Sun Sets on Phoenix (Hour 1)

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That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. Live from the police show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor, 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Friday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, and that free Odyssey app. 855-212-4CBS number to jump on in. 855-212-4227.

You can always get at me on Instagram, where I'm straight flexing, or via the good old cesspool of Twitter, at Zach Gelb. That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. The Hurricanes are advancing to the Easter Conference Finals. Jordan Stahl, their captain, will join us 40 minutes from now. Coming up at the top of the hour, we'll recap all the basketball from last night, preview the games for tonight with former NBA big man Ryan Hollins, and then 8.20 p.m. Eastern, 5.20 p.m. Pacific. The Sixers blew an opportunity at home last night, so we'll connect with a longtime Philadelphia talk show host in Mike Missinelli. But first up, producing this extravaganza today for the next four hours is no other than Hot Te Kiki.

I don't know about that Hot Te Kiki. So last night was a repeat pretty much of last year. The Phoenix Suns, in a big game, showed no heart, no life, and were an absolute embarrassment. And you look at last year, they were expected to beat the Mavs, and they crapped the bed. This year, I was not expecting, heading into this series, Phoenix to win the series.

But if you're going to go down, you can't get embarrassed. And what Phoenix did last night was they showed no heart. They got punched in the mouth. They couldn't punch back, and once again, in a big moment, that team was as flat as flat could be, and then it was just a slow death throughout the rest of the game. Where you knew the body was in the bed, and you knew that the body was not going to make it out of the hospital, but you were just waiting for the game and the clock to tick on down to zeros. And then you could finally announce the Phoenix Suns as being dead for this year of basketball. But what you saw last night, I've never seen anything like that.

And it was a complete and utter joke. I get home last night, and I get into my New York City apartment, and I flip on the game, and I see it's a one-point game in the first quarter. With like three, four minutes left, whatever it was, it was 27 to 26, Denver was up. And I'm sitting there like, okay, we got a game. Here we go.

This is going to be fun. So what I did with three and a half minutes or so to go in the first quarter, I said, oh, I got to empty out my dishwasher. I also had to make myself a little late night smoothie. So I got out my strawberries. I got out the mangoes, the blueberries as well, the spinach, a little scoop of protein powder, a little scoop of peanut butter. And once I took all the dishes out of the dishwasher and made my smoothie, which was not a long process, was probably only a few moments, I go back to the couch to sit down on the couch to watch the rest of this game. And I look up at the scoreboard and I go, what?

44 to 26? I go, did I miss something when I went to the dishwasher? Did I miss something when I elected to go in the kitchen to make my smoothie? Because unless I was hallucinating, I was 99.9% sure that when I walked off, you know, out of my living room from the couch, that it was 27 to 26. So I doubled, tripled, quadruple checked the TV, looked at the play by play on ESPN, and I go, wow, I missed the 17 to nothing run in one trip to the kitchen. A 17 to nothing run.

How is that possible? I know the Suns were not supposed to defeat this year, the Denver Nuggets in my mind. But in the span of three minutes in the first quarter at home, you can't allow a 17 to nothing run in your building. You just can't, especially when last year your team was as anemic as I've ever seen a team be up against Dallas. I thought last year was laughable to have it happen again when you have Kevin Durant on your team with Devin Booker.

That doesn't make sense. And once again, if they would have just gave a competitive effort last night and they would have lost the game like 125 to 121, don't get me wrong. I'm not sitting here and giving you a positive eulogy today on the Phoenix Suns, but to get blown out in the final three minutes of the first quarter is ridiculous. And you go into halftime, you're down by 30 points. You allowed the Nuggets to cook you and put up 81 points in the first half. And that's the most points in the first half by a road team in postseason history. It's actually funny when you talk about this, because I can't imagine being in that building last night, being a Suns fan after your team projectile vomited last year up against the Mavericks.

And here you are again, up against Denver, and Denver once again is the better team. But you showed no heart, no life, no fight. And there you go, Contavious Caldwell Pope punch you in the mouth and you couldn't punch back.

You took that beating. How weak are the Phoenix Suns? I know DeAndre Aydins not playing.

I know Chris Paul's out with the groin injury, but show some life. Last year, your team got embarrassed, embarrassed against the Mavs. You can't get embarrassed again. And you did. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked.

