The Montreal Canadiens are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993! Host Norm Szcyrek was joined by co-hosts Josh Coulter, Jonathan Rebelo, Paul MacLeod, and Connor MacLeod to talk about this series and much more. This podcast was recorded the evening of June 27, 2021. This is a breakdown of the topics we discussed.
First Period (0:00 – 18:08)
– Introductions
– Habs Trivia
– Predictions for the Cup Final against Tampa Bay
– Habs “blood” rituals in the post season
– Referee Chris Lee’s terrible officiating, how it was a handicap to the Habs, but his many mistakes have left him off the scheduled referees in the Cup finals
– The Habs have had some breaks in the first three series, where key players have been injured or suspended (John Tavares, Mark Scheifele, Chandler Stephenson)
– Reflections on the Vegas series
– Cole Caufield’s clutch goals against Vegas
Second Period (18:09 – 45:52)
– The importance of Joel Edmundson; kudos to Vegas’ Alex Pietrangelo in the playoffs
– Joel Armia’s positive test Sunday and possible lineup change with Jake Evans returning
– Coach Dominique Ducharme’s COVID-positive test and assistant coach Luke Richardson stepping up as the temporary interim head coach
– Analyzing the Tampa Bay defence
– Ex-Hab Max Pacioretty’s play and more reflections on the Habs-Vegas series
– Could Nikita Kucherov’s health be a factor?
– Can Phillip Danault’s line keep the Tampa top line in check?
Third Period (45:53 – 1:04:17)
– Habs players superstitions and our own Habs playoff superstitions
– Marc Bergevin nominated as the GM of the year; did he deserve it and was it fair to announce this award halfway through the playoffs
– Patrick Roy and Mario Tremblay buried the hatchet during a RDS May special; could this have broken a Habs “curse” and help explain the Habs playoff success?
– Clutch performances by Phillip Danault and Artturi Lehkonen
– Around the NHL: former Hab associate coach Kirk Muller hired by the Calgary Flames; coach Gerard Gallant hired by the New York Rangers; coach Dave Hakstol hired by the Seattle Kraken; ex-Hab P.K. Subban hired by ESPN as a hockey analyst
You can download/listen to the podcast via the PodOmatic widget below, via our Podomatic webpage, or listen to it via your favourite podcast feeder (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music/Audible, Spotify, Player FM, or Deezer). We encourage any feedback [bad and good] to help us improve the podcast and we ask listeners to please take a moment to leave a rating via iTunes or Podomatic. Contact us via email at habsworldpodcast@gmail.com, or within the HabsWorld forum.
