Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - A statement win for those Penguins!

Episode Date: October 13, 2021

What a gigantic win! Against all odds, the Pittsburgh Penguins stunned the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night with a performance that all fans would be very pleased with. Hunter goes into the biggest storylines to come from that game and it has to start with Brian Boyle. He goes over that goal and how it was all set up, plus how the team gave him quite the celebration. Can he stay in the lineup even when ZAR, Jake, and Sid come back? Hunter also gets into Tristan Jarry's play and how that can be a building block for him, plus how Dominik Simon continues to silence his haters. Danton Heinen also started out the game great, and Hunter also touches on Mike Sullivan's coaching performance and whether that's a top 5 coached game from him all-time. All that, plus much more on 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.

Your Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this Wednesday afternoon episode of the Locked-on Penguins Podcast. I'm your host, Hunter Hoddies. Mertrtlea, follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, follow this show's Twitter at Elin Astor Penguins. And thank you all so much for making the Locked-on Penguins podcast your first listen.

of the day. What a game last night. By your Pittsburgh Penguins, a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. We've got to start the show off, though, with a huge shout out to Brian Boyle. What a story. What a goal. I mean, I promise I would lead off with this last night from the locked on Penguins Twitter account. I had to deliver. Did not think that was going to happen. I saw everyone reacting very accordingly on Penguin's Twitter throughout the night, especially when that happened. but I couldn't be more happy for him just coming back from not even playing in the NHL for a year due to cancer and to score in his first game back that's what sports can do and it's just such a legendary moment for him

I mean the guy played for the team USA in the world championships this past summer with a bunch of kids and then comes back signs with the team after making it and then scores just a gigantic goal in the second period to put the penguins up to nothing I know Dominic Simone ended up having the game winning goal, but the Penguins do not win that game without that goal. So, awesome job from Brian Boyle.

And just thread the needle five hole on Andre Vasilevsky. It looked like he fooled him the entire way. I think Vasilevsky was thinking he was going to go upstairs or towards his blocker, but he basically just froze when Boyle slid that right between his pads, and the Penguins were off and running with that goal. Well, after the first goal of Danton Hyen, which I'll get to in a second. but also what a pass by Sam Lafferty there. I mean, I don't know where that play came from with Lafferty,

but that might have been the best play that he's made during his initial career, besides scoring that goal on Ilya Samsona coming down the left wing circle. I think he shot it. Blocker's side over him against the caps in 2019 or 2020, something like that. But that saucer pass hit Boyle right on the tape who was able to finish it off. So I really enjoyed that play overall. Tampa Bay was definitely sleepwalking. a bit, but, you know, both players on that goal, just really awesome to watch. So I really wanted to

start the show off by shouting out Brian Boyle for that great moment. And you can see just how much he means to the team already because they, I mean, the players that were on the ice, you know, Marcus Pedersen, Sam Lafferty, John Marino, pretty sure Drew O'Connor was on the ice too. They all came over and just mobbed him because of what that moment meant to Boyle. So awesome stuff there. We kicked off the Danton Hine and Hyde with a great goal. I loved how Jeff Carter was able to intercept that pass at the back of the net. I don't really know what Andre Vasilevsky was doing there, just kind of shot it right at his seat, but then Carter makes the heads-up play, passes it to Hinen, who basically has a half-empty cage. Vasselovsky was

not able to get back in time, and Hining gets his first goal of the season. You know, I know Jeff, who has gone on this podcast before, is sweating a little bit because that is Heinan's first goal. If he gets the 10 goals this year, he is the one that is going to be cock-eye barbecue from Youngstown, Ohio. So, only nine more, Jeff. I can't wait to hopefully get that free barbecue from a place that has, well, it looks like it has amazing food. And again, I really feel like Heinen is going to be a great player for this team. You saw that finishing ability from him last night. Again, you know, I understand it was a half-empty net, but, you know, the way he was able to be at the right position at the right time, shows his hockey IQ.

