Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Jaromir Jagr is coming home, plus the Penguins are going streaking!

Starting point is 00:00:00 An old friend is coming home for a long-awaited reunion in February. Pat and I are going to discuss that, plus the Penguins' big win over the Los Angeles Kings for this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. 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 back to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:39 I am one of your hosts, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, joined by my co's Patrick Damp. You can follow him on Twitter at Cineham Furwet. And you can follow these shows, Twitter, at L.O underscore Penguins. Of course, thank you all so much for making this, your first listen slash watch of the day.

Starting point is 00:00:56 And today's episode is brought to you by Jace Medical. Empower yourself when you purchase a Jace case, providing you with a personal supply of five antibiotics that treat 50 plus infections. Get yours today at Jacemedical.com. that's j-a-s-e-medical.com. So we have a massive show plan for you all today. I figured today, going into it,

Starting point is 00:01:16 and we're just going to talk about that big penguins win on Thursday night, set you all up for that game against the Sabres on Saturday. We're still going to do those two things, but we have some breaking news to start off today's show. The Penguins are officially bringing home Yarmier-Yager on February 18th to retire his number. He will only be the third player to ever have his number retired in the Penguins franchise history.

Starting point is 00:01:38 winning Mary Lemieux, and of course, the late Michelle Brierre. This is something that is long overdue considering his success with the Pittsburgh Penguins, top four player in this franchise's history, and his top five, and basically every major category, Pat, I mean, 806 games played, 439 goals, 640 assists, 1,079 points, 320 of those goals are even strength goals, just a tremendous player. It's crazy that he continues to play, despite 100. how old he is, but I'm so happy that this is going to be happening in just a few months. PBG paints arena is going to be a madhouse for that game. He's going to get an ovation

Starting point is 00:02:21 that I don't think he's ever received before, and I really hope for this game. He comes down on the ice and Mario Lemieux is right there with him to shake his hand, watching that jersey go up into the rafters. It's going to be quite the scene if that happens. But when you first saw the news what's going through your mind. Listen, we may run long on this opening segment because I know we're supposed to kind of be somewhat serious analysts of this team for this show, but I can't do that today. I can't just be an analyst. I have to be a fan because I would not love the game of hockey as much as I

Starting point is 00:03:07 you without the likes of Mario Lemieux and Yarramir Yager. And if Mario Lemieux, and he is the most important figure in this franchise's history, Yarmir Yager is number two. And it's not as big of a gap as people would think. Yes, Mario Lemieux gets credited with saving the franchise as a player and then saving it again as an owner. Yarmir Yager saved this team multiple times as a player. and I'm really happy that we have as a fan base come to understand how much he means to this franchise

Starting point is 00:03:46 because there was a time and I was right there with everybody where he was not well liked anymore where everybody hated him and then with and I understand I understood it in 2012 because I remember man I mean I heard all the booze when he came back to Pittsburgh and was a member of the flyers the crowd couldn't stand him and I know I was someone that wasn't alive for his heyday, you know, back in the early 90s. Heck, I was only a year and a half, too, when he saved the franchise in 1999 against the New Jersey Devils. But I know the impact that he made on this franchise. I went back and watched full games of him to see the dazzling skill that he would put on display every single night.

Starting point is 00:04:28 My mom would tell me stories about her watching Yarmirager do his thing in the early 90s with Mary Lemieux. And when he got booed during that time, Pat, when he signed with the Flyers, because look like he was going to come home to the Penguins and have that reunion. Didn't happen. It rocked me, but especially rocked me when he got booed because I'm like, man, this is what people think about him after everything that went happened. But that's all going to be left out the window when he has his day in February. He is going to get one hell of innovation.

Starting point is 00:04:59 And listen, Lemieux deserves all the credit as he gets. but Lemieux doesn't get the chance, like, more than likely to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins, if not for Yarmir Yager's performance in 1999 against the New Jersey Devils. And for those like you, Hunter, who may not have been old enough to appreciate this, 1999 is height of the devil's power. This is when they are arguably one of the best hockey teams ever in this era. And they dominated. It all started with Martambrador being in his prime and being the best goalie on earth and them having Scott Stevens, one of the best defensemen on earth who could knock you into the eighth row.

