Are Bruins fans bitter about the Panthers’ success? | Pucks with Haggs

Are Bruins fans bitter about the Panthers’ success? | Pucks with Haggs

that when the Bruins won the staning Cup in 2011 there are people who really suddenly wanted to talk about the Bruins the next season and the season after that that hadn’t really been on you know it’s like that feel like the Bruins are hot you know and it’s like wow I kind of f like Ariana Grande’s at the games for for goodness sakes Mick you know they’ve even got the like celebs that live down there going to the game we get the weekend down there we can do a duet I’m sure Gary bman loved to see [Music] that welcome to another edition of the pucks with hags podcast powered by prize Pi the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the clns media Network this is the 98th episode of the puck with hags podcast I’m your host Joe Hagerty you can find my work at Joe hager. substack do.com uh get a premium membership you get all of my NHL and hockey writing sent straight directly to your inbox I also file columns uh for the Boston Sports Journey Journal I’ll be doing uh columns for them Sunday notes all through the offseason so check that out as well Boston sports jjournal docomo do Q&A with them usually uh in the middle of the week so check that out as well uh with me today longtime friend and colleague Mick kagio Mick please tell everybody where they can find your work my friend I got a Blog called rank RP that I link to on X and sometimes Facebook and um I write the seasonal Bruins articles for the seasonal issues of the hockey news and I contribute to Boston hockey now with a Sunday column of my own and I’m I’m looking at expanding my role in the coming Seasons so we’ll see what happens good good for you Mick um all right prize picks let’s get to our sponsors as well uh prize picks is the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America and the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports uh with prize picks you could turn $10 into $1,000 in a single game watching your favorite sports this summer you can make a prize picks lineup in as little as 60 seconds you just need to pick more or less than on two to six player stat projections and you’re locked in right now you can still get involved with the Stanley Cup finals in the NBA final Connor McDavid shots on net um Jaylen Brown points how about that how about uh Derek white blocked shots how about all the different things you could do with the Celtics there’s some cool stuff in there uh if you’re looking for promotions prize pick has got you covered every week from lowering select player stat projections on Tuesdays which increas is your chance of getting a win to getting your entry fees back if you have a losing lineup on Fridays but the bottom line is it’s fun and pretty simple download the prize pick app today and use the code clns for a first deposit match of up to $100 that’s download the prize picks app today and use the code clns for a first deposit match of up to $100 pick more pick less it’s that easy let’s also thank game time game time is uh the app where you can go to get your NBA fin fin tickets uh if you want to go uh if the series comes back to Boston for a game five and you want to go game time is the place to go they’ve got last minute deals you can save up to 60% off buying last minute for sports concerts comedy theater uh Allin pricing toggling this feature shows the total up front with no surprise fees at the checkout seat views you can get a panoramic view from your seat in the app before you actually buy the tickets I think this app is super easy to use and this is the place to go if you want tickets take the guest work out of Buy NBA Finals tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account use the code clns for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply but again create an account redeem the code clns for $20 off your first purchase download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guarantee all right the business at hand Mick let’s let’s start with a little bit of news here a little uh Bruins nugget there’s not much the little things trickling out of Causeway Street right now uh not exactly uh world breaking stuff till the end of the Stanley Cup finals and then you know the start of free agency and the draft and all that stuff but um it’s fun to now know that the TD Garden will in fact host the championship game of the four nations Faceoff tournament uh next February uh the the final few games in the pool play and then uh the championship game at the end will be uh in Boston the final week of the tournament will be in Boston at TD Gard um and President Day double header in advance of that that’s right and the whole series will be at the Bell Center in the garden so Montreal and Boston are the two host cities for the tournament um Mick your thoughts on this just curious uh like the garden uh Boston and the the TD Garden have not been host to a lot of NHL things recently the big events you know the All-Star game was here a long time ago first draft has draft hasn’t been here for a long time either three years later you know they’ve had their winter Classics obviously but I know the the Bruins love to host these kind of things and you know this is the way to make uh Boston again the center of the hockey Universe for a week or so which will be fun they’ve had more NC doua than NHL since that 20th century segment when the Fleet Center was so fresh and new and now that it’s a one of the one of the several buildings in the NHL that are now nearing 30 which is hard to believe um thinking going back to Boston Garden now is is one more season it’ll be 30 years it’s unbelievable well I was looking at the uh I don’t know if you saw this on my Facebook but I I I love the um the gbh uh you know the channel 2 Facebook account will like just post randomly old b-roll that they took back in the day gbh when they were going around and doing like news pieces or whatever and uh today they posted 1985 cosway Street uh before a Celtics playoff game and it was just uh it it it was mind-blowing to me to look back at what uh Causeway Street and outside of the garden looked like 40 years ago I remember it as a kid obviously so that’s my memory of going to the Garden was the dark dank like overpass like the barely any sunlight coming in like all the hustle and bustle going on there but it was like a kind of a nasty place to be around the front of the garden back in the day uh and it was funny to to sort of see b-roll and to get jogged as to what it used to look like to your point it was like Gotham City like Gotham City in the bat movies all the buildings are linked together by these little passageways that go over the street and there’s pipes everywhere there’s there’s rail rail everywhere over the street there’s there’s just it’s just you can’t even tell where you are half the time unless you know it by Chicago still has kind of that look a little bit it’s very reminiscent of that yeah yeah Boston it’s amazing