The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back tonight with another busy show as the first week of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs is in the books, teams and leagues aren't slowing down with news, and many thing have happened. You'd think that the NHL would take a day or two off from generating headlines outside of the eight playoff series they're running, but the news came fast and furious this week as eliminated teams began clearing space for new bodies. Lots of people were sent packing which is the result of missing the playoffs, but some of these seemed either premature or completely unwarranted. In any case, our hosts will look at that tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
Tonight on the show, Teebz and Jason will chat about the circus known as the New York Rangers as Peter Laviolette was fired, Chris Drury was re-signed, and JT Miller hit the links. They'll also discuss the Seattle Kraken seeing Ron Francis move up, Jason Botterill move in, and Dan Bylsma move out. They'll talk about Lou Lamoriello not having his contract renewed on Long Island, Jim Rutherford making another mess in Vancouver, another team popping up in Vancouver, the court case surrounding the 2018 World Junior team began, and Team USA released the first 18 names of players heading to the IIHF World Championship in Denmark. Oh, and there were some hockey games played too! In short, it's a ridiculously-busy show so settle in and get ready to move fast tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!
If you live outside Winnipeg and want to participate, you're still welcome to enter the contest! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.
If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason talk firings, more firings, hirings, making messes, getting bigger, keeping quiet, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
Officially, I am proposing that the helmet to the left becomes the new logo for the Vegas Golden Knights if they show up in Game Three with the same effort they showed tonight. I can't recall a playoff game in recent memory where the Vegas Golden Knights have had the game taken to them in T-Mobile Arena like the Minnesota Wild did tonight. Outside of a handful of chances early, the Wild legitimately disarmed and dismantled the Golden Knights from the nine-minute mark through to the end of the first period. When the carnage finally stopped for an intermission, the score was 3-0 for the Wild and the Vegas fans were silent and stunned as Minnesota erased any "sweep" talk in showing they could skate with Vegas!
I don't know what it will cost Minnesota to keep Kirill Kaprizov in Minneapolis/St. Paul, but an eight-figure average annual value on the next contract seems appropriate considering how he's raised his game in the first two games of this series. Tonight was another masterclass in Kaprizov showing he distributes the puck, but consider the following highlight from Game One. This pass is ridiculous.
Kaprizov spots Matt Boldy on the left side and changes his slapshot into a slap-pass while his stick is in the air, setting up Boldy for the Wild goal. That kind of vision and skill where he can make a perfect tape-to-tape pass after winding up for a slapshot is why Kaprizov will get big money on his next contract with whatever team can afford it.
Fast-forward to tonight, and Kaprizov and Boldy deliver again with Kaprizov saucering a pass that may be illegal in several countries.
That pass went virtually went from the Minnesota blue line to the Vegas blue line without even a wobble, and Boldy picked it up as it landed flat against his blade. That kind of pass is only made as perfect as it was by a handful of people in the world, and it got the Wild started on this night as they went up 1-0 on Boldy's goal.
"That might have been the best pass I've ever seen," Boldy told reporters after the game. "Like, I didn't have to do much. He's a special player, obviously. You see all the plays he makes, how hard he works, but for him to have the poise and to make that pass right on my tape, it was unbelievable."
I'm taking nothing away from the likes of Artemi Panarin and Nikita Kucherov who have their own bag of tricks when it comes to scoring, and they score often enough that players have to be aware of them when they're on the ice. The difference is those two Russian players play in more offensive systems than what Minnesota employs, and yet Kaprizov has hit the 40-goal plateau three times in four seasons. He had 96 points last season when no other player on the Wild hit 70 points. It seems clear that Kaprizov is an offensive talent.
What people seem to forget is that Kirill Kaprizov was the fifth fastest active player to reach 300 points, reaching that mark faster than both Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl. He was the Calder Trophy winner in 2020-21 when he entered the league at age 23, and all he's done since that time is spill ink on scoresheets. Staying healthy has been a challenge for Kaprizov, but if this is what he looks like when he's playing at 100%, every team should be on notice.
As Minnesota comes home for Game Three, he should see some better matchups away from Vegas's more defensively-minded players. That could allow him to improve on his five points in a big way, but it should be noted that Kaprizov also has seven blocked shots through the opening two games of the series. If anyone thinks he's just floating near a blue line or avoiding the defensive side of the game, the Wild would disagree wholeheartedly. As it stands after tonight's game, Kaprizov is tops among all NHL forwards when it comes to blocked shots, and he trails leader Devon Toews by three.
It's not out of the question to say that the Wild will go as far as Kirill Kaprizov takes them, but I'm sure they'd proclaim that it's a team-first mentality in the locker room. Regardless of what is said, Kaprizov is making statements on the ice with his skill as shown in the highlights above, and it's hard not to be impressed with how good he's been on both sides of the puck. No one is saying he's in line for the Conn Smythe Trophy at this point by any means, but he's starting to make a case if the Wild can get that far in these playoffs.
Is he the best Russian-born player in the game right now? It's hard to argue against that assertion, but it's clear that he'd be in the conversation. With magic hands like he's shown in the first two games of this series, Las Vegas may want to ban him from casinos because he's heloing the Minnesota Wild beat the odds in this series!
I'm not saying that St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer poked the bear by remaining on the ice to prevent Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele from being the last player off the ice in warm-up, but when Scheifele barked at Hofer to get off the ice you had to wonder if that fired up Scheifele. Neither player will admit to this being a factor in the Jets' 2-1 victory over St. Louis tonight, but Scheifele scored and had an assist while playing gritty and hard-nosed all game. The edge he showed made him effective every time he was on the ice, and the thought of Hofer annoying Scheifele in warm-up suddenly seemed like it could have been a catalyst to Scheifele's performance tonight. In any case, Winnipeg is up 2-0 in the series.
I get that tonight's game may have been the best game of the season by a large margin for Logan Stanley, but we need to temper the enthusiasm for Stanley's physical presence. Yes, he was very good at picking his spots tonight, but it was one game. Did Logan Stanley earn a shot to play in Game Three? Absolutely. But let's tone down the building of statues for #64 until tonight's play becomes more regular. One game does not make him a Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
Stanley's play was definitely part of the larger effort shown by the Jets defenders who had an outstanding game. I liked Josh Morrissey's spicy play where he was good offensively, threw a few big hits, and showed great defensive responsibility. Dylan DeMelo and Dylan Samberg were their usual steady selves, keeping the Blues to the outside and limiting chances. Neal Pionk had a strong game as he was jumping into plays and into passing lanes to break up plays, and Luke Schenn was a mountain of a man for the Blues to get around, climb over, or make their way past. That was solid Winnipeg defence.
There seems to be a lot of chatter on social media about Connor Hellebuyck's game and how he hasn't looked sharp in the first two games, and I'd like to say that those opinions are wrong. Has he stolen a game from the Blues at this point? No, but he hasn't had to yet either. Yes, his .897 save percentage is 28 points lower than what he posted in the regular season, but you know that Hellebuyck will see that number and immediately want to improve upon it. Giving him motivation to be better won't be an issue. He'll find it.
The stars have been very good for Winnipeg as well. Scheifele, Connor, Perfetti, and Lowry have done some excellent work in generating chances and putting pucks on net. Iafallo, Niederreiter, Tanev, Barron, and Anderson-Dolan have been the nose-to-the-grindstone, "Charlie Hustle" players that the Jets have been adding who can play 200-foot games, add some physicality, and contribute a little offence. Vladislav Namestnikov has shown the ability to stick-handle in a phone booth, but I'm waiting for that offensive flair of his to appear. He and David Gustafsson have had their chances at the offensive end, but neither has been able to dent twine yet.
