One Is The Magic Number
Uncle Puckers NJD PodcastApril 08, 2025
286
01:05:3860.1 MB

One Is The Magic Number

The boys talk about the upcoming game against the B's. The Devils magic Number is down to 1, so the math is simple... win and your in. Dougie is on the mend and near a return to the lineup. Predictions and The Year of the Devil.

[00:00:05] 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! Welcome to The Uncle Pucker NJD Podcast. I'm Chris with Tony Zamboni and Tim. Bobby, Pennsylvania will be joining us shortly. We got a fun show today. I want a fun nickname. What the fuck? Well, you're just Tim.

[00:00:35] Titty Tim. Titty Tim. We'll workshop that a little bit. I'm just Chris. We got a good show tonight. We got a lot to talk about. Devils are about to take on the Boston Bruins in about an hour and 20. So we're going to talk a little bit about that. Their magic number is now one. So a win, a regulation tie, or any combination of such gets the Devils securely into their playoff spot tonight. Can they finally do four in a row? We're getting close. I think it's a possibility.

[00:01:04] We got to talk Dougie Hamilton, looking like he's back on the ice. Should be joining the Devils back in that lineup shortly. And the fat lady is about close to singing her little lungs out on Broadway, which is fantastic.

[00:01:18] That we are moving on to the playoffs and the Rangers are home crying in their vaginas because they are realizing that they have nothing but old players with bullshit contracts that they're not going to be able to move. And they just invited a cancer into their locker room until the year 2030, which is awesome. So talk a little bit about that.

[00:01:44] But before we start, hello to everybody who's up on the stream and hanging out with us today. Thanks, guys. And what's up, boys? What's up? Everybody doing good? Sure. A little chilly out. Yeah. Other than the weather, this is a good week so far to be Devil fans. You know, this has been a solid week of some good news. But I want to talk to you guys about a few things. What do you guys want to start with?

[00:02:12] You want to start with tonight's game? You want to start with Dougie Hamilton? You want to start with Arseniy Grzyk? Well, do you want to like I said, I did a little math because I'm a fucking nerd. And we could start with Dougie if you want. Let's do it. All right. So what I was looking at and I've been talking about this a little bit is, you know, recreating the guys that we lost in the aggregate. Right.

[00:02:39] So, you know, you obviously can't replace Jack's production one for one. You can't replace Dougie's production one for one. But with everybody kind of chipping in and chipping in a little bit more than they have, you can kind of replicate the production that we're getting. And so what I looked at is the kind of big four forwards, Jack, Nico, Brad and Timo up until March 2nd, which is when Jack got hurt.

[00:03:08] So I looked at their points per game and their goals per game and then how those three Nico, Brad and Jack have been doing or sorry, Nico, Brad and Timo have been doing after March 2nd. So before March 2nd, the four of them combined average or the four of them total per game was 3.7 points per game. So that's them total. So Jack was 1.1. Nico 0.8, Brad 1.1, Timo 0.6. So 3.7 total. 3.7 collective with Jack in there.

[00:03:38] Yes. Correct. And goals wise, Jack and Nico were at about 0.4 goals per game. Brad and Timo were about 0.3 goals per game. So total, they were about 1.4 goals per game. You know, give or take. That's their average. That's how many games they played each averaged out across the board. After March 2nd, Nico, Brad and Timo are now averaging 3.1 points per game.

[00:04:04] So they've lost about 0.6 points per game by losing Jack because Nico's picked up his points per game by about 0.4. Brad's picked it up by about 0.2. Timo's been about the same. Where it really gets interesting is the goals per game. Nico is now at 0.6 goals per game. Brad's at 0.3 goals per game. Timo's at about 0.5 goals per game. So Timo's at a 40-goal pace. Nico's at like a 55-goal pace.

[00:04:32] And Brad's at like a 30-goal pace. So before Jack got hurt, all four of them were averaging about 1.4 goals per game. After Jack got hurt, the three of them are averaging 1.4 goals per game. So for now, as it stands, they've actually recreated him in the aggregate. I even looked at Dougie and Luke as well. So Dougie was averaging about 0.6 points per game. Luke was averaging about 0.5 points per game.

[00:05:01] So that's 1.1 points per game between the two. After Dougie got hurt, he's averaging 0 points per game, Dougie, because he's hurt. He sucks. Yeah, he stinks, man. But Luke is averaging 1.1 points per game. So Luke just said, fuck you, Jobu. I do it myself. I do it myself. So between Nico, Brett, and Timo, and Luke, they've more or less replicated the offense lost by Jack and Dougie.

[00:05:30] Tim, my headphone was out. Can you repeat that information, please? Take another hit, you fucking hippie. As of now, I mean, that's all. That's great. And we've talked about it a bunch. I think Devil fans in general talk about it a lot. That we do expect quite a bit of guys to kind of up their game come the next couple weeks once playoffs kick around. But I'll tell you, I love that. I love that these guys are stepping up when they have to step up.

[00:06:00] And you have numbers. Numbers don't lie. They are doing what's needed and then some. But I'm watching the Ranger Tampa Bay game last night. And I'm watching, and I texted you guys this. And I'm watching Kucherov just dangling behind the net, just making open ice for himself whenever the heck he wants. And just skating like a freak out there. And I'm just like, man, we had a guy like that.

[00:06:25] And I just got to missing, not that I think that this team can't go far without Jack. I'm just missing all of the awesome playoff moments that we're not going to have this year because he's not in the lineup. Because this, I mean, the kid has been, his career has been great so far. But he has not had that defining playoff or anything like that. And I thought this year could have been it. So that's the kind of thing that I'm bummed about.

[00:06:54] But at the same time, next guy up, I'm happy with what the team has been doing. Right. And look, that wasn't to say, like, we're fine without him. Oh, no. I know. We need him. I'm just saying these guys have stepped up where we need them to step up. So imagine that level of them stepping up and you get to plug Jack into that line. How long were you there? I'm just about to text you. Just like, fuck these guys. They're leaving me in the back room. I didn't see him. Put him in the fucking back room. Usually I hear somebody. Put him in the back room.

[00:07:23] Somebody comes on. I didn't hear anything. And I looked down and I said, oh, Bobby's been sitting there. Sorry, dude. Just a minute. Hey, guys. Chris, that was a great point, though, man. You know, what you just mentioned, I got to say. I would think about the moments we are going to miss from Jack Hughes because, you know, there's a whole bunch. I mean, that, you know, what an exciting player. But, yeah, you know, I think about that, but I never really think about that. When you say it, it really makes you think like. Yeah, I kind of got sad last night. I was just like, man, this sucks. Because I didn't think.

[00:07:53] Imagine being Jack. Yeah, I know. We're going to get some, like, if the Devils actually play well in the playoffs, we're going to get some real interesting Jack in the press box looks. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm holding out hope. Can you imagine? He's ready to go for the finals. Like, imagine if you win the cup. Chris predicted that. You'd come back. Then you never win another cup for Jack. That would be rough. He still gets to. He still gets to. That would be rough, though. But, you know.

