With the NHL season underway, that means the Last Word on Hockey Show is back again on the MAD Radio Network. Your host Jim Biringer from lastwordonhockey.com was back alongside Marc Weiss and Coach Jay were back for the third episode of the season. The boys take a look at the 2021-22 Central Division and where teams stack up. In addition, they look at trouble up north along with some bounce-back candidates of the year including Braden Holtby, Erik Karlsson, and Vladimir Tarasenko.
The Last Word on Hockey Show: 2021-22 Central Division
Surprise Starts
Jim welcomes everyone to the show on another Saturday night opening the show talking about the surprising starts and some bounce-back players. The boys talk about the San Jose Sharks and how it is still early but they are playing well. Coach Jay brings up the play of Adin Hill and his stellar play. Marc mentions Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson playing a lot better. Plus they are doing this without Evander Kane. The boys also talk about the good start of the New York Rangers.
Trouble Up North
Jim then transitions the show to North of the Border looking at the struggles of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. Marc talks about the Canadiens have injuries and now there are no leaders in that locker room. It is tough to lose Carey Price and Shea Weber. Jim mentions the pressure on this team with their general manager not locked up long-term does not help. In addition, he mentions that Montreal was not a playoff team the last two seasons and just squeaked in the last two years. This would be more of an issue if they did not go to the Stanley Cup Final.
The boys touch on the pressure mounting on the players in Toronto despite a decent start. The sky is not falling just yet but it could get ugly real quick if the top players don’t produce.
Central Division
Jim gets to the meat of the show talking about the 2021-22 Central Division. The boys talk about the start of the St. Louis Blues. Craig Berube is getting the most out of his players. Tarasenko is having a nice start to the year despite his trade request. Coach Jay talks about Jordan Binnington‘s play as well and if he can play like this the Blues are a threat. The boys agree on Colorado that they need better goaltending. Darcy Kuemper is not getting the job done right now. Jim notes they should have made Philipp Grubauer a priority.
Jim then brings up the Dallas Stars and this should not be a problem every year having to call out the star players like Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, and Tyler Seguin. Joe Pavelski has been the best player for the Stars since coming there.
In addition to highlighting the top teams in the Central, Coach Jay gives us his top goalies, plus the boys look at why the bottom teams are so bad.
Enjoy!
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