Is It The Same Old Story In NJ?

[00:00:04] What a goal! 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 NJD Podcast, Let's Go Devils!

[00:00:41] Now, okay, so nobody could hear me at first when I was starting I was saying that it did look a little different because I was by myself Tim is hitting traffic, he'll be here soon, and Tony just hopped on What's up, Tone? What's up, man? How you doing, dude? I'm good. Can you turn your mic up a little bit or sit a little closer to it? Let me see if it's... How's that better? That's a little bit better, yeah. Let's see here. I don't know why it wouldn't be... Yeah, it's very quiet. I don't know why.

[00:01:11] I wonder if I should sign back in and come in and come out? No, that's fine. The way you're right now is fine. Okay. So, what's up, man? It's been a while. Yeah, man. Nothing much. Just football, you know? No, I mean... Your Raiders are looking good. Yeah. Bikes are 4-0 with absolutely no offense. But I think we have to dive a little bit into this disaster of a game two.

[00:01:42] Devils–Islanders, 6-0 loss. Like, did you stay up for this game? Yeah, I did, actually. I went to bed, I think, with a couple minutes left. But I was... It was, you know... I actually knew after the second period, I don't know why I stayed up any longer. I was like, oh, man. You know, it was like... I think it was 4.30 in the morning at that time period. But, yeah. I stayed up for the rest of it. It was a bad game, dude, all around, man. I know it's only two games in. You know, obviously, the power play is not there.

[00:02:10] There's goaltending, which I thought, if you remember correctly, I was saying, you know, since we were talking before preseason, you know, I was like, man, I just don't trust the goaltending. And I still feel that way. You know, I don't know what the answer is there. So, hopefully, you know, it's just a bad game. But it had a little bit of flashbacks, didn't it? Well, that's, I think, what the problem is, right? Like, we've seen this movie so many times over and over again. You know? Yeah. And then, like, you know, you see Jack going into the boards.

[00:02:36] And I wasn't worried about that because I saw him get up and he kind of had his hand to his mouth. So, I was like, it looked like he made a cut his face. And then when he came back out, he was all bloodied up. So, yeah. I mean, 6-0 is better than 9-0. But is it really? Like, I mean, at that point, I think once more than five goals are scored against, it really doesn't matter if it's five, it's nine, if it's 12 at that point. I mean, there was no fight in them.

[00:03:03] And when they got down, they completely just abandoned the scheme, abandoned this style of play. It was cheating for offense, not working hard, every guy individually trying to do their own thing. And we saw that last year. And they ended up leaving the defense and Dawes hanging out to dry. And they got fucking lit up. And it was ugly. It was so fucking ugly.

[00:03:29] I have no patience for that kind of hockey this year. And, like, if this continues, like, I see that we're already four points. Mike Ruff is saying we're already four points back of first place. At the same time, the Rangers are in first place. They have two games. They played four games. We played two. I do want to talk about what Mehta wrote here, that Keith said that the bench dropped after the second goal. Where's the compete level?

[00:03:58] If that's true, if the guys on the bench basically just hung their heads in shame after two goals, not willing to go out there and fight, then this team... That's the same last year. What's that? That's the same as last year. Right. That's what's going on a lot during the season. You know, and I kind of... I look at, you know, the leadership. I look at Sheldon Keefe in this. Like, I would have... If I'm Sonny Mehta, and I know that no way he thinks like this,

[00:04:26] and this is why I do a stupid podcast with my friends, and he's general manager of the hockey team, I would have Sheldon Keefe on the shortest leash. And I was not kidding when I group texted you guys after that game, and I said, fire Keefe and go get John Tortorella. I wasn't kidding. Like, it seems to me like that style of coach is what could be best for this team if this continues. Look, they can go out and play Utah tomorrow night and look great

[00:04:55] and score seven goals and win 7-1, 7-2, and we'll forget about this game. But if it does continue, then I don't see how you can go forward. If the bench was that depleted and deflated after two goals in the game two, like, there's problems. Yeah, I'm just hoping, again, I'm just... You know, when I was watching that, I just said, man, it has to just be, you know, just one of those games.

[00:05:24] Of course, you know, Palak's on the board finally, just not for us. What about Paul Cotter? I mean, Paul Cotter's got like three or four goals in the game. He doesn't even have a fucking forward score yet in regulation. Yeah, I think it's just, you know, I mean, again, the goaltending, I am not surprised, like I said. And I think this next, the next four or five games, we're really going to see, you know, what the goaltending is. But I think that is a problem. I thought that before the season started.

[00:05:52] So I'm just hoping that was an off game. I mean, it was just an ugly game, though. There was just no life to it, you know. I mean, you have to play the Islander. That's, you know, that's going to be a tough team this year, I think. Well, when you got Ilya Sorokin back there, he gives you a chance to win every single night. And, you know, Mike Ruff, right? And, you know, I don't see this changing until a move in the top six is made. It's a top six core problem. We'll not go to the front of the net. That was also evident in the first game against Philadelphia.

[00:06:21] Like everything the first two periods was on the outside, perimeter shots, nothing hard to the net. Um, and yeah, you know, they ended up pulling that game out. I thought that Jake Allen played well. But, you know, I said after the Boston game, which was the last game of the year last year, that I did not think Nico Dawes was the answer. And I thought that you have to do something because I was done with Markstrom. Allen, of course, is Allen.

[00:06:49] And I didn't like the idea of Nico Dawes being the main guy. Now I kind of drank the Kool-Aid all summer and I kind of got talked into it. And, okay, the kid deserves a chance. Let's give it to him. I don't know how long of a leash you give Nico Dawes. And I'm curious if tomorrow, if they are going to run a true three goalie rotation. So tomorrow, does that give the net to the new kid, Remy Poitier, or whatever his name is, the guy we picked up from Dallas?

[00:07:20] I think it'll be Allen again. It probably would be, but I'd like to see this kid in the net. Not, you know, before too long. Give him his first NHL start and let's see what he can do. Like we've seen rookie goaltenders in New Jersey go on runs that last 20 years and bring us three Stanley Cups. So I say give the kid a chance. And Mike Ruff writes, Dawes is cooked. He's had surgery on his hips already and he doesn't make saves when the team needs. Yeah.

[00:07:50] I mean, there was, he made a couple of saves, but only to just let some bad goals in afterwards. Like that doesn't, it doesn't cut the mustard. You know, he has to be better. And I understand the team in front of him played like shit that game. Not saying give up on Dawes right now, but I'm saying you can't let it get out of hand. And it also affects the psyche of the team. If they go in, Dawes is in net. And we saw this when Banachek and Schmidt were there, right?

[00:08:17] They have no confidence in the guy behind them. So they play a little tighter and they just, you know, end up giving up good chances and not playing the system that they're supposed to be playing. So that really does worry me. And, you know, I also go back to 22, 23, right? The 112 point season. First two games was terrible. Fire Lindy chance all over the place. And then they go on a fucking, what was it?

[00:08:46] 18, 17 game winning streak. They end up further in the playoffs than they did since 2012 and make it to the second round. So, again, two games in, I'm not going to panic, but I am cautiously concerned, I should say. I am concerned. And I have to give credit, again, like I was last year, to Jake Allen. Just, you know, he comes in there again and just gets the job done first game.

