After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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Find out more at tmobile.com. This is pretty typical of me. Earlier this week I came in with no chapsticks. Somehow I now have three chapsticks with me. I'm not sure why I needed three tubes of chapstick, but somehow I grabbed a coat that had one in the pocket. I had one in my jeans pocket, and then I realized that when I thought I didn't have one the other night, there actually was one in my makeup bag in my purse. It's a bag, it's not really a purse.

Yeah, so I went from having none or thinking I had none to having three. Don't you worry, we're all set. Because it's going to be one heck of a show. Multiple chapsticks might be required because this show marks the return of the Chubby Bunny World Championship. Many of you have gone and viewed last year's Chubby Bunny World Championship. We shared the YouTube video on both Twitter and Facebook a little while ago, earlier this afternoon.

If you haven't seen it, check it out. ALaw Radio or on our Facebook page. Many of you are already prepared for what will be a wild final hour.

I still can't hear it without laughing. Many of you are in the same boat, so you're all prepared for what will be a wild ride through the first half hour of the last hour. Does that make sense? Yeah, don't want to miss it. It's going to be 5.20 Eastern Time, 2.20 Pacific Time, and we will film it. We'll do it live here on the radio, so if someone dies, well, you'll hear it. I'm gonna try not to make myself laugh so that I bow out real early. We've got our crew ready to go.

They have now just over three hours to be prepared, and let me just tell you where everyone is right now. First of all, I'm here hosting this show, and so I've got to stay mentally focused to not be thinking about Chubby Bunny between now and then. Second, we've got producer Jay, who's on the other side of the double pane glass. Now he will be coming into the studio.

He is the reigning co-champion. Matt the Musher from Alaska is not joining us this year, Matt and Jay. I mean, they kind of backdoored it. They backed into it because we gave them an opportunity to settle it, and neither one of them could get even one more marshmallow in their mouths. What did you have? Six and a half? Yeah, about six and a half. Seven went flying across.

Well, it would have gone flying across the room, except for it smacked right into the microphone. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend that you watch the video. So Jay and I are here already. We're gonna work right up until the moment that we engage in another world championship.

The other two contestants, now it's different this year, our new contestant is Pat, who you may know from the DA show that follows us here on the network, but he also works on other shows during the week. He's what we call utility infielder. I did that for many years. You just plug holes wherever it is that the network needs you. Well, that's where you fill in. So that's what Pat does. He's actually hosting a show overnight as well on our New York affiliate. So Pat is in the building. We know he's here.

The one guy that we're worried about. Oh, by the way, Pat saw the video earlier on today. He didn't know what Chubby Buddy was. He had no idea. So we invited him. He said yes, but he didn't know what it was all about. He sends me this response to the video. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I swear there's that many ha's. OMG laughing so hard you're crying emoji. Incredible. He's in. I said, are you ready? And he said yes, absolutely. And then I found out he was working overnight in addition to being part of Chubby Bunny.

And I said that might be a choking hazard. We're used to working overnight. Marshmallows will be no big thing, but he is. I mean, he's doing double duty here. He's going from hosting a local radio show to jumping on the network to try to unseat producer Jay as the reigning champion of Chubby Bunny. And then there's our friend Sean, who also works on the DA show, which follows us. Now, DA's out. And so Sean is hosting right now, along with Andrew Bogusz, who is likely to be our emcee.

They were essentially pilfering guys from the show that follows us. It really is about the timing, right? So Sean replies to my reminder.

I sent him a Chubby Bunny reminder because I was worried he might forget. And he says, he's at the Yankees game. There's a rain delay. He's getting home at midnight Eastern time, but there's redemption in getting up early because because he needs to, he needs to redeem himself after he talked such a big game last spring and then embarrassed himself when he choked and nearly died on the air. We really need to hear the whole thing.

Just for people who don't remember how Sean Morash nearly died on After Hours as part of the 22 Chubby Bunny World Championship. No, absolutely not. It's got to be audible, man. One more chance. One more chance. No, that's it. You're done. He's out.

