Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins DOWN DEVILS and prepare for a weekend back-to-back

Episode Date: February 27, 2026

The Penguins picked up where they left off before the Olympic break, getting a massive two points against the New Jersey Devils! Patrick and Hunter begin the show recapping an up-and-down win over the Devils, which saw the Penguins start slow but find their game throughout. A lot of the effort is credited to goaltender Arturs Silovs, who made several key saves to keep the Penguins in the hunt until they found their legs in the third period. (0:00) Then, the Penguins will begin a weekend back-to-back in New York City, where they'll take on the worst team in the East, the New York Rangers. For the Penguins, they have to take advantage of a down Rangers team, and that begins with getting to goaltender Igor Shesterkin. (15:04) Finally, the Penguins wrap up the weekend at home, taking on the Vegas Golden Knights. As always, Vegas brings a strong team to Pittsburgh, but there is one weakness the Penguins will have to exploit. (27:11)  Everydayer ClubJoin the Everydayer Club for ad-free audio, access to our group chat on Discord, and more. Use code DEADLINE ahead of the trade deadline for one month free. Tap here to learn more: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Indeed Now, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Use your Profit Boost on an NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA Finals. Play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started. 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.

Dad's strength was the name of the game on Thursday night for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they skated to a four to one victory in their return after the Olympic break. Hunter and I are going to break that game down and get you set for the first of many weekend back to backs right after this. You're locked on penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. Welcome in to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your hosts, Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms at Synonym 4 Wet. Joined as always by the one and only my co-host Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes.

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to the NBA finals. Play your game with Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Hunter, the penguins picked up right where they left off before the Olympic break. A four to one win over the New Jersey Devils wasn't as easy as some of their pre-Olympic victories. It took them a little while to get up to speed, but once they did,

the Devils did not have an answer for the Penguins. So let's start there. It was a bit of a sloppy first two periods for the penguins between some mistakes, a little bit of a lack of effort in a way and a parade to the penalty box in the second period. But the penalty kill once again was flawless. The penguins found their legs in the third period. And then they just took it to the devils for the final 20 minutes. Yeah, this game is the classic game where your goaltender bought you enough time.

to really find your game. And that is exactly what happened at a third period, where the only reason why that was a tied game going into the third was because of the play of R.D. Shilovs. He was keeping them in it, making 10 Bell save after 10 Bells save. I was not liking the way the penguins were defending in front of their net. I felt like they were kind of handling the puck, like a grenade, for a good chunk of the 40 minutes, especially Pat, in the middle frame.

I liked the first 10 minutes of the first period. And even though the Penguins scored in the latter half of that first period, I was like, the devils are starting to tilt the ice a little bit. The Penguins are up 1-0 going into the first intermission. Second period did not like their game at all. You could tell the penguins were very rusty, obviously had not played in three weeks.

And again, they weren't handling the puck well. They weren't exiting the zone cleanly. The Devils were getting too many clean looks in front of Artie Shilovs. But thankfully, he was there to make all the saves. He was really good for the Penguins last night, was probably their best player,

if I'm being honest. And again, he bought them enough time for them to really find their game in the third. And you saw that. They skated the Devils right off the rake in the third period. They finally got to their forechecking game. And they utilized quick strike offense in that third. Once the Penguins made it 3-1, you saw it on the devil's players faces back. Like they kind of knew it was over two quick ones against them.

They had played the night before. It'll have taken a Herkulean effort for them to really come back, just considering they were on the second. an half of a back-to-back with travel and the penguins were able to skate out the rest of the game with relative ease. But I just really like the way that she lost played and I really like the way that the penguins forwards and the defensemen, I should say, too, were able to elevate their game in the third period.

They kind of shook, shook off the rust in the first couple of periods. Then they got to their game in the third. And I want to see that carryover into Saturday's game against the Rangers. That'll be huge. And we will get to the Rangers game in a little bit. as well as the Vegas game on Sunday afternoon, both are weekend afternoon games. So buckle up.

We've got some early hockey coming this weekend. But you touched on something that I noticed was a bit of a theme throughout the game in fits and spurts. It was really good in the third period. But I thought the beginning of the game, it was really good as well. The Penguins forecheck in their puck pressure early on in the first period and then throughout the entire third period was really good.

