Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Blake Lizotte brings much-needed stability to the Penguins' 4th line

Starting point is 00:00:00 Penguins forward, Blake Lazant, had another solid campaign for the penguins this year, and Pat and I are going to review his season, plus discuss Wilkesbury's big win over Toronto last night right after this. 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 the Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Joined by my co-st, Patrick Damp, you can follow him on all social media platforms at Sinomphalette.

Starting point is 00:00:42 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. And 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. Pat Wilkesbury got a huge 5-3 win over Toronto last night in game three of the Eastern conference final. They are back in that series. And oh, yeah, the Stanley Cup final is set to start tonight between Vegas and Carolina. Pat and I will preview that series later on in the show and make our picks, even though my picks have just been dreadful in these playoffs. Outside of round two,

Starting point is 00:01:17 I was three for four in that round. My round one picks, I was right around 500. And then I went 0 for two in the conference finals. I was just total trash. And Pat were going to discuss who actually still has a chance to win our bracket challenge. Hint, it's not. many people. I mean, listen, I'm right in the same boat as you. My Stanley Cup final matchup has been long dead. I got one conference finalist correct. I'm so far down in the standings of our bracket challenge, but the way this Stanley Cup playoff has played out, a lot of us are in that same boat. Yes, I agree. So again, we will try to make our best prediction when it comes to the Stanley Cup final. But first, Pat, we continue our season in review series with Blake LaZotte.

Starting point is 00:02:00 technically this was supposed to be of getting Malkins, but I feel like we have touched on him so much throughout the offseason where we've already done our season in review from, especially when they signed him to an extension. We talked about him when Kyle Dubas was speaking about him to the media a few weeks ago. You give him an A, I give him an A. He was over point per game. He was one of the Penguins' best players during the regular season.

Starting point is 00:02:23 He showed he still had some left in the tank. He was also good in the playoffs. It's standard. He gets an A 100%. and we are both excited that he is back. Next up on the list, though, is forward Blake Lazott. He was limited to injury. Again, this season only played in 55 games.

Starting point is 00:02:39 If you remember, he missed that last month of this season, especially in the regular season before coming back for the playoffs. Still finished with seven goals in 19 points in 55 games. I know you may look at the offensive production and be like, yeah, that's pretty pedestrian. And sure, you can say that, but there is a lot more to his game than just the pure raw offensive stats. he is one of their best penalty killers.

Starting point is 00:03:02 He is one of the players on the fourth line that really drags the rest of that line. And sometimes the rest of that bottom six into the fight, especially with the way he plays. He's physical. He's really good at blocking shots, getting into shooting lanes. He's part of the heartbeat of the fourth line. Even though I have argued that Connor Dewar is the straw that stirs the drink on that line, and I will still say that.

Starting point is 00:03:25 Don't forget about Blake Lazot either. He is an outstanding fourth liner for this team. Patty was going into the final year of his contract. There was a question about whether he was going to be used his trade bait, depending on the way this season went. Nope, Kyle Dubas said, I am going to extend him. And they did that. He is now going to be here for the foreseeable future.

Starting point is 00:03:45 And for me, when he played, I give him a solid B for the season. Yeah, I'd give him a minus B area for me. Because of all the things that you said, the offensive numbers are pedestrian, but for the most part, they're kind of right in line with his entire career. He had one outlier of a season in 22, 23 with L.A. where he put up 34 points. But aside from that, he is usually in the high teens and low 20s when it comes to points. Same thing with goals for the most part.

Starting point is 00:04:19 He's usually in between somewhere five and 12 goals a season. And you got that out of them. And you look at this season only plays 55 games, but with the way he was producing the pace that he was on, had he not gotten hurt near the end of the year, he probably would have hit that 10 plus goal mark, that 10 plus assist mark and gotten you 25, maybe 30 points in that realm, if he stays healthy, but ifs and butts, candy and nuts and all that.

Starting point is 00:04:51 So end of the day, it's everything else away from the offensive production. He is an incredible penalty killer. He's a great spark plug for this team in the sense that you put him on the ice, especially in games where the team might be a little laxadaisical, might be playing with a little bit of a malaise. He's a guy who can spark the team, whether it's just a hardworking shift where he does a lot of the dirty work and get you some offensive zone time, throws a big hit,

Starting point is 00:05:23 mixes it up in front of the net. He is one of those players that you need in your bottom. And it's something that for this entire entirety of this Crosby-Malkin-Latang era, the penguins have always needed a Blake Lazott type of player in the sense that he plays a very responsible, mature hockey game. We know the way the Pittsburgh Penguins have always operated. They always will want to play run and gun. They'll always want to play up-tempo.

