Ethan Podolsky
Appearances
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Yeah, okay, fine.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
I just come here, bro.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
I love the shirt he's got on because it looks like a 1990s era shirt, but it's quite obviously a brand new shirt.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
It's crazy. He's been doing it since the 90s. He's coming up on 2,000 games now. And he's only in his 50s. Is he, what, 57 or whatever it is? It's crazy. He could do this for another 15, 20 years if he wants to. I don't know if he would.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
This Panthers team's not going anywhere for a little while.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
You knew it was thrive. Okay. English lessons with Rosie. I like it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
And then I want to talk to you a little bit about the New York Rangers because I just don't know what the hell is going on with the New York Rangers.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Something is amiss at Madison Square Garden, and we don't really kind of smack me in the face this morning. As I looked at the standings, they are 14 points behind the New Jersey Devils. Yeah. And it's December 20th. What the hell is going on with the Rangers? Because I've been hanging my hat on Shesterkin, it's okay, Kreider, Zibanejad. But I don't know.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Let's start on our hot takes there. Dave, go ahead. Okay. So my first hot take is the Rangers turnaround is starting. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. And the reason why is the coaches are now playing. With the players. Oh. So yesterday, or Thursday, as we record this, the Rangers are in Dallas. They held a practice at the Stars facility there. Peter Laviolette, head coach of the Rangers.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Like, are they are is this going to be like the biggest disappointment Ranger season we've seen in decades? This is bad, dude, that they can't get their shit together.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Michael Pekka, assistant coach of the Rangers, decided they're going to show the players how to do it in the shootout drills. I don't know how particularly well it goes, but I'm seeing this as a good sign that everybody is happy. The good vibes are back around the Rangers. The coaches are farting around and having fun. And yeah, the turnaround is coming. Do I believe what I'm saying? No.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Yeah, I'm pretty high. I think Blackwood is a sneaky good goaltender that has not gotten a good run, whether it was on some not great Devils teams. I mean, the Sharks are the Sharks. They're better than they've been, but they're not a grid team. I'm pretty bullish. I think Colorado might be my new Western favorite right now.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
No, I don't. But... Let's put the positivity out there. So go get them, Rangers. You're only like 14 points or whatever out of first place, but you can do it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
How do you go from back-to-back shutouts to 12 goals in two games against two of the best teams in the conference? Very carefully. I don't know.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Yeah, you know, just get rid of key guys. You're good. You're good.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Yeah, Barkov missed the Edmonton game, then Sam Bennett missed the Minnesota game, and you couldn't tell that they were missing one of their key centers for either of those games. Well, maybe the Edmonton game. Maybe having Barkov there. Yeah, I know you can tell, Rose. Yeah.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
That was a lot.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
They did score first. It was a 1-0, 2-1. Yes. 5-4, 5-5. 6-5.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
No, not to... Yeah, you did not travel, so... Watching this game, I don't know about you, Roy's... Rose? Roy's. Yeah, if I'm going to refer to both of you, I'm going to say Roy's. I don't know about you guys, but when I was watching that, I was definitely having a little PTSD.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
And then he ends up in the corner. I've never seen Sam Reinhardt look as fast as he did on that play. Yeah.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
That's disrespectful.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Yeah, he loves pissing off goalies.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Yeah, except that... I think there was a little intent there. He'll never admit it, and that's just my opinion, but he knew what he was doing.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Four goals a game during that stretch while two shutouts in the middle of it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Oh, yeah, Savannah from the infield.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Hold on. She specifically wanted me to give you this sticker. If we can... It's a big heart with the name Crosby in the middle. So here you go, Roy, just for you. Crosby, you see this?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
No, you guys are dumb. People are dumb. We live in South Florida. It's the communal dumbness down here.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
You've got to take care of it. Yeah, that's all you. First thing I thought of, who's taking care of the dog? It's not me.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
My family's already got enough. Can we just have Willow be the hockey show dog? Willow is just the meadowlark dog. Well, because Willow is awesome and Willow is here and Willow has a loving home already.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