Starting point is 00:05:43 But the penguins go into 1999 in dire financial straits. And if they don't get gate revenue from the 1999 playoffs, chances are they go bankrupt. They get sold and they're not in Pittsburgh anymore. And they don't get sold to Mary Elamue. They get sold to some other outside investor who wants to take a team to Kansas City or put another team in Canada or something like that. And then through a debilitating, and I mean debilitating groin injury. Yager comes back to help this team win games six and seven and upset the devils, which, to put it in perspective. This was the penguins right before they got, like, not right before, right as they were getting gutted post-Lamu.

Starting point is 00:06:33 Everybody's getting sold off because they can't afford them except for Yager. And somehow, almost single-handedly with the help of Marty Straca, Yager scores and puts up assists and they beat the Herkulean Devils in round one. And sure, they go on to lose in round two to the Maple Leafs. but with the team in the city rallying around that team and that player in 1999, it opens the door for the bankruptcy court to say, okay, this town loves this team. And with the amount of money they owe Mary Olamy, we're just going to turn that into equity.

Starting point is 00:07:13 And Mary Olamyue is going to become the owner of the team. And none of that happens without Yarmir Yager, none of it. I could go back and watch so many Yager highlights, but the one that always stands out to me as my favorite is what he did in 99 against the Devils in Game 6 and Game 7. The way he just put a team on his back for those final two games, because it looked like the penguins were going to get eliminated. And I just remember the Civic Arena going absolutely crazy after both of those games.

Starting point is 00:07:43 I could watch those highlights every single day if I could. Again, I love so many of Yawkers highlights as a member of the Penguins. but if you were telling me to pick one to put on, it says final two games, man. And I'll say this, that day in February, it's not for you, Howard Baldwin. Get out. If you didn't think about coming to BPGP's Arena, I hope someone escorts you off that property. That day is not for you. If I have to pick my favorite Yarmier Yager moment, it is from Young Double J.

Starting point is 00:08:16 And it's a 1992 Stanley Cup final game one where the Penguins coming. back from a big deficit. And this is the start of the dead puck era. This is the start of the clutch and grab era. This is when a guy has the puck and you can bear hug him kind of era. But he comes off the boards and beats four people to the back, to the front of the net, and puts a backhand past Ed Belfour. And oh my God, the penguins had no business winning that game.

Starting point is 00:08:49 And Yager ties it. Lemieux wins it. And everybody remembers the Mike Lang call from the Lemuel where he leans back and says, you would have to be here to believe it. There will never be, no matter what happens in the history of this franchise, there will never be a moment where the Penguins crowd is louder than when those two scored against Chicago in the 1992 final. And it's just the perfect encapsulation of a Yarmir Yager goal.

Starting point is 00:09:20 because he just puts together pure strength and power with absolute grace, beats guys with his lower body and then scores an insane goal to give the penguins a tie and a chance to go up one nothing in the Stanley Cup final. And again, I cannot stress enough how if it wasn't for those two, especially Yager, I would not love hockey as much as I do today. It's funny, you come from that generation and you say that. I can say the same for Sid and Chino with how I've grown up during this generation. And I definitely would not love this sport as much if it worked for them.

Starting point is 00:10:01 But obviously, I have such a great appreciation for 66 and 68. Even though I wasn't alive for their heydays, obviously I have such a great appreciation. And speaking of that goal that you brought up, I mean, my mom has told me that story countless times with where she was. I texted her the news today. she'd call me five seconds later basically screaming because she absolutely loves Yarmie Yager. That's one of the biggest reasons why she's a fan of the franchise today. But he's going to have his night. It's going to be such a spectacle.

