NHL playoffs kick off tomorrow!

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Grainger, for the ones who get it done. Stanley Cup playoffs start tomorrow. The first game out of the shoot. Hurricanes and the New York Islanders, 5 o'clock. It's on TBS. Dave Reed from NHL Network. Man, I listen to you on the radio. I watch you guys on my television. I appreciate your time.

Thank you so much. Everybody's got to be excited for the start of this. Should those of us in Carolina be more excited than everybody else?

You know what? I would think so. Absolutely, you should be a little more excited. I mean, the anticipation of being a favorite, being a favorite to win, and people talking about being high in the odds to win the Stanley Cup and the season that they've had, the acquisitions that Carolina's made, the way the team's playing. Absolutely, you want to be excited that they're going in on a high note.

That is right there. Those reasons alone are reasons to be excited. Everybody's healthy.

Everybody's ready to go. Yeah, for the most part, Jesper Fosse, the only player who, from their top 12 in the forward group, who is going to miss Game 1. And there are people who would tell you that Fosse shouldn't be in their top 12. I believe he is.

I love everything about Jesper Fosse. I think he makes the players around him better. But Carolina does have a lot of depth because a guy like Isberico Canami, who wasn't going to play otherwise, more than likely, will draw back into the lineup. Hurricanes didn't handle, at the beginning of the year, didn't handle being the favorites all that well.

How does that change the dynamic? It all depends on how it's handled by the individual or the team group. The more you talk about it, the more pressure you put on yourself. I think that there are about a half dozen teams that know that they are a legit Stanley Cup contender, and Carolina is one of them. And you, just as the season goes along, you constantly play to improve your game. And that's where the coaching staff and leadership group is not really worrying about the outcome of it.

Even individual game, you just don't worry about the outcome of the period or your next shift. And I know Rob Bryn Mawr is definitely coaches like that. He doesn't coach to say, oh, well, here's the big picture over here.

This is where we're going. It's like, no, no, no, no. It's almost micromanaging to a point, but that's where good coaches keep on, guys. You really never get caught. I mean, I was fortunate enough to win a couple of cups and playing some great teams in Dallas and Colorado at the end of my career.

And even throughout Boston, I was on some fantastic teams with a great hall of famers. And, you know, we never really looked at the big picture. It was always, you know, really bringing your focus into what I need to do in my next game. And then, you know, you have your game plans and then it really breaks right down to shift to shift.

And then your lines are discussing what we need to do. And it because if you start looking at the end result, you're not going to really focus as much as you need to on what you need to do to get there. And Carolina is a team that focuses on what they need to do to get there.

They've never had an issue. And that's why they're one of the best teams in the league because a lot of teams don't focus on what they need to do to get there and and stumble along and and don't never get there and don't get there. And so, you know, Carolina is a great focus and they've been building for this.

And, you know, I think this is a great year with the pickup these nuts off and Jake and so that is the acquisitions of those two guys alone, you know, makes the focus on. Okay, we got to win every game. We got to win every shift and they do that. They're that good. Jake. Jake Edsel has been a point and a half player per game since the acquisition is just staggering.

All right, so I know everybody's analyzed all of these series top to bottom. Where is Carolina? What can the Islanders do to Carolina to take them out of their game?

What can anybody do? Not just the Islanders. If Carolina is fortunate to get past them Rangers, what is the game plan to take Carolina out of their game? Well, I would say on a team like Carolina, you need to be physical in the top players and you need to be in their face the whole game, uh, chirping, um, scrumming it up after whistles, just constantly aggravating. You know, the Sebastian Ahos and the Jake Gensles and, you know, even such nikov and try to get these guys off their game of koozies. And, you know, if you can get these guys off their game and even a young guy like a Seth Jarvis and really concentrate on making them think of anything other than and how to beat us, that that's how you're going to do it. They're a deep team. Their special teams are very strong, you know, and you've got to do that without taking penalties because you start taking penalties. The power play, uh, it can defeat you there and Adam Gold here with my man coach Pete the route of capital financial advisory group.

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Adam Gold is a paid spokesman, investment advisory services offered by capital financial advisory group, North Carolina registered investment advisor. Goal tending isn't an issue. You know, it's always, of course you can do your regular things like get in goalie's eyes and that, but it's really, it's really just aggravating as it's a seven game series.

And this is what you're going to face shift in and shift out. And, um, and that's why they say it's, it's attrition in the playoffs. It's the war of attrition.

It's two months of who can battle the hardest. And you know, let's go back to last year with, with the Florida Panthers. I mean, they were the bullies and I've said it on there. They were the bullies of the league. They, they bullied their way through Boston. They bully their way through Toronto. You know, they bully their way to Carolina. They, they ran into, uh, uh, not a bully for sake, but in Vegas, but Vegas pushed back.

