Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - It's all going to come down to the wire for the Penguins!

Starting point is 00:00:00 Would you look at that? A win against a playoff team and win against one of the best teams in the Western Conference, the Pittsburgh Penguins, take care of business on Thursday night in a dominant fashion, 4-to-1 win over the Minnesota Wild there right now in the first wildcard spot. Stop the count. Stop the count because by the end of this, they're still probably going to be out of the playoffs. The Panthers are up big. Islanders are up day.

Starting point is 00:00:21 They are not getting any help right now. But for today's episode where you're going to recap that game against the wild, what the penguins did right, and how they're going to have. to win these final three games if they want to get in because you look at the other two team schedules. I don't know if they're going to lose those other two teams are going to lose any of those other games. So 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.

Starting point is 00:01:09 Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. Remember to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodey. So all the shows, Twitter, and learners are Penguins. And, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen in the day. We're free and available on all platforms. Penguins 4 Wild 1 and a very dominant win for this team. The Penguins came out firing in that first period. You knew from that opening shift that they were really pissed off about how that last game

Starting point is 00:01:39 on Tuesday went in Newark against the Devils. they play with a sense of urgency, a sense of desperation that they knew their season was on the line tonight. And Penguins lost this game with how the other results are going right now. They would be three points back with only three games left to play. At that point, anything could happen, but it would be almost impossible to come back from the Penguins. You know, right now, so very much alive in the wildcar race, have three games left. And a playoff spot right now, it's not going to be the case by the end of the night, unless the Tampa Bay Lightning have a miraculous three-gold comeback in them against the Islanders in the third period,

Starting point is 00:02:14 but they've been being rudely outplayed. I was happy. I was just dual casting that game next to the Penguins game. They've been playing my crap. But in terms of the Penguins, I thought they did a lot of stuff right tonight. And again, outside of that sense of, you know, urgency and desperation, they got to the dirty areas on Mark Andre Fleury. I thought they defended really well in the defensive zone. I thought they were able to finish their chances, which is something that they've really struggled with.

Starting point is 00:02:39 this season and it all got started in the first period where the Flurry kind of let up a little bit of a howler. That's usually a goal he wouldn't allow. But it was also a really nice snipe by Chris Lattang. Had a beautiful celebration after he was fired up for this one. After that, Ricard Raquel with another beautiful rip. He had a couple big time rips in this game. He had another one, excuse me, that I think Floree Glob that should have

Starting point is 00:03:08 win in the back of the net. this one was a like a total Alex Ovechkin like slap shot. At least that's how I saw it. He got all of that thing. No chance for flour on that one. He's closing in on 30 goals this season. What a pickup he has been. And Adam Gretz of Pro Hockey Talk.

Starting point is 00:03:26 He used to be for Pro Hockey Talk, but he's now for Pensburg, a couple other websites. He said it best on Twitter for Ron Exalt. How do you get this trade and not resigning so right? Will you get everything else wrong? It's just like, like, I feel like a different general manager traded for Rickele based on how good he's been and based on how bad some of the, a lot of these other acquisitions have been for the Penguins this season. But where would they be without him?

Starting point is 00:03:50 He's been great. Jason Zucker, he gets on the board. He's also closing in on 30. Where are they be without him this season? He got all of that slapper. Also another great celebration. You know, I'm kind of surprised that Dina Vason didn't really challenge that. Because it looked like there was a little bit of contact, but I think the Penguins.

Starting point is 00:04:07 They're getting out of Florey's way. They didn't really pro test it, though, I guess I think at that point, maybe they thought the game was out of reach. I don't know. I think at a playoff game or if they were more in the race that the Penguins were, because they've already clinched their playoffs.

Starting point is 00:04:19 You know, they're just battling for a division title right now. I think if the game was a little bit closer or if they were a little more desperate, I think they would have challenged that. That's just how I see it. But, you know, Penguins got a little bit of a break there. And I don't really know.