[00:09:14] I mean, I have to say, you know, especially with the deal he gave the Devils coming back there at the price he did. He was a, I have a lot of respect for Jake Allen. I have to say that first of all. I was watching him play the other night. I was like, guy's a competitor, man. If you look at him, he looks like a school teacher, you know. But, yeah, I mean, Dawes, again, I don't know, man. I don't know what the answer is. Can Jake Allen win a lot of games this year? Yeah, I think so. Will he get burnt out by the end?

[00:09:42] We just don't, you know, I don't know what the answer is. Like I said, I think the next handful of games is really going to be a telling tale. I agree. I absolutely agree. And so Mike says, you know, it's not a coaching issue. It's a player issue, not wanting to go to the dirty areas. But all of that, in my opinion, falls back to coaching. Okay? Like when there's no accountability, when Sheldon Keefe just has strong words to say after, you know, a game like that.

[00:10:11] And there's no actual accountability for the actions on the ice. At least I see Nathan is going to be sat and Boquist will get in there tomorrow, which Boquist should have been starting from day one. But, okay. I think coaching is an issue. When this has gone on this long, yeah. I mean, is there, if it does continue, like do you have to look at the top six or, you know, making a trade like that? I don't know.

[00:10:41] All I do know is that somebody else wrote, you know, that we should have made the coaching change before the season started and started with a clean slate. That was one thing that kind of surprised me about Sonny Mehta. You know, a lot of new GMs come in. They want to bring their own guy in. He didn't do that. Now, did Keefe talk him into like, hey, I had my handcuffs a little bit last year with Tom Fitzgerald. I wasn't able to really coach the team the way that I want to coach the team.

[00:11:09] You know, I get the other chance it's going to look a lot different. And I'm sure Sonny, you know, of course has faith in him. But how long do you let it go with the moves, a quick move you can make? Now, I bring up Torts. I'm not saying that you need to lock Torts up to a contract for five years. I'm saying you give them a one-year deal, kind of like what Vegas did, and you have them come in and kind of just put this team on notice. Who's been saying this, Chris?

[00:11:37] You've been saying it for three years now. Yeah, I have. And, you know, it might not be Torts, but that type of coach. They need a hard end. I hope it out at the end. I mean, at the end, we know it's going to go to shit, you know, swinging at reporters or whatever. We know this, but maybe he'll get us to the prize, you know. That's fine. Maybe Jack would love to play with someone like that. We don't know. Maybe that's what, you know. Do you think about it, Chris? We've talked about this, that, like, if you listen to any ex-players that played for Torts, a lot of them, I mean, they always say positive things.

[00:12:06] As much as it looks fucked up from the outside, a lot of them have a lot of things to say about him that he pushed them, like, you know, like they've never been pushed before. Well, Jack had a lot of positive things to say about Tortorella after the Olympics. You know, Tortorella was on the bench. And, you know, so, you know, like, you know, Ritter Engine saying there's no way this team would handle a coach like Tortorella. Well, you know, they don't have a fucking choice and they don't have a choice.

[00:12:33] Like, you have to play the way your coach wants you to play or Tortorella will just bench you. He doesn't care if you're Jack Hughes or if you're, you know, Amadeus Lombardi. He doesn't give a shit. He'll sit your ass down if you're not doing what needs to get done. That's accountability. And, again, it doesn't have to be him. But he's a guy right now who's sitting at home and he'll probably be the first coach called when somebody gets fired. And I think if you were even thinking about it, you get it now. Somebody's going to hire John Tortorella this year.

[00:13:03] Somebody will. I think, you know. Definitely, yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it was very, very discouraging to see that game. And it was – I could see – I could just hear every Devil fan, you know, with the PTSD going, oh, my God. All right. So, Tim will be here around 630. Yeah, we'll be on. Hang on one sec. Just texting him back. He just hit some traffic. So, yeah.

[00:13:30] I mean, it was just like one of those – look, everyone's like it's not the coach's problem. It's not the coach's problem. I'm looking at a team right now that looked exactly the way they did last year. And I can even go back to game one. You know, that was nothing great. And maybe I'm just – maybe I'm just kind of being dramatic about the whole thing. Very possible.

[00:13:57] But I look at that and I say a hard-ass coach that will hold everybody accountable and play a good, solid system is kind of what this team needs right now. That's just me. You know, I think that it would be definitely a big change on the team. And it might thin out. There might be some guys who don't want to deal with it, you know, who can't deal with it. But I think the reaction could be pretty good, man. I would like to see – you know, nothing against Keith, but he's just so laid back.

[00:14:25] It's like, you know, it's like that teacher in school who's just really nice, you know, who like – it's just one of those guys. He just has that, like, character to him, you know. And look, we're not in the dressing room. You know, maybe he is a bit of a hard-ass there. I just – I don't see it. I don't see it. Now, you know, a lot of things have to change. I'm not saying fire Keith tomorrow. It could look very different. I think Zach wrote that he'd rather have seen Lombardi sat instead of Nason. I don't.

[00:14:54] I think you've got to use that speed. Let's see what this kid can do. Put him in with Boquist. Get that line going. And, yeah, he did bench Dougie last year. I know he did. Keith did bench Dougie. And that was, like, after I think a whole lot of people calling for it. Like, Dougie was public enemy one at that point in New Jersey. Like, everyone was just like, get this guy out of here. Sit his ass down. And then when he was benched, he comes back and he looks great. And he's played good so far.

[00:15:23] I don't have a problem with the defense right now. It's the forwards. The forwards are not doing their job offensively or defensively. I think it'll come. I do think that'll come. I just think it's a slow start on that aspect. I really do. I was thinking about that this morning. I said, man, I think there's too much talent there for it not to. Yes. When I calm myself down and I look at it through, you know, clearer lenses, I see a team that we haven't even seen what these guys can do.

[00:15:53] Like, it's two fucking games. There's 82 games left. Like, you know, I don't – it doesn't really matter how – I know you want to start October well. But at the same time, if you're at least in the middle of the pack by the time you're done and you figure it out, a lot of these teams are going to fall off. A lot of these teams are going to get a lot better. You know, does anyone think Carolina is going to stay where they are? They have one win. You know, we have one win. We only played the two games.

[00:16:20] But, like, even the Rangers at 3-1-0, like, they looked pretty good. But I'm not saying – anointing them metropolitan chance right now. Like, we need to see what everyone can do. So, no, I think the – but the one thing I do is – I think the big question is going to be in goal, right? Like, what's going on there? I think that's the big thing of, like – I think that already that's going to be a thing. I think everyone's kind of wondering. I see already the comments all over. You know, you see it online. Everyone's kind of like, what's the answer to this?

[00:16:48] So, you know, I'm hoping the new guy is. Like you said, Chris, you had a lot of nice – you're really up on him. So, I mean, I'm hoping. So, I just have – until I see it, I have no faith right now in that area. That's the problem, right? It's much easier to play, you know, the card of this team sucks and this is just a repeat of last year. And you can change some of the names on the back of the jerseys, but it's still shit. And I think that's the easy way – the easy thing to kind of revert back to

[00:17:16] because that's what we've known for the last three years of this team. But at the same time, we need to give these guys a chance to see what they do. I would like to see a little bit of a shakeup in the top six. Doesn't look like Manta's clicking with Bratt and Jack yet. But I don't know if that's something that is going to happen, if they're going to, or if, you know, he can't play with those guys. I don't know. But we know that – I think his starts are always a little – I think he'll be okay

[00:17:46] because I think they were saying his starts are always a little old in the beginning. I could be wrong, but I believe they were saying that during the game because I think I watched the other broadcast actually that night here. Okay. Not the home broadcast, not the – You were watching the calendars? Yeah, whatever it was. That's why I think that's the only option I had because the other one was playing really shitty, so. Yeah, it's brutal. It was a bad game. And I don't want to say tomorrow against Utah is a must win, but it's a must play a lot fucking better game.

