[MUSIC] >> Bertuzzi, swinging it back along the board for knee land. >> Kneelander gets away from one man, cuts to the middle of the yikes. Got it in front of it at the score. A tip in front of the goal. Bertuzzi is able to get there after making the initial steal on the boards. And then it's able to tip at home. >> Yeah, it was good. >> We're on our toes and everyone had a good first shift and obviously score three minutes into the game is big and get off the ground. It's a recently started time with Austin. Tonight was a lot better for us, offense and win. We were really good to pass the lead to. We weren't in our zone too much and once we were home, we're good at that, that brings the offense is on its way. [MUSIC] >> Van Warring Joe, sports at 5'9 to the Van. And then it's bread gutting, it is Friday, good Friday morning to you, Bert. >> Great Friday morning, all is right in the world. It's Friday, the Leafs played, the Leafs won. It's rainy, but who cares about that? >> March break is over, children are going back to school on Monday. >> Buddy, my kid's been in daycare all week long. And suddenly I went to grandma's house for a sleepover tonight. >> Well, yeah. >> My kids were out of sleepover at grandma's house last night. >> Okay, no wonder you're so refreshed. >> Or not. >> I'm refreshed. Maple Leafs enjoyed their break as they had a long gap between Saturday's game. As you well know, and yesterday's game in Philadelphia, I guess the fliers. And that top line that was the target of Sheldon Keef's comments. At the conclusion of that hockey night in Canada game, that line was great. In particular, Tyler Bertuzzi scores one goal, had one goal called back because of a hand pass that happened like 30 seconds prior to the play that had no impact on the play. Yadda yadda yadda, whatever. It's all irrelevant because the Maple Leafs win 6-2. They are 16-6-0 since January 18th Brent and they looked full measure for the 6-2 victory yesterday. >> Yeah, that's no longer a small sample size. I mean, it is in the grand grand scheme of things. But over the course of an NHL season, that's an entire Euler's winning streak, basically, that they've been playing this way for. That's what you needed to see last night. Weird start to the game. The Matthews line gets out there for basically two minutes. >> All the icings. >> All the icings can't get off and then it ends with a goal. And the Leafs are kind of running from that point. They don't really look back. Not really another moment where it felt like the game was in doubt. >> Well, it was 3-1 headed to the third period, right? >> So it's interesting. The moment I felt, maybe this just says more about my psychology, I actually went a little earlier. It was when it was supposed to be 3-0 and then it became 2-0 after the goal was called back. And then the Flyers get a power play. I'm like, no, I don't like this. I've seen this movie before, but ultimately ended up proving not fruitful. And yeah, I suppose there were little fleeting moments here, but Leafs just had control of that game more or less from start to finish in my opinion. >> Yeah, they did. The numbers, I mean, not the raw shot totals, because they were pretty even for the game. What were they? They were like, let's see. >> Flyers might have shot Leafs. They were up there at one point. >> Yeah, 26-21 in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers. This is why, sorry, that's not correct because that's just the saves. Anyways, it was very close as far as shots on goal are concerned. So that does not at all tell you the whole story of the hockey game. Here's what should give you an indication of how lopsided the run of play was. According to natural stat trick, five on five high danger shot attempts were 19-2 in favor of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now that being said, Ilya said that I was pretty great. >> Yeah, he was. >> He didn't allow a five on five goal and we'll get to the special teams in just a second. But in the early going, and again, it was a 3-1 hockey game going into the third period. There were a couple of really, really high danger shot attempts. Well, I mean, in actuality, there were only two for the whole hockey game. >> Yeah, I was gonna say not according to your beloved. >> But I would say, I think both of those came in the first and the second period. He had to be on his game and was, and I think again, if we're going by meritocracy, he's got to start tomorrow night against the Hurricanes. >> Yeah, I think he performed, I was open to a world where he was okay. Maybe there was the one goal you go, and you'd want back, I would have been fine with going to wall in that case. I thought Samsonov had to perform well to get the net again on Saturday night. Guess what? He did. And yes, it was big saves that he made, but the thing that jumped out to me and why I, you know, what allows me to feel confident is, you know, I think we'll do a lot of this just with the team at large for the, you know, the remaining, what, 16, 17 games, whatever >> 17. >> 17 games that are left will be doing a lot of, okay, this is nice against Philly. How does this apply to the playoffs? And the thing that jumped out to me the most from Samsonov is there's just a lot going on around him. There were a lot of jam plays where, you know, I suppose you'd say, ah, you just wanted to freeze it and kill it. Not always able to do that. And there were just a lot of jam plays, scrums around the net and you just always found a way to keep it out. Now that doesn't mean it's going to happen every single night, but those are the playoff style plays, especially if you're going to go through Florida and then Boston. If that's the route for this team, you're going to need a goalie who's super comfortable dealing with a lot of that and not say Joe will can't be, but I'm going on what I am seeing right now and I'm seeing that from Samsonov. So yes, a thousand percent given the net on Saturday. Oh, you're going to do a thousand percent getting a no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We're here. I said a thousand percent give him the net. I did not say a thousand percent. He's getting it. I did not say a thousand percent. I do too. But I also don't know. You want to know my updated game one startup percentage. Oh my God. I wish I had an app. Like, you know, you could check the P O P percentage of precipitation. I wish I could get an app that updates me on this. And he give a moment from these guys, 70 percent, 70 percent for Elia Samsonov. You know what? We'll swing back around to Samsonov because I have another question about him, but he's not the story of the day. He's shouldn't have started with him, okay? Here's who I should start with. Tyler Bertuzzi, maybe his best game of the