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Carl is ready to celebrate his victory in The 4th Line Podcast’s fantasy league and Joel is disappointed with those who played against Carl. The Anaheim Ducks were afraid to play against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in overtime this week. Is this a trend that we could see growing? What could be done to counter it? Should it be a penalty? Don Cherry had comments about Eugene Melnyk and the Ottawa Senators that are generally accepted as wrong. Is it finally time to call it quits with Coach’s Corner? The Dallas Stars head to the Elimination Station. Is Ben Bishop enough for this team?Read More →

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The WHL Playoffs are here, and Andy and Ryan are back joining Carl to preview them, including: How big of an upset would it be if Prince Alberta bested Moose Jaw? Swift Current vs Regina might be the closest matchup of the playoffs. Can Regina prepare for hosting the Memorial Cup with a victory? The Medicine Hat Tigers have been great at home, but will it be enough to overcome the Brandon Wheat Kings? The Central Division Pillow Fight featuring Lethbridge and Red Deer. Someone has to win, right? Everett and Seattle renew their rivalry. Is this Everett’s last chance to prove themselves? The Tri-CityRead More →

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In: Central Division, General, NHL
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Amateur Scouting for the NHL is far from an exact science despite improvement in player rankings over the past decade. Technology continues significantly impact player evaluation across the board, providing access to talent outside of North America. If Pavel Datsyuk were draft eligible in 2018, he would be a top-three prospect. Potential first overall selection, Rasmus Dahlin, would have fallen through the cracks back in the 90’s. Scouting staffs have nearly unlimited access to upcoming talent and it continues to drive Central Scouting reports. The Draft Pick Even with advances in talent evaluation, did Nashville Predators’ GM, David Poile, expect the impact that Viktor ArvidssonRead More →

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The guys are back and Joel is upset with Carl and his reverse jinxing ways. So upset in fact, that in an unprecedented move he is removing the Colorado Avalanche from the Elimination Station. But have the Avs done enough to merit this? Can they ride on Nathan MacKinnon‘s wings to the playoffs? With the Avalanche out, the Calgary Flames go in. How far are the Flames from being Stanley Cup contenders? Can Mike Smith do this again next year? Would the Flames do the Travis Hamonic deal again? The general managers are meeting to discuss changes to goalie interference, playoff format changes, long termRead More →

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In: Atlantic Division
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Dark times are on the horizon for the Detroit Red Wings. Take it from someone who has ended up supporting bad teams in different sports, it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better. In the last 25 joyful, playoff making seasons, our Red Wings have made the finals six times and won the Stanley Cup in four of those finals. It’s safe to say that we’ve been spoiled. The problem is that once a team starts to perform poorly, trying to escape without making big, dramatic changes is like trying to escape a whirlpool while paddling a surfboard.  And the surfboard is onRead More →

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The NWHL’s playoffs are here and they’re set to be awesome. All four teams are in contention to lift the Isobel Cup. Here’s your preview this weekend’s semi-final. Each match-up is one game only so each team will have to play the best game they can to progress to the final.   Boston Pride vs Buffalo Beauts   When? Puck drops at 1730 on Saturday Where? HarborCenter in Buffalo   The second and third seeded Pride and Beauts meet for the first time in a semi-final, having been finalists and winners in both previous NWHL seasons. The Beauts have the strongest regular season record, havingRead More →

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The guys are back and Joel is already upset. On the website this week a case was made for Taylor Hall, Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon for the Hart Trophy. He wants to know where Evgeni Malkin‘s name is. Brad Marchand was at his usual antics again. Will he be punished for it this time? It leads to the question of who the player you hated cheering for the most was. Send us your answers for next week’s show! As we near the playoffs (less than a month to go), Joel is looking at the standings and disappointed that the playoff format will give usRead More →

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In: Atlantic Division, Central Division, Metropolitan Division
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Taylor Hall. Nikita Kucherov. Nathan MacKinnon. These three are currently the front runners to win the Hart Trophy this season as the league MVP. But who will win it? Chace, Joe and Carl make their case for each. Taylor Hall (by Chace McCallum) The NHL’s Hart Trophy goes to the”player judged most valuable to his team“. This is an important caveat in Taylor Hall’s MVP case. He has fewer points per game than Nathan Mackinnon and Nikita Kucherov, his biggest opponents. This likely knocks Hall out of the most outstanding player debate, however in terms of value to their team, it’s Hall and it’s not close.Read More →

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In: Olympics
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The Olympics are but a memory, all the medals have been handed out and the grandstands have been dismantled. That’s it for another four years. We’ll see you in Beijing in 2022. But will we see NHL players? Does it matter if we don’t? Cards on the table: I’ve already said on this website that the NHL should take a break so its players can represent at the Winter Olympics. My position hasn’t changed. The fear, when the decision was announced, was that teams would be hamstrung by the denial of top talent. This concern was mostly North American-centric, understandable given that 70.7% of NHLersRead More →

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The guys are back and wonder, who are some of the more unconventional players in the NHL? Sure, none are the level of Dominik Hasek, but are any even close? The NHL is heading to Seattle! How will the expansion rules impact moves leading up to them joining the league? Gary Bettman made an appearance in Calgary, talking about the Flames arena situation, which had Carl in a mood. Joel tries to find the keys to the Rant Shack, while Carl rants alone outside. The NY Islanders make an appearance in the Elimination Station. So, we all know that John Tavares need to stay forRead More →