how many iterations there have been of North Station if you look if you look on um you know Boston Globe uh AR or Boston Public Library archives for old newspaper photos there’s some amazing stuff about what North Station looked like before there even was a Boston Garden so that’s not even the our our childhood iteration is not even the first one you know so then it was Boston Garden after they took after they put the railways underground then there was the Fleet Center with Boston Garden in front of it then there was all so many years of this beige wall in a parking lot and um and I used to think it great be great there to have that little mural that’s up the street on friend Street do a gigantic one of that and put that in the front of that beige wall you already got the right background color so instead um we now have an incredible um it’s it’s a it’s a destination place now there’s swarmed with fans and their replica sweaters and on game nights and you don’t even know if they have tickets and I don’t know if they care obviously they want to have tickets but if they don’t they still go it’s just uh so much going on there it’s unbelievable uh what what what’s happened to that era and I’ve been told that Dallas has gone through a similar transition um if you go back to like uh the beginning of the Claude Julian era um we were down there for the opening night um and it was like a construction zone it was very much like a segment of of you know after TD Garden had been torn down it was like that around there um walking around the area near their Arena now I guess it’s all built up I haven’t been under this but this is what I’m told it’s like it’s like it’s like Boston now it’s it’s uh so it’s nice to see that the city caught up to the Arenas like they promised they would like you know we’re going to put this arena in this part of town you always hear what a great thing it’s going to be how many jobs how many things are GNA happen and in the case of the Fleet Center I think it took what uh 25 years for for this stuff to to Really to really come into to existence the way it is now so well and it’s it’s part of a bigger conversation with that area with the big dig and everything too right and like all the stuff that took place with that the greenway and how nice that is now and it’s made that whole area eminently more walkable than it used to be like it’s it’s a gorgeous area but like to your point like it makes you realize how long the garden the New Garden has been there now not the New Garden anymore no and it’s not really one of the ones that’s got all the bells and whistles like even though they’ve put money into it and it’s like it’s as good as it’s going to be and you know the the some of the stuff that they’ve done recently with like the you know the food court around there and some of the other things have really like built it up so it’s a lot more like Madison Square oh I I I think it’s such a nicer building now I mean it’s it’s knocking out the front wall so the fans could look out um toward Canal Street and knocking out the sidewall so you can now look out at the zum bridge and Bunker Hill Monument um those things didn’t exist for most of the history of this Arena so so the things that the remodeling the the the legendary transformation as they as they marketed it um yeah I wish they didn’t throw those extra seats into the l r um that that that wasn’t that wasn’t necessary but but the um but what they did upstairs I thought was excellent It’s just a much better experience up top yeah I I didn’t like them getting rid of the yellow seats either and and making them all black everywhere too the the look of the place now I don’t think has much it doesn’t have that Boston identity anymore no it used to Boston or Boston Garden back in the day was a very bright Arena but it wasn’t dark on the edges The Way Madison Square Garden was um and now with the LED lighting I think they thought that was should be the appropriate look and um and so it’s a holy totally different feel uh being in the building ever since um you know they already started doing that to the seats before the St Louis Final in 19 and now here we are so and Scully Square had been brought back from the dead you know it’s funny well I think it’s just Mick I think it just looks like every other building now you know like it looks the very streamline to like any other place you really can’t even tell you’re looking at the Garden when you see a picture of it when it’s empty with well that’s you know you know we had to get into the Stanley Cup Final before I realized that they did not paint Stanley Cup playoffs so Stanley Cup Final on the ice just inside the blue lines yeah I saw three round two rounds of Bruins playoffs watched three rounds on TV and it wasn’t until I was in the amarant bank arena in Florida yeah that I realized hey it doesn’t say steing Cup Final and I speculated which probably you know you don’t need to be very smart to know that to figure this out that it’s those superimposed television ads that they want that that you know they do it over the boards and they also do it on that patch of ice it says Progressive just inside the blue lines I guess I guess really having an ad there messes with what TV wants to do yep that happened a few years ago I remember when the it first uh happened because I used to look forward to um at the end of the regular season you would see the bull gang guys out there like pretty quickly after the last game was played and they were putting the playoff you know lettering on the ice and putting that stuff out there it would happen really fast you would see it before you left the building after game two they used to paint it now it’s preab it lays down like a sheet yeah but like I noticed the year they stopped doing that and then you look it down at the ice for game one of the playoffs and there’s nothing there weird yeah it is weird it’s it’s so so and it didn’t occur to me that uh I wish it messed with the boards too then the fans at the game would get to have blank boards wouldn’t that be cool but you know advertising being what it is prize picks is the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America and the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports the way to get in on the action while you watch your favorite sports and players you just pick more or less than on two or more player stats for a shot to win up to 100 times your cash with prize picks you could turn $10 into $1,000 in a single game watching your favorite sports this summer whether it’s playoff basketball whether it’s Major League Baseball uh soon enough football will be here in the fall but you can make prize pick a prize picks lineup in as little as 60 seconds you just need to pick more or less than on two to six player stat projections and you’re totally locked in if you’re looking for promotions prize picks has got you covered every week from lowering select players stats projections on Tuesdays which increases your chances of getting a win to getting your entry