season. I know he's a hat trick, right? And he's certainly resurrected his career, but he was all over it again. Like that line, the target of Sheldon Keef's post game comments and rightly so after Saturday's game. Now it was a different top line and William Neelander was part of it as well, although he was on the ice in a mishmash lineup for Bertuzzi's first goal, which was in, it was all Matthews and Neelander creating that goal after Bertuzzi keeps it in the zone. Those guys looked full value for the amount of money they're being paid. But it's incredible. Brent, go back to what, December and the conversations we were having about Tyler Bertuzzi and Max do me the same, and Ryan Reeves, and yeah, John Klingberg. >> I forgot about him. >> John Klingberg, conversation's the same? >> Yeah. >> Actually, it's not the same because he's now goodbye, so we don't think about him. >> But speak for yourself. >> Compare how you felt about Tyler Bertuzzi out of the chute to how you feel about Tyler Bertuzzi right now. >> North and South Pole, baby. Like it could not have got any worse than how it felt about Bertuzzi at his worst this season. And I suppose the lowest watermark will ever get to with the leaf is Zealia Samsonov where you say, you know what, why don't you just go away? >> Yeah. >> And it never got to that point with Bertuzzi, but he looked lost. He looked like he didn't have a home on this team. He looked like he didn't have the jam that you acquired him to go out and get and was his second best game of the season. The best game of the season was the one in which he absolutely pummeled to Bruin. And even though they lost, that was his best game of the season. >> But seeing it from last night. This is the guy you went out and got. He's engaged. He's yapping. Even when he's just talking because of how he looks out there, he looks annoyed and aggrieved. And the Leafs haven't had enough guys like that on their team. Throw in the fact that he's showing the offense of talent that he does have. I think it's overstated the offense of talent to your point. He's a 30 goal man. Yes. >> Yeah. >> Once. It's more a 20-ish goal man, but you see the skill. It's there. On that tip last night, basically hit a one-timer on a clean air, skating backwards. >> Can I be honest about that one? >> You didn't think it was that impressive. >> No, you're talking about the one that was called back. >> Yeah. >> It's just pure luck. I guess pure luck. >> I don't think so. >> That's pure luck. >> No. Do you know how coordinated these guys are? That's his job is to tip pucks. If I can be mean about this, if that's Ryan Reeves, I'll hear like, okay. That's pure luck. I will hear that. >> That's Tyler Bertuzzi's job is to be relative. It doesn't, I understand, it does not look like it. And this is mostly the equipment and the hair's fault. But it's like, that's his job is to be coordinated and know how to get his stick on pucks in that exact situation. So could he do that play 10 times out of 10? No. But that's not to say. >> I even know what we're talking about. It didn't happen. It was called back. It just doesn't exist now. God, the Matthews hand pass, that one hurt me so much because often you can sit there and rule the actual letter of the law or the spirit of the rule. You can usually argue one or the other, and he was just dead to rights on both cases last night. Because you can argue the, well, the spirit of the rule is, did he try to get it to a teammate? He a thousand percent tried to, and then it's like his glove actually factually did touch the puck. He just didn't have a leg to stand on there. >> No. >> No. >> Good on whoever is in charge of that stuff for the Flyers. >> You know what else I thought of with that is that, you know, Keith and, you know, we always give, we always give Jordan Beat all the credit there for the video challenges with the Leafs. But I did think for a second, because it is, you know, you don't often see teams miss on these now, especially when they're so quick to, you know, I know they don't throw a challenge flag, be kind of fun if they did. But when they throw the challenge flag, they almost always get these right. I did for half a second think, hmm, I don't know, rookie head coach in there, is he just a little trigger happy? >> No. >> He wanted to mix what? No, they knew. >> Took a while for us to see a replay of it too. I was like, what's going on here? >> Yeah, I was confused about the hand pass as well, because I was, you know, watching the game and I didn't see it because I was crawling around on the floor like he was six months old and happened to nudge the puck. So yeah. >> Yeah. Back to Tyler Burtuzzi. >> Luck. >> Sitting here. >> The goals in his last 13 games, this guy was obviously due. His game was rounding into shape before the goal started reaching the back of the net. >> Always happens. >> So yeah. >> Yeah, not always. >> Well, no, but it is a, that's the better sign. It's way better when a guy is coming out of a slump or you see what teams even where he went, well, they played really well, but they lost this game. And then usually if the team is performing or we'll keep it to the player, if the players performing and the goals start to come, that usually lasts a whole lot longer than, man, this guy's scoring almost out of nowhere. Generally speaking, I feel like this has more staying power. >> Listen, we'll do the, hey, what are the, the things or what are the, at the top of the list of the things that you are most worried about going into the postseason? >> That's an easy list to come up with, okay? >> We've done that list because we have proof of concept over the last seven years. But let's put on our- >> Spoiler alert number one on my list. >> Ooh, let's go see. >> Let's put on our positivity hats, I don't know why, I mean, I'm just talking to you, I don't have to actually touch my head when I say the positivity hats. >> I like what it has. >> I think I'm like bleeding in you, I am, my father's always jokes growing up, it's like I have no Italian roots, but I am part of the Italian because I am a hand talker, like they're just going, I cannot emote without using my hands and I feel like I'm infecting you. >> Yeah, I did a little pantomime there putting on the positivity hat. >> You just did again? >> Well, yeah. >> You do it again. >> You do it again. >> Anyways, how close to the tippy top of the like reasons to believe this postseason is going to be different is because of one, the depth scoring, but two, in particular, the postseason production of Max Domi and Tyler Batuzzi and that those guys are rounding into shape at the end of the season. >> Yeah, I think it's, I think they're all kind of melded together. The secondary scoring part of that, like I know we're going to talk