Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - A Philadelphia Flyers trade target emerges
Episode Date: April 5, 2021After a couple of days off, Hunter is back with another episode on the Locked On Penguins podcast and there's quite a bit to get to. He starts off by talking about the Penguins first win in Boston in ...7 years from Thursday's game. He touches on the play of Casey DeSmith, and ponders the question if he should be the starter in the playoffs when they come around in 5 weeks. Hunter also touches on Zach Aston-Reese notching his 8th goal of the season to continue his offensive prowess, while Mike Matheson gave everyone the true Matheson experience. After that game, he recaps Saturday's setback while sending a message to everyone who thinks that Crosby "embellished" at the end of the game. Plus: Does Scott Laughton make a lot of sense to Pittsburgh? All that, plus talk on McCann and Ceci, in this episode of Locked On Penguins.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.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.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. 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.
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You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins,
part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.
Hey everyone, welcome to this Monday afternoon edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.
I'm your host, Hunter Hodes.
In order to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, follow the show's Twitter at L-O-HenSquered Penguins.
Today's episode is brought to you by BillPbar.
Go to Billbar.com right now and use promo code to Locked 15,
and you'll get 15% off your next order.
So a lot to get to for today's episode,
including both games against the Bruins
and the look ahead for the Penguins.
We are now a week away from the trade deadline.
I'll have something trade-related later on in the show
after listening to Elliot Freeman's 31 thoughts
in case you all did not listen to it.
It is a flyer that he is talking about
as a potential trade target.
That's all I'm going to say on that.
But overall, with these two Bruins games,
I guess I'll just share my first thoughts
before I get into different games.
I like what they did.
I know they went one in one.
I also know they gave up seven goals in one of the games.
They hadn't given up more than three goals in the game.
I think in 16 consecutive games, you'd have to go back,
I think, into February, if I'm not mistaken,
to where they last gave up three or more goals in a game.
That just goes to show how great the penguins have been defensively
for these last 16, 17 games.
And the Thursday one defensively, that was a clinic.
And, you know, people have been starting to spew this on Twitter,
yes, this is the same one-two neutral zone trap that the penguins were doing in 2016 and 2017,
more so 2016, especially against the San Jose Sharks, excuse me,
when it was just stifling defense, there was nothing there even in front of the net,
and especially through the neutral zone.
Right now, the Penguins are just not giving anything to teams.
I know they got away from that in the second and third periods against Boston
in the Saturday afternoon matinee game.
But, I mean, for those 16, 17 games prior to that, you know, this team resembles a lot.
lot of how the 2016 team looked.
And I think a lot of people need to be excited with how this team is going right now.
I know, like I said, they blew their five-game winning streak.
They had chances to win that game on Saturday.
But it's not the end of the world, especially after going three and one in this four-game
stretch without Gino Malcon and Kaepinanin and a couple of others, especially Tristan Jari
as well, though he, it looks like is expected to be back for Tuesday's game in New York
against New York Rangers.
Other stuff in that Thursday game, Zach Ashner-Ree's gets another goal.
for this season. I believe that was what his eighth goal of the year.
Just incredible offensive play from Axton Reese this year.
We all know how great he is defensively in his own zone.
He's some of the best underlying defensive numbers on the team.
His part on the shutdown line of Bluger and TNF when they're all healthy.
You know, he is the big reason why that line is so dominant.
You're really just seeing his offensive game come out in full force this year.
And, you know, sometimes he doesn't finish on those grade A chances that he gets set up for some other players,
but he makes it count in other areas.
And, you know, he still has eight goals on the season.
He's on pace, I think, right now for at least 12 to 13.
So really nice goal from him.
Obviously, we also got to talk about Mike Matheson because he had that amazing coast-to-coast goal,
burned Jeremy Lowe's on pretty badly.
And, you know, that's the good that you're going to get with Mike Matheson.
You know, he's so great at those kind of plays, those coast-to-coast kind of plays.
I mean, he's just great with the puck on his stick.
It's when the puck is not on his stick.
But he's a complete tire fire.
And you saw that on Saturday.
when he'd turn the puck over in the neutral zone right right after the blue line and then the
Bruins have an easy goal going the other way.
I think Posternak got that goal from Marshawn.
I mean, that line basically killed them all game on Saturday.
I think they had like six, seven points over.
I think they had points on all seven of the goals that they scored.
