Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Justin Brazeau and the Penguins DISMANTLE the Chicago Blackhawks!

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

The Penguins came roaring out of the holiday break with a MASSIVE 7-3 victory over Chicago on Sunday night! Hunter Hodies returns to the show, and he and Patrick Damp recap the Penguins' win over Chic...ago, Justin Brazeau's first career hat trick, and whether this will be a jumping-off point for the team as they get ready to head into the back half of the season. (0:00) Then, with two games played by Team Canada and Team USA, how are Penguins' prospects Harrison Brunicke and Wil Horcoff doing at the World Junior Championships? It may not come as a shock, but both are performing quite well and passing the tests they need to pass. (14:29) Finally, the Penguins have a daunting week ahead as they'll take on Eastern Conference opponents, and each game presents a chance to both move up the standings and regain their footing after squandering away their hot start. (23:32) Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!IndeedNow, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/lockedonright now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.MonarchTake control of your finances with Monarch. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at https://monarch.com/lockedonnhl for 50% off your first year.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 The Pittsburgh Penguins outscored the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, and Pat and I are going to break it all down right after this. 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 one of your host, Hunter Hodies. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunser Hodes, joined by my coast, Patrick Damp. We can follow him on all social media platforms at Sendin for Watt.
Starting point is 00:00:37 You can also follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. And you can follow the show's Instagram account at Lockdown, underscore Penguins. Of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms. Pat, the Penguins, they badly needed a performance like that on Sunday as they dismantled the Chicago Blackcocks by a final score of 7 to 3. Very rare off night by goaltender Spencer Knight. He has been one of the top goaltenders in the league coming into that game.
Starting point is 00:01:08 He was saving about 18 goals above expected 914 save percentage. And Penguins made him look like a peewee goalie in that one. He was not sharp at all, especially on that first one. I was like, you know, never a bad idea to throw it to the net if you're Anthony Mantha. But that's still a goal that usually night saves. And then after that, it just went from bad to worse. You could very much tell he was on top of his game, got pulled later on. He gets put back in the net for the third period, which you don't really see.
Starting point is 00:01:36 Don't really know what the Blackhawks were doing there. But that's where the game starts with me. Penguins took advantage of Spencer Knight having a really bad game, and they were able to secure two points out of it. I still think there are things to clean up, especially some of the chances that the Penguins gave up in their own end. But they were very opportunistic. They got contributions from all four lines.
Starting point is 00:01:56 and they took advantage of Spencer Knight having a really off game. However, Pat Penguins, they really needed this one overall. By no means do I want to be the skunk at the garden party for today's episode because a 7 to 3 win is a 7 to 3 win no matter which way you cut it. But you kind of hit the nail on the head in the sense that this was the kind of win they so sorely needed that they haven't gotten in quite a while. And I'm not talking just about the score. the score is all well and good you said it spencer night had a really off game and lucky me you
Starting point is 00:02:33 thanks to everyone can thank me for putting the pat damp jinks on spencer night because i spent all of friday's episode previewing this game and talking about how that's their guy he's the future in net for the chicago black hawks and then he puts up a stinker like that but i the way i look at at Sunday's game is I don't think Chicago played poorly. I think Chicago actually played pretty well, and they deserved a better fate, but they got undone by goaltending, and the penguins were incredibly opportunistic.
Starting point is 00:03:11 So it's been a while since we've had that kind of game for the Pittsburgh Penguins and full marks to the penguin shooters. They understood that Knight was not having a good game. he was struggling. So anytime they got an offensive opportunity, they put the puck to the net and let him stew in that misery. So that's a credit to the penguin shooters that, yeah, they didn't play their best game. But anytime they had a look at the net, they made sure to put the puck to the net and take advantage of a struggling goalie. So full marks to them on that one. I agree. And speaking of that, Justin Brzo gets a hat trick. His first career hat trick in the NHL.
Starting point is 00:03:54 Last night, he was tremendous. And I continue to be blown away by how silky brazo is around the front of the net when he has the puck on his stick pat. He has such soft hands in those areas. And he makes moves that just blow you away. Like it's like you shouldn't be able to make that type of move with how big you are. But he does it with such ease. And when he's been healthy, he's been one of the Penguins' best players this year.
Starting point is 00:04:20 It's continued to look like such a great evout, a great signing. by Kyle Dubus in this front office. I said it on Twitter. I'll say it here. I can't wait until I've got any Malkin is back on that line, just with the way they were cooking when all three were healthy. Because, you know, I think Brazo, you might, I mean, you look at a shooting percentage.
