Last Word on Hockey is pleased to present our new hockey podcast, the 4th Line. Coming from Calgary, AB and Nanaimo, BC, Carl and Joel provide their own unique and fun view of hockey. Every week the guys share their thoughts on the news of the week, have a variety of guests from the world of hockey and spend some time in segments like Kangaroo Court, The Rant Shack, and The Hot Seat.
The guys are back as the focus of the show is the NHL Central Division preview.
To open the show, they look at the early games of the World Cup of Hockey, including the Americans‘ struggles, Canada‘s excellence, Pekka Rinne‘s struggles and the speed of Team North America. They also predict the World Cup playoff teams and talk about the potential outcomes of contract situations for restricted free agents like John Gaudreau and Nikita Kucherov.
Joel tries to get into a feud with Bailey from the the Los Angeles Kings. They talk best Twitter follows in hockey, and try to plan how to go to a game in Las Vegas with so many season tickets sold.
Central Division Preview
Carl and Joel then preview the entire Central division, going from the Winnipeg Jets to the Dallas Stars, including:
- Are the young stars like Patrick Laine and Mark Scheifele enough to overcome the Jets goaltending struggles?
- What can coaching additions of Jared Bednar and Bruce Boudreau do to get the most out of the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild?
- Can Carl stop overreacting to a bad World Cup of Hockey game long enough to appreciate the Nashville Predators great defense, with the addition of P.K. Subban alongside Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm?
- Have the Chicago Blackhawks peaked? How much longer do they have in their Stanley Cup window?
- Is Jake Allen going to be able to handle the starting goaltending job for the St. Louis Blues?
- With the loss of Tyler Seguin to a fractured heel, can the Dallas Stars offense still outscore their inconsistent goaltending?
Lastly, they give away a copy of Rob Vollman’s Stat Shot and fill out the fantasy league.
Be sure to check back here next week for another edition of The 4th Line Podcast.
Who are Carl and Joel? Carl comes from Calgary, AB, his facial hair of choice is a mustache, his team of choice is the Colorado Avalanche and his smoked meat of choice is brisket. Joel comes from Nanaimo, BC, his facial hair of choice is a beard, his team of choice is the Toronto Maple Leafs and his smoked meat of choice is ribs.