Starting point is 00:10:29 I can't wait to be there for it. I'm sure you're going to try to be there for it too, Pat. But just a great day for this franchise. But that'll do it for this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, oh yeah, the penguins played on Thursday night, and they got a big win over the Los Angeles Kings and sweeping the California road trip. Pat and I could discuss that game, plus what it means for the Penguins going forward. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about Park View Advance.

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Starting point is 00:12:20 Collective.com slash Locked-on NHL and tell them Locked-on NHL sent you. That's a $550 value for free when you go to collective.com slash locked on NHL and tell them locked on NHL sent you. That's collective.com slash locked on NHL and tell them locked on NHL sent you. All right. We're back here on this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm Hunter Hodes, joined by my coes, Patrick Dam. So Penguins 4, Kings 3 on Thursday night, a beautiful win from this hockey team. They sweep the California road trip for the first time

Starting point is 00:12:54 since the 1996, 1996, 1997. And I absolutely loved everything about this one. Were the Penguins outplayed? Yes, they were out attempted at 5 on 5. They were out chance. The Kings had 30 scoring chances for, 14 scoring chances against. They had a better expected goals rate.

Starting point is 00:13:12 But the Penguins still found away. We've seen numerous times already this season and going back the last several seasons where the Penguins have badly outplayed opponents, but they haven't gotten the result. Well, the opposite happened here where they were outplayed, but they got the result because A, they got good goal tending from Magnus Helberg, and B, they were able to finish their chances and also not have a goalie played like God against them. I thought Phoenix Copley wasn't that good in this one. And when you get both those things, boom, you sometimes get a win that you may not fully deserve. I will say, though, I don't think the penguins were blown off the ice in this one.

Starting point is 00:13:47 In a lot of ways, they deserved to win this game, especially defensively, because the Kings only had seven high danger chances at five on five in this game. The Penguins, again, did a pretty solid job of keeping the Kings to the outside and not allowing the prime scoring chances. Like, for example, they did a great job in the Ducks game and in the Sharks game. And overall, this was a massive win for this team. And we set it for the preview. has a chance to be a momentum shift or heading into the game against the Sabres.

Starting point is 00:14:17 The Penguins could get a big winning streak potentially out of this if things continue the way that they have been throughout this road trip that they have saved their season so far with this trip. This is big. It's very big. And you can't discount sweeping the California road trip just because it's rare that it happens. I know everybody's like, oh, it's first time I've done it's 96, 97. It's no matter how good your team is, it's really hard to sweep the,

Starting point is 00:14:44 California road trip, especially if you're an East Coast team. Just because you're out there for five, six days, you have to deal with the time switch, you have to do a lot of traveling. And eventually, by that third game, you just run out of juice. And you're right. This could be a big chance for them to go on a little bit of a run here and string together a few wins and climb their way out of the basement. Because right now, all of a sudden, there are two points out of a playoff spot after

Starting point is 00:15:13 getting all three of these wins. So they go from the basement to right back in the mix. And I agree with you watching the condensed game this morning. I took a look at it, watched back most of the game. They did a great job of making Hellberg's job easy. 9-17 save percentage. Didn't give up anything egregious. Didn't look terrible. They were good chances by LA. I would say maybe one or two of them. You'd like to have them. But at the same time, they weren't horrible. It wasn't, you know, the kind of goal that makes you pull your phone out and tweet and make a save. But the same time, I think the opposite finally happened for the Penguins where they had a goalie against them played horribly.

Starting point is 00:15:57 Phoenix Topley puts up an 800 save percentage last night. And he gave up one other goal that got let that got disallowed because of a very obvious off sides. But end of the day, the puck still got past them. So lastly, the main takeaway. for me is that this team needed a win like this. They needed a win where maybe they weren't at their top. Maybe they weren't the better team all night long, but they still came away with two points because that's the kind of confidence building,

Starting point is 00:16:26 momentum building win that good teams get. As a coach I had for years always said, great teams find ways to win even when they don't play their best. And they beat a very good Kings team in this one. When I was watching this, and of course, I stayed up until 1, 115 in the morning doing it, even though I worked my full-time job at 9 a.m. the next day, I was watching the Kings, and I'm like, this looks like a bona fide Stanley Cup contender. They are very deep, defensively. They're strong, and even though Phoenix Copley didn't have that good of a game, this is still a very good