So that was a nice goal. The penalty that he took in the second period was just a bunch of BS. I don't think for as long as I've been watching the sport, seen a penalty. called on and off sides. I don't think that's ever happened before. Obviously, you know, the Tampa Bay player sold it a little bit, but I really didn't understand that call from the referee that was kind of a bit weird, at least in my opinion. Another big storyline from this game, continuing the big storyline segment here from this opener, Dominic Simone. It's a nice goal on, kind of a seeing-eye shot from the right point. Vasilevsky, I don't even think solid. I mean,

I think there was a lot of traffic, and I think it was a double screen, actually, and then before as the puck is honestly going past him, that's when he finally reacts. But at that point, it's too late. Talked about this a lot, the last week and a half to two weeks, Dominic Simone was going to be in the opening net roster. And if he continues to play like that, he will be playing every game on a nightly basis. I always compare him, you know, just with scoring goals. It's like, wow, you know, happy learned how to pot.

So, you know, he puts everything else together and starts scoring a lot more goals. This player is going to start winning over, hopefully a lot more fans in this fan. Let's say that because I understand he definitely has his critics, but again, if he can keep scoring like we saw last night, well, it doesn't need to be every goal, a seeing-eye shot, but if he can continue to get to the scoring areas and be a good playmaker, he's going to be a fan favorite pretty quick. Because I did see some really nice passes from him last night. I think one of them resulted in that Evan Rodriguez's breakaway where he kind of flubbed on and he just has to get a shot off there. I know Rodriguez scored an empty net goal later in the game. That's still an area where I want to see him and prove, you know, getting off a shot on the breakaway. But I thought Simone had a very strong night.

Brian Rust also gets an empty net goal. It was weird, you know, talking about, you know, more big storylines. John Cooper went full Patrick Waugh, when the Penguins were up 3-0 with six minutes left. It was good that the lightning scored. It's like, okay, that gamble played off for him. But then 20 seconds later, he's pulling the goal again. I don't get that strategy. I would have waited until about the three-minute mark to pull him again.

Because at this point, you're asking for the penguins to put the game away. And that's exactly what they did. You know, but 20, 30 seconds later, you know, Teddy Blugard makes it 4 to 1. I understand Tampa comes back about a couple minutes later, makes it 4-2. And then he just pulls his goal again. And then, you know, there's another empty-night goal to make it 5-2. And then, of course, you know, 6-2. But I think Cooper kind of played himself a little bit in that situation.

He should have just waited a couple of minutes before pulling the goalie. Because at that point, you would have seen how your team did it. even strained. Tampa Bay was starting to buzz a little bit. Why risk another open net when you're down to a five minutes left? When the penguins can just shoot it right down, that's exactly what they did to put the game away four to one. And I'd be remiss if I didn't touch on the player of Chris LaTang two assists in that game, and he was everywhere, always having the right read, making the right pass,

getting in to the scoring areas, being great in the defensive zone. It was a clinic from Latang in this game. Dare if I say if he plays like that every game this season, he will be a Norris finalist by the end of the season. Again, it's probably not going to happen when he plays like this every game. But when Latang does have games like this, you can see why so many people, including myself, have him as a top five defenseman when he is on top of his game. I've been saying that for the last four to five years and I will die on the hill that when he is on his A plus plus game, there are not five defensemen in this league that I would take over him,

especially with his offensibility and his play in the defensive zone. I loved what I saw from John Marino last night, looked very poised playing with Marcus Pedersen. I think that's where he needs to keep playing. Even when Mike Matheson comes back, we'll have more on that in the next segment, but it was also always making the right read. I thought he had a nice couple defensive plays to break up some scoring chances from the lightning. And I will say this.

I will end this segment with Mike Sullivan. this was a total masterclass of a coaching performance from this franchise's head coach. Not only did he tie Dan Bilesmer for the most regular season wins of all time, but you can see how much the players bought in to the system last night. It was defense her first hockey. The four check was ferocious. They were not giving Tampa anything off the rush or even anything short-handed. If I go and find this tweet, so here, check this out.

All this data comes from natural satch. for Jesse Marshall, who was just on the podcast, tweeted this out. The Penguins out attempted Tampa Bay 54 to 47. They outchanced them 32 to 23, and they had 66% of the expected goals at even strength. The Lightning only had four high-danger scoring chances at all situations. That is a dominant performance from your Penguins.