My jaw hit the floor. A 17 to nothing run for Denver to close out the first quarter on the road. They didn't even need to play the second half. You know, Greenberg and Stephen A. Smith and Jalen Rose when they go to halftime, they didn't even know what to say.

They couldn't even give you the cheesy broadcaster line of, oh, you never know. You know, this game's not over until every minute is played because the game was over. The game was over when it was a 17 0 run to end the first quarter. The game was definitely over when it was a 30 point lead left at halftime.

Oh, my goodness gracious. And I'm freaking out about this. And I bet Denver last night I won. I made money off the game. I also won a dinner bet from Hickey.

I took Denver. He took the Suns. But I'm fired up because I can't believe this incompetence again from the Phoenix Suns. My oh my. I was stunned last night. And it's almost to a point where you're stunned, where you just have to laugh, because what a big, fat, lame joke the Phoenix Suns are. Oh, my goodness gracious.

Hickey, I really could not believe. And you know me. I told you last night Denver was going to win the game. Denver was going to win the game. Denver was going to win the game. But to lose that game in the way that they did last night, that's like something I've never seen. And I know we basically just saw it last year.

But you know what? This year's worse from a historical standpoint, down 30 at half. You allowed 81 in your own building at half the most ever in the first half in postseason history by a road team.

Like what? Hickey, I could not believe what I saw last night. I almost texted you. I almost texted you when I went to go make my smoothie and I came back and it was a 17-0 run. Is my screen just playing games with me? Did you sneak into my house and pop up something from a previous game from years ago? I couldn't believe what I was watching last night.

I wish it was a dream. Yeah, in a sense, the most frustrating part is it is shocking, because again, I did not expect that route early on to happen. But if you really think about it, this team has been carried by two players in Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

That's it. They got very little contributions from the bench, very little contributions from anyone not named Booker or Durant. And so you talk about a 17-0 run at the end of the first quarter and talking about or no one at all stepping up and making a shot, it's really not surprising whatsoever because we've seen that so far through the first 10 games of the playoffs up to this point. And it's like, you see when Booker is off and Durant is off at the same time, there is no one saving that ship. And that's what happens.

It capsized faster than the Titanic. And that's why I felt like they had no shot in the game last night. And really they had no shot in this series because as great as Durant can be and as great as Devin Booker has been, and don't get me wrong, there was one point at this series, I think it was like two games ago, where Devin Booker was shooting 61% in the playoffs from the field. So he's been ridiculous. But the law of averages eventually suggests that even if he cools off and it's not like a massive fall from grace, which he never had, that eventually there was either going to be a stinker or you would just be in the 20s and it wouldn't be good enough to go secure a victory.

And you're exactly right. That's why I was kind of stunned how adamant you were with the Suns in this series, because Denver is just a better team. And Jamal Murray, as the game went on, started to feel himself. And once he's on, then Denver is the best team in the Western Conference. We know how great Nikola Jokic is, but you know what actually is one of my biggest takeaways from the game last night? Because let's be real, once you get past the shock and once you just start laughing at how disgraceful of a performance that was by the Suns last night, and good for Denver, they're advancing, they should be in the NBA Finals. Regardless who wins this series between the Lakers and the Warriors, I'm picking Denver.

Heading into the playoffs, I like Denver. I did not like what the Suns showed you in the first round. Even though they won in five up against the Clippers, I thought they had to play way too many minutes against a team that didn't have Paul George. Kawhi Leonard only played the first two games of the series. So there was a lot of signs that suggested the Suns weren't going to get to the Finals and the Nuggets are the best team in the Western Conference. But when I'm watching that game last night, I was imploring the sports gods that that game was actually on TNT. And I know it was on ESPN.

And this is nothing against Stephen A. I love Stephen A. But I can't watch anymore, Mike Greenberg and Jalen Rose breaking down basketball games. Ever since their comments about maybe the Knicks aren't beating the Heat because of the weather. And then I hear Mike Greenberg last night say that there's no marquee player on Denver, like what? They don't have a marquee star?

What the heck is he talking about? And I know then quickly after he said that, Jack Assery, he mentions that I know they had Nicole Jokic. Nicole Jokic is a marquee player. Nicole Jokic, just before this past MVP award got handed out, has won back to back MVPs.