fees back if you have a losing lineup on Fridays download the prize picks app today and use the code clns for a first deposit match of up to $100 that’s download the prize pick app today super easy to use easy to download and use the code clns for a first deposit match of up to $100 pick more pick less it’s that easy yeah uh the one interesting thing about the for Nations being at the Garden is uh it brings back what Poss well that was the question wasn’t it no that’s fine the four nations uh the tournament the one thing interesting thing about the tournament being there is that uh you know it brings back past neck’s comments about him not watching and not really caring too much for it because uh the Czech Republic was not invited they win and they go in they win gold at the worlds and they get snubbed so that’s right that’s right and he mentioned something about it in his Instagram post one could tell he was still salty about it and that was kind of a rallying cry or a motivational uh point for them so that that adds an interesting sort of like storyline or narrative to this that you know it’s going to be in past’s home City now the championship which maybe he knew that at the time that was coming and that made him even more pissed off that he couldn’t be a part of it well Marty Walsh was down in Florida representing the Players Association to uh to to talk about a few things and um you know hockey fights cancer um also some other things they were doing plus they talked about this tournament and and the bman daily pre-series presser um he this these questions came up and um one of them uh the answers was they didn’t want a tournament any bigger than four teams because they felt it would have uh it would have disrupted the season for too long that was that was their reasoning the reason they picked the four countries they did was because they wanted all NHL players because they have an Olympics coming up and they wanted to uh give them a tournament and they thought that these four countries best fit that Bill obviously that’s not where the line should have been drawn um you know as if you were only going according to what who’s going to produce the best hockey teams here the Czech Republic certainly belongs in that group with Sweden and Finland and not in the group uh that they got left on the outside that’s that’s quite obvious but how do you do it then they wanted to appear around Robin the two games on President’s Day the day night double header and President’s Day in Boston are not a semi-final that’s just going to be the completion of the round robin so there’s no consolation there’s just a round robin and then a championship game Thursday yeah uh yes exactly and it’ll be interesting uh to see how that all plays out it’ll be fun you know to to like I said have something you know sort of the international hockey Spotlight be in Boston for a week I think that’ll all be cool um and that’s I’m old I’m old school I wish they did these things in September and did not in shut down I I hate shutting down the season yeah I know but like I think it’s something you just got to kind of make peace with now and and to be honest with you like shutting down the season for a few weeks actually makes the product better when they start playing again and the stretch run and then going into the playoffs I think all that stuff kind of you know giving them a breath like this in the middle of the Year actually like not for the guys that are playing obviously but for the league in general makes the quality of the product better down the stretch going into the playoffs I can argue that gives guys a chance to get over bumps and bruises nagging things yeah it does the re entry is chaotic for some teams and and that can course oh yeah well of course it’s it’s chaotic but like you know the benefits of it I think just raises the speed the level of play like all that stuff down the stretch on the whole but you know what’s funny after the NHL works so hard to uh make the regular season relevant and the and the cure to that was ironically expansion uh because by expanding from 21 to 30 they made a 16 team tournament uh only you know 50% of the the league without expanding the tournament that’s why playing games are a terrible idea and that’s why um uh but the league doesn’t seem to care that Colorado played Winnipeg in the first round even though those two teams had two of the best records in the Western Conference they would not have been seated uh to meet each other until at least the quarterfinal if they had gone with conference seating and uh and when we have play a balanced schedule like this conference seating is the only right thing to do but they like a division Centric playoff and the surprises that come with it I this was my question to Batman and the answer was uh well you still got to beat the best to win a Stanley Cup I’m like that’s a tough sell because your only argument that somebody’s the best is because they’re there waiting for you well how did they get there though did you know if Colorado and wieg had to cancel each other out you know I mean that’s like that’s like feder and Nadal playing each other you know in the in the US Open in the SE in the third ground instead of waiting till they get to the semis it’s it’s kind of crazy yeah I guess I I don’t I’ve never had a big issue with the divisional way they set it up now because and I understand it’s always going to have like tough first round matchups where it might be one good team getting eliminated in the first round but but the regular season schedule should reflect that they should play more regular season games against each other if that’s what they’re gonna do they divisional teams you’re saying absolutely in order for the playoffs to be fair whatever you do whatever you decide you want the schedule should reflect it no I agree I mean I don’t think you should necessarily be playing the Western Conference teams twice once at home once away like you could take away you know you go to Edmonton every other year and and pack in some more divisional games with things like that I definitely am in favor of i’ I’d love to get back to the point where we you know and this is earlier when we were covering the Bruins when the Bruins and the Canadians would be playing each other like eight times a year you know right now now maybe we’re never going back to 1982 to to9 three but but it would be it would be to but go instead of four you actually have of the Bruins eight seven division opponents two of them they only played three times this season right the rest of them they played two home and two away now right and and and so two of the Brewers divisional opponents they played no more than they played the um Metro division right they played them two two home and one away or one home and two away and right and then the West it was one in one and and I’m getting feedback from fans that tells me that they missed the rivalries and and uh and they you know they realized that yeah sure does that mean I some years I won’t see McDavid