Starting point is 00:04:38 It's like, yeah, it's not sustainable. But if he's going to keep scoring like this, maybe I'm just going to say the hell with it. He's going to keep scoring pat at a 30 plus percent clip this year because he was once again fantastic last night. The thing about Justin Brzo, I said it when we were. previewing the season that this was going to be a player that was going to be a very sneaky
Starting point is 00:04:58 solid addition to the penguin's roster, both in the short and hopefully the long term as well. Because if you look at his professional, even back to his junior days, his career arc, he takes a year or two to figure it out. But then once he figures it out, he becomes one of the top forwards on whatever team he's with. He did it in juniors. He did it in the ECHL. He did it in The HL, and it looks like it's starting to happen at the NHL level. You saw some flashes of it with him when he was with the Leafs, the Bruins, the Wild, and I think part of it was he found himself on teams where he was getting put into lesser roles.
Starting point is 00:05:41 He was getting squeezed out of the lineup. And it was really no shot at him. It was no negative towards him. He was just on really good teams, and they just didn't have a place for him. comes to Pittsburgh. He's immediately slotted into the top six. He's got really good chemistry with Mantha and Malkin. And it gives him a chance to show that offensive upside that he has had throughout his career. So this is a player that he's big, he's talented, and he has got an offensive instinct that most players of that size don't have. So this is a really good addition
Starting point is 00:06:20 by the penguins. While I'm with you, I don't think he's going to keep shooting at 30 plus percent all season long. You look away from the numbers and you look at the film. He is constantly in scoring areas. He is constantly putting himself in position to produce points. And if he keeps that up, especially with the return of Vgeny Malkin, this is a player that if you're Kyle Dubus, you're thinking, you might be part of this long-term plan and not just someone we get for the short term and flip for assets. That's still to be determined for me. Like if he has, I'll know, 20 goals run the trade deadline and he gets some calls that maybe
Starting point is 00:07:01 he can't say no to, you're going to have to potentially really consider something there. Like, say, Pat, he has 20 goals. A team somehow offers you a first round pick or something like that. Probably have to take that. For me, it's got to be a king's rant. him. It's got to be a complete overpayment by the other team because he'll be 28 by the end of the season. And you look at his career. He's only played to this point 118 games in the national hockey league. This isn't a 27 year old, soon to be 28 year old who's got a bunch of hard
Starting point is 00:07:35 miles on him. This is a guy who's got quite a bit of runway in front of him. And he's got the size. He's got the touch. I'm not saying he's going to be the same. I'm not saying this is a guy that is going to be a centerpiece, but somebody that can be a really good middle six forward who produces, plays an honest game and finds chemistry offensively with some of your better players. You guys on this show hear me say it all the time. Being able to play with elite talent is a talent in and of itself. In Brazil, it's kind of showed that you put them with a good talent.
Starting point is 00:08:13 He can compliment them really well. So unless a team comes offering the sun and the moon for him, if I'm Dubus, I'm going, listen, I got a diamond in the rough here. I'm holding on to it. If you want to give me everything for him, I'm not going to say no, but I'm not seeking to send him out the door. He's also on a two-year contract so they can maybe just wait until next year. But again, his value is pretty high right now.
