Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos discuss Quinn Hughes, William Nylander, the Capitals, teams lagging behind the NHL playoff race, Upper Deck cards and much more.
Alex Ovechkin celebrates with teammates after the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 18.Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos dive into Quinn Hughes and the Hart Trophy favorites, William Nylander, the Washington Capitals, which NHL teams' playoff hopes are as good as done and Upper Deck hockey cards in Tuesday's episode of The Hockey News Pre-Game Show.
Here's what they discussed in this episode, with links to the podcast at the bottom:
Segment 1: Quinn Hughes, Hart Trophy candidates, William Nylander
- With Quinn Hughes leading the NHL in points, is he the favorite for the Hart Trophy right now?
- William Nylander extended his point streak to 17 games – would he take a discount to stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Segment 2: Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets
- The Washington Capitals are on fire after looking anything but that at the beginning of the season. Why have they turned it around so quickly?
- The Columbus Blue Jackets only have one win in their last 10 games, and Johnny Gaudreau is underperforming. What's going wrong there?
Segment 3: American Thanksgiving, game-less NHL Tuesday
- With American Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday, which teams are already out of the playoff race, and which need a hot streak to get back into the battle?
- Why aren't there any games on Tuesday, and is it a good idea to have matinees on a Friday even if there's a holiday in the United States?
Segment 4: Opening Upper Deck Series One cards
- Ryan and Michael open up packs of Upper Deck Series One cards while discussing the players and teams they draw. Can they get the reportedly much-wanted Matthew Knies card?
Segment 5: Rapid Fire
- Where should be the next NHL Global Series games, and who should play in them?
- Reaction to reports the NHL and NHLPA are planning a four-team best-on-best tournament, with Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland.
- Who's the next coach on the hot seat?
- Should the NHL follow the NBA's lead for an in-season tournament?
- Ryan and Michael give the favorite interview they've ever done.
Check out the full episode and subscribe to the audio version (The Hockey News Podcast) on your preferred platform.
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