Was it high sticking or not in Game 2??

So, the Carolina Hurricanes take a 2-0 lead back to New York to Long Island for Game 3 coming up tomorrow night. And so, we do the game like we normally do. We do the post-game show.

We do the podcast when it's all over. And then, I get up this morning and I'm scrolling through Twitter and I hear the voice that I have heard so many times on TV, on NHL Network, on the radio, on Sirius XM, Mike Rupp from NHL Network. And for today, you can watch Stanley Cup champion. That's right, he is Stanley Cup champion. And NHL Network analyst Mike Rupp on NHL Now and NHL Tonight throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs and Stanley Cup finals.

And Mike Rupp joins us on the Adam Gold show. How are you, sir? I'm good, Adam. How are you doing, buddy? I'm doing very well.

Thank you very much for your time. I feel like I know you. I've listened to you so many times. But you went through the play.

So, I want to start there because that's the reason I'm like, man, I'd love to see if we could get Mike to talk to us today. So, you went through the Jordan Martinuk play about how Scott Mayfield actually caused Martinuk's stick to hit Mayfield in the face. Walk me through your reasoning why it should not have been called.

So, here's the thing. Because Islander fans have been very adamant about explaining me the rules of hockey that I apparently don't know. I am well aware that a player needs to be in as far as the NHL rulebook. You are supposed to be responsible for your stick at all times.

So, in theory, to go by the book, Jordan Martinuk was not responsible for his stick. But hang with me a second. This is where it gets me.

People want it so black and white. That's the rule. That's the rule. Are you watching the same sport I'm watching? Everything's discretionary, right?

I'm a big football fan. Every snap, you can call a penalty. Every hockey shift, you can call a penalty. I bet you if I went back in overtime or any point in that game and I watched three shifts in a row, I could probably find four penalties in that time.

So, it's all discretionary. So, my point being here is Scott Mayfield, and with that, Scott Mayfield, if you want to call it by the rulebook, Scott Mayfield had some obstruction, hooking, slashing, whatever you want to call it. I'm Jordan Martinuk. So, I mean, he took a penalty on the play too if we're going by the rulebook. So, I guess my point in all this is Jordan Martinuk did nothing to add to this.

He's skating away. Scott Mayfield does this kind of needless play. It's a harmless play.

I'm fine with doing it, but it had a bad result. And if you're a referee there and you see him get hit, one, I don't even know if they saw it, you're not going to guess. It's overtime of the NHL playoffs. You're not guessing what happened there. Secondly, because you saw Mayfield add to it, and that's pretty much the reason why it happened, there's not a chance you're going to call that. You don't want to be the difference maker.

And I don't think that you can say that that was a difference. The puck went out in the neutral zone. It came back. Scott Mayfield's barking at the referees.

He's not getting back in the play and it was a beautiful feed by Stalsey over to Jesper fast. And it's a goal. So I just don't, you know, the people that are going to say, call the rule book, call the rule book.

And when does that ever happen? It's a discretionary game and I, you can't call that. Nobody wants to see that in the playoffs, the side of game. And quite frankly, you know, it was an inadvertent play, a play that went bad, but it was went bad because of the Islanders player. Wasn't it also a case where it was the linesman? It wasn't even the referee. So is it more likely to be let go because the linesman doesn't want to make that call? So the referee on the play is directly behind them. Okay. So the right there.

Okay. So I might have to touch up on this because linesman can make a call, but I'm pretty sure they can make the call if it's I think that they can make the call if it's a double minor, if there's not, right. So I might be a little off on that, but both referees are there.

They're in a bad spot behind it. There's just no chance you're making that call. And you know, you can, you can go back and forth with that whole game. There was a lot of missed calls, you know, and there's a lot of, there's a lot of different things that happen over the course of that game. But Hey, listen, if you're, if you're saying we lost the game because of that, I don't know if that's going to bode well, let's just hope, I think for Islander fans sake, I hope the players aren't thinking that because they got to get ready for game three. Let me ask you what, just about the game, the big, the big picture of this game, Mike Rupp, NHL network is joining us here in the Adam Gold show. Um, what would you consider that a dirty game or was it just a playoff game that maybe just had a little extra?

Um, yeah, uh, maybe a little extra. I mean, every, they're, they're, they're always, they're playoffs are dirty, you know, you get away with what you can get away with and, and you, you follow it. You know, I use it, I use all these analogies of different sports because I enjoy different sports, but like baseball, a strike zone, like these guys are going to see what an ump's calling in a game. And isn't that like a familiar thing, right? Like your first at bat, you're gonna be like, Oh, you know, I'm sure you didn't go back to the dugout and you're talking, Hey, he's a little loosely call on the outside, you know, and, and, and, and you adapt to it. That's how the playoff series is. This is what we can get away with. That's why I've always said all players care about is consistency, set the table, set the tone and we'll fall, fall in accordingly. Um, so yeah, I mean, it was a chippy game, but that's playoff hockey. Uh, there's a few instances. I mean, I'll be honest and maybe the Kings fans, you guys don't want to hear this.