It goes to show that when everyone buys into the system, this is a very, and I mean a very hard team to beat. And I loved what Dominic Simone actually said after this game. He goes, I don't think they liked our four track too much. I feel like we play hard. John Cooper basically echoed the same sense of him, and he goes, yeah, outside of our goalie, I think we basically stung tonight. And I think if we played their farm team, I don't think it would have mattered.

We still would have lost. So that's high praise from Cooper. He knows how good of a coach Mike Sullivan is. And, you know, I talked about this on my Twitter during the game as well. I was probably the least confident that I had been going into a Penguins game in about five to six years. and the fact that they put up that performance goes to show that I really should not doubt Mike Sullivan ever again. So the Penguins get those two points. They get to 1-0 on the season. Going into the Florida Panthers, though, the coverage will not stop there.

Coming up in the next segment, I'm going to go over a couple other players who I also thought had great games last night, including the goaltender, just as a little bit of a tease. We also have P.O. Joseph's recall to touch on, as well as some practice notes as the team's practice is just getting underway. right now. But before we do that, we do have to touch on everyone's favorite protein bar, which is Bilt Bar. There's always something for everyone. If you don't know the Bilt Bar flavors, there's salted caramel, double chocolate, mint, brownie, raspberry, coconut, cherry barquea, strawberry, cookies and cream, which is my personal favorite, and of course, the German chocolate. If you haven't tried all the flavors, you can get a mixed box, and you'll get two of each of the

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and you'll get 15% off that order. Use promo code locked 15 for 15% off at built.com. All right, welcome back to this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I'm your host, Hunter Hodes. Remember to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguin.

So getting into a couple other players who I thought were strong last night, definitely Tristan Jari. I thought he was lights out, looked very calm and poised in the net, made some nice saves with his glove, and just his movement seemed a lot better than it was last season. I know, again, it's only one game, but I could definitely notice some differences, you know, with Andy Kyoto compared to Mike Buckley.

I feel like he wasn't as deep in his net, at least that's what I was seeing. He was more square up to the shooters. And he just had that swagger about him all night where nothing really was going to beat him. I thought that first goal Sullivan should have challenged that. I thought that was goaltender interference on Alex DeLorn. He basically pushed, I think it was Brian Dumlin into Jari.

And I think afterwards Jari even raised his hand like, hey, you know, that's interference. But I guess Sullivan didn't want to challenge it and risked the chance of taking a minor penalty and putting that vaunted Tampa Bay Powerplay back onto the ice. And then the second goal, I'm not really going to blame him too much for that. I saw some people who's calling that a softie. It was just a nice shot, five-hole lingerie. I think there was a little bit of a turnover behind the net. I think Letang actually turned that over, and it was a nice pass.

I want to say from Stamcoast to Coulorne. So I'm not going to just dump on it in for those two goals. The game was basically over at that point anyway for both of them. but I will say this was a great start to the season for the team's number one goaltinner. If he can put together performances like that throughout the season, I think that'll definitely get some fans off the ledge closer to being more content with him being the team starter. So really liked that performance. For him, I thought Teddy Bluger put on a nice show.

There was this one point. Tampa Bay was pressuring, I want to say, close to the midway point of the third period. And I believe that it was 20th was still 3-0. and I believe Braden Point had the puck, yes. And Teddy Bluger comes over, makes this little chip play or lifts his stick, chips the puck out, and it's like, you know what? Those are the kind of plays that Teddy Bluger is being paid for. We don't talk about how great he is defensively enough.

And that was the sort of play where it was like, you know, nothing was getting past the penguin's defensive scheme. That night he was able to just kind of boss Braden Point around and take the puck off his stick with ease and then the scoring. chance was basically gone right from there. I also loved how Brian Dumlin's helmet saved a scoring chance as the puck hit it and then went out of the zone. That was incredible. I really wanted to highlight that little play from Blue Group because I know not a lot of fans see stuff like that, but you know as someone who covers the team for this podcast and also writes about them for a couple sites, you know, I noticed

that kind of stuff and I want to bring those sort of plays to light a lot more to show that sometimes it's the little things that make a player really good in this league. So I very much appreciated that play and I thought overall he did have a strong game. Marcus Pedersen as well. I thought he stood out, was making all of the right reads all night.

