THURSDAY RUNDOWN: NHL PLAYOFF CHAT AND WAITING ON THE CFL

We talked a lot of hockey plus CFL and NFL on Episode #291 of The RP Show! Here are the highlights:

• Rod and Dupes opened with The Rollout for Flooring Superstores covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) The Canadiens have the Penguins on the ropes!, 2) The Oilers face elimination, 3) Thursday’s NHL playoff schedule, 4) Does the eastern media have a legit beef that Connor McDavid’s games don’t air till 10:30 pm ET?, 5) Is it decision day in the CFL?, and 6) Rookie phenom Nate Pearson starts for the Jays Thursday at Atlanta.
• Sportsnet Flames host Ryan Leslie joined the show from Edmonton to discuss the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He agrees with Rod that the Oilers’ Ethan Bear is being unfairly flamed for a gaffe late in Wednesday night’s game. Leslie feels the Flames have stepped up their game in the playoffs and could be too tough for the under-manned Jets to handle. He also defended Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk and said he’s a player every NHL team wants in their lineup.
• The guys discussed Thursday’s CFL Governors meeting and examined Dave Naylor’s options on decision day: 1) The CFL’s getting federal funding and will play in 2020, 2) They won’t get the funding and the season will be scrapped or 3) No particular update is forthcoming and we remain in a holding pattern. Dupes feels it’ll be Option 3.
• Near the end of Hour 1, Dupes broke the news that the WHL is targeting a December 4 start date for the 2020-21 season. The report was later confirmed by the WHL. The guys also discussed that news that the entire CJFL 2020 season has been scrapped.
• Hour 2 was broadcast on Facebook Live only and we were joined by RP Show hockey analyst Jared Dumba. They discussed the Stanley Cup Playoffs and also the junior scene, saying young players are concerned they won’t be showcased properly for the NHL Draft or NCAA schools.
• Canada’s foremost NFL expert Jim Lang joined the show from Toronto and promoted his Leafs in their Play-In Round series with Columbus. He feels Toronto is good enough to go all the way. Regarding the NFL, Jim agrees with Rod’s assessment that the NFL will play no matter what. Lang said even if they have to go to a bubble concept with four hubs, the NFL will do it. Jimbo also discussed the eight players from the New England Patriots opting out and said they’ve already made their money and won their Super Bowls so those players are content.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Which is Canada’s best sports network – TSN, Sportsnet, Game+ or Sportsnet 360? At press time, TSN was leading.
• Thursday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page, you can listen to the podcast by clicking on the PODCAST tab at the top of this page or you can listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio stream at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive.
• See you at 10 am MT on Friday on Game+ TV Network, Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive!