Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Assessing Bryan Rust's outlook after a career season for the Penguins

Episode Date: April 25, 2025

Bryan Rust set a career-high in goals and points this year, but should that be enough to hold on to him moving forward? Hunter and Patrick continue their season in review series by discussing Rust’s career season and despite that, he doesn’t have a no-move clause anymore, so should they consider moving him? They also dive into how tonight will be a big moment for goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov who returns to Wilkes-Barre in a do-or-die situation. Finally, they check in with the Stanley Cup Playoffs and give some quick takes on the first round so far!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.Wonderful PistachiosGet snackin' and get crackin' with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more!  GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins! Amazon Fire TV Stick 4kDid you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.UpworkVisit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. With Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, development, design, and more—experts ready to help you take your business to the next level. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brian Rust had the best season of his career this year, and Pat and I are going to do our season in review for him right after this. Your Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunts or Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunts or Hodes. Join by my co-host, Patrick Damping, follow him on all social media platforms

at Cinder and For Wet, and you can follow the show's Twitter at L.O. Orners for Penguins, of course. Thank you all so much for making this, your first lesson slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms. And finally, today's episode is brought to you by GameTime, down the GameTime app, grant account, and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. And yes, people, I am finally back hosting.

You guys don't have to deal with Pat hosting anymore after three days in a row. So he'll go next week a little bit, but my voice is finally back to normal after how, horse it sounded yesterday. It was absolutely terrible. I apologize for not talking as much during yesterday's show, but it is miles better today. And with that, let's dive into our fourth season in review. We've done the Captain Pat. We've done the two assistants. Now, let's get into someone who probably should have a full-time letter on his sweater, considering how much of a leader he has been in the locker room for the last several years. We both think Brian Rush

should have an A on his letter. And we are going to be doing his season in review today. He had 31 goals, 65 points in 71 games this year. His 31 goals are a career high in goals. His 34 assists are tied for a career high and assists, and that is points, 65, those are a career high. He was absolutely tremendous this year for the Penguins. I know when you look at some of his underlines, you know, shot attempts, you know,

goals for even expected goals, scoring chances on an individual basis. He's below 50%. But I'm throwing those a little bit out the window just because he was getting all the tough matchups with Sidney Crosby and Ricard Raquel. And they were also just out there for a lot of goals again, just because this team was horrendous defensively.

But when you look at his numbers with that line, not just his individual numbers, but when you look at his numbers with the line, it's really good. They played 69 games together, 619 minutes. When that trio was on the ice, Crosby, Rust, and Raquel, the Penguins had 51% of the shot attempts.

They had 51% of the expected goals. they also had 54% of the high danger chances. Very good numbers from that top line. Again, those numbers with the three of them together were very good. Russ's individual numbers were a bit lower, but he also at times played on, I'm getting Malkins wing. He sometimes played on the third line this season. So I take a little bit of those numbers with a little bit of grain of salt

just because of how good of a year he had. But he continues to be part of the engine of this team. And you saw that on display every single night. He carried the penguins into the fight during so many games this season. And for me, man, I'm not going to talk that much longer, but he gets an A plus. He was fantastic this season. And if they really wanted to, they could move Brian Rust this offseason. His NMC expires.

And they could get quite a haul for him. A two-time cup champion, veteran leader, just had the best season of his career. Yeah, I know he's a bit older now. But GMs pay out the ass for these types of players. You would get a first plus for him if you really wanted to dangle him. I don't think the penguins are going to do that. And me personally, I don't think they should. But I think if they really wanted to, they could get a fairly big haul for Brian

Russ. So just wanted to end with that. Pat, your thoughts on the season that was for Brian Rust. They absolutely could get a haul for him, but they shouldn't do it. And I know that kind is kind of antithetical to what they want to do. But there's so many. strings that have to be connected here when it comes to Brian Rust. One, I know holding on to him is antithetical to what they want to do,

but it comes back to first the big rant that everybody jumped down my throat about when it comes to tanking. You've got to have guys who know how to win, guys who have one, guys who are good characters to keep your culture from spiraling into something toxic. It's really hard to get out of. It also just feels like you also have to talk about the personal of it. Brian Rust appears to be very comfortable in Pittsburgh as a penguin living here, starting a life here.