The one player who has concerned me up front is Mason Appleton as he looks lost on some shifts. I know that he was supposed to be doing what Brandon Tanev is currently doing on that line - hard forechecks, physical play, and causing chaos - but he has not looked comfortable since Nino Niederreiter was moved to the second line and Tanev was bumped up to the third line. He did give a puck away tonight that forced him to make a great recovery to prevent a goal, but something is off with Appleton's game right now.
While the Jets' power-play numbers are decent and certainly can be improved, it's the penalty-killing that needed some focus. It did bounce back with a good effort tonight, but a 57.1% efficiency is nowhere close to where the Jets want or expect to be. There were some positives seen as the Jets killed three of four penalties in this game, but this is one area where the Jets needs to shut down the Blues. Giving up power-play goals in a tightly-checked series is how the Blues can find their way back into the series.
The difference, if one takes away the empty-net goal in Game One, is one goal in each of the games. Winnipeg will tell everyone they don't mind winning those one-goal games as that's their type of hockey, but opening up a two- or three-goal lead at times would be nice. St. Louis hasn't looked out of any game, though, and a bounce here or a deflection there could have them tied 1-1 heading home.
The series will shift to the Gateway to the West on Thursday as St. Louis looks to continue their winning ways at home. The Blues boast a 24-14-3 regular-season home record, including 12 consecutive victories as the Enterprise Center has been unfriendly to visiting teams. Both sides will tell you that no one worries in the playoffs until they lose a home game, but Winnipeg will look to take a stranglehold with a third-straight win in this series after winning both games in St. Louis in the regular season this year.
St. Louis may be singing the blues if this series continues in Missouri in the same way that it played out in the Manitoba capital. The Jets have looked solid in opening up a two-game lead, but it seems clear that both sides know that this series is far from being over.
I know that Easter has deeply religious overtones for some people, but I'm not one of those people. I respect those who go to services today, but that scene just isn't for me. What is for me is a good day of rest, and that's what I plan on doing for the majority of this day as I prepare for what should be another busy week. I do have plans to get some spring cleaning out of the way as there are a few things I need clear out of HBIC Headquarters, but I spent the morning with a coffee and some Pixar short films that truly are excellent. One such film is shown to the left in Presto, but it's the small bunny named Alec who steals the show with his refusal to assist in Presto's magic until he's fed a carrot. The 2008 Pixar short was released with Wall-E, and it was nominated for an Academy Award! Let the comedy ensue!
The reason I bring up rabbits on this day is, of course, due to the Easter Bunny. Rabbits weren't mentioned anywhere in any religious texts when it came to Easter, but the history of rabbits and Easter came about due to a pagan festival honouring the goddess, Eostre. She was represented by a rabbit as she was seen as symbol of the goddess of fertility and spring because, according to some, bunnies "reproduce like rabbits". There's no mention of bringing eggs to children at this festival, but that tradition began elsewhere.
According to reports, the legend of the Easter Bunny being associated with eggs comes from German immigrants who landed in Pennsylvania in the 1700s. They spoke of an egg-laying hare named "Osterhase" or "Oschter Haws" who would leave colorful eggs as gifts to children who built nests where this legendary bunny could leave his eggs. Those same kids would often leave carrots in case the rabbit got hungry!
Of course, the egg imagery is also a sign of new life and fertility as we see in spring from a lot of animal life, so this "Osterhase" wasn't some distant relative of the platypus or echidna. Decorating eggs possibly is derived from eggs being a forbidden food during Lent, and cooking and eating a decorated egg left by the Easter Bunny represented a treat for those who weren't permitted to eat them.
The idea of an Easter marsupial like the platypus or echidna may seem far-fetched, but Australians celebrate Easter with the arrival of the Easter Bilby. Bilbies, or raccoon-bandicoots, are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores from Australia that has long ears like a rabbit and grows to the size of a domestic cat. They are noctural with good hearing and an excellent sense of smell, but they, like the Easter Bunny, do not lay eggs. The young, instead, remain in the mother's pouch for up to three months before beginning their own adventure!
Ok, I have to get started on the cleaning routine if I want to feel somewhat productive today. Enjoy your Easter Sunday however you celebrate it if you celebrate it, and here's hoping you have a great day no matter where the day takes you! And if the Easter Bunny showed up with sweets and gifts? Be grateful that the Germans brought that legend with them to North America!
The Whiteout Party has started in downtown Winnipeg as the opening game of the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs gets underway in moments between the visiting St. Louis Blues and the host Winnipeg Jets. Tom Petty's "Love is a Long Road" kicked off the Sportsnet broadcast as Ron MacLean, Elliott Friedman, Kevin Bieksa, and Kelly Hrudey set up the game, and Scott Oake is back home as he took us inside Canada Life Centre. If you don't think Winnipeg is ready for this battle tonight, I'm not sure what to tell you because the electricity in the city is certainly evident! It's a Whiteout Live Blog tonight on HBIC as I have cleared my evening for this incredible night!
First Period Action
Puck drop happens in moments as the two teams take the ice!
Robert Thomas is in the Blues lineup tonight after leaving the last regular-season game with an injury. He looks ready to go.
The "M-V-P" chant for Hellebuyck will likely be heard a lot tonight. Expect this crowd to be all over the Blues.
SoulBear has anthem duty, and he's killing it. Great renditions of both songs with the Winnipeg crowd singing along!
The RCAF fighter jets just flew over HBIC headquarters. You know it's a big game if they're lending their support!
First stoppage in play comes 42 seconds into the frame. St. Louis defender Justin Faulk sends a puck into the crowd.
St. Louis is the more aggressive team through the opening three minutes. The Jets need to settle into their game here.
Adam Lowry with a thunderous hit on Ryan Suter revitalizes the crowd at the 5:28 mark. Atta boy, Captain!
The less Logan Stanley handles the puck in the defensive zone is better for the Jets. It's the hot potato puck.
First penalty of the playoffs goes to Winnipeg's Luke Schenn. St. Louis' 16th-overall power-play gets a shot.
For reference, St. Louis's PP was at 22.1% efficiency while Winnipeg's PK was at 79.4% efficiency (13th-overall).
ROBERT THOMAS GOES HIGH GLOVE-SIDE ON HELLEBUYCK FOR THE PPG. 1-0 ST. LOUIS LEADS AT 9:31.
I repeat what I said about Logan Stanley. He handles the puck like a live grenade. He should be on "boards-and-out" duty.
The Moose, during their IHL days, had a pile of great players. I don't recall Jim Montgomery being one of them.
St. Louis's Jake Neigbours goes to the box for slashing. The Jets will get their first crack at a power-play.
Winnipeg finished the season with the top-ranked PP at 28.9%. St. Louis's PK was 28th-overall at 74.2%.
MARK SCHEIFELE SCORES ON PP AS WINNIPEG TIES THE GAME AT 1-1 AT 13:38! WHITEOUT GOES NUTS WITH THE GOAL!
HOLY COW! MORGAN BARRON SCORES ON A DEFLECTION OF A LUKE SCHENN SHOT! WINNIPEG LEADS 2-1 AT 15:02!
The fourth-line is pinned in the Jets' zone right now, and they look gassed. This doesn't have a good feel.
OSKAR SUNDQVIST IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND HE ZIPS ONE HOME AS ST. LOUIS TIES THE GAME AT 2-2 AT 18:10.
