June 11, 2024 6:04 am
CBS Miami lead aports anchor Mike Cugno joins the show after a Panthers Game 2 win to talk Stanley Cup Finals, as well as a little check-in on the Dolphins.
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Talk to your pediatrician or visit WhyVaccines.com. Brought to you by Merck. We're pleased to welcome a new guest to the show Mike Cugno of CBS Miami. He's the lead sports anchor and also a host of pre and post on the YouTube channel and so we're glad to talk some Stanley Cup hockey with you Mike. Really the Oilers dominated a lot of the opener even though the Panthers got the win. We heard the Panthers talking about it post game on Saturday. So what changed in game two? Go back to game number one and it really actually started to flip there in game one particularly that third period where they held Connor McDavid and the Oilers to just seven shots after that onslaught in the first two periods. Since then the following period, first period tonight four shots, second period three shots. So you can kind of see how the Panthers were getting to that their game in game one and how it kind of carried over to game two. They were able to limit them again in the offensive zone. Obviously yes the Oilers did score on their first shot of the game but after that it was clamped Sergei Bagrovsky. The power play unit from the Oilers has been definitely quiet for them. Obviously they were on historic pace in this postseason on special teams. The Cats have now held them 0 for 7 on the power play.
So that's obviously a big difference in this series. Now don't get me wrong you can still see the flashes of Connor McDavid, Leon Drysidel and company in that first period. You can see the speed that they have but the style that the Panthers play it really grinds you out holds you in your own offensive zone for a long time and make you take the hit make you play defense for a long time and that wears on teams.
Not a lot of people can play tall ball as they call it down here. Paul Maurice and so that's what you saw. The third period kind of opened up but that was to be expected when they take a few more chances trying to get back in the game but the Panthers have really started to put the clamps on the Oilers much the same way they did to the Rangers where they really blow them out and not only the hits department but the shot attempts and shots on goal department. I gotta ask you about that first period it was a roller coaster of emotions because and there ends up being a five-minute major and an ejection. The Panthers seemingly have this long power play where they can try to take advantage and get on the board first only to then get their own penalty plus the Oilers are the ones who score when they're in 4 on 4. How much did that feel like a wasted opportunity in the first period? Wasted opportunity and a recurring theme for the Panthers.
This is something they definitely have dealt with as an issue. Go back to the Rangers series they gave up I believe two short-handed goals in the Eastern Conference Finals. So sometimes the power play isn't isn't the best style of hockey for the Panthers if you believe it or not.
Five on five they're one of the best teams in the league. They always appreciate the main advantage especially with guys like Alexander Varkov and Sam Ryan who led the league in scoring on the power play but for whatever reason I don't know if it's complacency or maybe when you think hey I've got five minutes to do some damage they kind of just sit back a little bit too much and someone takes advantage of it. I mean that goal did come on four on four so it wasn't a short-handed per se opportunity but definitely going you know putting one of your own guys in the box not the way to take advantage and again this is Connor McDavid it's Leon Dreichel there's a lot of guys you know a lot of other guys on that team that can score as well you don't want to give them any more opportunities than you have to that's certainly something they can clean up.
Evan Rodriguez ends up with a pair of goals in the third period. This is his first year as a Panther so as much as we talk about the motivation from Florida for a year ago losing in the Stanley Cup Final he wasn't part of that. Why does he fit with this group so well? Well there's a couple of things here I've talked to some of the newer Panthers and asked them this this question like how did you jump on this moving train that had the goal of getting back to the Stanley Cup? They said this is a professional group of guys they've seen loss at the highest level they've been the president trophy winner and lost they've gone to the Stanley Cup Final and lost back to back years so this is a team that knows what losing feels like and they don't like it so there's an expectation in that room and really the guys handle each other.
Paul Maurice certainly has an effect but everyone in there keeps each other accountable. Evan Rodriguez brought on this team by it by Bill Zito this year and has fit in swimmingly. I mean he's just such a versatile guy his two goals in game two come on two different lines that just tells you how they like to move him up and down and around and he can be effective. Anton Lundell I mean perfect pass on that second one to put it right on his stick but then you can see Evan Rodriguez's own skill on that first goal where he snaps off a wrist shot really between three uh Euler defenders and finds some breathing room to beat Skinner. He's a talented kid and just speaks to the depth that the panthers have that when they start the game he's typically on the third line. Mike Cugno from CBS Miami is with us in the wake of game two of the Stanley Cup Final where the panthers find themselves now just two wins away from hoisting the first cup in franchise history.