He became a full-fledged adult here. So he's very comfortable in the penguin's organization and in Pittsburgh. And there is something to be said for organizations that treat people. right. Obviously, you can talk about how successful the Vegas Golden Knights have been, how good they've been, everything they've done. But there's a little bit of a ruthlessness there. There's guys will still go there right now because they're still one of the best teams in the league. But at some point, the bill will come new for Vegas. And they'll, they'll struggle to get certain players because they know that just because they signed you in July doesn't mean that you're

going to be on the team next July. And I get that sports are supposed to be all about winning, but there's so many factors that contribute to winning. The other thing with Brian Rust is he, it's again, bringing it back to the rebuild and tanking and all of that. He is one of a handful of guys that I continue to put up there as somebody who provides a lot of value to those younger players. Sydney Crosby is Sidney Crosby. Evgeny Malkin is of Gennie Malkin. Chris LaTang is Chris Latang. They are transcendent superstars. You hear all the time from young players not just coming into the Penguins organization, but the league as a whole that say, I grew up watching this guy. This guy was my hero. I modeled my game after him. And you can get easily starstruck

by guys like that. But a Brian Rust, who little to no fanfare when he gets drafted, wasn't really much of a celebration when he gets called up. And he's had to work for everything. And he's earned everything that he's gotten. And learning from that guy, yeah, Sidney Crosby is going to set the standard. Core is going to set the standard for what the organization expects of you. But when you sit next to a guy like Brian Rust in the locker room,

on the bench, on the plane, at team dinner. And you look at this guy and go, he's earned everything he's got because he's worked his ass off to get it. And finally, this is from a personal standpoint. He's just a great dude. He works hard. He's honest. He will come out and say what needs to be said.

He will do the things that sometimes you don't want your superstars to do. He will mix it up with other players. He will get into scrums and dirty little areas that I know that Crosby, Malkin, and Latang have zero fear, but you don't want them in that situation. You want other guys to step up for that because you want those guys to produce for you. You don't want them fighting battles to the point where it could lead to injury. But at the end of the day, just an absolutely great example of how good of a job throughout the last. decade or so this team has done in developing players throughout their system. So A plus for me from Brian Rust, an amazing season.

And I think he should remain a penguin until he doesn't want to be a penguin anymore. He shows what it means to be a penguin on an every night basis. And he has said multiple times to the media, like, I don't want to go anywhere. I want to be here when this team gets good again. And he's talked about his individual accomplishments this year. like, yeah, he said, like, it's great, but I still want to see the team win. He wants to be here when they get good again because, you know, he's won the championships. He's learned from Cindy Crosby, Eugeny Malkin, and Chris Luton, he wants to pass that to the next generation,

and he wants to really help this team get back to contention at some point here down the line. And the best thing is about Brian Russman, you know, gets into the league, the league, excuse me, for the first time in 2014, 15. This guy was a third round pick in 2010. Awesome stuff, by the way, from Ray Shiro for that pick. Thank you very much, Ray, for that. And you're right, he worked his butt off year after year to get to where he is now. And we're at a point where he's played almost 700 games in the NHL.

For a third round pick, that is awesome. Man, 638 to be exact. He has 203 goals, 437 points in those games. If he is a year next year, just like he did this year, which we'll have to see this is a very much a career high for him, he would get 500 points. So he is 30, 63 points, excuse me, away from hitting 500 points for his career. That's going to be an even more incredible accomplishment, especially considering that he was the third round pick. Again, man, thank you very much to Ray Shiro for that pick. And we said it a couple weeks ago when we discussed Ray in his passing. He did such a good. good job during those early 2010 years with his drafting in the way that he was able to set up the penguins for future success with some of those players that he drafted.

Yeah, I don't want to speak ill of Ray Shiro and I'm not going to. We never know. We won't. The thing I'm going to say about it is he had some whiffs in the early rounds first and second round, but you go and look at his third, fourth, and fifth rounds. He drafted a lot of gems in those late rounds. He was really good at identifying guys in the late round. rounds who turned out to be really key contributors and becoming full-time NHLers.