Starting point is 00:05:56 But you always need a counterbalance. on your roster. And that is Blake Lazott and most of the fourth line. They play a very mature, very honest game and that counterbalance is what your top six wants to do. So extending him was an extremely smart idea by Kyle Dubas. He brings stability to your bottom six. And the other thing is, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it was trotted out quite a bit this year. With Blake Lazot in the lineup, this one won a whole hell of a lot more than it lost. And granted, causation doesn't equal correlation on this one, but it got to a point where you saw how much better the team played with him in the lineup.

Starting point is 00:06:39 And yeah, that's a little bit more intangible than it is statistical. But the guy has a lot of value. And I'm very happy that he's going to remain a penguin for the foreseeable future. Yeah. And I do think there's more to it than that, Pat. Like the record with him in the lineup this year was 31 and 12. than 12. So pretty good. But when you dig deeper, it's because, again, he was one of their best fourthliners. He was great on the PK, great as a physical player. He got them some big goals

Starting point is 00:07:08 like choosing me throughout the year. He would get in the shooting lanes. He would get his stick into shooting lanes. He'd also be really good in six on five situations. I like that DMUs really trusted him to do well in those situations. You'd also see Connor Dewar there, but I liked how much they trusted Lazot in the situations. And now, Pat, you look at his contract. He's signed for 2.25 million for the next three seasons. He's still only 28 years old. It's not like you're giving a bunch of term and money to someone who is in his mid-30s. He's still in his late 20s. He'll be in his early 30s by the end of this contract. So he's still going to give you some pretty solid years here. So I like that contract extension at the time. I like it still now. And I'm excited for him to still

Starting point is 00:07:50 be a penguin for the foreseeable future just because of of his style of play and how much he does help the penguins on a nightly basis. Even when he's not scoring per se, he's doing a lot of the little things that go a long way towards winning games. And the rub for that contract that he, extension that he signed is, it's a good contract in the sense that one, we've talked about it ad nauseum. The penguins have more cap space than they know what to do with. So giving him that extension does not hurt that cap space.

Starting point is 00:08:24 in their cap situation. But the other thing is, it's not so long term that it's going to become a problem because we're bringing up his style of play. We're bringing up the way he plays the game. There's a chance a player like Blake Lazot could hit a wall because he does get hurt quite a bit, but that's a result of the way he plays. He blocks a lot of shots. He's physical.

Starting point is 00:08:48 And that takes its toll. That is not an easy game to play. And that is the next thing I want for her next season. is because I want him to stay a bit healthier next season because you'll get the last couple of seasons, 59 games and 50 55. I like for him to be over 70 plus games played next season. I would like to see him in that 65, 70 range because, again, the way he plays the game, he is going to be prone to injury. He blocks a lot of shots.

Starting point is 00:09:16 He plays physical. There will be times where a puck hits him in an area where it's going to not have as much padding and he's going to get banged up. He's going to go into the corner for a hit. It's going to be awkward or it's going to be a bad hit. And that is just the cost of doing business when you play the game the way Blake Lazot plays it. But to the overall point of the contract extension that he has, it's not a lot of term.

Starting point is 00:09:43 It's not a lot of money. So if it does come to the point where eventually playing this way catches up with him, you're not going to be saddled with him for four or five more years. years or something like that. And there's always teams that are willing to employ players like this. So if it does get to that point, it will not be difficult for the penguins to move off of it. I agree.

Starting point is 00:10:06 And, you know, we've also seen him have healthy seasons, excuse me, throughout his career. You go back to 21, 22, when he was with L.A. Played in 70 games. The next season after that in 22, 23, he played in 81 games. So he's been able to do it, Pat. I just want to see him do it now with the penguins. That's like my main, don't want to say criticism, I guess nitpick,

Starting point is 00:10:29 is that I just want to see him a bit more healthier for the penguins. You look at the underlying for this season, played a little over 600 minutes of five-on-five ice time when he was on the ice. The penguins controlled roughly 53% of the shot attempts, also have 52% of the expected goal share, 54% of the scoring chances and 52% of the high danger chances. So the underlines very much match up to the eye test for the season.

