Bucs Jalon Daniels' Opportunity, Lightning Lose Opener & Rays-Yankees ALDS Starts Saturday

The Lightning's season opener went about as sideways as a game can go: a 5-1 loss at Madison Square Garden capped by Igor Shesterkin becoming the first goaltender in Rangers history to score a goal, while Tampa Bay finished 0-for-7 on the power play. Rick and Steve dig into why it wasn't as alarming as it looked — Victor Hedman's comfortably accepted a smaller role (and dropped weight going gluten-free to stay fast at 18 seasons in), John Carlson is still adjusting from running Alex Ovechkin's power play in Washington to feeding Nikita Kucherov in Tampa, and hockey's a "flow sport" that's brutally hard to simulate in the preseason. The Lightning still own the NHL's third-best season-opening winning percentage all time, and they get a schedule edge Saturday against a Capitals team playing the second half of a back-to-back.

From there, it's a deep look at Jalen Daniels' first career start — the first rookie quarterback to play anywhere in the league this season, despite going undrafted. Rick traces how the Bucs got here (Teddy Bridgewater's disastrous relief outing last year, Jake Browning's poor camp this summer) and argues Daniels doesn't need to be great against a genuinely bad Packers team that can't run or stop the run; the defense and Chase McLaughlin's perfect kicking can carry him. A mailbag question floats Daniels as a potential Marty St. Louis-style undrafted success story, and the guys note the historical case for not rushing rookie quarterbacks, with nine of the ten passers drafted this year still holding a clipboard. The back half previews a jam-packed Tampa Bay weekend — Rays-Yankees ALDS Game 1 at the Trop, the Lightning's home opener, USF hosting Temple for a shot at a first-ever conference title, and Florida traveling to Missouri — plus a quick look at Cleveland's Deshaun Watson turnaround under Todd Monken.

Timestamps:

• 0:08 – Lightning season-opener recap: 5-1 loss at the Rangers, a historic goalie goal, 0-for-7 power play
• 3:22 – Victor Hedman's accepted role change, revamped diet, and his 18th season
• 5:39 – Lightning's historic season-opening record; Saturday's schedule edge over Washington
• 6:46 – Power play struggles: John Carlson adjusting from Ovechkin's power play to feeding Kucherov
• 9:00 – Why "flow sports" like hockey are harder to simulate in the preseason
• 11:50 – Sponsor: Breitling Boutique, International Plaza
• 13:16 – How the Bucs got here: Teddy Bridgewater's rough relief stint and Jake Browning's camp struggles
• 16:13 – Jalen Daniels: the first rookie QB to start anywhere in the NFL this year, despite going undrafted
• 18:16 – Context: the last team to start 0-4 and make the playoffs was the 1992 Chargers
• 19:51 – Why Daniels doesn't need to be great — Green Bay's offense and run defense are a mess
• 22:32 – Chase McLaughlin's perfect season and the "just be you" message for Daniels
• 25:36 – Mailbag: Could Daniels become the next Marty St. Louis-style undrafted success story?
• 26:03 – Why most of this year's ten drafted rookie QBs are sitting behind veterans
• 30:37 – What a Daniels win (or two) would really mean once Baker Mayfield returns
• 31:38 – MLB's wild-card format gripe: Rays drawn into a best-of-three with the Yankees
• 34:44 – A loaded Tampa Bay weekend: Rays, Lightning, USF and the Rowdies all home Saturday
• 39:09 – Cleveland's Deshaun Watson turnaround under Tom Monken
• 42:09 – College football weekend: Florida at Missouri, USF hosts Temple for a shot at a first conference title

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