[00:08:21] What I'm going to hate is all the troglodytes are going to come out and be like, we could win without him. We need to trade Jack. I've been following hockey since 64. People say that sometimes. I can't believe it. It's unbelievable. Speaking of some. Go ahead. The demographic of who says that. It's a flat circle with a certain other type of demographic. Hey, do a body. Something. Pretty good, man. Hey, Bob.

[00:08:51] I believe the magic number is one, right? So, yeah. I'm good. I'm looking forward to getting off this. Watching that game. Were you here for my little math lesson? I missed the math lesson. I just came right in. You guys are crying about Jack. All right. Since 1942. This is a tweet by the Maven. By Stan Fishler. Since 1942, I have followed the New York Rangers as fan.

[00:09:19] Stan, vice president of the Rangers fan club in 1951 through 1954. Worked for the club in 54 and 55 and covered them ever since. No question. This outfit is the most disappointing, most anti-fan and horrific disaster of a New York hockey franchise in my memory. Stan Fishler. Bring in the heat. It's wonderful. It's only bad for one small segment of fans. It's great for the rest of us.

[00:09:49] Yeah. And I think other than Ranger fans, nobody else cares about them. Nobody. We all remember high school. We all remember high school back in those 90s. We were covered at Ranger fans in Jersey. It was fucking awful. We still are covered in Ranger fans in Jersey. Are you kidding me? They're everywhere. But before we go any further, I want to get this out of the way. Do a little shout out to our Hockey Podcast Network sponsors. DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NHL. And this NHL season has been as predictable as a puck rolling on its edge.

[00:10:19] No one knows where it's going, but that just means there's time for your favorite team to figure things out. And games left for you to get in on the action at DraftKings. And if you're new to DraftKings, listen up because new customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets instantly. Just download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now and use code THPN. That's code THPN for new customers to get $150 in bonus bets instantly when you bet just $5 only on DraftKings. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York.

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[00:11:17] That's DraftKings Sportsbook with code THPN. The crown is yours. Okay. We're back. What was that? 10-11. All right. So, we're playing the last place Bruins tonight, boys. The last place Boston Bruins. How weird is that to say? I mean, we've been predicting their demise for years, but this year it actually happened.

[00:11:44] And so, to me, I kind of feel like this four-in-a-row thing is kind of automatic right now. Like, I just... I'll say it. I'll say it. I'm saying it. I'm with them. I'm with you. I'm going with you. All out. I'm with you. We can put them both in their bathroom. I am so scarred from this year. I just can't. Yeah. Yeah. It's always in the back of my mind. Until they do it and until that final buzzer, I'm just... I think they're going to win. They should. They're supposed to. But...

[00:12:14] It's a clinching night. It's a clinching night. It's a clinching night. Winning Port-A-Roll. Everything's changed. Everything's going in the right direction. Tonight's at home, right? Or is it in Boston? I know we have one road game left in Boston. I'm not sure if that's tonight. Tonight's at home. It's home. Yeah, it's at home. Clinch this baby at home. Yeah. Go on Hoboken. Pick up some girls. Just win the hockey game, really. I don't, you know... Go out to Hoboken. I'm not going to Hoboken. I'm not either.

[00:12:45] I'm not either. Tony's certainly... I'm definitely not going to Hoboken. It takes me 17 hours. So, Mike's got a 5-2 double win. That's what he's putting up there. I like that. Yeah, you know, 5-2 sounds good. I think I might stick with rough on this one. I'm going to 5-1. 5-1? All right. 5-1, I'm saying. 4-1. 4-1? 4-1? Timmy? 17-0 mercy rule in the second. I love that. That would be fantastic.

[00:13:14] Like RBI baseball. They're just going to give up. Nice. So, I mean... So, let's talk a little bit about Arsenio Gritzek. If I'm saying his name wrong, I apologize. But I think I'm saying it right. Gritzek? Gritzek? Gritzek. So, he's 24 years old. His KHL career is... Well, his year's done. He wrote a big tweet out there or whatever post saying goodbye to his team. How does he play for it? St. Pete?

[00:13:44] Yeah. Yeah. St. Peter's. So, this year he had 17 goals and 44 points in 49 games. And they did make the playoffs. And in the six games this year, he had a goal and five assists. Now, here's the thing with his entry-level contract that I read. But because of his age, he can't sign a normal three-year ELC like Luke did and stuff like that. And he can only sign a one-year.

[00:14:11] So, if he was to come here and sign, that would be the year. And you'd have to re-up him in the summer. Correct. Or he's a UFA. No. He's not a UFA. He's restricted? He'd be a restricted R. Okay. Okay. So, thank you. And from what I understand, he wouldn't be offer sheet eligible. Okay. That was one of my next questions because that's what I was worried about. I don't know. Those rules are a little confusing, but I'm pretty certain he wouldn't be offer sheet eligible. Because if you can sign him for the-

[00:14:40] I think they try to protect the clubs a little bit more with those international players. Right? Well, I mean- Yeah. It's just, you know, it's not like Gusev where Gusev was older, so he became a UFA like after his deal. Like, we still will have some team control. I don't see any risk in bringing him over besides, you know, having the Russian mafia after you. Like, I don't see any- I've heard a few different things, though. I heard he might not come to the team. I heard something about his contract to the end of May. Right.

[00:15:10] So, I've heard mixed different things about it. For whatever reason, at one point, I think- I'm not sure if it was just SKA or all the KHL. All their contracts were extended in like the middle of the year until the end of May. I don't know why. Like, so, he's still under contract technically, but their season's over.

[00:15:29] So, and it just happened right before, you know, this afternoon where Demidov, who is Montreal's big prospect, played for the same team, SKA. He worked it out with Montreal, and he's coming over to join Montreal. And Jesus Christ, he's a good player.

[00:15:51] But with Gritzuk, yeah, like, you know, all the talk before was, you know, he'll make his decision in June. But putting out that Instagram post sounds like he made his decision. You know, he could sign with another team in Russia, maybe. Like, that's the only kind of leverage he has. But he's stated pretty clearly that he wants to come to North America and play here. But he's also said he only wants to play for the Devils.

[00:16:20] Oh, that's good. Yeah, no, it's good. It's just that the only reservations I have is the KHL that play on the bigger European ice. And, you know, getting a young kid coming over, doesn't know anybody. We don't have any Russians on the team, I don't think. We don't have any Russians on the team. Sergei, I guess. Yeah, Breland, I guess, would be the best kind of little buddy for him of sports. Plus Czech. Czech. He's Czech?

[00:16:49] Or Slovakian. They're the same country. He's Yugoslavian. Bratislava. All right, so we have no Russians. I go buy my own hotel now. The team that had the first ever Russian, and now we have none. Yeah, it's kind of weird. So anyway, so yeah, so it's the team, the Devils can't just offer Scott and say,

[00:17:18] we want to buy the rest of his contract. That violates the CBA. Okay. So what needs to happen is Gritzek's agent and Gritzek needs to come to an agreement with SKA for them to buy out his contract. So I think that's what has happened before. I think that's what Mitch Goff did, and that's why he was able to come over with the flyers.

