F*@K The Rangers

[00:00:06] Hey everyone, Mr. Devil here, Kenny Danico, three-time Stanley Cup champion of the New Jersey Devils and you're listening to The Uncle Puckers, New Jersey Devils Podcast. Let's go Devils! You know, I would have loved to have actually heard Danico and Spalding call this game today as opposed to the national network but we are The Uncle Puckers. I'm Chris with Bobby, Pennsylvania and Tema, which is really funny.

[00:00:35] I think you were disappointed. I saw Meyer come out for the, you know, the talk after the three stars. I'm like, where's Rachel? Where's he going? Why's he going to the bench? I'm like, oh, come on. You went all the way to Newark and you didn't even get to see Rachel. Apparently Rachel was hanging out at American Whiskey, said a few Twitter people after the game. So now I'm at Reds instead of American Whiskey. My whole day was shot. It was just weird. Well, I mean... I thought it was part of the ticket package, Chris.

[00:01:02] I was trying to... I had the garage guy looking after my kid. I was like, had all my lines ready for me. The garage guy looking after my kid. Don't worry, I'm a professional. Yeah, exactly. Professional what? Hang on, let me fix my shit here. I'm all discombobulated. This is what happens when we don't podcast for like four days. My shit's all... Are you going to be all right? I don't know. This is a long week, man. But today was awesome.

[00:01:31] I mean, I can't wait to talk about everything about this game, but we got to start first. Well, I'll do my shout out. We'll do the advertising in a minute. Bob, boots on the ground here, man. Tell us about like, what was the atmosphere like? Give us your whole rundown of today. And yeah, real curious to hear that. Okay. Well, the first thing I have to say is Marky's back. I'm going to start with that. You know, I think that's obvious to everybody.

[00:02:01] I was a little concerned getting there. I thought I knew that like a 1230 or one o'clock start. Generally, those bars would open at like 11. Apparently, it was maybe more like 10. It was so insanely crowded when we got there. I was worried, you know, because we both had each of our kids there. We had young kids. So we wanted to go in the back and just kind of get something to eat. The amount of blue in the bars pregame was scaring me. It was annoying me. Quite frankly, there was a lot of Ranger fans there.

[00:02:31] Thankfully, it didn't really translate to the game. It's not like the old days. I mean, maybe 20% Ranger fans, if that give or take, I'm not really sure. But it was nowhere near the kind of that 50-50 we used to get. Or quite frankly, sometimes it used to be kind of 60-40 them. It felt like, right? There was enough of them to be very annoying. I had a very annoying section behind me that didn't really know much about hockey. The atmosphere was good. The atmosphere was alive and well. They were just yelling, put the fuck in the net.

[00:02:58] I was trying to text you guys some of the things they were saying so that I wouldn't forget because some of them were so idiotic. I mean, as simple as wanting a penalty for just a nice normal check. Constantly saying, put the puck in the net when they weren't even in the offensive zone yet. It wasn't like shoot or get it on net. It was like, I want you to put the puck in the net. Like, yeah, that's generally what we're looking to do. Quick question. So I have a better understanding of the annoyance level of this person. On a scale of 1 to 10, I guess, well,

[00:03:27] kind of compare it to the guy that was sitting behind us for the Toronto Devil game. Okay, well, what would he be? He would be a 9. Okay, then this whole group was a 4 or 5. They weren't annoying in the sense that they were being like ruthless douchebags. They were annoying in the sense that I didn't know what kind of hockey they'd ever watched in their lives. And at one point when they equated their own team and he said, I quote, I've seen Children of the Corn play better.

[00:03:54] I just really couldn't figure out what that meant. And I had to text you guys that. I don't know. I don't know him and go, he wants you too, Malachi. Right? And they just kept yelling, dump and chase, dump and chase. I'm like, yeah, that's an exciting brand of hockey. Dump and chase, Rangers. Let's go do that. It was just very weird. The players do, right? They dump and chase? Dump and chase! Dump and chase! Yeah. The good news is, you know, they left a little early. You know? Oh, wow. There you go. A lot of them right out. Right? Your fans headed for the exits early.

[00:04:24] It was a little tense in the beginning. And quite frankly, not that exciting for the first period, maybe. They had some great moments. But it wasn't as exciting. But obviously, it got way more exciting. And the fans were great. I thought the fans were great, Ren. And the Ranger fans left early. So yeah, it was really good. I didn't have the suite experience that I was expecting, though. Like, literally. S-U-I-T-E, not S-W-E-E-T-E. We were supposed to be in suite. Gotcha.

[00:04:54] Derek does not know how to purchase tickets. So that didn't happen. Instead, you know that big devil sign? I'm surprised you let anybody else buy you. We're going to get to that. We're going to get to that. We'll buy the ticket. You know that big devil light-up thing, right? In the corner when they get a goal? Okay. So if you could push yourself against the wall there, that's where we were. So here's the thing. That means that there's no two ways in or out. There's only one. Right. Right?

[00:05:21] It's one of those annoying roads where seats one, two, three, and four are the ones against the wall. So you've got to pass by like seven, eight people to get to your cage. Corner. Right. Okay. So we were there. I don't know how he messed that up so royally. But yeah, for anyone who knows anything about me with sporting events, generally I buy the ticket. I do a really good job of it because at this stage of my life, there's one thing I want if I'm not going to pay for the really good seats. And that's comfort. Comfort in any way.

[00:05:49] It could be as simple as saying, hey, the four of us are going. I'm getting an end seat for the four of us. It just makes it easier. I don't have to be on seat one. Just make it easier to do that. Convenience. If you're already going to be in the second to top row at that price range, just go to the fullback row because now you could stand up against the wall. It's kind of fun. You chat with everybody. So yeah, I don't usually let other people buy it. I don't have Malachi and his buddies behind you. Right. Isaac and Malachi. I'll give it to Derek and I'm locked in.

[00:06:19] That is such a fucking weird comment. Surrounded by Ranger fans. It's a comment that makes no sense. I've seen children of the corner. When you text, that was really unsettling when you texted it to us. I was like, that is a really unsettling comment to make. Yeah. I just don't get it. They did remake that movie a couple of years ago. Was it a hockey movie? And I missed it. Like, did they change it up to, I don't know. I'm just saying. I have cornfields too.

[00:06:47] So this is going to sit with me for a couple of months now. He who walks behind the row. He who walks behind the row. They were very down on their team very fast. I can give you that. After dealing with the first period of scoreless, you know, and just kind of a little bit of back and forth. Rangers chants that tried to get off the ground didn't really happen. Devil's chants rounded them out. They ran out of steam real quick, especially after Bratz goal. Like, one nothing was no big deal. Then Bratz comes down. That was demoralizing. Everybody knew at that point. Oh, yeah. They had nothing going.

[00:07:17] So, real quick, we'll give a little shout out to our Hockey Podcast Network sponsors. And we will get on with the show. So, this NHL season has been as predictable as a puck rolling on its edge. And no one knows where it's going. But that just means there's time for your favorite team to figure things out. And if your favorite team is the New York Rangers, well, today you got a giant nail in your coffin as your playoff hopes shrivel to slim to none. So, all you Ranger fans that want to get on the bandwagon. What? It's called shrinkage.