Yeah. And Vegas didn't, it was like, you want to punch me in the face? Yeah, I don't care. I'm still going to run you through the boards.

You can, you can whack me in the back of the leg. I don't care. And then when, you know, Florida didn't have an answer for that team that didn't respond and, and just concentrate on what they needed to do. And that's kind of what you want to do in playoffs.

And Florida was very efficient at getting three teams off the game in the playoffs. They couldn't get Vegas off the game. And that's what you need to do with Carolina is you're going to try to get them off the game because if you don't, you let them play their game. They're going to have skating.

They're going to work you and they're going to beat you. And you know, that's the Islanders mindset. It's like, we've got to shut things down defensively, which is tough to do against Carolina because they've got a great forecheck.

They've got a great transition game and they all play it. It's like one line the same. So you've got to find a way within the rules to aggravate and get the best players thinking about anything about, you know, scoring the next goal is your seven done.

Yeah, of course. And speaking of between the speaking of within the rules, do the rules expand or contract? However, you want to look at it when we get to the playoffs. I asked Brady Shay this yesterday and he said, well, the games are more physical and maybe they let more go. Did the rules change when we get to the playoffs? Well, they don't change according to the rule book, but I think they change the way they're. Yes, the way that the referee see the games and call the games, which I think is completely wrong. And I've always been proponents of it's a penalty called a penalty.

Who cares? Right. And but each game will change depending on who the official is because no question, Brady's actually right.

No question. The physicality picks up in an 82 game season and you're playing game 65 and you've got two steps to finish the check on a guy and it's a one goal game. You're not going to finish. It's like, Oh, my gosh, it's like late in the third and middle third.

Like you, it starts to wear on you. But in the playoffs, you take the extra three steps to finish the check. And that's that's just part of it.

And you know the stuff. I don't think the hooking and the holding all of those penalties are usually called the same. As far as the officiating goes, it's all the little extras, you know, in regular season, a punch to the face after strong. There's a penalty in the playoffs. Each team might get one free shot, right?

And that's that's the type of thing that that isn't usually called, you know, the hacks behind the leg. One team will get a whack behind the leg next room. The other team gets whacked behind the leg and game to game each official different. Some officials have started the game. So you want to do that?

I'll take the first guy. Others that that that comment doesn't happen until late in the second when the rest of like God had enough of this garbage between the periods. I'm taking the next guy who go to the benches and they'll tell you I'm taking the first guy takes a whack after the next drum is in the box and it stops. So that's kind of the differences in the way the games called and it's a seven game series and you know, it's it's um, you know, it's not like you didn't allow, you know, it's not like they're a lot of cheap shots. It's just a little extra curriculars that get under guy's skin that, you know, people like he punched him in the face. It's like, well, he did. But did you not see the last from when you're gonna get punched in the face?

There was no call or your guy punched the guy in the face. So, I mean, those are the things that if you're keeping a ledger right and marking down, you'd need a you'd need a large book. I like a good face wash.

I think the playoffs are great. I like a good face wash. Good stinky gloves. Make sure you got your stinky gloves. Put the gloves on the dryer and crank the heat out of them because next time I'm going out and I'm rubbing it and it's bashing off his face.

I want the stinkiest glove I can get and then you switch them when you come back. So yeah, but that's that's all part of it. And that's where teams have to really, you know, try to folk usually do it on the on the players who might take penalties might retaliate the power play as the series goes along. You keep doing it early and then you do it to the star players a little bit and you see where it goes. Yeah, Andrei Svesnikov feel seen right now. That'll be the key can Andrei can just kind of keep his wits about him because when he does he's a great player.

I want to get your thought Dave Reed on a couple of the other series. We do we agree that the Rangers probably aren't going to have a huge problem with Washington. Yes, unless Charlie Lindgren plays like you did in that to nothing Detroit game or to one. I guess the Red Wings can score with a second goal or something. But yeah, Charlie Lindgren is going to have to really really play extremely well and you know, it's going to be tough to shut down the offense of the Rangers, especially the power play can be tough.

Yes. All right in the Atlantic division. I think both series could go either way. I happen to like Tampa. Who do you like in the sunshine series?

Yeah, I might be with you on that one. I mean, I think Florida and Carolina are the top two with the Rangers are the top three teams in the Atlantic. I think Florida is by far over the course of the season. But if you have watched Tampa in the last couple of games, it's tough to really evaluate teams because guys, you know, could try going for a hundred and that Matthew's going for 70 in their final game. Tampa's playing extremely. Well, they get 340 goal scorers.