I feel like both coaches are going to ask their teams if they remember how to defend when the intermission hits.
A scrum near Hellebuyck sees Winnipeg going back on the penalty-kill. Neal Pionk sits as St. Louis goes back to the PP.
That will do it for an entertaining first period with St. Louis and Winnipeg tied at 2-2. Did anyone expect that?
I'm taking a break during the first intermission to have some dinner, but I'll be back for more in the second period. I'll pull a Linda Richman from SNL's Coffee Talk, and ask you to talk amongst yourselves while I chow down on some dinner. I'll even give you a topic: would the St. Louis Blues have succeeded had they moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan? Discuss amongst yourselves! I'll be back with some food and a beverage in a couple of minutes. Second period action coming up!
Second Period Action
Winnipeg starts the period down a player as St. Louis has 1:42 left on the power-play. As you know, St. Louis is 1-for-1 so far tonight.
How come none of the Sportsnet stats are the same? Everyone has different numbers depending on who you ask.
JORDAN KYROU GOES HIGH ON THE BLOCKER SIDE FOR THE PPG. ST. LOUIS LEADS 3-2 JUST 73 SECONDS IN.
I guess Scott Arniel didn't talk to the Jets about better defence in the middle period. Sundqvist stood untouched there.
St. Louis is now whistled for a penalty as Colton Parayko is called for tripping Mark Scheifele. Jets to the power-play!
Jets are unsuccessful on the power-play. They move to 1-for-2 on the night with the man-advantage.
I'm not even qualified to be a waterboy, but it seems like Binnington is struggling to find the puck through traffic.
Winnipeg's fourth line can be so effective when they get moving. Barron and Anderson-Dolan could be keys.
They iffy penalties early on seem to be making net-front scrums far less intense. That may be a factor later.
I'm not sure how he does it, but Mason Appleton is a complete enigma on the ice. Like be effective in some way.
Kyle Connor with a good chance, but Binnington keeps it out of the net. Might this be the Jets' period?
Holy moly did Kyle Connor come close. The collective Blues defensive unit kept that puck out the net.
Wow. That hand-pass call at the St. Louis blue line was creative by the officials. As in they made it up.
As Sportsnet's commentators wax poetic about Binnington, I feel my dinner coming up. I dislike him.
I'd like to see Binington become unhinged tonight. See Appleton to the crease since he does nothing else.
A rare mistake by Samberg leads to a Jordan Kyrou partial breakaway. Connor Hellebuyck says "I got it, boys."
With 13.8 seconds remaining, some pressure sees Vladislav Namestnikov draw a penalty!
Blues defender Nick Leddy is sitting in the box. The Jets need their power-play to gear up again!
Time will expire on the second period as the St. Louis Blues take the one-goal lead into the intermission.
Third period action is coming up, and I was reviewing some trade history between these two teams. I'll ask the question of which trade was bigger when it comes to the Jets: the 2018 deadline deal that saw the Jets acquire Paul Stastny for Erik Foley, a 2018 1st round pick, and a 2020 4th round pick... OR... the trade that sent Phil Housley to the Blues for Nelson Emerson and Stephane Quintal? Obviously, one trade helped the Jets immensely while the other removed a key weapon the Jets had in their lineup. Which one do you feel was bigger in terms of the impact it had on the team?
Third Period Action
Third period action will get underway with the Jets holding 1:45 of power-play time to begin the frame. They are 1-for-2 with the man-advantage, and need to get that top-ranked power-play rolling.
I have no idea how Jordan Binnington stopped Kyle Connor. Like that's just throw-anything-in-the-way netminding.
Jets can't convert on the power-play despite getting a few chances. They'll need to keep pushing in this period.
Mason Appleton. Enigma. Not sure what he's doing out there. Lowry can't be the only "scorer" on that line.
Jordan Kyrou had a step on Dylan Samberg, and Samberg put his stick into Kyrou's hands. That's a penalty.
The penalty is erased as Zack Bolduc cross-checks Alex Iafallo to end the power-play. 35 seconds of 4-on-4 hockey.
Jets move to 1-for-4 on the power-play after failing to convert on another opportunity. These may be regrets soon.
I'm not one to lament over who isn't playing, but the Jets could really use Ehlers' speed and creativity right now.
ALEX IAFALLO FROM HIS OFFICE THREE FEET OUTSIDE THE CREASE BANGS ONE HOME! GAME IS TIED 3-3 AT 9:18!
Jets seem to have a little life now, but the Blues are still holding strong. Might we get free hockey tonight?
I'd normally say something about Walker's late hit, but Canada Life Centre is loud. That whistle wasn't heard.
I like when Morrissey is feeling spicy. Jumping into the offence, throwing a hit... gimme more of that, #44.
I'm not predicting anything, but I feel like Cole Perfetti or Kyle Connor are on the verge of something big.
Seeing Steve Ott on the St. Louis bench reminds me why I don't like St. Louis. It's because of Steve Ott.
Like I'm sure he's a great dude, but I just generally disliked him as a player. And yet he played forever.
KYLE CONNOR ONE-TIMER FROM SCHEIFELE! WINNIPEG LEADS 4-3 WITH 1:36 TO PLAY! DID I CALL THAT?
Binnington heads to the bench. Extra skater on for the Blues. They need a goal late to keep this one going.
ADAM LOWRY SCORES ON THE MASON APPLETON MISS! JETS LEAD 5-3 WITH 53 SECONDS TO PLAY! PUT THIS ONE TO BED!
Binnington remains on the bench as the Blues are going with the "we got nothing to lose" strategy.
The scuffles begin with 20 seconds to play. Dance partners for everyone will send those lines to the rooms.
More scuffles with seconds remain, and the officials will escort more players to their benches to close out this one.
THE FINAL HORN SOUNDS ON A 5-3 WINNIPEG WIN AS THEY GO UP 1-0 IN THE SERIES AGAINST ST. LOUIS!
Winnipeg rallies in the third period to down the St. Louis Blues who, despite the loss, looked just as hungry as the Jets did all night. Both teams have things they need to improve for Game Two - Winnipeg's penalty-killing has to be better while St. Louis can't take their foot off the gas pedal - but the Jets break the ice with the 5-3 win.
Game Two is scheduled for Monday night at Canada Life Centre, and the Winnipeg Whiteout will be back. Can the Jets go up 2-0 before leaving for St. Louis or will the Blues even the series as they head home for Games Three and Four? We'll know Monday night, and here's hoping that Game Two is just as entertaining as tonight's game was!
Last night on The Hockey Show, Jason and I were looking for sixteen people who wanted in on the unofficial "Greatest Hockey Contest In Radio History", and we filled all sixteen spots in the hour! With the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning tomorrow, the chances of these sixteen people winning prizes looks very good as each person who entered has a team for whom they be cheering. Who got which team? Let's find out!
The bracket is as follows in terms of Survivor contestants.
There are some intriguing matchups outside of the NHL matchups here as we'll see family members going head-to-head for bragging rights, co-workers teeing off on one another for those same bragging rights, and we even have a team who chose a team as Norm and Sammy become the first family-based entry into the Survivor contest!
I'll say this out loud right here so everyone can see it: it doesn't matter where Washington finishes in this postseason because Sammy's getting herself something from The Hockey Show. You can call me a softie or whatever, but having a young lady in the contest is awesome so we'll take care of Sammy when it comes to prizing. She's awesome!