Starting point is 00:10:51 but that's going to do it for this segment. Coming up in the second segment, Wilkesbury got right back in their Eastern Conference Final Series against Toronto, and Pat and I are going to recap that game coming up right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about one of our sponsors, which is Game Time. There's nothing like playoff hockey live, the intensity, the rivalries, the crowd, it's just different when you're in the building.

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Starting point is 00:13:40 I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-s, Patrick Gamp. And Pat Wilkesbury needed to win last night. There was really no if ends or butts about it. You lose that game. You fall down 03 in the series. It is basically curtains at that point. you are very likely not coming back from that deficit.

Starting point is 00:13:58 Toronto, though, they open the scoring. It's looking kind of weird at one point, even though Wilkesbury is again out playing Toronto, which I feel like in this series, Wilkesbury has been the better team. They're just still down in the series. But thankfully, they were able to rebound. Aidan McDonough makes it 1-1.

Starting point is 00:14:15 Really nice game from him. He got that goal right on the door set, making it 1-1. And then it goes to the in the second period where Bill Zonan gets his fourth. fourth goal in the playoffs. Pat, he has only been around for two series. He already has four goals. He was right around the front of the net, cleaning up the garbage, really nice rush attempt there by McDonough. Again, he had one hell of a game for Wilkesbury last night, but

Starting point is 00:14:39 Bills on and finishes that playoff. Toronto, though, they're able to tie it. Wilkesbury misses on a breakaway. Seconds later, they get another devil bounce because they just had all the devil magic bounces in the series. A puck goes off of Owen Pickering skate in the net. It's two to going in the second intermission, and then Wilkesbury is able to kind of open the floodgates a little bit, if you will, in the third. Dilley Kovinen, a great goal to make it three, two. I want to see more of that from him in the NHL, especially. Atlee Calvert makes it four two.

Starting point is 00:15:11 Toronto does push back late in the third and make it four three, and then Tanner Howell is the game with an MD net goal, making it five to three, getting Wilkesbury right back in the series. Pat, it's a game they needed to have and they won it. and in my opinion they were the better team again. There are two separate but related trains of thought that I have about last night's game. One, head coach Kirk McDonald did not sound panicked whatsoever going to Toronto. He kind of understood that this team was playing well.

Starting point is 00:15:45 They just weren't getting the breaks. And if they keep doing what they do best, the breaks will come. We saw that happen last night in Toronto. And then the other part of it is the resiliency of this group in Toronto last night because it shaped up to look like another one of those games where they're doing all the right things. The puck's not going in. And then a couple of bad breaks on their part go in the back of the net in Toronto keeps hanging around. But it would have been really easy for them to throw their hands up, get frustrated, try to do things they aren't capable of doing. and let Toronto skate away with another win.

Starting point is 00:16:26 Instead, they stuck to their guns, they played the way they needed to play, they got contributions from a lot of the players that have been contributing for them this entire run, and they come out with a win. So this was a crucial victory, because here's the thing. Just as a reminder, this isn't like the Stanley Cup playoffs where games one and two are at the home ice advantage, games three and four, go back to the other side. side and then you alternate 5, 6, 7. This is 2-3-2.

Starting point is 00:16:58 Right. So if you fall down 3-0 going up against the team that you're about to play three games at their rank, that makes it even harder to get back in the series. So making it 2-1 now gives you a little bit more breathing room, but now the task is going to Wednesday night, you've got to tie this series. You have to make it 2-2 and reverse the pressure to put it on to. onto Toronto because you don't want to give them multiple opportunities, including one at home, to close this series out.

Starting point is 00:17:31 You want to make them have to fight for their lives in Toronto in game five, and then you want to have them on the brink when you come back to Wilkeshire. Exactly. And if you can tie this one up, you'll also have home ice again. Yeah, game five will be in Toronto, even if Toronto wins it, there'll be one win away. They'll have to go to Wilkesbury to close out that series. and Wilkesbury, we all know, is going to be revved up for that game.

Starting point is 00:17:55 So Wednesday, as close to another must win, as against, you don't want to fall behind 3-1, especially with game 5 still being in Toronto. But, again, I just really like the efforts of a lot of the players last night, and I really want to discuss Coyvenin a bit, Pat, because he had been a bit quiet so far, especially in this series. But he gets that goal there in the third period. Really nice rush up the ice by Tristan Bros.

