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Scott Hartnell Congratulates Kris Letang and Anthony Mantha on Their Tough Guy Routine at the End of Game 2
By Matt Schultz
Published:
I believe Scott Hartnell when he talks about tough guys. I also believe Scott Hartnell when he talks sarcastically about tough guys, and, in doing so, helps me better understand who is not, in fact, a tough guy. The latter is what we were lucky enough to get when Hartsy joined the Nasty Knuckles podcast:
“They were getting frustrated, you could see it, at the end of the game. That usually happens. I called it, right before all this stuff happened. After they got the three-nothing goal, I’m like, ‘Someone’s doing something stupid.’ You know, and of course, Letang’s in there. You know, Mantha, first time he ever hit somebody with two uppercuts. So congratulations there, big boy. You’re real tough. So anyways, all that considered, you’ll take those battle wounds, as Boosh called it on the air, across the bridge of the nose to be up two-nothing.”
It rules hearing Hartsy talk about this stuff. Like I said, I truly trust his take on which players we, the fans, should respect as actual enforcers, and which can be laughed off (like Mantha) for spazzing in frustration after a loss and throwing lame-ass sucker punches around.
This would make for a wonderful podcast: Have Scott Hartnell go through every roster in the league and tell us his Bruiser Opinion on each guy. I’m talking every single player on every single team; were this player to drop his gloves, what’s going through Hartnell’s mind? He could go back to past rosters, too, and give us his take on guys he used to play against. No need to stop there. Once he’s out of players, give us the Scott Hartnell fighter rankings of coaches, assistant coaches, front offices, mascots, parking lot attendees, concessions workers, seat ushers – if Scott Hartnell is talking fighting, regardless of the context, I am going to sit down and listen and smile and nod. The guy simply knows his stuff:
Here’s to hoping Game 3 gives us more frustrated lash outs from the Penguins for Hartsy to mockingly break down.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)