Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Everyone ready for these last five Penguins games?

Episode Date: April 3, 2023

It was a mixed weekend for the Pittsburgh Penguins but in the end, they ended it still in a playoff spot. Hunter starts the show by discussing Kris Letang's legacy and how it was never certain that he... would get to 1,000 games. He also discusses his favorite moments that Letang has been a part of in franchise history and why he will go down as the best defenseman in franchise history. He even makes an easy case of why Letang belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame when it's all said and done due to how underrated he's been throughout his career. After that, Hunter analyzes how the Penguins took down the Flyers and why that was a must-win with everything at stake. He praises Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust for getting the team going after a slow start, plus how Casey DeSmith turned in one of his finest starts of the season when they needed it most. He even praises Mikael Granlund for making a neat play when the game got close late in the third period, which sprung Ryan Poehling for the putaway goal. After that, he quickly discusses the fallout of the Bruins loss and why the Penguins would be in even better shape had they just gotten a point out of that game. He looks at where it all went wrong and ponders the thought of some changes to the assistant coaches if the special teams continue to be this bad. Finally, Hunter previews what's to come this week as it's about to get very stressful in this city.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NHLNETWORKFanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go to FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire 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) 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.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 A little bit of an up and down weekend for your Pittsburgh Penguins, but as they enter the second to last week of the regular season, they are in a playoff spot to start. Today's episode, we're going to dive into Crystal Tang's 1,000th game in the ceremony that went on before it and how the Penguins are able to win that game. We'll also touch on the Bruins game a little bit later and how the Penguins lost a big opportunity there, and then we'll also look at the week ahead as this is,
Starting point is 00:00:23 we are now in crunch time for the final five games of the next season. That's all coming up right after this drop. 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 your host, Hunter Hodes.
Starting point is 00:01:01 And now to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the shows Twitter at L-O-Rs or Penguins. And, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen today. We're free and available on all platforms. So Penguins, again, up and down weekend. But let's start with the very big positive. Penguins four, Flyers, too, get back in the playoffs spot. And Crystal Tang, the man of the hour, gets honored on Sunday for his 1000th game.
Starting point is 00:01:26 It looked like a lot of times he was not going to get there throughout his career. I mean, two strokes, one just this season. The other one happened several years ago when they discovered that he had a hole in his heart. You know, he's not a lot of migraines. as well um i i actually just learned over the weekend that you know one of his best friends you know died several years died several years ago who one of his best friends from his childhood obviously just had his dad pass away um multiple concussions the herniated disc the fact that he has gone through all of that and he is still playing today um just goes to show you know the kind of person
Starting point is 00:02:08 just his character and all that stuff. I have so many great Crystal Tang memories to, you know, talk about. I mean, you know, my top one, obviously, is the overtime goal game three. You know, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, that might be a little weird to some. But, you know, since, because it was part of my big childhood, the game three goal against the Washington capitals is my favorite, because Chris thing that rate just edges out what happened in 2016.
Starting point is 00:02:37 Pengal Zeta Spark. that series you're down to nothing that whole arena is holding their breath because the capitals came back to tie it and penguins you know when they needed a hero what tang scores they got a fortunate bounds but the arena went crazy he had one heck of a celebration with his fist pump i knew right then that he was going to be something special for this team 2016 right after that um his shift in game six where he just took over the spinorama going behind the net, Sid gets him the puck, goes in on Martin Jones. That's the game-winning goal right there. And it came right after the sharks came back to tie it at 1-1, just a couple minutes later.
Starting point is 00:03:17 He was on another level during that series, and that was the best hockey I've ever seen in play. He was a top three defenseman on the planet. And he compares to any great franchise defenseman. I think I saw Ryan Wilson from Hockey Buzz post some charts just looking at how he compares to Eric Carlson, Victor Hedman, John Carlson, Drew Doughty, all these other guys. Latang stacks up very well to all of them. He is one of the most underrated players of this era. He's also a very underappreciated player among the Penguins fan base. He is the best defenseman in this franchise's history.
