Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Avery Hayes DAZZLES in his NHL debut as the Penguins pick up a HUGE win!

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

The Pittsburgh Penguins go into the Olympic break on a high note after Avery Hayes helped them to a win over the red-hot Sabres! Hunter and Patrick begin the show discussing whether or not Avery Hayes will have to wait the traditional three years to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame, or if they'll waive it for his two-goal debut! (1:00). Hayes's two goals and Kindel's two goals helped the Penguins get a massive victory over one of the NHL's hottest teams. Along with their performance, Arturs Silovs was able to bounce back after giving up a tough first goal. (13:22) Finally, we react to your takes and questions for Fan Take Friday! (26:00)Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!IndeedNow, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/lockedon right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelIf you’re a new customer, bet just $5 and get $200 in Bonus Bets if you win. Make it count — because after the Super Bowl, the season is over. Last call for football on FanDuel, an Official Sportsbook Partner of Super Bowl Sixty.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.

Where were you when Avery Hayes scored two goals in his NHL debut on Thursday night? Pat and I are going to recap that. Plus, give our full thoughts on Thursday's 5 to 2 win over the Sabres coming up 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 am one of your host, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, joined by my good friend, Ann Coast, Patrick Damp. You can follow him on all social media platforms at Sendin for Wet. You can also follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. And you can find us on Instagram at Locked On underscore Penguins. Of course, thank you all so much for making this your first lesson slash watch the day. We are free and available on all platforms. So, Pat, is Avery Hayes a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame after his?

his first game because what a performance it was. I have a lot of stats to get into for this first seven when it comes to Avery Hayes. But congratulations to him on one hell of a debut. We had no clue if he was going to be making his debut just because Achari was a game time decision going into the game. And you found out pretty quickly once warm-ups started that Hayes was going to make his debut because he got his rookie lap. And then Achari was not out there for pre-game warm-ups. And Hayes goes out there. Has the game of a game of his. his life, blows past two Sabres defenders, utilizes his speed, and then fires a wicked release past Alex Lyon to tie the game up for the Penguins after they allowed an early goal to

former penguin Jason Zucker. The celebration from Hayes was awesome. Rucker McGority just jumps into his arms, basically all of his teammates mob him. And then the second goal, great pass from Anthony Mantha and another wicked release from Avery Hayes. Two goals to start the game in the first period. And there's the first stat pat. Seventh player in NHL history, Avery Hayes, that is, to score multiple goals in the first period of his NHL debut.

He is also the 12th undrafted player to score multiple goals in his NHL debut in league history. Just fantastic stuff from him. And you saw what was on display during camp in the preseason in this game. There are many reasons, excuse me, why he almost made this team out of training camp you saw the speed on display you saw his release you saw him playing a strong 200 foot game i felt like to me in my opinion on the fourth line he's a very smart player as well i don't know how many more games he's going to get to end the

season just because you look at the forward group they're very deep when healthy but i do think this is going to be a full-time n-h-l player in the not-so-distant future oh i can't disagree with you i know it's one game. You know that because he was kind of on the road at noon on his way to Buffalo from Wilkes-Bair didn't really get a ton of preparation time. So you know that he was really operating off adrenaline and whatever else you're operating on when you have to be in that kind of environment. But you look at the way he plays and you brought up hockey IQ. He's a very smart hockey player. that needs to really be the first part of this discussion because his first goal,

that's just good hockey IQ. He knows he can win the race. He knows he can take the risk. He knows he can win that battle. And he does and then goes in and scores on a beautiful shot. And then his second goal, he starts it by basically, not basically,

he starts it on the forecheck. And as soon as he realizes he has help, He gets to a scoring area and Anthony Mantha makes an unbelievable pass and he just snaps off a solid one-timer for his second of the night. All of those are going to get looked at as high effort plays, which is true. They are high effort plays. But a lot of them were born of good hockey IQ. He knew what decision to make in the moment and made the correct one and they led to offense. So he deserves full kudos for that.