They were really forcing the devil's defenseman into making mistakes. They were forcing turnovers, turning it into offensive opportunities. And that was a really, really good sign early and then to end the game. Because when this penguin's team with or without Sid is at its best, they are creating turnovers. They are relentless on the puck. And a lot of that is born from puck support. And especially in the third period,

whenever somebody in a white jersey had the puck, there were at least two yellow sweaters surrounding that player. And it was really helping the penguin's offense. So thought that was something that once they really started to get back to it consistently was a huge positive in their game. We also got to mention the two new dads, like I said at the top. Igor Chinikov and Blake Lazot, both in their first games since becoming dad's score goals.

Igor Chinakov simply cannot stop scoring a great pass from Hvgeny Malkin to spring Chinikov behind the devil's defense. Chinikov with an unreal move to finish off the play. Speed for days there, by the way. He just blew right past everyone in the neutral zone going into the offensive zone. Made no mistake. Don't ever separate him in Evgeny Malkin, please. No, that duo is paying dividends.

ends and they have instant chemistry. It only continues to build. And then Blake Lazotte was as usual a monster all night, both in the defensive zone, on the penalty kill and just in general. And he gets rewarded with an empty net goal to seal the victory. But the main thing we got to talk about here from the game against the devils is what you said, the play of Arter Shilovs. I said it on yesterday's show.

It was going to be a genius move if it worked. It was going to look really stupid if it didn't. Shilovs was sharp, especially when he needed to be in the middle frame. The penguins were not playing well. They seemed lifeless. They were careless with the puck. The defensive zone coverages were sloppy. And every time they needed him to bail them out, he bailed them out,

kept them on an even keel throughout the second period, giving them the opportunity to win them. the game in the third period. Yeah, again, he bought them in enough time to really get into this game. It was a tie game going into the third. Someone must have said something during the second intermission because it was not a pretty second period to say the least, but Penguins, Forge, Shrekers, they really just went out there and kicked the devil's asses in the third period.

So, you know, Shilov continued to play really good in that period, too. Just a really nice start from him in general coming off the Olympics where he obviously represented team Latvia. I also thought before the Olympic break, outside of one goal against the Sabres, he was pretty good. So, Shilong's riding quite a bit momentum right now going into the month of March, and they're really going to need him here down the stretch. One last thing, Pat, and I'd be remiss if we did not bring him up. Ben Kindle was absolutely sensational, once again, from basically shrugging off Nico Heeshier,

turning him into a pile on which, hey, man, Nico Heeshier, when he's on, is one of the best two-way centers in the league today. Ben Kendall just made him look like a joke during a sequence early in that game. Set up a really nice chance. A couple periods later, there was a three-on-one, had another really nice pass, leads to a chance. He was all over the ice. I know he wasn't on the score sheet, Pat,

but his fingerprints were all over this game. He was magnificent once again. He continues to get better on a nightly basis. He also continues to do things that just fly, out surprise me. Like, you shouldn't be doing this as an 18 year old picked outside the top 10, but he's just doing it. And with ease, he was once again fabulous for this team. And again, they are really going to need him here down the stretch. I think that break is going to do him wonders for the final stretch run here of the season. Agreed. It could not have come in a better time

for Ben Kindle, especially considering he is going to face a workload and an intensity level that he's really not used to from his time in juniors. This will be. a big culture shock. But even with that said, watching his game last night, if this continues and Sid remains out of the lineup, it might be time to give him a shot on the top line as your 1C in place of Ricard Raquel. I like Raquel. His game was fine enough last night, but it just seemed like a little, it seemed a little off, is what I would say. I didn't hate his game. I didn't think he played poorly. But if Kindle continues this strong stretch of play, I would love to see him get a shot on that top line as the teams one C for the time being. But huge win for the penguins,