Starting point is 00:04:37 if it would have came back. I think it would probably would have stayed a good goal, at least how I saw it. And then Jeff Carter gets a goal to make it 4 to nothing, 4-1. Excuse me, wow, we got a goal five on three. Jeff Carter makes it 4-1. I don't know if y'all noticed, Brian Dumlin, where did that zone entry come from? Dude's got out here looking like Paul Coffey reincarnated there. I was just stunned. And his offensive game is, you know, say what you will about his defensive game this season's been pretty bad and honestly i think most of his game is bad this season but his offensive game you know starting to come around a little bit these last couple weeks i really liked how he played on this game outside of that goal going off his skate that's just a

Starting point is 00:05:19 little bit of bad luck i think but really nice to see him you know make that nice zone entry give the puck to drew o'connor who gets it to jeff carter to get the uh goal he he should have had another goal to make it to nothing um leaving the second period um just completely whiffed on a chance at the side of the night it was a really nice saucer pass from Brian Rust, kind of went through his skates, wasn't able to corral it, but was able to get some pay back there and make it

Starting point is 00:05:46 4-1 and put the game out of reach, because as you all know, the Penguins play horrendous in third periods, but not today. They scored two third-period goals. They didn't really play that well in the third period, but they didn't really play that poorly. So I will take that as a sign of a little bit of progress.

Starting point is 00:06:02 Numbers-wise, also the Penguins, They got the, well, they did, the third, yeah, the third period, they got out attempted shot-wise, 22 to 5. High danger, though, they only gave up three high-danger chances to the wild at 5-on-5. You will take that any day you can. Expected goals because the penguins were so good in that first period, it ended up being about a 50-50 game there. 1.5-2 expected goals for at even strength for the penguins, 1.53 for the wild.

Starting point is 00:06:33 So they may have been out attempted, scoring chances wise. You know, it was close to 50-50. Expected goals, you know, about 50-50. So, you know, again, I think I just totally screwed that up. Okay, anyways, we're going to rephrase that. Anyways, they may have been out attempted pretty badly in this game, but when you look at, you know, the scoring chance of the penguin actually had the edge there, high danger was close to 50-50.

Starting point is 00:06:59 And with expected goals, 50-50, you know, you will take that. day of the week. I thought the Penguins came out strong in the first period. Second period, they didn't play as well. Third period, they were on their heels a little bit, but they're able to finish on the two main chances that they got in the third period. And, you know, when you're getting good goal-tending and your special teams are mostly being pretty decent in this game, that's usually enough to win this one. You know, this was a very solid win. I said coming into this week, minimum, you have to get two out of four points in these two games against the Devils and the wow.

Starting point is 00:07:32 Obviously, it would have been nice to get those two. points against the devils on Tuesday because they would be in a playoff spot right now. Actually, they would be ahead of the Islanders right now. But you get the minimum of what I think most people wanted the split. Now you go into these final three games, you know, obviously needing to win them, but you're playing three teams that you should be able to be. If you want to be a playoff team, you need to win those three games. Overall, though, my main takeaway from this game, as I,

Starting point is 00:08:03 basically been talking about this whole segment. Just a really sound performance from the Penguins. They showed a lot of urgency. They showed a lot of desperation. They knew their season was on the line. They knew they couldn't lose this one. And I think they're going to hopefully carry that over in a Saturday afternoon's game against the Red Wings.

Starting point is 00:08:18 And then on a Tuesday and Thursday and Thursday, against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets, two of the other worst teams in the league. So progress tonight after they got blown to hell in Newark on Tuesday. Let's see if they can continue it on Saturday. coming up in this second segment, we're going to touch on Tristan Jari's performance and how I thought he had a big bounce back in this one and how the Penguins are going to have to really rely on him

Starting point is 00:08:42 in these final three games. But before we get to that, it's time, obviously, to talk about the official sports betting partner of Locked on, which is FanDuel. The NBA playoffs almost here, or the NHL playoffs are almost here, and now is the perfect time to download FanDuel, America's number one sports book.

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Starting point is 00:09:20 When you go to Fanldole.com slash locked on, that's fandle.com slash locked on. You learn more. Make every moment more with Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA and locked on. I'm back in this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. You're going to follow me on Twitter. Hunter Hodes, follow the shows, Twitter, at Annersar Penguins. And, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen of the day.