Starting point is 00:18:19 He drops it back to Coyvinen, who is able to get it back to Bro, he gets below the left circle, gets closer to the front of the net, drops it back to Coivinan who just fires a beautiful one-timer past the Molly's goaltender. And I want to see that confidence translate to the NHL because we haven't seen that a lot with Coivinan at the NHL level. And the celebration was also great. He was totally taunting the Marley's crowd, literally just doing this like, come on, baby. And then he got a few middle fingers shown his way as expected. But that was some really nice confidence shown.

Starting point is 00:18:53 he'll like coiff. I mentioned Aidan McDonough, Pat. He had a great game of going to assist. His second assist on the Atley Calvert. Goal was a thing of beauty. And last but not least, you know where I'm going here. Sergei Muroshov, another great performance. 35 saves.

Starting point is 00:19:07 He continues to be great in goal for Wilkesbury. The thing with, I'll start with Murashav picking up right where you ended, is Toronto, at least in this game, understood the assignment that when you play against an elite goaltender, the easiest way. to eventually beat them is to wear them down. And it appeases the people in the cheap seats because you're going to shoot every chance you get from every angle you can,

Starting point is 00:19:35 just because if you can increase an elite goaltender's workload, there's a better chance they wear down. And if you get nearly 40 shots on an elite goaltender and you don't beat them, that's just a tip your cap moment where you go, hey, we tried, we fired everything we had at them. he didn't break. He played a great game.

Starting point is 00:19:54 And that was the case last night with Murashav because Toronto didn't get a lot of grade A chances, but they got a lot of B and C chances, a lot of opportunities to beat Murashov and Murashav was mostly equal to the task. So that's what you want to see out of Murashav in a game like that. As for Kovinen, I look at the way he has played in this postseason. And it's four goals, four assists, eight points in 12 playoff. games, which isn't elite production, but he's changed his game a little bit. He is, he's playing with a little bit more of an edge. He's being a little bit more of an agitator.

Starting point is 00:20:32 He's doing the things that we were worried about this past year, where he looked a little too weak along the wall. He didn't look great in the corners. He would lose puck battles. He's starting to find that aspect of the game in the HAL. Now, again, doesn't mean that it's going to translate to the big leagues. But it's showing that as a prospect and as a project, he is understanding the assignment. He is understanding what he needs to work on. Because we saw it with him in the HL

Starting point is 00:21:08 since he became a part of the Penguin system. He's great offensively in the HL. He's got a great shot. He's got great hockey sense. It would have been really easy for him to go back down to the HAL just say, I'm a great offensive player. I'm going to just lean on my offensive instincts and my talent, and I'm going to put up a bunch of goals, a bunch of assists and a bunch of points,

Starting point is 00:21:31 everything else be damned. They won't be able to tell me no. Instead, he's adjusting his game. He's learning how to win puck battles. He's getting stronger on the wall. He's playing with a little bit more of an edge. That is what the organization wants him to do. So whether or not it translates, we will see.

Starting point is 00:21:50 but it is at least encouraging that he understood this is the weakness that they told me I had. I'm going to work on it to become a more complete player. And as you also hint to that, now the trick will be finishing this playoff run on a high note and bringing this momentum into the off season, especially training camp, where, again, he will have an opportunity to make this team full time and see Pat if he can have these parts of his game translate to the NHL. because so far, it is not. And you all know, I'm getting a little bit concerned about it.

Starting point is 00:22:26 So we'll see. He had a great moment last night, had a good game overall. I want to see him build on that now for the rest of the series and hopefully potentially into the caller cup final. But Wilkesbury, they're back in the series. Game four from Toronto set for Wednesday, 7 p.m. start. If you're trying to watch it, you can go on Flow Hockey.HL.tv is also on there. and I'm sure people can find illegal streams and all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:22:50 But the main stuff without illegal streams is flow hockey. They broadcast all the HL games and also a lot of junior hockey as well. But that's going to do it for the second segment. Coming up to end the show, the Stanley Cup final starts tonight. And that means Pat and I are going to break down the series and give our prediction that's coming up right after this. But before we get to that,

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Starting point is 00:24:31 I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-host, Pounder Damp. And Pat, I'm actually going to hand this over to you. Who is still alive in a bracket challenge? Because I think it's only a select few people at this juncture. You are not incorrect, my friend, because in the locked on Penguins Bracket Challenge, there are three brackets left that have a potential correct championship pick. We have got Kierre 12-5-1-2. They have the Carolina Hurricanes as their Stanley Cup pick.