yeah okay I’d rather have my rivalries okay right well I put that question out and the answer was well you’re anecdotal and I have no problem with him calling it anecdotal it wasn’t a scientific thing um said that you know that where our our surveys with our fans indicate that people want to see the stars and our and then Dy chimed in and said our teams are telling us that too that their teams are telling us that they want to see they want the stars in their building they don’t care about the Rival you know relative to the rivalries and so uh you know that’s that’s where I was left so don’t hold your breath if you’re hoping for more games against the Canadians ain’t ever gonna happen yeah or the Leafs or whatever you know what I mean like not necessarily right now but still I I I don’t know I I think that kind of survey and that that kind of thing that smacks to me of a lot of places that aren’t like true hockey markets or aren’t dihy hockey markets that are saying that because they want the ticket draw of Conor McDavid comeing to their building like that doesn’t as much as there’s excitement when McDavid comes to Boston the Edmond ters comes to come to Boston right but who who Who’s the Columbus Blue Jackets rival right I mean you know if you if you could identify one would probably be the team yeah exact Market that would be in favor of no we have to have McDavid once a year like you know all that stuff it’s much more important to them uh to get the stars in and to sell the tickets that way and frankly for Florida I think it’s more important too uh although I mean I think ticket sales for them when they play Montreal Boston Toronto Etc is is much higher for a different reason yeah yeah because all the all the snowbirds can go and actually watch their team hey any time I drove to a Tampa game from my parents house down in uh rotunda West it it was minutes straight North and and there would always be some Jeeps on the on Route 75 there’d be some Jeeps with with big Bruins logos on their spare tire yeah yep um speaking of Florida uh you were down at the Stanley Cup finals uh you went to you attended game one and game two correct okay um set set the scene for me what what were your thoughts on watching those first two games covering them like what uh what were your takeaways from uh from being down there um Florida’s hot yeah no seriously um the Panthers have this team has a great relationship with its fans and the fans know their team there’s a lot of jerseys that are up there that are not could shook Bennett or barov you know there’s a lot of sweaters that say or bobovi there’s a there’s a lot of sweaters that for other guys and and um or and there’s some old there’s some yo yenin sweaters you know that’s 20 years ago holy yenin when he was when he was the Showcase when Florida hosted the the All-Star Game in 2003 he was their guy and so there I saw some of those you know this this and there’s some a lot of errors in between so Florida in their time has really gotten some loyalty established and of course you know when you win you make a whole new generation of people that turn on to your game and they play with such a sweat they play they remind me so much like the 95 Devils um they’re so fundamentally sound and tenacious and the fans engage the fans engage that their game they engage and look forward to what Florida does well they engage with that game and they are so on top of the game and they are screaming at every guy that goes down every guy that gets hit every as soon as they do a soft dump to the corner the fans get a buzz on because they know that this is where FL goes to work um they it it was really fun to see them you know we we’ve talked before amongst ourselves up you know when when the Bruins finally got there you know 15 years ago close to that um about the Tampa Bay Lightning you know and 20 years ago when they won the last cup before the lockout year and how their fans really got into their team and their game well Florida that’s that’s happening in Sunrise now it’s it’s it’s really it’s really happening they really have a fan base and um you know for a while there I used to think that team might be leaving and I’m not thinking that anymore I think they’ll get a lot of mileage out of this even if they somehow screw it up I mean their their ownership Situation’s a lot more stabilized now and that’s obvious with the success they’re having in the money that they’re spending so like I agree with you I think they’ve they’ve dug in Roots hard enough that I I don’t think they’re going anywhere either um at this point nor nor should they I mean they’re they’re still not the Tampa Bay Lightning as far as how well the organization has run and everything but like they’re getting there they’re getting better they are getting there it is really you can really see that yeah it’s it’s it’s a quite a place to be now granted it’s not a regular season game but what I do remember is that when the Bruins won the staling Cup in 2011 there are people who really suddenly wanted to talk about the Bruins the next season and the season after that that yeah hadn’t really been on you know it’s like that feel like the Bruins are hot you know and it’s like wow I kind of felt like AR Grande is at the games for for goodness sakes Mick you know they’ve even got the like celebs that live down there going to games you get the weekend down there we can do a duet I’m sure Gary bman loved to see that DJ khed and Ariana Grande hanging around at the Stanley Cup Final what you know what I have no idea what what uh you know I’ve heard of these people but I don’t know what they do and and um you know the NHL like that I mean they did like these little Snippets of their performances on The scoreboard and one of them I was thinking well that’s a buzz kill you know and whatever it’s it’s uh it’s a great place now to go to a game and I couldn’t always say that so being back in that building now for the first time in several years I’d been there a few times before um and and now it’s a it’s a whole different fi these fans are engaging their team they’re not just you know reacting to whatever the loud voice says um some guy on a tacky FM you know sounds like a DJ talking you know um but it’s it’s a they’re a really good hockey team and they play with that Swagger they give you that 95 devil 74 75 Flyers feeling they they’re they’re like must C TV the Bruins weren’t on and they’re playing and they’re on I gotta watch their game you know it’s uh they got a method to what they do and they got the athletes to do it and it’s it’s a special thing um where where it seems like you know and I look at Edmonton playing them and now they shot out of a cannon in the first period of game one yep the quickness and smoothness with which the Oilers executed made the first period of that series all about bosski without him they’re down five to2 and they wind up scoring a fast break goal with a couple of quick passes and they got the puck in the net and The Crowd Goes Nuts but Edmonton stay the course and