So yeah, the Bruins, they are, I know they're a one-line team, but that one line can make
you pay virtually every shift and that's what they did on Saturday.
But, you know, going back to Thursday with Matheson, it was a good performance from him.
And, you know, like I said, obviously that goal was outstanding.
I thought defensively he was still good as well.
You know, we'll get to his performance on Saturday a bit later outside of the turnover.
But, you know, that goal was incredible.
You also have Jason Zucker getting his first goal since coming back from injury.
That was obviously ginormous.
I mean, that basically put the game away because I think Marshaun made it two to one early in the third period.
Look at the Penguins were going to be on their heels a little bit.
And then just a few minutes later, Zucker gets that goal.
I think it was, I'm trying to remember correctly who it was, I think it was Rodriguez that made the pass to him on a 2-1-1 and Zoker buried it past Lord Vader, of course, you know, Darryl, Ledar, whatever the hell his name is.
Like I said, I'm going to keep calling him Darth Vader until the end of time, just because that's how his name looks to me when I read it.
But still, that goal was awesome.
And, you know, he's just playing with a lot more confidence, I think, since coming back.
And they have the makings of a very solid third line with Zucker and McCann.
If they want to have McCann as a third-line center, I would.
wouldn't mind it. Maybe you have to go out and get another winger. You know, like I said,
there's a trade target in mind that Elliot Friedman put out there would probably have to be a
three-way trade because the team probably would not be able to trade him to Pittsburgh, but it makes
a lot of sense and he's a really good bottom six contributor. So, you know, maybe they go after a right
wing. You know, there's been a lot of rumors saying that the penguins are going to go after
a center. You know, maybe they necessarily may not need it just because with Hal McHan has
been playing at center with Jason Zucker on his left wing. That has the makings of a really good
third line if they surround those two players
with another really good player
and then obviously the Gensel Crosby-Rustline
won't get touched and we'll have to see what left wing they
put with Malkin and
Caput and once both those players come back and I think
Ashton Rees-Bulgertanav
that's not going to be broken up either
and then to top it all off Jake Gensel
got for the time it was his
15th goal of the season he got his 16th goal
of the season on Saturday's game
but still all and all was a great performance
by the Penguins and yes I am going to
say this was the Penguins first win in Boston
since 2014.
I know they lost the next game,
so maybe their next win in Boston won't be until 2028.
You know, I don't make the rules here, everyone.
That's for sure.
But, you know, I did like the quotes after the game.
Excuse me, sorry for that notification on Discord.
But, you know, I did like the quotes after the game.
You could obviously tell that the players knew what the streak was going into it,
that they had lost 10 games in a row at TD Garden, dating back to 2014.
I think Jason Zulker said, yeah, you know, this has been on our minds for a bit.
we all know what the streak was.
Apparently there was a rumor that Crystal Tang's very bad mustache was just because to get some new juju going to get the team to win in Boston for a change.
And I mean,
they're more than likely going to have to win games in Boston to get out of the Eastern playoffs.
Well, I shouldn't say Eastern playoffs, the East Division playoffs, excuse me.
So, you know, good to start finally now with winning a game in Boston.
Also, you know, I'll say it again, Casey DeSmith was 968 that game.
I know he came off the rails a little bit on Saturday.
I'm going to get to that in the next segment.
But again, that was another outstanding start for Casey Smith.
I've seen some talk with people saying, you know,
oh, well, he could push Tristan Jari to start in the playoffs, you know,
with how he's been playing.
For as well as he has played, I do not see that.
I do not agree with that take from people.
Because, yes, I understand.
Going back to February 28th, you know, 933, 9.58, shutout, 939, 960,
shut out, 950, 968.
And then this past Saturday, of course, 778.
That is his lowest saber.
percentage of the season, and the first time he was below 900 since February 11. So basically
it's been almost two months since he was below 900 or below league average. I get that people
want to have Casey to Smith start a playoff game with the run that he's on, but I will say this.
I think Tristan Jari is more experienced, and he's also having a damn good season too. And yes,
like I said, he is probably going to get the start on Tuesday. You probably want him to have more
starts down the stretch so he can be your playoff starter. Now, it is great that they have two
capable goalies to start in the playoffs if need be.
So say Trish and Jari struggles, you can just put Casey DeSmith in there, and I'm sure the
team will be just fine.
But me right now, everyone, I have Tristan Jari as this team's playoff starter.