And I'm really getting sick and tired of some of the national coverage of Nicole Jokic, whether it's Mark Jackson just being a buffoon, not voting him, and then giving some lame excuse yesterday to Sirius XMBA radio. How do you not have Nicole Jokic to the top five year MVP award? And you say last night, Mike Greenberg, that there's no marquee player, no marquee star on Denver? Do you even watch the NBA?

And I'm not the biggest fan of the NBA regular season, but how don't you get that right when discussing Denver? And this is why I would not mind seeing Denver win it all, because I'm in the mood for a Bleep U tour, a middle finger to everyone tour for Nicole Jokic, because this dude is just magnificent. He is so fun to watch and I don't have a damn clue how you stop him. And even when he doesn't play his best game, he still goes for a triple double.

The dude is just absolutely absurd. But last night, I was really hoping at halftime I was going to get EJ, Ernie Johnson, get Shaq, get Kenny the Jetsmith and also Charles Barkley, because at least it would have been entertaining at halftime. I was not entertained at halftime and they would have absolutely destroyed and eviscerated the Phoenix Suns. And even after the game, I was looking forward to hearing those guys as well, but it was an ESPN night, so nothing you could do about that. The Suns absolutely embarrassing. We're here for the next four hours on CBS Sports Radio all the way up until 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific.

When we come on back, the Sixers missed a golden opportunity last night. How are they going to respond to the game seven as they go back to Boston? We'll discuss as the Zach Gelb show continues after these short messages.

You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. Yo, yo, Zach Gelb show, CBS Sports Radio, Jordan Stahl, captain of the Carolina Hurricanes, going to join us. Coming up 20 minutes from now as the Canes advance to the Eastern Conference Finals last night, taking down the Devils in five games as Jesper Faust got the game-winning goal in overtime.

So we're looking forward to talking and chatting it up with the Canes captain coming up 20 minutes from now. So I had to start the show with a little rant about the Phoenix Suns and just their laughable performance last night is a complete and utter disgrace. Let's get to the Sixers and Celtics from last night as the Celtics force a game seven and now we'll get to see if they give their fans something to cheer for in a game seven, going to TD Garden. That was a missed opportunity last night for the Philadelphia 76ers.

You're in your own building. You're up 3-2. You have a chance to bury the Boston Celtics who have absolutely owned you throughout the years. And even though they started off slow talking about the Sixers, they eventually got back in it and at one point took the lead. And when they started to really fight back in that third quarter, I started to think to myself, okay, Sixers are going to go win this game. And it was a 50-50 game down the stretch.

It was right there for the taking. Jason Tatum for the first three quarters did absolutely nothing. And then in the fourth quarter, Tatum stepped up to the plate because he had 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Sixers only had 13. And if you're a Sixers fan, you know how brutal the loss is, that is last night, because you had every opportunity, even with your crappy play through the first two and a half quarters or so to take down the Boston Celtics and come the fourth quarter, they crapped the bed.

They crapped the bed. And that's inexcusable. And I'll get to Embiid in just a second. But Joel Embiid, he's not wrong. He's got to touch the ball more down the stretch. But we talk about right in the last segment, the Suns, how I've never seen a team when it's a one point game with three minutes left in the first quarter, give up a 17-0 run at home. And then historically, we've never seen a team score 81 points on the road in the first half of a postseason game, like we saw Denver last night. As alarming as that stuff was, you look at the Sixers, just as equally alarming how from 613 left in the fourth quarter to 22.1 seconds, they didn't make a field goal. Like how are you at home? And you go for pretty much like a six minute stretch, down the stretch, and you didn't make a field goal.

Like Hickey, what's more embarrassing? What the Suns did last night, where they just quickly got wiped off the floor, when you allow a 17-0 run to end the first quarter at home, or the Sixers practically not making a field goal in the final six minutes or so at home? Sixers, I think way worse, way worse. Because you had a chance to close out the series, and there was a belief after game five, you're probably right, because there was a belief after game five that the Sixers were gonna win this series, and that they completely stole momentum. You look at the Nuggets up against the Suns, even though it was a gutless performance by the Suns last night, the Nuggets were the the Nuggets were the better team. And the Suns didn't have Chris Paul, the Suns didn't have DeAndre Aiden.