it wasn’t really until the third period when Edmonton kind of lost a little bit of their zip that Florida started feeling good about their game and well that’s because I mean Florida’s just gonna keep punching Edmonton into into the mouth until they submit like that’s what I think what you’re GNA see in this series and and I think game two was kind of reality hitting them for sure and and honestly that dry cidal hit on barov that feels like to me at at a certain point Edmonton’s like I think the only way we’re going to win this series is if we start taking out some of Florida’s players especially barov because he’s so key to everything that they do and that’s really the only hope that they have because which is ironic because this is the first series Florida’s had to play where they weren’t the better team down the middle of the rink you know I mean you got McDavid a generational Talent ridle who’s about as good a player he can be without having that said about him and then you have if they have the they can choose to put Newen Hopkins there who is an excellent two-way play player uh and and uh and and so you’re saying okay yeah lundell is really you know he’s a really good player and people are learning about him now and barov and Bennett but you know it’s not that they getting outplayed I really think this would be a different series if it wasn’t for the gold ending but more about the good gold ending that Skinner was bad it’s not about that but but bosi just was outstanding early in game one uh he was and so so to me it’s a split as far as the hockey’s been that it’s been played I’m looking at a split series except for goal tending right now so when I get to Edmonton what’s going to happen I don’t know but I do know that game two usually speaks to game three more than game one does uh so yeah so I think that um I’m looking I think we saw the real series in game two and and it’s funny that that seems to be Florida’s MO is a lot of times in these series we’ve seen this the last few years they drop game one especially if they’ve had a long layoff and they don’t look like themselves right and then when game two starts you actually start to see the real Florida Panthers that’s right they feel their way in yeah and they put their a strangle hold on the series and the other and reality sets into the other team like uh oh we’re we’re playing a good goddamn team that’s right this is this is what we’re up against so now Edmonton got a true view of what they’re playing against here and and no Block’s postgame comments after game two are interesting he was saying that uh while Edmonton had this you know a great power play that canc score in this series and they had a great penalty kill that finally get scored on in this series um he said that one of the things that he noticed that you know what a he was asked you know you got a chance now to size up the Florida Panthers under more true to circumstances what do you think now and he’s like well I always knew they’re G to play a better game in game two um but as far as what we saw tonight he says it’s um you know systems are systems are not perfect all systems can be exploited some way um one thing about them is that that we know they they’re physical they’re impos they play hard they’re tenacious and but when we’re on the power play the biggest difference is is we don’t have as much time and one of the things I do remember watching Dallas play against them when Dallas was having trouble killing penalties against them Dallas was trying to change what they do which is they like to pack it in like 80s Canadians you know and get Craig lewig in front of Patrick W with those gigantic shinguards he wore and and uh and just and just play it tight well Edmonton eats that alive so what they wanted to try to do is is uh you know get out there more Florida wanted to get out there more it’s but that’s how Florida kills penalties so it’s the Dallas couldn’t do it when Dallas tried to send people out there to be aggressive on the PK they they were they weren’t playing it the way they like to play it so they got exploited uh they couldn’t kill a penalty to save their lives this is how Florida kills penalties they take away your time and space and challenge you to make a play and they anticipate so well off of whatever you decide to do so those everything they do everything they do is aggressive Mick that’s like what that’s a lot of what I like about them is they’re not sit back and wait and see what you’re going to do and trap you in the middle like they’re just they’re G to come after you they’re gonna punch you in the face they’re going to come after you they’re going to hit you and they’re going to force you into makeing mistakes and discourage you and eventually wear you down and and same thing on the penalty kill like they just will force you into mistakes and force you to panic with the puck and the very aggressive I just love it because it’s old school you know there’s a lot of old school mentality to the way the Panthers play and I really hope and we’ve talked about this before that it translates into other teams really starting to play that way and adopt going back to that sort of way of playing especially with the aggressive four check like I love to see that well they soft dump but they come at you hard you know yeah they they do even the guys who aren’t necessarily Rough House players they can still play physical in their own way and then they got enough guys who are rough house that that it’s and that’s why I think what Edmonton made some very undisciplined uh decisions um that we saw in game two for you into that their physicality is more Angry Florida is more tactical and very committed and it’s part of their hockey um cohesion and and it’s consistent they do it all the time they do it all the time they you know and that’s what gets into defenseman’s heads and the forwards too that are trying to work the sidewall is they know they’re coming every single time and they start to hear footsteps and they start to anticipate and make mistakes are you excited for the NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics you should be Jason Tatum Jaylen Brown all kinds of stars how cool would it be to actually go to one of the games at TD Garden and watch the Celtics my friends we’ve got an option for you game time will help you get those tickets game time makes getting NBA Finals tickets even faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to tip off with killer last minute deals Allin prices views from your seat and their lowest price guarantee game time takes the guest workor out of buying NBA tickets you pick out any specific games or matchups that you love to attend and you get good deals uh for those tickets save up to 60% off buying last minute for sports concerts comedy theater save even more with exclusive inapp deals and on select seats ahead of the game or event the all-in pricing feature shows you the total upfront with no surprise fees at the checkout and don’t you hate the surprise fees props to game time