[00:17:40] However, there's nothing to say that Josh Harris can't have a bag of cash show up at a church in the middle of the night in St. Petersburg that happened to have the amount of money in it that was necessary. You know, like there are probably shady ways around that, you know. So maybe Breland can pay for it or something. I don't know. From what you guys have heard, then, what do you think?

[00:18:06] Do you think this kid's coming over and you think he'll be with us for the home stretch or in the playoffs? Or is this just probably not going to happen because it's the Devils? I'd like to see him come over. I want him to come over. So, yeah. I'll say yes. I think he comes over within the week. Okay. It's 50-50 because I don't trust the KHL. You know, there's sort of – yeah. That's fair. That's fair. As long as he doesn't bring McLeod with him. Oh, God. I think McLeod's like – I think he got cut from his team. Did he really?

[00:18:35] He was in like Kazakhstan or something like that. Really? Sure. All right. So, yeah, I think it would be great. And, you know, thinking about it, he's, you know, a pass-first guy, I think. So, I think he – like the way I would see him slot in if he were to come over would be like on the wing with Mercer and Meyer. I think that would be just incredible because he's a good play-driving guy. So is Meyer.

[00:19:03] Mercer is more of a passenger, but he could be that guy to set up Meyer a lot. But, you know, the issue is – and we've talked about this – is the amount of guys that we have under contract for next year, plus Luke needing an extension, plus Glass probably getting an extension. We are actually pretty tight against the cap for next season. Not to get into next season already because we're still in this one, but something would need – This isn't a Ranger podcast.

[00:19:33] Well, we're not getting rid of half the team like they should. But they won't. Yeah. But realistically, what's his general salary level going to be? I can't see this guy being more than a million and a half. Two million tops. Two million, three million. Yeah, I don't think it could be any more than that. Maybe like a two, three-year, two and a half million dollar deal or something like that. But, I mean, unless he goes out and wins the consmites for us, in which case, you know, pay the man his money.

[00:20:02] Pay the man his money. You guys want to do some predictions? Sure. All right. So, Tony, this is your first time doing predictions, right? Well, I think we've done them for a couple of years to change them off. No, no, just this year, I mean. Like, so – Yeah. So, now, these are Timmy's predictions. You have a couple of things that came off the board of your last ones. You said that New Jersey would beat Ottawa and that Timo Meyer would have a goal and that Bratt would have two assists.

[00:20:31] We lost the game, so you lost that. You said that Cody Glass will have three points against Ottawa, Vancouver, and Chicago. He only had one point. And you did get that the Devils would score five or more against Chicago. You did get that one correct. So, that's Timmy's predictions right now. And let's see. Bobby's accountability session here. So, Bobby, you said – all red here, buddy. Not good. Woof. You said that on March 22nd, the Stars would shut out the Flyers. Dallas won.

[00:21:01] Screw them for not doing that. That's their fault. You said that Bratt would have a goal and an assist against Ottawa. He did get the assist, but not the goal. It's half a point. It's half a point. That's not a point at all. But you said the Devils will have a shorthanded goal against either Ottawa, Vancouver, or Chicago. If you would have thrown the Rangers up in there, you would have gotten it. I don't think it was in the week. You went 0 for 3. I couldn't. Yeah, but you put those teams there. And then mine, I didn't do much better.

[00:21:30] I said that Nolan Foote would score against Ottawa. He did not. I said that Markey would shut out the Blackhawks. We did win 5-3, but he didn't shut them out. And I said that the Devils would beat the Winnipeg Jets in overtime. So all of those I got wrong. I don't think I have any green in mind at all. I have none right yet. So, Tony, we will definitely have yours all set for next week. So we'll start with you, Tone, Tim, Bob, me. So, Tony, your first prediction of the week.

[00:21:58] And, Tone, just so you know, it doesn't have to be this week. You can make a prediction about anything show or hockey-related right up until the Cup being awarded. So you can predict for playoffs. You can predict anything you want about any team. Okay, so I can – because I just chose for tonight, so for the game. So, okay. Do you want to come back to me? Yeah, come back to me at the end. All right, so we'll go Bob. We'll go me, Bobby, Timmy, Tone. Okay.

[00:22:28] Okay. First prediction is that before the season ends, within the next five games, Nico Heischer will have a hat trick within the next five games. That's my prediction. Third hat trick in one year. Yeah. That's what I'm going with. Bobby, your first prediction, sir. I'm actually keeping it all tight in this time. I usually go pretty far out. But starting with tonight's game, Sir Luke will give us at least two points. Two points against Boston tonight?

[00:22:58] Yes. Okay. And that is tonight's game. Okay, so Timmy, your first prediction. How many games did the Devils have left? They have five or six? Five. Five left. All right, so Luke will have five points in the last five games. Now, it doesn't have to be a point a game. You're just saying five points within – before the end of the season. If he gets five assists tonight, you win. Yes. That's what you mean. From here until the end of the season, five points.

[00:23:25] Five points next five games. Okay. Tony, your first prediction, sir. Nico is going to have seven points, actually, in the last five games. Nico, seven points next five games. Okay. Okay. My second prediction goes to our Gritz conversation we were just having. He will join the team.

[00:23:55] He will play at least two, maybe even three regular season games before the playoffs. But my prediction is that he will join the team before the playoffs, and he will collect at least two points. Oh, look at this. He's not actually going to play this year at Sayan now. So, I'm always going to play this. I'll write it down. I'll write it down. I'll write it down. That's funny. Cross it off the list, Chris. Well, I mean, I usually do lose them pretty quick, so.

[00:24:24] That is pretty funny. Bobby, prediction number two, sir. We will keep Boston to 25 shots or less tonight. Okay. Tim, your second prediction, sir. Daniel Sprong scores his first goal tonight. You suck my asshole. Go with goal and assist, buddy. The third one that I have written. Excuse me. I do not. I do not. Just clarify for the audio listener. God damn it.

[00:24:54] I know what goes on after the show. I might as well just put your name next to that prediction, considering it was mine that you just sniped from me. God damn it. Tony, your second prediction. We will have one more shutout in the last five games. Damn it. See, my prediction just got sniped, too. It's your turn, Bobby. Get somebody. No, it's mine. It's Chris.

[00:25:21] Mine last and final prediction for Chris, which was Daniel Sprong would score his first goal tonight, but that is no longer on the board. So I'm going to up it. Daniel Sprong will score two goals tonight. Ooh. Wow. Ooh. Like red, don't you, pal? Yeah. Yep. All right, Bobby, your third and final prediction, sir.

[00:25:50] Glass will have a game-winning goal for the season's over. Tim, your last final prediction. Arseniy Gritsuk will be in the doubles lineup Sunday, April 13th, against the Islanders. I like it. And Tony, your third and final prediction. Cotter scores a goal tonight.