[00:18:16] Like, you know, I mean, you cannot – Offense has got to score. The forward group has got to get on the board. Guy's got to start working as a team and stop with this. I'll just do it myself attitude, which just gets them in trouble. They're not good enough. Any good team relies on the guy next to them, and they play hard for the guy next to them, and they commit to a system, and they play that way. And you saw it a little bit in game one, right? They did not waver from the system. And even though they were not ahead at all in that game,

[00:18:46] they still managed to win it in overtime because they kept it up, and they just kept plugging away. Islanders got them so on tilt, and it happened early. And it was just – there was no coming back from it. Been a busy two games though, right? You had the Jack game-winning goal. You had the – obviously what happened, the 6-0 loss. And you had that reporter thing, which I mean – Chris, did you guys talk about that on the show when you guys – What's that? The reporter on the – We did.

[00:19:15] We did talk about the AJ kerfuffle. But, yeah, go ahead. Your thoughts. No, no, it was just – I mean, I see people – I see her getting high-ranked. Like everywhere people are like, she should get fired, this and that. I think she just read the room wrong. I don't know. I just think it was like not an intelligent thing to say at all. It was like probably like something you should never say. But I think she just – I can't believe she – she did not know it was going to go like that, I think, you know? I don't know how she thought it would go any other way. Like in her head, she must have thought this is a great joke

[00:19:44] and he's going to laugh at it. That's a good idea. And not realizing just how out of line you were to ask a guy that question. In the middle of a game nonetheless. Nobody likes talking about their injuries, you know? And Jack knows that. You know Jack's not a big interview fan anyway, so it's like – No. And look, he's not a stupid dude. Like he knows the narrative around him and staying healthy. He understands that. And, you know, so to have somebody just come out

[00:20:10] and make a joke about it, I thought it was kind of in bad taste. But, you know, she'll move on. He'll be fine. But, yeah. I mean, so everyone in the chat's going, you know, where the Devils are going to go in October and all this stuff. Like I can't get on the boat of just this is done. Like I can't. I think this team has too much – like you said, too much talent on it. They are going to turn it around. Tomorrow's a big game. Play a lot better.

[00:20:40] Everybody's played two games or, you know, some teams have played three or four. But for the most part, it's now 82 games ahead of you. That's what the guys are used to. You got those two other games out of the way. Let's look at this as the start of the season tomorrow and see what they can do. Yeah, I think it's like I said, it's only two games. And, I mean, like we could have a whole – tomorrow night, we could all be excited again, you know, and it's just the way it goes. It was just – I just – there was just certain things that just reminded me of last year that I was like, oh, shit. Like I remember this feeling. Yeah.

[00:21:10] You know, like it's – boom, boom, boom, three goals. It's already done. And they just kept coming. The goals just kept on coming. I did not watch the whole game. I turned it off when it was, I think, four or five nothing into the third. I was like, what are we doing here? This isn't – this is a wash. Flush the tape. Move on. And, you know, Utah is a darn good team. If you don't take them seriously, they have the opportunity to put five or six past you. Like they are a very good team. But we tend to play them pretty well.

[00:21:41] And, you know, in this league, as we talked, like last year with Calgary, there were certain teams you would play that never known that, man, especially with the Devils, that we always have trouble with the teams that we should definitely beat and stuff. You know, that was a thing last year. Yeah, I've been – Utah, I haven't seen them play this year either, so it'll be good to see them. Yeah, I like Utah. I have high hopes for Utah. Actually, I have them in the Western Conference Final. I have a Western Conference Final of Utah-San Jose. That is my Western Conference Final. Did we do those?

[00:22:10] Was I part of that this year? You were not. So what is your Western Conference Final? Oh, I have to think maybe. I have to think. What's your Eastern Conference Final? You know, let's do this – so let's do this tonight at the end of the show. Let me think here for a couple minutes. So come up with your Western Conference Final, Eastern Conference Final, then your Stanley Cup pick, and who you think is going to win it.

[00:22:38] So Stanley Cup final pick, and then who wins it. And, yeah, Mike, I'm with you, man. It's not hard. Make saves. Like, that's it. Like, why can't we get a goalie just to make fucking saves? And, you know, Allen does. But, again, you can't ride Allen 50-plus games this year. Like, you can't do it. If you want any hopes of – if you get into the playoffs of having a chance, he's going to be burnt out. Oh, definitely. I even thought last year at the end when we were, you know,

[00:23:07] we were going towards the end of the season, I thought Allen should have started more than Markstrom, actually, because I thought maybe he could have – I think we would have won more games on some of those, you know. I mean, whatever happens with Markstrom, I think – I did say I think he'll have a bounce back year. I think he has a shutout already, right? Yeah, the first game of the year. But Carolina is having trouble scoring, too. A lot of teams are having trouble scoring. But I think he'll – I think with that team around him, I think he'll bounce back this year. But, anyway, you know, I mean – But Barkov's out now. I saw that. Yeah, like we saw what happened when Barkov went out to that.

[00:23:37] I have Florida not making the playoffs. Everybody looks at me like I'm balancing a Buick on my dick when I say it. But I just – I see a team that's a little bit older, a little bit slower. And I've seen Jacob Markstrom for two full years, and I know what he is. But remember one thing, too, though, Chris. Their GM will do what he has to – like that dude will pull some strings if he has to. As I think ours will. And that's why I think like with Barkov gone, if they're serious,

[00:24:07] like I would not be shocked if Florida somehow makes a move for Dylan Larkin. Interesting, yeah. You know, and then, you know, where's Connor Hollabuck going to go? Where's – you know, there are a couple – like I think Bennington is going to be on the market at some point this year. I am – I've said it on this show. Again, Tim thinks I'm fucking nuts. Bobby thinks I'm nuts. But Bennington is an upgrade over what we have right now, and he's a big-time goalie. You put him in a big spot, he plays well.

[00:24:36] I don't care if he's a little bit crazy. He's a fucking goalie. Most of them are insane. So like a guy like that, even, you know, you got Cooley in Calgary, and maybe you can pry him away. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe it's the kid, like I said. Maybe it's this kid that – this rookie that we got from Dallas. Maybe he'll come in and be able to do something. That would be nice, wouldn't it? It would be nice to have the goaltending solved for a season or two. You know, it's been – we thought we had it solved a couple times

[00:25:04] with Blackwood and obviously Schmidt, but it didn't work out. You know, everyone was – we were all super psyched on them. Everybody – I remember on this show too, we were like, are these the guys, you know, and it's – it would be nice to get a guy. Yeah. I mean, and you look at guys that have come through our system that are in the league right now, right? Like you got, you know, Mackenzie Blackwood, Scott Wedgwood, the guy in Washington, Logan Thompson.