a big, big two points that they need as pretty much everybody that is chasing them that they are in the race with also got victories on third. Except Columbus. The penguins are now seven points up on them right now. And I don't mean to cut you off there. It is just so difficult. this time of year to make up that type of ground when there's only about a month and a half left this season. So the fact that the Penguins won that game and Columbus lost in regulation, that's really big. You're also five points up on the cap rolls right now with three games in hand. You win those three games in hand if you're 11 points up on Washington. They're in a really good spot right now, the Penguins. You just have to keep chugging along, treadwater until Sid comes back,

and then hopefully you can finish this thing off and get into the playoffs. Only bad result last night, Pat, was the Islanders who are just cockroaches. They just don't go away. They're about to lose late. They tie the game off of Lucky Bounds. Oh, and then J.G. Paggio wins the game in overtime. That team again is just Michael Myers. They have like 900 lives.

Yeah, they just never go away. So that is going to be the team to keep an eye on as we go through this playoff race. But before we even worry about playoff races, before we worry about who's, in the standings. Two huge games coming up this weekend for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And it starts on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. And there is a lot to be talked about when it comes to the New York Rangers. So stick with us.

We're going to get into the Rangers and preview that game when we come back right after this. But first, we've got a couple of sponsors we've got to get to. And first is our friends at Indeed. Workplace chaos, deadlines stacking up, inbox is overflowing, and the one position you still need to fill still sitting open. When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed, sponsored jobs help you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for, skills, experience, and location. So you're not just hoping that the right candidate somehow stumbles upon your job opening. And here's a stat that says it all.

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afternoon hockey. At least I do. And I'll say this just to get the nerd out of the way. Tomorrow night, WWE elimination chamber in Chicago at 7 o'clock. So I get my Penguins hockey and my wrestling on a Saturday. It's going to be a big day for your boy. But the more important thing on this podcast is obviously the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers at 1230 on ABC at Madison Square Garden and Buddy the Rangers are just they're a mess. They have already waived the white flag. Find you someone

who loves you the way the New York Rangers loves sending letters to their fans to tell them that they're going to be rebuilding because that's what they did. And here's the big story out of the day for the Rangers. We could talk about the hockey, but I think at this point people know who the Rangers are. Adam Fox, he does not seem happy in the wake of the team USA snub at these past Olympics. I think that's definitely part of it.

I think another part is obviously the way the season has gone. And remember, Adam Fox basically forced his way to the Rangers as much as he could. He grew up a Rangers fan. He wanted to play for that organization. He has fulfilled his lifelong dream. but I think he has seen the direction that they're going down and he may not want to do a retool slash a rebuild and you saw that answer he gave to the media

last night where you know that's a question for the offseason man if he asks out you're probably going to see half the league if not more call the Rangers about Adam Fox he is that good of a player um the vibes are not very good and heck you saw that before the Olympic break pat and yeah I know the penguins were kind of messing around a little bit at the end of that third period, not playing well defensively in front of Skinner. That game should have been a blowout.

But, you know, when the penguins were really taking it to the Rangers during that game, you saw the body language, man. That was a team that had already accepted defeat, you know, well before a couple of those garbage time goals, you know, they're just kind of phoning it. And it feels like for the rest of the season, I was watching that game against the Flyers last night. I was a pure sicko. I watched part of that Rangers Flyers game, especially that,

overtime. They couldn't win the game off a power play. J.T. Miller was stuck out there. He tries to somehow make a play on Matt Mae Michkov. And Meachkov just said, yeah, I'm going right around you. You're obviously gassed. And the players were able to win that game. But even with Foxback, even with Schisturiken back, both will be playing on Saturday against the Penguins. There's a sole Rangers team that is the worst team in the conference. They're one of the worst teams in the league. This has to be two points here. The Penguins, much like the game against Jersey. You have to get these points against these teams lower than you in the standings before your gauntlet of a schedule starts on Sunday against Vegas. And then you're playing,

obviously, what is it? Basically 17 games and 31 days. Something very crazy. I believe that is actually what it is, by the way. It's really nuts in the month of March. But you got to be able to win that game against the Rangers. It's a team that has nothing going for them. They're going to be starting more of their sell-off here pretty soon. I think so on like Trochik is going to get moved. Wouldn't be surprised as well if they try to dangle a lot for a year, but that also could very well be a summer thing. Actually, I'll probably lean that towards more being a summer thing.

