Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - NHL SQUAD SHOW: Which first round match-up is primed for an upset?

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

NOTE: Recorded before the Western Conference wildcards and WC2 in the East are set Welcome to the NHL Squad Show! Today our hosts Gil Martin (Locked On Islanders), Seth Toupal (Locked On Wild) and Shukri Wrights (Locked On NHL Game Night) are talking about the biggest surprises and disappointments of the NHL season, before talking about which first round match-ups could involve an upset… Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.Wonderful PistachiosGet snackin’ and get crackin’ with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more!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.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Amazon Fire TV Stick 4kDid you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.UpworkVisit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. With Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, development, design, and more—experts ready to help you take your business to the next level. 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.

As the NHL season enters its final few days, we're going to sum up the season, talk about some potential award winners, and look ahead to the playoffs. We've got all that and more on this week's NHL squad. You are Talking Puck with the NHL Squad Show, sponsored by game time. From the Oilers to the stars, Golden Knights, and the Panthers, the Rangers, Avalanche, and yes, even the Maple Leafs. The Lockdown Podcast Network brings together all its local experts to provide. the scoops, breakdowns, and comprehensive looks at all the NHL with plenty of trash talk to go with it. Don't miss the hard hits and glove dropping hot takes on the Locked-on NHL Squad show. It's time to drop the puck. I'm Gilmartin and welcome everybody to this week's episode of the NHL squad.

Sit back, grab your favorite beverage and join us as we get you ready for another wild week across the NHL. We are part of the Locked-on podcast network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use code Locked-on NHL for $20 off your first purchase.

I want to welcome our panel this week, Seth Tuple of Lockedon Wilde and Shukri writes of Locked-on NHL Game Night. And gentlemen, regular season, just a few days. left to it. So I wanted to sort of put this open to the floor. Give me your biggest surprise pleasantly this season team-wise and your biggest disappointment. Well, I can start with one that is very close to my team of coverage, the Minnesota Wilds. As far as disappointment goes,

with all the hype, all the money poured into free agency. all the acquisitions, it has to be the Nashville Predators as the most disappointing team this year. They had so high expectations coming into this year. You get Stephen Stamcoast, Jonathan Marcia Sos to add in with Roman Yossi, UC Soros, a team that a lot of people expected to not only win the Central, but to be one of the top couple of seeds in the Western Conference. And they're on the exact opposite side of the standings, a team that so mightily to score goals this year. And there are no easy answers for what to do

because that is a very top heavy roster. They have sent out several prospects to try to pull in more win now pieces. I don't envy Barry Trots having to try to figure out how to clean that up. and Andrew Burnett is a great coach. I don't know what it means for his future. I know I've been kind of keeping tabs on Locked on Predators a little bit. That's going to be a fascinating offseason to watch for that Predators team. And as far as surprises go, I think maybe the easy answer is the, I don't want to say easy answer,

because I don't know if anybody expected them to be this good. I'm actually going to take a little bit of a left turn, and I'm going to say the Ottawa Senators, putting themselves in position to make the postseason for the first time since 2017, a fan base that is so desperate for postseason play and postseason heroes to finally get the one thing that was holding them back situated,

the goal tend. They are a team that could go in and make some noise on the road for sure. So I know Washington might be probably the number one answer as far as surprise teams go, but I'm definitely going out of Senators. I love what you said about the Ottawa Senators because I've been talking about this for what feels like almost an entire week now in terms of the goaltending between Lenis Olmark and Anton Forsberg. I think right now that is one of the absolute best goaltending duos in the league. you can disagree you can agree to disagree that's your choice but I think

their goaltitting is probably the biggest reason why Ottawa is in the position that they're in and to just take two steps back a little bit I want to answer on Gil's question disappointment and surprise for me in this NHL season so far I want to start with the disappointment and this

one's going to perk up a lot of ears but for me I just feel like Vancouver took a big step back this year. And the reason is because after last season, after getting to round number two against Edmonton, I thought that this year they were buildup on buildup off the success that they had last season. And it's been anything but you have major questions surrounding Brock Besser, what his future is going to look like. And as well as Elias on Pedersen and so forth, people have been

unhappy with both players in Vancouver. And I just think that if you're talking about the Vancouver Connects being a disappointment, I think they certainly have to be in that conversation because I think everyone could say that Vancouver was penciled in to be a playoff team. It's not a lack of talent on this roster, but for whatever reason, things have gone south. And I think all eyes are certainly going to be on Rick Tocke, the head coach, not in terms of him being on a hot seat, but in terms of him and as well as in terms of the front office, what is Jim Rutherford going to do? What is the front office of Vancouver going to do?