You know, the people that always say that he's not physical or enough or don't play in the front of his net well. Those people really don't know what they're talking about and they really shouldn't be taken seriously within the Penguins fan base. So wanted to talk about that as well. Other than that, I don't really think too many other players stood out. It was just a really good

team win and again, that four check and the stingy defensive play was on display on. Now, you can definitely tell that Tampa was final. It also reminded me of the Penguins 2017-18 opener after they won that second Stanley Cup in 2017 where they didn't have a lot of left in the tank that night.

And I'm pretty sure if I recall correctly, they lost to the St. Louis Blues. Yeah, I believe it was a 5-4 game, went to overtime, and then the Blues beat them in that overtime. But last thing to, again, Tampa didn't have a lot. You can definitely tell I think that they were partying a bit too much the night before.

And I will say this as well. Watching that game on ESPN, it was such a breath of fresh air. You can really tell that this network cares about covering the NHL. It's so different from NBC. Shawna McDonough calling hockey. I thought it felt really good. It flowed nicely. Ray Ferraro calling a game over someone like Pierre Maguire.

that's just like buying a Lamborghini after having a Prius for all these years. I mean, I think that's honestly the best way to describe it. I loved how Ferraro kind of just dumped on that 90s devil's trap during the broadcast. I thought that was awesome. I think Emily Kaplan also used the words pissed off to describe a player during that. You know, I want more of that on broadcast as well. Some of the camera angles definitely, I think, need a bit of work. I think the overhead shot probably has to go.

there were some audio issues, but all in all, I thought it was a fantastic debut from ESPN. And even all day leading up to that game, they were talking a lot about the penguins and the lightning. Just goes to show that, you know, if you put the sport into a proper network's hands, they will talk about it a lot and really help grow the game. You know, you have someone like Sean McDonough in there who's called a lot of sports, college football, NFL. I'm pretty sure he's also done NBA, I think, a little bit as well. you know, with Ray Ferraro, who I think is the top color commentator in this sport, it's going to go a long way. And I thought Emily Kaplan inside the glass was great too.

It felt so refreshing not having to hear. Pierre McGuire just spam Krista Tang down on our throats and analytic equations and all whatever nonsense he said. So really enjoy that broadcast, and I can't wait to see more games broadcasted on ESPN that are the Penguins. Finally, I wanted to say going into the next segment, I think people need to, stop doubting the penguins a bit too much. It's kind of like, I saw this on Twitter from someone, you know, it's almost like show me the body when it comes to penguins. I saw people predicting them to finish six in the, not in the conference, excuse me, but six in the Metropolitan Division. I don't really know where that's coming from. I mean, as long as his team

has Mike Sullivan, they're going to have a shot at making the playoffs and doing some damage every single year. They're going to be healthy right after this game. I mean, Jake Gensel and Zach Astin-Rates are already on the ice for practice. That's going to be one of our topics of discussion in the next segment as well as some postgame takeaways from you all. So the demise of the Penguins might have been greatly exaggerated, though. They will face another tough test when they play the Florida Panthers on Thursday. So that wraps up this segment of the Lockdown Penguins podcast for today. Again, coming up in the next one, we're going to get to some listener takeaways as well

as some practice notes and see if Gensel and Zach Aspenrys are doing line rushes and all that. and also some thoughts on POJ's recall from Wilkesbury today. Before we do that, though, BetOnline is back and better than ever. All eyes are on the gridiron and his teams are back on for another football season. As always, Ben Online is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. You can head to the website or use a mobile device to sign up to say to receive your 50% off welcome bonus on your first deposit. Don't forget to use our promo code locked on to receive your bonus. That Online is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all.

all your favorite sports that is better online, where the game starts. All right, welcome back to this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm your host, Hon. Hode's. You know to follow me on Twitter at Honohodes. Follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. So the lines at practice have been revealed. Again, Denzel and Ashton Rees and actually Sid are back on the ice. And Jake Gensel has reclaimed his spot on the top line with Jeff Carter and Ryan Russ.

