Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - BONUS: Taylor Haase joins the show for everything Pittsburgh Penguins!

Episode Date: April 30, 2022

I know, I know, it's a Saturday but I have a bonus episode lined up for you all as Taylor Haase of DKPittsburghSports joins the show. They first touch on the regular season as Taylor gives her answer as to what surprised her during the season before getting to some Kasperi Kapanen talk. Was that penalty in the final game on Friday a dagger for his chances to play in the playoffs? Does he deserve to be a healthy scratch? After that, Hunter asks about Evan Rodrigues since he had one great game against the Jackets. If he keeps this up, could he be a difference-maker in the series against the Rangers? Taylor also gives an update on Tristan Jarry, plus gives her confidence in Casey DeSmith heading into the playoffs. After that, Taylor gives her thoughts on who could get called up, plus how the Penguins will have to play against the Rangers if they are to score this upset. All that, plus much more on this special bonus episode of Locked On Penguins.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!HelloFreshGo to HelloFresh.com/lockedon16 and use code lockedon16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Shady RaysEXCLUSIVELY FOR OUR LISTENERS, HEAD TO SHADYRAYS.COM AND USE CODE LOCKEDON TO GET FIFTY PERCENT OFF TWO OR MORE PAIRS OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello, happy Saturday. Welcome to a bonus episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I don't usually have a lot of Saturday episodes. But today we have Taylor-Hawas of D.K. Pittsburgh Sport to come on, review the full regular season for the Penguins, and then obviously do maybe a little bit of a small preview of what to expect in the Penguins Rangers series. That's all coming up right after this drop.

You're Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome to a special Saturday episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. You know to follow me on Twitter, Hunter Hodes.

Follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. So, of course, joining me now is Taylor Haas of D.K. Pittsburgh Sports. Been trying to get her on for at least a good bit now. Glad that we can finally make it happen. Taylor, you know, the regular season is over. Penguins, Rangers, which something I think we've known for, I think, the last three months, something like that. It's going to be a pretty interesting series. We'll obviously get into that later on in the show.

But, no, in terms of the regular season, was there anything really that, I guess, surprised you about the team or that didn't surprise you, maybe? I mean, honestly, just that they made the playoffs. I feel like what, the past two, three years, people are saying, you know, this is the year the streak ends. I think when we did our own previews coming into the season, on our own podcast. I think I said, you know, this is the year that maybe the Penguins don't make it. But I think just, you know, the disparity between the playoff teams and the non-playoff teams, no one expected that, you know, for the Penguins to have, you know, 100-point season.

So just that, you know, with the core aging that they were able to make it, I think, is a surprise to some level. Yeah. I mean, it is always a bit interesting, you know, when people do pick them to miss it because I'm like, when it happens, then I'll maybe be more believable, I guess, with it. but, you know, I did understand this just because the Islanders were coming back and they were expected to be really good again. And then you have the Rangers who improved and, you know, Washington's still there and all that and sell heck some people who even picked Philadelphia to be

good. And, you know, some of those didn't pan out. Some of them did. But the Penguins were able to have those really strong four months, I guess, after the month of October where they were mowing over teams. But, you know, one player that I guess didn't really play well this year is, you know, Casbury Capton, you know, he's definitely, I think, a player that, you know, I hate ragging on someone like that too much. You know, I don't want to kick someone when they're down a lot. You know, it's just, it really came, I think, to a head last night, you know, in the game 5-2, the game is basically over.

Capitan takes a really dumb penalty and then puts the jackets right back into the game. And, you know, you have people like Bob Grove, who I obviously love saying it's time for, you know, maybe some players to come up from Wilkesbury. Do you think we're at a point now where Mike Sullivan potentially healthy, he scratches him in the postseason despite, you know, the injury to Jason Zulker? Yeah, I mean, towards the end of the regular season, I understand why we didn't see it more often just because they literally just did not have the cap space to bring up any extras. So it kind of forced their hand.

