FACEOFF: Inside the NHL (2024) s01e05 Episode Script

1
[announcer]
Please direct your attention to the ice
for the presentation
of the Conn Smythe Trophy
to the most valuable player
of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
[Bettman] The winner of the Conn Smythe
is Connor McDavid.
[crowd cheers]
[crying]
Fuck.
It's so fucking hard.
Get the fucking cameras out of here, man.
[camera shutters clicking]
[Subban]
When it comes to the Edmonton Oilers,
you have the best player
on the planet, right?
Maybe the most skilled player
to ever play the game.
[announcer]
And Connor at 13:57 in the third.
Speaking of Connor, here's McDavid.
He's done it again!
Connor McDavid does
what Connor McDavid does.
[Redmond] Connor McDavid.
He is lightning fast.
[announcer]
Does he put the jets on here?
[Subban] It doesn't make sense,
some of the stuff that he does out there.
[announcer] Connor McDavid,
the game on his stick!
Scores!
[Subban] They're calling him McJesus
and calling him McNasty.
They're calling him McGod.
[announcer] A little spin move.
[Subban] What other nicknames
can I give him to put it in perspective,
of how dominant this guy's been
on the ice?
[announcer] McDavid, beautiful move,
in on the backhand, he scores!
[producer] Do you feel like
the greatest player in the NHL?
Ha! Do I feel like the greatest player
in the NHL?
Um, when I'm at my best,
um, it's a tough level to match.
[announcer 1]
And the Ted Lindsay Award goes to
[announcer 2] And the winner
of the Hart Memorial Trophy
-is Connor McDavid.
-[announcer 3] Connor McDavid.
[Redmond] He has a ton of records,
a ton of individual awards.
He, however, has yet to win a Stanley Cup.
[McDavid] The individual stuff
kind of comes and goes pretty quickly.
But ultimately,
our group is after one thing,
and that's to be the last team standing.
[announcer] And it's over.
The Ducks win.
Ducks win.
[crowd cheering]
[Blackburn] Connor McDavid's
led the Oilers to the playoffs a ton.
[announcer] The agony of defeat
for the Edmonton Oilers.
[Blackburn] But it's when they get there
that I think they're exposed
in their inability to rise to big moments.
[announcer] The Golden Knights
have eliminated the Oilers.
-Straight out.
-[Blackburn] But this year,
Kris Knoblauch comes in as a guy
who's coached McDavid in his younger days.
[Knoblauch]
Right now, I want Connor and everyone
just to take a breath, relax,
play hockey and find some joy into it.
[announcer] This is amazing.
Sixteen straight wins
for the Edmonton Oilers.
[both grunt]
[Blackburn]
The results are the results.
I feel like we're connecting today.
[Blackburn]
They really come together as a full group.
And obviously
playing alongside Connor McDavid
is Leon Draisaitl.
[announcer] McDavid around McAvoy.
Gets it off! One-timer! Score!
Leon Draisaitl!
[Redmond] Leon Draisaitl is one
of the top players in the entire league.
[announcer]
Now it's Draisaitl moving to the net!
And they score!
[Draisaitl] Connor and I,
we've been together for a long time now.
Just certain nights, I think I'm the best.
Other nights, he's definitely the best.
[laughs]
[Blackburn] And then the chemistry
that you've seen develop
between Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid
is special in so many ways.
[announcer] Here's a tap in, McDavid.
And that's 50 for Zach Hyman
in a single season.
[Hyman]
This year, I think we're at a point
where we're the best version of ourselves.
We just have one thing left to do,
obviously.
We've been through, um,
some bad years,
uh, some disappointments.
It's Cup or bust, right?
[announcer] Under a half minute
remaining here in the period.
One-one through two. Shots
[McDavid] The ice has always been my,
you know, kind of happy place,
and place where I feel most at home
and feel, you know, most confident.
It's not like I'm going
a million miles an hour
and thinking to myself,
you know, "Holy shit."
You know, I'm comfortable
going that speed.
Feels like you're walking.
You know, you're seeing
everything clearly.
You're, you know, feeling a lot more calm
there than you'd think.
To be honest,
I've never pictured a life without hockey.
[announcer]
Get the edge in play in the first.
[McDavid] I know it's not great
to be so into it all the time.
But whatever. [laughs]
Lennie is almost five.
He is my prized possession.
I guess when you're home,
that's a nice reminder
that there's more to life.
Might be the only one in Edmonton
that likes it when it gets minus 40.
[Lauren] Yeah, we have a lot of photos
of Leonard everywhere.
[McDavid] And then Lauren,
she's definitely an anchor in my life
and allows me to focus
on what I need to do on the ice.
[announcer] Sidney Crosby doing his best
to drag the Pens into the playoffs.
[Lauren]
What's on the menu, Sheridan?
So tonight,
we're doing some cashew chicken.