[00:25:32] Like these guys were in the devil system at one point, and now they're out playing really good hockey for other teams. So, yeah, it's an issue. It is an issue. So who are you saying is another guy that can't make a save when needed? No Bennington, he's shit. I disagree. I know – I think Bennington still has game in him. I'm not looking for anything past this year. You know, like I'm looking at a flyer on a guy at a trade deadline

[00:26:02] that can come in and just shore up that position if you're in a – if you're in a spot to go to get to the playoffs. That's all. Like I like the guys we have. Like I like Big Mike, and maybe next year you'll have a spot on this team or at least push for one, and we can kind of get a little bit of a look from him. But right now, yeah, goaltending is an issue. Definitely. I see that Tim is not going to be joining us, Chris. Oh, he's not? Yes. Loser. Show at home. Not going to be to join. All right, buddy.

[00:26:32] He's going to be watching the Yankee game, I think. What time is that, on 8 o'clock? About – yeah. No, I think it's on in three minutes. Oh, it's on 6.30? Yeah, it's 6.30, I believe. I could be wrong. Let me see here. Maybe it is 7.30 tonight. I'm on in European time, so I don't know. I thought it was 8, but I could be wrong. They're down 1-0 to Tampa, right? Yeah, it was that 1-0 game the other night. Tampa's tough, I mean, you know. It's 8 o'clock. The game's 8. It's 8 o'clock. Okay. Yeah, that's what the boys in the chats are saying. They go.

[00:27:03] It's late. That's 3 o'clock in the morning here. Jesus. And there are some other things over the last two games that are still, like, kind of concerning, too, that we saw all last year. You know, Brat and Mercer missing wide-open nets. And, like, we saw that all last year. Like, you guys, they have to start burying fucking pucks, man. Brat's always snake-bitten. There's anyone that gets down there and just says, yeah, it's been happening. I mean, that game against the Flyers.

[00:27:28] Like, you're not – I don't know if you're going to have any wider nets to shoot in all year. You know? I really don't. And, you know, fucking they make – who was it? Joseph Wall makes a stupid skate save on them. But, like, it's all those things. Like, we just – and, again, we saw it the years that we – the year we beat the Rangers in the playoffs. We started off looking exactly the way we did the year prior.

[00:27:55] And then something snapped and they started playing good and playing together. And they went on this heater. They ended up building up enough points that they did fall off a little bit in December. But they managed to keep their head above water and get second in the – I think they were second in the league that year in points, if I'm not mistaken. I think Carolina – or Washington was one and we were two. Or I forget how it plays out. No. No, I think – was it? No, Carolina was one. And then we were two. Rangers were three. So –

[00:28:24] Have you seen the Rangers play this season yet? I did. I've only seen some highlights. But, I mean, what do you think of them this year? Surprise. Shisterkin gives them a chance in every single game. And it's something that, like you say, we don't have. And the teams that do have it, they have a distinct advantage over a lot of the league. You know, when you're playing a Holabuck, a Shisterkin, a Swayman, a Sorokin,

[00:28:49] these guys, Vasileski to an extent, like these guys can just straight up win you games. And we haven't really had that in a really long time. But because of him, the Rangers are a lot better. They're getting some goal scoring. They're young. I don't know in the meat of the season how well they're going to do. I mean, I don't have a ton of faith in them right now. But they look pretty good for the few games that I saw.

[00:29:17] They looked kind of blonde at opener against Boston. And then, you know, Shisterkin scores the goal in game two. And they won, you know, the next three. I'm not convinced about them. But it's, again, Shisterkin gives you a chance every single night. Who was the last Devils goaltender that you trusted? Like, you know, I mean, would it have been Schneider for that? We had like season-wise. He was a little, you know, Schneider.

[00:29:46] The injury, after the injury, that was the end of the story. Nobody really since Prodor. Like, and we were so spoiled, you know. It didn't. The guy gave, again, gave you a chance to win every single game. If you scored five goals or if you only scored two, Marty can win the game for you. And most of all, Marty was his playoffs. I mean, the guy was, it's not even a question, the greatest playoff goaltender of all time.

[00:30:16] And, yeah, I mean, maybe you have 20 years of that. You win three cups. Yeah, I guess years are going to be lean after that. But you've got to find somebody. I know the analytical world does not look at goaltending the way that we look at goaltending. And I think that that is, I think, yes, analytically, you can take it so far. It really doesn't matter who you throw in there. Goaltending's voodoo. I've heard it all.

[00:30:40] And I think that all comes from the 25, 26 teams in this league that don't have a shutdown dude. And the teams that do have a huge advantage over everybody else. So, yeah, I think goaltending fucking matters big time. I agree. No, I think, you know, especially, well, especially in the playoffs and stuff, as we saw, that's what killed us. You know, I mean, again, I can't even think.

[00:31:08] Like, the last guy I trusted, yeah, you're right, it's probably Marty. And all the goaltenders we went through in, let's say, the last five years. Like, I mean, it's been crazy. I mean, in the last five years? Yeah, how many goaltenders we've seen. What was the season? What was it, seven years ago? We saw it was maybe five years ago that had so many goalies that year. That was Dawes' when he was 21. And I just, yeah, he played most of the games. We couldn't keep anybody healthy. But I'll say this.

[00:31:38] Over the course of the last three or four years, Jake Allen is absolutely the guy I trust more than anybody right now. I feel good when he's in that. But again, it's his age that worries me. And Raw was not better in the playoffs. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, you take away that cup in 2001 and you look at the numbers, look at the shutouts, look at everything. No, Marty, I can see where it was in the argument. But I'm not buying it.

[00:32:08] It's Marty. And that Bork Cup should never happen, man, in my opinion. So that was a rough season watching them win that cup, Colorado. Oh, yeah. I mean, you go back to 2001, right? You win game seven, and that's three cups in four years. And it's, yeah, I mean, it is a dynasty. It's a dynasty. That one hurt. That one hurt a lot. Yeah.

[00:32:34] So, yeah, I mean, so what are these guys saying in the chat here? So Mike Ruff is saying, I don't even look at numbers. It's a waste of time. You can have a 924 save percentage, but give up a goal in the final five minutes of a tied game and lose. Lots of goalies have the issue. When the pressure's on, they crumble. Just look at Igor. I'll say even look at Carter Hart. Like, Carter Hart kind of crumbled in the final last year.

[00:32:59] And, you know, he played, let some bad goals in to keep the Canes alive in that series. If he was a shutdown dude, maybe it goes the other way. So, yeah, you got to be able to make the saves, though, man. That's really it. I think that it's like, I don't know if it's like everybody, we've talked about it a million times. And Tim, Tim, we're here. He'd probably disagree with this aspect of it.

[00:33:26] But, like, scouts nowadays look for a size, right? You have to be, you know, six foot three or above. You have to play this way. And it's, you know, it's all the RVH and all the angles and play positions a lot more and all of that, where that kind of natural goaltending intuition kind of gets thrown out. And we come up from when we watched hockey, well, we still do, but, like, when the Devils were winning and stuff,

[00:33:55] you had a group of 10, maybe 12 goaltenders. And everyone had their own style. And everybody, you know, that's why some guys loved Marty. Some guys loved Hasek. It wasn't because of the people. It was because of the way they played. Like, there's only a handful of dudes that are different at all in this league. Hackstall, they all had their own thing going on, you know. I mean, Ardor's Herbe. I mean, you know, they all had their own style. Our size. All those small guys, I think, are done now.

[00:34:24] I mean, it's in the net, you know. But I'm saying, though, are you missing out on some real talent because of that? I know shooters have gotten a lot better and the game has changed and gotten a lot faster. And maybe Dominic Hasek doesn't put up Dominic Hasek numbers in the NHL today. But I would still take him over pretty much any goaltender playing right now. Like, it's just. So, yeah, I think goaltending matters.