for no surprise fees all right so take the guest work out of buying NBA Finals tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account user code clns for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply but again create an account redeem the code clns for2 $20 off your first purchase download the game time app today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed one thing I wanted to ask you Mick um do you does the panthers run the way they’ve dispatched the Tampa Bay Lightning the Bruins the New York Rangers it looks like they’re going to have a fairly easy time with the Oilers unless something crazy changes in Edmonton which I don’t think it’s going to maybe they win one out of two there and they give the home crowd something to cheer about but I don’t know it’s needs to do is win a hockey game here watching yeah we’ll see I don’t know I mean I mean it’s like when you’re there you feel like every every dump in it might change the game that’s how it feels but I know what you’re saying all the road signs tell us that this is gonna go quick this is gonna be a five game series I think game two was telling to me it was not as competitive as game one was and it was much more in the vein of what we’ve seen so many games the Florida Panthers have played this year but let’s just say it continues the the way it’s going to and and Florida uh finish off the Oilers in five or six games does it make you feel any differently about the Bruins second round Series against Florida just seeing them do uh in some oh every time you win I get better in some instances in some instances they’re doing it easier against other teams than they did against the Boston Bruins and the Bruins at least push them to six games but it looks like nobody’s gonna even push the Florida Panthers to seven games and they are going to prove that they’re the best team in hockey and they’re doing doing it against some of the best goal tending some of the best teams I think they had a awfully difficult Road in the Eastern Conference to go through the three teams that they went through does all of that if they end up winning change the way you felt about the Bruins going against them in the second round and and the outcome uh I I actually felt more about that last year um as disappointing as it was for the Bruins to cough up their three games to one lead um the way Florida got better every round and and just absolutely destroyed the subsequent competition that kind of I sort of felt like that kind of gave me a better feeling about the breu season that and and obviously that went way off the rails but Florida was made to wait 10 days by the NHL to play the Vegas golden knights who are coming off a a perfectly appropriate amount of rest to play the Stanley Cup Final so to me that didn’t have a chance of being a good series they were in a two- nothing hole before they played a decent hockey game so for me um that was just a hot mess and and so I was really feeling it last year this year I kind of feel about the Bruins that you know what they’re so early in their process of transforming this club into a Next Generation version that I don’t feel like I don’t feel like they were ever as close as the as as the game as going six games makes it look they were down three to one they won game five you can say the scores were tight you can look at all these things but that’s hockey that’s what hockey does does anybody talk about the 69 St Louis Blues oh look at this look at the the scores of their games against the Montreal Canadians in the second straight year that they got swept by the Canadians and would be swept by the Bruins the following year but that 69 Series against Montreal those those those years what they lost nobody remembers that as being a great hockey team the first two years of the St Louis Blues because they only had to win their way out of Le West to get into which was the expansion division to get into the Stanley Cup Series and they did and they uh but those Gams were very tight and and so I’m looking at the Bruins and saying okay yeah so the series looked tight the games looked tight but there was never any doubt what was going to happen here and it doesn’t change my mind about the Bruins being it does I don’t have to feel better about the bru I feel great about what the Bruins did I I already did and I still do because for them to pull off what they did given the challenge before the season and what they wound up doing with their season uh and then and then you wind up winning a series against Toronto that was really doubtful um you know that’s that’s great now if I don’t need Florida to win the cup here to make them look better that’s kind of my point though Mick is like I I think them just cutting through the rest of the NHL like a hot knife through butter it makes you feel like the Bruins in the state that they are in sort of transitioning from one group to the other and sort of introducing young players and all the stuff that’s going on right now with them yeah where they’re clearly passing the torch for them to push the Panthers really as hard as anybody else has in the entire league I think it does make you feel a little bit better about uh the way things went down maybe relative to the other competition that failed yeah when that when that series is over initially you I think if you’re a fan you get discouraged because you’re like the Bruins couldn’t even get like 20 shots on net in a game and they were having a difficulty breaking the puck out of their Zone and they were getting pushed around um but I think the fact that they were managed to push it to six that they had that one last win to at least get it to the garden for one more game um that you know they were able to hold down the Panthers for the most part that they did push back at certain points po neck fighting kachuck there were other things in that series that they soldiered on through marshand being taken out in the middle of the series I think when you look at all the things beginning to end that Boston was able to do against Florida and if they end up you know raising the St cup in the next couple days the next week against the Oilers and just do it against everybody some like I’ll even more convincingly than uh against the Bruins I think it does make you feel a little bit more encouraged about what you saw in the postseason I think it puts a little more weight into what they did in the first round against Toronto advancing against them and I think it raises a little bit the optimism level that they’re going to be able to come back and be even better and you know more difficult to deal with and more prepared for that moment the next time it comes now now that being said Florida’s a wagon like they’re going to lose a couple of players they’re probably going to lose Reinhardt may you know montour’s up there’s a few other players that need to get paid or they’re going to need to figure out LEL I think is at a Crossroads salary cap stuff with them tereno obviously there’s a bunch there’s a few guys they’ll