about the magic of playoff production and Domi, John, and getting a 10 minute at the end of the game and Bert's in every scrum. I know all that is important and I do not want to overstate that, but the most important thing is just having guys you can count on outside of 88, 34, and 91 to put the puck in the net on occasion and I'll include you Mitch Marner, but you're not playing on this team right? >> Right. >> 16. The thing I, so that's the way I look at it is that that's kind of the order in which I rank things. The most important thing is just that somebody outside of the core four finds a way to score for this team in the playoffs. That is the most important part, but the fact that it comes from guys who are on that second tier who do have some ownership of the way this goes, this isn't Bobby McMahon getting hot and scoring a couple of goals where you go, do we have something here? No, you know, even at your worst, you know what Bertuzzi is. You know what Domi is or even at their worst, I should say. You know what those players are, but just the secondary scoring, I think of those, those things that you listed, that's the biggest one for me. It's not the style that they do it. It's not the jerkery that they bring, but yeah, that's the, that I, it's the secondary scoring. That's the most important part of it. >> How close to the top of the list of things you're worried about is the penalty kill. The fliers, the worst power play team in the league, they were the worst power play team in the league and season ago, noted on the broadcast, no team in NHL history has ever been the worst team on the power play three consecutive seasons history, baby. They kill off the first one the Leafs do, but Ilya Samsonov has to make one of his best saves on that penalty kill, and then they score on the second one. Within 20 seconds, I want to say of that power play starting. Third one is abbreviated because of a penalty taken by the fliers. We can talk about the Leafs power play later on, but I think it's almost unfair to judge it without Mitch Marner, who's a huge part of it, obviously. >> But the penalty kill, they got all these penalty killers from across the globe. They, they, they set out a- >> You're not wrong. >> I miss him. Hey, anybody that can kill penalties, we want you. And they went out and got three penalty killers and this, okay, kill penalties. It's not working out. You can talk about, well, that said, just an unfortunate bounce off the endboards and you can't play for that type of caramel, it's hockey. Like that's, that's the way she goes scoreboard. And yeah, this is a team that just hasn't been able to kill penalties all season long. So where, where is that on the pecking order of things that you look forward to, not forward? Like you're not, you're not happy about it, but anticipating potentially being a problem in late April. >> Well, I told you, actually, I don't think I've brought this to air. I have told you this personally, it's like, I do think I have like a slight addiction to stress. Either I want to or not, I am looking forward to being stressed out by that. But yes. >> You're weird. >> I know, believe me, if I could snap my fingers and no longer feel that way, I would gladly do it. But looking at it, if, you know, a lot of times this gets bandied about me have discussions. You know, you need to watch the games. If you're sitting here talking about a bad bounce over really a LeBouche can stick when he couldn't clear the bouncing puck right beside Samsonov, you need to watch the game. Look at what happened on the, albeit nine seconds or whatever it was that that power play beforehand. That was guy set up clean at the top of the circles, moving it to a wing back to him. One timer, clean, clean puck movement to an elite shooting spot. So yeah, it was a bad carer on LeBouche and that will happen from time to time. But the fliers were in that position because they were able to set up with ease on the Leafs. You know, I don't mean to make a huge deal of this because it wasn't the reason the goal went in. But even while that goal goes in, you see Joel Edmondson, who I've been told here to cross check and box out. You know what he was? He was on the other side of the flyer and the Leafs creased there. And it didn't matter. It wasn't like I affected the play or anything. But I don't know. I'd like him on the other side of that defender and no one's perfect. Everyone gets out of position sometimes. But if that's kind of what you're here to do, if that's why you're taking the milkman, Simone Benoit out of the lineup, it's got to be better. And again, that wasn't Edmondson's fault. It was just bad penalty killing up and down the four man unit there. I'm not going to include Samsonov in that. But yeah, that was the thing that jumped out to me. It was just how easy it was for the fires to get set up. Yeah. And maybe it's not fair to talk about the penalty kill without Mitch Marner there as well, right? It's all key-winger. Yeah. Okay. Let's go back to the positive. We're kind of going back and forth. I think it's great. I think it's, yeah. Okay. You had your medicine. Time for your dessert. Yeah. Awesome Matthews score is goal number 55 set up beautifully by Pontus Holberg, setting it alone and just snapping it. He's got 55 as I mentioned. The pace, I don't know where Luke Fox is getting his numbers from. Just Matt, I'm going to let you guys know it's just math. One of you will be right. I think he's maybe doing the pace with the number of games that Matthews has played and not the number of team games. So he has Austin Matthews on pace for 70. Right. He's on pace for 69, Luke. Like, I don't mean to check your work, but. Do you think he forgot to, like, subtract the extra game in Matthews whole play? Yes. Yes. Okay. I mean. Awesome Matthews on pace for 69. I'm just going to, I'm just going to take a side in this fight. I stand with Luke, even though I think you're right, but I stand with Luke. Wrong. Okay. You just, you've decided actively to be wrong. So good for you. That's okay. He's on pace for 69. He was much better in that game. Like he was, he was also all over it, along with Tyler Batuzzi, although as far as like, yeah, the goal is being scored. It's, it's still funny. Like I still feel like he's in a slump. Oh, for sure. How can you not? He didn't have the Max told me he had the two Austin Matthews plays for you. Yes. To see when you go. Oh, how did that puck not split clean in half when it hit the bar like that? He just isn't at the most dangerous version of himself right now. And if that means he can walk in with all the time in space in the world and let that thing rip and he scores, then we're all happy about it. But yeah, this is not the A one version of Boston. You know what this