The Rucker McGority part of it, how happy he was after the first goal. We love to see that. I got to read McGroherty's quotes that he gave after the game about Avery Hayes. Quote, I've been saying it for a long time. I'm super happy he got the opportunity. He ran with it tonight. He's been a dog since I met him. I know what he's capable of.

He'll keep building on it. I'm telling you he's a dog. He can fly. he can absolutely fly the speed bumping guys getting that space and he can snap the pill too you guys saw it tonight but i have been watching it for a while and to your question to your question hunter forget the traditional three year waiting period put him in the hall right now 100% i mean again just what a debut from him overall and another one for you here pat third player in penguin's history to score multiple times in his nchl debut joining who well i know this isn't the answer

to the question, but it was a great remember some guys moment on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Redeems the Hornah was brought up as a player who scored in a debut for the Penguins. So you probably weren't expected to hear the Big Z, but obviously there's Jake

Gensel against the Rangers. And I remember that now because it was kind of the same situation where his family's in the crowd and forget the goals. The family stole the show with their reactions because I'll say this much when they showed his parents and his brother oh dude that got

me that that was awesome man seeing his mary hayes mom really emotional his brother was also going nuts like this just that's what it's all about man it really was fantastic and for the second one i don't know if you were going to guess him but rob brown back in 1987 so third penguin player in the franchise history excuse me to score multiple times in his NHL debut. Just we'll see which direction. We'll see which direction that Avery Hayes goes in because when you bring up those two players,

Jake Gensel obviously is now one of the best pure goal scores in the NHL. He has been ever since he showed up on the scene in 2016. And then Robbie Brown, he just went to the net and Lemieux was like, I'm going to bank Pucks off you, bud. Just go to the front. I'll get you some goals.

So we'll see which way Avery Hayes goes. How about one more stat for you? Avery Hayes and Ben Kendall, because Kindle also had two goals last night and had another marvelous game. They became the sixth set of Penguins rookies to each score two goals in the same game. First, since 2006. Another really cool stat there, Pat. And let's transition now to Ben Kendall because this was a night for the kids.

Avery Hayes, again. And congratulations to you. You have a full-time future in the NHL coming soon. Again, don't think it's going to be at the end of this season just because of where this team is going, how deep they still are right now. But I think next season, especially when you see the team make changes over the summer, I think he's going to have a really damn good shot at making this team out of camp. You can obviously say the same thing for Rokkema Gordy.

He is also going to be a full-time NHL very soon as well. Both were reassigned to Wilkesbury today. They're going to get some games in. over the NHL's Olympic break because for Wilkesbury, they're still playing some games during that time. But let's transition to Ben Kindle really quick, Pat. Another outstanding game from him. The no-look shot on the two-on-one was a thing of beauty. His empty net goal while shorthand, while the Sabres were trying to make it a one-goal game at the end was great.

And his hockey IQ continues to be off the charts. His decision-making was great. he's arguably the best penguins 200 foot forward on the team right now. Everything he is doing is turning to gold. And it's still crazy to me that this kid is only 18 years old with the way that he continues to play on a nightly basis, another marvelous game last night. And he's now up to 14 goals. He's probably going to hit 20-ish goals by the end of the season.

He has 27 points right now. If you look at his production, basically half a point for, game. Pat, we might be looking at him being a full on half a point per game player by the end of this season. And he's still only 18 years old. He continues to get better and better. Can I make a comparison about Ben Kindle? Yeah. You know who, and I thought of this as I was preparing for the show, who he really reminds me of, Jordan Stahl, because it's obviously they're different players, different situations and all of that. But if you remember, when the Penguins picked Stahl, I know he was picked much higher. I know he had a different kind of pedigree, but the discussion around the player

itself was very similar. It was, all right, he looked good in camp. We're impressed by him. We're going to give him a few games and then we're going to send him back to Junior. He shows up on the scene and says, the hell you are, I'm going to play really well. I'm going to fit in to be your third line center right away. Now, obviously, long. way to go here. But at the end of the day, the same discussion was had about Jordan Stahl back in 2006, where everybody was expecting him to get a cup of coffee, go back to junior, he'll be ready next year. And he just rocketed out of the gate and forced the team to keep him. And Ben Kindle's doing the same. He is a really mature 200-foot player that has a little bit of an offensive touch and is probably,

going to be a part of your top or middle six for the long term. I think someone I think pointed this out to us in our comments. It was either before the season started or right after the season started. I think the 200 foot aspect of his game is similar to Jordan Stalls, but offensively, I do think it's different in terms of, you know, what Ben Kindle can provide versus Jordan Stahl overall. Also, Stahl is just a much bigger player in general compared to Ben Kindle. So I get what you're seeing when it comes to the 200 foot aspect of his game.