Starting point is 00:16:58 king's team of the Penguins beat, even though they weren't at their A level. I would see maybe the Penguins were at their B-minus level. Maybe that's even being generous. They mostly played a little worse than that, you could argue, but they were still able to find a way to win. And we'll get to some individual performances now that really stood out to me, starting with Cindy Crosby. I mean, what a game from him, got things started with that one-nothing goal. The wrap-around was just a thing of beauty. And then his pass pat to Jake Gensel for that lead in the third period, three, two, before the

Starting point is 00:17:30 king's title later on, was just awesome. And I loved everything about that sequence, honestly. Well- Start with Eric Carlson and Quentin Byfield, having a nice little race to the puck in the corner. And Byfield, I was really impressed with him in this game. It looked like for a while. That kid's good. That kid is really good.

Starting point is 00:17:45 I didn't know if he was going to pan out to where he was picked that high in the NHL draft, but he has been really good to start this season. It was a really fun puck battle between him and Carlson. The Penguins are able to win it, thanks to Marcus Pedersen, gets it to Jake Gensel, gets it back to Carlson. He starts the rush up the ice into the neutral zone, into the red line, drops the puck to Sidney Crosby and then the way he's able to thread that puck

Starting point is 00:18:08 to Jake Gensel with little to no space it's gorgeous. It was one heck of a pass and Cid just makes it look so easy. I feel like most players in the NHL wouldn't be able to do that, but he still made it look so easy. What a game from the captain and also shout at Eric Carlson too.

Starting point is 00:18:27 He led the Penguins and average game score. He made that rush happen as well. Both players, especially Crosby here, were just tremendous in this game. That Gensel goal sequence was just absolutely. It's what we dreamed of when we got Eric Carlson this summer. It was absolutely what we thought was coming. And it's nice to see that finally manifest itself.

Starting point is 00:18:48 The other thing on the Crosby wraparound goal, everybody's going to focus on the wraparound part of it, which is worth all the flowers it's getting. But that goal is indicative of when Crosby's at his best. because it wasn't the goal itself. It was everything that happened before it. He swoops in, he steals a puck, he completely wrecks L.A.'s breakout and surprises the goalie with a great move.

Starting point is 00:19:15 And that's when Sidney Crosby's at his best, when he is reading the game better than anybody else. He knew that pass was coming. He knew how to steal it. And he knew exactly where Phoenix Copley was going to be as a goaltender and knew he could score on the wraparound. So that is the most encouraging sign to me because we've been saying it all week long that it looks like Sidney Crosby is about to have a breakout and get back to Sidney Crosby level and damned if he didn't last night. I also, I got to talk about

Starting point is 00:19:47 Lars Eller, man. That was going to be my next thing. Go ahead. He started this year slow. And I was right there with you in the whole like, I don't know if this guy's got what it takes or if he should be the third line center. He might be a little past his prime, might be washed. It may be, maybe he cools off again and goes right back to that. But right now, the shorthanded goal is a thing of beauty, just an absolute snipe. He dumpeded both Kevin Fiala and Drew Dowdy. He won V1 Drew Dowdy there and Kevin Fiala was coming back, cuts to the inside,

Starting point is 00:20:21 fires it past Copley. I tweeted this. It's time for Drew Dowdy and both Kevin Fiala to go be family men after that because he just dusted them. Listen, as much as I want to dunk on those two, I just got to give Eller his flowers because that's a veteran savvy, short-handed goal. Because a guy who's playing well, who's feeling himself makes those plays, if you're not in that headspace and you're not having that kind of momentum as a player, you're just putting that puck deep into the corner and just retreating back to the PK. he knew he had the momentum, he knew he had the move, he knew he had the territorial advantage to score that goal, and he took it. And that's a huge moment for both him, the PK, the third line, and the team in general. I think this was his best game as a thing.