is? This is the Austin Matthews Nikita Zadoraov was talking about when he's like, Oh, you're talking about it. I never built my team around this guy, only like Nathan McKinnon that that's, it's, it's a weird way to look at it, but it's almost encouraging to see that he has like another little level to find here and not find and that we haven't seen it. So I'm like a week and a half ago, two weeks ago, when he was ripping hat tricks left right in center, I guess it's kind of closer to three now. But yeah, you, it was just nice to see him be free and easy with the shot because typically that's been the thing that's kind of lingered later into the year was a hand risk stuff in the past. And I don't think he showed any signs of that because last year when he was having the struggles, you weren't able to, you weren't able to see him kind of handle the puck in the same way. And I do feel like he's still handling the puck. It just doesn't seem to be quite as dominant. And again, this is a, you know, this is like a 90 percentile NHL player now as opposed to 99 when he's at his absolute best, you know? Yeah. And he's still on pace for almost 70 goals. Almost 70 goals tonight. Can I, can I get in a little complaint? Well, yeah, I hate to do this because we're going to have Sam Keon, seven 30, I'm sure you got this. What, when he got filled in behind the net? Well, just in a game last night where it kind of felt like to a man with the exception of one forward line. It kind of felt like to a man, everyone was a ornery or is angry. Tavares was in scrums, Riley is peeling back. He's like, Hey, you want to get Ray the Greg? Do you want this? He was getting in the mix and it's, I understand. It's not in his character. It is who it is. And I don't want to make this the show 30 nights a year, but we could because it's just so frustrating watching a guy who is as strong as an ox and the biggest guy in every pile that he's in go and kind of act that way like, okay, you're so tough. I'm not scared. Who had him by the collar? I forgot. Oh, this bench rot from many moons ago in the Montreal series or did something happen yesterday. Well, like there was a scrub in which he was communicating that's halfway. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. It was all about an event. Very eventful night. There's all kinds of stuff. I was guys losing blades. There's three players without sticks. Sorry. Burn it half the way. The flyers have the flyers have two guys on my list of not, not good players that I've always wanted to have on the Leafs and it's half away in Deloria. And I want to be clear. It's not that they're not good players. Like they're useful, but I think when people talk about, oh, you'd love to have this guy on your team. It's like a superstar defense man or a superstar of some. It's and don't be wrong. Like I'll take on like David if he's up for offer, but half away and Deloria or two guys has just always jumped out to me as they would be awesome. Bottom six guys. Garnet Hathaway did as well as you can do on one skate and like pushing off with like a one skate without a blade on it, but it's always amusing to watch those guys falling down. So I can't remember. I've seen it happen a million times before. I can't remember it ever happening where a guy was set up in the D zone like that. It's just just by happenstance. I remember once it happened to Travis Dermot and he was like kind of in his zone in the corner behind his own. Usually you think of guys like trying to hobble off right because they're in the offensive zone. Travis Dermot did an incredible power skating drill on one leg to get himself to the bench, but that was just nobody was messing with them. He didn't have to do anything. He just had to get from point A to point B. Hathaway was he looked like he's playing road hockey goalie at one point. There was a kick save involved. No one had ever been happier in the world to have the whistle blow when it did there. And then because he's just that kind of guy, even with no skate blade on one of his skates, that was not going to preclude him from getting involved in the, in the scrum there. So just a guy would always kill that. And then Matthew Nye takes advantage of a five on one. If they didn't score on the Garnet Hathaway, no skate falling around on the floor and no one on the fliers having any sticks, if they missed on both those opportunities, I would have spent far too much time talking about that today. But now we can just talk about it as hilarious as it is. But it wasn't even, they weren't all broken. It was, I think only one drop and I think it was too dropped and one broken. And I've never seen it. And it was, yeah, at least at the tail end of a, of a power play and then there was an extra flier skater getting into the play with the stick. But yeah, at one point it was five sticks against one flier stick. I love when this stuff happens. There was a play, I forget who it involved was a few years ago, I'm totally blanking on the particulars. But there's two guys kind of jostling and the defenseman just took the, just took the winger stick. >> Yeah. >> I want to say this is Bobby Ryan. I don't know why this would have been a while ago. And Bobby Ryan then just like, all right, he took the defenseman's stick and he scored with it and he like went right to his face and showed him to him. >> I think that's penalty though, that's holding the stick. >> Well, yeah, the first time as well. And again, I thought they were, I thought they were great on the call, but the idea of picking and choosing your spots, it's like, no, no roughing here. And every scrum we have, and I don't have a problem with it. It's just you got to pick a, you got to pick a line actually think they've done a pretty good job that last night. But it is so funny how you just pretty early on in a game, you have to make up your mind. And that's why playoff series are so fun because you make up your mind and then it kind of evolves as a series goes on. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> You just need Jake McCabe to do his like cross-jacking of Brad Marsh and in game one. >> That's a great point. >> Yeah, or just do Michael Bunting, sacrifice yourself for the team to take out ASIM on there. >> Yeah. Okay, back to the negative. Kelly Yarnkrock, who's just an underrated part of this team and how different that third line can look when he's back in there or his ability to slide up the lineup. Like he's just, he's a chameleon. Play all over the place. That was an ugly looking fall for him. It's not like the Mitch Marner thing, you're like, where exactly did you hurt yourself? >> Like his face, yeah. >> Yeah. For Marner also, the report is a high ankle sprains, same ankle where he missed three weeks a couple of years ago. So not ideal, but as Luke Fox told us yesterday, I didn't see a cast or anything and he's not hobbling around on crutches, which is good. The report on Kelly Yarnkrock was that he's gonna miss some time. >> Keith loves that one. >> But they also said it's not a head or a shoulder? I don't know. It looked horrible when you go head first into the endboards. >> Yeah, they made a point of sideboards. >> Yeah, they made a point of talking about how it was right after the flood. You got the clean ice is like, he's like a curling stone. >> Right. >> He's just flying into the board. A weird play to wear. >> That's how I wait. >> Yeah. Good job by you. >> The, I look at it and Yarnkrock is the, well, he's not the Swiss army knife as Keith calls him, the Swedish army knife. He's the kind of guy that's so important to have on a team that has so many pieces that can kind of fit somewhere. He's the piece who does fit everywhere. He's what Alex Kerfoot was supposed to be, except no one ever built him as a center. So we sit here and go, huh, this is great. And you know, he actually does things, well, he's on the ice as opposed to just cruising out there for cardio at times like it felt like with, with Kerfoot. Yarnkrock is a guy who can go play on Matthew's wing with Marner and Neelander, who is ever up there. He could be part of a check in line with David Kamf. He can be the defensive conscience if you're gonna play him with a guy like Max Domi, losing him. And, you know, sometime who knows what that means. But if it were to bleed into the playoffs or anything along that, that'd be brutal for this team. The other part of it as well is that goes to what Keith talked about and we spent a lot of time talking about yesterday is consistency. How can you develop it if the line you're hoping to have when the playoffs rolls around? Let's say, let's say even playoffs aren't in jeopardy and I have no reason to believe they would. Although we have no certainty on this. It's just some time. Who knows what that is. Let's say he misses the next, I don't know, five games, something like that. What does that do to the ability to set your lines and develop that consistency and chemistry that you want? I don't think it's the end of the world because of who it is, but it also doesn't allow you to find your optimized lineup until a little closer to playoffs. And I know they shoot the opposite way. What does it mean for Nick Robertson's ability to get back into the lineup? It's tough, right? I think it would be there for him now. And I think part of this is the position that the Leafs are at in their year and that, you know, there's not a ton to play for. You still want to play. You want to be playing good hockey because you need to be rolling, heading into the playoffs, but you don't need to win every night to secure your spot. I think this gives them the opportunity to get Robertson in, but they don't check any of the same boxes. And Robertson's made a lot of strides and all the stuff that Young Croc does well. The working hard, the having a defensive conscience, the trying to backcheck and have a good stick. But there's a reason Cali Yarn Croc gets paid to one and the Leafs signed in to do that and he's had a long career and there's a reason Nick Robertson can't get in line up right now. Don't say it's a conversation for probably next week, as we see how the lineup shakes up for tomorrow's game against the Hurricanes with the Leafs wearing their same pads uniforms. All right, code talk may beliefs of 5-1 with 13 minutes ago, top unit, which nobody really raised an eyebrow about. I mean, there's an argument to be made and then up 6-1 with over 2 minutes to go. Top unit takes a twirl for about like 8 seconds before Rocky Thompson and his bolo tie started freaking out. And no John Tortorella boy. Would I have liked to have seen John Tortorella in that instance? No, no, honestly, it's great that we didn't have Torts reacting to that. We certainly wouldn't have had a completely different show today if it was for that entertainment product out there. They suspended. And Sheldon Keefa after the game talked about it and said he was apologetic, but he was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place that he had a shortened bench with no Cali Yarn Croc and it just happened that the Austin Matthews of it all. He was sitting for a while. He was fresh legs and the guys he would throw out there if he wasn't throwing his first unit out, but they were tired and he understands that that's not exactly the way it's supposed to go in a national hockey league game. And then after 8 seconds he does remove them, puts in a power play unit that had Ryan Reeves on it. They got scored on short handed, but who cares, the game was over anyways. What's your thought process when you see, well, one, a head coach put his top unit up there. And the best power play units despite their lack of success the last couple of weeks is still the second best power play in the NHL against a flyer team that's floundering right now. And the game's already decided my overarching thought on this, she don't like it. Stop taking penalties and play better is my actual overarching thought on this. But I'm not blind to the realities of pro sports and like the code to a certain extent or just, you know, not trying to run it up. There's no, there's no point differential. This isn't the double IHF, but what are the least, what are we, what are we talked about? What's going to be one of the things that is there doing or undoing in the playoffs? It's special teams. The power play is half of that. They should be allowed to do it. Now, if you're Keith, I understand explaining it after the fact or screaming at Iraqi Thompson during it of, ah, Matthew's been sitting. I don't, not that the flyers are unaware of where Austin Matthews is any point in time. It's not their job to keep track of which unit was out there and how long it's been and I only have these guys so I can understand just reflexively. It's six one. This has been a chippy, angry game. I think that plays into it as well as both teams are just, especially when it was, what was it? It was five one. Yeah. Like I mentioned midway through the third period and that was the connecting roughing penalty. Like I understand more in that instance to keep the top unit out there. Yeah. And then from Keith's perspective, if you're going to put them out there, keep them out there. But I do have to mention the possibility of, okay, so let's say Sheldon Keef sticks it to the flyers or not don't make it about the flyers. He sticks to his guns. He does what he wants because he's the coach of an NHL team and he'll put out who he wants on the ice. And then, oh, we talked about him so much already. Let's pick him again. Garnet Hathaway just