Otherwise, I don't fully see the comparison. I don't think that they're one to one player comparisons, but it's the same situation that we had in 2006 with Stahl, where he wasn't going to make the team out of camp. He makes the team out of camp. Okay, we're going to let him get a look and give him a taste of the NHL, but then plays well enough that everybody's like, yeah, he doesn't need to go back to junior.

He's ready. I look at it that way. And like I said, like you said, the 200 foot game, it's right there because he is arguably their best 200 foot player right now. And underratedly, pretty damn good on the penalty kill too. Again, like the fact that we're saying all this when he's still only 18, he was picked outside the top 10. It's just almost unheard of just with the way that he keeps playing. So another marvelous game from him continues to play like one of the best players on the team. And that's just, That's going to do it for this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to discuss more things regarding this game, including the play of Archer Shilovs, who put together another really nice start. Tommy Novak and a whole lot more.

So stick around coming up right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our first sponsor, which is Fandall. It's the last call for football on Fandall. One final Sunday, one last kickoff. The final chances to get on the action before the NFL season officially comes to a close.

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All right, we're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my good friend, and co-Cost Patrick Gamp and Pat. It was another artie party in Buffalo on Thursday night, another great start from him. He was 929 overall. And that's now his fourth straight start that he has put together where he has been damn good against Edmonton.

He was awesome, 938 against Chicago. He was 900. They only gave up two goals and they were good defensively, but he was still really good in that game against Ottawa. He was fantastic, almost got them a point in that game. And then against Buffalo made a lot of really big saves, including one on Tage Thompson in that third period, Pat, where he just went right around, Ilius. Solovio. That would have been probably the number one play on SportsCenter's top 10 for today,

just with the way that Thomason went around him. He's like a video game player, man. I'm excited to watch him at the Olympics this upcoming week. I thought he started the game, a tad rough. I didn't like that opening goal that he allowed Jason Zarker felt like it was a little bit of a howler, but after that, he really settled in, made a lot of really key saves in the final 40 minutes and honestly the rest of the first period as well. And that's another really, really, good start from him. He's been really good, as I said on Thursday for the last two, two and a half weeks. And he's now riding some serious momentum heading into the Olympics where he could very well start for team Latvia. He deserves a lot of credit for last night because that first goal

was not good. It was a bad turnover in the neutral zone by Igor Chinikov, but it was the kind of shot from Jason Zucker that you need a save on. It would have been extremely easy and understandable if he would have crumbled after that goal. And not because I think that, oh, and he's bad now, whatever, whatever. It's more just the fact that you give up an early goal like that. I don't care how good of a goaltender you are. That can really shake your confidence. And the fact that he was able to lock in, get back to even.

And really, for the first five, seven-ish minutes of the game, Buffalo really was taking it to the Penguins. And he was a big reason that it remained. one nothing, giving them and Avery Hayes the chance to tie the game. So he was really good last night, bounces back after a bad goal. And then the penguins as a whole as a team also deserve credit for weathering that early storm, being able to get back on their feet. And then from that point on, they were the better team.

So it's getting to the point where I can only say it so many times, but there's a good hockey team here in Pittsburgh. Yes, this is a good team. I have no problem saying that. How good we still have to see. I mean, Pat March is coming up very fast. You're going to have to fight for your right to party, as the Beastie Boy said in their song.

That schedule is obviously very nasty, but we're going to find out just how good they are when we see them play a lot of those games in March just because of the condensed schedule with the Olympic break and all that. And yeah, like at times last night, it looked a tad rough, but they were still in control of this game for the most part. They had, they were minus two in shot attempts, but plus three in scoring chances, plus one in high danger chances.