[00:26:21] Paul Cotter will score. All right. Mike Ruff, you want to make a guess? What do you got for tonight? All right. First goal or just any goal? Any goal. Any goal. I'm going to say Daniel Sprong scores the first goal. That is an unofficial prediction, but that's what I'm going to say. So who you guys got for first goals? Unofficially, just for fun. I was going to say, if you parlay your two goals and a first goal, that might be a hat trick right there. You were thinking about it. All right. I'll do it. I'll change mine.

[00:26:49] Two goals first and one more. So, okay. I'll do it. Why not? That's a hard one. So who's your first goal scorer? I'll be setting you up for failure there. That's all right. Nico, I'm saying here. He's probably. You're saying Nico? Yeah. That's a good one. All right. I got a pull up. Ooh. Palak getting back on the board. Mike's got glass. What do you got, Bob? I got Luke on the power play. Ooh, power play. All right. I like it. I like it.

[00:27:18] So I guess it's pretty much wrapped up, right? I mean, like, I don't know what the magic number is for Montreal, but it can't be more than like three, right? I mean, they have to be really close. I mean, there's five games left. The Rangers have the only team. I guess Columbus still has a shot. I think it was the Islanders that actually have a shot. Six points back with five games left. Not looking good. Yeah. So that's going to be.

[00:27:48] I think the playoffs are pretty sad, guys. Yeah. I mean, like we've been talking about for months, like we've been on this crash course with Carolina since December. You know, the top of the Atlantic is still up in the air, right? Yeah. Yeah. I think they're. And actually, Ottawa is creeping on Florida. So part of the like, Ottawa is two points behind Florida. One of the funny things, I guess. I think I was going to be tough. Don't you guys in the playoff? Yeah. Absolutely. Is Brady still hurt or is he? He's. So Brady's not skating.

[00:28:16] And then it came out that Florida is putting Sam Bennett on the shelf for the rest of the year just to get him playoff ready. So I don't know if he's dealing with some shit. It sounds like it. People are speculating that Florida is trying to tank to. Yeah. To avoid Tampa. You know, look, you just made it to two Stanley Cup finals in a row. I don't think this team is afraid of anybody. So I'm not buying that shit at all. What? Oh, I know. I'm not. I'm not either.

[00:28:45] I just think it's funny that people are people are speculating that. Yeah. Well, you got to find a conspiracy in everything nowadays. So, you know, I mean, I really couldn't blame him because I watched that Ranger lightning game last night and Tampa Bay is for real. And Vasilevsky is looking like Vasilevsky. I just I mean, as far as the Eastern Conference goes, he is, I would say, definitely the best goalie going into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The lightning are always tough in the playoffs. I mean, yeah, it's they know what they're doing, man.

[00:29:15] They're well coached. They know they know how to win in these situations. And Kucherov, Point, Hagel, Sorelli, like they're so good. Like Kucherov and Point. So I was meant to text you guys last night. I don't think I've ever seen Braden Point's face before. And I saw him on the bench and I was like, that is not what I thought he would look like. He looks like he should be like like a six foot four guy, but he's not. It's a very weird face for a guy his size. I don't know why. I don't know why I thought of that.

[00:29:44] Anyway, him and. I tell you, though, Hagel, that was I remember when they got Hagel, Tim. Like that was like I I like Hagel as a player. I think with Tampa, he fit in so well with that team. I think we wanted him in New Jersey, actually, at that time. Yeah. Well, we need a guy like him. Like he he goes to first guy since like 1985 that has scored 30 goals without any of them being a power play goal. Really? Yeah.

[00:30:10] Like it's and that just shows you how hard it is to score in this league that without the power play power play time. Yeah. Talking about Timo Meier. Well, all right. I'm going to do a quick little break here. Throw in some commercials and we will be right back. And we're back. OK. All right. I love doing that. You're crazy. All right.

[00:30:38] What the heck else did I want to go over tonight? What do you guys got? Did you see that Budweiser Zero sent a beer can, a customized beer can to every single goalie that didn't give up a goal to Ovechkin? No. How many did they give out? One? They're like 28. Oh. 28 goalies. Vanacek's one of them. Vanacek and Schmidt are both. Yeah. Vanacek faced like five times. I saw he just didn't give up any goals to me. That's not funny. I mean, Vanacek was also on his team, but it's pretty funny.

[00:31:08] But there's been some funny stuff like Ed Bell, not Ed Bell, four. One of those got one of those like late 90s, early 2000s goalies. It was really good. I forget who it was. Posted a funny picture. And then Eddie Lack, who was a goalie, who was kind of a scrub, posted something else. It was pretty funny. Devin Levi posted something. He was like, he was like, you know, thanks for the beer. Ovi, appreciate it. And I appreciate you just dumping it in four times on me instead.

[00:31:38] It's just a funny little thing. Sorokin was one goal away from that beer. Yeah. Poor guy. He never scored on Sorokin. What's that? The last Hastic, like put a comment up, you know, because Hastic's really against the whole war going on. And he put up some stuff that was, I mean, it's totally true. But he was posted right away when that goal was scored. Dominic Hastic's like completely against the record. He had, you know, he's. What do you mean? Just about be very, very much anti-Putin.

[00:32:06] And yeah, he wanted every relationship between Ovechkin and Putin a lot. And he wanted every Russian out of the NHL when this war started. Like he specifically said we should get rid of, send them all back. Like he didn't. Yeah. He's very anti-Putin. I told you guys what was crazy was when he broke the record. Like, I think it was like maybe an hour or two hours later. Like you looked at the news and it was like a rocket went into some apartment building and killed like nine children and ten adults in Russia. Well, in Ukraine because they got bombed.

[00:32:36] And it's just like, you know, you know, it's not Ovechkin, of course. But when you see that and you look at the TV, it's like this hard. It's like, how do you, you know. I'm with you. I feel the same way. Because you know he's getting a phone call. You know he's getting a text message from the phone call that night. I was wondering if Putin called Sorokin and was like, you must let in gold tomorrow. Possibly. I don't know, man. But he gave him a stick too. He gave him a stick. Yeah, he gave him a stick. Then he was like, yeah. And he was like, I'm going to give you your glove too. Yeah, I guess Ovechkin wants to start some museum in Moscow.

[00:33:06] It's, you know, I don't know. It's a weird situation. Yeah, it really is. And if Ovechkin were to change his Instagram profile picture, I think that sends also a statement too. So he's kind of trapped in that as well. I like your props to Hasek. Tim and Putin. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. I mean, he grew up behind the Iron Curtain. It's Ovechkin and Putin. It's his Instagram photo. I went too long.

[00:33:33] I remember there was this documentary on years ago, and it was about, there was a lot of it about Slava Fetisov and how he runs the Russian hockey leagues and all the international stuff, all their international sports programs and stuff. And this was probably, I would say maybe 10, 12 years ago. So they had a, he was bashing Ovechkin. And he was saying how these Russian players don't have any respect for the motherland.