So deserves all the props for that. One last thing, I kind of, and this is, it's related to Brian Rust, but it's more of a full NHL kind of idea I've had. I've hinted at it before on the show. I do think we are entering an era where we're going to have to rethink aging curves in the NHL because Brian Rust turned. 32 this season. Well, he's going to turn 33 this in a couple in about a couple weeks here. And yeah, I don't expect him to hit career highs again. But this idea that we've all had in our

heads that, oh, once guys get on the other side of 30, they're essentially done. Do they decline? Absolutely. They're not what they were in their 20s, especially in an intensely physical sport like hockey. But with the way we have developed training, recovery, everything else in sports science, guys are able to play until they're 35, 40. And while when they get into their 30s, yes, they decline. They're not the same as they were in their 20s. But this idea that all of a sudden, as soon as your age crosses the number 30, you're suddenly becoming a depreciating asset, while still true, there are still plenty of players who are extending their careers to age 35. And I don't know if Brian Russ can have another 65 point season next year,

but I don't expect him to suddenly fall off of a cliff. I don't expect him to put up 20 points and five goals and 15 assists or something. But obviously he's not the big names, but I do think that, he still could have a few good years left in him, barring any sort of injury or anything else. So this idea that, oh, he's going to be 33 when next season starts, ah, he's cooked, get rid of him. He has earned a chance to continue his career as a penguin and be a key contributor

with the penguins. 100% on that. I don't know if he's going to be a 65 point player next season. And so he'll be another year older. And again, this was a career high for him in goals. And it was in points. But he's certainly going to have an opportunity. again, he's only 63 points away from hitting 500.

He's going to hit that at some point over the next couple of years, considering how he has produced throughout his career. But still, maybe somewhere in the range of a 50-point season, 50 to 55 points next year, would totally take that as all. So Brian Russ for both of us, A plus 100%. Another great year from him. And that wraps up our season in review for Brian Russ. Coming up in the second segment,

Wilkes-Barre is starting Sergei Muroshov in their biggest game of this season tonight against Lehigh-Balley, facing elimination. Pat and I are going to dive into that coming up here in the second segment. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about our first sponsor, and that is Amazon Fire TV. Did you know that your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV in your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV stick 4K devices. No console required. Just grab your paired controller, subscribe or sign into Xbox GamePass, Alton with EA Play included, and you are ready to play. Dive into hundreds of premium titles from EA Sports College of Bull 25 to college,

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So, Pat, it is due or die tonight for Wilkesbury. They face elimination against Leigh Valley after getting embarrassed on their home rank. Earlier this week, Tristan Brose, we talked about the comments during our episode earlier this week, that he just called it effing, embarrassing. He was not thrilled with the way they played. And according to Tony and Drogatiss and Dan Kungerski, Kngerski was actually at the Wilkesbury Scrant Morning Escape this morning. Wilkesbury's Scranton head coach, Kurt McDonnell, has confirmed that Sergey Muroshov

will get the start in Wilkesbury's biggest game of the season. And heck Pat, this is Muroshov's biggest start of his career to date. He's been great for willing. I know the playoffs haven't gone as he thought they would with the numbers, but he is going to start in the biggest game of his life tonight with Wilkesbury facing elimination. McDonald also told Kngerski that Rucker McGorkema Groskey could return next. week if Wilkesbury gets through Leigh Valley here.

So if they can stave off elimination tonight and then win game three and get to the next round of the playoffs, Rucker McGority is going to be back healthy. And that would be so crucial, obviously, for Wilkesbury with the way that he was playing down the stretch, the way that he was playing for the main squad for the Anachals, Pittsburgh Penguins, they need to find whatever it takes to get through Lehigh Valley here because I really feel like they could go on a special run if they can get Magrory back. but I'm really excited to see what Murashav can do with a little bit more pressure now. Yeah, this is do or die time, like you said, and we're going to see what Sergey

Murashov is made of. Now, we've brought it up on the show. I don't want to put too much of Wheeling's O3 hole on Sergey Murashav. You score one goal in three games. It's really difficult to blame the goaltender. and when you look at both or all three of Wheeling's games, game three was a pretty putrid effort, all things considered.

But games one and two, Murashov got beat by a bunch of fluky shots or a bunch of redirections or there was one. I think it was game one. A puck hits the post, hits them in the back and ricochets in. I mean, that's an EA sports NHL glitch goal right there.