I still don't think it makes much of an impact in terms of who wins the series or not. But Philadelphia, even with how they did not play well early, the Celtics almost were playing a game of, we don't wanna go to the conference finals, we want our season to end. So please, take us out of our misery, put us out of our misery, and the Philadelphia 76ers Hickey last night just couldn't do that. It's truly frustrating, we have given Joel Embiid a pass for a large part of his career because it's really been him and no one else arriving in the playoffs. He's been playing at a high level, and it's been Ben Simmons letting him down, or it's been recently James Harden letting him down up until this season.

So it's been a lot of blame, point of the fingers at everyone except Embiid. And last, I think is the first game where you can truly look at Embiid and say, you need to be better, you are the reason why this team lost, because you are the MVP winner. You cannot have your MVP winner go invisible the last four minutes of a game when you have a chance to close out a team that has had your number repeatedly, and to not have a shot attempt, to not make a basket, to not have a rebound, to have zero impact in a one possession game with four minutes down the stretch at home in a closeout game. For the MVP, you said it, absolutely inexcusable. And I don't wanna say, well, it is shocking, but I just wanna remind people that I've been one of the few people, even though I love Embiid, to point out up against the Hawks in that elimination game, gave the ball away down the stretch.

Up against the Celtics years ago at TD Garden, I was there at game five, couldn't convert. I think it was Aaron Baynes, if memory serves me right, that made a nice defensive play on him. And for so many years, you look at Embiid, and those moments don't really get talked about, because you're exactly right, Hickey, because you go, okay, well, they're relying on him too much, and who's his finisher? And he really hasn't had that finisher in the NBA.

And this is like the first time where he's had that complimentary piece where Harden actually stepped up and delivered and won them two games, one without him in game one, and the other in game four. So the Sixers are still designed poorly, but even being designed poorly, they had a 3-2 lead, and Embiid put his face on a milk cart and down the stretch last night, he was nowhere to be found. And with how bad his play was, it was worse with the way, and this is not Joel Embiid first few years in the league. Joel Embiid is now the MVP, and he's a seasoned veteran in this league. He should know how to handle the media, and he should know not to make excuses and act like a petulant child when talking about this game last night. And here is Joel Embiid last night talking to reporters saying he needs to be involved in the offense more late. Listen up. I don't think I touched the ball the last four minutes of the game.

Like I said, I missed a lot of good looks. I didn't touch the ball at all. You didn't touch the ball at all.

And by basically saying that, you're throwing the coaching staff or your players under the bus. You're the fricking MVP of the league. You're in your home building. This is your team.

This is your city. If you want the ball, big fella, get your ass on the block and say, give me the fricking ball. And I guarantee you, if James Harden or Tyrese Maxey or whoever didn't give you the ball, the Philadelphia fans would be screaming, get the ball to Embiid. But from 613 to 22 and a tenth of a second, they did not hit a single field goal. And Embiid, he barely touched the ball down the stretch. He had two shots.

None were in the final 355. So I don't want to hear, oh, I need the ball more. And you throw people under the bus. Dude, if you wanted the ball, implore your team to give you the ball.

And guess what? You are the heartbeat of that team. Everyone respects you enough where they would have got you the basketball.

I thought that was extremely lame last night for a player that I do genuinely really root for and like in Joel Embiid hickey for him to be bitching about not getting the ball. This is your moment. This is your MVP year. You're at home in your building. If you want the ball.

Hey, James, I'm right here. Give me the ball. You got to go get the ball. You got to go into the paint. And you got to demand it, but he didn't demand it last night.

And I get it. He's playing on one leg. He could probably trim down a little bit in the weight department as well, but it doesn't take much if you want the ball for you to open your mouth and you would have got the basketball last night. Giannis in that situation, I think is calling for the ball and he's getting it.

LeBron, Anthony, like we can go down the list. Steph, all these great postseason players we have seen in that moment, not only understand the gravity of, oh, I got to take over this game, but also if they are, if there are two, three, four possessions where maybe Harden's getting a little three point happier. Maxie now is starting to chuck up shots.

They have the presence in where I thought to say, Hey, let's slow it down. Give me the ball and let's go. And instead of be just kind of one was not aggressive. Like you mentioned, just put your hand up and demand the ball.