-[Lauren] Ooh!
-[McDavid] I have a chef.
He's the best money I spend every year.
And he is dialed in,
you know, kind of on the nutrition
side of it.
[Sheridan] We're always using fresh,
and we really try to avoid dairy.
[man] Well, thank you.
[all]
Thanks, Sheridan.
[McDavid] The guys that can
keep their bodies and minds right
have a better chance
of playing well for longer.
[Sheridan]
Lauren helped me create this.
[laughter]
Connor is afraid of ketchup.
[laughs]
So Sheridan always, like,
sneakily brings it over to me
because he knows I like it.
[McDavid] Getting married.
Uh, I'm really excited about it.
Obviously it's a big step,
and Lauren did a great job of planning.
[Lauren] I keep asking him what he likes,
and he won't tell me.
-What's that?
-What do you think?
Uh
[Lauren]
You're Probably planning, right?
-What?
-Probably planning, right?
-No.
-[Lauren laughs]
It's hard for me to look past, um,
what's coming.
[announcer]
Need to get back into this game.
The excitement is starting to build
as we get closer to the playoffs.
[announcer 1] And the Edmonton Oilers
are going to the Western Conference final!
[announcer 2] And the Oilers
will move on to face the Dallas Stars.
[Hyman]
Don't mind my butt.
[man]
This is just to help the body.
It all kind of depends on the complaint
of the "complaint" in quotations.
He's not complaining.
He's not a complainer.
You'll see, it leaves nice
Looks like you got attacked by an octopus.
[laughs]
[suctions sucking]
Oh! Juicy.
-[man] Wife made me a nice dinner.
-What'd you have?
[man] Steak, baked potato,
asparagus, salad.
[Draisaitl] Our neighbors
made us dinner too, actually.
-[Ceci] There he is.
-No, no, you can't come in.
Come on. You won't
You're gonna want to get this guy.
-[man] Did you work out yet?
-Yeah.
Did you work out?
[snickers]
Just checking.
-Asshole.
-[laughs]
[Draisaitl] It's time for some new
new skates.
-What else are they gonna film us doing?
-[both laugh]
Everyone's gonna go,
"Oh, that Oilers team is boring."
[McDavid]
That's just Leo. He sits here.
[all laugh]
Leo and I are, you know,
really good friends.
[man] Okay, ready, Leo?
Yeah.
[McDavid] In a lot of ways,
we've grown up together.
-Uh Langer, can I just grab some tape?
-Yup.
Most boring team for sure.
[Draisaitl]
Obviously we came in when we were both 18.
[man] I need a couple of full-length
pictures, it won't be very long.
-Just like that?
-[man] Yeah.
[Draisaitl]
Young. You know, a lot of potential.
[man] Yeah. Perfect.
[McDavid] Signing the first NHL deal.
I mean, that's something
that you dream of.
So I'm just trying to enjoy myself.
[crowd cheers]
[reporter]
First time on the ice with Connor here?
Yeah. I mean, I've known him
for about 24 hours, you know,
so there's not much I can say.
I mean, he's a special guy,
and I think the whole organization
should be very, very excited about him.
It's always been a very
friendly competition, you know.
And we've always been
so supportive of each other.
And, of course,
watching him evolve,
you know, from an 18-year-old phenom
into the person and the player
that he is today.
I mean, I know what I'm capable of.
He just does things on a daily
that no one else in the world can do.
You still feel it today?
Yeah, it's still sore.
[Draisaitl] Sore?
Better than I thought.
Always sore. Every day.
[Hyman] To have the opportunity to play
with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl,
obviously one of the greatest decisions
in my life.
Like a lot of families in Canada,
we're a hockey family.
But growing up, I don't think anybody
thought I was gonna go anywhere.
I can't imagine, you know,
what it was like for Connor.
[whistle blows]
He's somebody who's been
looked at as this
generational player
since he was, I don't know, eight.
[Draisaitl] He's had media people
following him since he's 12.
That's hard. That's not an easy life.
It almost feels like
he's had the weight of the world
on his shoulders
since he was a little kid.
[McDavid] You know, putting in the work's
always been easy.
It's just something that I love to do.
You know, but still, you're a kid,
you're enjoying it,
and, you know, and then, you know, for me,
I was granted exceptional player status,
which, you know,
allows you to play early
at the junior level.
So, you know,
I left home at 15 years old
to go play in Erie, Pennsylvania.
[announcer]
Wow. Connor McDavid.
[McDavid]
And I think it gets real quick.
Obviously it's fun, uh,
to put up some numbers on my hits.
But, you know, at times it can be,
you know, stressful
and also annoying
because people expect that out of you.
It was a huge adjustment.
You know, I think for for me,
that's when I kind of felt the pressure.
[trainer] Push, push. All the way.
[McDavid]
And then, you know, the jump from junior
to the pro level, honestly
It was a huge jump as well.