Starting point is 00:03:50 I know some people may not like that just because we'll call coffee, but coffee is only here for a few seasons. In terms of being a franchise defenseman, it's Latang. It's not even close. He has every record among defensemen in this franchise's history. And I am so glad that he got his flower seeing Alex come out there. and read the lineup, his wife, Catherine, his daughter, Victoria. He definitely got a little bit teary-eyed, seeing Gino say,
Starting point is 00:04:14 I love you to him, and then seeing Sid say, you know, I'm sure Claude is smiling down on you right now. I mean, it's hard not to get emotional off that. You know, I cover the team, and I was starting to get a little water coming out of my eyes. It was that awesome. You know, and the Penguins, you know, even though they had that special night for him, they had a hockey game to win. That was kind of overshadowing in,
Starting point is 00:04:39 and the Penguins were able to get the result that they wanted a 4-2 final. And speaking of a lot of saying, I thought he played very well in that game. I think he's played a lot better. Never since coming back from that stroke and then never since also coming back from that leg injury after his father passed away earlier this season.
Starting point is 00:04:57 You know, they got the result they needed to have. And with five games left, they are in a playoff spot now. I'll have the Penguins overall outside the first five, 10 minutes played relatively good in this game. Flyers kind of took it to them a little bit early on in the third period. You know, the Penguins, that's just how they are this year, people. We are 77 games, into an 82 game season. The season ends of the Penguins in 10 days from now.
Starting point is 00:05:19 Even if they're defending a 3-0 in the third period, you know they're going to make it interesting. They don't know how to win a blowout fashion. It's very similar to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It very much is. So, you know, you knew the Flyers were going to make a comeback attempt. with that. And, you know, they cut it to 3-2 with 229 left. They pulled the goalie again, but Ryan Paling was able to see it with an empty-knit-knit-goal. Really nice to see where Card.
Starting point is 00:05:43 Raquel gets two on the board. He's now, you know, 27 goals for the season. I really hope he hits 30. And Brian Rust gets another goal, though. He's really starting to turn it on these last couple of games, three goals and two games. And that's the thing with Rust. He can be, you know, down bad and, you know, and down and down and all that other stuff. But whenever he starts to click, he can go on any of these runs or he's scoring seven goals and seven games, only that. He has three goals and two games now.
Starting point is 00:06:14 It's nice to see him put the puck in the back of the net more just because he's had a little bit of a miserable season. Overall, again, I thought the Penguins played relatively well in his natural statrick. No, natural statrick it looks like might be down right now, so that's kind of annoying. Now, Casey Smith started in goals, going to just double-check the stats from everything,
Starting point is 00:06:34 but the penguins, you know, they did lead in unexpected goals, they led high danger chances and all that. Casey and Smith got the starting net. Really good stuff from him. I can't complain about that starting. And it's why, you know, this kind of start makes it so maddening with him because he can be this good when he wants to. It's just to have other games, like, for example, against the Red Wings,
Starting point is 00:06:56 where it's like, what goalie is this? Like, is this an ECHL goalie play? You know, but he made a couple of 10 bell saves, one on Kineckney, where it looked like the puck might have crossed the line. It did not. You know, he was on his game in this one. And that's honestly two games in a row now against the flyers that he has really stood on his ground. I'm not sure how many more games he's going to start the rest of this season,
Starting point is 00:07:20 just because there's only five games that the Penguins are done with back-to-backs. I think they're going to try to ride Jari as much as they can. But, you know, I think, you know, at least from this game, you know, Casey Smith has maybe earned at least one more start. for the rest of the season. Maybe once they clinched their playoff spot, they might give him a start. But right now, it's looking more likely I think that Tristan's probably going to get the net, especially in these two games this week against Minnesota and New Jersey. But again, liked how Casey played, made some big saves when the Penguins needed him to,
Starting point is 00:07:53 and they were able to get 2.7. I also thought McCall Granland, a little bit better. I don't know if you all noticed, that diving play that he has. had towards the late stages of regulation. Regulation, excuse me. I know Mike Sullivan, I kind of meet. I kind of joke that he uses him in a Patrice-Bergrand type role. He does. It's very weird still.
Starting point is 00:08:13 I don't get it. Still, he made a good play on the puck. He was able to poke it past Tony DiAngelo. And then Paling is able to score on the empty net from about 10, 15 feet out. It's able to end the game. Really like that defensive play there. Cindy Crosby, he gets an assist. He's been a little cold as of late.