So for me, the Vancouver Connectors are up there in terms of the decision. disappointment. Surprises. Oh, man. I'm going to go in terms of NHL surprises this year, a team that I personally did not foresee to

really be a surprise, whether it be contentioned or just an overall better approach, I'm going to go Toronto Maple Leafs. And I know lately a lot of people have been like, well, you've been on this Maple Leaf channel. Like a lot recently, what's up?

I'm like, Here's the thing. I've been watching a lot of Maple Leaf High games this season. Most of the last couple of years, obviously being a diehard Bruins fan. But haven't been making a much more constitutional effort to watch the entire league as a whole. I've been heavily bullish on the fact that I like seeing teams make adjustments in terms of structure, how they're defending in their own end, how they are forechecking and so forth. And what you've seen between Sheldon Keith and as well as Craig Burroughs,

is night and day in terms of the structure. And it's not a coincidence that what you all have also seen is an increase in quality goaltending from both Justin Wohl and as well as Anthony Stalarts as well in that. So for me, I would say Toronto, not because they're a playoff team, no, but defensively. And the structure has given them a much greater chance to be successful. And I think, and I really do think they could make some noise in the playoffs this year. I think they could. You mentioned Vancouver. If you're talking Vancouver as a disappointment, I got to go with the Eastern Conference equivalent, and that's the New York Rangers,

going from the president's trophy winners to out of the playoffs in one year. And the reason I sort of connect Vancouver and the Rangers, those are two teams with, you know, you look at the roster. The talent is there, but they imploded. They self-destructed. There was something in the locker room. There was something about the. chemistry, whether it was the coach, the front office, the players, a combination of those things, where those two teams just imploded and self-destructed. And I mean, even if you didn't expect the Rangers to win the president's trophy again, I don't think anybody really predicted them to be outside the playoffs this year. I couldn't agree more. And Gail, also to your

point. How many of you honestly thought that all four U.S. based original 16 teams would not make the playoffs in the same season? Yeah. Yeah. That doesn't happen very often, does it? It's never happened in the history of the NHL. Well, certainly didn't happen before 1967. And the funny part, too, is like, you look at a couple of those teams, you know, some may say Boston was a disappointment this year. Yeah. You could kind of, like, you could see kind of coming down the mountain. If you're, if you're on the roller coaster and you're kind of coming down the hill,

you can kind of see that coming. Like Pittsburgh, same way is you can just see some of these like signs from the end of last year that they're going to maybe be sliding down the mountain a little bit. But, you know, Vancouver especially, that Pedersen, J.T. Miller were not fighting. We're fighting. That hung over that team. I don't want it. It wasn't even like a rain cloud that, that,

It was a dark cloud. It was a fog. It was a solar eclipse. It permeated the locker room. It permeated on the ice play. And like it just, it's amazing how one little thing like that that everybody insists is not an issue can just torpedo an entire season. And it did. And then, you know, other teams that I would include in the pleasant surprises, you got to go with Columbus, Calgary, Montreal, Montreal. all, you know, these are teams that nobody expected much from, and especially Columbus. I mean, they may not make the playoffs, but what a great story they've been all year. Yeah. And as a Dean Eveson supporter from his days in Minnesota, figured that he would be a guy

that could kind of rally that team together. Obviously, incredibly tough circumstances with the passing of Johnny Goudreau. But he was exactly the type of coach that they needed to just rally everybody together and to get that team playing for each other. And even in position to make the playoffs is an incredible accomplishment. No question. No question. And, you know, you never know. That's one of the beautiful things about the NHL.

There's always surprises, good and bad every season. We've got more to get to here on this episode of the Squad show. We're going to talk a little bit about maybe some of the possible, major trophy winners who deserves to win some of those. We'll have that plus a playoff preview coming up next on the squad. Today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go? Well, between dining out, online shopping and entertainment, it's easy to lose track.