But you're going to see them make more moves over the next week. So when you have a team pretty down like this, you want to keep them down there. So it has to be two points. You look at some of the Rangers underlying, you know, bottom of the league in terms of, you know, below average and a five-on-five expected goal share, below average in terms of goals for per game. defensively they've been struggling. She Sturkin tries to cover it up whenever he can and he's back healthy now,

but even one of the best goaltenders in the world can only do so much. So this is a team that has just been, again, the vibes are rancid there, much like New Jersey and the Penguins need to take advantage of that. They really do. And the one thing that the penguins have been able to do against the Rangers in three meetings this season is score three or more goals against the Rangers. Outside of the other game. Well, yeah, it was a, it was.

a three nothing win, then obviously had the six one win. And then the six to five win. So this is the final last, but yeah, go ahead. Yeah, this is the, this is the final meeting between these two teams. Yeah, I mucked that up. So just for accuracy's sake, let's put it this way. They win three nothing. They lose six to one and then they win six to five. So in two of these three previous meetings, they have been able to get three or more goals past the Rangers. And for all of the ills that the New York Rangers have. They still have Igor Shastirkin, who is for my money,

one of if not the best goaltender on the planet. So you still always have that great equalizer. And the thing I always stress is that this is the national hockey league. Even the most woeful teams find a way to win a few games here and there. So the penguins can't go into this lightly. They can't walk in and think, ah, it's the Rangers, it's our old coach. They stink.

They're in doldrums. There's going to be an easy two points. You've got to show up and you got to take it to them. Much like New Jersey, they didn't do this against the devils on Thursday night, but they're going to have to find a way to do this against the Rangers. You've got to get to them early because they're down. The vibes are awful. You get a quick one on them.

You take it to them early. This is a team that is going to, as they have already on the season as a whole, put up the white flag. So I look at this team. Obviously, Mika Zbenajad is having a really nice resurgence of a year, 23 goals, 52 points. Vincent Trocheck, long an enemy of this podcast when we talked to Olympics. He's having a solid year, 12 goals, 37 points on the back end. Obviously, they've got Adam Fox back, 28 points this year in 31 games.

Gavakov with 21. And as the aforementioned, Igor Shasturkin, somehow, with this team, a 912 save percentage and a 2.47 GAA. So the one thing that you got to do with Igor Shisterkin, and this is the fourth lines calling card, get in his face. Yeah. Because like Henrik Lundquist before him,

supremely talented, one of the best goalies around, but he does not like people in and around his crease, and he will get a little hot-headed if you get in his face. Yeah, he does not like traffic in or around his crease. He'll, you know, start getting antsy. He'll start trying to get you out of the way, you know, do a couple of moves where it's like, oh, I see what you're trying to do there, Igor. But if you get in his grill, you get in his kitchen, you'll have an opportunity to get, you know, at least two past him, if not maybe a little bit more. But that's going to be the key. Also, you know, getting him moving side to side.

You don't really, you don't want him just sitting there and gobbling up shots because he will do that all day. every single day he is that talented of a net minor. So yes, definitely traffic in front, deflections. Also, especially you've had it, the Penguins get some power plays in this one, look for some deflections in or around the net front. And also another thing, can the Penguins stop taking all these penalties, man?

They've been taking too many penalties as of late. It's not even just a, you know, a one-off against the devils. They're just being too careless with their sticks, just too careless with infractions in general. That has to change for this game. And just going forward. as well. Right. As nice as it is that the penguins have the second best penalty kill in the league, you can't keep playing with that fire. You have to avoid that. Obviously, it's nice to have a really

good penalty kill, but in an ideal world, you don't want to have to deploy it as much as the penguins have as of late. Yeah, I agree with you on that. Just stay disciplined. That's the really big thing. And yeah, I know the Rangers are not very good this year, but their top power play unit can still be deadly at times. Fox, Sabinajad, they'll put Trocheck out there, Miller, Lafranier. They still have talented players, but you just don't want to be taking too many penalties in general. There was one last thing I wanted to bring up just to end this segment.