Starting point is 00:25:08 They currently sit tied or not tied. They have second to all to themselves with 168 points and a total of 268 max available. so they have a chance to get the victory right behind them. Tide in third is Coach Green, who also has the Carolina Hurricanes as their Stanley Cup pick. They have 156 points as of this recording with 256 available to them. And then you've got to scroll all the way down to Tide for 13th, where JAD locked pens has 118 points with a possible

Starting point is 00:25:48 218. They picked the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup. But if you look at our Bracket Challenge League, there is a total of 77 people. Only three have a Stanley Cup pick available. Everyone else, you scroll down. It is a lot of Colorado Avalanche. There's some Tampa Bay Lightning, some penguins, some Buffalo, and there's a Minnesota Wild in there and Edmonton Oilers in there, Dallas Stars. So pretty much everybody either went with our penguins who love the faith, don't know all about that. But for the most part, everybody went chalk pick and went with Colorado.

Starting point is 00:26:34 And unfortunately, both you and I did that. And our cup picks are dead. Yep. We will take the L on that because obviously Colorado just got crushed held. They might lose their GM too, because. the avalanche granted permission in Nashville to talk to Chris McFarland, and it sounds like that's moving in a pretty positive direction. I think Nashville is just going to give him the entire keys to the organization at this point. They'll probably have to give him a huge promotion to president,

Starting point is 00:26:59 and I think he's probably going to get a huge pay raise as well. So they've been very patient with their GM search, and I think it looks like it's going to pay off with getting McFarland, which that's going to be a huge move for them. He's a really good GM in my opinion. But let's get to the Stanley Cup final. It starts tonight, Vegas at Carolina, game one of the Stanley Cup final. And I'll say this, Matt. Is this going to be a boring series for a lot of people? Yes, especially the way Carolina plays.

Starting point is 00:27:26 Vegas, I'd kind of throw in there a little bit as well. But as a hockey sicko, as someone who loves hockey tactics, I am excited for this. I want to see how Vegas handles Carolina's pressure. I also want to see how Carolina handles the way Vegas plays in the neutral zone. It's going to be a really fascinating chess match in this area, especially with the way Torrella's team plays and the way Robert Rund Moore's team plays. Both teams getting excellent goaltending.

Starting point is 00:27:56 Both teams have great special teams, and their five-on-five metrics have also been really good in the playoffs, too. I picked against Carolina last round. I looked like a complete buffoon. I'm going to do it again here. I just think Vegas, they have peaked at the right time. they are red hot, they just beat the best team in the league. I know Carolina has also peaked at the right time too.

Starting point is 00:28:20 But I think Vegas' high-end talent is going to be the difference in this series. I think Mitch Marner, Jack Eichael, and Mark Stone are going to be the bigger difference makers for me than Carolina's high-end talent. Give me Vegas in seven, seven hard-fought games over Carolina. And again, I can look like an idiot by the end of the series. I've looked like an idiot for a lot of my picks on the playoffs. But I love the way that Vegas's high-end talent is going right now. They're debt players, especially someone like Brett Howden has been great.

Starting point is 00:28:51 I haven't even mentioned Pavel Dorothea, who has also been awesome in these playoffs. Give me Vegas to win the Stanley Cup, Pat. I think Carolina finally does it. I think they finally, 20 years after winning their last Stanley Cup is going to defeat Vegas. And I think that they're going to do it in six. here's my rationale. I don't disagree with what you're saying about Vegas's high-end talent. When you stack these two rosters on top of one another,

Starting point is 00:29:20 Vegas very much has the better high-end talent. Problem to me is Carolina is just a complete team. They come at you in waves. They don't really have a weakness. You can maybe say it's Freddie Anderson, but with the way they play in front of them, even if he kind of comes back to Earth in the Stanley Cup final, they are so good in front of him, it may not matter.

Starting point is 00:29:46 He's also been damn good in these playoffs, so hasn't even been a weak link yet. Exactly. So you mix all of that together. And I do think this is going to be for your non-hardcore hockey fans, it is going to look like some boring hockey because it's going to be a war of attrition. It is going to be Carolina coming at you

Starting point is 00:30:07 and waves, Carolina constantly trying to push against the rock that is Vegas's defensive style. But I do think eventually Vegas wears down, eventually Vegas cracks. And it's not going to be the most exciting final. It's not going to be high octane. But I just look at the way Carolina plays. They just play. And I understand the field that got Carolina to the Stanley Cup final was not that strong.