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So first of all, before we get to the trophy winners, guys, how about the biggest story? What do you think was the biggest single story of the year in the NHL this regular? lose season. Ooh, a single biggest one. Man, oh man. There's so many of them, actually.

That's why it's hard to pick one. Seth, you want to give it a stab? Because I'm still trying to pick one. It's hard. I'm going to go with the most recent, that being the great chase by Mr. Alex Ovechkin. And let's just think about how this year

started. And there were concerns as to whether or not Ovechkin was even going to be able to get this done in the regular season. Because Washington, they weren't a great team last year. And you kind of got to the point where you're like, well, are they just going to be kind of trying to get him this when they're not going to be in position to be a playoff team? And they just, they got so hot out of the start. They got so hot out of the gate. such a great season that they've had. And it all of a sudden got to the point where it's like,

hey, he could do this this year. And let's not forget, he broke his leg. He broke his leg during the season. And he still is having one of the best seasons of his career. Maybe not necessarily from like how many goals he's scored, but just how he's looked and what he's done for this team. The fanfare around it, the presentation after it happened, happened. I thought the NHL nailed it. And I think it was just a really, really fun and really

great passing of the torch from Gretzky to Ovechkin. So that is, that is the number one story of the season for me. And it was one that at the beginning of the season, we're like, is he going to need two seasons to get this done? Like, are we going to actually see this happen? And credit to Ovi, all that, that incredible peak. physical condition he keeps himself in, led to him being able to get it done here this year. As for yours truly, as I was making a facial expression a little earlier during the ad read,

because Montreal tied it up against the Blackhawks at the time of this recording. So this is happening live during the recording. For me, it was not a particular player, not a particular team. It was actually the Four Nations. and the success of the Four Nations tournament. Because, listen, like,

Alice Wveshkins, like, surpassing Wayne Greskes is the most gold score in the history of the NHL. Sure, no question. I'm not, no argument there. But are you talking about in terms of league-wide in terms of football, the sport in itself? Man, oh, man. The Four Nations tournament

and the success of the tournament has sparked such a broad, a broad level of debate here in the states where you're talking about like ESPN having conversations on their main main day like timeline shows like first take that you normally don't ever see you got P.K. Suban going up against Stephen A. are debating about NHL versus NBA. This is this is like a cultural phenomenon because we don't have pecking order of sports here in the United States. I mean hockey is not number one but but is it number three? I would say so absolutely. But at the same time, it's like, heck, now I'm willing to go as far as to say that

the Four Nations in itself has created so much of a buzz that hockey has more eyes than it has had probably more than ever before. I'd say it's, I put, I say it's even more successful and more popular than Major Baseball right now. That's what the Four Nations did for hockey in itself. So for me, it's a Four Nations tournament. And to your point, I think most people did not have high expectations going into that tournament. I was like, well, maybe I'll watch a period or two to see what it's like, but I'm not going to be glued to my television for this. And then as soon as I watched a period, I'm like, I'm not turning this off.

That's such a great. That's such a great take because not only did it, not only did it grab the diehard NHL fans, which it was going to anyway. It pulled it pulled fans from other sports. It pulled athletes from other sports. A hundred percent right that it was on the national stage from a talking point perspective. Like this turned everybody's head. And all of the, all of the failings that other All Star games have had over the last 10, 20, 30 years.

The Four Nations face off is the first step in the. right direction for an all-star competition since Major League Baseball said, hey, we are going to make the all-star game determine who has home field advantage in the World Series. That is the biggest thing since, and that is no, that is exactly why everybody was glued to those games is because they just, they just took the competition to another level and it was fantastic. And absolutely. And I, and also to that point in itself, because when the book closes on the 2020, 24, 2025