There's nothing you can do if you're Sergey Murashav. But now this is, prove it time because this is also in my estimation and pure speculation here. I don't have any sources within the Penguins organization telling me this. But this is a business decision by the organization. They look at, they're looking at the odds. All Wilkes-Bair has to do is win tonight and then suddenly they're in a one-game playoff to move on to the next round. Wheeling needs a miracle. Wheeling's down 0 to 3. They have to reverse sweep a team that they've only been able to one goal against. They said, you know what? We're sending our top goal tending prospect to the team

that has a better chance to go on a run. There's obviously also injury concerns as well, but realistically, if they thought, I would believe if they thought Wheeling still had an outside chance to win the series, they probably would have kept them there and said, listen, it's your net, guide this team, we'll cut our losses with Wokes Bear. We're not too upset because of injuries or whatever it happens. So you got to do this here. Now they're like, this is a special team that could go on a run. So let's put the guy in net who can give us a better chance to win.

The other thing I wanted to kind of address because I saw some people talking about this. Androchitis also had this report that the baby penguins didn't really respond to Alex Bump's comments about calling the defenseman of Wilkes Bear Soft. I know people want it to be borderline WWE stuff where they cut a promo on you. You come out and cut a promo back. But here's the problem. They're facing elimination tonight. This isn't just a weekend series against Lehigh Valley in February where you lose on Friday,

you got the rematch Saturday, and you can come out and respond to it. You don't want to come out and talk all kinds of crap about how, oh, we're going to show him and we're going to show them what we're made of and we're going to do this, that, and the other, and then you go out and lose. And not that it would be that big of a deal because at the end of the day, it's just words and actions and performances matter more,

but this is again bringing it all back to development part of becoming a pro because they gave you bulletin board material. And bulletin board material is meant to be used internally. I have no doubt those guys have that tacked up on the wall in Lehigh Valley's visitor's dressing room saying this is what they think of you after one game go out and prove them wrong.

They better. The goal there is to go out there and do it with your actions, not to talk to Androchidus and say, this guy's a bum, we don't like him, he's talking out of his ass, we're going to show him. You have to show it through your actions. And the fact that the only response, realistically, from both Sebastian Aho,

as well as Jack St. Ivany was, we'll be ready for game two. It's a lot colder than going out there and saying, we don't like this guy, we heard him, and we're going to show him. Why can't we just get like a stone cold Steve Austin or something like that? Pat almost just, I think he was able to drink when I said that, that way. Well, that was solid.

But at the end of the day, I mean, I feel bad for Wheeling. Our listeners know I worked there for two, two and a half seasons. It holds an incredibly special place in my heart. But this is also a conversation that I had to have with a lot of season ticket holders and fans up there is, listen, guys, I know it sucks. And I know that you deserve a team that's going to go on a deep run and bring you these incredible memories. But ECHL and the AHL are developmental leagues. And these guys, while there are plenty, including their head coach, Derek Army,

who is an absolute legend there in return to Coach Wheeling after being a legendary player there, these guys have dreams of going to the National Hockey League. They have dreams of going to the next level, and they're going to do everything in their power to get there. And unfortunately, when you're a really good player in the ECHL, the HL eventually comes calling. And then the same thing happens in the HL. If you're a really good player in the HL, the NHL comes calling.

100% what we'll be watching wilkeshbury to see if they can stay of off elimination and send this series back to wilkesbury or else we'll be talking about wilkesbury season coming to an end for a second straight year against leigh valley and to your point about murashaw that like i agree if they didn't think that about murashov with this they would have just started taylor goate and but he's going to be backing um rushov up and again excited to see if he can answer the call tonight with wilksbury season on the line and i better see a much better effort than what we saw in game one, because, again, a lot of that was a very sorry effort by the baby pens. But now do it for this second segment.

Coming up to end the show, we're going to discuss more about the Stanley Cup playoffs, some surprises, some non-surprises, all that good stuff coming up here to end the show. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about our second sponsor, and that is game time. The Stanley Cup playoffs are here, and if you've never been to a live NHL playoff game, it is unlike anything else. The intensity, the speed, the energy in the building, it is next level. and thanks to game time, getting in the door is easier and more affordable than ever. Game time is the fastest way to grab playoff tickets, even for those must-see matchups.

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Again, that's code locked on NHL for $20 off. Download the game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes. Join by my co-host, Patrick Damben. Yes, people, we were hoping to get Jesse on today. he had a small little procedure that he had to have done.