Starting point is 00:08:38 He's already equaled his goal total from last year and we're not even at the 41 game mark. If he's at, again, 20-ish goals are close to there around the trade. deadline and he teams are calling which i'm sure teams will be calling because top six four with that size that pool scoring ability who doesn't want that type of player if he gets calls and gets offers that he maybe can't say no to i can really see them dealing him at the tread deadline but again to be determined he still got a ways to go with this season but loved his performance i can't wait to see what he can do once again he malcon gets back because those two also had some great chemistry did over anthony mantha with malcon in brazil as well he scored again last
Starting point is 00:09:15 night, he's been really good at five on five, another really good signing by Kyle Dubus over the offseason. And I will give Brian Russ credit. I thought he had a really strong game last night. I know I have been critical about him on the show before, about how the process has not matched the results. Last night, I think it did. I thought the process was there. I thought he was really good in all three zones. Now has 15 goals, 32 points in 35 games the season. I thought he was good. And lastly, that before we had to break, we saw the return of forward Blake Lazotte. And to me, you can tell how much this team feeds off Blake Lazot. I know it may sound cliche to say just because he's a run-in-the-mill bottom six player, but with how much energy
Starting point is 00:09:56 he brings to this lineup, you can see how everyone else feeds off it. You can see how the penalty kill looks better with him on it. He's kind of a player who will low-key drag this team into it a little bit when they're struggling. I loved his game last night. He's just a wrecking ball, man. really quick puck count he's ferocious along the boards ferocious down low he was outworking everyone on the fourth line last night i thought no what chari also played really well too connor dewer as well that entire fourth line honestly but it just the fourth line is different when he's on it i know i keep saying that connor dewer is the straw that serves the drink on that line and i still stand by that but don't forget about blakelissotman he also is a big part of that line success and the bottom
Starting point is 00:10:42 six too in my opinion To further the cliche, he plays a very mature type of hockey that the penguins really miss when he's out of the lineup. It's a mature type of game. It's a disciplined kind of game. And it's, again, I'll keep the cliches flow in here. It's an honest game. And that's not to say that the penguins play reckless, who cares, firewagon type hockey as a whole. But that's been the penguins brand for 40 years at this point that they are going to play some kind of an uptempo style they're going to throw caution to some kind of the wind they're going to try to outscore their problems and you eventually need that counterbalance in your lineup especially in the bottom six and that fourth line brings that
Starting point is 00:11:31 counterbalance that you need they're not going to be flashy they might not even be fast but you know what they're going to do they're going to be defensively responsible they're going to play physical they're going to do the nitty gritty things that a lot of the other players in the lineup aren't going to do. And when you have a fourth line like the penguins do right now, it's a good position to be in because the thing that I keep coming back to with that fourth line is not only are they good at goal prevention and playing well defensively, they will give you a few shifts where they're just going to forecheck like maniacs and they're going to hold up possession and it's going
Starting point is 00:12:10 to set the table for your top six. That's really all you can ask out of your fourth line if you don't have the type of team depth that can score through all four lines. You want your fourth line to play to even and you want them to bring energy. You want them to bring defense and you want them to wear the opponent down so your top six can take advantage. We saw that quite a bit last night against Chicago. And you know what, Pat? We saw that when he was healthy before he got hurt too in a lot of these games. So I'm curious to see if he can keep it up. I'm glad that he's back in the line, but I hope that he stays healthy. Penguins have now won two of their last three games. Let's see if they can build on it going into Tuesday's game against Carolina, more on that a little bit
Starting point is 00:12:49 later. But that's going to do it for this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, Will Horkoff and Harrison Brunich have been great at the World Juniors at the end of this month. Pat and I are going to give an update on how they've been doing right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell you. you all about our first sponsor, which is game time. There is nothing like being near the ice during hockey season, the speed, the hits, the atmosphere, it's unmatched. Watching at home is great, but being in the building is a completely different experience. The only thing that's used to get in the way was actually getting tickets, long queues, endless screens, and prices changing
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Starting point is 00:14:06 take the guesswork out of buying NHL tickets with game time down on the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL that's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-H-L for $20 off your first purchase terms of why again create an account and regime code locked on NHL for $20 off download the game time app today all right we're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast I'm one of your host hunter hoodies that's my host Patrick Danes and Pat Will Horkoff, a goal and an assist in Team USA's first two games at the Roald Juniors. His goal, what an absolute snipe doing what he has been doing at Michigan all year.
Starting point is 00:14:47 The assist, though, is something I really wanted to highlight. Had a really nice zone entry there, which has been a little bit of an issue at times during his tenure in Michigan, but you saw the work that he has been putting in throughout this year. That zone entry was really nice. It gets the puck to the middle before Brody's. Zemer gets a really nice shot off for Team USA, gets the secondary assist on that goal. I've liked his game for Team USA quite a bit. He's also getting top six minutes.
Starting point is 00:15:17 He's playing a lot with James Hagan's, man, which we all know how good of a prospect Hagan's is. So I love that the coaching staff is really trusting Horkoff in these top six situations. I'm just a big fan of him whenever he steps onto the ice, especially in these first two games, and I hope that he keeps it up. It's unbelievable growth by Horkoff over the past 8,000. to nine months if you look at everything that has gone on with him since being drafted and right before being drafted. We highlighted it on the show that he kind of looked like a fish out of water a little bit after going from the development team to Michigan. And that was kind of to be
Starting point is 00:15:53 understood. We discussed that that you make that jump. It's two entirely different cultures. It's two entirely different programs. And it was going to take time to adapt. But as soon as he had a full training camp and all of that with Michigan. He hit the ground running. He's been incredibly good with them. And now he's carried that play to the world junior. Because when you looked at the pre-tournament projections, it looked like he was going to be a third line forward.