Wait, what happened to double digits? My favorite part is still Pete. Pete laughs like, I mean, he laughs like a hyena.

It's fantastic. That's what gets me every time is Pete laughing. I mean, you all know that I'm obnoxious when it comes to my laugh. So is Bob. Bob is obnoxious when it comes to his laugh too. Can you imagine Bob and I sitting in a cafe somewhere in Europe? They already think Americans are loud and obnoxious and then Bob and I are going to laugh like that. Yeah, it's just, it's a gift.

All right, Chubby Bunny World Championship. Sean Morash will in fact be seeking redemption. And he said this before he sent me a picture of his alarm. Poor guy.

He set himself multiple alarms to make sure he gets in on time. He said, and I quote, I better win. Like I have any control over you gagging with five and a half marshmallows in your mouth. How is that my fault? I'm hearing excuses already. Already.

He's already been setting himself up for excuses. Because I'm tired. I was out late at a Yankees game. You knew about this for how long? Months. That's right. I don't want to hear that.

There's a rain delay. Yeah, seriously. Cry me a river, Sean Morash. Okay, so Sean, Pat, Jay, me.

Sean, Pat, Jay, me. Choose your sides. Place your bets.

Chubby Bunny World Championship. Just over three hours from now. Are you ready?

We've managed to do three of these so far and no one has yet died, but I can't make any promises. That was pretty close. The problem with me is that I'm trying to talk because it's my radio show and I'm trying to stuff marshmallows in my cheeks because that's the game. And I'm laughing like an idiot because I can't help it. That's my personality. So yes, I very rarely get past four because I can't look at the other yahoos in the studio and not laugh.

Jay, what was your strategy last year for being a co-champion? Last year, I wanted to try to kind of tuck them like a squirrel, if you will, putting nuts in its mouth. Oh, funny that you mentioned squirrels. Wait until you find out what I had to do on Wednesday afternoon. Speaking of dying. Oh no. Oh no. You just. Oh no.

Oh no. Okay. Anyway, go ahead.

I have a story for you guys, by the way. Yeah. So I tried to just kind of store them in my cheeks and then use one side and use the other side, but I think I'm going to mix it up this year. I don't want to say what I'm going to do, but that one didn't. Have you been practicing?

A little bit, a little mental preparation, a little, you know, cheek massage therapy. So. Uh huh. That sounds creepy, but okay. So Jay did me a solid today and I just want everyone to know that if there's anything wrong with the marshmallows, that's on Jay.

But mostly he saved me today because of the challenge I had at the homestead on Wednesday afternoon. I didn't cry, but I did say one loud swear word and then apologized in case there were any neighbors outside. Oh no, Jay, you don't understand. This was awful. So anyway, and it's worse than spiders. Just so you know, it's worse than spiders. That's how bad it's worse than my biggest fear in life.

It's worse. Okay. This is serious. It's serious.

No, you don't understand. I was ready to just pack up and move. That's it. I'll just, I'll just move to Houston.

I'll move into the radio studio. Anything. Yeah.

No, no, no. That's that's maybe a little bit too melodramatic. So I had a tough afternoon. I wasn't eating dinner until nine o'clock at night. My stomach is growling.

I was all sweaty and gross from my ordeal. And I was talking to Jay and mentioned, Hey, I'm going to have to give you a call back because I have to go to the store still and get the marshmallows. I thought I had a bag, but I don't right away. Like a true partner, Jay pipes up with I'll go get them.

I thought it was at first teasing me. No, he promptly got off the phone and went to the store. Now he actually went to a store, not the gas station, which is generally where he does his grocery shopping. Instead, he went to an actual store, a step up, a bit of a step up, a bit of a step up a CVS. So it wasn't a grocery store, but they had the last two bags of marshmallows staring Jay in the face. And there he was buying marshmallows for chubby bunny. See if that CVS didn't have marshmallows, I would have even went to the supermarket and gotten them. So that's how committed I was to kind of would worry about you at the grocery store, because I feel like you'd get lost in there. You're not, you're not familiar with the grocery store.