Starting point is 00:08:29 I do think that's about to change, though. I think these final five games is going to really try to lead this team to a playoff spot. And finally, summing up my miscellaneous thoughts on this game. And Guinea Malkin. What, basically 20 penalty minutes in this game? You know, Dan O'Rourke had it out for him or something. He must have said something to Dan to piss him off because he got a game misconduct in the third period after taking three minor penalties.
Starting point is 00:09:01 That was the typical genome game right there where, you know, he just can't get out of his own way. He has some of those sometimes. And it was honestly more funny than it was sad. I wouldn't be laughing if they weren't up 3-0 at the time. If this was like a 2-2 game or something like that or even a 2-1 game, Penguins were leading, I probably would have been a little more upset. But it was 3-0. And the result, even though the Flyers were bad, I felt like they weren't going to blow a 3-go lead to the Flyers.
Starting point is 00:09:29 So I honestly did find that a little bit funny. But overall, they took care of business. You were expected to beat a team like the Flyers. They sweep the season series for the first time since 2018, and then we're now going to the final five games with a one-point lead over the Four of Panthers for the final playoff spot, five-point lead over the Sabres,
Starting point is 00:09:45 but they have two games in hand. And they are just one point behind the Islanders with a game in hand. That game will be tomorrow against the Devils. We'll preview that game a little later on. The Penguins are in control of their own in destiny. And coming up after this commercial break, I'm going to tell you why they could be in a better spot right now
Starting point is 00:10:03 had they would have gotten at least a small result from that game on Saturday against the ruins. But before that, we do have to discuss a new sponsor here. eBay Motors. For a championship team, it's all about making sure every player is a perfect fit. If the same when it comes to your vehicle, every part needs to fit just right. So the next time we need parts and accessories, head to eBay Motors.
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Starting point is 00:11:04 I'm going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow this show's Twitter at L.O.Ros of Penguins. And of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen of the day. So Payman's Bruins happened on Saturday. I'll spend a little bit of time on that. As you all see my wonderful flow here, that I'm probably going to have to get cut here pretty shortly. And of course, running the Mandalorian shirt today as it is another Mando
Starting point is 00:11:24 week for three more weeks. So Penguins, Bruins, they fall four to three in a game where if people didn't like that, I said, said this, I thought the Penguins deserved a little bit of the better fate. You can disagree with me on that. But when you come back not once, not twice, but three times to tie the game in, you know, against the best team in the league, even though they don't have much to play for, I think you at least deserve a little bit of a better fate, especially when it comes to how that game ending. At first, you know, I really went at Crystal Tang. And I still don't
Starting point is 00:12:00 only liked the play that he made. I thought he rushed it a little bit. But that fourth goal that the Rubin scored was caused by the officials. And when I say that, I don't mean just a bad call. It wasn't a bad call or anything. The ref just did not go out of the way along the boards. It hit the puck, hit the ref, went right to a Bruins skater who gives it to Pashtenuk, one-timer, gets in the hat-trick. He's almost to 60 goals this season. He is not going to miss any of those. And it's also funny that, you know, every time the Bruins needed a big goal, David Pashtenac was on the ice. It's just very, very annoying. But that is what I'm saying when I think the Penguins is sort of better faint.
Starting point is 00:12:41 They should have gotten at least a point out of that game. You know, you want the 50-50 chance in overtime. If they would have gotten at least a point right there, they will be two points up on the Panthers right now and they'll be tied to the islanders with a game in hand on them. They will be in the first wild cards for right now. And again, this just goes back to how bad this team has been in late game situations this year. That's four times in the last month basically that they've let a tied game either halfway through the third period or late in the third period slip out of their grasp and not get any points out of it. Ottawa game, Charreveal takes that stupid penalty with three minutes left. There's one.
