for their blue line, where you're talking about guys who play, you know, you're talking a lot of two-way action.

But you know, a lot of man-to-man, a lot of, you know, it's...

It takes guys who entered the system a long time.

It took Bryan Burns a long time, Shane Gostisbehere twice, even Sean Walker last season.

What do you expect the Hurricanes to look to add at the deadline, and what are they willing to give up to get it?

Yep.

Uh, we were bad.

It was a COVID year.

Uh, we were in the ...

So when you- when you do the, uh, night before at the hotel, you- you're in the big ballroom for dinner and then you kinda ...

You know, five minutes before the meeting everyone kind of moseys over to the big ballroom where they have, you know, screens set up, all the chairs for guys.

And they had a stage this time, which normally that wasn't normal stage.

Is there any truth in that, and is there a moment that you can point to in every season where you're like, "All right, now I feel like we're all on the same page"?