But yeah, at this point, I really just don't see a spot for him in the lineup. He hasn't been able to find chemistry with guys in the top six. And he's just really not a guy who contributes much in the bottom six. He's not someone that you're getting a lot of on the special teams, and that's something that's really important when Sullivan's putting together as line combinations. And now that there's no salary cap, no roster limits, there are guys in Wilkesbury who would make for better bottom six options and could potentially contribute on the PK and stuff like that. So I think at this point, Capon might be sitting in the playoffs.

I was surprised they didn't play him in Philly when they did healthy scratch him towards being there. You know, his dad was in town, and he was Sammy Capitan. He came over from Finland. He was there at the game. And you figure, you know, if you're going to get any something out of Capon, it would have been that game. But it doesn't seem like motivation really was the factor in this at all. It's not that Caponin doesn't care.

I know I see people, you know, saying that. It just hasn't been clicking with him. But, yeah, it's not for a lack of effort or not caring. So I don't know. I'd bring up someone from Wilkesbury at this point. Yeah, something just seems off. You know, he obviously that great year last year, lights up training camp,

lights up the pre-east and everyone's expecting, you know, some of many great things to happen with him. And, you know, Mike Sullivan's calling him, I think, an elite player at times. And then this happens. And he makes $3.2 million after the season. I have to assume the penguins are not going to pick up that qualifying offer to him and he'll probably be a UFA.

And, you know, speaking of Wilkes, you know obviously taylor you know you you follow them very much so um as was one of the reporters who are you looking to call up is it you know dro Connor who's off his injury redeems a hornah is it valetri pusson you know who who would you be looking to potentially replace him as either in the lineup or as like a 13th forward as like insurance yeah uh so we're looking to someone in the bottom six i'd go with drew o'connor uh pretty clear i he's i think he's been ready uh for for a while now for that kind of role. It's something, you know, he can fill.

He's a role, you know, power forward type. He's better suited for a third, fourth line role over, over someone like Capitan. When he got sent down after his, there was a reported collapse lung, Sullivan said one of the things they were hoping to see from him is just to learn how to kill penalties because, again, that is, like I said, something that's very important when figuring out which forwards are going to be in the lineup. learning how to do that at the NHL is not the easiest transition. So, yeah, that was something they were really looking for him to do.

It's not something he did a whole lot early on during his time in Wilkesbury, but he has become one of the more regular penalty-killing forwards in Wilkes-Barre, and he's been good at it. Wilkeshire's penalty-killing has been great. So I think he's ready. One of the reasons we didn't seem to come up towards the end, even when they did at the cap space, when McGin was on long-term IR, They did not have the cap space for O'Connor because he had up to $850,000 and potential bonuses.

And you can't, when you're calling up someone using LTIR, you have to have the room for their bonuses, even if they don't hit it. So it literally was not possible for O'Connor to come up before now. So now that it is possible, I think we finally see him. He would be my first kick. Zahornah would probably be my second one for a bottom six role. but it seems like his pace conditioning has been the concerns Sullivan has with him, being able to sustain that pace. Zohner, he had a really tough start to the season.

He was sick for about a month or so. It wasn't COVID. They didn't know what it was. And even when Zahorna did come back, he said he wasn't feeling right for a while. And it really did affect his conditioning and his ability to maintain that kind of pace. And then even towards later in the season, it sounded like, Like Sullivan still had concerns just with his ability to play with Pace. And then, yeah, Pustin, it would be my third pick.

I wish you would have seen more of him at the time beyond just the one game. He had a good game. Sullivan seemed to really like it. I don't know if bottom six-year-old is, you know, something they see him being in long-term. He's more of, you know, top six-winger. But his defensive game is not an issue at all. he's not a liability. He actually is very good for Wilkes, very defensively.

Something J.D. Forrest has told me a bunch of times is, you know, they're not afraid to put him out there in any situation. You know, in the defensive zone, those kinds of situations. So even with his size, he's pretty small. But, yeah, I think he could be in that kind of role, but he would not be my first pick. Yeah. And, you know, I know the cupboard is obviously very small, I guess, down there just because the Penguins prospect pool was it's not compared to some of these other teams. But, you know, for a team that's definitely had their legs have not been what they were

early on in the year, you know, I think some fresh, you know, lakes, especially in for a playoff game or two, I think could go a long way. I mean, I liked what I saw from O'Connor at the beginning of the year. I mean, he was putting up some goals and looked like a completely different player compared to what we saw last year where it looked like he wasn't going to be a fit in the NHL. But, you know, went back down to Wilkesbury. It looks like played really well. And then, you know, even after the injury, he's played well.