Starting point is 00:13:17 The Detroit game, Brian Ross takes a really stupid penalty with 348 left. This game, where you cough up a tie game with 228 left because we get the bad balance. And the fourth game was the Stars game. That was another penalty, by the way, by Chiro Edle. And those games just snowballed from there. Four times in the last month that usually you should be able to get points. Imagine that the Penguins have gotten points in all four of those games. Even if they lost in overtime, even if they lost all four of those games in overtime,
Starting point is 00:13:51 you take away four regulation losses from those games. You add them to the loser points. they would be I'm making sure my math I'm sorry they would be five points up on the on the um Panthers right now
Starting point is 00:14:06 and they will be three points up on the Islanders with a game in hand they've done this to themselves they cannot play to save their lives in the late stages in the halfway to late stages of the third period
Starting point is 00:14:19 and it really cost them this season because you know it was great the Penguins they battled back to tie the game twice in the third period against the league's best defensive team You get a power play after the third goal because Jim Montgomery decided to challenge that call from Gensel. That was not going interference.
Starting point is 00:14:37 I don't see how that was at all. I don't know why people were saying it was. And you don't score on that. You then get a gift of a power play with 448 left. You don't score on that. And you're thinking, oh, you're just going to get a point. Nope. David Posternak right there, 4.3.
Starting point is 00:14:53 And yeah, I understand that people want, you know, the goaltender to make a save in that situation. but that's also a rocket of a shot. I thought Tristan Jari was mostly fine. He made a massive save before that when he dove across when the second unit was just barfing all over themselves trying to get the puck in the offensive zone and then it was going back the other way.
Starting point is 00:15:12 The Bruins almost scores on hand it. Just not good enough situational hockey in lake game situations. And you saw that here. I know you saw all the other beta hits. The penalty kill stunk. The power play stunk. Players can't finish. all the old hits.
Starting point is 00:15:32 Special teams nuked another game. All the penguins were fine at 5B5. I honestly thought as the game went on, it looked a bit rough at times. The penguins were starting to skate with the Bruins and start to outplay them.
Starting point is 00:15:43 They've played the Bruins very tough in all three games this season. They deserve better than I think than just a point in three games. I mean, you know, this was about Bergeron and Lena Solmark, but the penguins definitely play well enough to get at least a point there. That's where I think if they made the playoffs,
Starting point is 00:15:58 they'll be kicking themselves with that mispoint and a lot of other mispoints and also in the final five games they play three of the worst teams in hockey so I think you'll be kicking themselves if they don't get in regardless but that one was just really frustrating because they let another one slip out of their grasp late in regulation just can't happen at this stage of the season
Starting point is 00:16:19 you can't be leaving points off the board you know letting your guard off off of defensively and all that stuff it's just it's not good enough for me So those are my really those are my I guess my main thoughts on the Bruins game Look I'll spend 30 seconds here on the Jim Montgomery statement He likes to say you know he was basically I think it was mostly just gamesmanship Where he was talking about the Cid rules and the refs and all that
Starting point is 00:16:48 It's just he's just saying I think in case these two teams playing the playoffs And there's a decent chance they will if you look at the standings of course You know I would love to see you know the NHL actually protected star players, Jim Montgomery, because the way you described it in your postgame answer, they do not. No.
Starting point is 00:17:07 They don't protect Sidney Crosby. Connor McDavid went a whole playoff round just two seasons ago where there was not one penalty called on him. I think if I'm saying right, you know, there was not one penalty called on another player that was hounding him on the ice. Sure.
Starting point is 00:17:27 when Cindy Crosby was decapitated basically by Jacob's Rubah in last year's playoffs, what happened? Crickets. Star players are not protected in this league. They never have been. So I don't know where he was going with that. Let's talk about the Cid rules comparing it to Michael Jordan. The funny thing is the Cid rules and the Jordan rules were nothing. The way he's describing it, they're not even comparable because the Jordan rules,
Starting point is 00:17:52 you know, I'm not even not that big of a basketball person, but I know well enough when it was a series against, I believe, the Pistons, and it was all about the way, you know, players were defending Jordan. It had nothing to do with, you know, him getting preferential treatment by the refs. So those two situations are not even comparable. I don't even know what the heck he was talking about. Anyways, you know, total games and shit from him. You know, I don't know why he's even discussing that after his team just won the game
Starting point is 00:18:19 and they're on the cusp setting another NHL record. But, hey, you know, that's Boston's boards for you. I think they're. that really does it for the two games this weekend. Five more games left. It's going to be a lot of fun coming up to end the show. We're going to touch on that playoff race. Plus, also preview the game against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday
Starting point is 00:18:40 and how the penguins can get a result from that. But before we get to that, we do have to touch on athletic gains. Our next partner has a product I use literally every day. I start taking athletic gains because I don't really have time in the morning to work out. I wanted more energy, better immune system. I don't really like taking pills in the morning. I used to do that as a kid. But you're probably wondering, what is this stuff?