They did control 56% of the expected goals, including 74% of the expected goals in the third period alone. They held the Sabres to 0.5 expected goals in the third period at 5 on 5. So overall, this was to me a gutsy, gutsy win. by the penguins. I know I said coming into this week that if you had to win one, it would be the Islander game just because division and you're fighting for second place against them and you're trying to get home ice in the playoffs.

And I know that one ended poorly. It would be nice to get that extra point to get four out of six points this week. But this was still a really big win to get to get a little momentum going into the break, go out on a little bit of a high, and also show that you can still win, despite not having some more of your players in your lineup. Two-thirds your fourth line, which has been arguably the best fourth line in hockey this year,

did not play. Achari, he was doing with an illness. Obviously, Blake Lazak, congratulations again to him for the birth of his first child with his wife. He didn't play Ricardo McKell. He's day-to-day, though, I assume he's still going over to the Olympics. And you also still don't have Chris Littang because of his broken foot. So, Pat, you're down quite a few regulars.

And to put up that type of performance against the NHL's hottest team in the Buffalo Sabres, that says something to me, man. This is a damn good team right now. And they just played a really sharp professional game. It was a gutsy win by the Penguins last night. I'm not going to do this in a predictive or analytic way, but it's just something that I need to say about this Penguins team. And again, to reiterate, this is VINN's.

vibes, this is feelings, it's not analysis. I would be shocked if this team doesn't make the playoffs. And it's simply because there is just a magic surrounding this team right now. You've got Ben Kindle, we've gone over him a dozen times. Avery Hayes scores two in his NHL debut. Arter Sheelovs has really come into his own as a goaltender. Stuart Skinner, everyone, including Edmonton and the rest of the league, went, oh, God, you're taking on Stuart Skinner. And he's shown up and been one of the better goalies in the league.

Malkin, Crosby, Latang, Carlson are all turning back the clock. And it just feels like every time that we go, all right, here it comes, the magic's running out. It doesn't. Now, you said it. March is going to be the big test. but every time they have had these tests and these trials and tribulations throughout the season, they've come out on the other end.

And I, again, they could completely tank it outside of, once they get back from the Olympics. But at this point, it just feels like this team is telling us, we are a good team and you are going to see us in April. Yeah, that's definitely the vibe that I think everyone is getting right now. This team is also really well bonded that everyone is really close in the locker room. I mean,

heck even during this game on Thursday, you saw Peyton Crabbs just mow over Archer Sheelofs and Connor Clifton's like, you're not doing that to my goal and he absolutely kicked his ass. And no, I love seeing that from Connor Clifton who I think has been playing better over the last, you know, week and a half

to two weeks, but still with this team, they will have to earn it. You're playing juggernaut after juggernaut in March. Colorado twice, for example. playing Vegas. You're playing Carolina three times. Two of those games will be in Raleigh, a place the Penguins have won in in several seasons now. I can keep going down the list of teams that they will see in the month of March, Pat. It's going to be tough. But I think they have the ability to make the playoffs. Will they? That's what it's going to come down to. And they will

have a chance to really, you know, prove to everyone that this is truly a playoff team by mid-April. I think so far it's been a dream season through 56 games. you simply have to finish it off overall. And one last stop before we go into our final break, I thought Tommy Novak had another really strong game last night, huge insurance goal to make it four too late in the third period. All got started to me, though, Igor Chinochov. He can't stop producing, Pat, rips it from the blue line,

looks like it's deflected on the way in, bounces to Tommy Novak, who makes no mistake, giving the penguins that huge insurance goal over the sabers. but I can't say enough about the way Novak is playing right now and just his entire line in general. That was huge. The depth in general, I mean, let's be honest about this right now. You look at what the penguins are doing.

Crosby has struggled a little bit lately. Malkin has struggled a little bit lately. And yet they keep winning. Or at the very least, they keep turning in solid performances. And I'll keep saying it until it comes true. You know those two are looming. You know that they are just peeking around the corner. Crosby is going to go to the Olympics and you know how Cid is when he comes back from big games.