Like I said, I know the numbers have not been as good as DeSmiths this year, but, you know,
we're splitting hairs while talking about them.
I just don't think that Casey DeSmith can go through a full playoff run and lead this team
to the Stanley Cup.
Hey, if he does get the start and he proves me wrong and they win a Stanley Cup with him
in net starting, hey, you know, I'll eat all the crow. I've ate crow on a lot of things
over the years while being a fan of this team. But like I said, I still see Tristan Jari as this team
starter in the playoffs when they eventually make it. But still, that's not to say that DeSmith
isn't having a fantastic year. He absolutely is, you know, as a backup. You know, he could be
getting a little bit of Norris love if he continues this reign of terror that he has going on
against the East Division. You know, I keep talking about his movement is sensational. He's
making all the saves that he's been needing to make.
His goal save above expected, I think, is still top 10 overall league-wide, and he's
completely locked in right now.
So, you know, great game for the Penguins.
Like, the defensive structure was sensational.
Got the goals from the secondary scoring, which is so crucial when so many players, you know,
namely of Gennie Malkin and Kasperi Kapp and Teddy Bluger are still out with injuries.
Though, Blugher is also getting close.
I might have an update on that coming up in the next segment.
But, you know, when you have guys like Zach Astin-Reis getting his eighth goal of the year,
you have Jason Zucker,
contributing to a depth goal.
That was his first goal since coming back.
You have Mike Matheson doing a coast-to-coast goal.
Those are the kind of players that you need to have score at times.
It can't just be Cindy Crosby, Jake Gansel,
of getting Malcolm East Healthy Casparic, Cappan,
Brian Rust, et cetera, et cetera.
You know, you need goals from the bottom half of your lineup,
and that's what they're getting right now.
And still, I'm curious to see what move they make,
if they make one at all going into the trade deadline here.
But that'll do it for this first segment of the long.
on Higman's podcast.
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All right, welcome back to this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast.
I'm your host, Hunter Hoadies.
In order to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hoogies.
Follow the show's Twitter at L0 underscore Penguins.
Before we do get into the lot of Saturdays game,
I do want to apologize for not having an episode on Thursday and Friday.
A couple of life events came up.
I'm not going to have three episodes in a week moving forward.
I do go away this Friday through sometime next week.
I'm just seeing a friend that I haven't seen a while.
But, you know, I'm still going to be chugging out five episodes today for you all next week.
And I will have coverage for the trade deadline on Monday.
I know I'm not going to be around my phone at all times,
but I'm going to try to be around it as much as I can to give you all the breaking news and everything for everything, Penguins.
But, you know, let's get to Saturday's setback to Penguins, five game.
Indian Street came to an end, a wild seven to five affair against the Bruins.
I mean, what a game that was.
It truly had everything.
You know, the top line of Crosby, Gensel, and Russ was sensational.
And, you know, we do have to start.
Yes, everyone, March and Kalski did not just have one point in this game, but two points in this game.
Yes, March and Kalski gets his first goal since the first, I think it was what, the first game of the season,
second game of the season, something like that.
He had not scored in over 32, 33 games.
It was a sweet deflection that came.
I think off Mike Matheson's shot from the point.
You know, you know it's bad for the Bruins
when March Nkowski is scoring on you,
but I know it didn't matter at the end,
but still good to see March Nkowski actually getting on the score sheet
for his third goal of the season.
Sidney Crosby gets a shorthanded goal.
We're going to get to that little embellishment
in quotation marks a little later.
Jake Gensel, of course, gets his on the power play.
Jared McCann.
Let's just talk about Jared McCann here for a second.
You know, I know King Clark was giving me a lot of shit on Twitter
just because he goes, well, you know,
he's not a changed player. He's still the same player. He's just not shooting at
3.2%. I'm like, yeah, I get it. He's not shooting at 2, 3% like he was last year. He's not
having a season where he's only scoring one goal in his last 25 games going into the pause. I get it.
But I just look at his all-around game, and it just looks so much better this year than where
it did last year. His playmaking ability, his play in the defensive zone, his skating, how
fast he is, everything. And then, of course, you have that excellent shot that he has, and
you put that all together. And this is the job. And this is the job.
Jared McCann that you are getting for 2020,
2021. He's been one of the
Penguins' best players, and at 2.9
million for this year and next year,
that is a flat-out bargain, and I would
love for Ron Hexton, Brian Burke,
to extend him. Maybe you go up
to a 3.5 million per, something like that.