What is it like walking into the locker
room and seeing the five Stanley Cups,
or walking out on the ice?
No pressure, right?
[chuckle] Pressure's something I've been
dealing with a long time.
So it's something I'm comfortable with.
But obviously, it's a whole
different monster to deal with.
[reporter] So you said, "monster."
This all new monster to deal with?
I guess. I don't know.
I'm trying to think of the first word
that popped in my head.
All right, guys, quickly.
Dallas, I don't think there's been
any surprises is what we expect.
[McDavid] I understand
my place in the game,
and I understand the responsibility.
What I can do first and foremost
is get my own game going
because I think for our group,
sometimes when we get tight,
when we care too much,
you know, our game
kind of goes to to crap.
[Knoblauch] We don't have to be
anything that we're not.
We just got to play Edmonton Oiler hockey,
all right,
that we've done numerous times
throughout the year.
[camera shutters clicking]
[broadcaster] Canada's last hope to bring
the Stanley Cup north of the border.
It's once again the Edmonton Oilers,
who have now reached the final four.
[broadcaster]
Up and down the lineup at every position,
Dallas is a better team.
It's like, holy shit, this is a deep team.
They've got all the makings
of a Stanley Cup champ.
[player] Come on, let's fucking go here,
hey?
[broadcaster] But Edmonton has something
brewing,
and they have the greatest player
that we've all seen in many, many years.
This has some scary vibes,
as an Oilers fan.
Of being similar
to when they played Colorado
two years ago in the conference final.
[announcer] On the draw.
They'll muck with it.
Loose in front!
Artturi Lehkonen
sends his team, in overtime,
to the Stanley Cup final!
[Blackburn] The Western Conference final
is the furthest Connor McDavid made it,
but last time he got there,
they got smoked.
They got waxed by the Colorado Avalanche.
[Redmond] And a loss like that,
the media talks about it.
The fans in Edmonton
certainly talk about it.
For Connor McDavid,
how do you put that out of your mind?
When you are one of the greatest ever,
part of that is shouldering
the blame and the criticism
when you don't win.
[announcer 1] And here we go, Kyle.
Second overtime period.
Still awaiting a winning goal
in Game 1 of this conference final,
and ice time
starting to tick up on both sides.
[player] Keep pushing,
we're in better shape than them.
[announcer 1] Here come the Oilers.
[announcer 2]
Nugent-Hopkins will roll it down.
Working against the steady.
Oh, it's centered in front, scores!
It's over!
[player] Yeah!
Yeah! You fucking motherfucker!
Whoo!
[announcer 2]
Connor McDavid has won Game 1.
[announcer 1] I've seen the great ones
creating the great moments.
[player] You fucking did it, baby!
-Yes!
-Holy fuck!
[reporter] Connor, can you maybe
just describe the feeling of that goal?
A bit of relief for you, I would imagine,
too, to get that goal?
Uh, yeah, you know,
always nice to score an overtime goal.
I'm glad that we were able to get the win.
Um, otherwise, we would have had
a tough time sleeping for sure.
[Nurse] The Edmonton Oilers,
they've had, you know,
heartbreak after heartbreak
in the playoffs,
and we've still got a ways to go.
At this point,
you're putting your head down
and you're focused on one game at a time.
[announcer 1] Game 2.
[announcer 2]
Only one shot on goal for McDavid tonight.
[player]
Hold! Guy's a fucking holding machine.
[announcer 1]
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl,
when they go pointless
[player] Oh fuck.
it's difficult for this
Edmonton Oiler team to win.
-[player 1] Fucking go!
-[player 2] Settle it down!
[player 3] Fuck me, boys.
[crowd chanting]
-[announcer 2] Back to Edmonton
-Fuck!
in what looks like it's going to be
a tight and long series.
[announcer 1]
This is a demoralizing loss.
I mean, we'll see how tough,
mentally, Edmonton is.
[McDavid] All the shit we talked about.
All the shit we talked about.
They beat us up the ice.
They beat us in the slot.
They outnumber us everywhere.
[announcer 1] Tied two apiece tonight.
[announcer 2]
Obviously, this is a must win-here,
I believe, for the Edmonton Oilers.
-[announcer 1] Shot gets blocked.
-[crowd cheers]
-Watch Jake Oettinger's stick.
-[player] Get it, get it!
[announcer 1] Here's McDavid.
[McDavid] Jesus Christ.
-Did his goalie stick save that?
-[referee] Yup.
[announcer 2]
It's sitting on the goal line.
[laughs] And it makes the save!
When it doesn't get out of our zone,
everyone has to fucking stop.
Everyone.
They scored four fucking goals
off it last game,
and got fucking a million chances
this game off it.
[player]
Come on, boys, huh? Fucking our game.
Come on, people.
[announcer 1] The second period.