says, don't like you, Austin Matthews, you're catching some hacks, this shift. I'm having a conversation about his wrist or something along those lines. So I have no issue with him putting him out there. I have no issue with him saying, all right, you guys are really angry about this. You're the flyers. If this is Boston or something, I think it's different as well in terms of message sending and all that. Okay, you're angry. It's the flyers and protect my guys. All right. I tried to put you out there. You don't want it here. Have Ryan Reeves. Is that more fun for you? Yeah. I actually have no, it's, you know what this is kind of like, it's kind of like the Ridley Greg Morgan Riley. Yeah. Good job. I just want to shake all your hands. Pretty well, from my opinion. Yeah. You disagree. No, I think it's fine generally when we're talking about sports in which players are being paid many millions of dollars to participate in said sports. Yeah, so many millions. There's no like, but your feelings, like I need to protect your feelings. But to your point, there isn't, there's a tangible impact that you can have on the long term future of your franchise of, you know, Austin Matthews has taken a two hander to the wrist. But yeah, I thought it honestly, the worst look for me was that Sheldon Keef had a reason to put the top unit out there. Bolotai was yelling at him. And then he's like, okay, okay, we'll take him off. Like either do it or don't. I don't, I don't disagree. I just then would have said, I know what I would have said today, if he would have left him out there. One of those guys would have gone a little squirrely and all of a sudden they don't have Marner and Neelander's banked up or whatever. But even if you have the top unit out there, they can just pass it around the outside. They also understand the situation. Sure. Okay. Like I don't disagree. But then there will be, I mean, unless they're just going to go full like Harlem Globetrotters, Washington Generals and that's going to be a whistle. And then that's where you, I don't, I don't have any issue with any of it. I tend to agree with you that, okay, if you're going to put them out there, keep them out there. It just looks like you got Bolot. You're like, oh, yeah, I forgot. Oh, yeah. No, it's at six one. I forgot. Two minutes ago. No, we, we all understand the circumstances. Yeah. And we've mentioned the Bolot tie. I was wondering how that happened because I know Rocky Thompson is like Windsor Spitfires former head coach. That's just like where my mind's eye goes to, he's from Calgary. So my ruling all out. Okay. Good. What are your thoughts on it? Yeah. I'm fine with it. Okay. I have no issue with it. I, you know, it's a bold choice for an assistant coach. It's like, okay. Okay. Well, okay. So if you're going to adjudicate Bolot. Sure. I've been to a taxi. Yeah, I know. This is why I feel like I'm going, I'm going to the source here or like someone who's married to someone. I gotta say, in all my dealings, now not that I've never seen a Bolot tie, but in, in my wife's family, they have lots of cowboy hats and boots and they, they, they hunt and there's a real taxisness to them. I don't know if I've ever seen in the wild in, well, not in the wild because I've walked around Texas and seen them, but like, never been able to say, hey, like, can I take a closer look at that Bolot tie? Do you have a collection? I, I've never, they're not Bolot tie people, but okay, because of my close proximity to the state of Texas, would I be laughed out of the room wearing a Bolot tie? By me? Yes. Well, I mean, yeah. I mean, this room. Yeah. Oh, is J.D. Bunkisser? Well, I mean, again, okay. I'd make a little funny you, but I'd allow it at the same time. I think that's it. It's like, it's, you know what, to take it to like NHL suspension parlance, there's no hearing. I'm just finding you. I'm like, hey, don't do that again. You got your money's worth, go wear your tie. Yeah. Have at it. But yeah. I do also need to own a cowboy hat. Like, how, how would you feel about me wearing a cowboy hat in the wild? Here? Yeah. See, I feel differently about it there, right? You do whatever you want in Texas. I don't care. But so help me God, if I was strolling the streets of Burlington and ran into you, partner, you text. It was funny. I was out in the wild in Burlington and you would text me and I'm like, I don't know why I have this. I'm like, is he around? Does he see me? Yeah. But you weren't, you just text me with something else. But yeah, if I ever see you in the wild, I will just, like, I'll take it. It'll be my cowboy hat then. Oh, wow. You just, I won't even do anything with it. It's just like, you can't have this. That's really, that's bullying. No, but like, sometimes you have, you have friends. We all do. I shouldn't say that. I'm so surprised. Sometimes you have to bully your friends. You have friends. What if, what if I'm wearing my cowboy hat to Blue Rodeo? Oh, well then. Come on. He's peasy. All right. The iconic Canadian rock band Blue Rodeo hits Budweiser stage on Saturday, August 24th, along with the guests. Matt Mays and Bagonia, to celebrate, we've been giving away tickets all week long to enter. All you have to do is tune into episodes of the fan morning show, listen for the code word, then text that code word to 59590 today's code word is Canada. Text Canada to 59590 right now for your chance to win. We are giving away one last pair of tickets on Monday, but if you don't win with us, make sure you secure your tickets today, 10 a.m. Eastern on ticketmaster.ca. When we come back, an eventful first round of the players and Eric Carlson taking direct shots at us. We respond next as the fan morning show continues. Ben Addis, Brett Gunning, Sportsnet 590, the fan. Hey, it's Ailish Forafar and I'm Justin Kusser. Join us as we discuss the most important sports stories of the day and tee up the biggest games of the night. It's the fan pregame, 6 p.m. weekdays on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590, the fan in wherever you get your podcasts. Fan morning show Sportsnet 590, the fan Ben Addis, friend Gunning. Where are you going to start? You want to start Carlson? You want to talk golf. I want to talk golf because I feel like it could be either a short or wide-ranging conversation. I want to give it a two. Okay. If it's too long, we'll save Carlson for after seven o'clock at some point. That's fine. This is a conversation we could have had in the break, but I think people like to know how the sausage is made. Okay. Give it to me. I know. Oh, you mean the one we just had him? I thought you had a different one, so I'm so excited to talk golf. I'm like, what? Okay. What is the sausage? Mm, sausage, sound yummy. You're right. No, we could have had