Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Adam Gretz joins the show to talk all things Penguins!

Episode Date: April 14, 2022

Hunter is finally joined by Adam Gretz of Pro Hockey Talk and Pensburgh as the two get into everything regarding the Penguins right now. They first touch on that last game against the Islanders and what's the main problem with the Penguins right now (outside of the team being sick). They get into Brian Dumoulin and why he should be a prime candidate to be rested down the stretch since his level of play is not where the team or the fans likely envisioned it would be right now. They also get into the officiating and how that reared its ugly head once again in that Islanders game. Is this going to be the standard for the rest of the way? After that, it's time for Evgeni Malkin discourse! The two give their thoughts on the suspension and why it was justified, plus how the DOPS...actually got it right??? Could this be a blessing in disguise for Geno? They get to that, plus touch on who the best playoff matchup is for the Penguins if one even exists based on the possible matchups. 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.

So I'm actually recording at not late at night. Obviously, it is more light in the background today. I'm recording this at 11 a.m. on Thursday. Usually I do a full game recap episode, but for today, I'm bringing on Adam Grets of Pensburg and Pro Hockey Talk where you get into everything regarding Penguins, Regina Suspension, Brian Dumlin's bad play, the playoffs coming up, and so much more.

It's coming up right after this drop. 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 episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. Remember to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes,

follow the show's Twitter at L-O-1-Square Penguins. So, joining me now is Adam McGrats from Pro Hockey Talk in Pensburg, and I've been wanting to get you on the podcast for a while, I'm glad that you can finally come on. A big game for the Penguins tonight against New York Islanders. They'll try to avenge what the heck happened in overtime in the shootout from last game where they kind of just basically deserved to lose. I felt like with that power play and then the shootout where I think they're just kind of trying to abolish it.

What did you overall think about that game and what do you think the penguins have to do tonight to come out on the better side of the result? I mean, personally, I just think if the game doesn't go to a shootout, they have a great chance. Yeah, they seem to have a very obvious contempt for the shootout. They just very slowly skate down the middle of the ice and just kind of put it on net and hope for the best. And, you know, that's nothing new. I thought the thing that was really frustrating about the game on Tuesday was the power play in overtime. Pretty much from the time New York took that penalty, everything was a disaster.

They almost put the puck in their own net on the delayed penalty, which would have, It almost would have been a more satisfying way to lose in the way they lost. But then, you know, that happens. Then they get the power play that they just totally squander. It was just a terrible power play. Probably one of the worst four-on-three overtime power plays you're ever going to see. Just nobody would shoot the puck. Nobody would take a shot.

Nobody would take a chance. But I thought the thing that stood out about that game, and this has been kind of something that stood out the past couple games, is they have really been struggling to get out of their own defensive zones. I thought the Islanders were kind of all over the most of the night. They forked a lot of turnovers. Two of the Islanders' goals came off and just really bad turnovers that just gave them wide open guys for wide open jams.

The Brian Dumlin play along the wall is the one that I think everybody noticed. But I think it was the Islander's third goal. late in the second period, or late in the first period, I'm sorry, late in the first period, where Teddy Bluger just kind of threw the puck into the middle of the ice. He basically set the guy up for a one-timer. And, you know, those types of plays, I think Mike Sullivan refers to them as hope plays, where you just kind of hope the result goes the way you want it to go. You just kind of chip it off the glass, chip it off the boards,

and hope it goes to where you want it to go. But what's been happening in La Laleigh is it's, going to the other team or it's going for an icing and you're still back in the defensive zone. So I think teams that have been able to get on the penguins quickly with their forecheck and have a lot of speed have given them some problems. Carolina's given them some problems. Florida has given them some problems. And the way the islanders play, that gave them some problems on Tuesday night.

So I think for me, that's the big area they kind of have to focus on right now. I think if you take care of that, a lot of the other problems you think they have kind of go away. You're not going to be defending as much. You're going to be in the offensive zone more. Goaltending becomes less of a factor. If you're controlling the puck in the offensive zone, you're more likely to get on the power play. So they fix that. I think a lot of these other problems kind of fix themselves.