[announcer 2] Kris Knoblauch
loads up with the big boys.
-McDavid with the steal.
-[announcer 1] Here comes Draisaitl.
[player] You got it!
[announcer 1] Hyman
Hyman finds Draisaitl,
give and go, Draisaitl scores!
[crowd cheers]
[player] Fucking A!
[announcer 2] A chant
of "We want the Cup" here in Edmonton.
[crowd]
We want the Cup!
We want the Cup!
[announcer]
And the Edmonton Oilers will head home
with a 3-2 lead in the series
[player] Fucking A, huh?
and an opportunity
to advance to the Stanley Cup final.
[Blackburn]
Edmonton. The middle of nowhere.
When I look at the fan base,
for a lot of them,
they live and die with the Oilers.
And when the team is bad,
like, their life is bad.
[crowd whooping]
[Nurse] I think going into this
Game 6 in Edmonton
the whole aura around Edmonton,
I think, that people really believe,
that this is the year that they can
bring home the Stanley Cup.
O Canada ♪
[Nurse] And a lot of people
are obviously thinking
about the Oilers' runs in the '80s.
[Blackburn]
Especially when, like, inherently,
the Oilers have one of the more famous
jerseys in all of hockey.
[announcer] It'll be Wayne Gretzky
as the team captain
who will accept the trophy
on behalf of his teammates.
He's always said,
"The only thing that's important
is the Stanley Cup."
O Canada ♪
[announcer] And Wayne Gretzky,
for the fourth time in five years,
hoists it over his head.
[Redmond] And now, imagine being
Connor McDavid, the next Gretzky.
He is almost a decade into his career.
He knows that he needs to win
Stanley Cups.
He knows.
He knows that that is where
legacies are defined.
Did you win?
-See you out there.
-[Lauren] Bye.
[Redmond] And if he doesn't,
it will alter the way he is perceived
in the history of this amazing game.
There's pressure
and then there's
Connor McDavid pressure.
[McDavid]
You know, game days are pretty simple.
Not much to it.
You know, I've been putting on
a suit and tie to go to a game
since I was ten years old,
so, um, you know, it's just
Just part of the routine, I guess.
[car horn honking]
We get a little closer,
you start to see some fans.
Um, but yeah,
it all starts to feel a little bit
A little bit more real.
Let's go, Oilers!
[crowd] Let's go, Oilers!
[man] You ready for a win
and punching our ticket
to the Stanley Cup final tonight?
[crowd whooping]
[Knoblauch] It's just a little reminder
on what we're trying to do here.
Biggest thing, just stay the course.
We're playing a pretty good game
right now.
We are tight on top of them.
We're above them.
We're smothering them.
All right? We're not giving them any room.
Got to maintain that, all right?
[crowd cheering]
[Bissonnette]
We obviously know that Game 6 in Edmonton,
this was gonna be another notch.
This roaring of, you know,
19,000 people, standing room only.
And just an electric factory.
Especially in these
high-intensity situations.
I believe that the term is,
"heavy is the head that wears the crown."
And that's Connor McDavid.
Guard for thee ♪
[crowd cheering]
O Canada ♪
We stand on guard ♪
For thee ♪
[crowd cheers]
[announcer 1]
Connor McDavid wins the draw.
-[player 1] Nice win.
-[player 2] Go, go!
[announcer 1]
Here is McDavid, spinning to the back end.
[announcer 2] Down for McDavid.
There is Draisaitl.
[announcer 1] Leon Draisaitl for McDavid.
Walks in front with a shot, he scores!
[all cheer]
[announcer 2]
You talk about awesomeness.
That is an unbelievable goal.
[player] Hey, hey!
[announcer 1]
McDavid to Hyman, he scores!
-Let's go baby, what a pass! Let's go!
-Good job!
[announcer 2] And McDavid, let's face it,
this guy is playing on another level
here tonight.
[Hyman] Hey?
Fuck, everyone just take a breath, huh?
Just fucking take a fucking breath.
It's just straight positivity.
What a fucking spot we're in, huh?
Unbelievable. Let's go get it.
[player] Come on, dawg, let's go!
Let's go, dawg, come on.
[announcer 1] We head to the third period.
Oilers leading Game 6, 2-0.
Here come the Stars.
Seguin for Marchment.
Marchment in with a shot,
that was blocked.
Seguin flips it in front, and they score!
Marchment cuts the Edmonton lead to 2-1.
[player] Holy fuck, man.
[announcer 2] Buckle up,
the Stars have some life.
[player]
We're good, boys, huh? Ten miles.
[crowd cheering]
Keep pushing, huh?
[announcer 1] In this series, guys,
the Stars have outscored the Oilers
in the third period, 6 to 1.
[announcer 1] Pressure here by Dallas.
[announcer 2] Six skaters on for Dallas.
Their net is empty.
