Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins embarrassed on Monday night, have hit rock bottom this season

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

The Pittsburgh Penguins hit rock bottom for this season at least on Monday night and Hunter and Patrick are here to discuss it. They dive into how the Penguins put forth a pathetic effort against the ...Dallas Stars and why enough is enough. They look into potential changes that could come after this loss and why it's still beyond time for this head coach to be let go. They discuss what some potential trades could look like if Kyle Dubas wants to blow up this team and whether the front office has the stones to fire the head coach. They also dive into how the players showed no pushback during that game before looking at what the rest of this week could entail.Link to Taylor's article: https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2024/11/11/penguins-stars-trade-rumors-kyle-dubas-loss-roster-tlhSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Mint MobileTo get this new customer offer and your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to MINTMOBILE.com/lockedonnhl. Disclaimer - $45 upfront payment required (equivalent to $15/mo.). New customers on first 3 month plan only. Speeds slower above 40GB on Unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees, & restrictions apply. See MINT MOBILE for details. Omaha SteaksFrom legendary steaks to mouthwatering desserts and more, save fifty percent off site-wide at OmahaSteaks.com. Plus, our listeners get an extra thirty dollars off with Promo Code NHL and a thirty-dollar reward card when you shop early. Select QuoteGet the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, at SelectQuote.com/LOCKEDONNHL. PrizePicksDownload the app or go to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNHL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. 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.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit 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.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Pittsburgh Penguins made history on Monday night, but not the kind of history that you would like to be making. Hunter and I are going to break down an awful loss to the Dallas stars and more on this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. 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 edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host Patrick Damp. You can follow me on all social media 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. You can give our show's Twitter account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins.
Starting point is 00:00:48 And of course, we appreciate you making this part of your daily routine. And don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcast as well as YouTube. Plus, if you're following us on YouTube, don't forget to hit that notification button so you can be one of the first people to watch our Monday through Friday episodes every single day. And before we get started, today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. You can start the season with a big return on Fandle and new customers can place a $5 bet and get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. Visit Fandul.com to get started. I am back from Mexico for the show. I missed two episodes. I hear that not only the sun roasted me, but Jesse and Hunter also roasted me yesterday.
Starting point is 00:01:36 So I'm all kinds of burned. And so are the Pittsburgh Penguins because, oh, boy, did they get absolutely whooped on Monday night by the Dallas Stars 7 to 1. And as I said in the introduction, according to the preeminent Penguins historian Bob Grove, they set history in that game, giving up six goals in the first period of a home game for the first time in franchise history. So this wasn't just a loss, Hunter. This was complete and utter domination by the Dallas Stars. And it is one thing to lose. It's one thing to be in tight games and realize, okay, this team is not a Stanley Cup contender.
Starting point is 00:02:26 But if you lose 5 to 4, 6 to 4, 3 to 2, 3 to 1, whatever, by a goal or 2 and an empty netter, you'd lick your wounds today and go, you know what, that Dallas Stars team, that's a bona fide Stanley Cup contender. They're one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. We are not. But it's quite another to not only get embarrassed, but get embarrassed on your home ice and have it happen starting three minutes into the game. I obviously did not get to watch this game in real time. I was on a flight back from Dallas, funny enough. So I did not see this game, but I watched the condensed game this morning.
Starting point is 00:03:08 I read all the recaps I could read. I watched the goal highlights and some of the bigger highlights. And this was just not a competitive hockey game whatsoever. This wasn't, oh, the penguins had three or four to five bad minutes or a bad period. and it went as bad as it could go. This game was decided three minutes in. As soon as Dallas took a one-nothing lead, this game was just over. It was over, and there was no doubt who was going to win this one.
Starting point is 00:03:37 And it's an unacceptable effort top to bottom, both from the players to the coaching staff. And I'll even say this one for a little bit, the management, because this is a roster that is just not up to snuff whatsoever. So I'm going to leave it there, Hunter. I know you've got a lot to get off your chest for this one. So the floor is yours. Empty the clip. I mean, again, you want to lose games this year.