It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Sergei Bobrovsky was hailed for that shutout in the opener. So much has been made of his record in Stanley Cup Final games and now here he is with two wins under his belt. How much does he talk about what this would mean to him considering all the experience and yet hasn't won the cup to this point?
It's I think he had a really great quote after game one he said I enjoyed the challenge out there it was fun something to that effect and it's like are you kidding me you just saw 32 shots from some of the best offensive players on planet earth and you were having fun out there. When he first came to Florida the big expectation eight years 10 million dollar AAV right he really didn't live up to that contract early on and I mean even going back to last year's Stanley Cup run he was benched Alex Lyons was playing for the panthers in that first round series a lot against the Boston Bruins. So to see the kind of transformation that Bob has gone through he's having fun out there he everyone says he's the hardest working guy on the team and it's starting to show it is flipped for him I think he's finally enjoying himself here not sure what it was that clicked but something has definitely clicked and ironically enough the amount of output that the Oilers put on him in game one he may have actually appreciated that more than the 19-20 shots he faced in game two because he was busy most of the night. A lot of times against the Rangers he was going sometimes 15-20 minute stretches without seeing a shot because of the way the Panthers play defense it's hard to locate the puck when that's the case so he's learned here in this postseason to play probably two different styles depending on who the team is and what they're working with it looks like he's having a good time out there.
One of the things I admire about the panthers is they are who they are they have nearly perfected their style of play they don't deviate they just trust that it's going to work against whoever the opponent happens to be if you're talking to someone and maybe you have who doesn't know anything about the panthers how would you describe their identity? Go to the Boston series and all the talk was about the Sam Bennett hit on Brad Marchand and what was going to happen and all the talk you heard was really coming from the Boston side you would have thought you know the panthers would have to respond whether in press conferences or in the locker room to all the negativity and everything surrounding them no matter what you thought of the hit I think you look at the team and the way they handle that and that is they just keep their composure they keep moving forward no matter what the storylines are they don't get into it there's a rule on that panthers bench from Paul Maurice you don't talk to the referees that's the rule you don't make them a part of the story you you go out play the game the game is going to be called however it's going to be called but they move forward even their style like they just keep playing you saw how fast shot of the cannon the Oilers looked in that first period but the Panthers just stay the course they keep playing their style and I think that composure is something they've learned over the last two years. What do we know about Alexander Barkov and his status?
Paul Maurice sitting in on that press conference he did not have an update he had done but he was asked multiple times by reporters what his reaction was what his feelings were on the hit Paul Maurice said this isn't the Oprah Winfrey show my feelings don't matter he was definitely frustrated. Paul Maurice has been a really loose and funny guy in these post-seasons up at the mic tonight was a different Paul Maurice it's my opinion that he probably wasn't a fan of some of the hits tonight the going up high dry side on Barkov was maybe the tipping point earlier in the game he to lose to Ryan took a shot to the knee that was the five-minute major we spoke about earlier that did not look good either the league's probably going to take a look at some of these hits from the Oilers we'll see what ends up happening there is no update yet officially from the Panthers on Barkov's situation and I mentioned they were a deep team even the deepest teams losing a world-class player like him and a selkie winner would be tough to replace. Mike Cuneo is the lead sports anchor for CBS Miami after the two games in Florida as the Panthers take the 2-0 lead and now they've got the longest flight in a Stanley Cup final because of the distance between the Panthers and the Oilers home arenas that game not coming up until Thursday it's after hours with Amy Lawrence what was it like with the Panthers fans getting to host these first two games?
