Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - 16 playoff appearances in a row for the Pittsburgh Penguins! Don't take it for granted...

Episode Date: April 15, 2022

The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 16th year in a row! They have extended their record with the longest active playoff streak in North American Sports and Hunter starts the show off by putting into perspective just how amazing this run has been. He also touches on where he was when it all started and how the Penguins quickly learned what it takes to win in the playoffs. This is something that the city won't see again so Hunter also wants the fanbase to embrace this and see if they can go on one more long run. After that, he recaps the game on Thursday night and touches on how great of a start the Penguins had, plus how Kris Letang bounced back in a big way. He also looks at Danton Heinen's game and why he shouldn't ever come out of the lineup, especially with this production this season. He then analyzes the Sid and Jake connection and what's been making it so lethal this season, plus how they embarrassed the Islanders. After that, he previews the game against the Boston Bruins and gives an update on Tristan Jarry's injury. All that, plus much more on this episode of Locked On Penguins.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!HelloFreshGo to HelloFresh.com/lockedon16 and use code lockedon16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Shady RaysEXCLUSIVELY FOR OUR LISTENERS, HEAD TO SHADYRAYS.COM AND USE CODE LOCKEDON TO GET FIFTY PERCENT OFF TWO OR MORE PAIRS OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello there. Happy Friday. Happy Good Friday. It's all those out there who celebrate. Happy Passover. So all those who celebrate, Pittsburgh Penguins have officially clinched their way to the Stanley Cup playoffs for a 16th year in a row. They defeat the New York Islanders 6 to 3. On Thursday night, next game for the Penguins, a date with the Boston Bruins on Saturday, 1230 matinee start. Casey DeSmith is going to get the start. And that game, I have a full preview of that. Plus, takeaways from that game against the Islanders. from last night coming up for this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. You're Locked on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day. Hello and welcome to another edition of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hon.

Your Hode's. You know, to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the show's Twitter at L.O. Arnscore Penguins. And, of course, thank you all so much for making this year first. listen of the day. So the Pittsburgh Penguins, as I said on my intro, have clenched their way to the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's basically been a formality since January when they've had this cushion for so long. But 16 consecutive years, this team is in the playoffs. Just want you all to think about

that for a second. Almost 20 years in a row, this team has given us playoff hockey. It is the longest streak in North American sports. There's been three Stanley Cups throughout this time. four Stanley Cup final appearances, five Eastern Conference Finals, 20 playoff series wins, the most of the salary cap era. They also have the most playoff wins of any team during these last 16 years. It is remarkable what this team has done the last 16 years. I want you all just maybe pause, think about this. What were you doing 16 years ago when the team first made the playoffs in the Sydney

Crossby, the Kennedy-Malkin era? I mean, I know what I was doing. I was nine years old. I was in third grade at elementary school. And I remember when, you know, they played the senators that year. And everyone was thinking, oh, yeah, the Penguins are going to steamroll these teams. And, you know, we got Crosby and Malkin coming off amazing years. And the senators just beat the living hell out of them.

Danny Heatley, Jason Spetsa, Daniel Alfredson, all of them just tore up the Penguins Young Corps. They said, you know what, welcome to playoff hockey. You better get used to it. And the Penguins, they raised their game up a lot of notches in 2007, 2008, get to the final, gets so close, they lose the Red Wings. And, of course, they triumphed and win it all against the Red Wings in 2009, had some rough years that were able to find a lot of playoff success in 2016 and 2017. I know it's gone down a little bit these last few years.

But, you know, you will never see this level of success for this franchise again. 16 consecutive years. You know, even going back to 19, you know, 90, you know, 91 when the Penguins, you know, they won their back-to-back Cups during that, you know, all the way to now, you know, 30 years later, there's only been a hand. You can count the number of times they've missed the playoffs on one hand. That's just, that's just how successful this franchise has been since the early 90s. This fan base will forever be spoiled.

