Eastern Conference Finals is one big reunion!

All right, Scott Burnside. Overtime Scott B on Twitter. Check out the newsletter.

Thank you very much for your time, sir. We got a lot of storylines here. Do you have a favorite one? Rod Moe, the entire Stahl family here. Even Jared works in the Florida minor league system. He's an assistant coach for their minor league team in Charlotte. You got a favorite?

I don't know. I kind of like the upper management. Paul Kropelka and Rick Dudley really helped in the transition under Tom Dundon and Don Waddell taking over as GM. You go back to Rod Brindamore's first couple of years as head coach. Paul Kropelka and Rick Dudley, two really smart guys behind the scenes. They're part of Billy Zito's management team in Florida.

You're right, Adam. I love the Paul Maurice-Rod Brindamore connection because you and I have been around a long time. You think about the 0-2 run and Paul Maurice's role there. Then really his second tenure taking to the Canes to the East Final in 09. There's a lot of history with Paul Maurice and this organization and this community. We not only coached Rod Brindamore, but gave Rod a chance to join his coaching staff when Rod retired.

I like all of it. I like the idea that these are certainly less with the Hurricanes, but I think with the injuries to Pacharetti and Smachinokoff and certainly Thabo Terevanen going down early against the Islanders, I think there are a lot of people who like the Islanders to win that series. I think there are a lot of people who like the Devils to come up ahead of Carolina in the second round and of course Florida who like them to beat Boston or Toronto. I don't know whether it's underdog mentality, but there's a certain sort of grittiness about how both these teams have arrived at the Final Four. Both of these teams can use nobody gave us a chance. Florida at the beginning of the playoffs and maybe Carolina as well based on personnel attrition.

I think that's fair and I think maybe it doesn't matter to the Panthers. I do think I watched that series against Toronto very closely and I just saw a Toronto team that even though they'd shaken off the burden of not having won a playoff round since 2004, they looked like a tight team. They looked like a team that wrestled with the expectation that they should roll over Florida.

I'm sure the message from Paul Maurice and the leadership group in that Florida room is, hey we're playing with found money, let's have some fun with this. I think we saw that certainly as the Panthers roll to a three nothing series lead against Toronto. I expect they'll bring that same mentality. For me, Carolina has just been they just have been in a different zone for virtually the entire playoffs. They've played their game, they've imposed their will on both the Islanders and the New Jersey Devils with rare exceptions in both those series. My guess is that Rod Brindor-Morris messages, we're not going to do anything different and if they play the way they did against the Islanders and New Jersey, I think it's going to be real difficult for Florida in this series. Scott Burnside is joining us.

Don't help us get our hopes up here, Scott. We're hoping to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals. It's funny, ESPN put out a video it's like the Hurricanes are back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2019.

A lot of fans took that as a slight. I took it as a sign of respect because the expectations have been raised because this was a team that was thought to be very good going into this season and is coming off, what were they, the third best team in the league last year behind Florida and Colorado. They had third best record the year before. They had the third best record in the entire NHL in the weird year where they divided up the divisions differently because there was no travel so the expectations have been raised. What's interesting about the Hurricanes and the way they have approached it, I think they've been able to take some liberties. The Islanders didn't have a great skating back end and they also didn't, they weren't a great offensive team. The Devils didn't have a very physical defense and I thought Carolina could hem them in.

I think Florida can handle both of those things. I think there's some physicality and especially with Brandon Montore who has been on a different level. I think they can skate. Yeah there's no question this Panther team has you know a lot of different tools that they can bring to the table and I thought what was impressive about the how they closed out that series against Toronto is it you know was it didn't have to be a running gun it didn't have to be 5-4.

You know they allowed only two goals a game in each of the five games against Toronto. A lot of that is Sergei Bobrovsky and of course having stellar goaltending covers up all kinds of miscues and flaws if you happen to have them but they are a good skating team. I do think they're vulnerable on the back end to the four check which of course is Carolina's forte.

You know but they can certainly play it any way you want. There's a huge amount of toughness with that roster. There's a lot of belligerence and you think of guys like Sam Bennett and certainly Matthew Kuchuk and Radko Gudas on the back end and you know I think Mark Stahl's played very very well for a guy who I think a lot of people thought maybe was you know really in the twilight of his career after leaving the Rangers. So they can play it a lot of different ways but I think that's sort of you know to me that's the kind of team that Carolina has no problem adjusting to as well right. I mean they play that kind of you know sort of up tempo and really aggressive the defense in at the blue lines the whole time.

It really is you know it's sort of going to be a cat and mouse game. You know it means that Freddie Anderson who I assume will get the start in game one or Anthony Ronta if if if Rod Brind'Amour decides to you know to make the move at any point in the series those goaltender's have to be at their best because sometimes the chances that the Canes give up are of the more grade A or B plus variety. But I think that's its risk reward for Carolina has been under Rod Brind'Amour and I think that's where they hope to exploit Florida is that I'm not sure top to bottom their back end can match what Carolina is going to bring to the table. Well Carolina's back end Scott Burnside is with us and it took a while. Probably took a good two or three months but I don't know if Carolina's ever had and we've had great defensive pairings here. I don't know if they've ever had a better defensive pairing than Jacob Slavin and Brent Burns. Not only the contrast but they're both really good skaters. Brent has shown some more physicality in the playoffs than really he had played with during the course of the season.

They can both log big minutes and as we've always talked about here Jacob Slavin makes everybody look good. That's just about as good as a defensive pairing as you can have. Well and I think it all flows from that and you look around the NHL and I think of the four teams that are remaining and you know Vegas has a there's so much going on in Vegas on the back end. Dallas the same way with led by Meryl Heiskanen but in terms of one through six and the ability not to get caught up in you know the the the matchups or letting a matchup rule how you roll your team and I think this it's not just with the blue line with the Carolina Hurricanes.