I was listening to 32 thoughts this morning, and Friedman kind of dropped a subtle hint that a couple of teams have told him that Pittsburgh has kind of checked in on Vincent Trocheck. I'm good on that one. It just seems like the total opposite of the type of player that Kyle Dubus has been going after for the last year, year plus. You're also going to have to give up, you know, more than I think you can for a player like this. And you also have the Metropolitan Division tax. I just, I don't see that.

I think I see him going to someone like Minnesota or Detroit. So for me on that one, Pat, just real quick, I'll pass. Yeah. Yeah, if he was a pending UFA or had one, maybe two years left on his deal, I could be talked into it from a depth standpoint. Or if the price was a lot lower, maybe, but they're going to ask for quite a bit, I think, for this return. But you look at Trocheck, he's 32, 5.625 against the salary cap through the 28, 29 season.

And I wouldn't be surprised if Dubus checked just to see. Yeah. But I don't see the Rangers retaining salary on that. I don't see them wanting to give him up for very little. And just that cap hit in his age, it doesn't really fit what the penguins are doing. I imagine he probably said, hey, I'm in if you're going to retain and highly doubt that they're going to do that with Vincent Trochecks. So they may have checked, but I don't. see it being something that they're going to actively pursue at this moment because it,

like you said, really doesn't fit the model of the kind of player that Kyle Dubas has been targeting up to this point. But Penguins and Rangers Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden 1230 p.m. You can catch the game on ABC. And that is not the only afternoon game that the Pittsburgh Penguins will play this weekend. They will be back home on Sunday at one of where they will take on the Vegas Golden Knights. We will get you ready for that game when we come back right after this. But we've got one more sponsor to get to before we do that, and that is our friends at Fandall.

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bets, not a big betting guy, but when I do, it's always futures because who doesn't like to look smart in hindsight, you get that futures bet right and you show everybody, hey, I can tell the future and you got the chance to do that with an NBA futures. bet. And now not only can you pick cash, you can also get a chance to be entered to win a trip to to the NBA finals. Visit fandle.com to get started. Use your profit boost on an NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA finals. Play your game with Fandul, the official betting partner of the NBA. Rapping up the Friday edition of Locked on Penguins, I'm Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes and two weekend afternoon games. The Penguins

back at home at 1 o'clock against the Vegas Golden Knights at PPG Paints Arena. That is another nationally televised game, by the way. This game will be on TNT as well as HBO Max. So that's where you can find that game. And we go from a team in the Rangers who has waved the white flag on their season to a contender in the Vegas Golden Knights. But the big difference for me, Hunter, is New York Rangers have Igor Shisterkin. and if there is a weakness on this Vegas team, it is in net.

Akira Shmead, 16, 6 and 6 record 2.53 goals against average 895 save percentage. Aiden Hill 5 3 and 3rd, 3.34 GA 865 save percentage. And Carter Hart, who has a 5 and 3 record and an 871 save percentage in those starts. So for the Penguins, it's a very, deep Vegas Golden Knights team, talent up and down the lineup like they always do. But if there is a weakness, again, it's in net. It is, yes.

There are four goalies combined this season, played 588 games. Their four goalies combined have an 881, say percentage this year. That is the big advantage of the Penguins will have. No matter who starts in net, if I had the guess, and this is a strict guess, we'll see if I'm right or wrong. I think Skinner goes against the Rangers. and I think they're going to go Sheelovs against Vegas, though. Maybe I'm wrong, and they'd go the opposite.

But both goalies are going to get games for the Penguins this weekend. And Penguins, no matter which goalie, they start on Sunday against Vegas, that goalie will have the edge over whoever Vegas starts just because of how poor Vegas's goaltending has been. You look at some of their metrics this year, Vegas, sixth in the league, and five-on-five expected goal share. So they're generating chances, but they're also only 16th in actual goals for. So they're not finishing as many chances as.

they are generating. However, this is still a really deep team. Yeah, I know. They have 14 loser points as well. They've gone to a lot of overtime games this year, but they're also a playoff team. When that team is humming, they got four scoring lines and they defend well. Again, that's when they're humming at least. They've been inconsistent throughout the season, but when they turn it on, they're a really scary team. And they play peak Bruce Cassidy hockey when they're on their A game, which is shut down defense in the third when they have a lead, just pure suffocation, and he's rolling all four lines. You know, Jack Eichol's been fantastic this season.