But I think that's the big thing I want to look for in this game. Yeah, no, I agree. you know, I think you described it. You know, they're playing the defensive zone. They were kind of doing the, I think your tweet was the Rob Skidary, chip off the glass play and hoping that they're, A, not jumping up to deflect the puck down or B, not going against the boards to just keep it in the zone because I felt like, you know, the Penguins were doing that a lot.

And, you know, that does bring me a little bit to Brian Dumlin here, Adam. What a, you know, start out the season rough, turned it around a bit, actually looked like the Brian Dumlin that I've seen, you know, so much since 2016. And, you know, you look at the numbers on natural statuary at 5E5. I mean, you know, I think his expected goals for percentage is 52%. Scoring chances, it's right around 55. Shot attempts, though, right around 50%. But, you know, eye test-wise, he hasn't been right for most of this season.

And, you know, you touched on that play. It was the 4 to 3 goal in the third period where it was a simple slap shot dump in from, I think it was Andy Green who had it. and Dumlin just somehow misplays it, goes into the corner, not even a weird bounce. And then Josh Bailey, of all people, who has not had a good year for the Islanders,

but still kills the Penguins because that's what he does. He's the new Jordan Everley. Deeks, Casey to Smith, penguins are lucky that, you know, Jeff Carter is able to tie it up on the power play. Just what is, what has gone wrong for him? Is this injury?

Is it all performance? Because I simply can't get a handle on it. I also personally think if the Penguins do clinch tonight. I mean, they will clinch, I think, sooner rather than later. They need to rest him for, I think, most of these games down the stretch. Yeah, I think he's pretty concerning because he's at that age where players of his skill set kind of deteriorate. They don't really, they don't age gracefully in their play. And I think there's a pretty sudden drop off with that. And I think we might be starting to see that happen.

You know, I mean, I'm sure he's probably not 100%. But he's been so good for so long and so stable and so reliable. It's jarring to notice him so much. Because when he was at his best, he didn't notice him. He's one of those players that you don't want to notice him. Because if you see him, if you notice and play, that means something's probably going wrong for him. And he's standing out a lot more this year.

And I just worry with some of the plays he's making, you know, he never used to be a guy that just had to chip the puck off with the last to get it out of the zone. He could skate a little bit. You can make a good first pass out of the zone. He could do all those things. That's what made him such a good partner for Chris Lantang for so long, was that, yeah, he was a solid defensive player that could compliment him in that way,

but he could also do enough other things with the puck that it didn't hold the tang back. and now all of a sudden a lot of that seems to be gone and I just worry that maybe we're starting to see the beginning of the end of him as a really high-end player and it's a problem because I don't think he's a guy you're going to take it out of the lineup I mean he's not a guy that's going to be the odd man out it's going to be Mark Friedman it's going to be Marcus Pedersen

those are the guys that are going to sit and you don't want to have that type of, I don't want to use the word why, ability, I think that's too harsh because I don't think he's at that level yet, but in a playoff series, good teams are going to exploit any weakness you have over the seven-game series. And I think back to that first Penguins Stanley Cup run back in 2016, that first round series against the Rangers, Every time Mark Stahl and Dan Girardi were on the ice, the penguins just crushed them.

They just absolutely crushed them because they couldn't keep up. And teams will find that weakness in a seven-game series, and they will go at it. And I agree with you that I think they should be resting him some nights. I honestly think they should probably rest Crystal Tang some nights as well. That's a thing that, of all the sports that can use load management and resting players, I think hockey is the one where it makes the most sense, but hockey is also the one that will be the last one to do it because there's that pride factor and there's that, oh, we have to, we're top.

We can play through this. It's just not going to happen. But I think some of these veteran guys, they could use the occasional night off to be fresh for what is hopefully a long playoff run. So I definitely think once they clinch, they should probably sit them a little bit. And I think you have to have a very real discussion this offseason about whether or not he's the guy you try to move. I know Pedersen and Marino have long-term contracts and maybe they haven't quite developed the way you want them to develop. But I think there's still more upside there.