[00:07:47] Ah, shrinkage. For all you Ranger fans that want to get on the bandwagon and maybe, you know, come over to the cool team, to the dark side, and be a devil fan. And maybe you can bet on them to do some damage in the Stanley Cup playoffs because we're going to be there. And you're most likely not. But you can do all that at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NHL. And if you're new to DraftKings, new customers can bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets instantly. Just download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now. Use code THPN.

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[00:08:47] Void in Ontario. New customers only. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, visit dkng.co slash audio. That's DraftKings Sportsbook with code THPN. The crown is yours. All right. We are back. Void in Ontario. Void in Ontario. Those people in Ontario, they're no fun. I mean, that's really it. But, um, so, hey guys, thank you so much for, uh, thank you very much, DJ. I try my best.

[00:09:17] Um, thanks for hopping on with us tonight. This is going to be fun. Uh, DJ, yeah. DJ followed my, my shameless goal bet today. Sorry, buddy. Oh yeah. Don't listen to Tim. Listen to me. I give, I give nonstop winning advice. I mean, I've, I'm about, I figured by the playoffs, I should be able to retire. Um, that's how awesome I'm doing. Oh, wow. I have 42 cents in my DraftKings account. 42 cents. Just thinking about cashing out.

[00:09:47] It rivals your, your, um, your PayPal account for the Uncle Puckers. Yeah. It's got a, actually that's got a couple of hundred bucks in it. That's not bad. You know, we don't touch it, but it's just sitting there. Wait, you guys are getting paid for this? Well, they give us money, uh, every quarter. Not a lot, but they give us some money. We haven't worked out the details of disbursement yet, Tim. No, no. We just let it go in there. It's too easy right now. We want something more difficult.

[00:10:14] Well, you know, with all my flawless reads, uh, the money's just going to keep pouring in. So there you go. Yeah. So, so Tim, Tim, Tim, Tim, Tim, Timmy, Tim, Tim, Tim, Tim. So Tim, four games against the Rangers this year, three Oh, and one. Two games in our building where we allowed them. No goals. No goals. No goals. What's your impression? Marky had both of them, right? Yes. Marky had both of them, right?

[00:10:43] Marky had both of them. He played every game against the Rangers this year. But the, the other one, when we went across the river, we just fucking kicked the shit out of them at the end of December. And then we lost in overtime in the third game. Yeah. I honestly, you know, to use that meme from, uh, from Mad Men, it's like, I don't even think about you anymore. I don't want to play with you anymore. You guys fucking suck. You're no fun. You are no fun as a rival. I want a new one. Boo. Um, yeah, no, it was, it was a good game.

[00:11:12] Like we were on the front foot from the start. They, you know, they, they looked rested. I think we've kind of hit on, on a good lineup here. You know, that we've talked about, what do you, would you just hit a parlay or something? No, I just saw, I was watching a, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I was watching the flyer Montreal game and the Habs were down one, nothing after two and they won three to two, which is a bigger nail into the Rangers often. So Hudson had a really nice and everybody doing that kid.

[00:11:38] That kid, I may have, I may have been a little premature, uh, making fun of Lane Hudson. Um, why would you make fun of Lane Hudson? Because he sucked defensively at the beginning of the year and he's short. And it's just more fun to call him five foot four Bobby or, but he's actually fucking nasty. So anyway, moving on. Um, I think we're on the front foot, you know, the first period, they didn't get a shot until 12 minutes in. Um, the one thing that kind of got swept under the rug, I think when the announcers were

[00:12:07] talking about during the, um, they had what, 16 games and 31, 31 days or something like that in March. Yeah. And, um, I guess Keith said they only had two practices during then. And then they had two practices this week. One of the things that they're working on is, is D zone structure. So I think kind of something that, that had happened as part of the mess that was January, February, March was, you know, slipping away from the, the D zone structure that was so good in, in December. And that was on display tonight.

[00:12:37] I thought, I thought they were, they're really good kind of limiting chances, keeping them outside. And anything that did slip through market, market, just shut the door. Um, special teams cashed in like that power play goal was awesome. Like four seconds in that's ridiculous. And I don't know if you heard the sound that that shot made and the pad hit in the padding at the end. It was a great video, Bob, even though you looked like you recorded it from like the parking lot on a Motorola. Yeah. I didn't buy the tickets, Tim.

[00:13:03] I haven't watched that was fully zoomed into why. Can you hear it on Bob's video a little bit? Yeah. It's, it sounds like, it sounds like a gunshot. That was cool. And then, yeah. And then, you know, that Brad short, that Brad short is like, we're not losing this game. And then just, you know, we can, let's see if we can hear it. No, no, no. Just hear Bobby. Yeah. That's because we didn't hear anything over the mic. Cause he's a, he's basically closer on his couch in Philadelphia. Yeah, that's true.

[00:13:34] I think they owe me some money back. I was expensive as hell, man. Sounds like it. You're like, what happened here? Hey, that's why I was going to be just chimponed. It was a, it was a good game up and down the lineup. You know, nobody, I don't think really had, had any, did anything particularly egregious. You know, there are no real bad turnovers. I liked Dylan's play on the shorthanded goal where, you know, Zibanejad was kind of creeping down, creeping down the board saying he's going to wrap it up the boards.

[00:14:01] And then he found Brad up the middle and kind of, and, and snuck him off on a two on one. Then we just shut the door in the third. We, we did get caved in numbers wise in the third period. So they are doing that kind of turtling a little bit. I don't know if maybe the Rangers found a little bit more life, but it didn't matter. I mean, you know, we scored two more, you know, including the empty netter. Brad and Nico, man. Like, I just can't say enough about how good these guys are.

[00:14:27] Like they're, they are, they're carrying this team and carrying the water, you know, carrying what, what Jack left behind. Luke was good again. And then, you know, I texted this to you, you know, I'll, I still think Nemec is, is going to be a good player in this league. But right now, Seamus Casey's the guy, you know, like he just, like his, some of his metrics weren't great, but like the kid just has like some juice, you know, like he just has, he just has something, you know, that, that I don't know what it is.

[00:14:57] Like, you know, he doesn't necessarily play any, any different, but just that seam pass to Timo was, was beautiful. Like just his reads are correct. He's, he's not getting burned on anything in particular. He's more active. He even stepped up on, on one play coming across the blue line and, and stepped up on somebody. He weighs a buck 50. Maybe I know he's, he doesn't weigh one 60. He's lying about that shit. Um, so you know, all in all good game, beat the shit out of the Rangers. Yay. Go team. Yeah. Uh, that's basically it.

[00:15:27] I mean, I was, I was really a couple of things, you know, this is the dreaded. Well, I guess the next game is the dreaded fourth game after three in a row, but you know, you had two good games against Minnesota. They were feeling good. You know what they, I think they, they were three and four before this game over their last four games. And we talked about it on the last show, the five gate day break. Like we've seen this team completely revert back to, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing after, you know, they, they been on break. Like this was not that.