21 goals, 68 points in 50 games. I think he has turned into one of the best two-way centers in the league over the last few years. Mark Stone, the psychopath, as I call him, he's been unreal. 21 goals and 60 points and 41 games. Mitch Marner has been a great fit for them. He's at a point per game. Tomas Hurtle has 22 goals. And how about Pablo Doref, man?

He has 28 goals this season in 58 games. What a fine he has been for Vegas ever since they got him. Ivan Barbishev has played well. Obviously, former penguin Riley Smith has 10 goals this year. If you want, if you're a betting man, if you're a betting man, maybe put something down for a former penguin scoring against the penguin since that's happened quite often over the years. But again, when this team's on, they're really scary.

So this is going to be, you know, the first true test. to start the month of March, excuse me, and how fitting it is that it's on March 1st. So again, this is going to be a really, really fun game. Got to slow down Eicholan Stone. Got to try to slow down Marner. Defensively, you know, obviously I know everything that happened with Patrangelo really stinks, but they still have Shay Theodore there. They traded for Rasmus Anderson, Noah Hanifan plays in their top four,

Brandon McNabbas on the bottom pair. I still like this defensive group quite a bit. and when they get to the playoffs, they're going to still be a really, really tough out. But this will be a big test, especially on the second half of the back-to-back, when Vegas is waiting for them in Pittsburgh. That's also going to make it tougher.

Again, if you split this weekend, that's a successful week for me, going into next week where you're also playing a lot of really good team. So I think overall for the week, as I said on Monday, you get four out of six points. That should be good. Anything more, it's almost like a bonus in a way. but that Vegas team, when they're on, they're tough.

Right. Banking those two points against the Devils was crucial. You have a chance to do that again on Saturday against a pretty bad Rangers team. Yeah. You put those four points in the bank. You come home against Vegas and no pun intended, it's house money. If you are able to scratch a point out of it or even two, that's even better. But playing this Vegas team with this much talent as they're waiting for,

you in Pittsburgh is going to be a pretty big lift. And it honestly, this weekend for the penguins, they're going to have to probably play some boring hockey because you're going on the road for a 1230 game at Madison Square Garden against a bad Rangers team. You don't want to try to have a game where their top talent is getting all these looks and getting all these opportunities. you want to kind of just squeeze the life out of the New York Rangers and get a win. And then when you come home on a second half of a back-to-back with travel, you want to play a simple game, especially against the talented team like Vegas.

And as I said, with their struggles and goal, it's the kind of team where you capitalize on their mistakes and make them play catch-up because it will lead to more mistakes. So for the Penguins this weekend, And Saturday is pretty much a must win if you want to keep yourself in the position that you're in. And then when you get to Sunday, you play the right kind of game. You can sneak a point or two out from Vegas. So this is, but like you said, very talented Vegas team, both at forward and on defense.

So this will be a big, big challenge for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Once again, that game, 1 o'clock on TNT at PPG Paints Arena. And of course, Hunter and I will be back on Monday to recap all of these games, cover any other news that might happen between now and then, which reminds me, we forgot to mention this in the top segment. We are so excited about the New Jersey Devil's victory. But Samuel Gerard, welcome to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was not at practice on Friday because he is being about.

for an injury. So officially a Pittsburgh penguin. Yes, he is. And he blocked a ton of shots during Thursday's game. So he's being evaluated. Damu said after practice today that he is traveling with the team to New York. So I imagine he's going to be a game time decision. We'll find out probably right around warmups if he is going to play in this one.

But the fact that he's traveling doesn't sound like it's super serious. Just hope that he's all good because, you know, one game in and he's already being evaluated for an injury. Very Pittsburgh Penguins like that. Officially a Pittsburgh penguin. But that is going to do it for the Friday edition of Locked-on Penguins. Thank you, as always, for tuning in. Hunter and I, as I said, will be back on Monday, and we will talk to you then.