I have to walk by and look at the signs in the aisles. Let me tell you what's in there for help. Can you tell me where the marshmallows are please?

But instead Jay came through in a magnificent way. We have actual marshmallows. And I told him, get two bags, because if we only need one, you know what? I'll take the others home for s'mores or we'll have an after hours group s'more adventure. That would be delicious. Do you know you can make s'mores in the microwave? They're not as good as in a fire pit or in a fireplace. But since we are not allowed to start a fire here in the studio, we may have to do after hours s'mores in the microwave.

I swear they're really good. You don't have the singed marshmallows, but you do have the melty marshmallow and the melty chocolate on the graham cracker. It could work in a pinch.

Yeah. Who, who out there would take cinnamon graham cracker for your s'mores? Would you take cinnamon graham cracker for your s'mores? I would. I mean, yeah, that's fine with me. Nothing against that. So good.

I could turn down a cinnamon graham cracker. No? No. Okay. Not in the business of doing that. No.

Well, we do have the marshmallows and we do have the iPad. That's also Jay. What would I do if Jay was not saving my bacon tonight? So Jay is bringing all of the necessary tools. We have a videographer, Billy, who lied to us last year and pretended like he actually wanted to participate in chubby bunny when he knew he could only get one marshmallow in his mouth.

So he turned out to be a fraud. That was a total disaster. So Billy has agreed to film chubby bunny from this point forward. The fourth annual chubby bunny world championship will take place just over three hours from now. You do not want to miss it.

And yes, it will be filmed. In fact, Jay, this could be the end of my relationship. Do you think? Do you think that I could, I kind of feel like I come across pretty unattractive when I've got marshmallow stuffed in my mouth and I'm laughing like a hyena and sometimes. Okay. All three times I've spit them out. I remember the last time.

Yes. Well, it's happened all three times. We've done chubby bunny. I've upchucked them. I can't help it. That's why I have a plate and a trash can. Actually, remember last year we forgot the trash cans. So when I dump, when I spit them out, it was onto a plate right here for the whole world to see.

And then that's right next to you. So you had to turn your head. I think that's what Sean said that threw him off of his game and they used that last year as his excuses. Excuses. Yeah.

Excuses. We need to have emergency trash cans. That should be one thing that we have this year that we didn't last year. But back to Bob. Bob sends me a text. I told him it was a busy show. Got a great interview actually coming up at the top of the hour about the 49ers and their practice and the quarterbacks, of course, because they can't ever possibly have a year in which there are no questions at quarterback.

It just happens to work out better for them than the commanders or the Panthers or the Colts or the Browns. Anyway. He writes back instantly. Will y'all be film y'all. I got a y'all. It's a Texas drawl. My love sent me a text with a Texas drawl in it.

And it was, will y'all video the chubby bunny. I mean, who texts y'all? Do you? Are you going to start texting me y'all? No, I probably wouldn't. I don't think I can get away with that.

If I was from Texas, I might. Will y'all video the chubby bunny. But the thing is you have to actually spell it out.

Oh, and less voice text. Can I try right now with you? Okay. I'm going to send, I'm going to send you a voice text and see if y'all comes out over Google voice.

You ready? Y'all. It does. It actually does. It's got the apostrophe.

Wait. Now it's still, it's it also sent me that it does. It actually does. Isn't the text. Yeah.

Check it out right now. Y'all comes out in, y'all comes across in voice text, at least Google. Y'all it does. It actually does.

I know I forgot to turn off the voice to text and it kept recording my words. So yes, Bob wanted to know if y'all will be filming chubby bunny. And I said, Oh yes. Which could be the end of our relationship.

It was fun while it lasted, but I suppose if a man would bolt over some good old fashioned campfire fun, then it was never going to last anyway. I think he's going to want to get in on the competition next year. Do you? I do. Or no, that's stop it. No, no, no, no, no, no. Bob does not need to be here in the radio studio. Remember, we've already had this conversation. Bob, if he comes to visit, maybe on a holiday or some such nonsense, you are not allowed to turn on his microphone. Remember, we have an agreement. He doesn't need to say anything to put, he does to play chubby bunny, I suppose.