Starting point is 00:09:46 Right now, as I'm recording this, 6.59 left in the third period. 4-1 lead for the Iowners, the Penguins will be out of a playoff spot at the end of this one. Looking at Money Puck stuff, I'm trying to find just mostly just everything from Tristan Jari. tonight full game expected goals against was 1.998 actual goals against one so he saved one goal above expected you know that's that's what you want for men you know you will take that any day of the week he played very very strong tonight and it was a much better performance than how he played um in new work on tuesday where i thought he gave up a couple of hours i didn't really like that first doggy hamilton goal that he held out and i thought that one he could have stopped and then

Starting point is 00:10:28 there were a couple others, the one when he tried to shove the puck into his glove with his stick. That comes out. I think that was the Timo, it was either the Timom Meyer or the Dawson Mercer goal. Excuse me. I didn't really like that one either, but it was nice to see the goaltender bounce back in Penguins.

Starting point is 00:10:45 They are going to need that here in these final three games. For better or worse, Tristan Jari is the number one starting goaltender right now, and they are going to ride him in these final three games. I don't care what anyone else says about Casey DeSmith and how he could be the better option in quotation marks. And he's not, he's just, you know, at best, it's even, I guess. But I think when it all comes down to it, if I want one of these two goalies to go out and win a game, since clinched me into a playoff spot, I am going with the number one guy

Starting point is 00:11:16 who played very well in this game against Minnesota and who had a very good first time before the injuries and who had a very good regular season, regular season, excuse me, last year. Is he a bit banged up right now? Yes, he's battled the groin injury. he's battling the back injury. I'm still going to stick to my theory that he gets the shot in his back because his movement lately has been a bit better. But, you know, they have no choice here.

Starting point is 00:11:41 He is the guy. He's healthy. He's ready to go. There's three games left for better or worse. They are going to have to write him. And I thought his movement tonight was mostly pretty good. He looked a little gimpy, I think, in one chance late in the third period. He was kind of just flubbing around in his net.

Starting point is 00:11:56 I'm hoping he didn't re-agravate, you know, the groin or something in his back and give out or something. But he was able to finish the game, made some strong stays. The goal that he gave up was not his fault. People might nitpick in and say, oh, well, you know, you wish he could get his pad over. Whatever. It went off Brian Dumlin skated. And if he's not right there, I think he's probably able to go out there and clear it. Well, not clear.

Starting point is 00:12:18 Cover it. Excuse me. But, you know, I will take that performance from the Penguins number one netminder any day of the week. was a big one for him and I will very much assume that he will start on Saturday afternoon in Detroit in another massive game. That game basically means nothing to the Red Wings. They're out of it. You know, a lot of these teams behind the Penguins right now, you know, they're out of it. This is right now a full three-team race. As of right now, I'm just making sure I have the standings right. So the Panthers, obviously, the Senators

Starting point is 00:12:52 are shooting the Panthers 54 to 27. Alex Lyon has 53 saves. Who in the heck is that guy? Like, 53 saves in the panthers up 7 to 1. What are we doing here? Red Wings, Sabres are going to a shootout. Islanders are now up 5 to 1, so that's going to be another win there as well. But, you know, again, Ottawa loses this game. You know, there are 7 points out, well, 6 points out right now.

Starting point is 00:13:16 They're actually going to be 8 points out. They're cooked. Detroit, even if they win, they're cooked. Washington, done. Buffalo, you know, they're kind of. but as long as these teams keep winning they're also kind of not there because after this game against the red wings whoever they win um they have the hurricanes rangers and devils all in a row so they're basically out of again this is a three team race for two spots but i got off track a little bit i apologize but again i liked how tristan played you know he made a couple of

Starting point is 00:13:50 sprawling saves as well um he got a little into it with marcus felino at the end of the game i think he looked like he was trying to poke him in the mask a little bit, which was a little weird. I don't really know what that was about, but I don't know. What the heck, every time I am just halfway through a show, this cough just comes back. I apologize about that. But I think it's the allergies that pollen is really starting to get to me. But, you know, he stood tall. This wasn't one of his bad games.