I think we've seen that. I think the Canes have 13 players with two or more goals in the playoffs so the ability to roll four lines is is there you know it's at the core of their DNA but that back end from one through six is there isn't a better group left in the playoffs right now. At least that would be my argument and it is led by Slavin and Burns and everything flows from them and you can you know if you have to play them a little bit more it's not an issue and this is you know this is why you acquire Brent Burns. It's for these moments where you know if this is a long six or seven game series you know he's this is why he's there. It's why Paul Stassney is there. It's to help galvanize the room that is now you know eight games away from a Stanley Cup victory and I I've liked Brent Burns's game.

I know there's a little bit of risk reward to it. I've liked his game throughout the playoffs and you're right. I think Jacob Slavin if you had to vote right now I know Jordan Martin might be the sentimental um canes cons my vote leader right now but game in game out it's Jacob Slavin I think who has really set the tone for this team.

He's a wizard. He's the steal from Michael McLeod to set up the natures goal that made it one-one at the end of the first period. I guess that was game four. He took the puck so cleanly that McLeod didn't even realize it was gone. At first he was still making his move and all he looked down the puck was gone and Slavin had just took it from him and gave it to Jordan Martinook. But you brought up Scott the balance scoring.

Jesper Faust is tied with Sebastian Ajo for the team lead in goals. I don't think we have to say anything else after that. Yeah I don't know if you went back I wish I knew what the Vegas odds were. All right hurricanes are going to the eastern conference final and Jesper fast will have the chair of the team lead or here's how about Jordan Martinook with 10 points in the second round.

I think the odds would have been pretty steep against that. After zero in the first round. The new Chevy Silverado HD puts you in command. Own strength with its enhanced available Duramax 6.6 liter turbo diesel v8. Own the lake with its available advanced towing technology and own technology with an available 13.4 inch diagonal touch screen. The new Chevy Silverado HD. Own work, own play, own life. Learn more at chevy.com.

Find new roads. Chevrolet. Feast your famine but you know again I wrote this today but the the idea that you know you know you know if Jordan Martinook continues on this you know offensive rainbow I mean that's great it's a great story but it could be anyone in that lineup could be Jack Drury could be Seth Jarvis it could be Jordan Stahl because I think that's how this team is built. Jesper fast is a terrific example of that and I like listen I think it was fair to ask at the start of this playoff year how is this team going to score enough goals to not just beat the Islanders but maybe advance to a final four and advance to a Stanley Cup final well they're north of three and a half goals a game they're dynamite on at even strength their power plays scored timely goals and and you know again it's the great cliche but to get contributions from different parts of the lineup every single night or almost every night that's difficult to overcome it you know again Vegas outlasts a very top-heavy Edmonton team in six games playing the exact same way if you don't have that it's very very difficult to win in the playoffs or at least win beyond one round. Scott Burnside before I let you go and you should go get the newsletter Burnside on hockey go to overtime scottb on twitter best way to to get the newsletter so I mean I was going to ask you to pick the way just give me a quick pick of the west and I want to ask you about Edmonton who's who's winning Dallas or Vegas? So I picked Vegas to lose to both Winnipeg and Edmonton so I'm out of that so I've got Vegas in seven okay but both that should be a terrific series again because both those teams are really deep you know Jason Robertson really hasn't got going got two power play goals that's it and still Dallas is right there Jake Ottinger gives them or should give them a a leg up in goal but something about Vegas they just seem just right again I think they remind me a little bit of Carolina they found their groove you know Bruce Cassidy's done an amazing job there in you know against some real difficult circumstances goaltenders hurt all year no Mark Stone I think Vegas wins that in seven. And maybe Carolina wasn't supposed to see Boston they were supposed to see Bruce Cassidy that's it maybe that maybe that's the real rivalry all right real quick about the Edmonton Oilers Toronto as well what's missing from those two elements there's too much star power I thought Toronto was a different animal this year but obviously not I thought Edmonton made some good additions as well but obviously not what's missing there yeah well and I think you look at the teams that are you know that are remaining here and I think there is a consistency of within the final four and that is that you aren't too top heavy that you don't rely solely on you know like at the end of the day in Edmonton if they weren't getting it done on the power play they weren't getting it done and that you cannot win that way and and really too many defensive lapses and goaltending that was only ordinary and I think you know the Leafs a little bit different but certainly their top four I know they call them the core four um very disappointing in moments where the series was there for the taking and you know that you can't have that and so um I I think it is about building a team I think it's about identity I know these are all cliches that you know that certainly if you spend any time around the Carolina Hurricanes that's what Rod Brind'Amour has talked about from the moment he walked in the door in the fall of 2018 but it's a real thing and I think you see that with Vegas I think you certainly see it with Dallas and Florida you know the great upstart team there you know they believe in themselves and I think you know I think that's been lacking in Edmonton and in Toronto for a number of years I don't know what kind of changes both teams are going to to make because they're both so tight against the cap the flexibility is very limited but it really does I think come down to character and identity and what you know what your team stands for in terms of their DNA and if you don't know that and if you can't build that then you can't win that's certainly those elements give Carolina a little bit of an edge there's no question there is a ton of character uh and an idea a specific identity in that locker room uh overtime Scott B on twitter I appreciate your time get the newsletter I'll see you soon I know yeah anytime you got it Scott Burnside the new Chevy Silverado HD puts you in command own strength with its enhanced available Duramax 6.6 liter turbo diesel v8 own the lake with its available advanced towing technology and own technology with an available 13.4 inch diagonal touch screen the new Chevy Silverado HD own work own play own life learn more at chevy.com find new roads Chevrolet