that conversation when I was talking about Bolo ties with you. Mm-hmm. Okay. No more Bolo ties. No, no. I won't be pulled astray. So round one of the players, almost in the ball, which of Rory, Hovland, and Spieth would be most likely, no, Spieth's the Texan, obviously him. Yes. Go ahead. Rory McElroy tied for the first round lead at the players' championship with Wyndham Clark and Xander Shoffley. They're all at 700-bar Rory McElroy, birdied more than half of his holes, birdied ten holes. Have you ever done that? Probably not. I made one birdie yesterday. I was pretty happy with that. Won't play ten more rounds or nine more? Yeah. Ten is outrageous. Also quickly. Good job by you getting out. I know it was rainy in your world. Yes. Good job. Thank you. Proud of you. And it got a little chilly by the end of my round. Poor baby. Always. Enough about me. Rory McElroy shooting a 765 despite having a double bogey and a bogey on the 18th hole, a couple of holes in which he went into the water. But the 7th hole, which was his 17th hole of the day, started on the back nine, he hits his drive left and on the broadcast, you can see a ball bounce and then, oh, into the drink. Oh. Oh. What happens? It's a red steak. Yep. So if the ball never crosses on the positive side of the hazard marker, you've got to take it on the line of entry into the hazard. But because Rory McElroy believed that it bounced on the happy side of the red line and then into the hazard, he can drop it closer and further up the hole, which certainly saves him, you know, maybe a shot's worth of distance. Entirely possible. So he goes up because he thinks he sees this. Now the broadcast, you can't see it because it's down a slope and the camera angle is on the other side of the fairway. He goes up to drop his ball where he believes he's entitled to do so. Right. You know, doesn't think he's entitled to do so? Jordan Spieth. He has some questions. I think he would be upset at you saying he outright didn't think. I mean, he got some. No, no, no, no. You're right to say it. I'm just saying the way these guys go about it. I don't know. I'd accuse him. No, I just had questions. Yeah. Jordan Smith, it takes like a straw pole of the camera people. Again, there's no video footage of where the ball bounces, but if it doesn't bounce on the happy side of the hazard, then he has to take it like almost all the way back to the tee. Yes. Instead he gets to, okay, lose a stroke, but he gets the distance that he hit the tee shot. And at one point, Victor Hoblin does try to, Victor Hoblin was also involved in this to the three of them playing together. He references, he points way back on the hole and says something about turtles saying that's where Rory needs to go back. Because again, it's all just like very normal engulf. I know you're all thinking we're insane, but that this is, yeah, one of the more marquee events in the sport that this is what we're adjudicating, but yes, here we are. A rules official shows up, but a rules official can't do anything because he doesn't know either. Right? Like it's it. This is the sport. It's a gentleman's game. That's right. And it's up to you to adjudicate yourself and Patrick Reed's like, awesome. But sick league, bro. But that Rory McElroy ain't no Patrick Reed. No. But what did you make of the back and forth that occurred? And we only heard from Rory after the fact that should we play some of the, yeah, let's the Rory post match interview talking about exactly what happened on the seventh hole yesterday. Rory, that scene on the seventh, was that necessary in your eyes or was it all a bit needless? I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing. I mean, I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it and it's so hard, right? Because it's, there was no TV evidence. I was adamant, but you know, I think, again, Hinky was just trying to make sure that I was going to do the right thing and yeah, if anything, I was, I was being conservative with it. I think, yeah, I, I think at the end of the day, we're all trying to, you know, protect ourselves, protect the field as well. So I don't, I wouldn't say it was needless. I think he was just trying to make sure that what happened was the, was the right thing. I don't think it was needless either. I thought it was awkward, but I also thought it was awesome. Yeah, it was great. I think, you know, this is, this is a slightly different conversation the one we're having. I think it was awesome that the tour leaned into it the way they did. In times past when they've had this and said, Oh, there was a rural thing. Here's, here's Rory talking to the official. They put up on their Twitter account an eight and a half minute video here. Here it is. They're all miked up. Listen to what they have to say the golf channel guys then went back to the spot and we're doing like, again, this is forensic analysis hours after the fact, who knows, but we're going to point to a spot and say if it was here, this is what's happening. And I will say that again, like my visual evidence, the ball can't bounce in the way that it did to my eye. If it doesn't hit far enough up the slope to be for Rory to be correct, I think into the left. We all know that. Right. But I think the other thing that I actually think is kind of telling coming out of this is that Victor Hoffman to a lesser extent, because he's just not is, I mean, he'll answer your questions, but he's not a spokesman of the game the way Rory and to a lesser expense Spethar kind of tells me what I need to know about speech relationship to Rory that he didn't talk. Because if speed talks after the round and nothing was precluding him, I'm sure if Jordan Spieth wanted to talk, a reporter would have been happy to ask some questions. Those all was going to be about what happened here. And I think it's interesting that he wanted to make sure the right ruling was had there. And I don't know. What's your read on it? Is it more that he's like, all right, this is done. I don't need to talk about it anymore. Or I want to kind of like protect Rory a little bit, or am I reading way, way too much into that part of it? Maybe that's part of it. I think the line share of it is what's right next to Jordan Spieth's name. And it's T109 with a two over 74 is probably also playing into the discussion and that was eight. You know what? Again, that's the seventh hole. His 17th. So things are already going off the rails. Does that impact Jordan Spieth's? I like it. That mentality in that situation. To get to the tension of it all. At one point in time, Spieth references everybody was saying or everybody saw again. No one saw anything, but everybody was referencing something. And McElroy snaps back with, who's everybody, Jordan? Yeah. And he goes, the