So I do hope that, you know, one, if not all three of those players come up at some point, but I feel like Wilkesbury is going to want to use them for their playoffs right now, at least to start. And then, you know, maybe if the Penguins say they go down O2 going back home to PPP, I feel like they could potentially use a call up there, but I'm not super sure. I just, I know that Capon is just, he's not what he once was. And he's just, he's hurting the team, I think, in all three zones at this point. Another player, though, that I think could be.

starting to turn it around tail before we get to a commercial break. Evan Rodriguez, he had a great game, I thought, against Columbus for the last game of the regular season, you know, it's been a tale of two seasons for him. First half looked like a player that you probably wanted to give $5 million to. You'd run into a, you'd probably want to throw yourself in front of a car for him. And then the second half of the season, you just want to basically drive him to the nearest train station or something. But that game last night was really good. I mean, he was getting a lot of great looks, I thought got that goal, hit the crossbar a couple of other times.

And of course my puppy over here and still do a couple little wines. I'm sure he's, yeah, whatever. But I still think, you know, if they can get the first half level, Roder Liga's back for the playoffs, in my opinion, he's probably better than anyone in the Rangers bottom six.

And I know they've improved down there after the deadline, but I think that's a big deal for Pittsburgh if they can get that level of playback from him. Yeah, even if it's, not, you know, that first half level of Evan Rodriguez, it's just somewhere in the middle because the drop off was so steep between the first half and the second half for him. So even if they can just get him going a little bit, would just be huge for them to get that kind of depth scoring. Because

what, his goal in the regular season finale, that was only, I believe, is fourth in his last 49 games. And it was just insane, given, you know, the way he looked, you know, in the first half and what he was doing for them on the top power play i i was comparing him to like ovechkin a lot because i mean like half jokingly but just the one timers from the left circle they were getting from him on the on the power play it's like maybe this guy should be an all-star but then yeah second half of the season it's just hard to you know figure out what happened to him um you know he was talking a lot early you know the first half about how it he was just attributing everything to confidence when you're confident you know your shows on the ice so it's like did his confidence wane at all it's hard to really

say. I mean, he didn't really have answers. I know he said, you know, when he did get put in a bottom six role, focusing on, you know, his defensive game became more of a priority. But that doesn't explain just the, you know, the four goals of 49 games. But yeah, we, we saw, you know, a little bit of that first half, Evan Rodriguez come back in the regular season finale, just the goal. But then the chances he was getting, he was getting a couple of those one-timers from the left circle, too, you know, flashes the first half of Evan Rodriguez. So if they can just get him going at all going into the playoffs, that would be huge.

And he did sound confident talking after that game and how it's a clean slate. And it's just a whole different mentality going into the playoffs. I'm not sure how you would know coming from Buffalo. But I mean, he seems pretty hyped about it. But, yeah, expecting big things from him. Yeah. And I mean, you know, that I remember like that biggest one time that I really remember from the season is the one against the St. Louis Blues where they had that three one come back

in the third. And he rifled that from the left circle. I was like, wow, okay, that was a Alexo Vetchian goal over there. And if he could keep doing that, that would be very much appreciated. He hit the crossbar, I think, on one of those chances. Last night, hit a couple other saves by Merzleekins that probably were going to be goals. But, you know, talk about someone that really needed a bounce to go his way just because it has not been there for him right now. Still a lot more to get to for this show, for this bonus episode, I should say. But before we get to that. Summer's coming in with summer, you're going to need some food on the go. Built bars are the perfect snack to take with you on family vacations. You can throw them in your

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That's promo code lock 15 for 15% off at built.com. All right. We're back here on this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. I'm going to follow me on Twitter. Hunter Hodes, follow those shows, Twitter, at L.R.S. So Taylor, you know, going into the playoffs, I think, you know, one of the penguins' biggest questions is, you know,

the goaltending, as it has been the last few years, they haven't gotten, you know, near the level of goal to any that they got in 2016, 2017. Obviously, this year doesn't help that their starter is banged up going into this. I was going to ask you, Taylor, is there any really big update on Tristan? Last I think I was listening to Elliot Friedman on the Jeff Merrick show a couple days ago, and he said the penguins are crossing their fingers that he'll be available at some point in the series. I think he was the, I think he's been the only person to report that.