You know how Cid is when he's coming off big performances on the biggest stage. He really needs the Olympics. That's like the body language or the vibe I was getting. Like he just hasn't been on his game for the last couple of weeks. And I really do think the Olympics is going to fix that for him. And he's going to be totally fine coming off the Olympic. Geno is about to get a big break because Russia's not going to the Olympics. Latang is going to heal up.

Carlson's going to go to the Olympics. So is Raquel. Listen, a lot of things are lining up well for the penguins right now. And again, the thing you brought up that I have to also add to my this season's been magical, this team feels like they're motivating factor is to give. 20 plus middle fingers to the rest of the league who went, you guys are cooked, you're done, it's over. And they're like, okay.

Yeah, you keep thinking that. The nobody believes in us mentality is very strong for this type of team. Again, I said last week how I always laugh when someone like, Kirby's smart from Georgia says it because it's like everyone always believes and you have all these five-star recruits or, you know, Nick Sabin and Alabama and college football. But when a team like this comes into a season with very low expectations, a nobody believes in us mentality, that can make you a dangerous team when you're playing with nothing to lose. And you have seen that on a night by night basis. I can't say enough about the

job that Dan Muse and his entire staff have done so far this season. He deserves Jack Adams consideration right now. And of course, I will throw Kyle Dubus and his staff in there because he very much deserves GM of the year consideration right now. And I do think if the Penguins make the playoffs, Dubus will win that award. I will go out there and say it right now. If they get in, I think he will win that award. I could be dead wrong and it could go to someone else, but I don't think there will be another GM more deserving of the GM of the year award than Kyle Dubus, if the Penguins do get this done.

I think for the Jack Adams might be a little bit more dicey just because of what Jared Bednar is doing in Colorado, John Cooper and Tampa Bay with how good they're looking. But at the very least, Mews, I think should be a finalist for that award, especially if they do make the playoffs and they'll have a great chance, well, at least a chance to win it, I should say, if they make the playoffs too. that's going to do it for this second segment coming up to end the show it's Friday you know what that means it's time to react to your takes and your questions for fan take Friday and that's coming up right after this but before we get to that we have to tell you all about our first sponsor or second

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I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my good friend, end coach, Patrick Camp and Pat. Let's get into some listener takes and questions for today, because of course, it is Fanned Take Friday. And you put this out there. You said the first half of the season is now in the past, the unofficial first half, because it's the Olympic break. So instead of a take, drop your favorite moment from the season so far. Also, if you've got questions, takes or anything else, drop those here, too. And we got a couple really good ones. This worst one for Ryan, my most emotional moment was the Flurry preseason game.

My favorite moment is probably recency bias, but seeing Avery Hayes, and that his first goal off a chipped puck and break was incredible. The future is really bright. Yeah, like that Hayes moment is definitely going to go down as probably one of the top ones, no matter what, just because of the significance of it and how well he played overall. The Flurry one, getting him back here one more time as kind of, you know, him walking off into the sunset for Penguins fans, even though it was just a preseason game pat, that was freaking awesome.

And also being at the facility for that practice, I mean, that was a zoo, but in the best possible way. Like it was packed to a T. It was awesome. Those two are really good. Yeah, I think a good way to build off that the original part about the recency bias with Avery Hayes scoring his first two goals is just all the moments with the young guys so far this year, whether it was Brunick getting a few games,

Kindle becoming a regular in the lineup, McGority playing some good hockey, Koivinen playing some good hockey, Chinikov and everything he has done. Again, we know that this team is still retooling and trying to find their next cornerstone, but it just feels like at least through 56 games in this season that they have locked up quite,

a few talented young players that are going to be on this team for the foreseeable future. And while those aren't moments, they do kind of encapsulate this season so far. And it's really encouraging because we at the start of the year and into the off season, we're like, this is a lot of risk. This is a lot of betting. This is a lot of hoping that these guys are going to find a way and become good players. And so far to this point, they have matched or exceeded all expectation. Literally, basically every player that he has brought in over the office, especially UFA-wise.