Danton slides down to a line. with Brock McGinn and Teddy Blugher. So it looks like Jake will at least be back for the pens on Thursday against the Panthers. Again, Ashton Rees, Drew O'Connor and Cindy Crosby are not skating. So it looks like O'Connor will be the odd man out right now. Definitely an interesting choice, but you know, with how Sam Lafferty played last night, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't know if any of you all saw this,

but he went one-on-one with Ryan McDonough and tried a little power move on him. And it's like, you know, I applaud someone like Sam Lafferty trying that. You can definitely tell that he has a little bit. little more confidence with his game if he's trying something like that. As for the defense, though, Dumlin will be with Letang, Pedersen with Marino, and then Friedman with Joseph, and Ruehdle are rotating. Yes, P.O. Joseph was recalled from Wilkesbury today. So that I think shows that Matheson's injury is a bit more serious than some may have thought

it would be. Matheson is likely not going to play against the Panthers. I will be curious to see if we do see a POJ and Chowruiddle pairing, even though I thought Friedman was mostly fine last night, but it looks like we could have POJ's debut very early on in the season. I think this could be a good thing for the Penguins because we can get to see what he did over the offseason and see if his game has transformed a little bit since the last time we saw him play for this team. So there are your updates on that. The Panthers are going to be a very tough test.

Sasha Barkov just signed that fresh eight-year extension. I think Jonathan Huberdow is one of the most underrated players in the league he put up point-for-game seasons in almost each of the last three to four seasons. One of those was a 91-point season. He does not get the credit that he deserves for being a great playmaker and a really good goal score. Mackenzie Wieger is almost just as good as Aaron Ekwald. You can honestly make the argument that he is as good as Ekblot.

We all know how great Ekplod is. He was having a tremendous season last year before going out with what I believe is an ankle injury. Frank Vitrono, Owen Tippett, old friend Patrick Hornquist. We have not seen Hornquist since the trade to the Panthers. As of course, the Penguins did not play Florida at all last year. So that should be an interesting

game going up against a fan favorite. And I'm not really sure who's starting in net. It's going to be one of Sergey Bavrovsky or Spencer Knight. But if I had to guess, I think it will be Spencer Knight who, again, if he's as good as a lot of people say he's going to be, they're going to be a real problem this year.

Now, let's get to your post-game takeaways. Ryan King, 702. Nice to see you back in my mentions, man. He says, I thought they had a nice pep to their step, Boyle looked really good and could be a nice veteran presence to have. Yeah, I think Boyle, at least after that game, is making me eat my words a little bit. I know I tweeted out a couple days ago that this could be a waste in about a week or two because there's going to be three forwards coming back. So where is he going to have a place in the lineup? But if he plays

like that, he'll be playing on a nightly basis, at least until if Kenny Malcon comes back. And even if you have to put him in the press box, the team is still going to rally around that kind of player and you can really tell that they love playing with him. I mean, again, I touched on this in the earlier segment. Look at how they celebrated when he scored last night. It was almost just like, you know, he's been there for five or six years. They just really have come to respect, and they were just messing around with him in training camp.

It looked like I really like how they seem to just have embraced him thus far. Alan T. Yoder, it is only one game, but it is very impressive. Though it is a bit misleading since most of the goals were empty nets, which is an interesting strategy. Again, Alan, yeah, I mean, he went full Patrick Waugh. You know, usually when Waugh was with Colorado, sometimes he would do it with eight minutes left. But again, the biggest blunderer that John Cooper made last night was pulling the goalie again. 20 seconds later, I think he should have waited two more minutes to pull the goalie. I think that would have made a lot more sense.

True North Penn's fam says that was a statement game to me. Sullivan had those boys ready to go. Very impressed on many levels. Hopefully a continuation of last year's successes, and that continues to build. and I think seeing the Cup tonight at United these penguins, great effort on all levels. I 100% agree with you. Sullivan definitely had them ready to go. I think this was one of his best coaching performances in the six years that he has been here.

I honestly put it up close to a top five coaching performance. And, you know, there's been a lot of big games. You know, the game seven against the Capitals, Game Six against Nashville, that was such a masterpiece game. I'm trying to think of a couple others here. Game six against San Jose, obviously that comes to mind with how great they were in the third period. defensively in that one. But this one is definitely a borderline top five,

if not in the top five, with how much the odds were stacked against them and how honestly no one was betting on them to win. So yeah, definitely a statement game, and I think I definitely agree that seeing the cup in there tonight ignited them just because they were the last team to have that back-to-back. So I think that was definitely weighing on them a little bit as well.