Pavelski battling in the corner.
[crowd] Let's go, Oilers!
[announcer 1] Robertson down low.
Back across, over two sticks!
[player] Come on!
[announcer 1] Here's Heiskanen
with it again. Twenty-five seconds.
Towards the net. Skinner with a save.
And the Oilers clear!
Dallas shot missed the net from Robertson,
and the Edmonton Oilers are headed
to the Stanley Cup final!
[player] Yeah!
[announcer 2]
We got ourselves a heck of a matchup.
The Oilers and the Panthers.
[McDavid] We dreamt of winning
big games on home ice,
especially in front of our fans,
with the building going crazy.
[crowd chanting]
We want the Cup! We want the Cup!
[announcer] The Western Conference
champion Edmonton Oilers!
[McDavid] And to see them bring out
a trophy was special.
-No touch? I like it.
-No touch.
[crowd] Let's go, Oilers!
Fucking right, man.
That was an exciting thing to watch,
though. Holy, man.
[screaming]
I feel like I can feel his feelings
so I can feel, like, how excited he is.
But I also can feel that, like,
the work's not done.
This is my focus right now,
and then the wedding will come after.
But I think we'll have a moment.
Like, we'll get a night,
and then we're back at it.
[excited chatter]
[man] Oh! Oh yeah! Come on!
[player] Fuck, yes! Whoo!
[Knoblauch] Uh, guys, I'm
I'd fucking never imagine saying it.
Uh, we're fucking going
to the Stanley Cup finals.
[all cheer and applaud]
Fuck, it feels good saying that.
[Lauren] Like, how crazy is this?
[crowd]
We want the Cup! We want the Cup!
We want the Cup!
[reporter] Thoughts on all of this?
The support for the team?
Uh, yeah, it's amazing.
I mean, this is what we play for.
Um, you know, they've been through
a lot of heartbreak as well.
So, um, certainly the best fans
in the league.
[Draisaitl]
It's pretty cool to see, you know,
how much people appreciate you.
And it's hard to describe sometimes
because we don't walk around
thinking we are the Beatles.
We're just like any other guy at home,
eating chips, or watching Friends.
-[interviewer] The show?
-Yeah, the show. Yeah.
-[laughs] Okay!
-[Draisaitl] Let's order food.
I think my girlfriend's sick of it,
But, like, it just calms me down.
-[Celeste] Let's get out of here.
-[Draisaitl] Yeah.
We're going to a meet and greet
with a Q&A up on a stage.
There's gonna be some nerves.
Just don't want to
Don't want to mess it up
or give stupid answers, I guess.
I think a lot of people think
that I'm always grumpy, which,
you know, probably a little true.
There's probably something to it.
But, you know, I wanted to be in a market
where hockey is celebrated
and a big part of the community.
[host]
Please give it up for Mr. Leon Draisaitl!
[all cheer]
[Draisaitl]
It obviously means the world to me.
Can you pull it a little bit for me?
Thanks, bud.
[exhales] Oh my God.
That's loud.
Sorry.
[host] So if there are
any burning questions out there,
let's go to you. You were here first.
[boy] Is Connor your best friend?
[all laugh]
[host]
Is Connor your best friend?
Connor is one of my best friends, yes.
For sure. Great question.
And we got so many good players
on our team.
But we're all here for one goal, right?
And that's to win a Stanley Cup.
[host] I think that's where
we can wrap things up for today.
Leon, thank you so much.
Thank you, fans, for being here today.
[dog barking]
[Hyman]
Boys? You guys having fun today?
Yeah.
[Hyman] I have a three-year-old,
and a one-and-a-half-year-old,
and then one on the way.
So, off the ice, very busy
doing the whole family man thing.
Whoa, hey, that's my slide.
Nobody goes down that one.
I'm gonna get you, Theo.
Nobody goes down my slide.
[Alannah] Go!
[Hyman] Whoa, whoa.
One, two, whee!
[Alannah laughs]
-Did you have fun?
-Yeah, yeah!
Again?
My boys They don't have
the attention span for hockey right now.
[Alannah] See? This one has to stay on.
You fix it, you put it back in.
Ready to go on?
[Theo and Hyman laugh]
Ready? Ring-around-the-rosy?
They all fall down!
I don't know what that age is.
I'm sure some of the older guys,
they'll tell me what the age is
when they realize,
"Oh, Dad's cool," you know?
Ooh!
[Hyman]
Hockey is everything to me,
but it's not who I am.
And that's really hard
when your whole life is hockey.
-[McDavid] Shirt, too?
-[McGrath] Yeah.
Feel like you can take a deep breath?
Uh, yeah.
Like sneezing and coughing is terrible.
Good news is,
nothing is sharp this time, you know?
[McGrath] It just feels like
it's tugging, kind of?
Yeah, it's like tugging.
It's just like a It's just sore.