I mean, Justin Berzo, he has exceeded expectations. Anthony Mantha, he has well beyond exceeded expectations. Same thing for Parker Watherspoon. She loves, especially lately. He has been really good. Skinner since coming over outside of one start. has been really good. Ben Kindle has exceeded everyone's expectations and is going to be a really good player on this team for quite a long time. I can keep going down the list if you want me to,

but they have been hitting on literally every single move throughout the last calendar year. And honestly, the last calendar year and a half, honestly, this one comes from Michael. Every time Ben Kendall looks elite, it's my new favorite moment of the season. Every time Chinikov scores is also a great highlight. Yes, those two are really good. Kindle continues to put together strong performance after strong performance and is already one of their best players. And then Chinakov, yeah, I mean, it's his world. We're just all living in it at this point. He continues to play.

So, well, this one's really cool, though, Pat. This comes from JLP. The first shift of the season with Kendall, Crosby, Malk, and Brunich, and Latang. Yeah, putting the kids out there with the big three. Really nice moment from Dan Mus. I like that one quite a bit. And then this one comes from Hannah, seeing Sid past Mario's record. and then the pens finally winning the shootout just has to be up there.

Yes, that was the Montreal game when you saw the Penguins just look to the heavens after they not only won a shootout path, but just one in general because they were trying to just snap this streak by any means necessary and they were able to do it. And he also says, seeing what Tang scored the OT winner, 58 seconds into overtime in his 1,200th game. Yes, that one was really good. The Blue Jackets comeback, she also mentions as well. Yeah, there's been a lot of really awesome stories.

book just great moments so far and we're still only 56 games into this that that it all kind of gets back to what I said in the last segment I mean again there are no guarantees there are no happy endings because you want them you've got to go out there and earn them in professional sports but you you just look at everything that has happened with this team this year and it just you get that feeling that that it's just a special team and I don't want to get too carried away. I don't want people to think I'm saying, you know, put your parking chair down on the boulevard of the Allies because come June,

there's going to be a parade going down downtown. But they just have this feel of a special team. I don't know if they have it to go far in the playoffs or even get there because they still have to get there. Yeah. But I've seen enough hockey and watched enough teams in my life that I go. go, this is one of those teams that throughout the year, everybody does the whole, are we, are we talking about Pittsburgh enough? Have we talked about the penguins enough?

And by the time you get to the playoffs, people go, are we forgetting about Pittsburgh? Pittsburgh's here. Like Pittsburgh is here. And you just look at everything setting up. It's a special team. It's a fun team. And at the end of the day, I know it's only been a few years, but that's been the biggest difference is this team just feels. fun and fresh again.

It's the most fun team they've had probably since the 21-22 season when I'll still say it. They should have beaten the Rangers in that first round series and I think if Sid doesn't get concussed in that game five, I think they win that game at Madison Square Garden even though they were down to their third string goalie at that point. Just a couple more year before we end today's show. This one comes from Maddie. I'm wondering what changes

you guys would make to the power play. So yeah, the power play has been really bad as of late. I just think the zone injuries need to be simplified. I also think they need to stop being so stagnant in the offensive zone. You even saw during the game against Buffalo on Thursday, everyone just standing around, Pat, and that's not what I saw during the beginning of the season and even later on where you see everyone moving around, making life really difficult for the opposing penalty killers, getting to the net front, utilizing that shoot first mentality, making quick decisions. You're not seeing any of that right now. That's a lot of what I would

focus on if I were Todd Nelson. This won't be the most satisfying answer, but because it's not something that you can really make a change on X's and O's wise or personnel wise. They need a couple goals. They just, you can tell that this is a unit that is kind of lacking in confidence right now with the way they're operating because they haven't made many real changes, whether it's personnel, whether it's strategy. It's mostly the same unit doing the same.

things, they're just in a rut. And it's going to be the kind of unit that once they get a goal or two or they score a goal in consecutive games, they're going to start rolling again. It's just a unit that is struggling from a little bit of a crisis of confidence. They get a couple goals here and there. I think we're going to see them go back to what they looked like about a month or so ago. It's the least satisfying answer because everybody wants there to be a pluck this guy off. You this system, do this, do that. I don't think it's really necessary. They just need to get a couple to fall for them, and they'll be right back on track.