And I just worry about what Dumlin is going to look like next season. So it's definitely a concern. It's not a guy you've ever had to be worried about these past six or seven years. years. But I think now you do a little bit. Yeah, the Penguins are going to have some really tough decisions, I think, on that blue line the summer. Because, you know, going into it, I think a lot of people even thought Matheson for one point was maybe the one to get moved. Now, he's playing at a very high level. I've seen the takes that, oh, wow, maybe he could replace Chrysletang. No, that's just, that's not true because Chris LaTang is a better defensive defenseman and he can do things with

the puck that Matheson simply can't. And Matheson also can't take top pairing minutes. So Or a special team minutes. Yeah. I really like Mike Matheson. I like the way he's played this season. I think he's a fun player because there's always something happening when he's on the ice. But I think people forget we've seen what happens when he's the top defenseman on a team. Yes.

And we have like five years of that evidence in Florida when he was playing 22 minutes a night and he was one of the top guys. It didn't go well. It's one of the reasons he became available in a trade. And I think the penguins have found a nice sweet spot for him where they can shelter him a little bit. They can utilize his strengths. They can take advantage of his skill and his talent. And his weaknesses aren't exposed too much. I think they found the right spot for him.

And I wouldn't mess with that. I know, I mean, I wouldn't either. You know, I know he's taking top pairing minutes with Crystal Tang right. Now, it is the right move for at least a little. He's not the top guy. Yeah, exactly. He's the number two. Chris Latang will do what he does because that's just who he is.

I know he had a rough game, last game, but that's not the norm for him. Don't worry, Adam. I always have sometimes some small rants on the anti-Latang people because it's just, it's something else to say. A lot of them. Yeah, there's way too many. Still a lot more to get to for this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast, including, you know, of getting a malcon suspension, of course, the playoffs right around the corner. But before we get to that, bet online.net is your number one source for all of your betting

stats and sports info. You can find all the latest sports developments, league reviews and news, including this year's basketball playoffs and the start of the MLB season. Beneline is your continuous source for all of your sports wager information from live betting to playoffs, e-sports, and more. You can head to the website today or use your mobile device to remember more about the trends and the action that is betonline where the game starts. All right. We're back here on this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I'm, of course, Hunter Hodes. You can follow the shows Twitter, L.O. and Swar Penguins. My Twitter right there is at Hunter Hodes. So, Adam, we'll just, we'll get this out of the way here with the Afghani Malkin suspension. You know, for me, rightfully deserved, you can't be just cross-checking people in the face with your stick right there. He's done, I mean, he's gotten suspended before. He has to just know the situation that he's in. Of course, this is going to bring out the conspiracy crowd by saying, well, the penguins are,

they're not consistently punished and they get all the calls and, you know, all this stuff that really nobody can prove and whatever. What was your assessment on the malcon suspension? Because, you know, I also think for me it's, it obviously has a lot of negative, but if there's one small positive, that is that he gets right for the playoffs, I think. Yeah, I thought it was definitely justified. I thought it was one of the rare, one of the rare times where, the Department of Player Safety pretty much got it right.

You know, we saw Austin Matthews get the two-game suspension for cross-checking in the outdoor game against Buffalo. Malkin got those two games, and then he got the extra two games for having a prior history because, you know, he's got suspended once before, and he has a fine both for stick incidents. like I mean when you it's the third time you've been called for it you're going to get hit a little bit harder and I thought maybe three games

I thought he was going to get the two games that Matthews got and then the additional game for having a prior record the game before I'm fine with that I think in terms of suspensions the league should always be heavier handed as opposed to lighter handed I don't I don't think suspensions have enough teeth of them these days

and I think you have to take this thing seriously. I think when you hit guys hard, that's when the behavior changes. I think that's why a guy like Brad Marchand keeps doing what he does because he hasn't gotten that big suspension yet. Same what you want about Tom Wilson, but ever since he got that huge suspension for the Oscar Sunquist hit, you don't see him in the news as much.