[00:34:02] And they were showing, Ovechkin had done some like stunt for a TV or some local news station or something where they put Russian dolls in each corner of the net. And he was doing the target practice, but it was with the Russian dolls. And apparently that got Putin and Slava Fetisov all in a tizzy that, you know, you would disrespect Russia by breaking Russian dolls. And, and yeah, he was bashing Ovechkin.

[00:34:27] So at that time, I thought that the relationship between Ovechkin and Putin maybe wasn't so great. But then later on, of course, I find that they hunt grizzly bears together and without their shirts on. Did you guys see when they rolled out the, they played some hockey game there, you know, it was like, and Putin played in the game. Yeah. They rolled out the red carpet for him, right? So they brought out this carpet and he trips over it. And supposedly the guy who rolled out the carpet, no one ever saw him again. And that's not, and I'm telling the truth.

[00:34:55] The guys were like diving out of the crease to let him score. Yeah. It was crazy. Casual seven goals and one assist for him. Yeah. I, you know, I went to play a tournament in Czechoslovakia before, before the split, before Darren Curtin came down. The team that I was on, one of the dads was like a diplomat or something like that. So we went over, this is when I was like 12, when I was actually probably about Caden's age. I was not doing shit like that.

[00:35:24] No, I was, I was playing for Princeton at the time. Um, so you can imagine the type of kids that were on my team. Um, and it was, it was a really cool trip. Like we stayed in like this massive castle, but we lost every game that we went over there. You know, we got, we lost to the central Prague team. We lost them 24 to one. And then they put like, then they put their B team on and we lost 10 to two. Like they were just, there's so much better than us. Like we lost every fucking game that we played.

[00:35:53] It was, it was ridiculous, but it like, like the iron curtain fell like two weeks after that. And they were like, you know, we were just driving around Prague and in like our team bus and they're just soldiers like walking down the street with, with just, you know, like, like it was a militarized zone. Like there's actually no reason for an American hockey team to be there. It was a little bit of a strange environment, but there's really, really kind of interesting. So that's my, that's my Czechoslovakia story. I've sent Chris pictures before, man.

[00:36:22] I, I see tanks go through here where we are now in Europe. I've seen it since we, I've moved here, but you'll like, you know, we have, so the gym I work out at is a big window where you run on the track and you see the highway and there's just tanks going by sometimes. Oh, that's a joke. Sorry. Seriously, Bobby, this is a fucking laugh at a really awkward time. That's fucking funny. I don't know what he's saying he goes to the gym. Like, are you, like, are you worried, man? Like, do you have like a contingency plan to, to potentially. Well, we, I have another home. We have a home. We have a home. We have a home. We have a home. Right, right, right. Yeah.

[00:36:51] No, I'm not really worried because I think around these areas right now, people are pretty pumped. Like, it's kind of like, uh, there's a lot to stick together now, all these places, little countries are saying, you know, so. That's like America. It's kind of backfiring. We're all together. We're all on the same page here. Yeah. We're all rushing now. What are you guys talking about that wolf? What are you guys doing, boys? Are you guys talking about that wolf they're, they're bringing back? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I saw this too tonight. I saw this on the. So, Bobby, you want to take this story? Listen.

[00:37:18] So, they basically genetically created a dire wolf. Um, they did so with the aid of, um, a regular wolf, you know, and kind of just changed one or two. And they used Mark Knopfler's DNA from Dire Straits and they made the dire wolf. I have to. Watching Weird Science saying, okay. You got to see this wolf though. He doesn't use a pick and he's awesome on the fucking guitar. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:37:43] So, I mean, just, you know, at the DNA level, they literally just changed enough of the DNA to make it essentially change from, I forget what type of wolf they used, to a dire wolf. And they're saying it is literally a dire wolf. It is as much a dire wolf as anything. They've been dead for 10 or 13,000 years. So, it's kind of cool, I guess, in a way, but also kind of like some things kind of go extinct possibly for a reason.

[00:38:08] Um, but we've made, they've made six movies about why we shouldn't be doing shit like this. And here's the thing. So, with the dire wolf, at least they were basically taking like an extremely close relative and like altering like one little thing to essentially make it look like a dire wolf. The company that did it is on record saying that by 2026, they want to produce a woolly fucking mammoth.

[00:38:37] So, there are none of those cousins to kind of start from. So, they're literally. Oh, yeah, there are. Elephants. Well, okay. Does it surprise you these days? Well, no, it doesn't. It doesn't surprise me. It's just crazy. And the thing about, because for about 25 years now, they've been trying to get good DNA out of those frozen mammoths that they find in Siberia and stuff.

[00:39:00] You know, my thing is, though, like if you're going to bring back a species, I mean, you're going to make one, you know, woolly mammoth. Like, if you're going to bring back an entire species that has been dead for like 150,000 years now, are you just reintroducing this to where? Like, where are these, you know, these are grazing mammals that are huge, that take up a ton of resources. And what are we supposed to do now?

[00:39:26] You're going to make thousands of these and just put them on the American plains with buffalo? And like, I can't see how that can not fuck things up. Can't put them in Siberia anymore because they don't have grass. It's going to be wonderful, Chris. Right? I mean, this is. It's going to be the best woolly mammal you've ever seen in your life. Right. The most beautiful woolly mammal. We're going to call them woolly trumps. I mean. It's going to be gold. I love gold.

[00:39:52] With this kind of achievement, I mean, wouldn't it be like way better spent at like regrowing a lung or a kidney or a liver and shit like that than a woolly mammoth? Yes. I think that is probably the end game. Like, but I don't know why we. But now they're just having fun with it. It was. I don't know why we. We jumped to. I just have to do. Yeah. I don't know why we jumped to like extinct, potentially predatory animals. Like again. Like. Give me a couple of chickens.

[00:40:22] How about that? Give me some chickens to get some legs. The first Jurassic Park. Like. Like. The first Jurassic Park with Chris Pratt in it. Like they created an animal that didn't exist and like try and keep it in like a zoo enclosure and it gets out. And like, that's. The fuck are we doing here? That's not. The 200,000 years that homo sapiens have been the predominant apex predator on this planet. We have proven time and time again that we are not very smart. So, yeah.

[00:40:51] I just expect whatever it is that they are planning on doing to probably go really, really bad and sideways. So. It's going to be fun to watch. I think it's just kind of. The world is so crazy right now. Just drop it in this year. It'll make more sense. Just drop it in now. Let's just get. Well, think about this. Until you got some. It's so crazy. Yeah. It's so crazy now. Remember like last year, they're like, we have proof that there's aliens and no one gave a shit. Everyone's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. We got bigger problems. Like this would be like the biggest news in the world. But no one gave a fuck. You know, the aliens saying they were like, they're like, not now.

[00:41:21] We don't have time for you. Put that probe away. Cool. Fucking like not now. You guys watching this shit show? This is great. But until some like tin pot dictator, you know, whose country is like predicated on like, you know, slavery and torture and diamonds is like, I want 10 woolly mammoths. And, you know, the company's like, okay. And suddenly they have an army of woolly mammoths and then they take over a fucking entire continent. Well, I mean, all right.