[McGrath]
Let me know when I hit that spot again.
-Right there.
-Yeah? Okay.
This arm here
go like this, push into
Push into me.
[McDavid] For me, the house is for sure
designed to help me be at my best.
But also, your house is supposed
to be somewhere you can get away,
recover, prepare.
Around here, we get lots of people
driving by and stuff like that,
but no one really bothers you.
I would definitely say
that I'm an introvert.
Um, I think that causes
That causes more stress
and anxiety off the ice.
Every day, you got to deal
with the media and the fans,
and it's part of the job.
[McGrath] Just want to get a little bit
These firing a bit more.
[McDavid]
But, you know, I get called boring.
I get called, you know, like a robot.
-Feel anything there?
-Yeah.
It's tough. It's challenging.
We finally have like a couple days off.
Like the schedule's been so crazy.
And then guys always have
meet and greets,
and, like, it just never ends.
[McGrath] Okay, I just want to see if,
even just after stimming it like that,
I want to see if you can twist
a bit better.
Give yourself a hug.
-You notice a difference?
-Yeah. No, it's good. It's better.
But no media, no fans,
no friends, no family,
nobody puts more pressure on me, than me.
[broadcaster] McDavid and company,
they're heading to the Cup final.
A 2,500-mile commute.
They're gonna face the Panthers.
[Blackburn]
I think that hate has a place in sports.
And, boy, do people love
to hate Matthew Tkachuk.
Probably one of the most
hated men in Edmonton.
[announcer]
Edmonton on home ice.
Matthew Tkachuk
already hearing it from the crowd.
A quick chance, they score!
Matthew Tkachuk
calling for the boo-birds
to come back out.
[Tkachuk] It's super hard
to not think about the final
and a chance at your dream
like every second of the day
now that we got the lead-up.
But, um, yeah, we do a good job
of being as relaxed as we can.
We're just super relaxed
and almost like weirdly too relaxed.
Playing against McDavid up close
and in a rivalry for many years
when I was with Calgary.
[announcer] Kassian gets bumped hard
by you-know-who.
Tkachuk.
Guess I've got a little more famil
Familiarity, whatever the word is.
How do you say that word?
[producer] You nailed it.
Yeah, so whatever it is.
It's almost impossible to, you know,
get them distracted or whatever.
But I think what those
really skilled offensive guys,
they hate when somebody's in their face
and hate when they don't have the puck.
If he's in a position to get hit,
you got to hit him.
[announcer] And now Tkachuk took run
at McDavid.
-And McDavid goes in to
-[whistle blows]
talk to Tkachuk about it.
[Tkachuk] A lot of it is taking away
his time and space.
You got to slow him down.
[producer] You think he's chilling
at the pool?
Um, I don't know what the weather's like
in Edmonton right now.
I don't even know
if they have pools there, to be honest.
I'm sure they do.
I actually feel so much better
than at this point last year.
[announcer]
The Vegas Golden Knights
win the Stanley Cup in 2023!
They defeat Florida.
[Tkachuk] It It's terrible.
But we gained so much knowledge
and so much experience
going through that whole run.
[crowd]
Let's go, Panthers!
[Tkachuk] I think that's what fueled us
this year in the playoffs.
[man] Here we go, here we go!
Here we go, Bobby!
Here we go, boys!
[Redmond] This year, if you watch
the Eastern Conference final,
you know they're a more skilled team.
They're a better team.
[announcer]
Tkachuk on it, back to Montour.
Down low. Reinhart in front. Scores!
[player] Get him!
Oh!
[announcer] Stopped at point-blank range
by Bobrovsky.
What a play.
They do what they can do in the moment,
and they don't dwell on anything.
[grunts]
Nice chin.
Stay with it, baby. Stay with it.
We got to get to that
motherfucking net now!
[announcer 1] Gustav Forsling
drops it off, Tkachuk scores!
[player] Yeah!
[announcer 2]
That's just gonna get him all fired up.
[excited chatter]
[announcer 2]
Good sign for the Florida Panthers.
[Bissonnette]
Matthew Tkachuk is the type of guy
who will not only stick his nose out first
and be the one to get it done.
Welcome to the series.
Fuck off.
[Bissonnette]
But he's gonna alleviate that pressure
off the rest of the guys
and make them want to join him.
Get fucking going here, boys. Come on.
Go, go! Switch!
[Blackburn] Florida, in this series,
they've got that je ne sais quoi
about them.
[announcer]
Now Tkachuk going to the front.
Scores!
[Tkachuk] Great job.
Great fucking job. Great job.
[Blackburn]
Maybe it's the leadership in that room.
One shot, baby. One shot.
[Blackburn]
And maybe it's Paul Maurice.
[Maurice]
Give me the fucking gloves.
Where's your fucking stick?
Give me that fucking stick.