I know the vibes right now are a little bit off just because the team has been struggling a bit as of late. But, you know, just cherish this and watch as many playoff games as you can, especially with this team because there is going to be a day soon where this team is bad and people aren't going to want to show up. They're not going to make the playoffs. You hope that it's not going to be a long rebuild like the Detroit Red Wings are going through right now or any of these other teams that have been fully rebuilding. Heck, the Buffalo Sabres have not even made the playoffs for the last.

10 years, you hope that that's not going to happen with the Penguins, but you never truly know. So just, you know, respect with the organization has been able to do these last 16 years. I know the ultimate goal is to win a championship. I get that. You know, people are not going to be happy with another first round exit. I will not be happy with another first round exit. Believe me, that's, you know, this is, this is the bare minimum to get in and to hopefully win a route, you know, it's, you know, I think of, you know, the late, you know,

Kobe Bryant with his statement that he made, you know, when he was up 2-0 in the finals all those years back, you know, one of the reporters said, you know, you're not that happy. You're up 2-0 in the series. He's like, is the job finished. And then the reporter's like, no, he's like, yeah, job's not finished. And for the Penguins right now, the job is not nearly close to finish. They have 16 games to win in order to win their fourth Stanley Cup in Sydney, Crosby, of Guinea-Malk and Aaron, you know, anything less for them is considered a failure. So, you know, I know, I know the EF, is going to be really tough for the Penguins to get out of this year. There's so many great teams.

But, you know, I'm just, I'm excited to see what they can do in the playoffs. You know, it all resets to zero zero. You know, for the level of hockey that has been played here these last couple of weeks, you know, remember what happened last year with the New York Islanders, right? They limped into the playoffs. No one really gave them a shot against the Penguins. They took them down into six games. Normally gave them a shot against the Bruins who just destroyed the Capitals.

They took them down pretty easily. And then they were within one game of going to the Stanley Cup final for the first time, I believe since what, 1984, 1985, something like that. So anything can truly happen once you get in. All you need sometimes is a hot goalie, you know, hot power play. Sure, you need a lot of luck to go your way. But just to see this team back in the playoffs for another year, it makes me happy. And, you know, I just, it's all I've known for two-thirds of my life.

I mean, I was, again, I was nine years old when this team first made the playoffs. I'm 24. I'm going to be 25 this year. It's crazy, you know, to me personally. So just wanted you all to think about that and just, you know, be grateful that we're going to watch playoff hockey, again, to say the least. But just had to get that out of the way for the first 6 to 7 minutes of this episode. But, you know, overall, when I look at that game from Thursday night,

I was pretty pleased with the Penguins performance. I thought the second period was pretty bad. But they came out on the first period and jumped all over the New York Islanders. I mean, that was probably one of the best starts to a game they've had since that game in Colorado about a couple weeks ago. They were just forechecking really aggressively. The defensemen were timing their pinches really well in the offensive zone. You know, a lot of times throughout this last week and a half, two weeks, the defensemen have been pinching at the right times, which has been leaving them vulnerable.

I think back to the Chad Roodle screw up. Remember when Tom Wilson scored that go-ahead goal last weekend with the Washington Capitals, is to poorly time pinch, going back the other way, two-on-one, rips glove side over Tristanjari. If Rheedal actually stays back a little bit, that goal doesn't happen. Who knows what happens in that game anyway. But the Penguins, it looks like they've been learning from that a little bit,

and they made some really smart decisions with the puck, I should say, in this game. That said again, the second period, they've been definitely, I think a bit vulnerable in that period as of late. I think Jeff on Penguins' Twitter had been noticing that as well. You know, he said to all of his followers, you know, I saw the tweet at least that, you know, to keep an eye on that, can the penguins keep their foot on the gas? They ended up not doing that, but they still had a period that was very reminiscent of the 2017-S Stanley Cupron where they get caved in basically the entire time.