Actually, he's got to say chubby bunny, but so I guess it wouldn't work. That had to be the smartest thing you've ever said. Thank you for getting the marshmallows. Thank you for bringing the iPad.

We've got to clean the little video screen so we know that there's nothing on it. Thank you all for being so excited about us making utter fools of ourselves. That's how it goes. All right, coming up, one game, one game, the Florida Panthers. They just needed to keep the Carolina Hurricanes from winning one game.

First Stanley Cup final since 1996 on the line for these Florida Panthers and a familiar theme, a familiar name. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. Our Facebook page is named after the show.

If you haven't seen last year's chubby bunny video, y'all can find it on either Twitter or Facebook. We're so excited. Set your alarms if you think you might fall asleep. You do not want to miss this. Thanks for hanging out with us on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Now it's in the corner, comes back, let Keckert settles it down for Shay. His shot goes wide again.

Chatfield won't keep it in. Behind the net, it goes Martin. Yes, ties it at three. 322 left in the third and the Canes are still alive. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Good to the last drop with the drama in the Eastern Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

Mike Meniscalco with the call on the Canes Radio Network. We're talking a couple of minutes left to go, but what have we seen in this series so far? We've seen the Florida Panthers answer every challenge and it began long before this series. It began with them having to fight Scratch Claw, because that's what Panthers do, to get into the postseason.

Yes, they got some help, but they also put themselves in that position. Then they had to go through the best team in NHL history, the Boston Bruins, and they had to win a game seven in Boston in overtime. This is a team that has faced every challenge you possibly can, and while they were on the verge of a sweep, the Canes come back and tie it in the late stages, getting a puck past Sergei Bobrovsky. Sergei Bobrovsky. So what do Panthers do?

They do what we've seen them do now for several weeks. 4.3 seconds to go in regulation time. The Panthers take a 4-3 lead in the waiting seconds of power play goal for Matthew Kuchuk. And the Panthers are 4.3 seconds away from an Eastern Conference Championship and a trip to the Stanley Cup final. Doug Plagans on Florida Panthers radio.

Are you kidding me? It wasn't sudden death overtime, but it might as well have been. Remember, this is the same Matthew Kuchuk, or they call him Chucky, which makes me laugh. The same Matthew Kuchuk that had the overtime winner with seconds remaining. It was 12.7 seconds remaining in the fourth overtime of the opener in the series. It was the game two overtime goal, also Matthew Kuchuk.

He hadn't scored since then until a power play in the first period tonight. Give the Canes credit, they fought back from a two goal deficit, they tied it with minutes to go, and of course it's Matthew Kuchuk. Do you guys remember we had Doug Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel with us?

Sorry, Dave Hyde, thank you Jay. We had Dave Hyde with us, I was thinking Doug Plagans, earlier this week, and we were talking to him about Miami Heat and Florida Panthers and what it's like with these two teams, and also he made the comparison that the Jimmy Butler of the Florida Panthers is Matthew Kuchuk. Every single time they needed a goal or needed a big play, Chucky was the man on the scene. Damn right. He said actually that Matthew Kuchuk and Sergei Bobrovsky are fire and ice.

If you missed that conversation, it's part of our podcast, and we also did share it with you on both Twitter and Facebook individually, so go back and listen to it. Great intel on the Florida Panthers. Matthew Kuchuk with his fourth goal in the series, his third game-winning goal in this Eastern Conference Final, and as you can imagine, he and the rest of the Panthers are, well, they're purring if we're going with the cat analogy, they're glowing on their way to the championship series. We know what we have in there, we know how to play, we know the right way to play, we know what makes us successful, and being in it with the guys and seeing the belief and seeing just the calmness to us is really something special, like nothing rattles us. I mean, they score with three minutes left, you'd think that, you know, uh-oh, here we go, like what's going to happen, but it's like the opposite. It's so fun to be around and like it's just so fun being at the rink right now. We got a few weeks left of this and it's going to be, we talked about in the room, going to be the best few weeks of our lives, hopefully, so something that we're all really excited for. Power play with a minute left, the way we were kind of moving around all game long, we were pretty dangerous, and I mean, big players make big plays and all those five guys on that ice found a way to make a big play and Chuckie finished it off.