It was awesome it's awesome Ameren Bank Arena has been an amazing atmosphere the entire postseason they're averaging more fans tonight than any other building in the NHL in the postseason that is a bigger building but they're going over capacity they're selling out every night the Panther fans were cheering really three things after the win we want the cup that was just ringing throughout the building a lot of people just holding up signs saying two more two more and then of course everyone asking us while we're doing our live hits on CBS Miami about updates for Barkov those are the three things everyone's talking about right now they can feel it they're hoping third time at the cup is the is the charm here about 30-31 years in existence and yeah they've been waiting a long time. I know you also covered the Dolphins right now with mandatory OTAs taking place in the month of June what's the biggest question facing the Dolphins for 24? Biggest question is can they win a playoff game it's been 24 years since the playoffs uh win for the Dolphins that's more than my adult life Mike McDaniel's making a point to start every meeting on the 24th minute of hours just so kind of July that I don't care they know they're gonna hear about it um all season that's it it's getting over the hump as simple as that Tua is up for contract extension they made it clear he's their guy it's just you know they'll work out the money I think that gets done probably before training camp starts or at least before the season starts Tyreek Hill he deserves a restructuring of his deal no one's had more receiving yards the last two seasons combined and that guy has so those are kind of storylines grabbing the headlines I think they'll work everything out there did they do enough on defense to reload because Bradley Chubb, Jalen Phillips not sure if they're going to be ready for the start of the season those two leading sack getters from last year two of their leading sack getters from last year they drew out the guy in chop Robinson to help in that outside linebacker area but they've done a good job reloading that defensive free agency can they make it come together their new defensive coordinator Anthony we have rail the offenses there it has to stay around in December and January for whatever reason that record dips and they start to win late here thinking about last season the Bills it took until the very last week of the regular season for them to grab the AFC East Division title and remain as the defending champions but how do you see the balance of power in the AFC East? Well the Bills have obviously gone through the kind of their shifting and throwing pains this offseason as well I think what they look like this year they've still got Josh Allen he's still the best quarterback division until someone knocks him off what happens with the Jets is a big question mark we don't know will Aaron Rodgers make it through an entire year we know they have a good defense will Aaron Rodgers be a factor obviously if he's healthy and he's the Aaron Rodgers old he will be and then you know the Patriots they've got a young rookie quarterback just put them at fourth right now the Miami Dolphins end up being like where can they finish they have the talent to finish the top of the division they almost did the last year game tour away from doing it but you know there's two teams in the Bills and the Jets that probably think they have the talent as well it's probably going to be one of the more interesting races for a division title we've seen in the AFC East in some time just because the Patriots dominated for two decades this is the Bills division until someone else says so and the Dolphins had their chance last year and they blew it I mean they blew it they they had it the Bills look look like they were dead in the water and Miami was going to take the division it's it's time for them to to prove that they can win late in the season I know I've said it once but that's where this team's at.
24. What type of reception did Mike McDaniel get at game one? No one gets a reception like Big Mike he he fires up the crowd like everyone I think the dream scenario is for for Mike McDaniel and Paul Maurice the Panthers head coach to sit down and have a conversation on tape because the the press conferences those two have down here in South Florida have become must watch uh tv or must watch youtube however you take it in um but when he shows up he he is such a beloved character down here coach in the respect he deserves coach because he's won a lot of games taking the dolphins back to back playoffs um he's such a beloved coach down here right now um and whenever he shows up the heat games or panther games um he is the most welcome guy in the room I've seen him at heat games I've asked him I asked him what do you like about what head coach ex-poster does he likes the accountability um that he puts on his players season timeouts that he players talk to each other not necessarily have to talk to the coach because they know what to they know what to do that heat culture runs through him he said something that he notices that you know obviously with Paul Maurice and these guys uh for the panthers a little bit of pressure you know panthers heat doing a lot of winning down here putting some pressure on the dolphins to do so do the same. And now two wins away from the first Stanley Cup in the franchise history fans are primed and ready the next two games are on the road follow Mike on twitter at Mike Cugno C-U-G-N-O CBS4 lead sports anchor for CBS Miami also has work on CBS Sports HQ and Dolphins Weekly Live because it's almost that time Mike it's great to catch up with you thank you so much for the time and the insight.
It was awesome it was awesome being on here happy to finally join you. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance whether you love true crime or comedy celebrity interviews or news you call the shots on what's in your podcast queue and guess what now you can call them on your auto insurance too with the name your price tool from progressive it works just the way it sounds you tell progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget get your quote today at progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust progressive progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law here's why April chose to vaccinate her child. I think actually meeting someone who was not vaccinated and now has a lifelong struggle with a childhood disease really cemented for me that it's super important that we as parents continue to vaccinate our children.
Talk to your pediatrician or visit yvaccines.com brought to you by Merck. Start your summer road trip at Midas and get up to thirty dollars off your next repair service plus get a free closer look vehicle check to make sure your road trip ready so if you need a brake service and alignment check or tune up hit up Midas for up to thirty dollars off for more details request your appointment at midas.com
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