You know, they've been getting caved in a little bit more than I would like recently. But, no, they're able to withstand that barrage, score another goal. The only chance that they get, and they got. Got solid goal-tending from Tristan Jari Island update on him coming up later on in this episode as well. And I know the Penguins are up three to one going into the third. And then, you know, with how the Islanders struggled to score goals this year, that was all she wrote. Basically, I think the Penguins played a really nice, the third period. It was pretty solid defensively.

The Islanders really didn't have a lot of good chances, I thought, in that period. I mean, the game was basically over with like five minutes ago. I know the Islanders made it four to two with like 237, let the Penguins are able to get an empty-night goal. Then the Islanders got to somehow another one. and then the Penguins got another empty net goal because Jake Gensel is closing around 40 goals at this point. So outside, I think, of a couple of screw-ups in late in the third period. I thought that was a really solid defensive period for the Penguins. They really cleaned up their act from how they played in the second period.

So overall, I would say this was a solid 40 out of 60 minutes. The Penguins are going to need more of that. Well, the Penguins are going to need more than a solid 40 out of 60 minutes to win consistently in the playoffs. You know, you can't take periods off, especially against some of the best teams in the league. I mean, you know, the Washington capitals lost last night, so the Penguins are up five points right now, which, again, it's looking like with two weeks to go in the regular season, it's still probably going to be Penguins' Rangers.

And if the Penguins do get the Rangers, they cannot take periods off against that team. They play a style that is very hard to play against. You know, it's very defensively minded, and the Penguins, that's given them fits these last couple of post seasons. Heck, the last three post seasons, I should say, because they played the Islanders twice, and they played the Montreal Canadiens under Claude Julian,

also played a very defensive-oriented system that gave the penguins fits. So I'll be curious to see, you know, obviously there's still time to see how the penguins adjust to the Rangers if they are to play them in a seven-game series. But, you know, by getting another warm-up game against the Islanders and playing well for the most part, scoring six to six goals on a Barry Trot system, which is usually very hard to score or goals against, I would say that's a pretty good step in the right direction. for the Penguins.

Now, coming up in the next segment, where I'm going to get into some individual performances that I thought were really encouraging from that game on Thursday. I also have an injury update on Tristan Jari. We're also going to preview the game against the Boston Ruins on Saturday a little later on in this show as well. But before I get to that,

have you try the puffs. If you haven't, you're missing out of one of Bill Pard's best tasting bars. Puffs are the first ever protein-fused marshmallow. They're fluffy. They are marshmallow. They're not just a protein bar. They are a treat, and they're covered in 100% real, chocolate. Heck, all billed bars are covered in 100% real chocolate. Yes, puffs are included with that low calorie high protein. Place your candy bars with them as well, excuse me. Heck, they are better

than candy bars too. A typical candy bar can be anywhere from two to 300 calories. You can go to Bilt.com and scroll down to the macros chart. You will be blown away by what you see. Most bill bars contain 130 calories, 4 grams of sugar and 4 grams of nut carbs, and there are 17 grams of protein. You compare that to a candy bar, which usually has around. you know, 240 calories, 30 grams of sugar, and dozens of net carbs as well. At Billet Bar, they're all about the taste. They make it taste delicious first. Then figure out how to make it healthy.

I don't know how, but they pull it off every single time. So you can go to Build.com. Use promo code Locked 15 and get 15% off your order. That's promo code Locked 15 for 15% off at Built.com. All right, we're brought here on this episode of the Locked-on Pinguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. Remember to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the show's Twitter at L-O-NorSquare Penguins.

And, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen of the day. All right. So individual performances that I personally really enjoyed from that game on Thursday night. I thought it was a big bounce back performance from Crystal Tang, especially. He did not have a good game, to say the least on Tuesday. was brutal on the power play late in the overtime session. And, you know, he usually always follows up his bad games with some of his best games of the season.