With every team having someone assigned, we'll see if Tom, Ethan, Elliot, or Kristine can win some of the challenge prizes tomorrow as the Central Division kicks off the playoff schedule. Again, I don't make the schedule so I can't control when the NHL is scheduling games, so prizing will be awarded as the prizes are won. If your team hasn't played yet when the first challenge prizes are won, that's out of my hands. Please don't hate-mail Jason or I because we have zero pull with Gary Bettman or NHL scheduler-makers.
Congratulations to the sixteen people above who are now part of the 2025 edition of Survivor: NHL Playoffs! Hopefully, your team will carry you deep into the playoffs and win you some prizes! At the very least, my hope is you'll watch a game or two that your team plays so you can be ready for a potential exit interview. If nothing else, maybe you'll find a new team to cheer for in these playoffs?
While neither Jason nor I can affect the outcomes of these teams, we want to wish you the best of luck and may the odds be ever in your favour as Survivor: NHL Playoffs gets underway tomorrow!
The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back on the air from the UMFM studios for one reason only tonight: the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. You may have heard that the brackets were filled out last night thanks to the Montreal Canadiens being the last team to get into the playoffs, and that means that we're one step closer to the Greatest Hockey Radio Contest - unverified, for now - in the history of all broadcast sound! If you're wondering what I'm talking about, it sounds like you need to tune into the fun tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason take calls from interested parties who want to take part in the 2025 edition of Survivor: NHL Playoffs! I had written about the contest here when it comes to rules for the contest, and tonight is when we get sixteen people to choose numbers to find out which team is assigned to each entrant! As numbers start to be removed from the board, the chances of landing a top-seeded team may increase or decrease depending on which teams remain so you're going to have to weigh the odds if you want one of the superpowers. What I can tell you is that if you call between 5:30pm and 6:30 CT at (204) 269-8636, your chances of getting into the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest will never be better! Settle in, tune into the show, get your phone out tonight for Survivor: NHL Playoffs on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!
If you live outside Winnipeg and want to participate, you're still welcome to enter the contest! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.
If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason get sixteen people regostered for the 2025 edition of Survivor: NHL Playoffs heard on The Hockey Show exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
You were warned, and the NHL Guardian Project images are continuing today as we have our sixteenth and final team who has clinched an NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs berth. The Montreal Canadiens secured the second wild card spot tonight, leaving the Columbus Blue Jackets on the outside of the playoff picture. While Montreal may have surprised a lot of people as they flirted with a playoff spot for a while, the Blue Jackets' push for a playoff spot was impressive. It did come up short, though, and that leaves the Canadiens to face the Washington Capitals in their series. The playoff picture is complete!
The Canadiens needed at least one point against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, but they took no chances as they swiped both points with a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes. Kaiden Guhle had a pair of goals while Sam Montembeault made 28 saves as the Habs completed their home schedule with a 10-0-2 run over their final 12 home games. The last time that the Capitals and Canadiens met in the playoffs was in the 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals when the Canadiens upset the Capitals in seven games. Could it happen again?
The Capitals were 2-0-1 against the Canadiens this year, so things don't look good if we look at recent results. However, it should be noted that the three games against Washington came before the Four Nations Face-Off, and the Habs went on a bit of a heater since that break, posting a 15-5-6 record through to the end of the season. I'm not saying that streak helps, but confidence can go a long way for a team looking to upset the favourite in a series.
It should be noted that the Montreal Canadiens last made the playoffs in 2021 when they went on a tear through the brackets, eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Winnipeg Jets, and the Vegas Golden Knights before losing to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final in five games. Because that playoff year was played in the bubble, there were no games played in front of the Montreal faithful. In fact, there hasn't been a full Bell Centre for a playoff game since April 20, 2017 where they lost 3-2 in overtime to the New York Rangers in Game Five of their first-round series. The Rangers won that series in six games.
With no recent history outside of the three regular-season games they played this year, the pressure is squarely on the Capitals, especially if Logan Thompson is unable to recover from his upper-body injury for the start of the series. If Thompson can't go, it seems like Charlie Lindgren will get the start, and his .866 save percentage hasn't looked good as the Capitals have been sloppy in their defensive zone. The Capitals will also be looking for forward Aliaksei Protas to return at some point, but it seems he will likely miss the start of the series as well after he had his foot cut against Chicago on April 4.
The Canadiens are metaphorically playing with house money as they enter the playoffs. They were 32nd-overall in the NHL of 32 teams on November 15 and they were in last place in the Eastern Conference with an 11-16-3 record on December 16. If you watch Hockey Night in Canada, you know how often Elliotte Friedman talks about teams that are out of the playoff on American Thanksgiving have a very low chance of making the playoffs. This Montreal team just beat those odds, and I feel like they may scare the Capitals in this series.
Will they win? Probably not, and it only gets harder with both Thompson and Protas back in the Capitals' lineup. The Canadiens need Suzuki, Caufield, Laine, Demidov, Hutson, and Montembeault to play like Lafleur, Mahovlich, Shutt, Cournoyer, Robinson, and Dryden. Juraj Slafkovsky needs to find ways to be effective, Mike Matheson has to be good defensively, and Jake Evans has to be a premiere shutdown forward. In short, it's going to take every player on the Canadiens' roster to slow the Capitals down and win four games.
The Canadiens started the season as the NHL's second-youngest team, but they have matured nicely. I'm not sure it's enough to get them by a veteran Capitals team, but there's a reason they play the games. If the Canadiens can look as good as they did tonight against the Hurricanes when the series against Washington opens, they have a shot at upsetting the Capitals just like they did in 2010.
If the Canadiens continue to play good hockey as they have over the last six weeks, the improbable could be possible this spring!
Back in 2011 for the NHL All-Star Game, the NHL worked with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee to create 30 NHL Guardians superheroes who had a variety of superpowers. The NHL Guardian Project was a collaboration between the NHL, comics legend Stan Lee, and Guardian Media Entertainment to create a superhero for each NHL franchise at the time who would go on adventures across several multimedia platforms. The entire idea was a flop from the beginning with everyone involved losing money and credibility. That brings us to tonight's result where the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues both earned points, locking down the two wild card spots in the Western Conference for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs!
The image above is "The Blue", St. Louis' imagined guardian, and I plan on using those images throughout the playoffs because they're so ridiculous. In any case, the St. Louis Blues are the confirmed first-round opponent for the Winnipeg Jets, and it will be up to the Jets to play a different tune compared to the last time these two teams met in the playoffs back in 2019. The Jets had finished in second-place in the Central Division while St. Louis had finished in third-place, but both teams had 99 points and the Jets earned home-ice advantage via the tiebreakers. The series began in Winnipeg on April 10.
St. Louis won both games in Winnipeg while the Jets took both games in St. Louis. The teams returned to Winnipeg for Game Five where the Blues won 3-2, giving them the 3-2 series lead heading back to St. Louis. Game Six saw Jaden Schwartz score a hat trick while Jordan Binnington stood on his head to preserve a 3-2 victory, ousting the Jets from the playoffs in six games. For all the success the Jets had had in the regular season, it was a very short playoff appearance after a run to the Western Conference Final one year earlier.
Some of the key players the Blues had in the 2019 playoff run are still there - Brayden Schenn, Colton Parayko, Jordan Binnington, and Robert Thomas as examples - but the turnover has been extensive since that Stanley Cup-winning season. The Jets will have to keep an eye on some of the young guns the Blues have in Jordan Kyrou, Dylan Holloway, Pavel Buchnevich, and the aforementioned Robert Thomas. They need to be physical with St. Louis' blueline, leaning on guys like Cam Fowler, Justin Faulk, and Ryan Suter. And they must get to the net and buzz the crease to disrupt Jordan Binnington who could easily be lights-out dominant or completely unhinged.