[00:15:55] Um, and, and you know what rough your Mike, you're absolutely right. Because I was just going to bring that up. He writes that Kane should not look past us the way we're playing and way we're playing at the beginning of the year. And he's right. You know, we're getting back to that way that we were playing in the beginning of the year where, you know, defensive, just lock it down, allowing teams, nothing that of, of substance, controlling play, scoring the timely goals, all that stuff. They're getting back to it, but they seem like they're getting back to it and doing it much

[00:16:25] more in the team effort. There were no passengers in this game. There was no passengers in the last handful of games. Everybody stepped up. I don't care if we never see Lazar or Bastion in double uniforms again. I like this lineup. I like, uh, Daniel strong. I like what he's doing. Did I say his name is sprong sprong. Um, I think he's going to end up being an, an impact impactful player in the playoffs. I do. I don't, I don't think you can sleep on them.

[00:16:53] I think right now he's kind of testing the waters and making sure he to be responsible defensively because that was always his knock, right? Yeah. The guy can score, but he's dog shit on defense. I think he's trying to be mindful of that. And that is taking away from the offense when he gets more comfortable. I think we'll start seeing him pot a few goals. Uh, I can't say enough about Seamus Casey. Like you guys know, I wanted him over Nemitz from day one. Perfect. I, you're a hundred percent right to him.

[00:17:22] The Kim's the kids got something, you know, it's just that, that ease of play, you know, he doesn't overthink stuff is natural in his, in his movement. Nemitz looks like he thinks himself out of position sometimes overthink shit. And, um, you know, when you're thinking while playing, you're making mistakes. And I think Seamus Casey, this just kind of comes a little bit easier to him at this point. And, um, yeah, it's Cody glass.

[00:17:50] Like DJ just wrote another guy that I think can be impactful for this team, but it all comes down to the big three right now. I mean, it's Nico, Timo and Brad. They're carrying this team, you know, Marky of course, but offensively they're carrying this team and everybody's kind of coming along for the ride. And two weeks ago, I was thinking this team is, that was worried about losing the number three spot a couple of weeks ago. And now that's pretty much locked up.

[00:18:18] We pretty much ended the Rangers hopes of making the playoffs, which is awesome. And I think that if Marky keeps playing this way and this team keeps going, I'm not saying we're beating the Canes, but I think it's going to be a heck of a much better series than what people think it is. I want everyone in the national media now to just count us out. Just say, you know, everybody. Yeah. Every, every single person that I listen to every podcast, let's do their, they're already

[00:18:48] setting up because of that, that Canes caps game that got kind of out of hand the other day. Yeah. Like they're already, they're already been like, well, that's going to be a crazy round two matchup. It's like, you sure about that? You sure about that? You know, yeah. I would just say you hit on something that I wanted to bring up to regarding the leadership and the quality of play that we're seeing from Heischer, Timo and Brad. It is so obvious how much they are capable of carrying this team.

[00:19:16] What is really exciting with just a few games left and this kind of tuning up that I feel like we're doing is that they're all doing it at the same time. And it's not like he had a lot of times during years. Oh, Heischer's really going right now. Where's this guy? And we said about Timo and Brad, even though he was quietly collecting all those points, we still kind of said, where's the game breaking mentality. The three of them, it just feels like they got in a room and said, you know, we're doing this follow us everybody.

[00:19:42] And I'm just really, really comfortable now watching them do that because they're all doing it together. So if all three of them are going and everybody else is doing their job and Marky's back, yeah, I'm starting to get pretty confident looking at the playoffs. They're all business. I mean, those three are all business. They, I loved everything about Timo's game today, Brad's game. Heischer's just all around awesome. But like we said, it's those secondary guys. Like, dude, Paul Cotter got his absolute ass kicked in this game.

[00:20:12] I mean, especially in the first period. I mean, this guy couldn't get out on the ice without getting fucking lit up, but stick to his face, elbow to his face, whatever. Paul Cotter's another one. I mean, he's on our fourth line. I mean, the guy with probably the best hands on the team is on the fourth line. If they put it all together, I don't know. Look out. You know, they can do some damage. And so, you know, I'm still on pace for my nine and one record in the last 10. Yeah.

[00:20:41] I mean, they're eight, four and one since that Flyers game. Not the trade deadline game, but basically the first game with like, this is our team. And I feel like we're starting to kind of, I think there's a little bit in them of like, you know, so the shock of losing everybody to injury and that kind of, you know, losing Jack and then losing Dougie and then losing C and kind of like shit and shit and shit and double shit. That's what it's, Tim, after last year, right? It's, here we go again.

[00:21:11] And now that they've hit on this kind of lineup, you know, it seems to be kind of coming together. You know, we went four and one, then we lost three. And now we've gone four and one again. And now that this, this game on Tuesday is, is huge. I think psychologically for them to get that fourth win, you know, they can do that. Cause once they get that, then I think it just, they'll, they'll come easy. So, um, right. I mean, there's a team place. Boston Bruins needs it.

[00:21:40] I don't want to hear this crap about, they're all professional hockey teams. Like just win this one. Come on. Let's win this one. I don't, I'm telling you, I'm still, I'm still sticking with it. They're not losing the rest of the year. They are not losing another game. Look at their schedule. And if the team that played today comes out and plays against every team that we have left, we don't lose another game. Sure. You can make an argument to follow that through the end of the season. Yeah. It's just statistically, it's very hard to do, but you pulled bigger shit out of your ass before.

[00:22:10] So maybe they're going to my ass too. So I have some, I have some fun facts. Oh, we like fun facts. Do we have a year of the devil tonight or no? No, I wasn't at home. Fair enough. We can do trivia. We can do trivia or I have a devil you know. We can do that. Um, I guess one, one more thing before I rattle off some fun facts. So, um, I, I, I liked that, that Dowling, Tatar, Palat line.

[00:22:39] Palat's looked better in the past couple of games. And I think he has all season. Same with Tatar and Dowling continues to be kind of an admirable fill in. I mean, he's not a very good hockey player, but he just works his bag off. And, and that, and that's all, all we asked for. And I think he kind of slots in well with, with Tatar and Palat as a line. And I think that question works well. Yeah. Do you think that Dowling has played his way into a permanent spot for the playoffs? Yeah.

[00:23:06] I mean, I don't, I mean, it's hammer Lazar and Lazar objectively the eye tests like analytically is worse. Cause if neither of them are going to score goals, it's what are they doing other than that? And I think that Dowling absolutely has his head and shoulders above all the other stuff. Yeah. I, I, you know, and, and Mike and DJ. It kind of agreed with me. Like I just, Lazar stinks now, man. Like he just, I feel bad because like, he seems like such a good dude, but it's just like, sorry, man, you suck.

[00:23:36] And Bastion, if I never can take Bryce's job and he'll be great at it. If I never see Bastion again, I will not lose a wink of sleep. So, so let's see. So Timo now has eight goals in his last 17 games. That's always fun. Um, and just to gloat a little bit about what I was writing about, like what, three months ago about Timo scoring all of his goals in March and April, you know, it was 35% of his goals. Um, you'd mentioned that before. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:24:07] Yeah. I wrote about it. Nobody reads it. Nobody reads what I write though. You know, I'm not sure. For my heart and soul. Tell us again. Wait, what happens with Timo? He scores a lot in March. Oh, right. And people thought it was just March, but it's actually March and that little piece in April too. Nice. Um, so, um, Nico has 16 points in his last 12 games, which is pretty, pretty, pretty good. Um, Mike Ruff reads it.

