STAMFORD, CT: I was watching the Rangers the other night with my dog Chief. I was a bit worried about the team’s reliance on Igor Shesterkin, the stud netminder. But Chief set me straight on that and a few other concerns I had about my favorite teams. Settle in, the bad dog puns are gonna be ruff.
Ranger Danger
After giving up 46 shots and only managing 22 of their own, the Rangers still somehow beat the Jets 4-1 on Sunday night. This was after an equally unimpressive 3-1 win over the Devils on Friday where the Blueshirts disappeared for a long stretch in the middle of the game. The Rangers lead the league in “they won, but…” victories.
This is a team that does not look like a contender by most possession metrics. They rely on the goalie and a few top end studs and special teams. That’s not usually a Stanley Cup winning formula.
“Should we be worried?” I asked Chief. He looked up from the blanket he was currently humping and let out a short bark. At first I thought he was just annoyed and wanted to get back to his linen love making.
But then it hit me, he said “Hart.” Chief was telling me that not only is Igor going to win the Vezina Trophy this year for the best goalie, but he’s also going to win the Hart Trophy for the league MVP. “Igor is the man,” Chief was reminding me “as long as they’re winning, who cares how? Sit back and enjoy the ride.”
PreKnickdable Ending
I flipped over to the Knicks on Friday and was shocked to see them up big on the west leading Suns. But then Julius Randle didn’t like the way Cam Johnson breathed on him and he blew a gasket. He was kicked out of the game and I couldn’t open my sports betting app to bet on the Knicks collapsing fast enough.
“We’ve seen this one before” I said to Chief as he whined in agreement and scratched my his balls. The inevitable Suns run came in the 4th quarter and the Knicks found themselves up by two, with seconds to go and Burks on the free throw line for one more. He missed it, of course, and the Suns pushed it up for one desperation heave from Cam.
Chief looked up from the sock he was contemplating eating, and let out a short confident bark. At first I thought he wanted to go outside, but as the ball went in off the backboard for the game winning three at the buzzer, I realized he said “bank.”
Good call, Chiefer. That’s the Knicks’ season in a nutshell right there. High paw.
Daboll’s Dilemmas
On Sunday I was reading an article about the Giants needing to cut the GDP of a small nation to get some room to maneuver. Dave Gettleman’s gifts keep on giving. They need to cut a bunch of their best offensive players but somehow keep enough in the cupboard for the new staff to be able to fairly evaluate Daniel Jones.
“What are they gonna do, Chiefy?” I lamented. He looked up from licking an oatmeal drip off my daughter’s leg and let out a short, aggressive bark. At first I thought he was reminding me I hadn’t fed him yet, but then I realized. He was saying they should keep BARKley.
There’s talk they’ll only get a 4th rounder for him and might have to eat some kibble to boot. Well heck, Chief was implying, they might as well keep him if that’s all they can get for him. Keep a big weapon around for Jones, hope he gets some more mojo back after a healthy offseason, and hope Daboll can unleash him. There are better ways to cut salary.
Good call, Chief. I feel better. Who’s a good boy?
That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for Angry Ward. Follow us on Twitter at @BenWhit8, @MeetTheMatts, @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