Starting point is 00:14:19 That's what you want to see from him. And again, I think you are going to see him start in those last three games. another big player that returned tonight. Jan Ruda, the Penguins are getting a little bit healthier here, going into these final few games. The only other big regular that's out is Marcus Pedersen. Yes, they do have Nick Minino out and Dmitry Kulokov is still hurt, but the biggest player that is still hurt right now is Marcus Pederson.

Starting point is 00:14:40 Hopefully they'll be able to get him back for Saturday's game, or maybe for the couple of games next week. He's been skating and all that. But I like Yon Rood's performance. He had one definitely great play that really showed out to me. I believe he was in the third period. Wow, it had a power play. and they should have a sure goal in the front of net.

Starting point is 00:15:00 Ruta's able to put his stick down. Puck goes right to it. He's able to clear it. Really nice, just a really nice self-aware play from him. Because, you know, other times he probably wouldn't have made that play because he struggled a bit this season.

Starting point is 00:15:12 But, you know, he made a nice play there. He was strong on the penalty killed tonight where, you know, that unit's, we all know that unit has really struggled this season. So it was nice to see him come back. You know, it was just about his first game in about three, three and a half weeks. I don't really think he's been that good this season overall.

Starting point is 00:15:27 I think he was still kind of an unnecessary signing for the Penguins, but he played well in this game. I will give credit where it's due. I'm trying to make sure here. Got everything I wanted to discuss. I mean, you know, the big guns, you know, outside of Sydney Crosby, you know, the big guns carried the way tonight. It's the same guys that have been scoring all year, though.

Starting point is 00:15:48 The Penguins obviously did get a depth goal from Jeff Carter. That is awesome. you know, but the one player who has not been playing that well as of late, Sidney Crosby hasn't scored in his last few games, not a point per game player, these last seven to ten games, definitely feeling it a little bit. I don't think he's hurt or anything. It's just, you know, sometimes great players go into slums.

Starting point is 00:16:11 And it's unfortunate that it's, you know, the worst time of year to go into one, especially because the penguins are fighting for their lives right now, just to get into the dance. So, you know, you know, I thought, Gino, a little bit quiet, but I thought he had a little bit of a better game than the same, but you know, Jake Gansel played well, Rickel gets one, Jason Zucker gets one, Crystal Tang, he has a fantastic game, he's been awesome for them all here,

Starting point is 00:16:34 Drew O'Connor with a really nice pass, Jeff Carter, you know, all around a solid team win for the Penguins, even though, you know, the two of the big guns in Crosby and Malkin, you know, they didn't really get on the score sheet that much tonight. But this is what you want to see. You take wins any way you can get him this time of year. any way you can get them. So that wraps up the second segment

Starting point is 00:16:55 with regards to Trichon Jarn Rood, a couple other things. To end the show, I'm going to get into why honestly, people should not be rooting for the Penguins to miss the playoffs. I'm going to tell you why you should not be doing that. Because to me, I don't really think it makes too much sense.

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Starting point is 00:18:18 cost for application pricing not available for everyone if you need to hire you need indeed i'm back in this episode of the locked on penguins podcast i am your host honer hodes me on twitter at hondra hodys follow this show's twitter at and or so much for making this your first listen of the day so i have been seeing a lot of these takes you know whether it's you know people commenting on the show on youtube you know audio sending me dms i'm honestly just everywhere we're going on in the penguins that, oh, the penguins should just miss the playoffs, you know, it's just going to lead to quicker changes, you know, and all that stuff. Honestly, I'm not even sure that's the case.

Starting point is 00:19:01 I think, you know, this is the way I see it. You know, there's not much of a difference between drafting 15th, for example, and drafting 19th if the penguins get in. You know, either way, the penguins should just dump that first round pick to go get immediate help for next season because they are going to be in it to win it next season. You have Crosby, you have Malkin, you have Letang, you just made that, you know, that commitment to the core that you are still trying to win, even if they missed the playoffs this year, they probably shouldn't even have that pick next year, to be honest.

