Tri-State Hockey Podcast · The Nation Network

Episode 34: Puck Gate, Isles Fall, Laf Legend?

March 20, 2026·1 hr 20 min·5 clips

The Islanders “thought they were thinking let’s just get our point and get to overtime.”

1. Tri-State Hockey Podcast Episode 34 centers on the Islanders’ collapse, the Devils’ recent run, and Jack Hughes’ Olympic puck comments. 2. Johnny Lazarus hosts with Arthur Staple, a longtime NHL reporter, and Mike Rupp, a Stanley Cup champion who adds player-side context. 3. The episode asks what the Islanders, Devils, and NHL players can learn from late-season pressure, injury management, and Olympic rules. 4. The first topic is the Islanders’ loss after 11 seconds left in regulation, which leaves all three Tri-State teams outside the playoffs. 5. Johnny says he has become a “rather more than casual Islander fan,” and Arthur agrees that the group has spent all year “pumping them.” 6. The hosts focus on the Islanders’ decision-making in the third period and the feeling that they were trying to “get our point and get to overtime.” 7. Rupp points to Sorokin’s glove save and the cleared puck off the line as examples of the Islanders surviving despite repeated mistakes. 8. Johnny says the next two games at Montreal and home against Columbus feel like “this is the season.” 9. The second topic starts with Jersey John’s voicemail, which asks what Tom Fitzgerald should do if Jack Hughes gets injured again next season. 10. The voicemail mentions Jack Hughes as “the pulse of this team” and credits his leadership and media presence. 11. Johnny and Arthur say the Devils cannot build around assuming a superstar will miss “40 to 50 games.” 12. Rupp compares the question to his own 2003 Stanley Cup Finals stick being transferred to the Hockey Hall of Fame with paperwork and documentation. 13. The conversation turns to Jack Hughes’ postgame quote that the Olympic puck situation was “bullshit,” which Arthur says left a “funny taste” in his mouth. 14. Rupp argues the IOC and IIHF should explain the process clearly, because players and agents deserve transparency about who owns Olympic items. 15. Johnny says Jack wanted the puck for his dad, Jim Hughes, and that the Hughes family has played a major role in his path. 16. Arthur and Rupp contrast Hughes with Sidney Crosby and say elite players like Crosby often handle these situations with more quiet control. 17. The tone is conversational and reactive, with frequent cross-talk, quick jokes, and repeated returns to the same debates from different angles. 18. The format mixes game analysis, voicemail responses, personal anecdotes, and a long policy argument about the Olympics and the NHL. 19. Listeners who follow the Islanders, Devils, Jack Hughes, or NHL international hockey. 20. Listeners who want only a quick game recap without a long rules debate.

As heard by us

A local hockey conversation that turns playoff frustration into something useful.

Tri-State Hockey Podcast episode 34 stays locked on the Islanders' last-second loss and the harder truth that all three local teams are out of the playoffs.

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Why you'd press play

Listen for the Islanders collapse and the Devils' Sheldon Keefe voicemail debate from a Tri-State hockey roundtable.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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