[00:34:49] I don't think it should just be a number on a spreadsheet and you should just be able to plug in whoever and expect it to happen. I mean, I think, yeah, your goaltenders have to make big saves. They have to be mentally strong. They can't be crumbling in the postseason and shit like that. But, yeah. You know, it's. And Mike's right. The goaltending hasn't evolved in 20 years. It has stayed the same for 20 years. After those guys all kind of left and retired, whatever, it completely changed.

[00:35:17] I was saying last time I was on, which may have been a couple weeks ago, but I still believe that there should be a main goaltender. Like a guy who plays 75, 80 percent of the season. That's what I grew up watching. I love that. You know, now it's trying to flip flop all the time and stuff like that. I mean, it's a whole. I don't know. I think that took away something from goaltending and took away from those names, you know, guys like that that we were talking about. Yeah, I agree.

[00:35:42] Honor Hallibuck might be the closest to that now where a guy that plays, you know, 60 games plus a year. But, you know, now he's not playing at all. So it doesn't really matter. But, yeah, I'm with you. Like the Marty wanted the puck every night. If you gave him starts 82 nights, 82 games a year, he would happily jump in net for all 82. And you don't really see that anymore. No, it's like you said, it's a different game now. So I know it's everything's different now.

[00:36:11] But that was something that I, you know, I loved about the goaltending. Yeah. So, I mean, if it's Allen tomorrow, whatever, this is a good Utah team that's looking to make a big, take a big step. And they've got to play better. I mean, none of this feeling sorry for yourself bullshit. You get down a couple of goals. You guys, you know, they are too. Again, I'll go to on paper because we haven't really seen it. But on paper, this team should be able to withstand a lot.

[00:36:41] And being down a couple of goals shouldn't. If you are that mentally weak, then this team has way more problems than we could even think of. And major changes would have to be made at that point. I just hope it's a glitch in the, you know, just a bad game. And so I'm hoping just a bad game. Like I said, just a little bit of flashbacks from last year. The collapse, you know. So, yeah. Yeah. I'm with you. Just trying to see what these guys are talking about.

[00:37:09] Talking goaltending in the chat here. Yeah. I mean, I see what David Chimes saying. Like every save is a timely save other than garbage time. Before the last three goals against Dawes was even in advanced stats last night. Again, I think that that's what they're there. I know Tim hates the eye test comment. But there is a lot to be said with that when it comes to goaltending. Like I don't really care how good his numbers were before he let the six goals in or whatever. Like none of that matters.

[00:37:39] Make the saves when you have to make the saves and give your team a chance to fucking win. Dawes didn't do that. We haven't had guys to do that other than Jake Allen for the last three or four years. And we've gone through a bunch, right? It's Vanacek. It's Schmidt. It's Markstrom. At some point, something's got to fucking stick. Yeah. I mean, I don't know if we have the answer there yet. I don't know if we have to go out and get that answer. Or, you know, again, I'm hoping that there's something in the system. Or like you said, this new guy.

[00:38:08] So maybe they should get him in there. I mean, but I think Allen will play next. I'd like to see Remy in there. But yeah, I think you're probably right, Allen. But I say, yeah, you went and got this guy off of waivers. He's part of your quote unquote three goalie tandem. Throw his ass in there. Game three. And have excellent stats. And Mike Ruff says, Bussy.

[00:38:37] I don't know what his stats are, but I'm believing Mike on that. So I'll say Bussy too. I mean, I don't know. I don't know. There is a lot, I think, to be, you know, with goaltending. I just think there's a lot more to it than just get me league average goaltending and we can win a Stanley Cup. I'm not buying that. I'm not. And at the same time, like, I probably should, right? Because Bussy just won. Aiden Hills won. Kemper's won. Like, these aren't elite dudes.

[00:39:06] So, but in my head, I still can't kind of wrap my head. Maybe it's with the Devils. Like, to me, the Devils always have had that position locked up. Well, we have the legends, yeah. Right. And the fact that we haven't been able to figure it out for so long, I think that's part of what kind of discourages me. Yeah. I mean, I see it. I mean, it's, you know, that was never a thing we had to think about how long we didn't have to worry about that.

[00:39:35] Like, it was like, yeah, I mean, it was just never a thought, you know? I mean, and now it's a thought every season or every other season. When we think we have it solved, we don't. It's just, you know, but we were spoiled. As they always say, we were really spoiled. So, if you think about it, yeah, we had three cups, which is awesome. I mean, there could have been five cups. Think of that Rangers series. You know? Yeah. The Devils very much could have won that series. It would have beat Vancouver that next round. I have no doubt about that that year. Yeah.

[00:40:05] I mean, revisionist history, yeah. The Devils win the Cup in 94, 95, 2000, 2001, 2003. And we can make an argument of 2012. But in 2012, I have to say. That was ugly. The Devils were the better team. Yeah. You know. All started by a penalty, too, their rush. When they really started slitting our throat was the Bernier penalty. Five-minute major. Yeah. Fucking killed us. Can't be having five-minute majors in the Stanley Cup final. Yeah.

[00:40:35] Exactly. I don't know, man. It's just, it's, this team's got to play better tomorrow. And I'm not, I'm not giving up. But like I said, it's so easy to just kind of revert back to the same old shit. Nothing's changed. Blah, blah, blah. Hopefully tomorrow we're, hell yeah. You know, this is great. Yeah. That would be. And I think another thing for the game against the Islander that was so disheartening was just, like, they beat us, what, 9-0 that time? They did last year. Yeah.

[00:41:03] And then the next time you play them, they beat you 6-0. Like, that's the other, like, you got shut out again. Like, I get that. A lot corn on you, man. Yeah. Like. Like, thank God the game wasn't at home. Jesus Christ. These guys would have gotten booed out of the fucking Newark, you know? Ah, it sucks. So, yeah. So, yeah. Why was Hill put behind Harden as backup this season? Yep. Micah answers it because he lost his confidence and went to shit. That's true. He did. He went.

[00:41:33] I mean, he looked like the next big deal after Vegas won this cup. I mean, this dude was. He was great in that Stanley Cup playoff. And he came in late, right? Didn't their starter get hurt? And Chris, like you said, you have to be a little crazy to be a goalie. Like, you think about even, like, no matter what, to be, you know, look at the Trevor Kidd and guys like this. These guys were nuts back then. You know, you have to have that kind of character because it's such a up-down, you know, season as a goaltender.

[00:42:02] It's all basically lying. Everything lies on you at the end of the day, you know? So, I mean, you have to be a little nuts to be a goalie. Maybe these guys are just not nuts enough these days. I mean, you have to get those psychopaths. I mean, you thought that Craig Billington was the same way. I mean, they all are, like, quirky and have their own things about them. Yeah. Yeah, they all are. You know, Burke was that way. I mean, Chico Rush has got great stories about him and Billy Smith and how nuts they were back then and the shit that, you know, yeah, goalies are naturally crazy.

[00:42:32] I mean, you know, Schwab. I mean, that's a Schwab fight. But, you know, you have to have a certain character, I think. Do you remember who that was against? Tommy Sutterstrom. Very good, yeah. It was the Devils. If I remember correctly in that game, this is a long time ago, it was a five-minute major that the Islanders took. And I think we scored two or three on that five-minute major. Stevens had one to get us back.