Starting point is 00:19:36 So just by, you know, with that 15 pick, you know, you're not just going to all, you're not just going to be randomly starting the rebuild with that pick. You're not. The chance of you getting an impact player there is slim to not. is not going to be available for four to five years. This isn't the NFL here, people. This is not the NBA. Heck, sometimes even in baseball,

Starting point is 00:19:57 this is not baseball where sometimes the number one think is ready right away. But even sometimes some of those players are also not ready yet to come to the major leagues. This is a lot different. And, you know, regardless of, you know, playoff revenue and all that stuff, because, you know, obviously you will want, the Penguins will obviously want the revenue for at least two home games. but also, you know, do people just magically think that ownership is just going to be like,

Starting point is 00:20:27 oh, yeah, you know, now that they miss the playoffs, we have to do something. I think they have to be well enough aware of the problems going on with this team right now. If they get in and they get swept or they lose in five games, I think you will see the same exact change that you would see if they would miss the playoffs. But wouldn't you still rather want to see your team go in there and at least compete for a chance said a massive upset. I mean, you know, the fain in me would, obviously. You know, I cover the team, so, you know, I don't want to sound like I'm being like a weirdo here. But, you know, the person in me from, you know, five, six years ago, absolutely. And also, more playoff content for this show.

Starting point is 00:21:10 You know, with how great it's been for the last several years when this team has gotten the playoffs, even though I think it would sound really gone for it. That's just me being selfish, of course. But still, think about it. You get to see your team go in the dance, even though they'll be underdogs against whoever they play, Boston, Carolina, maybe New Jersey, something like that. It's still better to be in the dance than be out of the dance. Will a serious change come if they miss the playoffs?

Starting point is 00:21:37 Absolutely. But either way, if this ownership group can't see that this team needs changes regardless if they make it in or not, especially if they do get in. and get swept or losing five games, then that's an even bigger problem for me. No. If I'm a fan of a team,

Starting point is 00:21:59 I always want to see them make the playoffs. You know, it's the same thing I was seeing arguments about the Steelers earlier this year. You know, they had a slim chance to get in the playoffs, and they actually almost did in week 17, or week 18, excuse me, and people were like, no, no, no,

Starting point is 00:22:13 like just keep losing for the better traffic. It's like, no, like, these players, they're not going to do that. For the Steelers, you know, they're in a different situation because they had a little bit of a rebuilding year this year. But still, I think everyone would have wanted to see those young players play in the playoffs. They get some playoff experience. For these guys, you know, you only have so many more chances at a Stanley Cup in this era. You don't want to keep wasting that.

Starting point is 00:22:40 So I would much rather see this team playing the playoffs and have at least a small chance of an upset rather than the miss. you know, outside of, you know, just arena reasons for them getting more revenue there and all that. You know, people are going to say, oh, you get a better traffic. Yeah, they should just trade that. Oh, they'll make more changes. They should make changes anyway, even if they get blown out in the first round. So, you know, that's how I see it at least. You know, maybe you disagree with me.

Starting point is 00:23:08 Maybe you agree with me. I would love to know your thoughts on that. Down on the comments for YouTube and you can just send me a DM and all that on social media and all that good stuff. But I wanted to spend a few minutes in this final segment touching on that and why I think it's just kind of weird that people are just openly rooting for them to miss. And I understand that this season has been exhausting. I am very tired of covering this team. Don't get me wrong, people. We're 79 games in.

Starting point is 00:23:32 This team has been so maddening. They shouldn't even be in the situation right now considering all the points they left out on the table. But they are. Still, I would rather see them be in the playoffs than see them left in the dust, see that shriek break, see them, you know, super. upset going into the offseason and all that. That's just how I feel. And I think a good chunk of you probably will feel that way as well. But that'll do it for this episode.

Starting point is 00:23:56 I really appreciate all of you listening to this one, slash watching, of course. Let me know what you all think down in the comments. Let me know how you think they played. Do you think they're going to win their final three games? Do you think that they will sneak in to the playoffs? Will one of the Islanders or the Panthers slip up in their final three games? Let me know about that in the comments.

Starting point is 00:24:13 I'll be back with another episode of you all on Friday. Touch on some practice notes. preview that big game against the red wings could marcus peterson be back all that good jazz so again thank you all so much for listening and watching i'll speak with you all again on friday have a good one everybody

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - It's all going to come down to the wire for the Penguins!

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