He absolutely would have gotten the ball if he demanded it. And to take assertion of the team and say, Hey, look, slow it down. We're kind of letting things get away from us. Let's run through me and let's kind of get this ship righted.

And instead just kind of the wheels kept falling off and the desperation started ramping up and it got, I mean, it turned into a laugh or pretty fast. And I haven't been impressed at all with the Celtics, this series and the Celtics have been begging the Sixers to go eliminate them. It's like now going into a game seven.

I know this doesn't make for game radio, great radio, but I do kind of feel as if this is a toss up. It's a 50 50 game. I have nothing to expect. I have no reason to expect the Boston's going to show up. And for the Sixers, it felt like they put everything on the line in game five where they played a perfect game in game five.

And I don't know if they could do that again. Like this is truly a toss up. Usually you have a sense one way or another on who's going to win going into a game seven. This is truly a toss up. And I just keep on going back to how poorly Boston has played at home.

Eventually they got to heat up at home. And you wonder if last night, not that the Sixers are out of it for game seven, they can still win this game, but you do have to wonder if last night was really the end of the six or season because of how bad the Celtics were in game five. I would think even though it's impossible to predict what the Celtics are going to do, Hickey, that Boston will at least show up in a game seven.

I hate to say it and I can't believe I'm saying it. I trust the Sixers on the road more than I do the Celtics at home on Sunday. All right, I'll be taking the Celtics. I just, we've seen the Celtics too many times just this postseason. We've seen the Celtics too many times the last two years at home, flub games, give them away, come out with low intensity and low focus for whatever reason. So I will take the Sixers, I think on the road game seven bounce back.

And I think we will, after rightfully crushing Embiid for lack of aggressiveness yesterday, I will see a different Embiid on Sunday. Now Sean Grandy, the voice of the Celtics who joined us before game six, he was saying that he can't be very confident in this team coming on back. But he did point out that when their backs are up against the wall, that's when they play their best basketball. Why last night was so concerning is they basically didn't show up and play their best basketball and they were still able to have a lead and early take control of that game. And Tatum basically did nothing, but then in the fourth quarter, give him credit, he did show up. I think last night it's an XL kind of night for Boston.

Okay, you survived. There's an enormous amount of pressure on them, obviously going into game seven, but you got to believe at home that eventually they'll find a way to play their game. But so far we haven't seen it, so maybe it's another Phoenix Suns situation. Jordan Stahl going to join us, the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes next as they're off to the Easter conference finals. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. Let's head out to the guest line right now and welcome in the captain of the Hurricanes. And that of course is Jordan Stahl, kind enough to join us.

Jordan, congratulations. Thanks for the time. Appreciate you doing this.

All right, no problem at all. Good to be here. Well, there's nothing like a game winner in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just describe that scene last night on your home ice when Jesper Fass got a piece of it and sent you guys to the conference finals.

Yeah, we were bugging him. He missed a couple empty nets to start, so he was due for one and he's come through clutch for a couple OT winners already, but nothing better than an overtime winner, especially a serious clincher. I mean, all those memories, I won't forget. So it was a really cool experience, really, really fun and obviously just proud of our group and just happy to be a part of it and just be a part of this great group of guys. How about the contributions Jesper's given you? I know he's been on the team the last few years, but that was his second overtime winner this postseason. Just how about the way that you've seen him grow the last few years with Carolina?

Yeah, no, I mean, he's been our steady rock for a long time, really. Obviously, offensively, you might not see it a ton, or might not notice it, but we notice it every day here in Carolina and what he does and what he brings to the table. It's just great to see him get rewarded with some big goals and obviously a little bit of limelight for how good he's been playing for us for so long and he works hard and he gives everything he's got every night.

It's really, there's no change in his game ever, so it's just, it's always been a lot of fun watching him and I've been playing with him for a long time too, so it's just great to see and very few. The captain of the Hurricanes, Jordan Stahl, here with us. Last year, we know you guys in the second round went up 2-0 and then you lost 3-4 at MSG, eventually lost that series in seven games. I was most impressed with your team so far this postseason with that game four performance.