I terrible result with table of terra vitamin. That's not a, I, I, I don't know if I would call that, you know, I mean, I maybe I was right on the hand. So that's, that's, that's that textbook, right? Yeah.

It probably should have been a two minute penalty, but to say that there's any intent there now, I don't, I don't see that. So again, it's, it's nasty. Playoffs are nasty. You gotta play through it.

And, um, you know, we see, uh, usually the team that goes to the finals find a way to play through it. Yeah. I agree with you. I, to me, there was no intent there. I mean, Peugeot's trying to prevent a shot. I think he's trying to get the stick and he ends up getting a hand and it's an unfortunate result of that play. Then the way more intent with Matt Martin on Jordan stall at the end of the first period.

Oh, you mean, you mean sitting on the head, not part of the game. He was resting. The period was over. It's time to rest when the, when the period is over. Mike, Mike Rupp of the NHL network is joining us here.

All right. Are you available because the hurricanes a need a little size and B are down another player. They're already down Andre Spetsnakoff. They're already down max patch already. Now they're down Tevo Terravine and as well, are you available?

I'm not sure at this point, I'd be able to provide anything worthwhile. I mean, I can go out there and maybe rough it up and stand still, but I am not really in good playing shape anymore. This team has been challenged, um, with these injuries with max patch already being out, you know, pretty much all season long, um, suspension club, they've responded the right way.

And I think that that's what they're going to have to do here with the turbo out. Um, it's a tough spot, but this is a team that plays really well. They don't rely on one guy or two guys like they're a good team.

So, um, this is one of those, those things you got to climb and hope that you can stay alive long enough to, to maybe get Terravine in back or see where this kind of goes. But, um, I'm impressed with, with Rod's group. He has them, they play hard, they play the right way.

And so far in this series, uh, I give him a lot of credit because I didn't know how this series would go. I thought if there's a team that could potentially knock them off, it's the Islanders. And, um, I give a lot of credit to Carolina. They've taken care of business through two games. Yeah, they're, uh, they, they just, they're pretty focused, uh, but, and they don't, they don't want to get drawn into the physical game. Uh, they don't want to do what the Islanders did.

They didn't, and they're not going to respond to that. Don't play physical, but they're, they're, they're, they have to stay with what they do. Uh, let me ask you real quick about at least one other series, two of your former teams Island, rather Rangers and devils are going at it. Uh, I thought the Rangers kind of big boy them in game one.

How do you see this? That's a nice way of putting it. Uh, they did. I think their experience came through in game one. I think Lindy rough kind of nailed it. The devil's head coach, uh, hit the nail on the head where he just said, Oh, we played a little bit of jitters. Um, you know, I always, I know as a player, you gotta, the first game of the playoffs, especially at home, I actually find it easier to start on the road because, um, you know, at home, it's just like, yeah, the excitement's just, it's at another level and sometimes it's hard to funnel that energy the right way. And, and in that game, I mean, the devil's took too early penalties, which even if let's say the ranger didn't score on either of those, uh, you're still not allowing your team to get in a rhythm, right?

So it's, it's kind of putting you behind, you're not really starting the game on time because you're kind of playing a little bit of catch up. So, um, they took two early bad penalties. Um, you know, they're a team that manages the pocket. They have all year really well. They didn't really do that in game one.

Uh, the Rangers look like the more experienced team that was a little more focused. They did a good job of keeping the devils to the outside. Got an early lead, stuck with it.

Um, but I think from the devil standpoint, it's, you sit there, it's almost, it's almost better. The game happened the way it did. I feel like as a player, when you just didn't have it and I'm not discrediting what the range you did. I thought they did a good job in that game of, of, you know, sticking to their game plan, but you can say, all right, boys, we didn't have it. Like that was a throwaway game. Like we've got to be better in game two.

You could park it and move on mentally. It's the games where you play well and you lose where that sticks with you. You, you play the what if game, you know, you're driving home from the arena or you're back in your hotel room or in your own bed at home. And you're like going through plays that don't, you don't want that.

So, uh, I think the devil's can be like, Hey, we know we're better than that. We've been better than that for 82 games of the regular season. So, uh, we'll just start fresh and game and game two.

All right. Final thing. How mental is what's going on in Toronto right now and how much pressure is on the leafs tonight? Oh, it's, it's huge.

Huge. I mean, it's, I mean, they, that the, the question marks that have surround this team and I will give them credit. They've done a heck of a job. I feel like this year to show that they're a little bit, they're different. They're just the best built group they've had. But, um, you know, Elliot Sampson was, wasn't up to par in game one. Their team wasn't, but almost to the same degree that I just said with devil, it's almost better that they lost that game seven, three, because you could be like, that wasn't us and you could, you could park it and you can move forward, but they've got the mental like tonight at home. If there's an early goal here by Tampa and the you've got Andre Vasilevski in that this might be lights out T O and it's a lot of pressure at that place might turn ugly quick.

They got booed off the ice after all three periods. Mike Rupp at Rupp or 17 on Twitter, NHL network. I appreciate we'll be watching NHL now and NHL tonight throughout the playoffs. Thank you so much. Glad, God, we could do this. Thanks Adam. Meantime, but you got it. Mike Rupp here on the Adam gold show.