[00:24:34] So this is, uh, Nico's 96th career multipoint game that ties him with 12th in franchise history with who do you think? 12th in franchise history for most multipoint games. He has not. You got one word, right? Scott Stevens. You still have one word. Niedermeyer. Niedermeyer. Um, so that's the, it's the, uh, it's the ninth three point game of the season for Nico, which ties him within sixth in franchise history for three point games in the season.

[00:25:04] Um, what a pass from Seamus to Timo. That's this is, I'm reading my notes from the game that I pour into my blog. So the first time ever the Devils have beaten the Rangers by four or more, three times in the same season. Is that right? Yeah. And the first time in franchise history, the Devils had two goalies with four plus shutout. So. Yeah. A lot of fun. And Jacob Markstrom is only the second goalie to shut out the Rangers twice in one season. Yeah.

[00:25:31] There's a guy, uh, Nick Cahill on Twitter that, uh, it's like Dev stats guy or something like that. He, he does like, he's like the producer, uh, behind the scenes for like Bryce and Dano stuff. So he throws out all these fun facts. So I just steal all of them and, and claim them as my own. As well. You should. I mean, it's on the, unlike the Timo Meyer proclamation. That's all you. Nobody else saw that shit coming. Mike says he raised me. Thanks, Mike. I appreciate you, buddy. I told you that you weren't. Marty. Marty.

[00:26:01] I read them. I got to read them so I can prepare for the show. DJ. Is that true? That's really Marty. My brother. We're waiting for an answer. They're like, Oh, he's going to say something. Yeah. Nick Cahill. Yeah. That's no fucking way. All right. That's funny. What's the, what's the bigger accomplishment? Alex Ovechkin Brady breaking Wayne Gretzky's all time goal record or Sidney Crosby being

[00:26:30] a game player for 20 years. All time goal record. Wait, what was Sidney Crosby's? A point a game guy every year for 20 years straight. Breaking also Wayne Gretzky's record, but that one, nobody talked about everybody. Of course the goal scorer one. Of course, everyone's going to talk about, but which one's more impressive to you? I got to go with goal scoring. I'm going with Sidney.

[00:26:57] See, you know, for every goal, you can have two, two assists. They can only have one goal. There you go. There you go. I do not think that people got assists on all of Ovie's empty netters too. I love Sidney Crosby. I just, I mean, I love, I love everything about the guy. I love how he plays. And every time for 20 years I've watched him play, I just say to myself, man, I wish he was a devil. You know? I mean, scoring goals.

[00:27:23] I mean, this is going to sound dumb and simplistic, but scoring goals is what wins games. And that's, you know, that's the end goal of the game. And to do that more than anybody ever has in history in the regular season. I think I'm biased. I'm biased on the fact of just how much I hate Alexander Ovechkin. Like, I just can't stand him. Oh, God. I can't wait. I'm opening, I'm addicted to nicotine.

[00:27:49] So I started, I quit smoking cigarettes like three, four years ago and started using Zins. And now I've moved on to Zones because they're cheaper and you get more in the cans. So they're a real pain in the ass to open. So I was opening one. Like a dip? Yeah, it's a dip. They're like little, they're like little, they're like little pouches. They're like skull bandits, but now they're kind of cool. Oh, like the bandits. Yeah. Why would you like Ovechkin? I fucking can't stand. I know he's.

[00:28:19] I like Ovechkin. I've told you. I know, I know. But it's like he killed us for fucking 20 years every single time that we played Washington. I like him because of the joy and fun that he has playing hockey and how much. Oh, that's great. He embraces like, like, so with Ryan. Okay. So just in the summertime, he's fucking, he's, he's, he's shooting fucking, you know, grizzly bears with Putin. So I'm sorry. I just don't like the motherfucker. That's fine.

[00:28:47] I know it's very difficult to separate the man from that, but I don't think he's shooting grizzly bears with Putin. And I think Putin's holding his family hostage, but I like them. So, so I'd like the joy that he has in his game. And one of the thing, one of the cooler things, if you look at the juxtaposition contrast between Gabe Perreault, who just came up from BC and Ryan Leonard, who just came up from BC. Ryan Leonard got a text message from Ovechkin saying, Hey, meet us out at this bar.

[00:29:17] So they went out to a bar. They're singing. They're having beers. I can guarantee you. No one reached out to Gabe Perreault. Chris Kreider probably doesn't even know who the fuck that kid is. And that's what I like about Ovechkin's. They brought him into the, they brought him into the circle. They went out together. It kind of worked out nicely for them because his first game was in Boston, but for him to do that as a captain and kind of pass that, that along, I think is pretty important. That's why it's hard to not like him.

[00:29:46] He's also pretty funny, and some of his commercials in this area are fucking hilarious. And what he did against the Capitals the last time they played them this year, where he made the entire Capitol, I said the Capitals, I meant the Wild, where he made the entire team stay on the ice to give props to the Flower. I thought that was just as classy as they come.

[00:30:10] So maybe I need to get out of my own preconceived hate, I guess, for Ovechkin and kind of see him for what he is nowadays. To me, I go back and I'm just like, the guy's killed us for 20 fucking years. Fuck him. I just always loved him, too. When he burst on the scene, and it was him and Crosby, and you got one hand, you got this all-around terrific player in Crosby, and then you got Ovechkin, who was coming up with him, was just like a scoring machine.

[00:30:36] Their types of play were just, they were both leading the league, but in such different ways. And I just always loved watching them score. It's amazing to me. We've talked about this. It's kind of like when Rivera was your closer. You know what's coming, and you still can't do anything about it. Over and over. 800 and whatever some odd times. It's pretty incredible. Yeah, it is. It is. And he's going to break it tomorrow on the island. I have no doubt that he's breaking it tomorrow. Did you see the ticket prices at UBS?

[00:31:08] They were hilarious. I don't have it in front of me anymore. But even the cheapest seat in the house is almost $1,000. It's probably over $1,000 now. It would be hilarious Islander fan behavior if they're paying, you know, they're selling off their tickets or going to this game. Like paying $3,000 a ticket to go see this, and he does the score. So you just get to watch fucking the Islanders play. Yeah. You get to watch the Islanders. You get to watch Noah Dobbs.

[00:31:36] Yeah, you get to watch Noah Dobbs and chip it off the glass 50 times a night. And I remember falling down behind the net every time he's back there. At the game today, they were, you know, doing the thing where they cheer a devil's image on the screen, boo a Rangers and all that kind of stuff. But at one point, the biggest boo of the entire night was like they were just going around the arena looking at Ranger fans. And they found an Islander fan. It just got the biggest boo. Because even the Rangers, we were all like joining together. Like, fuck this guy, dude. What are you doing here? No, I don't think so, Mike.