NHL season. I have to say that for me, that when you look back on it, the thing that I'm going to remember most about the tournament, obviously the championship game between USA and Canada,

but if you had to pick a singular moment, I think you guys never know where I'm going to go. Three fights to nine seconds between USA and Canada in Montreal. That game and that moment wasn't just, it was more than just hockey. It got the entire

sports world like holy crap. What did we watch? This is incredible. Like when you have some of the most popular athletes in the world tweeting during the game like, are you watching this? That

my friend is called the NHL is hot. The NBA is not. So therefore Gary Batman realizes now that the NHL has got to strike while the iron is hot and they're doing that because now my god and i agree with what the point about the biggest thing you can do in terms of an exhibition game or a platform

or whatnot in any pro sport i think this is it and so much so to the point that if you said to me a year ago that it'll be a debate between between whether the nchal should keep the four nations or return back to the all-star game format there was debate there was actual debate for a good couple of weeks after the tournament. So in conclusion, the Four Nations, man, I think you got a whole new galaxy of fans who may, who may not have been passionate, maybe they knew casuals and whatnot, but this is it, but this was it. And to tie both of your examples together, the fact that you had Ovechkin passing Gretzky about a month, a month and a half after Four Nations gave those new hockey fans something to appreciate about the history.

of the game as well. And I think it really was a win-win for the national hockey league. Absolutely. And I think Seth may have either froze or he just may have got a little camera shy. But he's unfrozen. But man, like I think the four nations in itself, I think five, ten years from now, we're going to be looking back on that particular time period in the NHL. that, man, you know what?

What a tournament this was. And it certainly changed the trajectory of the NHL for the better, especially in the United States. Because what was the talking point going into the tournament? Who had become the world's hockey superpower? Canada or United States? And some people scoffed at the United States. I'm like, no, the United States, in my opinion,

has actually caught up to Canada. Canada has been long with standing number one for a while, but the United States, you saw the time that the United States team, had, they were right there. And the championship can help. It even went to overtime in itself. And let's not lie. Regardless of how you feel about

politics, the tension between the United States and Canada right now. Just add it to the sauce. You just add that to the mix and it put another level of intensity on all of this that you just didn't expect six months ago.

Yeah, what was the statistic they used that it was the highest rate non- Stanley Cup final game viewed since it was at least 2016. It was either 2016 or 2014. So you're talking about almost 10 years. Yes. And we're doing this during the middle of the season.

And that many people are still tuning in to watch. The dog games. It was right in the middle of the dog days when everyone's kind of tuning out. So yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. All right. More to get to here on today's show. We're going to look ahead to the playoffs.

Talk about what we can expect there. We've got that coming up on the squad show. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. The NBA playoffs are almost here, and Fanduil is giving new customers an incredible way to get in on the action. Right now, when you join Fanduel and place your first $5 bet, you'll get $250 in bonus bets if your bet wins. That's $250 in bonus bets. I love how Fandul makes betting so easy, whether it's picking my favorite, favorite team are diving into player props from three pointers to steals to assist. Fandul has so many ways to bet your favorite player props. Plus, after the game tips off, you can even combine live prop bets into a same game

parlay for a chance to win big. So don't miss out. Head to fanduel.com and claim your $250 in bonus bets today. That's fandul.com to claim your $250 in bonus bets. All right. Playoffs are starting really soon, just a few days after this episode gets released. I want to limit it to teams that have clinched a playoff berth. So we're going to keep it there. Who do you think has the best chance of pulling off a major upset in the first round?

I got one cooked up already. Go ahead. You go ahead. Oh, man. Why me? I should have kept on. But I did. But no, but in all seriousness,

the team that right now has a best chance to pull up and also based on the teams who have actually clinched. Oh, man. I'm going to go in the Eastern Conference and I'm going to go Ottawa. I'm going to go Ottawa because goaltending. Because right now, if it's in fact going to be a battle of Ontario, would it be like Toronto versus Ottawa? Who's got the advantage in that, Ottawa? I mean, between Linus O'Ma,

who's just barely two years removed after having just won the Vezna and Forrestbrook, who's been a pretty darn good backup goaltender in Ottawa, I like their chances, but also in terms of the young core in Ottawa that have yet to experience playoff hockey, Tim Stutzler, obviously the captain, Brady Kachuk, Josh Norris,

and like just up and down like Batheson like just everyone like I just feel as if that that Ottawa has got the chance to pull up to pull up upset in round number one and plus obviously Toronto if they play Toronto with the stigma of they they are usually first round exits they can't get out of the first round but Ottawa they just they're just built to to surprise some people on advancing into the round number two I because because they haven't clinched yet I think it is Ottawa because I think the senators finally have the goalie that can walk into an opposing building and steal you a series. And that makes a ton of difference. Just ask, you know, just ask the Minnesota Wilds, the year that they were the number one in 2017, heavily favored against the St. Louis Blues.