You don't see him toe in the line as much. I know he had the incident last year in Madison Square Garden with Panarin, but he hasn't been blindsinding people. He hasn't been, you know, we haven't seen the big headshot that we saw so many of in a short period of time because he missed 20 games. You take guys out, they're going to get the message. So I have no problem with the league going a little bit heavier on Malkin. It had to be suspended, had to be significant.

It was just a stupid play. I mean, you can't do that. I'm not even sure what really caused it. Like, it was just kind of like him losing his mind for a minute. And, you know, you just can't do that, not in that situation. Even in that game situation, like, you can't put yourself down short-handed there. So I have no problem with it. I do think, you know, him having, you know, basically two weeks off here to get some

rest. I kind of hate to look at it that way because he did do something stupid, but there is a silver lining where he does get some time off. He's coming back from pretty major injury. He's in his mid-30s. You know, you hope for a long playoff run. You want him to be fresh, and now you've got a chance to do that. But I have no problem with the suspension. He's got to be more composed in the situation because, you know, teams aren't dumb. They know what buttons to push. They know who's whose buttons to push. And you can bet they're going to do that in the playoff series. And if you play the Rangers, they have a lot of guys that are capable of doing that.

So got to keep things in check. I'm fine with the suspension. You know, it had to happen. Yeah. And, you know, especially the situation at the time in, like tied game going into the third. You're trying to break your losing streak. Like, that could have given the game away. You know, national scores on that power play.

And honestly, you know, the Penguins are lucky. It wasn't a four-even at Powerplate because they actually took Borgeski to the penalty. Yeah, I didn't know what he did. What kind of the call is that? I don't know what you got a penalty for. It was crazy. I just like, I feel like NHL officiating makes it up as they go along. It's just like a bunch of clown emojis or something.

Every time this stuff comes up, I just, I don't get it. Yeah. But go ahead. It's, I mean, there's the obvious even-up calls. There's the obvious, you know, we don't want to decide the game, so we're going to let them play. But then there's just incidents like that that just make no sense. Like, you know, as much as I disagree with it, I at least understand where the even-up mindset comes from. I understand where the let-them-play mindset comes from.

It's stupid. It shouldn't be. But it at least makes some degree of sense. A situation like that taking both guys there and not giving Nashville a four-minute power play or even a five-minute, if we're being honest here, it probably should have been a five-minute power play. Situations like that, I'm in a loss for words with them, like how they get called and why they get called. It's just, it's insane. And it's, you know, to me, the officiating problem is still one of the biggest things that holds the league back in terms of, in terms of, in terms of, a, of, a, of, a, you know, it's. building viewers and gaining fans because you have this great sport and this and right now

the league is just swimming with with amazingly talented players that could be really exciting and we're coming to a point in the season now where the games should be getting better and the style of play is going to is going to just plummet because of the way it's officiated and we're going to cater to the third and fourth liners instead of the superstars and that's why I've always said, you know, playoff hockey is great for the drama and the suspense and the intrigue and the pressure of elimination and your season ending. But the style of play, the quality of play, I don't think is better than the regular season. I think regular season games tend to have a better quality of play because it's not a

wrestling match on ice. So, you know, that's my, that's my officiating rant for the day. And it was, your tweet the other night was funny because they got the captain and call wrong and then 10 seconds later they take Brock off and album just like that's your make-up call I think Mike Sullivan along the line said I'm effing embarrassed for you on the bench I thought as you always say Adam you wish you could have thrown the bench on the ice it's funny because as soon as soon as you realized what happened with the penalty call on the islanders where the penguins one of the power play I almost

tweeted the penguins better score in the first 10 seconds of this power play because it's going to be a very short power play. The even up call is, and then they scored right off the face off. So, and then the even up came literally off the next face off. Yeah. Like, it was still 10 seconds of game time later, but the Penguins were lucky enough to get the game tying goal in there. But yeah, I mean, I understand, like, human nature, you feel bad. You got the call wrong and you messed it up.

But I don't think making a second bad call makes it better. like sometimes bad sometimes you miss something sometimes bad calls happen sometimes bad plays happen sometimes you just got to let it be that I think when you make another egregiously bad call and do so intentionally

like the first one okay we just messed it up we missed it it's a mistake but to intentionally make and that's what it is it's intentionally making a second bad call it's just outrageous to me and we just let it The league just let it go.

