EDMONTON -- Analysis of the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid's legacy, Brad Marchand's impact, a ballerina, a Viking, biker gangs, predictions and so much more are part of the Stanley Cup Final preview edition of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast presented by SKIP.
Co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke, recording the episode on site at Rogers Place, dive into the details of rematch that we have in store for us in the Stanley Cup Final, which begins with Game 1 on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, CBC, SN, TVAS).
They talk about the Oilers and their chase for the Cup after coming so close last year, losing in Game 7 by one goal to the Panthers. They discuss the Panthers and if winning the Cup again this season will make them a modern-day NHL dynasty.
McDavid and what winning the Stanley Cup means for his legacy is a big part of the show, especially when Rosen and Roarke bring in NHL.com's Edmonton-based staff writer Derek Van Diest to go into all the details of what has led the Oilers back to the Stanley Cup Final.
Van Diest, with an assist from Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch, talks about the differences in the Oilers from last year to this year and why it can be series-changing for them. Van Diest also talks about what Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner went through after losing Game 7 to Florida last season and his process for overcoming that loss.
In that interview, Roarke refers to one Oilers defenseman as a ballerina on ice and another as a Viking. Listen for that alone.
Later in the episode, NHL.com's Washington-based senior writer Tom Gulitti joins Rosen and Roarke to go into Panthers talk, specifically about the impact Marchand has made since getting traded to Florida, Aleksander Barkov's role in keeping the Panthers on an even keel, the three players that play the villain role and why it all makes the team, according to Roarke, seem like a biker gang.
They close the show by giving their predictions for the series and why they're leaning the way they are with Rosen saying there will be a new Stanley Cup champion and Roarke disagreeing.
The "NHL @TheRink"podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