Starting point is 00:30:37 and Vegas kind of has had to walk through the flames with the way they got to the Stanley Cup final. But at the end of the day, Carolina took care of business in the series as they needed to take care of business in. And you don't get to ask who you play. You play who is in front of you. And Carolina has just wall up to everybody. I think unfortunately for Vegas, this is going to be the toughest test they have.

Starting point is 00:31:06 and as good as they have been, it is going to be really difficult for me to see Carolina faltering now, especially having only played 13 games and losing one of them. That is absolutely incredible stuff. So give me Carolina in six games. I like it.

Starting point is 00:31:24 I think with Carolina, if there's a year to do it, it's still this year. Like, there's teams are going to be reloading for next year. You know, Tampa Bay is going to be right there. The Panthers, Pat,

Starting point is 00:31:34 they're going to be, I think, right back in the thick of the, it next year. I do think the East overall is going to be better next season. So if there was ever a time for Carolina to win one, it's got to be this year. Even though you are playing a very, and I mean a very good Vegas team in the final Vegas, they've only lost four games. The playoffs, Carolina, you mentioned it. They've only lost one. Both teams have it red hot, peaking at the right time. I am just trusting Vegas's high-end talent a little bit more than Carolinas. I,

Starting point is 00:32:06 I'm a little bit spooked about who Rob Rindamore is going to match up against the Jack Iko. I'm considering that Ico had McKinnon in hell for that entire Western Conference final. We all know it. He's one of the best two-way centers in hockey. So that matchups can be fascinating to me. Mitch Marner, he's also very good defensively. Mark Stone. He's now back pat.

Starting point is 00:32:26 He's been playing really well since coming back from injury. That's something that also, I think, tips the scales in Vegas's favor, in my personal opinion. So I'm going to stick with Vegas. I think they do it in seven games, but also to your point, I won't be totally surprised at all if Carolina does pull this off, considering the level that they have played at for the playoffs. So that gets underway tonight. Game one, Semicath Final in Raleigh, that building is going to be rocking. Really excited to watch this series. And then after that, it's the race to the draft and then free agency.

Starting point is 00:33:01 So that'll do it for this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. So Pat, before we fully end it, we have a special episode coming tomorrow. So I want you to tease that for our audience. Yes. So our Wednesday episode is going to be available for you right around midnight Wednesday. I am going to interview Kenny Jacoby from the USA Today. He had a really good piece about a month ago about a private equity investment, venture capital, whatever you want to call it, firm that has been buying up a lot of,

Starting point is 00:33:34 youth hockey rinks and youth hockey organizations across the country, including a few here in Pittsburgh. So I reached out to him. I'm going to interview him today. We're going to talk about that and the effect that it's having on youth hockey in Western Pennsylvania. So it's not going to be our normal kind of episode, but it's going to be a very interesting conversation. I'm looking really forward to talking to him about this piece. Obviously, you can find it today. You can find it today in the USA Today. It's called the Lord of the Rinks. It's in USA Today.

Starting point is 00:34:11 If you Google that, it'll pop right up. And it's a very long piece, but it's very worth your time, very worth reading. So I'm really looking forward to this conversation. And it'll be ready for you guys early on Wednesday morning. And I'll obviously link to that piece in the episode. So keep an eye out for that. If there's any breaking news or anything crazy that happens on Wednesday, we'll obviously do a double header,

Starting point is 00:34:35 but at this point, that is going to serve as our Wednesday episode. And then we will be back on Thursday, continuing season in review, continuing following the baby penguins, and anything else that happens between now and then. Yes, and the Lord of the Rinks, you say, I mean, Pat, I got my...

Starting point is 00:34:51 Lord of the Rings. Of course, I always have to show it when I can, even though it's very rare on the show. But we're really excited about that, Pat. This is going to be great. Again, as Pat said, that will be our Wednesday episode. And then on Thursday, we'll be back with your regularly scheduled programming. And then Friday, we'll have Fan Take Friday and any other Penguins news as well.

Starting point is 00:35:14 And pretty soon, we'll be getting to my personalized Penguins-specific draft. Or where I talk about Penguins prospects that I hope that they take in the NHO draft. I shouldn't even say Penguins prospects. I should just say prospects that I hope the Penguins do take in the draft just because they're not Penguins prospects yet. So we have that to look forward to throughout the month of June as well. So again, that's going to do it for the Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Look for that episode to drop on Wednesday at midnight with Pat's interview. And then we'll be back both of us on Thursday.

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