Starting point is 00:21:12 I still think L.R. works best as like your fourth line center. I still think they could use an upgrade there. But I will say this as well. He is continuing to make me eat some bit of pro with how impactful he has been over the past, week. I said that first game against the Ducks was his best game. I think this one against the Kings was his best game of the year. He was all over the ice and you said it. That goal was a thing of beauty. Also, Pat, shout out Magnus Helberg. Really strong game for him overall. Gave up a little bit of a weak one during that game. But overall, his rebound control was solid. His movement was good.

Starting point is 00:21:44 He was swallowing pucks really efficiently. Wasn't giving up that much when he would have shots come in on him. Puck handling abilities, a little bit of work in progress. But he's a third string goalie. I'm not really going to roast him too much for that. But overall, you got what you wanted out of a third string goalie. And as the great Danny Shirey, you have breakdowns and breakaway set on Twitter. Any points you can get with your third string goalie in is good. And also, of course, shout out to Danny. His work for his website is incredible.

Starting point is 00:22:12 Well, here's the thing I want to say about that. And this is not me saying he could challenge for a starting job. So everybody put your pitchforks away. He didn't look like a backup. And you know what I mean? I mean, like, you've seen, we've seen it in Pittsburgh for God a decade now where a backup comes in and you know it's a backup goalie. He's not terrible, but he's not great.

Starting point is 00:22:37 He looks like a guy you're like, oh, they got to play well in front of them or this could be a problem. I didn't get that feeling watching the condensed game this morning. I was like, okay, like, they got a guy back there who's capable. Is he going to, is he someone I'm going to trot out for 35, 40 starts a year? Absolutely not. But is he a guy that, if I got to. I'm in there every 10 or so games.

Starting point is 00:22:56 I'm not going to be panicking about it. So especially because like we've been saying, this is a good LA team, very good LA team. You know, if this was San Jose, and again, I'll always add the caveat, you win the games you're supposed to win. That's what you do in professional sports. But if it happened against the sharks,

Starting point is 00:23:12 I wouldn't sit here like, oh, you know, maybe we have something in Helberg. But a good LA team, that's a very encouraging performance. And shout out to Kyle Dubas for bringing in Helberg and shoring up the penguin's depth that the little attending position, really underrated move during this off season. And of course, the OT winner from Brian Rust. Love the celebration of the, yep, that's a goal right there.

Starting point is 00:23:34 And then you're hearing Eric Carlson, I believe, was at the side of the net, just going crazy before mobbing Brian Russ. Scores not once, but twice. And over time, I thought of that meme where it's like, I'll, I'll do it again. I'm not allowed to say that word. Do it again. Yeah, I'll just, I'll do it again. But Phoenix Copley there, that was kind of a bad goal that he gave up. I don't really know what he was doing going side to side with the wrapped around.

Starting point is 00:23:57 But just a really nice goal from Rust after having the first one taken away. And yes, that first one was blatantly off sides. But overall, man, great win by this hockey team. That's three in a row. They're back to 500, just a couple points out of the playoff spot. And they could be going shrieking here if they can potentially take care of business against the Sabres on Saturday. And we'll get to that in just a second.

Starting point is 00:24:16 But I love that goal from Rust. Yeah. And you can tell this team starting to find themselves because of the, the celebration just because that that was letting the cap off and being like, okay, like, we found something here. We're finally rolling. We're finally getting to where we want to be. And we still got a very, very long season ahead of us.

Starting point is 00:24:40 Still got a long way to go. We've got all of 80 games to go, or not 80 games, 70 games to go. And, but we're starting to see flashes of what we expected this team to be. Are they elite top-tier contenders? No. But do they look like a team that's in the mix? Absolutely. Oh, yeah.