Yeah, confidence is also a big thing for that unit, just because right now it looks like everyone is really second-guessing everything on that unit. So, hey, maybe you're right. Maybe it's just a matter of getting that goal or two, you know, getting that off the shine, and then, okay, maybe more pucks start falling on the power play. Drake Barrett asked you, do you think it's possible they trade for a left-handed defenseman and a right-handed defenseman. Maybe I think they're going to trade for at least one defenseman.

I'm not sure if it's going to be on the left or the right. I think if you're going for a left-hand shot, it's someone more for the long-term. I think for the right shot, it's more of a short-term just because Carlson and Latang are still very much hogging up the top floor. I think you can maybe use a short-term option for your bottom pair. That's just how I see it.

And then lastly, you know, Brandon talks about, you know, Avery Hayes and Rucker McGordy thinks that a couple of players can becoming expendable for the penguin for a group right now. I'll say this. I do think Rucker and Avery are going to be full-time NHL players very soon. And for Rucker, he has shown that he is an NHL player in his sample size this season. The biggest thing is, Penguins are running four lines when they're healthy, and I'm just not sure who you're taking out. Same thing for Avery Hayes. I just don't know

who you're fully taking out. Don't get me wrong. I've loved the way that Rucker has played, loved Avery Hayes's debut, but I think they're going to have a better shot at winning a full-time spot from camp next season, especially when you see them make, I think quite a few changes this summer because you're not going to bring back the same roster for next year. No. And one of the only players that I can think of that they would replace is someone that went from expendable when the expectations were low for this team to where they are now. And that's Anthony Mantha.

Right. If you trade, if Kyle Dubus trades Anthony Mantha at the deadline, he will lose this locker room. I feel pretty confident in saying that because they are playing extremely well. We're going into the Olympic break. They are second in the Metropolitan Division. If you move out a guy who has scored 20 goals, you are telling your team that you are not, I don't want to say that you're not confident in them,

but that you're being so stubborn to your plan that you're not going to reward them. And it also gets into what you and I have said multiple times. unless the return is astronomical, you can't move them right now. But the thing that's nice is that you're seeing that you've got your Magrortis, your covenins, your haze, all waiting in the wings. So you mix that with the amount of picks that you already have in the next few years. You can live with standing pat at this deadline and just letting it roll because you're not in desperate need for more prospects anymore.

You're not in desperate need for draft picks anymore. You can just let this ride. And if they do really well, that's a bonus. If they miss, you're going to be all right. If they get knocked out in the first round, same thing. You're still in a good spot. So I would love to see those guys in a full-time role. But right now, there's just not room for.

Right. I agree. And you can also say the same thing for Tanner Howl. I think he's going to be making a push for this roster next season. He's already off to a great start in Wilkesbury. Again, I just love the way he plays around the net front. Just total rat. I get many Patrick Cornquist vibes when I watch him just with the way that he can piss off the opposition.

So really liking his start. And then, hey, Harrison Brunick is also potentially going to make this team on a full-time basis next year as well. And maybe even Sergey Murashop with the way that he's playing in Wilkesbury. So just to throw a few more names out there for everyone. but I think that's going to do it for today's episode of the locked on penguins podcast. Thank you all so much to take the time to listen to slash watch this one. And yes, people, penguins don't play for the next few weeks. That doesn't mean we're going anywhere.

We have a lot of content planned, especially surrounding the Olympics. Pat and I are going to do a full Olympic preview next week, get you guys set on who is representing the Pittsburgh Penguins, who's going to win gold, who's going to win silver, who's going to win bronze, and we'll keep you all up to date on any other Penguins, news, look at the farm sometimes, Wilkesbury since they're playing, same thing with Wheeling, and any other news that breaks as well. So for Patrick Damp, I'm Hunser-Hodies. Thank you all so much to take the time to listen to slash watch this one. We'll be back on Monday.