[00:41:48] I guess this is a little bit, you know, you're like reaching with like Hannibal and the elephants going through invading Cartha. So, you know, so I guess maybe we can get some Mexicans moving up north with a bunch of woolly mammoths and a bunch of guys sitting on their backs with spears just trying to take over the U.S. Is that what you're saying? No. I'm more talking about like some, like, you know, some war-torn country in Africa being like, you know, I'm going to take all. Right. Okay.

[00:42:15] So instead of arms, they're dealing with extinct predatory animals to attack. Dacos, tigers, and fucking cave bears. Yeah. This is, we're going to have to modify this anti-tank missile to be an anti-mammoth missile. Ah, Jesus Christ. Our kids have something to look forward to. We're living in the dumbest timeline, man. I just want to go live in the woods. Like, that's it. Like, all I look forward to in my life of like having fun is doing this, watching my devils, and watching my vikings.

[00:42:44] Other than that, I can be in the woods, and I can have those things. I'd be the happiest guy in the world. Just get me out of all this craziness. Because, yeah, it's going to get so fucking bad. Anyway. Anyway. There's going to be no woods left after a while. So I'm going to Canada. What's the tree? I'm going to Vancouver. I'm moving in with Mike. We're going to open a pizzeria. It's going to be awesome. That's going to be our state. I've been to Vancouver. It's beautiful. Vancouver is awesome. I'm going to be at the 51st state. All right. Year of the devil, Bob?

[00:43:14] I do have one. All right. Explain the rules. Okay. Again, so year of the devil. This is the game where you only get one answer. Anyone who's listening, you just type in the chat. The guys should actually probably put in the chat, too, so that we know who's actually first. You only get one answer. You decide when to answer. You don't scream anything out. You just answer it when you want. There's eight general questions that maybe get a little more leading as you go. And then there's two kind of layup questions that you should answer by then. So the trick is just to kind of answer when you think you're ready.

[00:43:43] Maybe you don't want to get other people turned on to the time zone that you're in. And we will declare a winner at the end. Remember, there's no shouting out answers. You just get one answer. So choose your time. Okay. We're going to pick a season. The season will be the season's end. So the 1994-95 season is simply known as 1995. Okay. Are we putting our answers in the YouTube chat or the chat here? Well, I guess the chat here.

[00:44:13] I don't know if we're all on. Yeah, I'm not on YouTube right now. So chat here. All right. Remember, it could start off a little obscure. Here we go. So in this year, the Devils finished sixth in the conference. They allowed only 164 regular season goals, which was the lowest ever by a team in an 82-game season.

[00:44:40] They started off winning 17 of their first 30 games, which helped propel them to second place in their division. But again, they did wind up sixth in the conference overall. So they had some struggles. They shut out their opponents 14 times that year, which was the league high. 14 shutouts? 14 team shutouts. Did you guys see my –

[00:45:09] I put something in the chat, but I don't know if I did the right one. We're not answering it until the end. We just – Oh. So in this case, we don't stop the question. We just put it all the way down. That's also really wrong. That's what I did. Is it? You got to put it in the stream yard chat. I'm so bad with yours. Okay. You did. Oh, I did. I didn't see it. What year? I see it. I don't see it. What year did you put it? You got to open your chat box, dude. I have it open. I'm looking at it. Don't yell at me. What's the year? Well, I did it wrong.

[00:45:39] He said 23. He did do that, but I'm completely wrong. Okay. I'm bad with years, so. You're not bad with draft years. Pull people out of your ass for that. Okay. Okay. So, the player with the fourth most penalty minutes on our team that year at 70 was actually a highly skilled center, first, second line center for our team. The penalty minutes above that were 72, 76, and 96.

[00:46:08] So, this player had 70 as a skilled forward. Brodeur collected his 400th win in overtime over the Florida Panthers in March of that year. They lost to the Flyers in the first round and only won one game in that series.

[00:46:37] The leading scorers for the forward group was Ilyasch at 81 and Niedermeyer at 54. Now, the two of these are the ones. Okay. Am I wrong? I'm not saying, Tom. Okay. That's right. I put my guess in. Am I done with guess? Am I eliminated? Yeah. That's it. You can't guess again. Okay. You try to do it early to win the game, but then if you're wrong, you have no other choice.

[00:47:05] Listen, buddy, I just read the rules wrong. That's all right. You should listen to the shows that you're not on. You know the rules. Sounds a lot like work, bud. Scott Stevens sat out a game in January originally with the flu, and it was later revealed that it was a concussion. It was originally the Boogaloo flu. I put my answer on. Boogaloo flu. All right.

[00:47:32] And this was the last year that our beloved coach, Pat Burns, coached. I had 99 originally, but the 400 Brodeur wins is what made me change it. So, Timmy, have you had an answer? He does. I didn't put it in the right. I put it in the other chat. I put 99. 99. Yeah, I think that's wrong. 5. Tony said 2023. And Uncle Pucker's Devil Puts. I'm waiting for more.

[00:48:02] Chris, 2004 is the correct answer. Woo-hoo! There we go. I'm the man. Very good. I like this game. This is a fun game. Yes. I do like that game. Guys, we got about, let's see, 20 minutes, 25 minutes until the game starts. Like, when are they? I heard Dougie possibly back for next week, which would be freaking awesome. Yeah.

[00:48:29] Now, I guess Dumoulin would be the guy out, or are you sitting Casey? What do you think? I mean, it's Casey. Casey or Nemich. I think Dumoulin replicates that. You think he's there for a seat? It's okay. Yeah, I think that role. And then you reunite Dougie and Dylan. I think it's good for Casey. Yeah. It sucks. I mean, I really like this kid. I want to see him play more. He'll have plenty of time. You go into the playoffs, you want a little bit more steady there. And who knows if Dougie will stay healthy at this freaking point. You know?

[00:48:59] I mean, this guy. Step on the ice. Throw a quad. Like, yeah. Right. I mean, the one thing that's getting extremely annoying about Dougie Hamilton is the fact that he can't stay on the freaking ice. Four years. As Timmy would test you, though. This guy is not exactly not in shape. No, Timmy loves his bod. Yeah. Timmy does love. Are you frozen again, Tim? No, I'm just looking at my phone. I wanted to see if Amanda had pulled in. You got lines? I haven't put up the lines yet.

[00:49:28] It'd be really fun if Sprung doesn't play. Right. I'm screwed. I probably should have checked that lineup card before we made that prediction. I don't think he's going to change that lineup too much over the last couple of games. I don't think so either. In the practice lines, it didn't look like he did much. I think foot came in for someone and Cotter was bumped up to the third line, maybe. I forget. But... That's my goal. That's the one thing that I like about... All right.

[00:49:56] So, Mike's saying it's the same exact roster as last game. That's what Keefe said. So, yeah. So, I mean, I like... Because Lindy Ruff wouldn't change anything. You know, let alone sit a guy or any... I like that Sheldon Keefe. And I know we have a lot of players, so it's easier for him to do right now. But I just like that. If you're not performing, we're going to put somebody in that can. And, you know, the guys seem to be responding really, really good. I like this lineup. I like Glass and Sprong in it.