Is there anything really that's going on with him? or is it just dead quiet right now? Yeah, I mean, there's not much of an update. Sullivan just said, you know, he's going through the rehab process. He hasn't been back on the ice yet. But, I mean, as far as, you know, crossing their fingers, that does kind of, I think, stem from something Sullivan said himself after a practice where, you know, it was maybe about a week ago someone asked a question about, you know,

something about, you know, to Smith, if he is, you know, the start of her game one, what they're hoping to see from him. And Sullivan did say, well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. and he said, you know, Jari is going through, you know, the rehab process. So I'm not going to see Jari for game one, given then he hasn't been back on the ice. But the fact that Sullivan was that optimistic at that time leads me to believe that, you know, he might not be out if they make a run. They might see him back at some point here.

I mean, yeah, that's obviously the biggest player to get back. It's been a little over two weeks since that reported broken bone and his slash. It was such a killer injury because, there was like such a little time left in that game. And they get a garbage time goal. And he finishes the game. It looks fine. And then he's out of practice.

And, you know, that's just, that's the one injury that they couldn't afford. It'll be Casey to Smith. It looks like starting game one. And, you know, Taylor, he's been mostly pretty good, I would say, since taking over. Honestly, for the last month to six weeks, he's really turned his game around.

This was someone that, you know, I think everyone was ready to drive to the airport, January and February were. I think I saw a quote, I think it might have been you that said, or you asked him, and I think he said that was like the lowest point in his NHL career with how he was playing. What is your confidence level in him going into a series against the Rangers,

a team that has, you know, they've had the Penguins number at least this season? I mean, when you look at who they're going up against him, Shish Turk, and the Penguins were going to be an underdog either way in this, and now with Casey. I'm not confident that he's going to be able to, you know, steal them a game, where maybe Jari would have if Jari was on top of his game. I'm not, I don't know. I mean, Casey, he really has turned his game around.

That turnaround really happened. I want to say it was after the game in Columbus in January. When he came back from COVID, that was really his last, you know, bad game. And then he started that next game against Detroit. It was an overtime loss. But that really did kind of mark the turnaround for him. I mean, before that, you know, he got yanked, I think, like twice in a row. really tough. It looked like Louis was maybe going to steal his job, but then Louis had the foot injury too.

So I kind of opened the door for Casey to keep that backup job. But just his turnaround since, since what that would have been like late January, it really has been. He's been a capable backup. I'm not confident in him as a starter going into the playoffs. but he's proven himself in the backup. I would feel a whole lot better about the Penguins' chances if they had Garry. Yeah, I mean, it's the worst thing is just that, you know, this was his time to really write his redemption arc after what happened last year, where he was probably the biggest reason they lost against the Islanders. He was disclosed to being ready for the playoffs.

And, you know, I just, I got to feel for someone like that because, you know, I'm sure he was looking forward to really getting the trust back from the fan base, especially in the playoffs. But, you know, I think for the penguins, you know, in this series, you know, they're going to have to really defend well in front of Dismith. No, it's an area that I don't think they did well against the Rangers in their three losses. I think a lot of them were self-inflicted wounds. And, you know, just speaking of that series, Taylor, I mean, I really do think Sullivan's going to have to make some adjustments to what happened in those three games just because the Rangers burned them in, you know, transition on the rush. And, you know, I feel like the Penguins are just going to have to play.

I guess a more lower event style to be the team like the Rangers. And, you know, with how the Rangers play, I kind of compare them to, like, not like a full Barry Trots coached Islanders team, but like I guess a mini version of them because they're not going to give the Penguins much. And so the Penguins, they're going to have to actually fire the puck when they have it. You can't be looking for the perfect play. You can't be trying to be the Harlem Globetrotters over here because, you know, that's what it looked like in those two losses.