You guys take a 2-0 lead this year. Game three didn't go your way, but to be able to bounce back the way you guys did in game four to send it back home up 3-1, just what does that say about your squad this year? Yeah, I think we've been, especially on the road, obviously last year we lost our road game. We've been a little more even keel on the road and kind of just sticking with, obviously, the adversity in the atmosphere and just sticking to our game and kind of building games on the road. So, thinking a couple of road wins have really helped in the last couple series and obviously our home crowd at home has been electric and it's just been so much fun playing in front of them and obviously our group gets excited and we've won a lot of good home games.

So, it's just been good to see us kind of battle through adversity on the road and really just kind of stick with our game and be a little more comfortable and the uncomfortable and it started to pay off for us a little bit more this year. Everyone talks about your home ice advantage at PNC Arena. What makes you guys so lethal at home?

Yeah, I don't know. Honestly, it must be all that tailgating this game. They're nuts and it's just a lot of fun and, you know, right from the start it's just loud in there. I mean, I get back to my house after a game and talk to the wife and I can barely hear because my ears are still ringing and it's just a blast to play in front of that crowd and it's always bumping and they get us going for sure and it's just been a lot of fun. What did you guys really take from the run last year to try to implement it for this season and during this run that you guys are on right now?

Yeah, I think it's a lot of stuff I said before. Especially on the road, just being a little more even keel and not getting too excited and not putting ourselves in bad situations and I think we've been staying on the box a lot better this year. We haven't had the trips to the penalty box over and over again which kind of cost us in previous series. We've just learned from a few mistakes that we've created ourselves in previous years and then we just had some consistent play from everyone. I mean, everyone's just been kind of dialed in and really just bought into how we play and how we do things and we all believe if we do do that, we're going to have a good chance of winning every night and it's been chilling so far. Well, you guys are deep and you're tough as the captain of the Hurricanes, Jordan Stahl, is here with us. I know injuries always happen in this sport but Toulouse-Terravine and Sevechnikov and also Pacharetti now be eight wins away from Hoist in the Stanley Cup. It says a lot about the toughness of this group, Jordan.

For sure, a big hole. It's obviously great players and I think it starts with the way we play and our coaching staff and how they dialed everyone in and really just bought into how we play and that's really just being strong defensively and really giving the other team just not a sniff with the puck, no time with the puck and it just makes it hard for them to really make plays. Any NHLer, especially when you get this deep in the playoffs, they're going to have some top-notch, top-end players that can make plays and we do our best to take their time and space away and make it frustrating for them and that's been our number one goal and we always say the goals or the chances and the scoring chances will come.

We just got to give them nothing and we've taken pride in that and I think it's really been paying off. We all know what your coach did as a player but when you look at Coach Rod Brindamore, how do you kind of describe playing for him and what type of coach is he for you guys? You always hear how player friendly he is. Yeah, he's player friendly. He's a normal dude but you just have so much respect for him and he steps in the room and you can just feel it and what he's done not only just for him personally for his career and here in Carolina but just his day-to-day. He's a coach that's in better shape than half the guys on the team and his work ethic is bar none and it's just a leadership that is just so easy to follow and such an easy thing to get excited for and play for and the guys have just gravitated to him and barely just understood what it takes to win and how we do it and how we do things and obviously when you see the results and you feel the results and you feel that we're taking over games or really just beating teams that are very good, the guys are really starting to buy in and really believe in what we can do here and it's starting to show. You're in the conference finals now, your brothers Eric and Mark with the Florida Panthers just need one more win and then you guys will be going up against one another. What would those emotions be like if you got to go up against your two brothers four wins away from going to the cup final? Crazy, eh? I'm excited.

I mean it's unbelievable. Obviously all three of us, obviously the tail end of our career and to be able to bow each other in a conference final, to go on to the finals is something that I mean it's a dream come true really for us and you know it's something that I wanted to do. I remember we played our last game of the season.

I think we lost. I think we would have played them in the first round and I was making sure the boys were ready for it but I didn't want to play them first round. I knew how good they were. I knew what they could do and I told them after we won that we'll see you in the conference finals and you know their one win away and we'll be ready for them though.