It's crazy. I mean, this is why I would love if the officials were made available to the media after the game to answer for this kind of stuff. But the NHL is never going to do that because, well, it's just. Every other sports league does it. Any time there's a controversy, even if they just let one pool reporter go and question them, there's still somebody there where the official can at least give his perspective and say, you know what, this is what I saw. you can either defend it, double down on it, or say, you know what, I screwed up.

It happens. But the NHL won't even give us that. They just tell us it's a tough job and, you know, deal with it, basically. I don't get it. I never have. You know, I always say, you know, best sport, worst league. And, you know, it's just, it's on display, I think, almost all the time. But stick around for our last segment for this podcast.

We're going into some playoff talk. a little bit more so that's coming up right after this commercial break all right we're back here on this episode of the locked on penguins podcast i'm of course hunter hoodies so adam you know the penguins they're just about there magic number is three they win tonight they're officially in and then but you know we've been looking at possible playoff opponents for a while and right now i think it's between one of three i can say three if the rangers do pass carolina they're two points back but it's probably down to two the new york rangers you're going on the road to mass the square garden or you're going to go to the second wild card spot because the

Washington capals are playing really well right now but they also have a really tough schedule down the stretch to say the least um of those two teams is do would you have a preference for the penguins to play because you know for me it's it's tough either way you know the rangers they play a style that's i think more defensive they're going to make the penguins work for everything igor shes storkans and the best goaltender in hockey this year though you know could a regression be coming who knows florida they're deep at four word defensively if they get Aaron Akblod back, that's going to be even more insane. But in goal, Sergei Bavrovsky is not that good.

And he has melted down in the Penguins constantly in a couple of series. Just would you have a preference as to who the Penguins will play? Or is it kind of just pick your poison? I mean, the Eastern Conference playoffs this year are going to be so tough. There's not, there, there's not an easy matchup at any point. I don't think there's a result in any of the potential first-round matchups that would surprise me or be a huge upset because every team is that good. The Ranger, three weeks ago, I would have said the Rangers are definitely my pick because I think the Penguins were a much better team than that. The thing the Rangers had going for them is, as you said, Igor Shusirkin, who's phenomenal.

and he did hit a little bit of a lull there over the past couple weeks, but I think he's starting to get back on track a little bit. You know, he's just incredible. But the trade deadline additions the Rangers made have really changed them for me. I think they're a much better team. And I think the supporting cast around Chesterkin is a lot better now. And, you know, they had Andrew Kopp and Frank Petrono. and they're playing them in the top six.

Their top six was already good. And those two guys just make it that much better. But now they have the two kids on the third line, Lafranier and Capo-Cocco. And those two guys are wild cards. They have a ton of potential. They have a ton of talent. If they put it together,

and I think both of them have shown signs of doing that this season, that's a game changer for them. Because, you know, how many teams have recent number one and number two overall picks that they can put on their third line for the playoffs, with that type of talent. Those guys put it together with the top six they have if Adam Fox on defense,

they have the best goalie in the league this season in net. That's going to be a really tough team. And if you look at their numbers since the trade deadline, they've been one of the best teams in the league. And I know they haven't really played the tough of schedule since then.

They've played two playoff teams in the past like, I think 12 games. They played the Penguins three times. They played Carolina. They beat the Penguins all the three times and they gave Carolina a really good game the other night. They're really good. They're going to be a tough team. I know I shouldn't feel this way, but Florida does not scare me as much as they should on paper. I know their offense is incredible. I know their style of play

is really difficult to defend. They're very aggressive on the forecheck. They are very talented. they're very fast. They have probably the best offense the league has seen in almost 30 years. They're averaging almost like four to a half goals per game this season. They're just unheard of. I don't trust their goaltending. And in the playoffs, that's the X factor. That's the thing that can make or break you.