Starting point is 00:16:21 It looked like they had the same kind of thoughts we all did about Horkoff as, hey, the talent and the skill is there, the work ethic is there. But you compare them to some of the other top of the roster players in the United States program. He's not quite at that level. He goes in. He impresses the coaching staff. He plays really well in the first two games. And like you said, now they're trusting him to be a top six forward. And it's more than just the goal and the assist. It's the fact that he is creating offense. He is in the mix every time the United States team is threatening in the offensive zone. He's playing with an absurd amount of confidence, and he is playing with an absurd amount of smarts.
Starting point is 00:17:08 And I said it to you before we hit record. Obviously, for it to truly get to this point, he has to make the penguins sometime over the next year or two. But early returns, this looks like a steal, man. They're very good. The early returns are awesome with this pick. He's lighting up the NCAA. He is a top contender for the Hobie Baker, but I still want to see. But to my point, like, again, I'm not trying to get too far ahead here.
Starting point is 00:17:38 This is the building blocks of it being a steal of a pick where he goes to the NCAA and he dominates. He goes to the world juniors. And rare is it that someone is going to dominate the world junior championships because it's such a short tournament. It's not something where you have a ton of time to be one of the better players and be dominant. But if you put in a solid performance on a team that wins a gold medal really helps your
Starting point is 00:18:04 stock. And right now, it looks like he's going to do that. Right. He has two points in two games. The U.S. will play Slovakia today. So we'll see if he can continue his point per game streak at the world juniors. But I agree.
Starting point is 00:18:16 The early returns on this pick have been awesome. I mean, I know it was over the summer and it was just a glorified little camp. I thought he was one of the biggest standouts at development camp over the summer. He's lighting up Michigan, top contender for the Hobie Baker, as I just said, now doing this with the world juniors, can he keep going for the rest of the season in the NCAA, potentially, you'll bring home a natty to Michigan, who, you know, Michigan, we all know, one of the top teams in the NCAA this year.
Starting point is 00:18:42 Also, you know, looking ahead, does he go back to Michigan for next year, or does he turn pro? Right now, if you had to ask me, I think he's going to go back to Michigan for one more year, but do the Penguins feel that he's ready to turn pro and come into the system? We'll have to see, but again, if I had to make a guess right, now, Pat, I think he goes back to school for one more year. I do too. And I think it's mainly just because I'm sure
Starting point is 00:19:05 I've said it on the show before we do so many of these, but the fact is it's, I don't want to say it's easy to do what he is doing this year because in no world is it, but you want to see if you can make it more than a one-off because right now he's not an unknown
Starting point is 00:19:23 anymore. Obviously, you look at his stats, you look at how well he's playing for Michigan. The NCAA and the opponents of Michigan are on notice. They know that this is a guy they got a game plan for. What do you do that second year once teams have an entire offseason to game plan for you to watch tape on you? How do you grow and adapt? Can you do it again? So you don't want to fall in love with one good year. You want to look at him and go, all right, you cleared the first hurdle. now go clear the second and have another really good year at Michigan
Starting point is 00:19:58 and then after that we'll have a talk about you possibly turning pro that's also the thing because like you also look at him pat he's still only 18 years old like right prospects like this they usually take a little bit of time so we don't want to rush someone for the sake of rushing them I think one more year at Michigan we'll probably do the trick if they feel differently that's their prerogative obviously they know him a lot better than us two knuckleheads do on this podcast. But if I had to take a stab at it,
Starting point is 00:20:28 I think he goes back for one more year and then turns pro the following season. We'll see if I'm right or wrong on that. Lastly, Pat Harrison Brunich has an assist for team Canada at the Royal Juniors, has been playing on the power play with some of Canada's top players, including Gavin McKenna, by the way,
Starting point is 00:20:44 which is that's super cool, man. Seeing Harrison Brunick play with Gavin McKenna like that and some of these other top prospects has been a lot of fun to watch. That game against Latvia was also, So a blast. Latvia has just been a Thorne in Canada side for the last couple of years now. Very strange, but that's a pesky team. They fight their ass off every single shift.