[00:32:05] You asked if the Islander fans will boo Ovi if he scores, if he gets the record. I don't think so. I don't think there's any fan base classless enough, not even the Islanders, to boo that. You know great history when you're seeing it. I mean, it's like watching a team win a Stanley Cup in your building. You might be pissed, but you're going to stay and watch the celebration you're going to. And by the time it's all over, you're not going to feel nearly as bad as you did right when the thing first ended.

[00:32:32] But so I mentioned I was there when he got his 700th at the rock to take the lead on the Devils. And I cheered it like it was a Devils goal because it was monumentous. And then awesomely enough, the Devils came back and won that game. So it was like the perfect thing. I got to see that and still. Yeah, I mean, so it is pretty cool. But I didn't even realize that I was cheering that much for it. It was just instinctual. You know, I'm there for my team, but he scores that goal. And I just instinctually, you know, it was pretty exciting.

[00:33:01] So we're having a debate at work. We're having a debate at work today about what's the hardest thing to do in sports. Because they were talking, a couple of people were talking about the goal, you know, the goal leading and stuff. And yeah, it's super hard to score goals in the NHL. But I still stick with hitting a baseball period. Hitting a baseball. Yeah, it's by far the hardest thing in all the sports to do. You fail at it so much. Well, that's it. Just it, isn't it? Right? Like who's the best hitter on the Mets?

[00:33:31] Like average-wise? Yeah, not for power. Who's the best average hitter on the Mets? I mean, at least from an on-base percentage, I guess it should probably be one Soto this year. But, you know, Nimmo's had his time. What's Soto's like average, roundabout career average? He's new to me, but probably just sub-blow, sub-300, I would imagine. He's like a 280. Yeah, he's like 280-300, right? Let's just, for math's sake, make this. I mean, McNeil was three-something for a while, but he was just the hitter kind of thing.

[00:33:56] Yeah, I think league average has declined pretty significantly. But let's just use 300 right now. Use 300, yeah. That means one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball, right? I mean, this guy just signed a fucking $10 trillion contract for the next 30 years or whatever the hell it is. Right? So, he's one of the greatest players in the league.

[00:34:21] One of the greatest players on the planet does his job successfully 30% of the time. Where would you be in life if you did your job 30% of the time? Well, I can tell you exactly where I am with that. Have you seen my beautiful home? Yeah, no. Before I semi-retired, I kind of was like right on that snake until I make it train. So, this is probably the best analogy. I'm still there. It's an excellent point.

[00:34:48] And to that point even further, so most people in a league are doing it more like 25% of the time. Exactly. And, of course, the defensive element to the game. We all get that. But, yeah, it's kind of crazy how difficult it is. I mean, you should see my creative player in MLB The Show, all right? Like, he's hitting over 500, 120 dingers a year. Like, come on. You think it's still only does his job half the time? That's because of the game AI, Chris? Yeah. Well, yeah.

[00:35:16] Well, so next time, why don't you put Juan Soto on some skates and put a 6'5", 250-pound guy running at him from third base and see how well he hits that ball? Ooh. Well, if he's on skates and then he's in the infield, he's really at a disadvantage. But what about if we took baseball and put him on ice skates? Essentially, you played the entire game on a sheet of ice. How cool would that be? You have to hit on skates and then skate your ass off.

[00:35:45] Speed skate to first base. Oh, God. That would be fun. I think every sport would be better on ice skates now that you mentioned it. I mean, we all saw the pickleball. Have you seen the pickleball on ice skates? That looks pretty cool. Can you imagine bowling with ice skates? How dangerous that would be? The ball just landed on your head? I mean, I almost fall when I throw the ball now. The balls are getting heavy as I get older. Chris is still little. Just drags him down the aisle. Can you get a 10-pounder my damn fingers will fit in? This sucks. Right? You ought to be throwing a...

[00:36:15] I only got a torpedo bat in the pants there, Mike. On that note, we will be right back right after these quick messages. Okay, we're back. For anybody watching us, we're just slipping that in later. So it's for the audio podcast. Just speaking of torpedo bats. Do you guys want to do a W-No? Sure. All right. Since we got some people playing with us tonight. I love when there's people online. Yep. Yeah.

[00:36:44] So what's the chat rule? They can... Hang on. I need to refresh. You just got to hold it. Yeah. Let me refresh. We'll go over the... Okay, go ahead. Where's Timmy back? When he comes back. Yeah. So for you guys listening, if you know the answer, just don't type it in until one of these guys gets it. Yeah. Just keep note of maybe at what clue you got the answer if you want some kind of bragging rights. But yeah, don't give it to me. There you go. All right. And away we go.

[00:37:13] Shall we play a game? Buckle up, boys and girls. It is time for The Devil You Know on the Uncle Pucker New Jersey Devil Podcast.

[00:37:43] We'll be right back. He played on the 31st, 1984 in Itabikok, Ontario.

[00:38:11] If I'm saying that wrong for anybody, it may be from Itabikok listening. I apologize. I've never heard of this place. He had played... I was going to get the signal up there. Itabikok. Whatever. He played for 10 years with three different NHL teams. I'll give the teams later. He was an undrafted free agent.

[00:38:38] And on August 12th, 2005, he was drafted by the New Jersey Devils and assigned to Albany for the 05-06 season. He made his NHL debut on March 15th, 2007 against the Carolina Hurricanes. And he scored his first NHL goal in the following game against the Canes. It was a home and home.

[00:39:06] Against John Graham in a 7-2 New Jersey Devil loss. These are the fucking Dark Day Devils, man. Yeah, they are. He played 81 games in the 07-08 season where he had nine goals for 22 points and 22 points. And he led the team in penalty minutes that year with 183. In the 08-09 season, he scored 17 goals.

[00:39:33] He had his breakout year in the 2011-2012 season where he scored 30 goals, 48 points for the Devils. This was 11-12 season? Yes. 30-4. Wow. 2000. It was the 2011-12 season?

[00:40:02] Under Peter DeBoer. He was one time suspended 10 games for leaving the bench in a brawl in a preseason game against Buffalo. That rings a bell. Hmm. Do I want to give it away yet? You guys know anybody? Yeah. Easy, Mike saying. God damn it, DJ. Is it? No.

[00:40:32] We'll keep going. On July 5th, 2013. It's David Clarkson. Yes, it's David Clarkson because you saw the chats because DJ typed it in. It is David Clarkson. I was going to say Travis Ajax. Who? Travis Ajax. Well, on July 5th, 2013, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with Toronto for a $36 million contract.

[00:41:03] All right. Nice job, Timmy. Nice job, David Clarkson. What did you think of David Clarkson? I was a big David Clarkson fan. For that one year. No, I kind of liked his play. And of course, I liked it as that one year when he got offensively a lot better. But I just I liked the threat of him on a lower line, maybe more than what he actually became with us. So I think it kind of shows when he left and took all the money and then kind of faded into obscurity that, you know, that was the right call.

[00:41:34] Yeah. Yeah. It seems like it seems like they knew what they were doing by letting him let him walk to free agency like that and not resigning him. I mean, that was also a fucking bag that he got. Big time. Yeah. I mean, that contract was crazy. And that was another one of those go home guys. Right. See, I had a real problem during that. There was that era where everybody was like going home and to play with whomever instead of like staying with our team and building something out of it.