media or whatever that means. Yeah. It's a camera operator. Classic straw man of the media. Yeah, I, it was just great to seek golf is a sport where the tension, it's like a little essay I'm going to do here, but it's like golf is a sport where the tension is within you so often we see the anguish on a guy's face or is talking with his caddy or it's Mito Pereira at the PGA Championship two years ago is about to duck hook one and take himself out of the running here. That's the tension. You almost never get it between two competitors. You know, golf is a great sport, but we almost never get the, these two guys are in the final pair and they're going down 18 together and it's mono a mono and that's not what happened yesterday, but it was great to see a little competition and the juice of it all that came out of it. And again, just good job on the tour leaning into this now, bad job by the tour that this is how we're adjudicating things. Well, this is what I want to get to. So that is an aspect of golf that I love that it's, it's just you, it's your word and you got to be honorable about it. Just before you launch into this, I think this important for everyone to understand as well. The way scoring works on the PGA tour is that Jordan Spieth is responsible for keeping McElroy and Havelin score score and McElroy is responsible for his playing partners. Like you keep, you don't want to have your own, you, you, you keep your own score. Yes, the official scorecard is kept by your playing partners in that at the end of the round, you have to double check to make sure they have the right score, but they are keeping your score. Exactly. Right. But you have to tell them what you scored. Okay. So this is the sport. This is, you, you police yourself. There is no referee. Now there's rules officials that can be brought in, but this is come in and shake your hand to tell you you're a gentleman is really what they're there to do. You're asking them like, is this exactly what I'm supposed to be doing? Usually it's like a drop. Am I dropping the right place or like where, where should this be dropped? Because the ball went here, but they're not there to tell you where the ball went in to the hazard, unless they can go to the video, visual evidence of it all. Right. But I do love that there's a part of this game that is, it's just you out there. And if you can live with yourself being cheater McGee, I guess all the power to you. This is people that love this sport do love that aspect of it. I will say it's a little different when you're playing, you know, a match for 20 bucks with your body as opposed to the millions of dollars that are available weekly on the PGA tour. I don't know what the solution is necessarily, but like, is it out of the realm of possibility to have a rules official just dedicated to every hole? And just like, you know, what would that have solved? Unless he's standing at the exact right spot, you've seen it, no, but even, okay, so they all saw it, right? And we're all they're all going on their own sense of where the ball went. But hey, if there's just one guy who says, all right, it's my word that's final. It crossed the line or it didn't cross the line. So that you don't have the Rory McElroy, who like, even if he's trying to protect himself from his obvious bias that he wants to play well, that is inherent in him making decision. Like all things being equal, he's probably gonna lean like, if he's not 100% sure, he's probably gonna get closer to 100% sure when he thinks about, hey, would I rather hit up here back there? >> Yeah. >> And like, clearly, he'd rather hit up there. So it's hard to remove that from the decision making, even if it's not conscious because I don't think Rory McElroy made a conscious decision to, hey man, like I don't really want 100% no. >> Do you have a problem with the drop? You don't think you should have dropped there? >> I know, again, I have no idea. I couldn't see it. >> No, okay. >> Listen, if I'm judging again off the bounce that I saw on the part of the shot that I saw on the broadcast looked like a fine bounce. >> Okay. >> And it's weird when you have to rely on a guy who, yeah, I'm sure Rory, in his heart of hearts, believed that it bounced on that side of the red line and that he made the correct decision. But yeah, he's inherently biased. >> For sure. >> Why can't we in a sport? Again, where millions of dollars are on the line have somebody who has the final say on that thing. You can't because nobody, there was no rules official there, but why wasn't there? >> Well, I think the other part that colors this as well is that we are finally removed from it. But remember the era of some guy calling a TV station and being like, oh, I saw him address his ball in the book, right? And we hated that, I think I did, certainly. So that's the thing they keep up into. And to your point about, can we not find some way to adjudicate this? Just imagine it in any other sport, fourth in inches, bad example, but it's the most certain playing football. So with a Jalen Hertz leader of men, he still has Jason Kelsey as a center in this instance. They go for the tush push, it's a pile, ref has no idea, goes to Jalen Hertz. >> I think we got it. >> Where should I spot the ball? >> Yeah. >> Right here. >> Yeah. >> He said it. So he's like, yeah, he wouldn't lie to me is Jalen Hertz. He looked me in the eye and he said, this is where it happened. It's amazing. And I know the NFL, so it was like 100 year olds running out in the chain gang and all that stuff. So perfect. But that was all I could think of as imagine, hey, did that goal go in? Nope, goalie. I stopped it, didn't go in. >> All right. Well, nothing to see here. Let's move on. >> Mm-hm. >> Certainly he wouldn't lie. And I don't think Rory did anything wrong, but it's wild that we're doing this in 2024. >> They're going to play with each other today again. >> Mm-hm. >> Rory and Jordan. >> Well, fingers crossed, we get something else that has to be adjudicated between the two of them. >> If we have nights in the NHL where guys actually hate each other and they're supposed to punch each other in the face and nothing happens. If you're looking for fireworks and the players, the only ones you're getting are one of those guys going low. So. >> Okay. Sorry. >> Which Rory already did. >> Yeah. >> And Jordan needs to do if he wants to play on the weekend. >> Nick Taylor. Very much in the mix as well. >> Yes. All right. When we come back. >> Picking up yet another victory. The win loss record is out freaking standing, despite the fact that the same percentage isn't so high. >> Watch the games. >> Does it matter? >> Brent tipping his hand a little bit. As the fan morning show continues, Ben and his Brent Gunning sports at 590 the fan.
