Skjei talks Hurricanes sweep of Rangers on NHL @TheRink podcast

Brady Skjei mentioned prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers that he'd be playing with a chip on his shoulder because the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman was facing the New York Rangers, the team that traded him Feb. 24.

Skjei talked about that feeling, the motivation he got from it and how it fueled him to help the Hurricanes sweep the Rangers in three games on a new episode of the NHL @TheRink podcast.

"I was really looking forward to the series," Skjei said on the podcast. "Obviously, I knew it was going to be a little strange, a little different playing against guys you've played with for the last five years, but I was ready to go. Even during the quarantine, I was trying to stay in as good of shape as I can because I was trying to prove to the Rangers. You're always trying to play with that chip. Once you get traded you want to show them that you think they made a bad decision. I'm glad that we won in three games."

Skjei had an assist on the game-winning goal in Game 3, was plus-4 and averaged 19:45 of ice time per game, third on the Hurricanes, against the Rangers.

He also spoke with co-hosts Shawn P. Roarke and Dan Rosen about how he's staying busy in the bubble during this downtime the Hurricanes have now while they wait to find out who they will play in the Eastern Conference First Round.

"I like to play cards," Skjei said. "We have a group of eight or nine that play at the table. We've also been playing a lot of golf. We'll grab the putters and balls and we'll just putt up and down the hallways. I'm usually golfing or playing poker or watching the other games."

Former NHL defenseman Hal Gill, an analyst on the Nashville Predators radio broadcasts, also joined the podcast and mentioned how he's been mesmerized by the amount of hockey he's watching now.

"Hockey everywhere," Gill said. "I come home at 11 o'clock and hockey is on. I'm watching it all day. I'm trying to do stuff with the kids. I'm trying to be a husband and a father and hockey is on. I think the world should shut down for a bit so we can take it all in."

Gill talked about Nashville's series against the Arizona Coyotes and how it can rally from down 2-1 in the best-of-5 series. Game 4 is at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the hub city in the Western Conference, on Friday (2:30 p.m. ET; NHN, NHL.TV, SN360, FS-A, FS-TN).

He also touched on two of his former teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens, who are locked in their own series.

Montreal, the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference, leads the fifth-seeded Penguins 2-1 with Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena on Friday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN, TVAS, ATTSN-PT).

"I never expected it, but Pittsburgh and Montreal has been kind of fun to watch," Gill said. "You just expect [Sidney Crosby] and [Evgeni] Malkin to rise above and win it, and it's not that easy, is it?"

The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.

Listen: New episode of NHL @TheRink