He texted us today saying that he hopes Monday will be good. So even though Mondays usually don't work for him, we're hoping that we do get a Marshall Monday this upcoming Monday to talk about draft, offseason, all that good stuff with Jesse Marshall. But let's get into some talk regarding the Stanley Cup playoffs. These will be very miscellaneous thoughts. I'll be jumping from series to series with Pat to really discuss what we've seen so far. And honestly, I am stunned that the stars are up two games to one right now, despite

leading for what feels like 15 seconds against the Colorado Avalanche. But Pete DeBore has those guys playing their tails off every single night. The way they have defended against Kail McCar and Nathan McKinnon has been tremendous so far. I love seeing Gabe Landiscag come back in game three. He got one heck of an ovation. He played very well in that game. I'm excited to see what he can do in game four.

But they're also buying time, the stars that is, for Hayeskinin to come back. And hopefully Robertson to come back a bit later on in that series, if not potentially the second round. I think Haskinen, excuse me, is a bit closer to returning than Robertson is, but they are playing their butts off. Jay Gottinger has been awesome in net. And even though the right side of their defense is not good, they're still doing everything they can to defend against Colorado's high-end talent. So I'm very impressed with what Dallas has been able to do. Also, super impressed about Florida, Pat, I think they're kind of telling everyone,

hey, don't forget about us. Like, I big the lightning in seven just because I didn't like the way the Panthers are playing down the stretch. I wasn't sure if Kachuk was going to be fully ready for this series, but the Panthers are putting on a defensive clinic against Lightning so far. Yeah, Jake Gensel scored in game one, and we all know how great he is in the playoffs or his career, but they're doing a great job on Kuturov, a great job on Braden Point.

They're making Basilevsky, even though human, even though he's had one of the best season of his career this year, but they're playing so well defensively in their own end. Sergei Babrovsky has been great. They're bullying the lightning in this series so far. The biggest question, obviously, is Alexander Barkoff. I do not like that hit by Brandon Hegel. I think he should be suspended for it, in my opinion.

I'm actually surprised that the National Department of Player Safety said that there was going to be a hearing. I thought it was just going to be a $5,000 fine, but it looks like they are very much considering suspending him for at least a game, which I am in favor of. Barkrov did not even have the puck there. There's no reason to make that hit. And again, it was just a dirty hit.

And I hope that he's able to play in this. series because the panthers have been dominant so far against the lightning. So those are just two of my thoughts on those two series at least. Yeah, I mean, you have to be impressed with Dallas. I said it when we made our picks. I thought the injuries were going to be too much for them to overcome. And they have played an extremely disciplined game. And it also shows you how fickle NHL playoff hockey can be because two of the three games

have gone to overtime. And I want to say it was Greg Wischinski said it on. the sheet with Jeff Merrick, the biggest thing that teams worry about when you go to overtime against Colorado is how long can you hold off Nathan McKinnon from ending it? And they have been able to hold off Nathan McKinnon from ending it, which is impressive. The other thing, and this is more just an overall thought of the playoffs so far, we have five series where there are teams who have yet to win a game. And really only one of them feels like it's a stranglehold. and that's Toronto up 3-0 over Ottawa.

And even with that one, it's more just because Toronto got the third win. 3-0, we've been talking about it. If you know playoff hockey, you know about it. It's incredibly difficult to come back from. But even in that series, Ottawa has hung around. Ottawa has given a good fight, but it comes back to what I've said about that series. Ottawa's not going to lose this series because they're a bad team.

They're probably going to lose it because they're a young team on the way up. And most times you need that learning experience. You need to get smacked in the mouth to learn that the NHL playoffs are a whole different animal. And you can see that they're learning that. Remember the penguins against the senators, Pat? They got smacked around in that series. They came back the next year, smacked everyone else around before obviously losing to the Red Wings, because that's one of the best teams I've ever seen by the way, play live.

But still, penguins got smacked around that first year in the playoffs in the Crosby era. They come back. They use that experience to help them. The other thing that I want to talk about a little bit real quick is Winnipeg St. Louis. Obviously, Winnipeg gets boat raced last night, but everyone is already rushing to make their posts and make their takes about, oh, here comes playoff Connor Hellebuck. Go back and watch that first period before he gets yanked. He got no help whatsoever.

I know that he's the best goalie and that everybody wants to. to make the playoff takes about him melting down. But I don't care if you are Dominic Hachick mixed with Patrick Waugh and Andre Vasilowski and some hybrid super goalie, even they ain't going to win that game with the effort that Winnipeg put out. That is the skaters failing the goaltender. I know it sucks because it's him in his track record, but I'm not putting that loss on Connor Hellebuck.