[00:42:02] So it took me years to get over some of those moves. Like, again, how many times I got to say, why did Niedermy at the time? Rob here earlier. We would have been fine. DJ brought up that ridiculous tic-tac-toe power play goal that is one of the best power play goals you'll ever see. I don't know if you guys remember it or not. Yes, I do, actually. And I liked Clarkson when he played for us. I thought the same thing, though. There was no way you can pay him that kind of money.

[00:42:28] And then I think his first year as a Leaf, he had he played 60 games. He had 11 points, five goals and 11 points. So in 60 games or 30, almost $37 million. So, I mean, it's the Leafs, so screw them. But I do want to do one thing else before if you guys don't have if you guys have anything else. But the last thing I want to do and I was going to do this before. And one of the guys on the chat threw it up there earlier.

[00:42:57] I want to just do a little. We know we're playing the Canes, right? This is done. It's going to happen. It's our first round matchup. And we're going to talk so much in depth about the Canes and everything. Go through all the numbers on later shows. But just a quick kind of overview. I'm going to put a position out there. You tell me who has the advantage, okay? We'll start with goaltending. All right. New Jersey, Carolina. Again, we'll go over numbers later.

[00:43:26] I don't have Freddie Anderson's numbers or Kachekov, whatever his name is. He's kind of gut seal. His vibes. His vibes. Yeah. So who has the advantage in goaltending? We'll go Bob, Tim, me. I mean, I have to go us. We have the advantage in goaltending. Yeah. Tim? Yeah. The same. I mean, Markey, just pure aura. I think Anderson's just coming back from injury. Kachekov's a fucking head case.

[00:43:57] You know, even from a tandem perspective, I think we've got it. You know, we've said a lot. I mean, their goaltending isn't bad by any means. They could be good. They could be good. But I think we're better, particularly the Markey that we're seeing the past couple games. Their goaltending is capable. I'll give them that. I'll put them in the capable category. The problem I've always had with Carolina, and I've always said that I felt that this was the reason that they haven't been able to get that next step.

[00:44:26] It's because they refuse to invest in upgrading the goaltending. They just don't. They are a team, and they've come out and said this. They believe that goaltending is extremely arbitrary and random a lot of the time. And they feel like just league average should get you where you want to go. Maybe you need a random year where a goaltender steps up and wins a cup. Maybe try looking at it that way. Right.

[00:44:51] They do the math on a 9.05 save percentage versus a 9.10 save percentage and what that looks like over the course of a year from the volume of shots you give up. It's like 10 goals maybe. In advanced metrics, I get all that too. But I just like the old-fashioned look who's better. Who's going to win you that one more game? And that's just it. Real quick, that's just it though, Bobby.

[00:45:21] You're 100% right. All those numbers and how they value or devalue a goaltender is absolutely the way you probably should do it over an 82-game season. But come the playoffs, you're going to need that guy that you said is going to stand on his head and win you a series or two or three or hopefully four. I mean, that's what the goaltender is supposed to do. Gretzky used to say that about Grant Shore. Grant Shore, I think his career save percentage is like 8.90 or something like that.

[00:45:49] But he'd win you a 6-5 game and he'd stop the last 10 shots and stand on his head. That is the one thing I worry about with Markstrom is he has occasionally given up a pretty questionable goal here and there. But I also do think he is very much capable of absolutely slamming the door. You know, like he made two ridiculous names today. Yeah, he did.

[00:46:18] That they're really like one short side on Sabanajad on the power play that looked a lot closer in the replay than I thought it was. So, hopefully, yeah. I mean, he's back. You know, I think we have a goalie. He usually makes up for that either way too. Like, yeah, he might let that one in, but he's doing two, you know, off his ass kind of things that otherwise would have changed the game later in the game.

[00:46:46] Even today, a couple of those saves, they were really opportune times to make those great saves. Yeah, you know, he may let him win. He may let him win, but if it's 3-2 in the third and Ajo and Sveshikov have a two-on-one and he makes a ridiculous save, like that's the one that's going to win those things. And Mike brought up like Stuart Skinner last year. I mean, that was it. That was Stuart Skinner last year was what the Canes needed Freddie Anderson to do just once. And, you know, they might be able to win the cup. And maybe this is their year. I don't know.

[00:47:15] The only guy regularly kind of considered elite that's actually won a cup over the past, what, decade has been Vasilevsky. You know, they look like Hill and Binnington and they've all been good goalies that got hot. You know, you need a good goalie to get hot, you know, or an elite goalie. There's a conference to watch out because Binnington's getting hot again. Yeah. Like that Kemper for Duwatt trade is turning out to be like the perfect trade for both teams. It's pretty well. Yeah.

[00:47:46] All right. Defensive core. Who's got the advantage? Devils or Canes? I think I probably stick with Devils on the defense side too. Okay. I think the Canes do. If Dougie comes back, I think it might be a split. But I think right now, as it stands, I think the Canes have the better D core. I don't know if I could. Can I just call it a wash? Because I think it's a wash. Me personally, I really can't pick.

[00:48:14] When we play our style and, you know, like we talked about earlier this season, we play that way. When the guys are connected, I think we have the better D core. But our D course, I just need to get 100% confidence in them again. They've been playing great, but I really just want to see that. But when we are at our best, I think we have the better D core. But right now. Yeah.

[00:48:38] I think this is the last year that, you know, I think Burns is on the, you know, back nine. And, you know, Chatfield apparently knows judo. So I'm a little worried about him. Can't use that on the ice though. That's a totally different sport. Yeah. And, and, yeah. And we can get to the fours. But, you know, they play a very good connected defensive game. That man to man style. That's, that's so exhausting.

[00:49:07] You know, that's why, that's why I think Brad could be pretty valuable. Just running those guys around so much that, that he just wears them out. Yeah. Yeah. I like DJ's comment that they don't have Luke Hughes. And I think he's dead on there. I think that, you know, the last time that the NHL made like an inappropriate rule change because they were trying to take a skill away from our goalie, I feel like they're going to like widen the blue line to see if other defenders a chance to walk the line like Luke can, you know, just to make it more fair. That's how good the guy's getting.

[00:49:34] And if he just wants to tear it up in the playoffs, like you might be able to. I think it was a couple of games ago against the wild. It was one where he scored that goal. And I texted you guys and I said, Luke is going to, well, something along the lines of this, this dude is going to absolutely open everybody's eyes this summer. I mean, this playoffs. I mean, he's going, he is so freaking good. Yeah. Chris, you see, he didn't do the, he didn't do the drop pass again on one of the power plays.

[00:50:03] He, yeah, he, he turned and it was like, he was almost like a little disappointed little kid. He's like, oh man, nobody's there. So he's like, fuck it. I guess I'll just walk into the zone myself. And it just did. He's like, the kid is such a, cause the kid is such a good skater. He actually fumbled the puck at the end of it. And then we didn't, we didn't actually get the, get the zone entry on it. But it's just really funny. I was like, oh man. He has a little mopey face. Luke Hughes is coming out. Party is going to be these playoffs.