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Starting point is 00:20:03 You're going to follow me on Twitter? Hunter Hodes, follow the show with Twitter at our show, Penguins. And, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen of the day. So, Penguins Devils, Tuesday night in Newark, the Rock, they call it the Prudential Center. This is a big week for this team.
Starting point is 00:20:20 It's crunch time. There's 10 days left. the regular season. The schedule is favorable. The Penguins control their own destiny. This is not, you know, the Islanders, even the Panthers. Penguins are in the driver seat.
Starting point is 00:20:35 I don't know how many more times I can make that clear. They have a game in hand in the Islanders. They're pointing ahead of the Panthers. If they miss the playoffs, it is their own fault. That's how I see it. Especially with the last three games of the season against three teams who are not any good. But right now,
Starting point is 00:20:52 week. They have two big games, starting on Tuesday. They go to New Jersey to take on the Devils. A team they've really struggled to play against this season. They only have one point in three games. They got blown out on home ice in the last matchup against them back in February. They should have probably beaten them in Newark. The last time those two teams played there, Marcus Peders had a goal washed out in overtime. And the one before that, the Henglins honestly could have won there too, where they had nine power play opportunities and missed out on all nine of them. The Devils played with a lot of speed. They're young. You know, they have a lot of star power. They have a lot of good
Starting point is 00:21:22 depth. They just give the penguins fits. And they've been giving them fits for the last couple of seasons. The Devils come into this game. They got blown out by the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, 6 to 1 loss. Lindy Ruff was not happy with his team. They're in a playoff. They're already in a playoff spot. They've already clinched their spot, actually.
Starting point is 00:21:39 So, you know, they're kind of just playing to see what seeding they're going to get at this point. But, you know, at the top of the lineup, Tom Ossetar, Nigo Heeshire with Dawson-Merser, Andre Palat, who is back, Jack Hughes with the Esper Rat, very strong. strong top six with Heeshire and Hughes there. That's one of the best one, two punches, not just in the east, but around the league. Tatar can fill the net. Yes, but that's been awesome.
Starting point is 00:22:01 Palat has been a good addition ever since he come back. He came back, excuse me, from his injury. Hughes has 90 points. He sure is a great two-way force. They are going to be a very tough out in the playoffs. Tim O'Meyer, the fact that he's playing on the third line is just insane. But that just also goes show how deep the devils are when you have a player like Timel Meyer who would probably be,
Starting point is 00:22:22 on the top line right now with Crosby or the second line with Malkin, the fact that he's on the devil's third line. Gochowice, Eric Halle with Jesper Bochus, Igor Sharon Govich, who has been a top six stable from them. He's on the fourth line with Miles Wood and Michael McLeod. Defensively, Yona Sikenthal, Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Graves, Jean-Marino, Kevin Ball with Damon Severson. Goaltending-wise, Vitech vane McKenzie Blackwood.
Starting point is 00:22:47 Either one will start. It's probably going to be Bannichick, I would say. The only injuries they have are Jonathan Bernier and Curtis Lerzor. this is a fully healthy team for the most part right now. Look at this one, the Penguins are obviously going to have to contain the devil's speed. It gives them fits every time they play. I really want to see them play the similar game to how they played in the second game against the Devils where they really limited the devil's chances against in Newark.
Starting point is 00:23:11 Hughes got the opening goal. The Penguins were able to tie it quickly after that. And then they were able to really shut down the devil's attack for most of that, you know, the rest of that game. The Penguins were the better team in Newark. They honestly could have won that game in overtime. If Pedersen doesn't jump on a couple seconds early, he potentially scores that game winner and it's not washed out.
Starting point is 00:23:30 And that gave the Devils the powerpoint in overtime, and they made no mistake. It's very hard to defend a four-on-three powerplay in overtime. I really want to see them get back to that kind of style. Defense first, your goalie plays well, limiting their chances against. The Penguins won the high-danger battle. In that game, they won the expected goals battle.