And Jake Allen stepped into that series and completely stole it for the St. Louis Blues. You've got to have a goalie that can go in on the road and can limit the home team's opportunities, quiet their crowd, and allow you to execute your toil while their fans get frustrated. Linus Olmark's the guy to do that. And it just, it feels like this senator's team has risen above just a, hey, we're just, we're happy to be here. We're happy to be here for the first time and X amount of years. they've risen to the point where it feels like they can make some noise.

All right. Which series are you most looking forward to seeing? And does that include the fourth straight year of L.A. Edmonton? Oh, boy. I'm cooking. I'm cooking tonight. I'm cooking. I will, uh, I'll give you this one.

And it's because of the Miko Ranton angle. This is the year that I, I am glued to Dallas, Colorado because of that very thing. This is a series we've seen previously, and they're two very good teams. And they're two Central Division rivals. But Miko Randen on the other side going into Colorado wearing the Dallas colors, are you kidding me? That is going to be, he is going to get booed off the ice when he's there in Colorado

because of how he left. It doesn't matter what he did as a member of the Aves. The fact that he went first to Carolina and now to Dallas coming into Colorado territory, that series is going to be spicy. That's a good series even without Rant and it's even better now. I was actually going to go with Dallas, Colorado. But I think also if I had to pick one right off the Donald. most looking forward to seeing based on the scenes that's already clenched. Man, I mean, I really was going to go.

I'm going to go to Colorado, Dallas because, I mean, Kings and Oilers, sure, revenge, maybe. But that series has got so many juicy storylines, in my opinion, that I think that you right now, if everything aligns right, for me, this may be the series. You may see two of the very best defensemen in the sport faceoff against each other in Cal McCar. And if he's healthy, Amir Hiskinen. That in itself is must-see TV. I can't, if he's healthy, that's going to be one hell of a matchup. I mean, my God.

And then to add to that, the question marks surrounding the health of Tyler Sagan, on him coming back, healthy. is he going to be ready? I'm excited, man. I'm excited to see how this series is going to shape up, but also goaltending. I like coming back to the goaltending because it absolutely matters.

But if you're going to tell me right now that your potential matchup is going to be between Jake Odinger and McKenzie Blackwood, I mean, you know who knows who's got the advantage in that, and that's Dallas. So for me, it's Dallas, Colorado, there's so many juicy story lines you can pick from that.

You just can't go wrong with. Yeah, I mean, you also got some great, you know, Battle of Florida is very likely to happen. Tampa Bay, Florida. Battle of Ontario is very possibly going to happen. So you got some nice little juicy matchups all up and down. I love the first round. To me, as a fan, especially if my team is not in the playoffs, first round is just, like it's like the first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament.

You could just keep switching channels. There's another really good game on. And after the one you're watching ends, there's another really good game on. And it's just like wall-to-wall excitement for, you know, a week and a half, two weeks in that first round. So I am looking forward to a lot of those different series because Stanley Cup playoffs, I will stand by this.

There is no trophy more. difficult to win than the Stanley Cup. And there is nothing more exciting in sports to me than overtime playoff hockey. And if it's a game seven, by far. Game seven, it's like if you took my blood pressure in the middle of one of those games, they call the ambulance. They take me away because every time you go up the ice, you're holding your breath. Every time the puck leaves your team zone, you exhale.

There is nothing like overtime playoff. hockey and who's going to be the hero and who's going to be the guy who makes that one mistake that cost your team this season. I love the pressure. I absolutely love the pressure. Gentlemen, thank you so much. Seth Tuple, Shukri writes,

always a pleasure talking a little hockey with you. I'm Gilmartin. Don't forget to, well, you know what? I'm going to plug it, Sucri. Thank you for making the squad show your first listen today for your second listen.

Check out the all new locked on. NHL game night every game, every night until a Stanley Cup champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. Find NHL game night on Lockdown NHL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. It's part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Gilmartin. Thank you very much, everybody, for listening to and watching. The NHL Squad will be back next week.