Can you hear that sound—sort of like a brushing, friction-y noise? That’s the sound of me rubbing my hands together with devilish glee as I realize that I can finally write about hockey on Kotaku dot com thanks to Ninja and his latest Twitch stream.
On May 29, towards the end of Tyler “Ninja” Blevins’ Fortnite Twitch stream, the wildly popular streamer was joined by a few guests, one of whom was Pittsburgh Penguins right winger Brian Rust. Ninja, who has previously spoken about his love for hockey (and how it only took him like “three minutes” to understand all the rules after watching a game for the first time), asked Rust about the NHL playoffs, which are currently underway, and which the Penguins did not make.
The 2024 NHL Playoffs are now in the Conference Final stage: in the West, the series between the Dallas Stars and the Edmonton Oilers is tied 2-2; in the East, the series between the New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers is also tied 2-2. The series follow a best-of-seven format, the winners of each going on to face each other in the Stanley Cup Final.
And though the Penguins didn’t even qualify for the playoffs this year, Rust told Ninja that he’s confident his team would have beaten my New York Rangers in the first round—even though we swept the Washington Capitols in that round.
“Little hockey talk, dude, that’s what I’m talking about, baby,” Ninja says as Rust joins the stream, before quickly giving him a “what’s up brother,” an ode to viral TikToker and streamer Sketch.
“Off-season, you missed the playoffs by like, a game—sorry to rip the Band-Aid there,” Ninja’s brother, Jonathan “Bearded Blevins” Blevins says. “First question for me, would you at least have won one game against the Rangers, unlike the Capitols?”
“I think we would’ve beat the Rangers,” Rust says confidently, as the Blevins brothers react with shock and awe.
“Full serious, we’re not just gassing our own team up, right?” Ninja asks.
“I think we would have beat them,” Rust repeats, before explaining that it was a “match-up thing.” “There’s teams you just do well against,” he said.
Interestingly enough, the Penguins and the Rangers played three times this season, and the Rangers won two of those games: one in a 7-4 shellacking, and the other in a shutout. Does that seem like the Penguins “do well against” the Rangers? Hmm…
Naturally, hockey fans are flocking to social media to react to Rust’s statement, mocking him for what is essentially the, “If my grandmother had wheels she’d be a bike,” excuse. I for one believe he’s emanating the most aggressive “1v1 me” energy humanly possible.
Anyway, let’s go Rangers.
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