Starting point is 00:23:50 In that game, they just were not. awarded for the reference. That was probably one of the more disappointing losses of the season because they outplayed them in that game. But the other two, no, the penguins were, you know, especially in the last one, the Penguins got brutally outplayed. I may also have Dustin Dukarski, and now that's pretty hard. And the first one, I will say the Penguins, they had nine power play opportunities. They had plenty of opportunities to win that game. They just weren't able to do it. But for this one, looking for the special teams better, you can't be having these games, nuked by both units at this time of year. I want to see Tristan Jari. If he starts, have
Starting point is 00:24:21 another really good game. I want to see them tighten up defensively because I have the devil's star power and they also have strong depth. And I also want to see them play with that level of desperation. This game means so much more to the Penguins. The devil's, but battling for just for whole mice for whoever they're going to play against, whether it's the Hurricanes or the Rangers, it's probably going to be the Rangers. But this game doesn't mean that much to them. This game means so much more of the Penguins. I want to see that level of desperation. Show that you are in it to win it. Show that you want to be. in the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:24:54 This is going to be a very tough win. It's probably a tall task to ask them to win this game. But at the same time, you want to be in the playoffs, show that you can beat one of these playoff teams. Penguins for a lot of parts of this season, they're five and 12 and two against some of these top teams in the conference, Sasha on the league. It's not good enough.
Starting point is 00:25:13 Five wins at, you know, 14 losses, not good enough at all. And the penguins that need to change. I'll say this right now. If they can get a split of the two games this week against Minnesota and Detroit, Minnesota and New Jersey, and then they can win those final three games against Detroit, Chicago, Columbus, they should be able to make the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:25:38 4-1, 4-0-1, that will definitely, I think, get them in. But if you drop a couple, if you drop both of these games, pressure is only going to be on you even more to win those final. or three games against teams that really have nothing to play for, and those are sometimes the hardest to win. Teams are playing for pride, they're playing spoiler, trying to knock you out with them. It can be hard sometimes.
Starting point is 00:26:01 So they can have an opportunity in front of themselves this week to really establish themselves as a playoff team, make sure they get in, maybe get in with a little bit of a cushion. Pay up their schedule down the stretch, pay a Buffalo on Tuesday, that's probably the biggest game for the Sabres in 12 years. Senators who are still not totally out of it yet, but it's close.
Starting point is 00:26:19 the capitals who are basically all but out, coming out Toronto and Carolina, two teams that might be doing some roster manager in that time. Islanders, they got Tampa Bay this week, could be a loss, and they got Washington, Montreal, and Philadelphia. They have three pretty gimmy games there. But again, as I suggest for the Penguins,
Starting point is 00:26:38 sometimes those games are the hardest to win. Nothing is guaranteed right now. Penguins are really going to be put to the test these first couple of games this week. Again, in a perfect world, they win both of these games and they maybe get a little bit of a cushion heading into those final three games
Starting point is 00:26:53 and they're still able to win those games against Detroit, Chicago, and Columbus. But I'm mainly looking for at least a split here. If you get two out of four points, heck, even three out of four. Say you even lose one of these teams in overtime. It's not the end of the world. And you beat the other one?
Starting point is 00:27:09 Cool. Get three out of four points. That's huge. You win the final three games? 4-1-1. There you go. Can't drop both them, though. You can't be relying. just to beat those bad teams. The schedule favors the Penguins,
Starting point is 00:27:21 that they can do themselves, you know, more good than harm, you know, to beat these two playoff teams this week. Starts on Tuesday against the Devils can really be a really intriguing one to watch. Let's see if they can put together a really strong performance here before coming home to play a wild team that I don't think is getting enough attention.
Starting point is 00:27:38 They're playing some very good hockey without Coral Caprice Sava. We'll touch on that later on this week. But again, thank you all so much for listening and slash watching. I really do appreciate it. I'll be back with another. episode on Tuesday to recap that game against the devils. Let's see if they can get that
Starting point is 00:27:51 win. Until then, hope you have a great rest of your Monday. Talk to you all on Tuesday.

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