And I thought in all three zones last night, he was superb, had a great seeing eye shot that Ilya Seroquin did not see. And speaking of Ilya Seroquen, they were able to get, well, besides two MD net goals, eight goals in two games against him. And, you know, if you would have told me that that would be possible, last spring, the Penguins probably would have won that series, but he actually decided to be human in these two games and not play like God. So it's nice to see that Ilya Sorokin is indeed human and he's not just, again, God himself

like he was during that entire series. Now, again, great game from Letang. Even defensively, he shut down to some great A Islanders scoring chances, got his eighth of the year overall with his goal. Again, he's continued to play at a very high level. Dayton Hinen gets his 16th goal of the season. He almost broke that career high. He almost should have had his 17th, but Sorokin had one heck of a save.

I think if he just elevates that puck. I think that was, I want to say that was late in the second. I believe it was in the second period. Yeah, he's able to bury that one. He would have had 17. Again, that would be his new career high. But, you know, comes out of the penalty box, Brian Boyle with a beautiful seam pass right to him,

buries it five-hole past Sorokin. And, you know, I've seen some people say, I don't really know what to make of this player. And should he be scratched come playoff time? And, you know, I don't really understand those kind of takes. You know, this is a player that, you know, I know he's streaky at times, but 16 goals is 16 goals. I mean, for me, I'm not taking that guy out of the lineup. I mean, no question about it.

I mean, when a player is that close to 20 goals and he's played in your bottom six, basically the entire year, why would you even think about taking him out of the lineup? I mean, I just, I don't understand that. I mean, if you want to think about maybe taking someone out like Reverend Rodriguez or maybe because he's very competent because he's been bad at times, I would listen to those arguments before I would listen to an argument about Dayton Hayden. It just doesn't make any sense to me. He's been really good as of late.

I know he went a couple months really without scoring a little bit, but, you know, this is still a player that can help you win playoff games a lot. So I want him to stand in a lineup, you know, full time. And I think Mike Sullivan will, whether it's on the third or fourth line. to say the least. Jake Gensel, he got two goals last night. He continues to just tear it up. He's at 37 goals right now.

He's almost at 80 points well over a point per game. Again, he's one of the five best scores in the league. The way that he's able to just be so undetected in the offensive zone, it goes to show how great of a player he is. I know some people, a couple people send me the Barry Trots quote, where I think one of the Islanders media people asked him about Jake Gensel, and Trots kind of just alluded to, well, you know, Cindy Crosby makes any player great and all that.

And, you know, I'm not really going to make too much of that quote. You know, people can believe what they want to believe. Jake Gensel is in the league winger and the NHL. His shot is ridiculous. His playmaking ability is awesome. You can stick him on anyone and he will produce. He's probably one of the more underrated goal scores in the league. And it's weird for me to say that because, you know,

I think most of Pittsburgh knows how good he is, but I don't think a lot of people outside, you know, the city, heck, even in the national media, just realized how good he's been in the four to five seasons that he's been in the NHL. So another great game. I mean, you know, there was a two-on-one where Sid and Jake just made Zendano Char look very foolish. That's, you know, it's honestly one of the best center winger duos in the NHL.

I mean, I don't think you can find five better duos than those two. Sid, you know, threaded that pass right to Jake, shoots it across where Sorokin was going. and the net, just a beautiful release there. And then on the second goal that he scored, you know, just to actually, it wasn't even that goal, I mean, excuse me, you know, it was the Crosby goal that was primarily assisted by Jake Gensel. And it was a two on O, they keep passing back and forth. I mean, Serogan's not going to do anything there.

Jake could have had the goal, but, you know, he deferred his aid who's able to bury it, but, you know, also gets to empty net goal. He has a real shot at hitting 40 here. And, you know, again, outside of Cid and Gino, you know, no other player has hit, you know, has had more 30 goal seasons, excuse me, than Jake Gensel, you know, during the Sid and Gino era, which is crazy to think about. If he also does get 40 this year, he will be the only other player in the Sid Gino era to hit 40 goals multiple times. James Neal hit 40 once, was not able to hit it again. Jake has hit 40 once, of course, just a few years ago. Sid and Chino have hit 40 multiple times in their career.