They'll open it and then close it? No, no. I think it'll depend on the day. They're praying for a good weather day, right?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
That would be very appropriate.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
But how crazy is it, though? This is what's just kind of been sinking in over the last week or so since we first found out about this. The Panthers are hosting.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
The Panthers are hosting an outdoor game. That's nuts. And yes, I know it's a quote-unquote outdoor game, and if it's cool enough on the day that it happens, they'll open the roof up. I'd say I'd probably take the bet that the roof will be closed and open, if we're talking odds. But who cares? This is awesome. You remember when we were just happy when they got an All-Star game?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
I remember when it was like the playoff chase was what we look forward to every March. Like, oh man, they're only five points out with two games at hand. Let's go.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Yeah, with the Capitals, I think.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
That one hurt. Losing to the Flyers in game 81. I remember going to like Bo Campers or something to watch that. Yeah. Ah, it's life as good as a Panther fan. Well, now it is.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Wins of the week. Okay, so my win of the week is Goalie Root. Gotta love it. Young man named Zachary Dietz, the e-bug in Ottawa, got called into action very late earlier this week.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
So Anton Forsberg hurt himself during his pre-game warm-up routine. So this guy, Zachary Dietz, gets called at like a quarter to six.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
And traffic in Ottawa, anybody that's been to a Senators game knows, like, it is nuts because there's only one road in and one road out. So he basically said, bleep it, I gotta get to the stadium. And as we're watching the video here, he picked up his bags, his gear, and he's running as all these cars are sitting in traffic trying to get in. He's guys running to the arena.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
He gets there, suits up. He's on the bench for the game. This is an NHL goaltender right there, folks. And he is running with his own gear to the stadium. I thought that was so awesome. I would absolutely do the exact same thing if I was him. I would, whatever it takes, get me in that NHL bench. I'm going to sign a contract. That was so awesome.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Something that he's going to have for the rest of his life with that video and the experience. Just completely, completely cool. All encompassing my win of the week.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Is that tweet from like 10 years ago and it just like got caught up in his drafts and just now got sent out? Because I'm pretty sure we've known for a little while that those guys are all going to be first ballot Hall of Famers.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
I mean, maybe Chris Letang. I don't know if Chris Letang necessarily is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He's talking about trios. Yeah, well, certainly, you know, the 2.0 of Lemieux and Yager.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
That felt like he was trolling me. That would be great. And Commodore took the bait. Yes, absolutely.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Rose is just checking off all these.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
This is what happens when we get Roy talking about the Penguins.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Right. Fail of the week. Yes. Segway from the Penguins to my fail of the week. My fail of the week is Zach Hyman's face. That poor man took an Evan Bouchard slap shot right off the kisser.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
It was still coming in hot. Yeah. And, you know, credit to him. He's a hockey player. He came back in the game with the fishbowl on his head. He's not going to miss any time because that's hockey. But so the next day, I think it was Mark Spector took a picture of him in the locker room. And we have it to pop up there. I think we do. His face was like, it was like a mean. Yeah.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
He looked like a mean, like a much paler, a mean. His nose ballooned. Yeah. His whole face looked like somebody put like a, you know, what you pump up the ball with, an air pump thing. Yeah, air pump, yeah. And just stuck it in his ear. But the point at the end of the day is that he will never miss a game because of this. How many people take a slap shot off the face?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
You're not going to see me for a month. Yeah. But yes, there it is. He looks like he just went 10 rounds with Rocky Marciano or something. That's crazy. So yeah, Zach Hyman's face.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
No, I mean, that's good on Shusterkin. Making six saves in three seconds is pretty awesome.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
That's what the Panthers goalies need for their save percentage is being so bad. They need to make six saves in, like, five seconds to pump it up there. But, yeah, that's bad. Like, how do you let a guy stand at the foot of your crease for more than a second with a puck right, like, whack, whack, whack, whack?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
Like 1980s Russia style.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Hockey Show: Paul Maurice Stories With Adnan Virk
I'm sorry I'm laughing, but the audience doesn't know the countdown drama that we just had trying to get the show started.