[Blackburn] But they've got something
that is hard to shake.
Oh, this is fucking tough for an old man.
All right, look it.
You get in fucking tight,
he comes out like this at you.
So don't get in that fucking tight on him.
And the play is not here.
Under the fucking bar.
Are you guys good here?
We're good men, we're a good team.
-Let's go fucking enjoy what we do.
-[applause]
-We're all good right now, boys.
-[player] Yeah.
We have the tightest, most fun
like culture here.
You know, everybody fits in.
-Fuck, yeah, brother.
-Let's go.
-[player 1] Come on, Bobby.
-[player 2] Come on, here we go.
Here we go!
[player 2] Let's go, boys.
Here we go, come on.
[Tkachuk] Everybody's the same.
Everybody thinks the same.
Everybody talks the same, the same lingo.
It's amazing.
[announcer]
The Florida Panthers repeat
as Eastern Conference champions
and will head back
to the Stanley Cup final.
I told you we'd be back!
I told you we'd be back!
Good series. Good job. Good series.
Good series, good job, good battle.
It's special for us
to be back in this position
after such a tough loss last year.
I just remember going around
telling everybody, "We'll be back."
Well, we're back right now,
so we're really excited.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd] We want the Cup!
We want the Cup!
We want the Cup!
[broadcaster] The Stanley Cup final
returned to the Sunshine State
for the second year in a row.
[man] Okay, here we go.
[broadcaster]
The Panthers will once again
try to win the most coveted trophy
in all of sports
against the Edmonton Oilers.
[man]
And turn towards the camera, please.
I was reminded ♪
[man] Thank you very much.
Camera's cut.
Matthew Tkachuk's never met a camera
that he doesn't like.
[woman] We're going through here now.
[man]
Tell me when you guys have to speak.
[Blackburn] That's great thing for hockey,
but it's a great thing for the Panthers,
too.
[Tkachuk] We all love each other.
[Blackburn] Like, you see
one of your big leaders be so cool
and composed
at the biggest stage in the game.
And the world's still so wild ♪
Called to me ♪
[Blackburn]
And then on the other side, Edmonton.
I was lost ♪
[Blackburn] They might be tight.
They might be a little bit more uneasy
with the whole situation
in the Stanley Cup final.
[camera shutters clicking]
They surrounded me ♪
[McDavid] Trying to get settled, one sec.
[Tkachuk] You know, the farther we go,
the more belief I have.
[McDavid] Just excited, um
You know, excited to get the madness
all over with.
[Tkachuk] Thanks guys.
Thank you, guys.
[woman] Did you do the little things
with the kids downstairs?
How many fights have you won?
Oh.
Been in, a lot. Won, not a lot.
[laughs]
This is all part of it.
This is all part of the build up.
Let's go, Cats, baby! Let's go!
Big Game 1!
Oilers all the way.
Go, Panthers!
Let's go, Oilers!
Go, Panthers! Let's go!
We want the Cup! Let's go!
Oh!
[producer] How are you feeling?
Ready to go.
It's like Christmas morning.
Advertising ♪
And I was living tight ♪
Every night ♪
And the world ♪
Still so wild ♪
Called to me ♪
[Tkachuk] On the forecheck,
make some noise. Come on.
Keep believing, boys.
One thought, eh?
Love it, baby. Love it.
All right, boys,
I got the fucking read tonight.
-[all] Yeah!
-This is the shit we dream about.
This the shit we dream about. We start it
fucking really fast and fucking physical.
[crowd cheering]
We've got the trump card.
-We got Swaggy. We got Bark.
-[rhythmic clapping]
-Uh Nug, me, Hy.
-[rhythmic clapping]
-We got Rein. We got Forsey. We got Ek.
-[rhythmic clapping]
-Ek. Bouch. Skinny in goal.
-[rhythmic clapping]
[applause]
[player] Here we go, here we go!
[announcer] And their moment has arrived
here in South Florida.
[McDavid] I feel like I'm supposed
to be in this position
with the work I put in as a kid.
Of the Brave ♪
[McDavid] This was always
in the cards for me.
[announcer] It has been a long,
long time coming.
And we're underway.
[Maurice] Let's go! Let's go!
Let's play a little hockey here, men!
Let's play a little hockey!
Come on, boys!
[announcer] Reinhart with a delayed feed,
too far for Hyman.
Right on goal. McDavid, the steal.
Hyman, a chance.
And an early stop, Bobrovsky.
Oh, my God.
You have some nervous energy in Game 1.
It's It's human.
[Maurice] Want to make it hard?
Tell Sergei he doesn't
have to make it quite that fucking hard!
[Tkachuk]
But you're going a thousand miles an hour.
There's no dipping your toe
in a Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final.
[McDavid] Florida's, um
a really tough team.
[announcer] McDavid goes down.
[McDavid] Their goalie plays solid.
