Episode 61 - Conference Finals Preview with TSN's Craig Button

NHL Wraparound Podcast

We're halfway home. Two rounds are in the books and Neil and Vic are pleased to be joined once again by long-time TSN analyst Craig Button to tackle the Conference Finals.

"Three Thing You Need to Pay Attention To" takes a quick look back at the seventh game between Florida and Toronto which secured the Panthers third straight trip to the East Final against a Carolina team they swept two springs ago.

In "The Human Side of the Story," we focus on the Jets Mark Scheifele, who played the sixth game of the Dallas series with the heaviness of losing his dad the day prior. Unfortunately, this is a story which plays out in life and one where the compassion and empathy of others plays an important part of helping an athlete to cope with loss.

IN THIS EPISODE:

[01:12] - In "Three Things You Need to Pay Attention To," quick hitters on the Panthers advancing at the Maple Leafs expense and the Conference Finals TV schedule.

[05:36] - Craig Button from TSN returns for the preview and, after some brief preamble, a review of the picks from the "experts" thus far.

[08:01] - Carolina vs. Florida

[21:20] - Dallas vs. Edmonton

[37:17] - Do Canadians really care if a team from their country wins the Stanley Cup? Ask a fan in Montreal if they'd like to see the Maple Leafs win or a Flames see the Oilers capture the Cup. The answer is emphatic.

[39:06] - Neil, Craig and Vic share what has taken them off guard during the first two rounds of the 2025 post-season.

[46:28] - A little background on the Button hockey family and quick news update from Carolina.

[48:27] - The Human Side of the Story notes players deciding to take to the playing surface immediately after losing a loved one. For Mark Scheifele, that became a reality in Game 6 of the Jets series with the Dallas Stars following the passing of his father, Brad, a day before.

X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound

Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil

Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-7038737/

NHL Wraparound Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/nhlwraparound/

#NHLWraparound #ShortShifts #NYCentric #StanleyCupdate #NeilSmith #VicMorren #NHL #AnaheimDucks # #BostonBruins #BuffaloSabres #CalgaryFlames #CarolinaHurricanes #ChicagoBlackhawks #ColoradoAvalanche #ColumbusBlueJackets #DallasStars #DetroitRedWings #EdmontonOilers #FloridaPanthers #LosAngelesKings #MinnesotaWild #MontrealCanadiens #NashvillePredators #NewJerseyDevils #NewYorkIslanders #NewYorkRangers #OttawaSenators #PhiladelphiaFlyers #PittsburghPenguins #StLouisBlues #SanJoseSharks #SeattleKraken #TampaBayLightning #TorontoMapleLeafs #UtahMammoth #VancouverCanucks #VegasGoldenKnights #WashingtonCapitals #WinnipegJets #CraigButton #TSN #PaulMaurice #AustonMatthews #MitchMarner #WilliamNylander #JohnTavares #MatthewTkachuk #RodBrind'Amour #StephaneMatteau #SergeiBobrovsky #FrederikAnderson #PyotrKochetkov #BradMarchand #EetuLuotstarinen #AntonLundell #JordanStaal #Pierre-LucDubois #SamBennett @AleksanderBarkov #MartinMadden #DormattoDynasty #DenisPotvin #JohnTonelli #KenMorrow #MikkoRantanen #JakeOettinger #ConnorHellebuyck #MiroHeiskanen #BrianLeetch #SergeiZubov #PeterDeBoer #ConnorMcDavid #LeonDraisaitl #ZachHyman #EvanBouchard #EvanderKane #AdamHenrique #CoreyPerry #SamSteel #StuartSkinner #CalvinPickard #JasonRobertson #MattDuchene #WyattJohnston #MasonMarchment #RoopeHintz #MikaelGranlund #EvegeniiDadonov #ThomasHarley #WindsorSpitfires #AdamGraves #CodyCeci #ScottNidermayer #RobNiedermayer #JimMontgomery #KevinCheveldayoff #NickSuzuki #ColeCaufield #JurajSlafkovsky #SamMontembeault #LaneHutson #JackButton #ToddButton #DavidPoile #JalenChatfield #AlexanderNikishin #MarkScheifele #JamieBenn #MartinStLouis #BradRichards #BrettFavre #TieDomi #RogerNeilson #JoeMurphy #ColinCampbell