I mean, an amazing feeling. Chuckie knows how to score big goals, you know, his composure and his hockey IQ, you know, he's so smart player, so he's, it's a big goal. He's been great for us whole season long and especially in the playoffs, he knows how to score big goals. Sergei Bobrovsky there after 36 saves in this Game 4 clincher, but he had a lot of help from the defense. Did you see how many blocked shots there were by the Florida Panthers?

I went back and looked at the number, 24 blocked shots. They were so active in front of Bobrovsky doing what they could to help him out and something else that is notable, both of Kuchuk's goals came on power plays and those power plays, if you watch them, were relentless. They're always forcing the issue and both times Kuchuk is in front of the net, he's kind of skating out in front of the crease, he's going through traffic, he's making room, both times he's facing away from the goal and with the puck on his stick, kind of has to turn, get a good angle, and then slap it home.

He's opportunistic but also has not, in those two situations, did not lose possession of the puck, which is just as important when there's traffic there in front of the crease. Chucky knows how to score big goals. Chucky does know how to score big goals. The moral of the story, Chucky knows how to score big goals.

It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. First sweep in Florida Panthers playoff history. We've talked about the history with the Miami Heat, right? We've talked about the history even with the Denver Nuggets who were a top seed but this is their first NBA Finals in franchise history.

It's everywhere you look. Just the second Stanley Cup Final for these Panthers and the last time goes all the way back to 1996. So here we are, this is kind of cool, isn't it Jay? We've got an NBA team that could be, well not could be, is chasing its first ever championship and we've got the Florida Panthers too who are fresh blood and new and these are the kind of storylines that I dig. Something new. It's fresh.

It's different. After all these years covering hoops and hockey and just sports in general, it's great to have something new that we've not seen before. I totally agree. I mean if Vegas is able to close it out, they'll be a franchise looking for their first. I mean, granted they haven't been in the league as long but it still would be their first in history.

They've come close in their short time and haven't gotten it so they've tasted it before. Yeah, it's cool. I mean think about just a couple years ago how old like Warriors and Cavaliers was getting every single year, year after year after year. It's nice to see it change once in a while.

Yeah, absolutely. Turn the sport upside down. The Panthers were a wild card. A wild card and yet Matthew Kuchuk, Chucky to us, tells TNT there were no doubts internally. I did. I did and then when we were playing Boston, the only people that thought we were able to beat.

Let me set that up. I didn't set that up well. He was asked the question, did he expect the Panthers to be in this position?

I did. I did and then when we were playing Boston, the only people that thought we were able to beat them were, you know, myself and my teammates and everybody in that locker room and I'm not gonna lie, I think that that series set ourselves up for even more confidence. We went into playoffs with a great record going in and had confidence, but anytime you're playing the number one team in NHL history, like you know how big of an underdog you are. So I think we gained a lot of confidence from that series. We've been an underdog in every series so far. We're going to continue it to be in, you know, the Stanley Cup final. God, it feels good to say that. That's pretty cool and yeah, we're gonna be the underdog there and, you know, we just believe in ourselves and not too many other people do.

Every guy in that room is just very unselfish. I mean, we changed our game throughout the year and just tried to nail down how we're gonna win in playoffs and that takes some guys in different roles or different spots they're not used to and there's no complaining. We just went to work and these guys just compete and it's been a fun group to be a part of. That voice is Mark Stahl. He and his brother Eric are on to the Stanley Cup final. Two Stahl brothers on the Panthers roster. One Stahl brother who plays for the Hurricanes and is headed home. Pretty amazing feat to have three brothers in an Eastern Conference final and we haven't talked about it as much because the series itself has been so intriguing and because the Panthers are on this wild ride, but it is phenomenal.

I mean, we talk about the Watts. Well, and now JJ's retired, but we talk about the Watts in the NFL and obviously in Major League Baseball we had the Molinas for a while, but to have three brothers in the same championship series in the Eastern Conference is amazing, but obviously Jordan Stahl disappointed. I'm sure happy for his brothers. I would be too, but it's disappointing and they were swept. Right there and like I said before it didn't feel like a 4-0 sweep series. You know, obviously that's kind of their game though. They definitely, you know, keep you outside and keep you from, you know, getting those second chances and then they make you pay going down the other way quickly and they got guys that can score goals and make you pay at the wrong time. So, you know, it was a battle and the boys worked hard.

So for Jordan, it's disappointing. Would you go if you were a brother or in my case a sister, but if you're a sibling and you played in the series and got swept, would you then turn around and show up at the Stanley Cup final to support your brothers? Probably would if I'm him.

I mean, why not? I'm pretty positive he's won the Stanley Cup, maybe two when he was with Pittsburgh. So he's tasted, he's been there. I know Eric has won one too when he was with Carolina a decade or so ago or multiple, but Mark hasn't won one, so I think he can go there and watch Mark try to win one. Jordan has won Stanley Cup, so he does know what it feels like to win. That goes back to, right, you said Pittsburgh, right? Yeah, I don't remember exactly what year. One of their three. That's a good question.

I'd have to check one of their three. Have they gotten that run? Yes, so I think even if Jordan didn't have a championship or didn't have a Stanley Cup, you could imagine the camaraderie among these brothers simply because of how hard they've each had to work to get to this point.

So I would think, no, I'm just speaking through my own sibling love. I'd rather see my brother succeed than me even, so there's no way I would miss it. So maybe even if it's painful for Jordan, he's still there because he knows what it's like to be the last team standing. Yeah, Eric and Mark are on to the Stanley Cup final and the Vegas Golden Knights. They are one win away from joining the Florida Panthers and they will do it or they will try to do it against the Dallas Stars who will not have their captain for the next game. Game four coming up on Thursday night, Jamie Ben with that brutal stick to the neck of Mark Stone early in game number three has received, and I'm kind of surprised by this, a two-game suspension. I don't think he should play again in this postseason, so if the Dallas Stars would force a game five, he'll miss both game four and game five and if the series continues beyond that, he would be allowed back on the ice.

I really do respect him as a captain, but I did not appreciate or respect what he had to say in defense of himself and the moment on Wednesday. So you'll hear from him coming up. Also, you're not going to believe how my afternoon was derailed by a couple of furry critters. Even now, it makes me want to throw up. I better get that out of my system before we get to Chubby Bunny. Top of the hour, really excited, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports in the Bay Area will join us because it's May and yet once again there's buzz around the Niners quarterbacks. It's Sam Darnold. I'm telling you, he makes all the difference. No more Jimmy G, but still plenty of questions.

I don't like playing this game. Poor Kyle Shannon. He hates answering questions about his quarterbacks and yet ever since he took over. Remember he took over and Colin Kaepernick was the starting quarterback. Wasn't Blaine Gabbert there as well?

Shoot, I'm going to go back. We're going to go back and look when we talk about the Niners quarterbacks at the top of the hour. We'll go back and look because I swear he's had a revolving door of QBs.

He's just had a really good team around them and Jimmy Garoppolo was a winner when he was on the field. It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Made a mistake. Feels really badly about it. I don't think anyone in the building feels worse than he does about it.

I'm not going to pile on him. He's been a leader here, you know, for his entire career and leads by example every day on and off the ice. Made a mistake. Jamie's one of the, if not the, you know, the best captain in this league and, you know, top leader and, you know, collectively we lost as a group tonight.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The sentiments of Pete DeBoer and Tyler Sagan following the Jamie Ben match play misconduct, which was the game penalty, got him not only a five-minute power play, or got the Vegas Golden Knights a five-minute power play, but got him kicked out early in game three for the Dallas Stars. They were left without their leader, without one of their top forwards, and they had to try to dig out of a hole that Jamie Ben helped to put them in. We did not hear from him following game number three. We heard from his coach. We heard from his teammates. They didn't put the loss on him. And no, it's not entirely on them, but by the time that match penalty was done, they were already in a 2-0 hole. And now here they are down three games to none against Vegas, and they're without him for game four and game five, if the series should be extended. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

We know the Florida Panthers have already reached the Stanley Cup final, and the Vegas Golden Knights can join them on Thursday. Jamie Ben speaking to the media, making his first comments since he took a stick in both hands, gripped it on either end, and jammed it into the neck of Mark Stone, who was already lying on the ice after kind of a weak forecheck. It wasn't a real nasty hit. He didn't crash into the boards.