[00:50:31] And I'm telling you, he is going to open up a ton of eyes. And I think, yeah, I think he can be a monster. I think, I think he can absolutely take this team where it needs to go. I mean, you look at when the, I'm not, maybe I am comparing him a little bit to Cal McCarr. I've done that a lot. I think he can, has the potential to be as good, if not better than Cal McCarr, but like Cal's second year, right? Good year playoffs. He absolutely lit it up in the playoffs, right?

[00:51:01] We also got to keep Luke on power play one. Like we just, oh, absolutely. That would be a mistake. They can't, they can't take them off that now. So I've heard we said it before, but at the beginning, yeah, we got to put Dougie on power play two, if he goes back. Yeah, we, we kind of, we talked a little, touched on that a little bit on the last show. I think we were all in agreement on that, that you're not taking, you can't take Luke off power play one. All right. Which leads to the forwards. I guess I'm a little torn on the forwards.

[00:51:31] Maybe I'd have a different idea if Jack were here, but he's not. So, I mean, like a push, I guess, you know, I feel comfortable saying that there. Neither one stands out to me as well above the other. I think, I guess it kind of washes nets out as a wash. I think our higher end players are better than their higher end players, but their lower end players are better than our lower end players. Like their depth is better than ours, but our top two lines are better than theirs.

[00:51:59] So kind of just works itself out in a wash. But like, I was watching like Cotter today. He was just such a menace on the forecheck. Like if he can bring that every single game, like he, I feel like he's going to be such an important cog in the playoffs for us. Like he is just such a menace. And if that Palat to Tarline can keep playing like they are, like maybe I'm wrong about their depth being better. But I think, I think right now their, their depth is a little better.

[00:52:26] Like they're running out stall as a third line center and he's just an absolute menace of a lockdown center. Like we don't, we don't have anybody like that, but I think, you know, Nico, Bratt, Timo are better than special cough. Aho and what other fucking scrub? Stank oven, stank oven. Um, yeah, that's what I meant is depends on what hollow glass and sprung we got. Yeah.

[00:52:55] I mean, Timo's a pain in the ass today. Cotter, Timo, Nason. We never even talked about him. He has a level to, he can turn it up in the playoffs and he's going to be chomping at the bit to get his hands on Carolina. So, uh, you know, I think he can be an X factor. I I'm going to, I think we had the advantage on the forward group. I really do. You named the three guys, right? They're three guys. That's basically it. Yeah. But then like, but, but like fucking Jordan Martin, who's going to score like eight goals

[00:53:24] in three games. So maybe Dawson Mercer will, you know what I mean? Like that's adorable. Oh, there's another guy that can, you know, he could, he could. He'll score us some big goals come before this thing's over. The playoffs can make you roll, man. Yeah. Yeah. And I need to score a goal. Mike, I know, I know Martin is trash, but he fucking, that was his point. That was your point. That was my point. It's so they have some garbage man plumber. That's going to score like a hat trick against it.

[00:53:54] But, but, but, but sorry about the, the Timo thing. Just the one funny thing from today. The one, he, he got stopped on a rush. He tried to kind of dangle under someone's triangle. And I think it was back at nine. And, and then he just was like, fuck it. And just like threw him. Threw him on his ass. That was great. He was like, he was like, ah, I'm not going to get through you. So I might as well just fucking throw you. Crew behind me. Wanted to tell me on that. That was awesome. He just threw him on his ass. I just, all right.

[00:54:24] Last category. Behind the bench. Who's got the advantage? Rod Brindamore v. Keldon, Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon Keefe, Sheldon Keefe. I guess until, I think it's got to go to Brindamore. Just because of body of work. Because as, as of this moment. And we only have to keep so far this year. But all I've heard about was like how they didn't advance through the playoffs. As a Leaf. So I guess for that reason alone. I have to go with Brindamore.

[00:54:58] I mean, I think it's Brindamore. Even though he probably still has. He still has the crown for the most ridiculous comment from the playoffs last year. Two years ago. Or no, I think it was, was it last year? Or two years ago. Maybe we're taking it up. Two different comments. When he was like, we didn't get swept. Two years ago. When they clearly got swept. That was two years ago. Was it two years ago? Yeah, that was the biggest one. Yeah. If they, if the same, like if they can't get through us.

[00:55:25] And, and like they have to ask some serious questions about Brindamore. And the style that they play and just how it doesn't seem to translate into, into playoff hockey. Like there's, you know, they play a very aggressive man-to-man system in, in the D zone. And, and I'm wondering, I think we can get through that. We, we should be able to get through that. But, you know, like I said, it's, it's going to be a tough series. But I think they, the Devils need to get on the front foot early. And like steal a win in Carolina.

[00:55:56] Like that's what sucked two years ago is we just had this emotional high, amazing win against, against the Rangers. We had to get on a plane and play Carolina like the next day. And just got the fucking doors blown off us. And like, I don't think we were, we even had a chance in that series after that. You know, they, they gave us one win and then that was kind of it. But yeah, it was a big win though. I'm going to give the advantage. I'm going to give the advantage. I got to give the advantage to Rob Brindamore.

[00:56:25] Sheldon Keefe in five years has made it out of the first round once. Like Rob Brindamore in six or seven has never made it, never not made it out of round one. So it's got to be broad. I mean, in the end though, neither one of them have won cups as coaches. I love what Sheldon Keefe has been doing, but. You know, Rob Brindamore is there. He's going to be coaching the Canes for, you know. The next 20 years.

[00:56:51] So, I mean, Sheldon Keefe, maybe, you know, I just, I just see like a little bit of a difference. Like, you know, it's like kind of that respect factor, like Mike Tomlin from the, from Pittsburgh. Right. Like he's not necessarily the greatest coach, but you know what you're going to get every single time you go on a two of the ice to play. I mean, on the field to play the Steelers. You know what you're getting when you step on the ice to play the Canes. They're never not going to show up. They're never going to give an effort like the Rangers kind of did today in the third period. You know what I mean?

[00:57:21] Yeah. They're always going to be nipping at your heels and breaking your ball. And if you don't play a full 60 minutes, they're going to beat you. So, can the Devils match all that intensity and everything? I mean, I think they can. I think they can. Yeah. And I'd like to see the, the, the, again, like the, another third period where, where we kind of let off the, let the foot off the gas a little bit and, and, and kind of retreated into a bit of a shell. I'd like to see them stop doing that.

[00:57:49] I don't know if it's a keep thing, if it's a mentality thing, but we're not going to be able to get away with that shit in the playoffs. Like we're, we're going to get, we're going to get fucking pounded. Like we're in federal prison. If that happens. Yeah. Yeah. So it seems like we all had them at least even or better in most categories with a push here. They're different between like three of us. Let me ask you, cause I know about our special teams. I know how it works in totality, both the penalty and the power play. How's that stack up to Carolina? I know we're better.

[00:58:19] Are we a lot better? Anyone know? Top your head. I think. I'll find out. I think the PK is pretty comparable. I think our power plays is one of the best in the league, especially lately. Enough to at least say advantage devil's special teams. Do we know where the, uh, whatchamacallit, the devils are right now? What power play and stuff? The Canes right now. All right. So here's the, here we go.