He's probably not going to get anywhere.
I don't, I shouldn't say that. If he continues
to have the season, he could get close to
4 million per, I honestly wouldn't even be
that mad about it. But, you know, with how he's
playing right now, especially next to Jason
Zulker as the third line center, you know, with
how he's played next to Hvgeny Malkin as the second line left winger.
You can just put him anywhere and he's just been scoring at will this season.
If you look at hockey viz with Micah's stuff, for 2020, 21, excuse me.
He has at plus 1.5% expected goals for this season.
There's a lot of red around the slot area, you know, a little bit in front of the net.
Last season, everyone, minus 6.7% expected goals for.
There was so much blue in front of the net.
It just almost looks like the Atlantic Ocean.
there is hardly any red from him on his heat map.
Then defensively, minus 6.2 last year.
So great job with expected goals against this year, everyone.
Minus 7.1 per spend expected goals against.
There's hardly any red on the ice when he is in the defensive zone.
So in other words, he is scoring a lot, but he's not giving anything back when he is on the ice in the defensive zone.
It has been a completely different season for him in all facets.
And like I said, 2.9 million for him just seems like a complete steel.
for him at this moment. I'm loving his game right now, and I really hope that this continues
as we close out the season and get into the playoffs where, yes, everyone, I am very confident
in that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be in the playoffs when the dust settles in about what?
Five weeks now, I think this season ends. So great stuff for him. And also, yes, let's praise
Cody Cici some more because he had a great goal in that game. And Mike DeFable, the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette ran a great story on the Post-Cazette's website. I think it was yesterday.
And I loved how he incorporated some underlying numbers, some analytics into this story.
And, you know, he has 53.4% expected goals percentage this season.
As he writes, that is higher than Chris Latang.
The fact that that is higher than Latang speaks volumes to how great CC has been,
has nine points, three goals.
Again, that's second only to Chris Latang.
If you look at some of his other underlying numbers, as I scroll through this,
you know, his giveaways per 60 minutes at 0.94 are at an all-time low.
As Mike writes, you know, this is great reporting.
He was at 2.42 giveaways per 60 minutes in 2016-17 with the Ottawa Center.
So what a change that has been ever since moving to Pittsburgh.
And, you know, even in Toronto, he wasn't as bad as he was in Ottawa,
but he also wasn't nearly as good as what we're seeing right now.
And with Mike Matheson on the ice, their pairing, they have a 56.9%.
expected goals percentage that ranks higher than any of the other pairings,
and that was backed up by CK 404 Response Code's tweet.
I think he put that out if I go to his Twitter right now on April 2nd.
At that time, it was 57.3% for all pairs greater than 100 minutes via Moneypuck.com.
Pedersenarino was at 54.1% and 187 minutes,
Dumlin Tang at 50.8.
So, you know, that just goes to show how great Cici has been this year.
and yes, everyone, I am now advocating for them to sign CC2,
maybe a two-year extension, you know,
two to two and a half million per.
He has been that good for the Penguins this season.
I really hope that continues moving forward.
Other stuff in this game, like I said,
Cindy Crosby was sensational,
got his first shorthanded goal.
If I'm not mistaken, in a decade,
it's somewhere along those lines.
It has been quite a while since it's had a short-handed goal.
I talked about Gensel's goal to make a three to two.
You know, they played a great first period in that game.
They were stifling the Bruins, really frustrating that.
And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the Bruins put up five goals in the second period.
Like I have been saying, everyone, this was the first time the Penguins had given up more than three goals in the games in the last 16 games.
They allowed five in one period.
I mean, I don't even know if they've done that all season with how great defensively they've been.
But, you know, it started, I think, was it 12 seconds in?
Brubans tie it, then just a few seconds later, then they make it two to one.
I know the Penguins were able to tie it and then take it.
the lead later on in the period.
But then just the last five minutes of that period was just a total cluster
in so many ways.
The officiating was garbage.
You have Brad Marchand running around, getting Chris LaTang in trouble because LaTang finally
snapped at him.
And, you know, I'll say this.
The officiating was pretty shitty in that game, but that's part for the course with
NHRS.
They always love the even-up calls and they just don't see a lot of the stuff that the Bruins
get away with.