So to see Jake get to do that, I really hope he does. He's just playing at another level right now. And I'm also glad that Sullivan decided to keep Ricard Raquel on that top line. You know, it's the underlying numbers are through the roof right now. 80 to 90% expected goal share shot attempts wise, you know, 70 to 80% scoring chances wise right around the same place. Just give Brian Rust to Afghani Malkin when he's ready to come back from his suspension.

And just roll with that. You know, Jason Zulker, he survived an injury scare last night. He took a puck off the hand. Looks like he'll be good to go for the final six games, assuming he does not get hurt. You're going to knock on wood about that. If that's your top six, Gansel, Gansel, Zuckerman, Rust, there aren't many teams

that can stack up against that. I mean, that's just that's the reality of the situation. Even though Sid and Gino are in their mid-30s now, They can still carry play at an elite level, and they have the wingers that can support them in a big way. So I just think the penguin's top six looks much more formidable if they do, if they go with those combinations. Excuse me. Tristan Jari, outstanding start. Lass.

I know he gave up a couple of the goals at the end. In case anyone did not see it, he's being evaluated for a lower body injury. There's a rumor going around. I think this was from Colin Dunlap of 937 the fan that there's worry that he may have broken a bone in his foot which means he could be out a little bit. I have not heard that. I mean, again, I don't claim to have all the inside information

with the Pittsburgh Penguins and all that. I can just tell you, you know, I've poked around a little bit. Haven't heard that just yet. As soon as, you know, I know something or I see something, I will obviously tweet it out, you know, talk about it in the podcast, give my thoughts on that. Again, I know I'm not. claiming to be an insider here i am definitely not an insider but you know i've got poked around a little bit

have not really hurt anything um as soon as you know something comes up or you know i read something uh you will be the first to know to say the least but again if there is an injury to him and he has to miss a good chunk of time even into the playoffs um i think the penguins are royally screwed uh i do not trust casey to smith to win a series that's for sure they need trist and jorriot uh to even run around you know heck to even go on a stand a cup run here. I'm hoping that it's, you know, it's, it's short term like the Jason Zucker injury was. I don't know what happened. I think, you know, there was a collision with Anders Laley in the third period. He looked a little gimpy getting up. He was able to finish the game, looked fine

coming off to me. So, you know, at least at the, right now, he gets a full week off. Casey DeSmith is going to start on Saturday. That's fine. They're two points ahead of the Bruins. They're in the playoffs. Also, he's played a lot better as of late. The Penguins do have a shot to win this game. Boston is really banged up. So Tristan has a full week to try to recover from this. You know, let's see how he's doing going into next week. Because the Penguins after this game on Saturday, they do not play for five days. They don't play until Thursday when they host the Bruins.

I know after that they have a back-to-back against the Red Wings and the Flyers, two of the not-good teams in the Eastern Conference. We will see if Tristan will be ready for that. You know, he's going to take a few days off. They're going to evaluate him, see what happens. Again, I'm crossing my fingers here that it's nothing major. This is the one outside of one of the big players like Sid, Gino, again, Jake Gensel, Crystal Tang, and all those guys,

this is the one player that they really cannot afford to lose in the playoffs, to say, at least with how good he's been. But, you know, last night, just another great start from him. Really, this was just much better. You know, he got the time off that he needed. And hopefully, you know, this next week, He gets even more time off to rest. Hopefully this injury is not that bad.

He can be really fresh down the stretch and hopefully for a long playoff run here. So who was really impressed with how he played, his movement looked great. He made a lot of timely saves in the second period to keep the Penguins up at least one before Jenkins said we're able to do their magic, making it 3 to 1 going into the second period. I also will save for this game. Brock McGinn gets his 12th of the year. I know it was an empty net goal, but still nice to see him get back on the score sheet as well. And, you know, I thought Brian Dumlin a bit better in this game.