Starting point is 00:21:03 That was a lot of fun to watch. But I like Brunich's game so far. I think he's been steady in all three zones, especially defensively. This is really the perfect type of tournament for him to really further his development. And then the Penguins will have to make a decision on him once this is over. But so far, the decision to send him here is really paying dividends for college. do this in the front of us because I've really liked his game. The biggest thing I've noticed from Harrison Brunick in the first two games for Team
Starting point is 00:21:29 Canada at the World Juniors is exactly what I laid out on Friday. Yes, he is being put in offensive situations, especially the power play, but they're also putting him out in high leverage defensive situations and he's winning those minutes. And that was kind of the biggest issue we found when Brunick made the team at the start of the year. Now, obviously, the World Junior Championships is not the NHL. It's a little bit different, as we all know.
Starting point is 00:21:59 But what we needed to see from Harrison Brunick in this tournament was a better, well-rounded game. We know he's a good skater. We know he's got good vision. We know he's got offensive upside. That's all great. That's all fantastic. But he is not Eric Carlson. He is not Chris LaTang.
Starting point is 00:22:20 He's not the kind of defenseman. where you go we're not worried about his defense because he's that good offensively he's okay offensively so he's got to have a better defensive game through two games with team canada he has passed that test he has played really well defensively and that is exactly what we needed to see from him i think he's also been good in transition as well he's been driving the offense well driving the offense at least a bit these first couple of games he's not on the top pairing pat but he's still driving offense when he's been out there he's been winning his minutes overall. I like that he's getting a lot of power play time, too.
Starting point is 00:22:56 Just curious to see how this keeps continuing. It's only been a couple of games, but early returns so far, really nice for Harrison Brinick. So for Penguins prospects, Pat, good starts for both Harrison Brunich and Will Horcopf, and that will do it for the second segment of today's episode coming up to end the show. It is another very busy week for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it's going to get started on Tuesday against a team that they have really struggled against over the last couple of years in the Carolina Hurricanes. Pat and I are going to look at the week ahead for the Penguins this upcoming week right after this. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.
Starting point is 00:23:36 I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes. That's my good friend and host, Patrick Damp and Pat. It is another very busy week for the Penguins this upcoming week. It gets started tomorrow night at home against a team that, honestly, I just hate watching in the Carolina Hurricanes. they play such a boring brand of hockey that makes me want to rather watch my water boil for pasta. Cycle, point shot, repeat, cycle, point shot, repeat, just, you know, sicko, nasty hockey that I just, I don't like Robin DeMore hockey. It's effective in the regular season.
Starting point is 00:24:06 It needs to be more effective in the playoffs. I just hate watching it. However, penguins need to find a way to have some success against this team because the hurricanes just make life a living hell for the penguins, the way that they just constantly pressure you in the offensive zone every show. shift for them is like game seven but that's just the way rod brindamore played when he was a player so no surprise there that that the players feed off of that mentality and just the play style just has always given the penguin's fits these last couple of years so that needs to change that's the first game this week and then they have a home and home against the surprising Detroit red wings
Starting point is 00:24:39 first off Thursday January 1st to kick off 2026 7 p.m. at pbg paints arena they'll then go to Little Caesar's arena on Saturday for a matinee a noon start January 3rd against the Red Wings. Again, that's the second half, the home and home of Detroit. They'll then go to Columbus on Sunday to play the Blue Jackets. This will be the third meeting against the blue jackets. This is here. The Penguins have split the first two. That game will be in Columbus, and then the Penguins will have actually quite a few days
Starting point is 00:25:05 off before their next game next Thursday, January 8th against the Devils, and that'll be a two-game homestand. So, Pat, four games this week, and we are getting some games against Metro teams, especially, but also all these games, not just Metro teams, all these games, all these games against Eastern Conference opponents. If you want to try to play your way back in the race year, and right now they're one point out, but if you want to try to get back in a playoff spot,
Starting point is 00:25:31 you've got to get two clean points in these games. I know the Red Wings have been very surprising this year. I still got to see it for more than half a season just because of the way that this has gone for the Red Wings over the last several years, but there is no denying that they've been off to an awesome start, and Mo Sider, especially on the back end, has been awesome for the Red Wings. Columbus. You know, those games have been fun this year. We all know how that team is against the penguins. And then Carolina got to see the penguins play a bit better against them
Starting point is 00:25:58 overall. So some good quality tests upcoming, my friend. I'll put my marker down here on the show. I don't see enough people talking about it, but they should be. Most Sider could be a Norris candidate. He has been that good recently. And he is a big, big reason for Detroit's resurgence in climb up the Atlantic Division standings. But yeah, these are all tough tests. You got the Carolina Hurricanes who the penguins just forever have struggled against. Like apparently the Hurricanes franchise took 2009 so personally that they were like, we're going to create an environment that is so toxic for the Pittsburgh Penguins that they're