[00:42:59] And then that's when, I guess, Sutterstrom started it and Schwab just went over. Yeah. I remember Schwab in Tampa, too, afterwards, because that's where he wound up, you know. So, and Sebastian Bach's brother was a goaltender in Tampa, too, for a while. And they hate each other. Really? I didn't know that. They hate each other. What was his name? Zach Biak. Because he didn't call himself Bach. Yeah. Bach's not their real name. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I think it was Zach Biak.

[00:43:27] I could be wrong about the first name, but I believe so. But he was a goalie for a while over in Tampa. Yeah. I remember hearing about that. And I know that they did not talk. They had family issues. You know he's the singer of Twisted Sister now, right? Yeah. I heard he was stepping in for Dee Schneider. Yeah. I don't know if Sebastian can sing. I mean, it's one thing. That guy's got a voice. I mean, it's obviously the ears get on you a little bit. But, you know. Hey, like I said, I know we're going to talk about hockey.

[00:43:53] But, like, I was shocked when I went to see GNR how good Axl was. I would say, on a scale of 1 to 10, like, Axl was a solid. 7 and Slash was a solid. And it gets better during the set, which makes sense. You know, he's heating up a little bit. Because, you know, obviously those, it's not, okay, yes. If you go see them now, you're not hearing like you did back in 87, 88, 89. You're not, those days are done. You're not going to hear him sound like that. But it gets better as the set goes on.

[00:44:21] I think the first two songs you kind of, maybe you thought this too, Chris. The first song or two, you're kind of like, it's definitely, I'm not going to, I can hear it in my head what it sounded like. I'm not going to do it on here. But it did get better as it went along, you know. If you are interested in seeing GNR now, I think you just got to go in. Like, I went in not expecting anything from Axl. Like, my whole thing is, I want to see Slash. I want to see, and he did not disappoint. Like, the band itself is so fucking good. Just don't play cover songs. You don't have to, though.

[00:44:51] So we got two cover songs on ours. There's so many, like, they didn't play Out to Get Me. Like, I would rather hear that than hear, you know, cover, any cover song. I'd rather hear Out to Get Me. You know. I thought it was super awesome that they did Slither from Velvet Revolver. I thought that was awesome. You did that at our show too. You know, a little homage to Scott Weiland. Would you rather hear My Michelle or would you rather hear Slither? Actually, I'll tell you, I liked Slither. I'm not going to, it was dated really well.

[00:45:22] My Michelle. It was a great song, but again, I was, that cover did not bother me. I was happy about that. I was like, I'm trying to think of any other, because they did a few covers. I can't remember them. They did, you know, I always say that one of the greatest rock, whether people like Guns and Roses or not, whatever, one of the greatest rock songs ever is It's So Easy. I mean, the words, it's just, I always think that's just one of those tunes that never gets old. You know, Sweet Child of the Mind, you've heard it five million times. Welcome to the show. How many times you got to hear that again?

[00:45:50] You know, I was really impressed by Night Train. That might have been one of my favorite songs that they did. They did it here too. I think it's probably the same thing. Yeah. Night Train was fucking phenomenal. Yeah. Like, I don't remember every song that they opened with that. Welcome to the Jungle. I think the second song they did was Mr. Brownstone.

[00:46:11] And like off of Paradise City, Sweet Child of Mine, Rocket Queen, Night Train, Civil War, Live and Let Die. I'm like going through the albums. Patience, November Rain. Did they close with Paradise City? They closed with Paradise City. Yeah. Yeah. Which is really good. They did that really well. It was like just chaos for the last 10 minutes of the show. And I like this. We're at the stage of my house now.

[00:46:40] My girls are, you know, seven and five now where when they hear a song, we have to hear it five million times. Like, it's like there's like a certain like we hear they got into they're into Hotel California now. But the thing is, you hear the song so much. You used to like the song. They're getting into CCR now, like Proud Mary. But I've heard this thing. It's like every day.

[00:47:08] It's like, hey, daddy, come listen to us dance, which is great. But I'm telling you, it's on like 50 times a day. You know, it's like my daughter is big into her concerts. Like she she just flew out to Columbus and then they drove to Detroit for a show. No, she flew to Cleveland. They drove to Detroit for a show, then drove to Columbus for a show. So and then she now she's in Nashville and she's seeing a show tonight and flying back tomorrow. So it's awesome. I miss those days, you know, now that I have the whole family now.

[00:47:37] But I'm going to Finland actually to see us go for like four days to a festival. Yeah. So, you know, in Europe, it's nice because you can kind of hit. It's like cheap flights and like two hour flights in different countries and stuff like that. So but I miss those days. Go just go into me. My sister is like a Mike Patton. We go. We go went to see Tomahawk just out of nowhere one night. You just go leave three hours away. But now I got the kids. So, you know, do that. You can't do that anymore. There's school the next day. So I'm, you know, got to be responsible.

[00:48:07] So Mike Ruff thinks Remy will start next week a thousand percent and then maybe in Vancouver, maybe versus Vancouver. So what is it? It's tomorrow against Utah. And then the next game is Vancouver, isn't it? Let me check the schedule real quick before. Yes, Zach. Every song, any song can be overplayed. All right. So tomorrow night, seven o'clock at home against the Utah Mammoth. And then, wow, we don't play again till Saturday.

[00:48:36] That's a 3.30. I'm glad about that one. It's a 3.30 game. So for me, that's nice. That's 10.30 here. So that's a nice evening game at this house. And that's Vancouver. So yeah, I think Remy should get one of those starts. Vancouver does make a little bit more sense being that it's, you know, they're not a great team. Neither are we right now. And then Monday, we are home still against Ottawa. That's going to be a good game. Then we head on the road to Detroit next Tuesday.

[00:49:06] So that'll be a week from tomorrow where we play the Red Wings. And then Thursday, we are home against the Rangers. This is where it kind of gets a little tough here. We're home against the Rangers. And then we're on the road against Washington. And then we're home against Colorado, home against Anaheim, home against the Ducks. And then we head out west to a gauntlet of Dallas, Colorado, and Vegas. That's how we end this month.

[00:49:33] So if tomorrow is a get right game, it better fucking get right quick because you have no time to be sorry for yourself or figure shit out. What's that? I think they win tomorrow. I'm going to. Yeah. All right. And they're going to score some goals because hopefully this last game being shut down 6-0 will get them fired up a little bit. I actually think that we can see a big game by some of our forwards because you have to because obviously we haven't seen it yet.

[00:50:02] So I do see some things, maybe some shifts maybe. I mean, hopefully. All right. So you think that they beat Utah tomorrow? Yes. What's the score? I'm going to say 5-2. 5-2 Devils win. All right. Mike Ruff has 4-1 loss. Mike, are you really a Devils fan? Just curious. He writes here, so the question is, Barkov's now considered made of glass since people shit on Jack.

[00:50:32] I'll tell you, the Barkov injury is huge. And if this is like a long-term thing, like he's not going to be himself, then the Florida is, I think, I think they need to do something or they're going to end up just like last year and not make the playoffs. I don't care who the fuck they have on that team. But we definitely do need a power play goal. I see that. And we need more than one. Yeah. And this power play has looked terrible. Hopefully this next game will snaps all these little things, you know?