You know, it's not really saying much right now, but, you know, I did notice there was an improvement there. Just, I'm really also curious to see what happens with this number six defensive spot. You know, Mark Friedman came in the lineup again. I didn't think he looked that good, took that four-minute penalty. I personally thought that should not be a penalty just because, I mean, he really can't control where to stick is there in that situation. It's two seconds after he releases the puck with his stick. It's just very incidental contact. It wasn't malicious or even on purpose.

He wasn't trying to, he didn't lift his stick up or anything. It was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. I just didn't really like that call, to be honest. But curious to see what Sullivan does here down the stretch. Is he going to put Pedersen back in? Is Freepen going to play on Saturday or even in the other games after that? You know, I'm also very excited for the Penguins to have this five-day break. they badly need it, you know, just to recharge their legs,

there's some injuries, and all that. I know I've been a little all over the place for the second segment, I apologize for that. But I'm just very excited with how that game was on Thursday, and I'm really excited to see what they can do against Boston. I'm on Saturday. Now, coming up in the next segment, we're going to preview that game against the Boston Bruins.

But before we get to that, Betterline.comnet is your number one source for all of your betting stats and sports info. You can find all the latest sports elements, league reviews and news, including this year's basketball playoffs and the start of the major league baseball season. Bet online is your continued source for all of your sports ways you're getting info from live betting to playoffs, e-sports, and more. You can head to the website today or use your mobile device to more about the trends in action. That is been online where the game starts.

Now, getting to our friends at the Mattress Factory Museum, remember the Twitter prompts that we had about three to four weeks ago. So when prompted sports are art, Sam Alves said, replied, art for sure and linked a video of Ron Hainsey converting that goal against Nashville. 2017 Game 5 where he made the two predators miss him on a hit and then converted that. I believe that made it 5 to nothing at the time. Mattress Factory replies 100% art. Anytime a team wants to play aggressive,

they have to consider the Penguins backline are just as dangerous shooters as the offense. So remember, you can visit mattress.org slash go pens to get a free one-year membership to Mattress Factory. when you buy tickets to the Penguins game on April 21st. Again, all this comes from Mattress Factory. Pittsburgh's premier site-specific contemporary arts installations in the museum.

That's just a fancy way of saying actually immersive arts. Remember, mattress.m.org slash gopins for that game. April 21st, Penguins, you can get a free one-year membership when you buy tickets for that game. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. am your host, Honor Hodes.

Remember to follow me on Twitter to Hunter Hodes, all the shows, Twitter, at L.O. underscore Penguins. So Penguins, Bruins for just the second time this year. You remember the first game that these two teams played? The Penguins came back from two goals down. They had just their second win in Boston since 2014. I believe that was when Denton Hinen had two goals.

And that game, and of course, you know, Tristan Jari said, how about that a thing save to Brad Marsham? That's when he got suspended because he's just a rat at times. That was just a truly chaotic game. I'm going to say, I'll say, the least, he just was unhinged there.

But, you know, Boston's pretty banged up right now. Obviously, Brad Marchand and Patrice Berseran, they're incredible. They're going to be on the top line with Jake DeBrus. He's been pretty good.

But, you know, Linus Omar, he actually got hurt in that game on Thursday. I would expect Jeremy Swayman to start on Saturday. I don't have an update right in front of me, but I did see that he left the game. I think, again, he's banged up.

Again, expects Sleiman to play in this game. He has really not been that good. This year, Olmark has been the better goaltender. I think if he is healthy when the Bruins make the playoffs, he is going to be their starter. So it looks like both the backup goals will probably be starting this game.

Taylor Hall has been really good. Eric Hollis is their second line center. Charlie Coil is centering the third line. But, you know, in their bottom six, Craig Smith, he's not bad. Nick Folino, not too terrible. I mean, Curtis Lazzar, he's okay. But, you know, Boston is not that deep.