And if I'm going into a best of seven series, I want to play the worst goalie. And the Florida Panthers have by far the worst goalie. And not only has Bobrowski had playoff meltdowns against, the penguin and in general, he has been really bad for the past two or three months now. They are, they're winning a lot of games seven to six, six to five. They're not getting good goal tending from him. I think every year there's one team that goes out way earlier than people think,

and I think this season, Florida is going to be that team because they don't have the goaltending. And that's why that's why I'm not really stressing like, oh my, the penguins might fall into a wildcard spot. I don't necessarily think that's a bad matchup. Look, you're going to have to beat these teams anyway if you want to go to the Stanley Five. You're going to have, that's why I really am not sweating playoff matchups that much, because if you want to get there, you've got to beat these teams at some point. And I'd rather get a team like Florida early in the playoffs when you're fresh,

when you're healthy before you've gone through two rounds of getting the snot kicked out of you. Play them when you're at your best. play them when you're healthiest, and take your chance that the goaltending goes your way. So I think either way it's going to be tough, but if they do get Florida,

I don't think it's necessarily the end of the world. I think what you want to really avoid is you want to avoid the Rangers passing Carolina and you staying in the three spot and having to play Carolina. That's the matchup that I want nothing to do with

because I think Carolina is the most complete team in the East. They have, no weakness. Their forwards are great. Their defense is great. And they're getting, they have, they not only have great goaltending from Freddie Anderson this season, they have a really good backup at Anthony Ron. They have two really good goalies. So that's the team that I think you want to avoid at all costs early on, because I don't think they can beat Carolina to the best seven series. Carolina, I felt like was the team for a lot of, for all the teams at Eastern

Congress of the Penguins have played this year, I think that's the team that's really just pissed them off the most just because they can't outplayed them the most they've outplayed them yeah i agree even the rangers games i mean first one okay maybe a little bit of the 50-50 the penguins got the power by goal second one they got blown out whatever third one was a true coin flip it just went the rangers way the fourth one i don't know they played that bad the fourth game

they were they were all right they didn't have um they were they've been sick they weren't expect they they expected to have croz and they didn't have them And what are you going to do? You know? Yeah, I mean, the Rangers are going to be tough. I mean, I could absolutely see the Rangers winning that series. Oh, yeah.

But I could also see the Penguins winning that series. Just like I can see the Penguins beating Florida. I'm having a tough time envisioning them beating Carolina. I really am. So I think to rank the potential first-round matchups in terms of most favorable to least favorable, I think Florida and New York are a toss-up. I think Carolina is in a class all of its own of a void. Yeah, no, no, I think I would agree with that.

I mean, you know, sure, if you win that series against Florida, you have to play the winner of Boston. Toronto, that's just going to be the memes anyway. I mean, I just, I want to see what I have. I don't hate that matchup either, to be quite honest with you. Because the Penguins were great against Toronto this year. And I don't think Boston's that good. Like I know Boston's weird because of Bergeron shutting down Crosby.

That's the one that really scares me. Boston. I think that's the team that the Penguins haven't really beaten in a playoff series in the Cidgeno area yet that I think I would love to see happen. Boston is so weird for me because they are a legitimately good defensive team. They're great defensively. And they have, they have four really high-end forwards, Bergeron, Marchon, Posternock, Taylor Hall. I would even include Craig Smith, who when he's on it on his. game. It's a really good two-way

player. So they have a lot of talent. Their depth isn't very good, and I don't think their goal-tending is very good. And they have the worst record in the league among playoff teams against other playoff teams. And against the other top teams in the league,

they've been crushed this year. So I have no idea what to think of Boston. But yeah, if you get Florida in the first round, and you beat them, and then you get the winner of Boston, Toronto in the second round, I think that's probably your best possible path. I really do.

Yeah, I mean, I agree. I mean, it's tough either way. I mean, this is a gauntlet. That's the way I look at it. We've known who the playoff teams are going to be for two months. I would say, I mean, the team that maybe gives me the most pause is the capitals, but I mean, they're also still pretty decent. They're playing really good hockey as of late.

