NHL Wraparound Podcast

Talk about unpredictable. After potting nine goals against Calgary Monday, the Colorado Avalanche managed to give up eight to the last-ranked Vancouver Canucks at home in a Wednesday loss. In San Jose, the Sharks trailed Anaheim in the final 90 seconds before scoring twice to steal a win from the Ducks and put a second regulation loss in that column for Neil. Good thing for him the Kings salvaged...

Sunday afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights made a late-season coaching change dismissing Stanley Cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy and bringing in John Tortorella in the hopes of jump starting a team that has underachieved all season. VGK President of Hockey Operations George McPhee joins Neil and Vic to discuss the move. Among the Three Things you Need to Pay Attention To, guess who is within one p...

In the April Fools Edition of Smith's Pix, let's see if the prognosticator can avoid getting tripped up with a quiet schedule of three games. A 6-4-0 Tuesday on a tough card leaves the season mark at 510-284-114. 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.co...

Monday evening, it was announced Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving had been relieved of his duties. A series of questionable trades combined with the underperforming of the Leafs this season no doubt accelerated the move. But where to go from here? Vic and Neil address the present but also look back to the past before hitting on the type of environment which needs to be part of the Leafs DNA b...

Only an overtime goal by John Tavares prevented a perfect Monday for Neil who turned in a 4-0-1 mark to bump the seasonal to 504-280-114. The schedule doubles up on Tuesday with 10 games on tap, nine with playoff implication. 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...

Falling short of expectations, the Vegas Golden Knights pulled off a stunning move Sunday dismissing Stanley Cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy and replacing him with John Tortorella. Vic and Neil look inside the move and the impact that may come to not only the Golden Knights, but teams around the Western Conference. We'll do the deep dive into the races in the respective conferences and look ahead...

Neil reached the 500-win mark for the season with a 3-1-2 Sunday. He offers up his handful of winners for Monday with an overall mark of 500-280-113. 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 #NHLWraparound.com #ShortShifts...

When the number of games on a single night gets into the teens, the challenge of a big night increases as well. Just the case on Saturday with Neil pulling a 7-7-1 mark. The season record now stands 497-279-111. Closing in on 500 wins, a Sunday six-pack awaits. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-7038737/ N...

A light schedule Friday where Neil's choice of home cooking landed him a 1-1-0 mark as the Rangers defeated Chicago while the Sabres fell to Detroit. Heavy lifting Saturday with 15 games, many being played in the afternoon. The big slates haven't been kind but let's see if that trend reverses itself with a 490-272-110 overall mark. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.c...

Like a car wreck, it's just hard to look away. We're speaking of the Pacific Division and the Western Conference Wild Card race. The Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights were looked upon to be heavy favorites to be 1-2 in the Pacific but are now in a position just to see who will gain home-ice advantage in a potential opening round matchup. Meanwhile, just as it appeared Utah and Nashville wer...

A 13-game card wasn't particularly lucky Thursday as Neil's selections were over the map with the +60-minute gremlin showing up again in a 5-4-4 evening which moves Neil to 489-271-110 for the season. Just two games on tap Friday - one very important in the standings, the other...not so much. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil Vic Morren: https://www.linke...

Only two games on the Wednesday schedule. Neil held his nose and picked a winner with the Leafs while settling for the loser's point with the Sabres OTL. Perhaps a 13-game Thursday will be a lucky one with a 484-267-106 overall mark. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-7038737/ NHL Wraparound Instagram: htt...

The Ottawa Senators were tied for last in the Eastern Conference on Jan. 11. They were nine points out of a playoff spot on Jan. 24 and exited the Olympic break still a half dozen points from one of the coveted position. Overcoming injuries to the backline and showing true grit, the Sens woke up on March 25 in a playoff spot thanks to a pair of road wins and so good fortune on the out-of-town scor...

After four days of blazing the trail, Neil cooled off a bit with a 6-7-2 mark. Two games, one with playoff implications and one without, make up Wednesday's schedule. The overmark stands at 483-267-105. 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/nhlwrapa...

Just a single game on Monday but they all count towards the overall mark. Like shooting fish in a barrel, the Ottawa Senators held the Rangers to just nine shots on goal despite playing most of the final two periods with only four defensemen in continuing to move towards a wild card spot. Neil gets put to the test Tuesday with a beefy 15-game schedule taking a 477-260-103 (.629) record into play....

One of best stories of 2025-26 has been that of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Assumed to be largely in a re-building phase, the team has been in the hunt for a playoff from opening night under the stewardship of first-year head coach Dan Muse. Two-time Stanley Cup champion and current Pens radio/TV analyst Phil Bourque joins Neil and Vic to discuss not only this season but the future of the team while...

Neil's sizzling weekend concluded at 6-2-1 with a 19-2-4 mark dating back to Friday. He even overcame his nemesis: overtime and shootouts winning five of six on Sunday. He takes a 476-260-103 mark into the lone contest Monday as the surging Ottawa Senators visit Madison Square Garden. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/...

That recent dry patch for Neil is long in the rearview mirror as he followed a 5-0-0 Friday with an 8-2-1 Saturday for a season record of 470-258-102. An usually busy Sunday with nine games on tap. Check out the selections to see if the good times continue to roll. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-703873...

We'll never hear the end of blind squirrels finding nuts or broken clocks being right twice a day after Neil delivers a perfect 5-0-0 Friday to bounce the season mark to 462-256-101 (.626). Eleven games on tap for Saturday with a heavy afternoon concentration giving way to a U.S. national audience for Boston-Detroit at 8pm et. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NY...

After holding a playoff spot for more than 100 days one team is out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot while a club in last place in the conference in mid-January is now in. However, that's only part of the story as six teams are separated by one point with two other making a charge to join the party. In the West, a Wednesday showdown between Central heavyweights Colorado and Dallas was as good...

Only one game went beyond 60 minutes Thursday - which, of course, Neil lost. However, the rest of the evening treated him just fine as he won seven of the other ten games to move his seasonal mark 201 games over .500 at 457-256-101. A handful of Friday games kicks of the weekend. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vi...

If not for those blasted ovetimes! After winning two of the first three games Wednesday, Neil managed to be on the wrong side of all three late games which went beyond 60 minutes to finish the night 2-1-3 for an overall mark of 450-253-100. Eleven games on the Thursday docket. If Neil can avoid overtime, has the earmarks of a good night. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twi...

Every so often, NHL Wraparound checks in north of the border. Nobody is better to opine on the doings in Canada than long time TSN analyst Craig Button. Neil and Vic will talk Oilers, Maple Leafs and the Department of Player Safety among other things. In Three Things You Need to Pay Attention To, another superstar is out, one makes a big return from suspension and the team pacing the field all sea...

The Colorado Avalanche have been treading water after 28 games since their torrid start. So, too, is our resident prognosticator. Some risk yielded some reward Tuesday but not enough to end up flat at 4-4-1. 448-252-97 record with a six pack on tap for Wednesday. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-7038737/...

Much like Sunday, Monday had a good start and rough finish for Neil. After winning the first three games, who'd have thunk both Colorado and Dallas would get whipped at home by Pittsburgh and Utah respectively? A nine-game St. Patrick's Day schedule awaits. Let's see if luck will shine on today's selections with a cumulative record of 444-248-96. X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound Neil Smith: ht...