I mean, outside of, again, I don't think he's going to be in the lineup. Allmark, again, was not at practice today. I also don't think Brandon Carlo, he's been banged up defensively. Hamphus Linholm has been banged up defensively. They've had a lot of injuries. It's almost like Penguins level bad with the Boston Ruins at this point. But, you know, Charlie McAvoy, he is outstanding on the back end.

He deserves more Norris love than I think. think he is getting right now. Mike Reilly, he's paired with Mike Riley on the top pair. Grizzlik, man's the second pairing, Connor Clifton on the third pairing. So they're definitely banged up defensively in it forward again. You know, probably no David Postchnock. I don't even think he's been on the ice this week. So that's another massive loss for the Bruins. This is a winnable game of the Penguins.

You know, they stick to their system. They forecheck well. You know, the Bruins can be had. They're not that deep of a team. You know, there are some players in their bottom six like McLaughlin. I mean, you know, Lazar, I don't really think is that good. Froden is on their second line. I don't really think he's that good.

Eric Halle, I mean, he's all right. But, you know, when your center depth is Bergeron, Hala, Coil, and McLaughlin, that's just, I don't know. I think the Bruins are good, but I think they can definitely be had in a seven-game series. I just don't see that team going very far this year. That's my take. But I do think this is a very winnable game for the Penguins.

I know Casey DeSmith is starting, and that may freak some people out. But I think he can have a good game here. You know, outside of, yeah, Marshaun and Berchran and DeBrask and Charlie McAvoy, there's not, and tell you, Taylor Hall, of course, there's really not too much in this lineup that scares me going into this game. So the Penguins, they continue to time their pinches right. They play better in the defensive zone, and it's not just chipping the puck out and praying to God that the Bruins don't jump up and put it down

or, you know, slide against the boards and keep it in the zone. You know, they're not just blatantly turning the puck over for no reason, and they're four-checking aggressively in the offensive zone, you know, just getting to their offense and all that, I really do think the Penguins can win this game. And, you know, hopefully they do. You know, if they win, there'll be seven points off on the Capitals for the time being. I believe Washington has some couple,

a couple of massive games coming up against Colorado in Vegas, and I think a whole lot more down the stretch. So curious to see how the Penguins play in this one. The vibe check is going to be very important. This is usually a building that has not been kind to the Penguins. But I will say, you know, the Penguins have won two straight. TD Gardens. So maybe history is turning around a little bit here. You know, it's almost like a, I shouldn't even say a mini home and home series.

It's like a week-long home and home because, of course, when the Penguins play again, it'll be Thursday against the Boston Bruins. So 12.30 p.m. start time. NHN. Network, if you have it, if not, it'll be on 18T Sports Network. And if you're in Boston, it'll be on NESN. If you want to listen to Jack Edwards, you may just be my guest. I will not be listening to Jack Edwards because I'm going to go. be going to pick up my new puppy tomorrow. So I'm not going to be able to watch probably a lot of the game.

I will be following it and listening to it. So again, on Monday, I will have a full recap episode when I watch the game back, see what happened and all that. But I hope you all have an amazing Easter weekend. Thank you all so much for listening to another episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. Can't wait to deliver on some great playoff content for you all. Let's hope that it is a long run. I'm also thinking about, I'm hoping I can't, I'm thinking about maybe keeping the beard.

I'm not sure if I'm going to shave it yet. I'm just a very superstitious person. For those that are watching on YouTube, I've grown it out at least a little bit, but with two weeks to go, I just, I haven't decided, you know, should I shave it now and start it up again, or should I keep it, you know, into the playoffs, which started in about two and a half weeks. Just let me know what you all think about that. And let me know who you all want the Penguins to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Leave a comment on YouTube, you know, message DM me on Twitter.

Hunter Hodes, the show is Twitter at LO, R.S4Penguins. Again, thank you all so much for listening to another episode. Have a wonderful Easter weekend if you celebrate a wonderful Passover weekend, if you celebrate that, and I'll be back on Monday with another episode.