And, okay, yes, let's just get to, you know, the big incident that Bruinsans, of course,
have been talking about, and that's Cindy Crosby's little dive in quotation marks the
embellishment, whatever the case. Here is my take on that. If you have never taken a butt end
of a stick to your face or a stick to a face, you probably should not be giving your opinion
on that and saying that he embellished it. I mean, I played hockey as a kid, and you know, I know I didn't
get to play on, you know, some of my high school teams, you know, teams after that in college or whatnot,
But I've gotten sticked in the face before with a full face shield.
And that is how players react.
I've seen other players on my teams back when I was, you know, eight, nine, ten years old,
even going into my teenage years react that way.
I mean, I've taken a stick to the face while playing street hockey with no helmet on.
It is not fun.
And that is how players react.
So to see people out there saying, well, you know, I've played the game.
That's not how players react and whatnot.
You're full of shit and you really should not be talking about the sport at all, to be honest with you.
I just don't have the time of day for those kind of people.
That was not a dive.
That was not an embellishment.
Like I said, he took the butt end of a stick to his face.
That is how players react.
Did he sell it a little bit?
You know, sure.
You know, at that point in the game, every player would.
You're down 6'5.
You just got a huge goal.
There's still a buck 15 left in the game.
You potentially get a power play out of it.
There's a chance that you could send it to overtime to get a point in the game
where it looked like for, you know, the second half of the game,
you weren't going to get it.
Or, you know, I shouldn't say the second half the game that, you know,
the last 20 or so minutes that you're not going to get it just because they were leading
going into their halfway point you're damn right i'm going to sell it a little bit but just you know
it's so funny to see bruin's fans fired up about it especially because you know people made a whole
meme about the wheel of excuses with them and now they're just whining about other players on other
teams doing this little so-called endelishment or diving because he took a butt end of a stick
to his face so i really don't understand that and you know it's part for the course of people just
hating on Cindy Crosby for the sake of hating on Sidney Crosby.
So that is my take on that.
Like I said, I'll say it one more time.
If you're one of those people that have played hockey, I was from one of Bruins'
Twitter or something like, well, you know, I played hockey for so many years and I've taken
that exact situation with the butt end of my stick to my face.
And I didn't react that way.
Yeah, like I said, you're full of shit, so stop talking about it.
But overall, everyone, this is not the end of the world.
Yes, I know they gave up seven goals.
Yes, I understand Casey DeSmith did not have a good game, but it was also left out
to dry for a lot of these goals because the penguin's, because the penguin's
one's just stop playing defense for the second half of the game.
They're going to go into Tuesday night's game, I'm sure, pretty pissed off.
They had one five in a row going into this past game.
They are still in a good spot in the East Division.
I think there's still only a couple points out of first place and second place for that matter.
There's still seven points up on the Bruins as of this recording.
This is a playoff team, everyone.
There's still, I know a month left, you know, people can say things can change.
No, this team is going to make the playoffs.
And all that matters is that they get back to the way that they were playing.
for the last, you know, whatever, 20, 21 games with how great they've been defensively and all that.
And I expect them to against a team like the Rangers who they are 5 and 1 against the season.
But, you know, we'll all see what happens tomorrow night and on Thursday when they get the Rangers again.
But before we do get to the next, I'm going to talk about that trade target that I promised I would get to
early on in the show.
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All right, welcome back to this episode of the Locked On Penguins podcast. I'm your host, Hunter Hodeys.
In order to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodeys, follow the show's Twitter at L0 underscore Penguins.
So, we're listening to Elliot Freeman's 31 Thoughts Day.
So they basically did like a whole deadline preview, looking at buyers, looking at sellers, looking at some potential trade targets.
So obviously the penguins came up.
They said that they're buyers, obviously.
I mean, the penguins are not going to sell or anything like that.
And, you know, apparently Freeman, he did say that it sounds like the penguins do want to go out and get a center.
But then he put a name out there that I did not expect to hear.
You know, Jeff Merrick said he thought they were going to be on Eric Stahl.
He also put off Cody Eakin as a name.
Friedman dropped.
the name Philadelphia Flyers
forward Scott Lawton.
You know, it fits what Brian Burke
and Ron Hextall are looking for.
You know, a gritty forward,
a player with some size, he's 6-1,
almost 200 pounds this season so far.
17 points in 33 games
with the Flyers. He's coming off a season last year, we had 27
points and 49 games.