St. Louis comes into the series on a 19-4-3 run in the 27 games since the Four Nations Face-Off, but one of those regulation losses came at the hands of the Jets. Since February 1, the Blues have the highest points percentage in the NHL - better than both Winnipeg and Washington who were aiming for the President's Trophy. Their late-season success helped them edge out the Calgary Flames for that final playoff spot after it seemed like they were dead in the water in January. It seems like the Blues have been playing playoff-type hockey for two months already, so can they keep that style of play going for another two weeks against the league's best team?
The Jets have clear advantages in all facets of their game: offensive game, defensive game, goaltending, and special teams. Coaching might be even as Scott Arniel has never led a team deep into the playoffs, but Jim Montgomery's teams like to wrap-up their playoffs early as well. I'm not saying that Winnipeg will lose, but the Blues could find some success with the right mix of players getting hot and some luck. However, those are variables that can be quelled very quickly by a rock-solid system like the Jets play.
After watching the Jets hold the Blues to 15 shots in their 3-1 win one week ago, I'm not confident in suggesting that the Blues will upset the NHL's top team. The Jets have the edge in virtually every statstical measurement, but I do think the Blues will be problematic at times. They've shown a knack for finding ways to win, they battle hard all over the ice, and winning is infectuous. The Jets, however, have shown that same attitude since Game One, and the bad taste from the early exit last year has yet to be washed from their mouths.
If you're not excited for this series as a Jets fan, it's time to start gearing up. The Winnipeg Whiteout begins this weekend, playoff fever will grip the city, and there will be hundreds of thousands of Manitobans cheering for their hockey heroes as the top-seeded team in the playoffs. Playoff season is three days away, and I'm picking the Jets to give "The Blue" and the Blues some sad songs in this series.
Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish sang, "Time, why you punish me" in their hit single, Time. It's a relevant question when you look at the length of the NHL postseason that begins on Saturday, April 19 and may not finish until June 23, 2025. That's two months of hockey to find one team that can win sixteen games before any other, and I understand that there are mandated days off as per the CBA. I've never truly understood, though, why teams can't play back-to-back games like they once did in the NHL. Every team plays back-to-back games during the regular season, so why can't the NHL and NHLPA work to cut a couple of weeks off the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
I'm not saying that we should be relying on history for this because labour relations between the NHL and NHLPA seem to be in a good place right now, but it happened that the NHL made the decision to shorten the postseason back on September 25, 1968. See below.
According to The Canadian Press's article in The Brandon Sun, "[t]he league's board of governors approved a revised set of playoff regulations Tuesday which make it possible for a team to win a best-of-seven series in five days". The new rules that the NHL introduced would have seen the playoffs begin on a Wednesday and Game Two would be played on Thursday. With travel on Friday, Games Three and Four would be played on Saturday and Sunday whereby a team could, in theory, sweep the series and complete the series in five days.
I want to be clear that I'm not suggesting that series should be theoretically completed in five days, but that idea is intriguing. No team has ever swept their way through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but completing the playoffs in a month would be pretty awesome. As the article states, there was even a provision written into the new rules that allowed the semifinal series to be slowed if a team was ahead in their quest for the Stanley Cup in comparison to where the other conference was in their schedule. The rules make sense.
As I propose shortening the playoffs, I realize that the various networks and teams who are participating would likely complain as they'd lose a pile of revenue from the hype built for all the series, but I can't help this feeling that the NHL could reduce the length of time it takes to complete the playoffs. Knowing what we do today about the NHL-NHLPA relations, I'm convinced that the playoffs will always be a two-month battle for sixteen teams.
Again, it's wishful thinking on my part for a shorter postseason. For a guy who is a hockey fan, it seems like a contradiction from what I should want, but June 23 is the middle of summer. Hockey needs to end before that date. Heck, hockey needs to end before June in my view, but my opinion is just a whisper in the wind. I have no ability to sway the NHL or NHLPA on this, so I'll be watching until June this season. And likely for many seasons beyond this one.
Of course, I'm also the guy who would love to see the NHL return to a 70-game schedule as opposed to the current 82-game schedule in order to cut down on the length of the season overall while also making games and points more important. Yes, I realize that more and more teams are going for the two-point win in overtime as opposed to the shootout, but I'd like to see more teams raising their games earlier in the season to prevent falling out of playoff races. However, as the image above indicates, I seem to be moving closer to "old man yells at cloud" in my attitude towards hockey. Get off my lawn, ok?
The Stanley Cup Playoffs start on Saturday. It's two months of hockey action that will see people clad in shorts and t-shirts move to decks and patios to watch games while enjoying cold beverages as the sun sets during the early games. If you ask for a TV to be changed to watch a baseball game, you'll likely be tossed out of that establishment, so don't do that. Don't even think of doing that because it's playoff hockey season. In June. In baseball season.
I had no intention of adding another edition of The Rundown today, but there are a few people who once called U SPORTS home as they walked their respective hockey paths. The Women's World Championship is happening in Czechia right now, but there's another version of the tournament running in Great Britain as the Division 1, Group B World Championship is also being played while the Division 1, Group A tournament started today. Because I'm proud of the alumnae who have skated for Canadian university teams, let take a look at how they and their teams are doing at their respective tournaments!
Nordic Highlights
Norway entered today's game against Hungary needing a win after dropping games against Japan and Germany. Hungary, meanwhile, had yet to score so they were looking to break that two-game drought against the Norwegians. We'll get to the results in a second, but we have two Canada West alumnae who are doing amazing things for Norway as they look to hold their spot in the top IIHF women's hockey division. Oh, and we have highlights of their work!
Former UBC Thunderbirds forward Mathea Fischer had a game against the Germans as she was in on both goals that the Norwegians put on the scoreboard. The first point she recorded was one that Canada West fans will recognize as she scores off the long stretch pass to cut the German lead to 2-1. All rights belong to TSN and the IIHF.
In the second period, Fischer won a puck battle along the boards before sliding it to Andrea Dalen. Dalen goes to the high slot area while Fischer went to the net, and Dalen's shot found the back of the net after a deflection to give Fischer the assist on the 3-2 goal!
Frankly, in watching the replay in slow motion, it seems like Fischer may have tipped the puck upward past Sandra Abstreiter, but the officials rules that Dalen was the goal-scorer. Nonetheless, Fischer and former Mount Royal Cougars defender Emma Bergesen drew assists on Dalen's goal in what would eventually be a 5-2 loss to the Germans. Norway fell to 0-2 in the tournament at that point.
Move forward to today where the Norwway met Hungary with both teams needing wins, and former Cougars rearguard Emma Bergesen added her name to the scoring midway through the second period!
Bergesen's goal put Norway up 2-0 in what would be a 3-0 win over Hungary, and that win moves them a little further away from relegation. As it stands, Fischer and Bergesen are tied with Andrea Dalen for second in team scoring, one point back of Millie Sirum. Norway will wrap up their tournament with a game against Sweden on Tuesday in what should be a spirited showdown as Sweden is aiming to move up to the "Group A" teams. A win by Norway would ruin that Swedish dream, so we'll see how that games goes this week!
Swiss Drought
Things are significantly less fun for Switzerland right now as the Swiss squad has yet to win a game. In fact, their tournament has yet to see a goal celebration as they have a 3-0 loss to Czechia and a 4-0 loss to Canada thus far. They'll play Finland on Monday and the US on Tuesday, and I'm hoping to see one of their U SPORTS players hit the scoresheet. There's some significant talent on this team!