Starting point is 00:04:04 Okay, that's totally fine. I expected this team to miss the playoffs. So losing, I expected it heading into this year. But you can't keep getting pathetic performances like these and nothing happens after. This, at least this loss for this season last night is rock bottom so far. That was an embarrassing effort in the first period. Nobody showed up to the rank. Not a single player showed up to the rank.
Starting point is 00:04:31 Maybe Evgeny Malkin actually did. I thought that Viggeny Malkin competed very hard throughout that game. Other than that, even Anthony Bavillier got his goal. I don't really think anyone showed up to the rank last night. The coaching staff definitely didn't show up to the rank. It's funny, when Dallas took a three or four nothing lead, hey, it'd be cool if Mike Sullivan maybe wanted to call time out to calm his guys down. No, it was just ho-hum.
Starting point is 00:04:52 I'm just going to continue with the timeout in my back pocket. You've seen countless coaches do that over the years to try and calm the team down, get them back into it. He didn't want to do that at all. Why? I feel like he doesn't do it nearly as often as he should. And it's so frustrating to me. But seeing the way they defended in this game, after the way they played against Washington
Starting point is 00:05:17 on Friday, which I felt was their best performance of the year, it's just like what the heck I mean that game could have been at least something of a building block for this team the way they were able to beat Washington and be the better team especially in the third period Jesse and I were talking about that
Starting point is 00:05:33 so much during our Monday episode where you know they defended the best they defended in a third period and then that all goes out the window on Monday against Dallas everyone was running around like
Starting point is 00:05:47 headless chickens in their own zone I believe it was the third goal from Mason Marchman yes That one made me laugh out loud, seeing the way that he was able to get behind, both Latang and Grizzlick, they really weren't making any effort to try and play that play, right? It's just like, what kind of effort is that? And Matt Grislyke is not an Antichel defenseman at this point. He could really use quite a few games upstairs at this rate right now.
Starting point is 00:06:09 He's been awful this season, even worse than where he was last year. I think if you were to deal him right now, I don't think any team is calling, considering that how bad he's been. And so it's just a really gross effort. There was no pushback whatsoever. There was no fight in this team. I just wanted to see them try and show some pride. But they didn't even want to do that, Pat. That was what was so disheartening about this loss was that they didn't show any pride.
Starting point is 00:06:36 They didn't show any fight. They just allowed the stars to keep toying with them throughout that entire game. And the stars, they let up those final 40 minutes. They knew the game was over. They were just kind of screwing around, not really. trying that hard in the final 40 minutes. They probably could have gotten to 10 if they really wanted to, and it would have been funny if they did.
Starting point is 00:06:55 But that's not good enough. It's not even close. That is rock bottom for this team this year. And I would not be surprised if Kyle Dubbo starts doing some pretty drastic things to this team. And it could start with the head coach. I mean, I've been out on him for quite a bit now. This is the type of loss that should get him fired,
Starting point is 00:07:12 but though we've been saying that for these last several big losses they've had this year. and even going back to last year at times, I just don't know if the management wants to do it, even though, again, I think they should be doing it. Yeah, and we're going to talk more about Mike Sullivan in the second segment. The thing that I keep coming back to right now is the defensive miscues, because listen, you guys talked about it on Monday.
Starting point is 00:07:38 They put up an absolutely defensive clinic against the capitals in the third period over the weekend. And the thing about that is, Are the caps on the same level as the Dallas stars? No. The caps are a team that's much improved. They're likely to make the playoffs maybe win around, but they're not Stanley Cup contenders. The Dallas stars, on the other hand, bona fide Stanley Cup contenders, they are one of the best teams in the league. And while you expect that, hey, this Penguins team that is doing this retooling on the fly, this kind of, hey, we're going to try to get guys on one year deals, rebuild their value, and then toss them aside, come. the trade deadline, you expect them to at least compete. And they did not compete last night. You mix that with absolute disarray in the defensive zone. And you get last night's result. And I can understand the frustration from some of these players.
Starting point is 00:08:32 I absolutely can. And before we toss to the second segment, which we're going to talk about the head coach as well as some other stuff with the management, this to me is the most embarrassing part. you look up and down this roster. There are no blue, green, whatever you want to call it, rookies. Guys who are new to the NHL, guys who are just getting their feet wet. Yeah, sure, Yowell Blumquist, but he didn't have a whole heck of a lot of help in front of them last night.