[00:50:24] I said on the last show, I don't ever want to see Nate Bastion in a Devil's uniform again. I don't give a shit. I mean, let's get rid of this guy and start moving forward. Because... Now, Bobby, we were talking a little bit before you got on. I'm curious what your thoughts were. Because I had sent it in a text last night, but we were talking a little bit like... I got depressed last night watching the Lightning Ranger game. Because it was like... I'm thinking about all the awesome playoff moments that we're not going to have because of Jack not being in the lineup.

[00:50:54] Like, how do you feel about that? Not so much of like the team can do it or not do it without him. Even though P.K. Subban says he doesn't think the Devils can win a Stanley Cup without Jack. I'm kind of on the same train as him. I do think they can go far. But, you know, you got to have that guy. But how do you feel about that? Yeah, look. Jack is a must-watch TV. Pretty much all the time. So, yeah. It's going to be a little upsetting, you know, to have him not be part of it.

[00:51:23] But at the same time, I mean, we're going to the playoffs and they just start winning. We're all going to get on that train. And it's going to be the best thing ever. But I would also say that, I mean, at some point, there's probably going to be an end to this short of a Stanley Cup. And not that Jack specifically would be the one to kind of make us win the Stanley Cup. But when you add that kind of caliber of player into the mix and everything he can bring, it certainly helps us. So I would not envision that we win the Cup this year.

[00:51:53] And it's not because we don't have Jack. I honestly just don't think this is the team that gets, you know, through the Final Four. But hopefully they surprise me. But, yeah, I'm definitely going to miss Jack, dude. In the playoff time, I thought he was super electric, you know, a couple years ago. Well, I mean, so right now Toronto is first in the Atlantic. Right? Am I wrong about that? I see Tim looking. That's why I was asking him. I thought he had a playoff. Toronto, yes. Toronto. Okay.

[00:52:21] So we know that right now with the playoff start, and again, we're going to go over this really in depth, but just to, like, close up right now. All right? So right now would be Ottawa taking on Toronto. I got Ottawa winning that series. What about you guys? Ottawa seven, I would think. I mean, it would be a good series, I think. But I just think Ottawa is going to be annoying, like one of those teams that, you know, there's always that one team that you go into playoffs that makes that move that you don't expect. And I think Ottawa could be that team this year.

[00:52:51] If Brady's healthy. I think a lot of it hinges on Brady. I agree. I'm saying that I think they win if Brady's in the lineup. That will change if we, you know, if it's not. If Toronto loses in the first round again, that's just going to, that city is going to burn to the fucking ground. Well, who do you got? Ottawa or Toronto? I, I, Toronto if Brady's not playing. Ottawa if Brady's playing. Yeah, I'm with you. But Toronto, Toronto's a very, Toronto's a very good team. And they're, they're different than they have been.

[00:53:20] Like, they, they were really predicated on, on their big offensive players and their defense was absolute trash. Now they have, they have a pretty good, pretty good decor, you know, with the addition of Tanev. And Solars has been fantastic this year. It's fantastic. And Wall's been a good fill-in as well. I, I just think they're, they're a tough team. I didn't realize it, but they're 8-1-1 in their last 10 as well. How about you, Bob?

[00:53:48] I mean, last year I finally knew that they would get passed around. A little more difficult this year, but as of right now, and this isn't our actual prediction, so just my gut right now still says Toronto. Okay. Regardless, to be honest. All right. If Brady's back, because if Brady comes back now, he's not back today. When is he going to come back in a couple days? Like, what Brady are you going to get? And not that he's not going to be the pest. He's got elements of his game that can translate without the skill part, for sure. But in reality, if you're not getting the full package of Brady, you know, what are you getting?

[00:54:18] So right now I'm going to be Brock. You know what's weird, though? Chucks, I always, I don't know, something about those guys. I think if they get him back, I think he'll come back full force. I just think it's in their blood. I've watched, you know, I mean, I really do. All right. Montreal will be playing Washington. Personally, I think Washington would probably win that series, but I think it goes seven. I think Montreal can give them all that they can deal with. And if they go into that series thinking, oh, we're playing the lowly Habs, they're going to lose.

[00:54:49] Curious now what we're going to see from Washington, right? Like they were pushing really hard for the record and all that stuff. And they haven't been playing great, but now that it's like over and no stress and they can kind of just do, they turn it around and get back to like what we saw earlier in the year? Or is this team kind of showing its words at the worst possible time? Again, we can talk about that down the road. I still think Washington is, can probably beat the Habs, but I think it'll take seven. What do you guys think, Tone?

[00:55:17] I'm going to say, I want to say five, and I'm going to say six because I think that, like you said, they've been playing poor lately. Yeah. You know, I think obviously with Ovechkin, I think they take them and I, I'm going to say six. Okay. Tim? I think Montreal wins. Oh, well, I like that. So all season, Washington has been riding a borderline unsustainable team shooting percentage.

[00:55:47] And they've actually haven't been very good defensively. They've just been scoring pretty opportunistically. Protus just got hurt and he's a huge piece of that team. I think now that actually the record's over, I think they're going to kind of not collapse a little bit, but come crashing back down to earth. And I think we've seen some of those cracks already. You know, they're Logan Thompson also got hurt too.

[00:56:16] Like, I don't know if he's, if he's what his, his story is, but Protus was listed as week to week, which is never good. And, you know, day to day is about a week, week to week is about a month. Month to month is you're dead. I mean, it wouldn't shock me. And I just think Montreal's, if they're getting Demidoff now, Hudson, like, honestly, that kid is so nasty. Like, I hate to say it. Like, he might be as good or better than Luke. Like, he's so fucking good. Shut your nose. I hate to say it.

[00:56:47] I can see where you're coming from though. And I agree with everything you're saying. I mean, I'm just, and my, when we do our predictions in a couple of weeks, I might change that because I'm, I've been kind of up in the air, but just because of how Washington's been dominant all year, I am going to kind of stick with them. What about you, Bobby? I mean, I make no secret that I think Washington played above their head most of the year. In fact, I think I was the one who had them fall in the furthest going into this year. Like at best they should be where Montreal. I had them last place in the Metro.

[00:57:17] Last place in the Metro is what I thought this team was going to do. So even if they were playing over their head to the tune of being equal to Montreal at this point, I'm feeling the edge has to go to the Capitals for me. Just, I mean, for as well as they, for as much as they played this year, collecting the points and just winning games. I got to feel that they can do that against the ACC team. All right. And then we have the battle of America's Wang, Tampa Bay Lightning versus Florida Panthers.

[00:57:47] What do you think, Tone? Tampa. Yeah. Yeah. You know what? I'm going to say Tampa. I'm going to say seven. Okay. Timmy. That's going to be a bloodbath. I'm with, I'm with Tony on that. I think Tampa wins in seven. They've been so nasty recently. Florida's riddled with injuries. I don't think Matt Kachuk's back yet. Marsha and I think it's kind of been going to be a bit of a dud of a trade deadline acquisition. Like you said, they just put Bennett on the shelf. Kyle Verhage is underperforming.