[announcer] Stopped by Bobrovsky!
Stopped by Bobrovsky.
[Tkachuk]
How does that not go in?
[McDavid] They played hard,
played aggressive,
played in your face, physical.
[player] Come on!
[indistinct shouting]
What the fuck are you bitching about?
Davo, your line. Davo!
Feed, feed, feed!
[announcer]
Here's McDavid on the move again.
The puck Draisaitl centers.
And McDavid stopped
on the one-timer.
[player] Hey, we're the better team here.
Keep going.
[announcer] The captain goes to work.
Barkov onto the right side.
Looks for the give and go
Scores! Carter Verhaeghe!
[crowd cheering]
Fuck.
Our team, with the lead,
is almost unbeatable.
[player] Go! Go!
[announcer]
Brandon Montour to Sam Bennett.
[player] Hey! In! Yeah, yeah!
[announcer]
Bennett dumps and chases after it.
And a centering pass!
They score!
Evan Rodrigues!
[Tkachuk] Yeah, baby!
[excited chatter]
When we have the puck, we're driving it,
you know, right down your throat.
[announcer]
Barkov, Luostarinen
Empty netter to seal it 3-0.
[Tkachuk]
Very typical Florida Panthers win.
We wear teams down.
[player] Way fucking better.
We were way fucking better.
[crowd]
We want the Cup!
-[camera shutters clicking]
-You know, I know not many people
give us a chance in this series,
but we know that our best
can play with anybody, and, um
Yeah, disappointing.
[announcer] Amerant Bank Arena,
big building.
Standing room only to watch the Oilers
take on the Florida Panthers.
And Game 2 is underway.
McDavid circling up high,
trying to get away from Kulikov.
Jams the brakes on
to try to shake Bennett.
Here's the brilliance of McDavid
as he centers,
but Hyman couldn't get a stick on it.
[Bissonnette] Though given just how good
Florida is defensively,
we call it the anaconda choke hold.
They don't give you the middle of the ice.
They don't give you the walls.
And they took all that away in the first
two games, specifically Game 2.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] McDavid, done a lot
of circling in the offensive zone,
but not finding paths to the net
Testing drive by the big defenseman,
and Bobrovsky was there.
[McDavid] Every fucking period here
tonight.
[man] Now Oh, yeah. Let's go.
Whatever we got here.
[Maurice] Are we good in here, men?
Lots of good fucking talk on the bench.
Breathe through your nose,
not through your asshole.
We all set? Let's go, baby!
[announcer]
Now McDavid double-teamed
and sent back by Okposo.
Compulsory figures,
and he missed the net.
[referee] Hey!
[announcer] McDavid down low!
Nugent-Hopkins threw it toward the net.
[player] Help. Get in there.
[announcer]
Here's Lundell. Drops it off!
They score!
Niko Mikkola!
[coach] I want Davo's line. Davo.
[Draisaitl] I think you're telling
yourself to not let it get in your head.
Take it down the wall and shoot one.
[player] Yeah, yeah.
[Draisaitl] You continue to play your way.
You continue to chip away.
Even when it's hard.
[announcer] Here's McDavid
flying down the left wing boards.
McDavid, you can probably tell by now,
he gets tangled up behind the cage.
[all shouting]
[player] Come on, Johnny!
[announcer] Evan Rodrigues now.
Tried to center.
That was blocked by Brown.
It comes back to Rodrigues.
And he scores!
Evan Rodrigues!
Yeah, there was lots of frustration there.
[announcer]
Slides it forward for Forsling.
Now Tkachuk.
Little shake and bake. Wrap around!
Well, it might have hit the post,
or perhaps Skinner got it.
Now McDavid
McDavid stopped by Bobrovsky!
Badgered along the way by Tkachuk.
[player] Have you ever
fucking seen him skate faster?
[Maurice] No, but he's the guy
down there just fucking abusing people.
Fuck off!
[McDavid] You know, we understood
that Game 2 is a must-have.
You got to have it.
[Maurice]
Get her done, baby! Get her done!
[crowd cheers]
[announcer] They score!
Evan Rodrigues again!
[McDavid]
But, you know, you feel like you're
You're really behind the eight ball.
[player] Hey! What's going on?
[announcer]
Luostarinen, Bennett.
And it's in the empty net.
[crowd cheers]
[announcer 1] Aaron Ekblad
seals it for Florida.
[announcer 2] The Oilers have scored
one goal, in a 2-0 series.
Impossible to win like that.
[McDavid] Right fucking now.
Right fucking now!
Right fucking now!
I'm not fucking around,
this happens so many fucking times.
But that's not fucking good enough.
It's the fucking finals.
Dig the fuck in,
right fucking now!
Whatever the fuck you have!
That is not fucking good enough!
Let's go get one fucking win at home.
One win, and we'll see
what fucking happens.
But dig the fuck in.