It's kind of awkward, actually. And the way that Mark fell was sideways down onto the ice, and Jamie Ben takes that opportunity and jams the stick into the neck of Mark Stone while he's lying on the ice. According to Jamie, well, he doesn't say it was unintentional, but it certainly doesn't sound like he's going to accept responsibility for a dirty hit. Didn't want to take a five-minute penalty, but the game happens fast. Emotions are high, and obviously would have liked to not fall on him and, I guess, use my stick as a landing point.

Of all the words I expected to come out of Jamie Ben's mouth as a captain, one that's well-respected, long-tenured in Dallas, those words were not it. He wishes he didn't fall on him and use his stick as a landing point? Yeah, he did fall. He ended up falling after he jammed his stick into Mark Stone's neck.

Are you kidding me? Drop your stick, then. Fall over sideways. You're a professional skater. Don't tell me that, whoopsie, I couldn't get around Mark Stone and I just fell, and it just so happened that I was gripping both ends of the stick and it landed on his neck. That's what it sounds like.

It sounds like it was accidental or that Jamie would like us to believe that it wasn't on purpose. I didn't want to take a five-minute penalty, but the game happens fast. Emotions are high, and obviously would have liked to not fall on him and, I guess, use my stick as a landing point. Seriously, that's the tack you're going to take? That's what you're going to tell us?

First of all, what does it matter if emotions are running high, then? What does that have to do with anything if you just fell and your stick was the landing point? Again, you mean to tell me you couldn't have dropped your stick? You couldn't have wrenched your body sideways? It just so happens that your stick was gripped in both hands and you fell on Mark Stone's neck with your stick? Oh, come on, it was so intentional. You can see it. And I'm really glad that the NHL disciplinary officials did not take this as an excuse.

Now, maybe he's not allowed to say anything because it would implicate him, but still, the punishment's already been handed down. His explanation's icky. Just unfortunate play. No, it's not. I think I just need to be more responsible with my body, my stick, and you know, put my team in a tough situation. So, you know, it's pretty unfortunate.

Ew, it's unfortunate. Well, okay, if it's that unfortunate and you potentially could have hurt an opponent, did you reach out to him? Usually don't talk to other players in a playoff series on other teams, but I saw he was okay, so that was great. Not going to sit here and say I loved it, but we got the five-minute power play. The refs handled it the way it should have been handled, and we got a big goal for him. I got a ton of momentum for our team.

So, yeah, I didn't mean, I didn't love what transpired, but it got handled the right way. We stuck together as a team, and now focus is game four. That's Mark Stone reacting to the hit by Jamie Benn, and dirty it was. It was dirty. You cannot convince me in any way, shape, or form, nor can you convince his locker room.

We heard what Peter DeBoer said afterwards. He feels terrible. Poor decision by the captain, and again, what is emotional about this game? It's not emotional. It's not emotional. It's not emotional.

It's not captain. And again, what does emotion have to do with it if it was an accident? That was my first shift of a game on home ice when you're pretty jacked up and, you know, down one nothing, so you want to, you know, try and get your team going. Emotions are high, and, you know, it's just an unfortunate play. No, it wasn't. It was a dirty play. It wasn't unfortunate. It wasn't an accident. It was a mistake. It was a bad choice. And yes, emotions certainly are running high when your team is trailing 0-2, but you put your team in a far worse position by A, getting kicked out of the game, and B, getting yourself suspended for the next two games should the series go that far. Honestly, I'm stunned that he did not take responsibility for it, and I hope it's because he isn't really supposed to say anything that might implicate himself, but gross.

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