have to let him go yeah but like they’re also gonna have to you know any optimism you feel about like or raised optimism you feel about how they did against Florida in the second round you’re going to have to figure out some ways to get past them because the lot the the bulk of those players the nucleus of that group is staying they’re the new dadd used to be Tampa daddy now it’s Florida yeah they’re gonna be even more confident after they win the cup and more arrogant and more like uh going right in your face even than they are right now they’re pretty full of themselves I think Florida and they have been for a while and they’re going to be even more so after they win the cup so it’s going to raise the bar I think even more and Elevate the bar of how difficult it’s going to be and what you’re going to have to do to combat that if you’re the boss of Bruins it’s a lot like watching being a teenager and watching the Bruins lose to the flyers in 74 and uh and again in 76 when the Bruins were then a team like the Bruins are now they had just traded Phyllis bazito and Carol vadney Brad Park was on their team John Rell was on their team and a lot of other stuff was changing underneath that and and the Bruins W up turning those tables with a team that no longer had Orin Esposito a Terry O’Reilly was the face of the franchise and yeah with with the with the Flyers everything in 77 that they were in 745 and six no but the core was there and teams hit their sweet spots and there’s movement among both ships and this is why the Panthers are now the best team in Florida not the lightning the Panthers the best team in the league not the lightning and uh that that time came and went for the lightning and it’s now the the Panthers turn and uh all they got to do is finish the job here uh and I I think that they will just based on my eyes to tell just telling me what I’m watching here as a special hockey team that looks impenetrable impervious to any anything right now it doesn’t look to me like Edmonton’s going to have what it takes to solve this question Edmonton’s on the right track they all played him in game one but they still couldn’t get past their goalie uh so Florida’s just got superiority in key areas and uh now that Edmonton’s going home is it possible they’re gonna win a game here maybe two I really don’t see two I say maybe one because Florida’s a great Road team and so um yeah so I think yeah the Bruins are a team in transition and their time will come and it probably isn’t next year and I don’t think it’s a failure for Dawn Sweeney if next year isn’t the year um but I do think he’s in a position here that something over the next three seasons should uh there should be a pathway for the Bruins to get up to that level in these next few seasons through moves that are uh you know that this this offseason would be the germination point of those moves I think that that’s what you got to take what you got right now and and find the right ingredients that you can then build the rest of your team and be that formidable over the next uh if not this next season because it takes a while to put it together Florida two years ago president’s Trophy last year uh last year is is that your toast no it’s not keep going I thought it was the microwave um anyway um Vinnie Johnson uh yeah so I think I think that just like Florida took a few years to get here you know a president’s trophy in 122 Point Season that looks like a team that’s supposed to do something well they go and get swept by the lightning in a you know they win their first round they get swept by the lightning I think in the second one they come back make a huge trade trade eight players very much like the way the Bruins involuntarily lost something like eight last year they they lose eight on purpose to change around their team and get the right ingredients they come back last year they made huge strides even though they didn’t have a great regular season because it took a while to pull it all together and be healthy this year they’ve been they were forced into losing gutus and they took a different widget in neckman Larson but other people emerged uh forsling has become the new Nicholas jerson of the NHL he’s just a glue guy that holds a second pairing together and uh you know he’s just a terrific two-way player and has been good for them too yeah and and uh not afraid to throw it around they’re they’re really they’re really it’s amazing with the stenin uh this kid from Sweden who doesn’t look like a Swede didn’t he’s he’s a big kid and he plays so smart and he’s tactically physical he’s one of the best fourth liners I’ve seen in recent years just outstanding um this team hey if Nick cousins and Ryan The Boston Strangler lomberg can’t get in the lineup how good is this hockey team you know that is that brings up a good question so like there’s definitely something going on with the Panthers between lomberg uh trying to choke out Trent Frederick last year and uh I think it was Frederick wasn’t it or it was Freddy it was Freddy yeah it was Freddy right and um eblad put in the sleeper hold on one of the Oilers I forgot about that one yeah right yeah they’re always doing they’re the Panthers like definitely like have lead the league and we should do uh prize picks with that for uh MMA choke holds that the Florida Panthers players will put on their opponents over the course of a series I think that could be a a stat category that we could well giv the PK maybe Power Play Goals there you go uh all right one one trade name and this name obviously has been like vocally uh poo pooed by the organization like very convincingly and like strongly and I understand why U but you we’ve heard a few Whispers And maybe it’s put out there by his own Camp because he wants out um Brady kachuck potentially being available in a trade out of Ottawa like that is the guy that if he ever became available the Bruins should give up everything they have to give up to get the player that player I think that is the kind of player that they need Not only would he check a lot of boxes as far as the way he plays style of play fits with the Bruins he’s got the skill he’s got the meanness and the you know the the the badass play and the power forward kind of thing going on but like how awesome would it be to watch Brady kachuck in a Bruins uniform going against Matthew kachuck in a Florida Panthers uniform when those two teams started playing each other uh and and like the entertainment value the the the fun that would be the competitive level that would be like it would ratchet it up a whole another level like if if by some chance he ever becomes available Don Sweeney needs to make that happen um I’ve never considered that realistic to to to Muse about but but if but if you’re something really have to be realistic to Muse about it Mick but if you’re talking then then if you’re talking then I’m listening I mean I’m picking up what you’re laying down and um I can’t I can’t think of a player a singular player uh you know I mean I’d do a Blockbuster with them