His possession this year hovering right around
50% in the playoffs last year.
He's one of their best players, 9 points in 15 games.
And yes, I understand this is probably
very likely actually not going
to happen. I'd probably say a 99% chance that's not going to happen. But
Freedman did think that this would have to be a three-way trade and, you know, obvious reasons.
Again, I don't think Chuck Fletcher and Ron Hextall are going to make a trade. But like I said,
it checks a lot of boxes. Hextall had this player when he was there. He probably really likes him.
And this is the kind of hard-nosed player that Burke and Hextall have been saying they want to go
and get. Someone who's physical can line up a nice clean hit.
And, you know, most importantly, someone that can actually play
and contribute offense at a pretty decent clip this year.
I know he's minus 0.3% expected goals for.
If you look at Micah's stuff in 2019, it was plus 5.8% expected goals for.
So there's a chance that he could get back to that level,
but defensively is where he's even better.
You know, minus 3% expected goals against last year.
It was only minus 0.6 the year before that.
It was plus 2.6% expected goals for.
But there's not a lot of red in front of the net for him defensively.
So he's a good defensive player, can contribute on the score sheet,
And if you're telling me about a Zucker, McCann, and Scott Lawton third line, inject that shit directly into my veins.
That would be a slam dunk acquisition for the Penguins.
Like I said, is it very unlikely that it happens?
Oh, absolutely.
You know, I do not see them trade it for Scott Law and unless it's like somehow a three-way deal with them getting marked strite like they did in 2017.
And that's exactly what Elliot Freeman said.
You know, there's precedent for that.
But do the Flyers really want to trade Scott Lawton, though, despite the season that they're having?
He seems like a player that would probably not want to be dealt from the flyers because I think he really likes playing there.
But I think that team is headed for a lot of surgery in the offseason.
I can see them making one or two major moves to shake up that team.
What do you do with Jacob Voracek?
What do you do with Travis Kineckney?
Do you finally move on from Claude Jureau?
That's probably not going to happen.
But, you know, Scott Lawton would make sense in that regard, but that's probably a draft day deal rather than a deadline acquisition.
But, you know, what are your thoughts on potentially getting Scott Lawton?
and let me know on Twitter at Hunter Hodes or on the show's Twitter at L.O.
Understore Penguins.
A couple more things here before I close out the show.
Some injury updates.
Teddy Lugar was a full participant at practice today.
I think I expect him to play on Tuesday.
If not Tuesday, it most likely will be on Thursday.
So it's big that he's coming back.
Tristan Jari, again, another full participant at practice.
I was reading stuff from a D.K. site.
He did say he's 100% healthy.
It sounded, it was more of a precaution with his injury that they wanted to get on it
and make sure it didn't get worse.
their bet paid off, and he's only going to be out for basically a week.
So great news on that front.
Both goals will be 100% healthy going into the stretch run here of the season.
And also, Mark Friedman was back at practice, practicing on the fourth defensive pairing.
That basically makes use of the recl of the ninth defenseman at this point.
And Brandon Tanev, yes, a soul for a soul continues.
Tanev will be weak to week with an upper body injury.
It was believed he got the injury.
He sustained the injury, I think, in the first period of Saturday afternoon's game against
I know he left the game at some point for like 12, 13 minutes before coming back.
I think he ended up finishing the game, if I'm not mistaken.
So again, that's another case of someone finishing the game after coming back from an injury,
but, you know, now he's weak to week.
So sometimes some of these players just need to not come back and play.
You know, like if Gunny Malkin did he played one shift after coming back,
and then decided he couldn't play on it.
And then, you know, now he's week to week, but he's still not skating, and Kappenden is not skating either.
So there's still out three forwards right now, but luckily the deadline is.
still a week away, where I still think it is likely that they do add a forward.
You know, it's probably not going to be Scott Lawton, but it would be awesome if it was.
But that'll do it for this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast.
I really appreciate you all listening to this one.
I'll be back tomorrow evening with an episode.
I'm probably going to do a post-game episode of the game against the Rangers,
and then I'll be back on Wednesday with another one after that, previewing the Thursday game
against Rangers.
Maybe I'll try to do something with John Chick or Nick Zararis, like I do,
or like I have, excuse me, with previous games against the Rangers.
So that'll do it for this one.
Hope you all have a great rest of your day, and I'll talk to you all tomorrow night.