It looked like Chester Ricken was in their head. And they were just trying to find them. that perfect play to beat him, but if you just get traffic in front of him, you make his life, you know, a living hell. I mean, there's, there's opportunities to be had there. You know, what do you think, you know, what do you think the Penguins need to do to win this series? Do you have like a style of play that you think they need to adjust to? Just want to get your thoughts on that. Yeah. The, what the players in Sullivan set up for the regular season finale when this was locked in, they talked about the Rangers speed, their ability to play all four lines. You know,

are a deep team, but the thing everyone kept mentioning, like you said, is the Rangers a transition game and ability to score off the transition. So it's just going to be about, you know, playing tight defensively. Sullivan talked a lot about the forwards and the defensemen having trust in each other and supporting each other. You know, he said sometimes what might look like an ill-advised pinched by a defenseman might just be when there's a disconnect between the forwards and defenseman and what the Ford's role in supporting defensemen what was supposed to happen there.

So it's just going to be a bit about, you know, having that synergy and that trust between the forwards and the defensemen to shut down the Rangers transition game. And also, I mean, the Rangers power players obviously so dangerous too. So the PK, that's going to be huge. I mean, the regular season series, what they, they only scored one even strength goal against Rangers and it was Brian Boyle. So I don't think you're going to be getting a ton of, you know, five-on-five offensive contribution from Brian Boyle.

You're going to need, you know, the other guys to step up, too, in these games. So, I mean, it's going to be a tough challenge. Justirkin probably going to be, you know, the biggest challenge. Beating him feels like the penguin's been running to hot goalies in the playoffs are a while now. And just Shurkin's going to be another big challenge. It is crazy. I'm glad you brought that up. I mean, going back to him in 2016, heck, even 2014, you know, Lundquist, Lundquist,

Lundquist, Holpey, Lovsky, who was one of the best goaltenders in the league before where he wilted down the playoffs, Ilya Sorokin, Robin Lennar, who was playing well in 2019. And now, you know, you're going up against a guy who saved 37 goals above expected this year. And he's probably going to win the Vesna. And he's probably a hard trophy finalist on a lot of people's ballots. So it's just, it really, it's pretty, it is crazy that they go up against arguably the best goaltender in the league almost every year in the playoffs. But yeah, it's going to be a big challenge. I mean, I'm not, I guess, fully confident as I once.

was maybe about six weeks ago, but it's for the playoffs or reason. They reset, and that's what happens there. So a little more to get to for this episode coming up in our final segment. But before we get to that, let's get to bet online. It's your number one source for all of your betting stats and sports info. You can find all the latest sports developments, league reviews and news, including this year's basketball playoffs and the start of the Major League Baseball season. Benline is your continued source for all your sports wagering information,

from live betting to playoffs, e-sports, and more. You can head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more about the trends and action. It has been online where the game starts. All right. We're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. So it's Taylor, you know, going into the playoffs, and I probably said that about five, six times on this episode now, whatever. One player that definitely has caught my eye a bit lately who's, I'm surprised that struggled.

Brian Rust was a man on a mission going. into these final 10 games of the season and then all of a sudden, goose, goose, goose, goose, all those in a row. And I don't know if he's banged up, but, you know, he's been missing the net on a lot more chances than normal lately. His passing, I think, is also taking a step back. I know they try to reunite him with Sidney Crosby and Jake Gensel. Try to see if that's going to help him. In my opinion, I think he should play with him getting Malkin to put Ricard Rakel up there. We'll obviously get to that in just a second. you concerned it all for him going into the playoffs or, you know, is this, you know,

something that's probably going to turn around relatively quickly here because he, you know, he was one of their best players to your 58 points and 60 games, 5 to 5 points per 60, one of the team leaders. Yeah, I mean, you ask him, you know, he might be banged up. I feel like everyone's going through something this time of year, but nothing stands out about him that would lead me to believe he's playing injured. but yeah he has gone gone cold and that did coincide with around the time when when they put him back with Malkin and I think putting him back up on the top line was breaking up, you know,

Raquel in that line, you know, they'd been going, you know, playing so well together. And I think putting Russ back up there was just, you know, trying to get Russ to get his game going again. We really haven't seen that payoff since they made that change. So it'll be interesting to see what they do with the lines. And if, you know, putting him back with Malkin and whoever Malkins' other winger is, depending on who's healthy. Yeah.