[00:51:00] I mean, again, that thing that worries, I definitely, 3-2 loss, Sacks says, I definitely do worry about the, the goaltending is like, is what I do worry about in the long run. But I, but I think if Jake starts tomorrow night, I think they win with Jake. I'm going to say that they're going to need another kick in the nuts before they figure this out. So I'm kind of leaning towards Utah winning this game tomorrow. It looked so bad on Saturday that I need to see it look not so bad.

[00:51:29] So I'm, until they prove it, I'm saying, you know, I can get behind a 3-2 loss, Zach. I don't think that's crazy at all. Yeah. But Mike Ruff is right. If you look at this, you know, playing Tuesday and then not playing until Saturday, like even if you lose Tuesday, you have three solid days of practice. I'm sure it'll get a day of rest in there, but you get some good practice time in, you know, again, short in preseason, short in training camp.

[00:51:58] We even said on this show, it might take a while for this to start clicking. So I think it still maybe takes a little while. Maybe they start once the schedule gets a little bit more, you know, every other night back to back three out of four, that kind of thing. I think they might struggle a little against Utah. Utah's fast there. They could score from anywhere on the ice. I mean, they have shooters.

[00:52:26] So I think I'm going to say they lose that tomorrow. And then starting Saturday against Vancouver, they get right. So, yeah, I heard he was out 10 to 12 weeks, not three to four. What's that? Saturday's two in a row. I hope so. I hope so. All right. So since we're going on an hour, give me your picks. Western Conference final, Eastern Conference final. Let me hear your intimes first. All right.

[00:52:56] So I have Western Conference final. I told you I had Florida. I mean, not Florida. I had Utah, San Jose. And for the Eastern Conference final, I have New Jersey and Montreal. Let's see. For what did Tim have here?

[00:53:21] I don't know if we did the actual conference finals with Tim. We should do them next week. Oh, wait. Well, give me yours. I think he said it, but I didn't write it down. So what do you got? San Jose, Colorado. Ooh. I hate to say it, but I'm going to say it. Carolina, Montreal. Carolina, Montreal?

[00:53:52] No. I hate to say it, but. That's your Eastern? Yeah. And your Western was San Jose, Colorado? Yeah. I like that. All right. Who's going to the cup? I'm going to go Colorado. And then I'm going to say Montreal. No, not Montreal.

[00:54:22] I'm going to say it. I just hate to give Carolina that much credit, but, you know. Then don't. Fuck them. So I'm going to switch out Carolina with Florida, and I'm going to go Florida going to the cup. So I know you don't have them making the playoffs, but. So you have Florida, Montreal? Yeah. I put my money on them if someone asked me. The Kachuks. And I think their GM will. I think their GM is a restocker. Yeah. I have New Jersey, Montreal in the east,

[00:54:50] and I have San Jose, Utah in the west. And, yes, it is going to be a New Jersey Devils, Utah Mammoth Stanley Cup final. That's what I want to see. Screw Ovi. Right? Right? Two games. Two games into the season. Why not? Ovi's first season doesn't give – Oh, his last season, final season. Doesn't give Washington an extra push. Look, Washington looks like they're going to be a really solid team, regardless of, you know, this being Ovi's farewell tour. I'll say this. Fuck Ovi.

[00:55:20] I don't like him. He has a lot of money. He's going to have a lot of TV work when he gets back home, doing the propaganda videos and stuff. Yeah, he's already doing them. Oh, I know. Yeah. Yeah, he's already doing them. So fuck him. Fuck Washington. I hate that team. But I will say this. They're going to be really fucking good this year. Like, they are just – they're loaded, man. They are so good. We saw it happen in the offseason, which is – Yep. Big moves. Good coach. I didn't think they were going to go in like that. But I guess it makes sense if you're going to keep him.

[00:55:49] You're going to try to get that last cup out of it. I think they went into it honestly not knowing if he was going to come back. So they made the moves. They get Cairo and they get Boom Jenner and they get Alex Tuck. And then Ovi's sitting at home going, you know what? I think I am going to give it one more run because I like this team. I think if they looked like they were just going to miss the playoffs again this year, I think Ovi would retire. He'd be playing the KHL right now. And that happens because, you know, I'm going to not bring it to football at all, but look at Vick. We thought Crosby was leaving.

[00:56:19] Started spending money. The Raiders started stacking up. All of a sudden he comes back. You know, maybe it was – you know, they didn't know he was going to come back. Like you said, you know, they started thinking – started shopping without him. Like, okay, this is what we're going to need. And now you could be right. And like we have to like think about like are the Devils as bad as we saw them on Saturday? No, I don't think so. Like is Pittsburgh as good as they've been playing? Like can they sustain that kind of offensive production all year? I don't know. I mean, I don't think so.

[00:56:49] I don't think so. Yeah, there's too – the season is too long. There's just too many variables that can happen. Yeah, the Devils are small, but I don't know if that's a big hindrance to them. Like, I mean, Montreal is not a big team. They made it to the Eastern Conference Final. Like I don't know. It comes to your style and it comes to your heart. Like I don't care if you're not big on the ice, but if you play big, you know, that can overcome a lot. You're coming from two short guys, everybody, just so you know.

[00:57:18] Yeah, we would be the smallest guys out there. But, you know, I think a lot of that is just the style. And you guys touched on it in the chat. Like the willingness to go to those dark areas where you're going to get, you know, cross-checked beyond belief and you're going to get bloodied up a little bit and you're going to get pounded and you have to kind of take it for the opportunity to score a goal. We haven't been doing that.

[00:57:45] And the guys that should be doing that haven't done it yet, right? Anthony Manta. And Manta, maybe, you know, maybe he's trying to skate too much with Jack and Brad. Maybe it should just, you get the offensive zone, just fucking sit your six foot five ass in front of the net and let the guys do what they're going to do. I think he'll learn how to play together, those guys. I think it's just learning each other. That's why I was thinking, again, I don't know if I said it earlier, but I was thinking about this Dornigham.

[00:58:13] I think that's something that will, Manta will be okay, I think. I think it's just going to take a, you know, just to kind of figure out. And I think Jesper Boquist brings some juice to this lineup tomorrow. Yeah, we always liked him a little bit. I always liked Boquist. You saw how he played in Florida. I mean, that was not the same guy that was playing for us. His game changed. He plays much more physical. He's fast. And again, it's that him, Rodriguez, these guys know how to win.

[00:58:42] And that's something that this team is going to learn throughout the season. And again, ups and downs. Like, if they were securely in a playoff spot and they lost 6-0 to the Islanders in January, none of us would be saying it'd be blip on the radar, flush the game and move on. Just we haven't seen any good yet. So we're only going to be able to focus on the negative. Dre said, man, that looks washed.

[00:59:07] I mean, he doesn't look good the first two games. I'm going to tell you, he doesn't look good. But again, two games, I don't know. I'm not willing to put the dagger in this team yet. They lose 7-0 to Utah tomorrow. Maybe we can talk. That was PTSD. Yeah, the PTSD is so real. It absolutely is.

[00:59:34] It was like, I think everybody was completely shell-shocked Saturday night. We were all just sitting on our couches with our knees to our chest, rocking back and forth, you know, going, this can't be real. They're not doing this again. They're not losing 6-0 to the fucking Islanders. Where the fuck am I up this late? That's what I was thinking of myself. You know. So I would like to see tomorrow, well, we know Boquist will be in the lineup. I still say, throw Remy in there. Why not? Let's get this thing over with, right? Let's see what we have. But you do think it's Allen tomorrow.