Starting point is 00:25:02 And I try not to get too animated when I watch games from home, but I went out a very audible, let's-freakin go when that went in. And I probably woke up my girlfriend upstairs. I got pretty fired up for that one, to say the least. That was a massive win. And the Penguins will look to make it four wins in a row when the Buffalo Sabres come to town on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:25:21 And yes, I will be at that game with one. my uncle really excited for it, but we'll preview that game in the final segment. But first, we do have to tell you all about the Jace case. We spend a lot of time talking together to you and I. We get fired up together on wins and losses. Who starts and who sits? I'm thankful for that connection we have. And today, I want our chat to be at least, you know, a little bit personal.

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Starting point is 00:26:07 If you or someone you love would like to get some peace of mind by having a year's supply of any daily medication, go to jacemadical.com to see if it's offered for you. Remember to use promo code locked on for $20 off your purchase. All right. We're back here on this episode of the Locked on Penguins. podcast. I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co's Patrick Dam. So Penguin Sabres, Saturday night at PBG Payne Serena. The Penguins returned home for the first time in over a week. And this should be a fun game. The Penguins won two of three games against the Sabres last year.

Starting point is 00:26:39 The Sabres right now, man, in seventh place in the Atlantic Division, six and six and one, only 13 points. There are only three points up on the Ottawa Senators who have also been a major disappointment this year. But despite them not being that good just yet, and I predicted them to make the playoffs, This is still a Sabres team that has quite a bit of talent. Casey Middlestat, three goals, 12 points, and 13 games. Tage Thompson, who was one of the best goals scores on the planet. Six goals, 11 points and 13 games. Rasmus Dahlina has 11 points.

Starting point is 00:27:07 Jeff Skinner has been very good. Alex Tuck. This is a team that has a lot of firepower. But right now, they are a bit weak in net. Devin Levi, who is the big rookie goaltender heading into this year, has played five games, but only has an 885 Saber's inch. He just hasn't been that good. And I know he, I mean, he played well at the end of last season, right?

Starting point is 00:27:30 But it's a bit different now that you're getting a starter's workload, hasn't lived up to the billing just yet. I think he's going to continue to hopefully get at least a little bitter because I really like him as a goalie. And I love the thing that he does when he meditates like Guaungeon from Star Wars. I have to put a Star Wars reference into the show. But the Sabres team pack, despite not having that good of the start, it's kind of similar to the Penguins in a way.

Starting point is 00:27:51 This is still a very dangerous team. You kind of beat me to the punch on this one. They have very similar problems to the penguins in that they can score, but they cannot stop them. They are right now sitting in an even goal differential. They have they have 41 goals for and 41 goals against. Devin Levi, like you said, 885. Ouka Pekalukinen, my favorite name in all of hockey, has an 899 save percentage. Both have given up 17 goals.

Starting point is 00:28:23 And listen, I think if you're the Buffalo Savers, you're not too concerned just yet because Devin Levi still young. Like Al-Lukin, still young. The rest of your roster, for the most part, still pretty darn young. So these are the growing pains. And I know a lot of people who follow hockey and obsess over hockey the way we do look at this roster and think, LOL, everyone overrated Buffalo early on. No, they did.

Starting point is 00:28:52 It's a very young team that has a lot of talent and is going to grow into it. And honestly, like I said, if Levi or Pekeleukinen decide to find their game again and become 915, 920 goaltenders, this is a great team. Yes. That's their biggest problem right now. There's a reason coaches and GMs and scouts call goaltender the most important position in hockey because, like, I've been beating the drama of all season. doesn't matter what system you play, doesn't matter how good your special teams are. If you can't get a save, it doesn't matter.

Starting point is 00:29:28 And right now, the Sabers can't get a save. Agreed. And outside of that, I mean, you looked up and down this lineup, man, this is a good forward group. Jeff Skinner has been great, as I said. Tage Thompson, looks like Matthew Savoy is going to play in this one, one of their other younger players. You have Jordan Greenway, Casey Middlestad,

Starting point is 00:29:44 who is finally living up to the hype as well. You have Peyton Krebs, Dylan Cousins, who I didn't even mention has been good. You have Victor Olofson, who I think it's just kind of a power play merchant, in my opinion at this point, the ageless wonder, Kyle O'Poso, who I know you remember him from his Islander days, he used to kill the Penguins back in the day. I still can't believe he's still kicking this well as an NHL player.