You've got six or maybe I think it's just 620 goal scorers, maybe seven. They've got good depth. They've got good, you know, they've got vast less people who can win you a series on his own right before and but Florida's got the same boards had great depth of scoring. They could what Bob and that that series is going to be a battle, but it could come down to that playoff championship experience that Tampa Bay still has in a game seven that might be it. That one's going to be very interesting Tampa was the team that I was like, nobody wants to play Tampa the first round.

They're gearing up and they've got some, you know, they've got some deadly offense. That's but Braden point is outstanding in the playoffs. He's scary along the Toronto Boston series.

I think that's going to be a coin toss. I would say Boston definitely has the favoring goal, but their biggest issue is going to be between their ears when their goaltending that failed them last year in the first round. If Toronto can find the way to get a few goals early now, Boston might be questioning the goaltending. I think Boston has the edge in defense and I would give Toronto prob the edge in goal scoring. So it's going to be a very interesting series in that one. If offense can beat the defense and goaltending of the Boston Bruins and they're good.

We'll just have to wait and see how you know, Jeremy's swimming and Lena Solmark come out and battle it. If they let in like last year, if they get in, if something gets in their head, that could be a long series for the Bruins. So it's interesting is that Boston was like a minute from knocking Florida out and five and then Florida scored with the extra attacker won it overtime and they never looked back.

That was a fascinating series for me. And honestly, I think they probably stayed too long with Olmark. They probably should have gone to Swamin earlier.

I Swamin was the all-star this year. I assume they'll go there. But who knows? They've got two outstanding goaltenders. We'll keep it quick out west.

Who do you like in the west? You're the ones who get it done at Grainger. We're here for you with professional-grade industrial supplies. Count on real-time product availability and fast delivery.

Call click Grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. I like the way Winnipeg's playing defensively. Adam Lowry, their captain, that's their team identity. They play physical. They play shutdown defense. They've got great goaltending. Connor Hellebuyck, that's going to be a great series with Colorado.

I like Dallas, Dallas. We've got 820 goal scorers. Wyatt Johnson ended up at 32.

He was the most extreme, extremely tough to stop. Three lines. Eight guys, that's almost your full three lines up front, scores you 20 goals.

That's tough to shut down. And they've got excellent goaltending of Jake Gottinger and defense. But saying that, those two teams, the teams that I like, saying that the Vegas Golden Knights are getting Mark Stone back. Alex Pietrangelo's getting healthy. Thomas Hurdle's got a couple of weeks under his belt to play. Hayden Hill's getting healthier.

He was out for a little bit there. And they are the Stanley Cup champs. And it is the toughest thing to knock off the Stanley Cup champs in any round the next year because they want to do it again.

It's very, very difficult to do. I don't think we're going to see a Seattle over Colorado taking the Cup champs out in the first round. I think Vegas is going to be a very tough out and they play Dallas first round. So that could be the series of the whole Stanley Cup playoffs since the first round. Both teams are good to go and that series could be one for the ages. Dallas had to be watching the Ducks and the Golden Knights last night going, what?

What's going on here? Not that the Kings would have been easy because I think the Kings are sneaky good too. But holy cow. Dallas, number one seed in the West. There you go.

Here's the defending champs for you right away. Yeah. I was like, I was working last night and we're like, okay, LA's got a Chicago.

Okay. And that was close. I mean, like LA had to score a minute and a half to go to tie it and win it.

Like that was like, are you kidding me? That's good for Chicago and Anaheim Vegas is like, okay, the home teams are going to win these two games by three or four goals, much like Colorado. I didn't dress seven regulars, Colorado gets up for nothing in the first nine minutes. Like this could be 12 nothing and it turned out to be a decent game after that.

But absolutely. That's the one thing with Vegas is I'm not sure they look terrible against Colorado when they were down three nothing after two a week ago and they score and they win it in overtime and you're just overtime, not a shot. And you're like, wow, three goals in the third.

Well, what's this all about? And that's, that's the only concern I have Vegas right now is haven't seen the consistency in the game. But man, they're, they're so deep. They're so good. I agree.

I agree. And, and they, they know, Hey, they're, they're, they're fresh off the cup. It's like, okay, well, let's do this again.

This is our time of the year. So it's that, that, that series is going to be, is going to be a lot of fun, but yeah, Dallas is probably going. Yeah, I'd much rather go to much rather go to LA and the Stanley Cup champs.

I don't care who they are in the first round. Unbelievable. Dave Reed, NHL network at underscore reader on Twitter. Thank you so much. Enjoy the playoffs. We'll talk again. Thanks, guys. Good luck, Carolina. And you too. Enjoy these, enjoy these games. We will. Absolutely. And it all starts tomorrow.

Marquis batting lead off the Carolina hurricanes and the New York Islanders. In routine care to sinus infection, strep or the flu. We couldn't be more convenient. Learn more about our kind of care at our kind of convenience at wake med.org.