It's going to be a good battle and I'm just excited. That's what hockey's all about. It just shows you how bonkers this sport is and nothing surprises me this time of the year but last year the Panthers as you know won the president's trophy and then they lost in the second round. This year they had the fewest points out of any team entering the playoffs and now it's looking like they're going to meet you guys at the conference finals especially what they did up against Boston in the first round and now having a 3-1 lead up against Toronto. It's just crazy when literally in this sport anyone could go out there and win the cup.

That's what I told the media. I told everyone that especially anything that makes playoffs they believe they can win and that's the beauty of NHL playoffs I think is anything can happen and that's what makes it so exciting. That's what draws people in and that's what gets me excited and it's really obviously great to see the bros have a great run right now and hopefully it'll end here short meeting us but you know they obviously have a 1-1 win against Toronto against a tough team and they got a long battle out of them but you know playoff hockey there's nothing better.

It's so unique what your family has accomplished just how do you look back at your upbringing bringing and what it was like to grow up with all these brothers and and good parents? Yeah I mean it's hopefully I'll have to reflect a little later in life but as of right now it's still kind of shocking the way it's all unfolded and how it's all played out and but you know like you said great parents and just very blessed to be a part of this whole situation NHL and then being able to play as long as we have and being able to be a part of so many great people in NHL and great teams and it's just been it's just been so much fun and you know I'm excited for the near future and hopefully the canes keep rolling and we and bring home the big mug for our fans. On the way out with the captain of the canes and Jordan Stahl I know important this organization is for you and it's always special when you get named a captain like you did a few years ago but your brother was once the captain of Carolina as well just what did that mean to you the day when you found out that you were going to be able to follow kind of in those family footsteps and also get the captain tag there in Carolina? Yeah it's I mean it's an absolute privilege to be able to wear a seat in NHL you know there's no question there's I always have a ton of respect for anyone that wore it throughout the league and you know no one really takes that stuff lightly and so it was just a privilege and honor to be able to wear it and be named on.

Just happy to do my part and be a part of a great group of guys that are just competitive as hell and I'm just trying to join in with that and just have as much fun as I can and it's been it's been good so far. Going back to your earlier days when you were a member of the Penguins you got to the cup final in 2008 lost to the Red Wings the next year you got revenge up against Detroit and you hoisted the Stanley Cup just what do you take looking back from those two years 2008 losing the cup final in 2009 winning it all? Yeah I mean it was a long time ago you know but just some crazy runs and two good teams ended up in the finals again and like I said just before anything can happen I mean we were down two nothing in the Stanley Cup finals going home not feeling all that great about the situation but you know finding ways to battle back and you get momentum at any point in the series and things can change quickly I always tell the fellas it's one game at a time the last one's always the hardest one to win and you just kind of keep grinding and grinding and grinding until you finally you know see them wave that white flag and you find a way to bury it it's just a it's a fun process down the Stanley Cup finals or the playoffs in general and just the series and how it all unfolds and the ebbs and flows and it's just you know it's really been a cool day apart. You've been in Carolina since the 2012-2013 season I know you're in your final year of your contract right now have you thought much about your playing future? Yeah you know there's been some talk obviously I want to stay here and be in a hurricane obviously it's a great situation for myself personally and just with my family and everyone around that and so my plan is to stay here in Carolina obviously my focus right now is has the situation at hand but I believe in the near future we'll get something done and I'll be able to keep grinding it out with the hurricanes. I know your brothers are still playing and they're older than you there's no thought at all at 34 maybe if you you win eight more games and win the cup again that maybe you walk away? I don't know I mean I'm crazy enough to keep going I don't know why but this game seems to keep dragging me back in you know it's something to do with just being part of the that room you know it's just it's an addicting feeling just being a part of something bigger than yourself and just being part of a group of guys that have that common goal is just something that is so rewarding for me and to be a part of and the way things are going here in Carolina it'd be hard to pass up just to walk away but you know we'll see how it all unfolds the finish season. Well Jordan once again congratulations on the win last night we're hoping that you get to see your brothers in the next round and we can't thank you enough for taking a few minutes today to join us on CBS Sports Radio. No worries thanks for having me. Great stuff right there with Jordan Stahl the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes off to the Easter conference finals we'll take a break when we come on back we'll chat it up all things in the NBA Sixers disappoint last night Suns were a disgrace Denver moves on to the conference finals Celtics force a game seven and we'll see what happens tonight in the association with Ryan Hollins.