[00:58:17] You know, Vasilevsky is back on his game. I just, I don't see, I don't see, Tampa's just been so good like the past like month or two. Like, you know, they, they were, if you remember, like we had a better record than Tampa like three months ago. By lot. And, you know, they, over the past two, three months, they've, they've, they've vaulted up in the second place. So. I think John Cooper is the best coach in the NHL. I think he's right there.

[00:58:45] I mean, I've watched him. I've seen him coach a lot and I've met the guy several times and I just think, I don't know, something about that guy, man. I think he's probably the best coach in the NHL. I agree. Bob, Florida, Tampa. Yeah, Tampa's another team that I keep perpetually kind of saying this is their year to fall off a little bit and I keep being wrong. I usually didn't even pick them to win a first round in the last year or two, I don't think. And I'm changing all that this year. I think that they're going to win. I think they're going to do it more like five or six, to be honest with you.

[00:59:15] And I think, you know, for Florida, it's not that they're bad. It's just that kind of two cup run thing. A little tired. Even though I don't believe in the tired after all that time. But yeah, I just think Tampa Bay's got their number this year. So, yeah, I think Florida is kind of, I mean, I know how good they are, but I just, Tampa's just a different animal. It doesn't feel like the magic's there right now. Yeah. And Tampa seems like they have that. Like Tampa does seem like they're on something hot and I just, they're going to be a really, really tough out.

[00:59:44] I mean, just watching them. I know they were playing the Rangers last night and the Rangers blow, but man, they just zip the puck around. Like anything that they want to do, they were able to do. And it's just, man, they're a handful. And they have so many great skilled guys on that team. Yeah. I mean, it sucks. It sucks. I do want to talk on the next show. I wanted to go over it. We're going to do a whole most disappointing teams and kind of rank those really shitty teams. Now you brought Stamkos up. Nashville will definitely be in there.

[01:00:13] So I'm going to take Tampa too. And then, of course, the last one, Devils going up to Carolina. Do you guys want to give a prediction on that now or just a quick one or do we save it? Save it. Devils in two. Devils in two. All right. So that means. So the NHL, the website, I think we should do this with all of our listeners and stuff. We'll set up an Uncle Pucker's bracket and let everybody join. And, yeah, you make predictions. I think it's the NHL.com website is a pretty easy system where you can set up that bracket.

[01:00:43] And make like a private group and stuff like that. So let's definitely do it because that's going to be a lot of fun. And we got about 20 minutes until puck drops. Devils will get four in a row tonight against the lowly Boston Bruins. I actually have. Shout it down. Very little doubt. I mean, I feel good. I feel good of where this team's at right now. And I'm saying, yeah, they're going to go in there and just take care of business. It's always the roughest thing doing the shows right before the game, isn't it? Because the next morning we look like, you know. I mean.

[01:01:13] We don't have to air it. The Bruins are. Well, we're live right now. So it's out there. It's just a couple guys. Yeah, exactly. That's true. But I just think, you know, you're playing the last place Bruins. Like, I get it. The Bruins have given up. Like, that's the thing. Like, if we lose tonight. I mean, I've watched some of these Bruins games. I know that they whooped up on Carolina the other night. But, like, the next game, I think they lost, like, whatever it was. Some big loss. And it's like, they just don't give a shit anymore.

[01:01:40] I feel like that's like a dead cat bounce in the stock market. Right. Exactly. Exactly. I just want, like, killer instinct from here on out. I still don't think they're going to do the 9-1 that you said, Chris. I think they're going to be a loss in there. But maybe that's it. Maybe one more loss. That's how I got it. They got it. You want to tune up for the playoffs? Best way to tune up for the playoffs is just to keep winning. Yeah. Go in there. Keep winning. And, you know, let everybody. And that's the thing, too. Like, everybody else is fighting for positioning or anything like that.

[01:02:08] Like, us and the Canes have a really good situation right now because there is no mystery to where we're going. It's no mystery to where we're going to land. So, you can just focus on playing your style of hockey. Honing in your game. Getting it to the best it can be for Game 83. I think 9-1 is absolutely possible. It's possible. For sure. I just feel like something's going to happen. But, listen, if they get five more wins, you're talking about a 99-point season. It's practically a 100-point season for all the, like, shit and angst that we had in the middle there. You know?

[01:02:39] Yeah, you're right. Hey, we started well. Took a vacation for a couple months and came back hot. Like I said before, oh, Bob, you missed it. But, like, the math I did was between the top four forwards, Timo, Jack, Nico, Brat, before Jack got hurt, they were combining for 1.4 goals a game. Since Jack got hurt, Nico, Timo, and Brat have been combining for 1.4 goals a game.

[01:03:05] So, they have recreated Jack in the aggregate. That's awesome. Yeah. Also, and Luke is averaging 1.1 points per game. Luke and Dougie, before Dougie got hurt, were averaging 1.1 points per game. So, we've replaced Dougie and Jack with everybody. It would be nice to have them back and add that production on the things. Yes. I think 9-1 would be possible if it wasn't. So, say if they get the point tonight, right? And we know our position. We know we're going to play Carolina. That's the reason I think 9-1 might not happen.

[01:03:35] I think they might start putting some – you know, you might not get starters playing and stuff like that. Because I think we're pretty much playing Carolina. It's the deal, right? I mean, we win tonight. No, he never said that. I don't think you can ever get him to not beat up anymore, Jay. By the way, go to jergens.com. Code name. So, promo code to hashtag Timmy.

[01:04:02] Like, we keep saying how over the last week, two weeks, right, other than that Winnipeg game, like, they do seem like they kind of turned that corner and they're playing much better hockey and the guys are all stepping up. Like, okay, this is your next chance to get four in a row. You haven't done it in two years. Show us all that this team has really taken that next step, that they've kind of figured it out. That's what I want to see. So, we know what we're going to get come playoff time. They've got to get back to the consistency. And the best way to do it is just keep winning. So, we'll see. I want to see three good periods.

[01:04:31] I want to see if they're winning after two. I want to see them keep the gas pedal down after two. Yeah. Yeah. I'm with you. All right. Anything else you guys want to add? That's it. Me and my bottle of jerks. Pamela Henderson. We're going to go Pamela Henderson on myself. That's fucking great. All right. All right. We're going to wrap this thing up. Guys, thanks so much for hanging out with us again tonight. It's always fun. Let's go enjoy some devils whooping up on the lowly bees.

[01:05:01] Wherever you're listening to us, like a five-star review, positive comment, subscription download. Helps a little podcast that could. And if you are watching on the YouTube channel, please hit the subscribe and whatever else buttons there are to press. We're the Uncle Puckers. And we'll see you when we see you. Bye-bye. Peace. Fuck you, Burnhamore. It's over, Johnny. It's over.