and get chikan over here and and get get Brady kachuk over here and uh the one guy that I really that that there’s been a lot of crap slung at after this playoff that I really don’t want to part with is Charlie McAvoy um a lot of people are considering him as just this exchangeable widget who turns the puck over and oh look at the you got a look at the hockey being played and what’s being asked to this kid and what he’s doing out there and and the situation he’s doing and how many different part Partners they try him with in order to somehow you know because he’s trying to trying to do too he’s a poster boy for trying to be too much and and as a result when it goes poorly he becomes a hot mess and they just played a series against the best team in the league so so it was hard to look good when you don’t have the you know so i’ would like to see if there was a way to get Chan over here to play with him um then I’m listening to any all things if there’s a way to Kook here I’m listening to any all things I used to I will admit this full disclosure before kachuk get signed um before he get traded from Calgary he and ponak were both pre-contract and I would have done the pasta KN for kachuk deal then um and the reason was because not because I was down on pasta it was because the Bruins are so desperate for a player that brings that kind of thing into their game and SK in toughness and attitude like they need that kind of anybody says oh this guy’s a prototypical breu I don’t even know what that means anymore the only thing I know I know what I know what they’re trying to say but it makes me wince because how many prototypical Bruins play for the Bruins you know I mean and not everybody has to be either I love John Rell as a bruin he was not a prot prototypical bruin but I loved him as a bruin he went right through the Gates of Hell the Montreal Canadians in the late 70s made it a mission to knock him on his ass as many times as they could because they felt like they had a chance against the Bruins if they could keep him uh occupied with the physicality that they had on their defense and so that’s how the game was with them and Rell like Rick Middleton the great Rick Middleton who should be in the Hall of Fame played through it now pasta plays through it PL pasta has shown me so much that I’ve really really uh G gotten on the bandwagon here and and so I would hate to see him go that having been said um if you’re talking about things that big I have to be cons I have to consider all things because uh the growing and and changing your team and making it uh get where it wants to go hurts now can they get there is there a pathway for the Brewers to get there with the core that they have without disturbing it I’m not ruling that out I I like I like I like a lot about their core would I continue tweaking it yes absolutely so but gry kachuk oh hell yeah would I love to see him in a Bruins uniform my good hell yeah Mi we’re talking all right uh tweet of the week uh from insufficient on Twitter I would give Florida credit like the Bruins who outmuscled uh like the excuse me I would give Florida Credit like the blues who outmuscled us and he’s talking about 2019 if they weren’t such CU theck tough guys I’ve never heard the phrase theck tough guys I’m gonna adopt it now this guy is calling the Florida Panthers called theck tough guys I I had is that a Florida thing I really like that I think that’s pretty awesome tough guys let’s uh on that note let’s thank our sponsors who are definitely not called theck tough guys prize pick is the largest Al for fantasy sports platform in North America and the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports instead of B battling thousands of other players there could be proo sharks you simply pick more or less than two to six player stat projections and watch the winnings roll right in um when the the finals are over the Hoops action doesn’t stop on prize picks women basketball is just getting started with young stars like Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese uh looking to make names for themselves alongside greats like Brianna Stewart and AA Wilson you could win up to 100 times your catch watch them ball out uh you could also probably pick more or less than on the number of intentional fowls that uh Petty jealous girls are throwing at Caitlyn Clark during games so definitely do that right blues and right about that that’s right there’s always that’s a lot that they’re definitely culdesac tough girls in those leagues going after KAC Mean Girls there’s there’s always action on prize picks and this is the perfect time to try out something new as basketball’s winding down make sure to try out Esports this month because for every Wednesday and Saturday in June if your lineup doesn’t win you’ll get more your entry feed back choose from counter- Strike 2 Call of Duty League of Legends and so much more uh it’s fun and pretty simple download the prize pick app today and use the code clns for a first deposit match of up to $100 that’s download the prize pick app today and use the code clns for a first deposit match of up to $100 pick more pick less it’s that easy let’s also thank game time uh if you’re looking for NBA Finals tickets at the Garden this is the place to go uh all-in pricing toggling this feature shows the total up front with no surprise fees at checkout uh you save even more when you choose a section and let game time choose the seats for you uh lowest price guarantee or game time will credit you 110% of the difference that is a damn good deal doesn’t get any better than that so take the guest work out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account use the code clns for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply but again create an account and redeem the code clns for $20 off after are downloading the game time app which is super easy to use download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed Mick thank you very much for joining us my friend may make one more comment yes somebody’s gonna react to this and say hey Brady kachuk and Matthew kuk are not anything like each other as players and I’m not gonna argue that I just wanted to make a reference there to the poso end of the story because you got to give something to get something but yeah I realize Brady kuk is a completely different player than Matthew I would love to see Brady kuk in a Bruins uniform if that were possible yes Brady kachuck is definitely not a culde sack tough guy he is the real genuine article I would agree that Matthew kachuck is a cue sack tough guy uh Mick thank you very much for joining us uh everybody out there thanks for listening we’ll see you at the ring [Music]

On this episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast, Joe Haggerty and Mick Colageo talk about the Stanley Cup Final and whether Florida’s dominant showing makes you feel any differently about the Bruins going down to them in the second round. That, and much more!

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