Starting point is 00:30:04 He's always been a really solid player threat at school. And he's right where he needs to be right now. He's a fourth line right winger on a younger team. And that's the perfect kind of guy to have on a young team and a depth role. because while he hasn't gone on any truly deep runs or won, he's still a guy who has a ton of experience in the league, has seen a lot of franchises go through what those sabres have gone through. And now that you've got a great core of guys like Tate Thompson,

Starting point is 00:30:34 Middlestat, Dahlene, Power, Yokia Haru, and add in guys like Akposo and Eric Johnson, you've got two really good vets who are going to show these guys the rope, and really push this team to the next tier of contender. I agree. I definitely hear you on that. I mean, defensively, we all know how good Rasmus Dahlin is. He just got a massive extension.

Starting point is 00:30:57 He's one of the best defensemen on the planet. Owen Power is going to join him very soon. You have Ryan Johnson, Henry Yoki Haru, excuse me, Eric Johnson, Connor Clifton. A lot of bad defensive group. That's for sure. Then we already touched on the goalies. The Penguins to win this one.

Starting point is 00:31:11 I want to see more of the same, man. I want to see more of that, I guess, lower event hockey. where you're limiting the chances to the outside. The Penguins did a great job of that against L.A. After doing an excellent job against the ducks earlier this week, give me more of that. Got to win the special team's battle. Want to see the powerfully heat up a little bit more.

Starting point is 00:31:29 And of course, we all know how good the top six was against L.A. Give me some more bottom six goals. Continue to make me be quiet when it comes to that. Those are my main keys for really winning this one. And if you can pepper Devon Levi, like they did in the preseason game, and I understand preseason is a lot different compared to regular season hockey. But if you can keep peppering him, I do think he could be a bit leaky with the way he has started this season.

Starting point is 00:31:54 And also I want to see what happens. Of course, Pat Wood Trist-Njari. Is he going to be ready to go? His eye is still a bit swollen right now. If not, it'll be Magnus Helberg. But we'll have to see who starts in net for this one. Yeah. Just play this game you've been playing for the last two weeks.

Starting point is 00:32:08 And I think they'll be successful because, again, this is another young, fast team. And that's not to say that the penguins are a slow team now. They're not. They just don't have the speed they once did. And it's another game where you commit to playing solid defense. I'm not saying, go into a defensive shell and play the trap or anything like that. But play all 200 feet. Be responsible in the defensive zone.

Starting point is 00:32:34 And more importantly, be ready to capitalize on the risks that a young fast team like Buffalo is going to take. Because we saw it happen last night. we saw it happen against Anaheim and we keep coming back to it. We saw it happen against Colorado. Every time they committed to playing solid defense, they were able to counterpunch on the risks that those teams would take. And when you have a young, offensively talented team like Buffalo coming to town,

Starting point is 00:33:00 perfect time to do that. Right. And of course, they would have finished their chances in that game. And we all know how I've been saying for the last three years that I just want this to revert to the mean at some point. But I mean, it looks like it's getting to that point. We're sitting here with a plus eight goal differential. They've got 42 goals in 12 games.

Starting point is 00:33:17 It's making its way back. We're getting there. It's a process, people. But overall, I'm seeing legitimate progress with this team right now. I know you are too. They're back to 500. We'll see if they can get over 500 with a win and make one row in this one against the Sabres. But that'll do it for this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast.

Starting point is 00:33:34 Thank you all for much for listening to slash watching this one. Pat and I will be back with another episode for you all on Monday, we recapping this game against the Sabers, plus getting you all set for the week ahead for the Penguins. I believe they have a game against the Blue Jackets. That's when they go on the road to play them. So that should be a lot of fun with how the jackets are really struggling right now. But we'll get you all set for that on Monday.

Starting point is 00:33:53 But again, thank you all so much for tuning in. Really appreciate it. We'll be back on Monday.

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