So, you know, maybe they beat Carolina. Well, if they get Carolina around one, I mean, kind of good luck if you get that. The Rangers series, that would, I think, be interesting there too. But, you know, I think, you know, before we wrap up here, Adam, just want your thoughts on this. You know, everyone's going to be having their eyes on the goaltender, Christian Jari. You know, this is what our redemption story is all about here. You've been great for most of the regular season. They're resting him a little bit, try to get him back on track.

The playoffs are three weeks away. If you're not playing well, there's going to be even more. questions going into the offseason. How do you assess this going into the playoffs? Because, I mean, if they do get the Rangers is such a tall task to outplay Shasturkin. I don't know if Tristan has it in him. I'm way more confident that he can outplay Sergey Brovowski, to say the least. He is my biggest X-factor. I think rightfully so, because he has to play better than he did last year. Yeah. And I have a lot more confidence in him this year than I did last year, but I am a little concerned.

I think that his plays kind of dipped a little bit the past couple weeks, and the fact that they've given Casey to Smith, two straight starts tells you the coaching staff thinks that way, too. I don't know if it's just keeping him fresh, like, you know, time management type of thing, but I want to see him kind of get back to where he was earlier in the year. I think he's kind of slipped a little bit. I think that's been an underrated part of their slide here, the person. past, you know, a couple weeks. He's only won one of his last seven starts. Yeah. And his

safe percentage is under 900 in those games. So, I mean, he has been kind of trending in the wrong direction here a little bit. And I think you put it very well that I trust him to outplay Sergei Birovsky. I don't know if I trust him to outplay Igor Shus Thurkin. And that's a huge X factor. I want to see him have some good starts here down the stretch going into the playoffs, not only to build his confidence back up, but to make me more confident in him as well. Yeah, no, I would agree with that for sure. I'm excited to see, you know, I'm sure he'll get the start tonight. I think Sullivan talked to the media. I think he announced him as the starter. And then it looks like Brian Russ and Emerald Regas are game time decisions. Hopefully no one else is getting

this stomach bug or whatever the heck it's been. I feel like over half the team of. Yeah. It's had it. I've been definitely weird. I think part of that is definitely, I almost screwed that up. I think their dip in play can be a little bit attributed to that for sure. Because I think there are some players that have not been missing games that are definitely sick.

So that's just that. I also think the dip in play has been kind of over-exaggerated. a little bit. You go back to that three-game stretch against Minnesota and Colorado, those two games there. They were coming off a really good stretch going into those games. I think they were like nine, two, and two ahead of going into those games. I thought they outplayed Colorado in both games. I think they really did, especially the game in Colorado. They very easily could have won both of those games. I think they probably should have won the first game. The game in Minnesota was probably their best win in the season. And not only the fact that they beat the hottest team in the

league in their building in a very impressive way, but they did it short-handed that night, losing Jason Zucker early in the game. And then, you know, at that point, you're feeling pretty good about them. I think it's only been the past four or five games where they've really, like, struggled. So is it just a blip on the radar? Is it the sign of, you know, trending in the wrong direction. I think that remains to be seen. I think we become prisoners of the moment sometimes and only focus on what happened most recently instead of the big picture. So, you know, well, I think the, I think some of the struggles have been a little exaggerated. Yeah. And, well, I can definitely tell you that the fan base is going to overreact to basically

anything, even if it's just a couple losses. That's just, yeah, that's, that's what fans do. Yeah, I mean, that's, that's the Penguins fan base is for you. But, um, Adam, I appreciate your time, of course. Thank you so much for coming on. In case some people somehow do not follow you on social media for all of your, especially your bar stories and all of your stadium stories, which are just hilarious. Of course, your hockey takes are that trumps all that. But tell all the listeners where they can follow you on social media. I follow me on Twitter at Agreeps and find me on NBC Sports, Pensburg, Yorg, all those places. Perfect. Yeah. So he will be back on this show. Don't worry.

you know that's just that that is the reality of the situation i'm a whole we have to have you on for a playoff game or something like that but again adam thank you so much for coming on i'll have another episode on friday to recap the game against founders and we'll see if the penguins can finally clinch their playoff spot tonight even though they've basically been in for four months so talk to you all then