Iris, AJ says, Marino looked great. Boyle needs a spot in the line of when the team is 100% healthy. Tembe looked gas and slow. two long cup runs. Yes. I agree with that Marino looked awesome. It was definitely a more encouraging performance from him to start this season than what we saw last season. If he can continue that as he starts that new contract, no one is really going to be complaining about that. That's for sure. I think you'll see Boyle continue to play if he plays like that in Siljino

returns, but when Malkin returns, I just don't know if there is going to be a spot for him in the lineup just because I don't think that Sullivan will play him over Dom Simone, who I also thought was really good last night. But it'll make for some tough roster choices. But, you know, when you are 14, 15 forwards deep, that's all you can ask for. I don't really think as far as top 14 to 15 forward unit groups go, there are not many teams that can boast the lineup that the Penguins can. And, you know, defensively as well, you know, you have those top eight defensive

that you have right now on the team. There are not many teams that can put out a better top eight than the Penguins can. Tim Francis, I came into this game worried about this team, especially with this lineup, but everyone stepped up in the Sid, you know, absence. The defense surprised me. It looked pretty great without Cici. Long way to go, but a great start, and Sid can only help. Yeah, I'm sure Sid can only help, though.

I'm sure we're going to get the takes of, well, is this team worse without Sidney Crosby? Here's my calling with a colon. So, obviously, Sid is going to help a lot when he comes back. I would assume it is going to be on Saturday. And again, I was definitely concerned about. going into this matchup, but yeah, I think everyone will say that they surprise a lot of people. Philip Cox says Lafferty looked way better this season. They can still score by committee when needed to. I'm still worried about what will happen with the overall team depth.

I honestly think, Philip, that depth is going to be just fine. It's a good problem to have when you are 14 forwards deep, and you can see just with the debt players scoring last night that, you know, they have that to offset for when Sid and Gino were going to be out at least to start the season. But when Sid comes back, it's going to be obviously a lot better because he can carry his own line. And then, you know, Jeff Carter moves down, Teddy Blugher moves down. Something like Brian Boyle is able to move down as well.

Especially when I'm getting Malkin comes back, it's going to be even better of a problem to have. So I don't really worry too much with team depth. I think they have one of the better four groups in the league. And I will agree with you on Lafferty. What he did last night, that saw surpassed and trying to go one-on-one with McDonough. It was a nice change of pace, though. We have been fooled with this player many times, so hopefully that is the start of what is to come with this player.

And then last but not least, Gilbert the Goat, Jari, with a huge bounce back after the Bruel playoffs. I thought Ruido had a sneaky good game. That is something that I have not heard enough about. I'm glad that you brought that up, Nick, because Chad, he's always going to give you that steady game. You know, 15, 16 minutes a night. You don't want him playing 21 to 22 minutes,

but if you have him that 15 to 17-minute range, he'll give you good defensive play, and he can chip in offensively at times as well. So I thought he was good, was making the right reads, was good with his zone exits and zone entries. It's everything you want to see in a number six defenseman. He also says, I was happy with the new guys as well. Great game from Brock McGinn and Hinen.

I will say I thought McGinn did have a good debut. He had a couple really nice scoring chances. I think one of one of them was a two-on-one, fired it on Gloveside on Vasilevsky, but he was able to make a good save, thought he was going to potentially score that first goal of the season. So, like what I also saw from Hinen and Nick also ends with. I hope people took note that Sullivan is a top three coach in hockey after this game.

And yes, I hope people did as well. There are not three to five coaches that are better than him, even when it's been six years since he was hired. Now, the people that want to fire Mike Sullivan in this Penguins fan base, I will never understand those people. Now, if the team goes ahead and stinks this year and doesn't make the playoffs, Okay, maybe there's a little bit of a warranted argument there, though I don't see that happening when it comes to this team. But I think that will do it for this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast.

Thank you all so much for joining me for this one. The next episode, I will have a game recap episode tomorrow evening after the game against Florida. It'll be up late night. And then Friday, we will preview the home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks with Mark Andre Fleury's return to Pittsburgh yet again. So that will be the schedule for the rest of the week. I hope you all enjoy listening to this one, and I will talk to you all tomorrow evening.