If that gets them going again, it's hard. It's hard when we don't know who the other winger is with Malkin. You know, when Zucker's going to be back with, you know, he's able to play there. But, I mean, it's definitely concerning. But I think that given, I mean, the playoffs, again, it's a whole different ball game, whole different mentality going in. guys are, you know, getting up to a different level for that. Just mentally, it's like a reset.

So maybe that alone can help spark rest game, but, you know, the line combinations, I think you're going to be a big part of what happens with him. Yeah, I mean, and that would be big. I mean, he's going into a contract year. He's obviously going to make a ton of money by, even if it's not the penguin, someone will probably throw Zach Hyman level money. And him, he's been that good for the last few years. But he's, again, he's definitely someone that I want to see more of going into the

playoffs just because I didn't expect him to struggle this money. much down the stretch. Speaking of the line juggling, Taylor, I do think I would want to see Raquel back up with Gensel and Crosby. I mean, there are 5'5 expected goals and shot attempts for and scoring chances forward through the roof and their very limited time of action. And, you know, Raquel just seemed like a seamless fit with Cid. You know, he always said when he had the puck on a stick,

they were creating scoring chances at well. And I potentially think that could give the penguins. And maybe a little bit of an edge over. the Rangers, whoever they're icing out against the Crosby line. Is that something you would look to Mike Sullivan to change going into the series, or do you think he's going to stick with Rust out there? Yeah, I don't know. So the Penguins didn't have a practice today,

so it's hard to see what they're going to try. But, I mean, you figure these last couple games, they were looking for something consistent. No more experimenting. They were trying to find consistent lines, what they're going to use going into the playoffs. So that leads me to believe that maybe Russ sticks up on the top line. I personally, like you, I would like to see Raquel back up there,

just the way that the chemistry he had with Crawl. Immediately when he got here, the first, you know, chance he, it was before he was even on Crosby's line. It was like that game where they teamed up for three goals and they were only on the ice for like two minutes together, just from overlapping. It was that overtime win. The way, you know, Raquel was able to find Crosby's,

Rosby and on the ice. They just had immediate chemistry and it did cut once they finally got extended time together. It really paid off. And Russ, we know, has had chemistry with Malkin in the past. And that was one of the reasons that, you know, they were fine putting Raquel up on the top line and making that shift initially. I would like to see them go back to that if, you know, Russ can get his game going with Malkin. But if they think he needs to be up there with Sitt, I don't know if we're going to see. see that change just to see uh you know for us yeah you know it's i'm definitely curious to see if

you know mike does the flip-flop and maybe some other line combinations in the bottom six maybe danton he comes up he had a great year i definitely think he's going to be someone that can make a difference in the playoffs with his 18 goals um another player who i still think they need to have success taylor they need jason zulker back and it's approaching beau bennett territory at this point i hate saying that because you know poor beau bennett got freaking hurt set celebrating a goal. I mean, once upon a time. I feel bad for laughing about that, but whatever.

But, you know, gets hurt a couple games ago. Mike Sullivan, very coy about it. You know, I can really get, I think, a lot of information this time of year. From honestly any team, I mean, you know, you look at Nashville with U.C. Soros, nothing has come out about that other than, you know, they may not be confident that he might be ready for a part of the series. But I guess questions, too, hold, is there a concern that it's, is there a concern that it's related to the core muscle injury that he had.

And, you know, just how much of a loss would it be if he's not able to be in the lineup for at least part of the series? Yeah, I mean, Sullivan, so there's no update on Zoker yet. Sullivan wouldn't say whether it's related to his core muscle surgery. So it's hard to say. And I mean, looking at that game when he went out, it's not like anything happened, like a big collision. or, you know, he didn't get, like, go down and then go off. He just kind of left the ice. No one saw what happened to him.