Last thing, man, it just, feels like it's finally going to happen for the LA Kings. Granted, it's two nothing. That's only halfway there. But just they are choking the life out of Edmonton. And that is similar to what you were saying about Colorado, about Dallas against Colorado. They are, yeah, McKinnon in Dry Sight will have had their moments. But outside of that, L.A. is just a boa constrictor against Edmonton right now.

They're like, you know what? we know these two are going to get their cookies. We're going to force everyone else on Edmonton to beat us. And it's showing that Edmonton this year might not have the horses to do it. I have a one of my really good friends is a big oilers fan. Matt, if you're listening to this, I apologize, buddy. And he just can't believe what he's watching every night. And it's really just been Connor McDavid trying to pull the Oilers back into the series.

Leon Drysidal obviously is still very much there. I still think he needs to be a little bit better. In this series, Bouchard has not really been that good through two games. They need more from Hyman. They need more from Nugent Hopkins. And they also need more from their goalie. Stuart Skinner was awful in those two games. They're going to Cal Pickard, which, okay, sure, why not?

But the Kings, they're defending really well. Their man-on-man defense is very good, and they're unbeatable at home. The Oilers need a lot more than just Connor McDavid to step up. They're putting dry sidle with him to start game three, which I mean they were putting Leon with him about six, seven minutes into game one. Honestly, they love putting those two on separate lines, but when you're down like this in a series, they kind of have no choice but to put those two together. So that's something that they're going to have to do.

A couple other series that you mentioned, yeah, I mean, Toronto, we can make the memes about them. Their playoff experience has been a lot of losses, but they're using those experiences to really beat the senators here. And I feel like the senators have been a bit spooked at times in this series. like they haven't been ready for this, but they've still been right there in these last two games. They're just not getting the bounces to go their way in overtime. I will say, I'm also surprised that Minnesota is up two to one right now on Vegas. I don't think Jack Geico has played it good enough so far.

I think also Mark Stone needs to be a lot better for Vegas, as does goaltender Aden Hill. I'm a little bit concerned with the way Vegas is playing because I felt like this was going to be a fairly easy series for them. I understand that Minnesota is a completely different team with Caprisoff, Eric's neck and boldy all fully healthy, but, you know, they've gotten their doors blown off by Minnesota these last two games. So I want to see Vegas try to respond here. Can I just say this? Something I don't think I have ever said about the National Hockey League, but I got to give them their due. This weekend, thank you, schedule makers, because Saturday, 1 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 7 o'clock, 9.30, Sunday.

day, one o'clock, 3.30, 630, 930. You can spend the full weekend just watching playoff hockey. There's not going to be that random day where all the games are done by 9 o'clock. Every from 1 o'clock until about midnight, you are going to have hockey to watch. And it's absolutely beautiful. It's the best man. And hey, Washington, Montreal. The Bell Center is going to be rocking this weekend. I think Montreal has played the capitals really tough so far. Oh yeah. The haves have not been the better team for, in terms of the regulation for probably four of those six periods. I think the haves have been the better team for two of those six periods. But they have thrown the kitchen sink at Logan

Thompson in both of those third periods. I don't know what else the habs could have done in game two. Sometimes you get goalied. Logan Thompson was making high danger save after high danger state. He's been that good all season. Sometimes you got to tip your cap to the goalie, but the Bell Center is going to be rocking. Curious to see if the HABs can get back in this series because they're giving the caps a fight, but they're just not able to overcome Thompson so far. Also, Carolina, New Jersey, New Jersey played really well in game two. Frederick Anderson had almost a four goals state above expected rate. He was very good in that game for Carolina. It looks like we're going towards a Carolina-Washington second round series,

which would be a lot of fun with how much those two teams and fan bases hate each other. but New Jersey, as of right now, they just don't have the horses to potentially come back. But hey, maybe something changes with them going back to their rank in Newark. But that will do it for today's episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch this one. Pat and I will be back with another episode of you all on Monday, hopefully with Jesse Marshall for a Marshall Monday to discuss the offseason,

the initial draft, and so much more. And then we'll be back with all episodes on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week as well. So for Patrick Damp, I'm Hunter-Hodys. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. We appreciate it. We'll be back on Monday.