UBC Thunderbirds forward Vanessa Schaefer and former Montreal Carabins forward Kaleigh Quennec are the two players you'll want to keep an eye on if you're watching the games on Monday and Tuesday. Quennec, it should be noted, just won an SWHL championship with SC Bern Frauen where she scored 11 goals and 25 points in 28 games. Schaefer, meanwhile, was on the UBC team that finished as runner-ups to the Pandas in Canada West before finishing in fifth-place at the U SPORTS National Championship. She had four goals and six points in 28 games in Canada West this season.
Switzerland needs some scoring before this tournament ends, and here's hoping the U SPORTS players can make a difference!
Strong French Start
The 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship Division 1, Group A tournament started in Shenzhen, China today, and France got a big start with an 8-3 win over Netherlands. Former Concordia Stingers netminder Alice Philbert picked up the win, former Toronto Varsity Blues defender Gabrielle de Serres picked up a helper, former Montreal Carabins forward Lore Baudrit had two assists while former Carabins forward Estelle Duvin had three goals and a helper.
France's schedule will see them play 1-0 Slovakia tomorrow, 0-1 Denmark on Wednesday, 0-1 China on Thursday, and 1-0 Austria on Saturday. Whoever wins this tournament will replace the relegated team from the top-level IIHF Women's World Championship in 2027. As of right now, it could be Hungary, but we'll see how both tournaments play out. Anything could happen, but France is admittedly off to a good start with their win over the Dutch!
The Italian Job
The Italian team is rolling at the 2025 Women's World Championship Division 1, Group B tournament. I spoke about how I was watching the Division 1, Group B tournament earlier this week, and it's been going very well for Italy. After being Slovenia 12-0 and Kazakhstan 2-0, Italy faced off against Latvia yesterday in a showdown between two 2-0 teams. The winner would have a very good chance at being promoted to the Division 1, Group A tournament in 2027.
Italy did what they've done all tournament long in this game - score early and often. Two goals in the first period, two more in the second, and a couple more in the third period paced the Italian squad to a 6-0 win over Latvia as Guelph Gryphons netminder Martina Fedel continued to stonewall all shooters in the tournament. Former McGill Martlets forward Kayla Tutino had an assist in this game for her first point in the tournament, but the big story is how Italy moved to 3-0 with games against Korea and Great Britain still to be played. You can watch this game below with all rights belonging to the IIHF.
That led to today's game where Italy met Korea, and the Italians just kept steamrolling the competition. Three goals in the first period, three goals in the second period, and a final goal in the third period pushed the Italians to a 7-0 trouncing of the Koreans as they move to 4-0 in the tournament. Martina Fedel pitched her fourth-straight shutout with a 16-save effort, and Kayla Tutino added a pair of helpers to push her scoring to three assists in the event while Fedel has stopped all 60 shots she has faced in the tournament thus far.
That leaves one game on Tuesday against Great Britain to see if Italy can shutout the tournament. Assuming Italy beats the 1-1-0-1 British squad (W-L-OTW-OTL), they get promoted. Even if Latvia wins its next two games, the head-to-head game against Latvia would push Italy ahead of them while goal differential is clearly in Italy's favour as well. In short, it seems like the Italians will be moving up to a new level of women's hockey in 2027! Andiamo, Azzurre!
The British Stopper
Former Calgary Dinos netminder Ella Howard is part of the Great Britain team skating in the 2025 Women's World Championship Division 1, Group B tournament. Howard's time with the Dinos was short, but she's become a fixture in the crease alongside Nicole Jackson for the British team at various tournaments. Howard got the start against Korea on Thursday as she was looking to help Great Britain find points in their quest for promotion as well!
Great Britain grabbed a 2-0 lead through the opening frame, but the Koreans kept coming. A second period goal for Korea made it 2-1 in a frame where they out-shot the Britons by a 10-3 count, and a third period goal pushed the game into overtime tied at 2-2. 84 seconds into the extra frame, the third Korean shot found twine as Eunji Lee beat Howard for the 3-2 overtime win. Howard stopped 30 of 33 shots in the setback for Great Britain, but it was a solid showing for the British netminder against a good Korean team!
Great Britain plays 0-3 Slovenia later today, and they finish the tournament with that big game against Italy. Great Britain cannot be promoted this season after the results of their first three games, but they'll also avoid relegation with their efforts in Dumfries. They'll be back for 2027 Women's World Championship Division 1, Group B tournament whose location has yet to be announced!
The Kiwi Tourney
While she didn't go to a Canadian university, it should be noted that Team Australia, playing in the 2025 Women's World Championship Division 2, Group B tournament, has a player who spent some time in Canada learning the game! Winnipeg-born Lindsey Kiliwnik spent two seasons with the former CSSHL's St. Mary's Academy Flames from 2018-20, and she'll be skating for the Australians at the Division 2, Group B tournament beginning on Monday in Dunedin, New Zealand!
Kiliwnik has been playing for the AWIHL's Brisbane Lightning for the past two seasons where she scored ten goals and 20 points in 14 games in 2023-24 and eleven goals and 13 points in 16 games in 2024-25. The 5'2" sparkplug has a nose for the net as proven by her AWIHL stats, and Australia will be counting on her to score some goals. They open the tournament against Turkey on Monday, meet Hong Kong on Tuesday, play Ukraine on Thursday, grapple with the host and their rivals in New Zealand on Saturday, and and finish the tournament against Belgium on Sunday. We'll see if Australia can be promoted!
Good luck to Lindsey and her teammates as Australia looks to win the tournament and move up the women's hockey ranks!
A Born Leader
This has nothing to with the IIHF World Championships happening in various places right now, but this might some of the cooler news I've ever had the opportunity to post here on The Rundown. There was an election that closed on Friday night for Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation, and the winner of that election was former Calgary Dinos and Manitoba Bisons defender Tréchelle Bunn! Bunn now becomes the chief of Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation for the next four years!
On Thursday night, Bunn was in Vancouver where the current University of Manitoba law student was one of the youth recipients for the 2025 Indspire Awards that celebrates and honours "the outstanding achievements and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis leaders". With Bunn previously serving as the youth chief of the Southern Chiefs' Organization, she was honoured for her work in that role and as founder and race director of the Reconciliation Run in her community. I'm glad she was honoured for her efforts!
They say one has to walk the walk, though, and now Bunn can say she's done that as well as she rushed back from Vancouver to Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation to be sworn in as Chief Tréchelle Bunn after winning the election on Friday against Gloria Chalmers-Rach by a 191-85 count! A huge congratulations to Tréchelle Bunn on her new role with Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation as she'll help plan the future for the residents of that Indigenous community moving forward!
When I talk about how these women are going to do amazing things in the world, Chief Tréchelle Bunn is a perfect example of what I mean. They're incredible athletes, but they're better people. They're smart, successful, and have unlimited potential. That's why I'm a fan of U SPORTS women's hockey. It's the people who make the game so good!
The Last Word
I had zero intention of having The Rundown come out of hibernation this week, but it's clear that there are a lot of women making an impact for their nations who play at or have played at Canadian universities. There could be more as we move forward as well with former Dinos netminder Gabriella Durante working to get her Italian Hockey Federation clearance, and we know that the Huskies will have Finnish forward Peppi Virtanen skating for them next season. With Italy hosting the Olympics, we'll be talking about Olympians soon!