So it's really hard to say what it is at all. We know it's lower body. Lower body could be that core muscle. You go back to when he came back against Minnesota and got hurt. He did talk after that, Zucker did talk after that, and he kind of made it seem like that re-agravated or re-injure the core muscle surgery, whatever the issue was there. So I don't know if that was then something he was having to deal with once he came back

after that second injury. It's hard to say they're so secretive about this. But yeah, that would be a tough loss. I mean, just for the scoring depth, you would like to see him on that second line if he's healthy and get going with it's hard it's hard to say what they're going to be missing without him just because they have been missing him from most of the year it feels like and when he has been in the lineup it's been sporadic but you know when he has been in he has had flashes of you know real contributions so i mean it's but then he has gone cold at other time so it's hard to

say what exactly version of jason zucker they're missing or what they would be getting if he is in but i mean if they can get Jason Zooker, you know, at his best. I mean, that would be huge for being able to, you know, shift, you know, the other forwards down and get more balanced scoring throughout the lineup. But I know it's hard to say what they're missing because they have been missing Jason Zooker much of the year. Yeah, I just, I feel bad for the guy.

I mean, it's just every time he comes back. There's something else comes up. I mean, you know, one of the last goals he scored, you know, that was the tying goal, I think, against the predators that sent that to O.T. before Sid had his magic happen. I think he's probably one of their best four truckers on the team. He's a great fit next to of Guinea Malkin, especially. I think Gino could definitely use him as a winger to at least.

You got one more thing here for you, T. I'm going to wrap up. I'm going to ask you, do you have a prediction for how this is going to go? I mean, I know a lot of people are definitely not as confident right now just because the team has not played well. These last two or three weeks, they look gassed, fatigued. Their legs are not. there defending wise has not been there.

Their numbers have gone way out there. They've usually, I think, been a top five goals against team for this year and defensively. How do you see this series shaking out? Because, you know, I read a couple previews today. And, you know, it's still, to me, it seems like a coin flip. I'm going to go with Rangers and Sixth. I don't think, you know, they're going to get swept, you know, or anything like that.

I think, you know, the Penguins will at least be able to get a game here. I don't know, maybe two. I don't see them making it out of this series. I mean, it is going to be a whole different ballgame in the playoffs. And, you know, they're one in three record against the Rangers. It's easy to see something like that change. I just think that, you know, they're going into this as the underdog regardless and without your number one goaltender.

I just can't see. I don't see them making it out of the series. I mean, the goal-telling matchup, this Smith versus Shisholten, it would take a lot for the penguins to overcome, you know, just that. Yeah, I'm not going to give my prediction just yet because I have to do the crossover with the Rangers guy, and that's where I'm going to make my prediction,

but right now I'm not leaning the right way to say it at least. The way I was feeling after that 1-0 win, that first matchup, it's definitely not there anymore to say the least. This is going to be very tough for the penguin's. to win and, you know, if they don't win, there's potential big changes, I think, coming to the organization, I think, on the ice and potentially off the ice. But Taylor, I really appreciate you coming on. We're definitely going to have to do this at some point in the playoffs or, you know,

or during the off season going into next season. If by some ridiculous reason why people do not follow you on social media for Penguin's content, and I can't think of one, at least for me, just plug your socials for everything with that. yeah uh taylor h a a s e a pg-h is my twitter that's why i post everything and then uh dk pittsburgh sports dot combsop page on there a lot of a lot of penguins content a lot of penguins prospect content um you know a hll college junior europe that's what i love doing so it's we can find my stuff perfect yeah they'll be obviously you know wooksbury and all the the prospects will be doing

in their playoffs right at the time as the penguins will be so it's always you know good time for all everything involving the penguins organization um for for this podcast next episode looks like we'll probably be monday we'll have the crossover with um oh almost forgot the rangers guy i just had a baby so i think it's going to be go martin of locked on islanders so congratulations to john he will not be on the show but and for the full series we're going to have some other people coming on to do analysis and all that so again taylor thank you so much for coming on and i'll talk with you all in a couple days Thank you.