[01:00:03] Most likely, yeah. Most likely it is. I agree with whoever in the chat said that if we are to see Remy, it'll probably be against Vancouver. That does make more sense, you know. But we'll see. We'll see what Sheldon Keefe decides to do. I would say, again, if you're truly going into this season the way they were saying, like, they are truly running a 1-2-3 goalie rotation, well, then it just makes sense to throw that third goalie in. Because if Bridges was still on this team, I would probably bet that he gets to start tomorrow.

[01:00:34] And he's not. So put Remy in. I agree. Anything else you want to discuss, Tone, before we wrap it up for tonight? I'm good, man. You know. I know a lot of you guys come on to listen to Tim and his stats and all his numbers and everything. Sorry about that. He, like we said, ran into a little bit of traffic today. Chris Hansen showed up at his house today. Yeah. And Bobby got stuck with work, so he couldn't come.

[01:01:03] I think he's still recovering from the opening night at The Rock. He was pretty tuned up. Boy was feeling no pain that night. Did he come on here? Oh, yeah. He came on. Drunk Bobby came on. Yeah. Tim's face in the barn, yeah. Tomorrow's big. You know? It's a get-right game. So just fucking get the shit together and score some fucking goals. Yeah. I mean, that's it. Again, hopefully this is just a blitz. This is a bullshit game.

[01:01:32] Put it under the rug and move on from there, you know. I agree. Who are the Raiders playing next weekend? Sorry? What happened? Who are the Raiders playing next weekend? We have New England. Oh, okay. That's a winnable game. Yeah. We got New England coming up. We got Buffalo. So we have New England coming up. We got Buffalo coming up. And we got the Rams coming up. Three big games. Yeah. I mean, last night's Monday night game. That's the Monday night game. The Sunday game was so awful, man, because the Raiders played so – I got to say, dude.

[01:02:02] I mean, I've watched them for years just suck, and they hung in there. I mean – I put it on after the Viking game, and it was right when they were kicking the go-ahead field goal. Wow. They gave up – Okay. If you know that. They – like, had – we kicked the field goal. I don't know if you know this or not, but we kicked the field goal, and it was good. We got the points. Oh, was there a penalty? Yeah. And they took the points off the board. Took the points off the board, and then didn't get the – I don't know why they did it. I was just like, you got to be kidding me.

[01:02:32] Don't ever take the points off the board. No. But I will say, dude, Mahomes was running for his life that night. Like, he did not look comfortable. Like, the Raiders looked – like, I'm not saying they're real – I'm not saying they're going to win the Super Bowl, obviously, but they look like a team that's going to mess up a lot of people's seasons, and I wouldn't want to play them if I was somebody else because they have a lot of weapons. And Brock Bowers is – He's a stud. Man, dude. This guy – I remember when they first drafted him, there was a couple of Raiders fans who were like, oh, why did we waste our draft on that? Well, now you see everybody. You know?

[01:03:01] I mean, him and Mare, both are tight ends or, you know, killing it. And Kirk Cousins, like, a lot of respect for him because I was not happy at first when they got him, the Raiders, and it could have not – it couldn't have went better than it's going with him. I told you when they got him it was a great pick-up. Well, he was good. He was one of the better players in that game the other night, you know? Like I said to you, the only thing that worries me about Kirk Cousins is – Kirk Tober. Is he going to be able to stay healthy? It's Kirk Tober. Like, look, he always plays great in the beginning of the season,

[01:03:31] but is he going to be able to sustain it through November, December with playoff spots on the line? He's 36 years old, and he takes a lot of fucking hits. Like, this dude will stand in the pocket and just get run over, and after a while, he doesn't get up so quick anymore. He doesn't just pop up after a while. But I'll tell you what's so frustrating is watching this Viking team who's got a championship-level defense right now, and their quarterback play has been so bad.

[01:03:59] And I look across the league, and it's like, yeah, could have had Sam Darnold, could have had Kirk Cousins, could have had Daniel Jones, and now I'm sure J.J. McCarthy will go out and throw for 500 yards for the Giants at some point. You know, like, that's just what it's like. It's goaltending with New Jersey. That's quarterbacking with the Vikings. It's the same fucking thing. There was Raider fans saying that we should trade – I don't agree with this, but I've seen it a couple times – that they should trade Kirk Cousins back to Minnesota to get some stuff

[01:04:25] because, you know, which I think is ridiculous right now. How could you trade him away when basically, you know, Mendoza doesn't even have to even think about going in the game right now, which is what you want. Even – I mean, shit, even if you get halfway through the season, Mendoza's like learning right now, you know. He's learning how to do this. But I've heard that rumor. I tell you, man, I think that with Minnesota, like you said, I just don't – I don't know if – can Mary win big? I don't know. You know, I don't think so.

[01:04:53] But you guys have been good for the last – I told you. I know you didn't agree with me, and maybe you do now, but I think when you guys got rid of Darnold, that was the biggest mistake you guys made. I was like – Oh, I absolutely agree with you now. I did – JJ was the answer we thought. I thought, you know what? This coaching staff knows more than I do. If they believe in JJ, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. And it ended up terrible. Real quick, X-Mech Mike writes,

[01:05:20] Devils will be in first place and the plague will come and shut everything down. Yeah, you're right, dude. That is the most Jersey fucking thing possible, right? Yes. You know, as far as the Vikes go, like they've got to get it figured out some one way or another with the quarterback position. And like I said, the Kirk Cousins thing makes sense because think about it. Again, it's going to be kind of hard because you are three and one. But if you lose, let's say, the next couple of games, right?

[01:05:47] And let's say Denver and Kansas City have a nice substantial lead. Kirk maybe falls off a little bit. Say you're three and three, three and four. This can happen with the upcoming schedule. Right. So let's say you lose the next couple close games. But you know full well we're probably not making the playoffs. I got a quarterback right now that's wanted on some other teams. Maybe I get a fourth or a fifth round pick for him. And I can let Mendoza come in and take the reins and set up everything for next year.

[01:06:17] So I can see a world where that does happen. Now, if Kirk keeps winning, it's not going to happen. Yeah. He's been great. It's been – I tell you who I wish we had this year, who we got rid of. I was watching him play with Jacksonville not too long ago. Jacoby Myers, man. I tell you, he's a hell of a player. And we need – that's the one thing we don't really have is – though we have guys totally chipping in, man. We've been so lucky this season. How's Jalen Nauer doing over there? Good, man. Good, good, good. Yeah. Yeah. He's been – I like speedy. Yeah, yeah.

[01:06:46] He's – yeah, definitely speedy. But again, I mean, Brock Bowers, that guy changes the game. I mean, you know, he's – again, I know I'm a Raider fan, whatever, so I'm biased. But watching him play is like pretty much he catches 99% of what you throw to the dude somehow. Yeah, he's phenomenal. He is phenomenal. But all right, boys and girls, we are going to wrap this thing up. And we're going to be back – what are we playing? Tomorrow? So probably Wednesday. Maybe if anybody is up tomorrow after the game, if it's even worth coming on and talking about,

[01:07:16] maybe we'll do a show after the game, if not on Wednesday. Guys, please hit the like, subscribe, the alert bell. If you're listening to us on Spotify or Amazon, a five-star review, a positive comment, download, subscription does help the little podcast that could. Thanks for hanging out with us tonight. I'm Chris. He's Tony. We're the Uncle Puckers, and we'll see you when we see you.

[01:07:46] I like doing shows with you, Dan.