What I am sure of, if nothing else, is that these women are making their nations, communities, teammates, and schools proud with their accomplishments. Congratulations to each of the mentioned women above, and expect to see more incredible women doing amazing things here on The Rundown in the future!
It certainly wasn't easy on this night, but a 5-4 victory in the shootout over the Chicago Blackhawks has put the Winnipeg Jets in a position that's not familiar to them or their fans. With the victory, the Jets move to 114 points with two games to play, and that total guarantees them that they'll win the the Central Division and be the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, guaranteeing home-ice advantage for the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For a team whose name is "Jets", it's hard to imagine that this is the first time in that rarified air of first place, but tonight's win marks the first time in Winnipeg Jets history that they'll sit atop the division to finish a season. Of course, that also places a target on their backs that can only be erased with a deep playoff run, and they'll get a chance to make that run when the playoffs start on Saturday, April 19.
Some will point back to the 2006-07 season where the Atlanta Thrashers finished atop the Southeast Division which led to their only playoff appearance that lasted just four games, but we'll leave that history in Atlanta. That 43-win season landed them at 97 points with a 43-28-11 season, four points better than the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the 42-win, 94-point New York Rangers made short work of the Thrashers in the opening round of the playoffs, outscoring them 17-6 in the four games including a combined 11-2 drubbing in New York.
For Jets fans, the comparisons between that team and this year's Jets squad are few, but the one that stands out is more coincidental than anything. While Marian Hossa led the Thrashers with 43 goals and 100 points in 2006-07 as a 27 year-old, Kyle Connor is leading the Jets with 41 goals and 96 points as a 27 year-old. There are no real other comparables, so we'll leave it there as both teams got big production out of a 27 year-old winger. Instead, let's focus on why the Jets won't replicate that four-game playoff appearance.
For the bumps that the Jets showed tonight against Chicago, the previous games against the Blues and Stars were statements. Add in the game against the Washington Capitals, and the Jets have beaten some very good teams in the last few weeks. If there's one thing that seems to afflict the Jets more than anything this season, it's their annoying ability to play to the level of their opponents as they did tonight in Chicago. In the playoffs, I suspect that they'll find that next gear whether they face St. Louis or Minnesota.
Let me be as transparent as glass: nothing is guaranteed for the Jets. They'll need to be the first team to win sixteen games if they want a Stanley Cup parade down Portage Avenue, and that starts with being ready to go next Saturday when the playoffs begin. There are no "we'll get them next time" games that can be played - every game needs to be treated as a must-win beginning next weekend. The Jets can't play down to their opponents' intensity or skill level; rather, they have to control the pace and play unlike how they played against Colorado last season in that opening-round debacle. That was a nightmare, and no one wants that again.
For the next week, the Jets have one last task to accomplish: one point or one win to secure the President's Trophy for the first time in franchise history as well. Washington has 109 points with three games to play, so Winnipeg could wrap up the top spot in the NHL with a win over the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow. That would allow enough time for Bill Daly to fly into Winnipeg for Wednesday's game against Anaheim where he can present the trophy to the team. Personally, I'm hoping the Jets raise their game for Edmonton because they could potentially meet if things go well for both Canadian teams.
It's been a big season, Jets fans, and there's still a long postseason that both the team and fans want. One win over Edmonton or Anaheim will give the Jets a major team trophy for the first time in franchise history. I will admit that it's not the trophy that the team wants, but it's one that shows just how good this team has consistently been this season. That's gotta count for something.
Starting next weekend, it's the first to sixteen wins. Consistent excellence will be needed in every game played.
It's that magical time of year once again. It's when the grass starts to turn green, the leaves start budding on trees, the ice and snow recede to places no one needs to think about until October, and the NHL begins its annual 16-team battle to determine which team will be crowned as the Stanley Cup champion. With the latter event about to settle into life for the next two months, The Hockey Show is preparing for another postseason of fun where 16 listeners get a shot at claiming the title of "champion"!
We've been teasing and promoting Survivor: NHL Playoffs on The Hockey Show, so we'll re-plant the flag on the beach that says Survivor's NHL Island is open for business once again this year! As we've been talking about on the radio show over the last couple of weeks, our take on a Survivor contest is returning to the airwaves again as we look to crown a winner, award prizes to worthy competitors, and bestow fame and glory on the final entrant standing as The Hockey Show's 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs survivor!
Let's be honest: UMFM owns no island in a tropical climate nor a boat that will get you there, and our annual show budget of $0.00 says Jason and I will never broadcast from an island in the south Pacific. However, if you're aware of the Survivor pools that are run, ours is based on the same idea where you pick a random name of one of the contestants, and that person on Survivor is your person for the run of the show. If he or she is voted off the island, the game for you is over. In our contest, though, we put our own twist on the game so it becomes much more hockey-centric.
Jason and I are seeking sixteen people to call The Hockey Show on April 17, 2025 where each of those callers will choose a number from 1 to 16. Each of those sixteen numbers will have a corresponding playoff team assigned to it randomly. Whatever number you've chosen will reveal your team for the playoffs, and that team becomes YOUR team in a similar random fashion to Survivor pools. All you have to do is be near your phone that evening between 5:30pm and 6:30pm Central Time, call us, and choose one of the numbers on the board to find out what playoff team you'll be rooting for this year!
If you need a real-world example of how this works, let's say that Jason were to call in and choose #6. We flip that card over to reveal that #6 has the Dallas Stars under it. Officially, Jason's team is the Stars until they're eliminated or they win, and card #6 is no longer available as a choice for the next callers. Jason will be cheering as a Stars fan this spring until they're done playing.
Following Jason's call, let's say that I call in next and select #13 as my number, revealing the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina would become my team until they're eliminated or they win, and card #13 is no longer available as a choice for the next callers. Wash, rinse, repeat until there are no numbers and teams remaining.
If you think you're up for this, you'll need to have your radio tuned to The Hockey Show on April 17 and have your phone close to you. Before you commit, though, what we haven't told you yet is that there's a twist in all of this radio fun. And this twist is where things get crazy fun for everyone involved because you participate!
Just when you think you're out, you're still in the contest until "Tribal Council". You may be wondering how a radio show does "Tribal Council", but we already know your team was eliminated so you've technically been voted off Survivor's NHL Island. However, every episode of Survivor ends with the contestant voted off doing their exit interview, and that's precisely what you will do: you'll deliver an exit interview for your team! We'll call you, set up the quick two- or three-minute chat about your team, and then you're officially done with the contest. Easy-peasy, right?
Some of you may worry about talking on the radio, but I assure you it's just like talking on the phone. In other words, don't think we're going to make it sound weird or anything. But knowing that this is going to happen, what might you say? You're free to talk about how you're disappointed that a specific player didn't show up in the playoffs or how you never thought there would be an upset this early or how you're just lucky that your chosen team made the playoffs. Or you can be like Jacob and talk about your team embarrassed you.
While the CBS version of Survivor promises a big cash prize and whole bunch of prizes from sponsors - both of which The Hockey Show doesn't have - we will be offering up some prizing that aligns with our lack of budget. There will be some smaller prizes handed out as "challenge prizes" much like the network reality show does, and those challenges are as follows:
First shutout recorded in the playoffs.
First hat trick recorded in the playoffs.
First goaltender point recorded in the playoffs.
First team eliminated from the playoffs.
First to advance from the second round to the third round.
First team to score seven goals in one game in the playoffs.
First upset of the playoffs.