[00:58:45] The Canes, uh, their record is 46, 26 and four. They have a six 32 winning percentage. They have scored 247 goals. That's good for eighth. Fourth for both. That's what you're saying. What's that? Uh, for us. Fourth for both power play and penalty. Fourth for both. Okay. 247 goals, uh, four, 205 goals against their eighth for both with a goal differential of 42. That's seventh.

[00:59:11] Their power play is 18.9% 23rd in the league. Power play is awful. I didn't realize it was that bad. I didn't either. That's because they don't have any likes, like really kind of elite, elite guys. Jarvis. I forgot about him. He's the easiest sniper. I kind of, can I say something about Jarvis? Yes, please. I find it really hard to dislike that guy. Oh, I don't. I love him. Like, I think he's such a funny little goofy guy, even though his face looks like a melted candle.

[00:59:40] Nobody has a face than Sebastian Ajo. He must've ripped his mother in half. Are you kidding me? You see the size of that mother fricking melon? Jesus. His eyes, his head's so big. His eyes are like so far apart. He looks like Uma Thurman. That is fetal alcohol syndrome. Yes, he looks like a fetal alcohol syndrome baby. Yeah, their power play sucks, but their penalty killings first. Long job, Zah.

[01:00:07] Let's see how it's been doing of late. And they're, are you still talking about Jarvis? No. No, no. Their penalty kill, Bob, is 84.8. That's good for first in the NHL. So we are fourth across the board. They're 23rd, bottom third in the league in power play and they're top of the league in penalty kill. So, I mean. They're a defensive team. It's a slight advantage for us.

[01:00:37] They're a defense first team. It'll be interesting to see how our power play fares against their penalty kill, but our penalty kill should be able to take care of their power play. It's going to be a fun series. Just, I hope, no injuries for the Devils for the next five games. Is that right? We're five games left. That's all we got. And we can get this thing going. It's almost over, man. I know. And it's so nice knowing that we're going to play an 83rd game and then, because there's nothing like last year that was more depressing when you got to this point knowing that

[01:01:06] we were, we're done. We're going home and two weeks from today to play off start. And the one thing I'll say, like, I know it hasn't been pretty. And like, I know January and February were kind of, you know, pretty rough play wise. And then we lost Jack and lost Dougie and Seags, but we are still going to the fucking playoffs. And once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen and we can take the canes. We can. We can. Things have to go right and things have to go well for us, but we can take this fucking team. And then we can take the Capitals. What do I say?

[01:01:36] And then Colorado. And then we can win the cup. What do I text you guys every time this team does something that's just awesome or we love this team? I love this team. That's it. I love this team. And I think they can do some damage. It's going to be fun. Anything else you guys want to add? No, I almost died yesterday. You want to share? Yeah. Again. Right. Jesus. You need to slow down because we can't go find another podcaster that quick. Mike Ruffalo. I mean, because we're so bad.

[01:02:06] Mike Ruff will take over for me in a heartbeat. Michael, come kill me himself and take over. What the hell do you do? Driving to my nephew's lacrosse game in the cradle Division III lacrosse that corridor in Pennsylvania. It's like Franklin and Marshall and Dickinson. And then we're at Versinus College, which is in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia. So driving Pennsylvania Turnpike.

[01:02:35] Bobby, you probably know on Pennsylvania Turnpike, you can do like 100 and nobody gives a fuck on it. So we're cruising along in the left lane. And just out of nowhere, the dude in the right lane just decides to move over like right on top of us. And so we swung into where my brother was driving and swung into the Rumble Strip, into the median a little bit. And the Pennsylvania Turnpike has those dirt medians that are kind of dug out like that.

[01:03:03] So kind of just tailed into it and then straight across the highway. And luckily, nobody was behind us. So we were kind of sliding sideways on the highway from maybe 20, 30 feet before my brother was able to recover. So we're doing that about 90 miles an hour. Meanwhile, I'm sitting there on my phone reading an article from Daniel Moya about how more people should participate in the U.S. World Championship. So I'm like, what am I doing with my life as I'm about to die? Well, that's scary, man. Holy crap.

[01:03:32] Pretty scary. So then we went to Arby's. I think I speak for everybody when I say we're glad you're here with us tonight. But right after that, I will finish on this. It's all the funniest thing I've ever seen. So we're in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, which is a real town. It's a very Amish. Nothing ever happens there. It's an Amish Mennonite hotbed. Do they know what the name of their town is? Yeah, I think they do. They're pretty much driving lots of kids.

[01:04:03] We're in Intercourse. We're driving by this farm. This Mennonite guy, they wear like these little weird fedoras. I saw this guy driving like right in front of his barn or like on a 10-speed bike with a little basket on it. And then he just tries to pop a wheelie. He's like, hee. That's a little 10-speed. Then he just falls over. We're just driving. That's what happened. I don't know. It was just like – And my brother and I both saw it happen at the same time. And we're just like, did you see that?

[01:04:33] I'm embarrassed to say that's kind of like me on my mountain bike. You know how many times I've gone to Trek and I'm like, I don't understand why I can't actually pull a wheelie on this thing. I'm not a weak dude. What am I doing wrong? He's like, so many guys can't do a wheelie on this mountain bike. No, I can't. It's just so funny how this guy is like in his little – not to make fun of a particular religion or culture, but like in a little Mennonite outfit. And he's on a 10-speed with a basket. He tried to do a wheelie. He's just eating shit.

[01:05:01] And the fact that we both saw it happen at the same time. Just think about it. You'd be so viral right now if you were running your camera. And to see that, are you kidding me? That'd be the best thing ever. I have to talk privately real quick with Mike, so I apologize. I love the favor. I think it's awesome. I think it's awesome that Paul Heyman was crying in the ring explaining it.

[01:05:31] And yeah, of course, Reigns is going to get screwed. That's the whole point. Or is it going to be a double screw and Heyman's really with Seth Rollins? We'll find out. But that's all the wrestling, guys. I promise. All right. Anything else you guys want to add for tonight? No, go doubles. Tuesday. I think our magic number is like three or something like that to officially clinch. That's awesome. That's awesome. I think the Rangers tie or lose. They are officially done on Monday against Tampa, I believe. Oh, yeah.

[01:06:00] That'll be easy. Yeah. At least they're not playing for first in the Atlantic. They looked so checked out, man. Like middle of that second period, they just look so checked out. They're done. And I think the recovery is not going to be overnight. This is not going to be a Washington capital kind of turnaround here. I think this pain might last a little while in New York. And they fucking deserve it. Yeah. Go to Sean. Too bad. So sad. What a shame. I don't think.

[01:06:27] If you're watching us on the YouTube channel, hit the subscribe button. We really appreciate it to all you guys chilling with us tonight. Thank you again. Always a ton of fun hanging out with everybody. If you're listening to us, a like, a five-star review, a positive comment, a subscription, a download really does help the little podcast that could. For Tim and Bob, I'm Chris. We're the Uncle Puckers. And we'll see you when we see you. Bye-bye.

[01:06:59] It's over, Johnny. It's over.