Starting point is 00:26:39 never going to be able to handle us again. And they have clung to that for years. So you got to find a way to break. that Rod Brindamore style hockey, whether it's patience, whether it's completely flipping your own style, you've got to find a way to get points there, especially in a jammed Metro Division and jammed Eastern Conference. Detroit, I'm fine with some kind of a split because I don't see you taking four clean points from a Detroit Red Wings team that is this hot right now. They're just in it right now. They are in the zone. They're playing extremely clean hockey. And,
Starting point is 00:27:15 if you can steal two or three points from them, that works. That's okay. And then Columbus, you're kind of, like right now, yeah, the penguins are jocke and get themselves back into playoff position, but you also want to get dragged back down to hell by the Columbus Blue Jackets if you lose. So those are two big points you need to get, but it's a busy week. And it's a busy week against teams that are going to give them fits, that they're going to have to be on the ball to get points for so while i don't want to do our usual monday of like
Starting point is 00:27:49 here's my points expectation because i'm struggling to figure out where this penguin's team is going right now i'll just say this much you have a golden opportunity in front of you to go into 2026 in a very advantageous situation in position, you've got to take advantage of that. Yeah, I don't really want to make any expectations for points because I feel like they're just going to come up short just with the way, you know, this last stretch has gone, you know, losing 9 and 10. Obviously, they won the last game against Chicago, but I just don't want to make any grand, excuse me, declarations about, oh, you know, I want six out of eight points this week or anything
Starting point is 00:28:27 just because, you know, we've made ourselves look like complete. morons at times with that but if you have your site set on a playoff spot got to have a big week this week against teams that you're chasing or that are just in your division i mean look at the standings right now the panthers pat they're in that final playoff spot in the eastern conference with 42 points only four points separate them in the blue jackets from last in this conference it is that tight right now and the penguins this week we're going up against columbus Columbus is only four points behind them. If you take two clean points there, you know, sorry, penguins are three points ahead of Columbus.
Starting point is 00:29:06 My fault on that. But if you take two clean points there, you potentially go up five on them, Carolina. They're at 49 points right now. So penguins are eight back of them. Still, if you want to try to get back in that top three conversation, got to do it there. And then Detroit, they also have 49 points. That one, I know, different division, but it's still a bit of a measuring stick game against a team that has been really good in the first half the season. Again, I still want to see how they do in the second half, but so far,
Starting point is 00:29:32 they have been one of the top teams in the league. We have to call it how it is. It's been a really nice surprise to see that. I didn't think the Red Wings had it in them, but really big week this week, Carolina, that's a bona fide playoff team. Let's see how they match up. Red Wings, as of right now, bona fide playoff team, let's see how they match up. And then Columbus, he split those two games, you know, those divisional games, you really got to take two clean points in those. You don't want to be giving away loser points. The penguins have three out of four points against Columbus this year, which has been good, but still got to take those two clean points whenever possible.
Starting point is 00:30:07 So really big week this week. And hey, Pat, let's see. On Sunday at least, you'll have the Penguins game at three. Takes you right into the Steelers game. And let's see what happens there. But as I said, really big opportunity this week. Penguins have won two of their last three. Can they build on it?
Starting point is 00:30:25 That's going to be the million dollar question. Yeah, that's the biggest thing. You got yourself a really positive win on Sunday because here's the thing. We were all excited and we were all happy about winning that shootout against Montreal. Crosby takes over the franchise lead in points. But at the end of the day, it wasn't the greatest win. We kind of put some shine on it because of, hey, they finally want a shootout and Crosby got this milestone. But then you look back at the game and you're like, it wasn't their greatest effort but they got a win which is nice Sunday you beat the crap out of the black yeah you went it you walked into their building snatch their lunch money and left for the
Starting point is 00:31:10 night now you have to build on that now that you got a really clean really solid win you need to build upon that you got a little bit of swagger back you got the vibes up a little bit And now you got a chance, like we said, to build on it, to really put yourself back in the mix. The question is, will they do it and can they do it? And hey, maybe the break did come at the perfect time just with the way they were struggling. They got to get away from the rank, spend some time with their family and friends. Now that they're back, they got a big win. Again, let's see if they can go on it.
Starting point is 00:31:47 But that's going to do it for the Monday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Pat and I will be back on Tuesday to preview. game against the coronavirus hurricanes and discuss every other thing related to Penguins hockey as well. So for Patrick Damp, I am Hunter Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in. We appreciate it. We will be back on Tuesday.

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