The first team that accomplishes any of these challenge goals will earn their Survivor player a corresponding prize! The prizes have yet to be collected, but we've done hockey books, gift cards, and other assorted smaller prizes in the past, so expect much of the same this year. Any prizes earned through challenges will be handed out chronologically while supplies and challenges last in the order they were completed! Needless to say, teams can earn more than one prize in this challenge part of the contest, so choose wisely when it comes to the randomly-distributed teams! Or just choose your favorite number. Either strategy works in this contest!
Just like the TV show, we do offer prizes for the finalists! The grand prize winner who captures the Survivor crown will take home their choice of an NHL jersey plus a few additional prizes! The finalist will get jersey not chosen by the winner as a runner-up prize, so you're going home with a prize as long as your team makes it through three rounds which is pretty awesome when all you had to do is call us! This year's two jerseys are a Seattle Kraken home jersey and a Buffalo Sabres buffa-slug road jersey, so the winner will have a tough choice when it comes to which jersey he/she takes home!
As a new wrinkle to this year's contest, The Hockey Show will also be asking if you plan on supporting UMFM's Pledge-O-Rama event that runs between April 25 at 6:30pm until 8:00pm on May 2. For anyone who enters the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest AND donates to Pledge-O-Rama, we'll put you into an additional draw for even more prizes! You help us, we'll reward you - it's that simple.
I should also be upfront and inform you that we have some requirements that need to be met before you can participate. The good news is we won't need a medical team available like CBS does for their version of Survivor, but we do have a few must-have REQUIREMENTS for anyone to participate. They include:
You must call into the show on Thursday, April 18 between 5:30pm and whenever we fill all the spots in the contest. If all 16 spots aren't filled within the hour, Jason and I will get creative to fill the empty spots. Don't complain - you had an hour to make one phone call!
You must have a phone number and an email address. If you're calling us, I'm pretty sure you have at least one of these already. If you have neither, are you even alive?
A desire to watch your chosen team's progress in the NHL Playoffs. You don't need to follow them religiously, but it's better to know something if/when your team is eliminated.
Beyond that, this is a fun contest meant for laughter with a few rewards for those who get lucky. It's not to be taken seriously in any way, and it's a nice way for us to reward our loyal listeners with some free gear. If this has enticed you to listen for the first time or come back to the show after not listening, welcome to the show and here's hoping you get into the contest! Just remember, though, that if your team gets bounced, we're calling you for that exit interview. If that scares you in any way, work through that fear!
Be ready, folks, because this contest always is fun for everyone involved. Like CBS' Survivor, only one person can be crowned as "survivor" in this contest, and we're ready to kick things off on April 17! Here's hoping you'll call in for the best radio contest in hockey!
The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back with reminders, champions, and tournaments to discuss as the hockey world is looking to crown winners before the summer starts! Whether it be teams clinching playoff spots in their respective leagues, women's teams battling to find out which nation stands atop the podium, contests you can enter to win some prizes, or leagues wrapping up by crowning their best teams as champions, there is a lot happening across the globe on ice surfaces! Our hosts will take you through all the news from many corners of the globe on another news-filled, busy edition of the program tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
Teebz and Jason will remind of you that Survivor: NHL Playoffs kicks off next week and how that ties into Pledge-O-Rama that starts on April 18! After they get through that jumble of info, they will chat about the IIHF Women's World Championship happening in Czechia, the IIHF Women's World Championship Division 1, Group B championship happening in Great Britain, a number of European leagues who crowned champions, some playoff scheduling for the ECHL, the Melbourne Mustangs getting off to a big start in the AIHL, the awful ending to Chaz Lucius's career, and there will be a shoutout to the Esso Cup representative from Manitoba and Saskatchewan! If there's enough time to squeeze all this news in, we'll get it done tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!
If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.
If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat contests and radio telethons, world championships, league championships, playoff schedules, AIHL results, being forced to retire, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
The 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship got underway today with Sweden, USA, and Czechia all recording wins on the opening day of the tournament. Canada will play tomorrow against Finland at noon CT, so check your local listings for that game if you want to watch. I didn't spend a lot of time watching the other countries play today, but I did keep an eye on one game that had some U SPORTS flavour. The 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship Division I, Group B tournament is being played at the same time as the top level of the women's game, and there were two players skating for Italy against Slovenia today who once played for U SPORTS teams!
The goaltender shown above is Martina Fedel who stopped pucks for the OUA's Guelph Gryphons this season, and she could potentially return for one more season if she chooses. I'm not sure if that's in the cards as she will likely be one of the goaltenders chosen to represent Italy at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Games, and today was a reminder of why she's important to an improving Italian team that ran roughshod over Slovenia in the opening game for those teams.
The game in Dumfries, Great Britain saw Italy jump out to a 3-0 lead through the opening period before adding five more goals in the second period and four additional goals in the third period for a one-sided 12-0 victory over Slovenia. The final shot total was a ridiculous 70-12 in favour of the Azzurre as the Italians had no trouble in this one. Fedel's shutout wasn't one of big saves, but she had to be sharp for the few times that the Slovenians put pucks on net.
Italy will square off against the recently-promoted Kazakhstan women tomorrow, and both teams come into the game with 1-0 records after the Kazakhs shocked the Koreans with a 4-2 win today. They'll meet the 1-0 Latvians on Wednesday after Latvia plays Slovenia tomorrow, so we could see two 2-0 teams meeting for control of the tournament in that Latvia-Italy game!
Fedel will be an important player for the Italians as the pressure rises, but she's been one of the best in U SPORTS for a while now. She can win games on her own, and she likely will be in the running for the tournament's top netminder award. Italy looked very good against an improving Slovenian team today as they were buzzing for the entire sixty minutes, and their goal is to win the Division I, Group B tournament to add their name as one of the top-twelve women's hockey nations entering the Olympics in front of their country.
Joining her on the Italian team is former McGill Martlets forward Kayla Tutino. Tutino had reportedly retired from professional hockey in 2018, but she found her way back to the rinks in Italy where she's been playing. The Canadian-born Tutino opted to join the Italian national team, and she'll likely be skating for Italy in next year's Olympics as well. Tutino had no points today, but she was in on a number of scoring chances that the Italians created.
Two other Canadians to keep an eye on with the Italians are Kristin Della Rovere, formerly of the Ottawa Charge, and Kristen Guerreiro, formerly of St. Lawrence University. Both players were all over the ice today, and they appear to be solid additions to the Italian team. Guerreiro had an assist in the win today while Della Rovere was held off the scoresheet, but both players had their opportunities as well.
One U SPORTS player who is skating with the Italians this week in Dumfries is former Calgary Dinos netminder Gabriella Durante. Durante, as you may recall, left the University of Calgary at the start of the 2024-25 season to play professionally in Italy with the goal of gaining entry into the Italian Ice Hockey Federation where she can play for their national team. She has completed one of the two required seasons of play in Italy, and she'll likely have the opportunity to join the national squad in time for the Olympics in 2026, giving Italy another solid goaltender for their Olympic debut.
I'm going to be watching a lot of this Division I, Group B tournament in order to keep track of Fedel and Tutino as they aim to push the Italians into the Division I, Group A tournament in 2027. If you missed today's game and want to watch the Italians lay a beating on Slovenia, the game is on YouTube in its entirety. I have posted the video here for convenience. All rights belong to the IIHF.
I'm hopeful that Martina Fedel can backstop the Italians to a gold medal at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship Division I, Group B tournament. She's off to a great start with a 12-save shutout, but the real tests will come over the next couple of days. If Italy can get the same effort from their players as seen today, they may be the class of the tournament which should lead to some excitement for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympiad! Andiamo, Azzurre!
Posts