Starting point is 00:09:03 But these are guys who have been in the National Hockey League for multiple years. These are guys who have played hockey at the highest level at the pinnacle for multiple years. what kind of effort is that? And I hate doing that as a guy with a podcast who topped out at Division 2 club hockey because I don't have any clue what it's like to play hockey at the professional level. I don't. But you watch that effort last night and just wonder what the hell was that? Because where's the pride?
Starting point is 00:09:36 Where's the effort? And yeah, it's an 82 game season. You have nights where you just go, you know what? We don't have it tonight. night, we'll just burn the boats, burn the tape, and get back at it next game and in practice in the morning. But you come off of a massive win against one of your biggest rivals who is looking like a team that's going to make the playoffs. And then you have a chance to make a statement against a bona fide Stanley Cup contender. And you just don't. You just no show. And to me,
Starting point is 00:10:06 that's one of the more unacceptable parts of last night's loss. It feels like they've had way too many efforts like that this season so far, even outside of this game against Dallas, which I do think for this season so far again, is Rock Bottom. It started opening night against the Rangers where you were completely outclassed. Then you have the game against Edmonton, for example, you were completely outclassed. Vancouver, at least not to start the game, but after they completely outclassed you. Winnipeg after you had a good start. They outclassed you after me. They've been outclassing everyone in the league to start that you're considering they won 14 of their first 15 games and they're looking like a bona fide contender. But you've had all these types of.
Starting point is 00:10:42 of efforts throughout the season. And when does ownership in the front office step in and say, this is pathetic, this is not what we envisioned, and something needs to change, whether it's firing the head coach, making a big Jacob trade, something. You can't keep running this same product out night after night and expect fans to show up. There were fans that left after the first period yesterday, and I don't blame them whatsoever. I feel awful for everyone that went to that game yesterday and got to see that slop and person. That was pathetic. It's one day after the steward's got a big win against the commanders.
Starting point is 00:11:16 The stewardes are flying high this year. The city is at least galvanized by that team and they're trying to bring that over to the penguins and after the penguins had their big win against the capitals, two for two in DC. But how do you bring out that type of effort on home ice against a contender? Something's got to change, man. It probably does. And Hunter and I are going to talk about that. We're going to talk about the head coach as well as a pretty, pretty blistering report from our pal, Taylor Haas, but we will get into that in the second segment when we return. But first, we've got to tell you about a couple sponsors, starting with select quote. The World Series, the Super Bowl, the Olympics. The world's top athletes get to play in these top level sporting events thanks
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Starting point is 00:13:57 All right, welcome back to the Tuesday edition of Locked on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp, joined as always by Hunter Hodes, and we're working our way through what was just an absolutely embarrassing loss for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night. seven to one against the Dallas stars. And like we said, it was absolutely zero contest. This one was decided in the first three minutes. And before we get into the discussion about head coach Mike Sullivan, let's quickly touch upon what our pal Taylor Haas reported late last night following the game on D.K. Pittsburgh Sports.
Starting point is 00:14:36 I'm going to read this verbatim just to make sure that she gets her flowers for this. I don't want to misinterpret anything that she reported. So here we go. She says, a league source told me earlier this week that Kyle Dubas has made it known to other teams that, quote, everyone is available except 87, end quote. And while Dubus has done well to replenish the pool with picks and prospects over the last year or so,
Starting point is 00:15:01 the objective of any near future moves wouldn't be to add more futures. Rather, it would be to acquire actual players back since this isn't a quote, tear it down to the studs rebuild, end quote, yet, as Dubus likes to say, he remains committed to trying to win with at least Crosby. Ownership made that promise to Crosby over the summer that the penguins would be better this season. So that's a lot to unpack. And I get what Kyle Dubus is trying to do here.
Starting point is 00:15:30 I understand that, yes, they want to try to win with Crosby right now. I still maintain my thought process that they're kind of punting on this. season because they're going to have more cap space in the years ahead. Plus, they're going to have some younger guys who are going to be ready to go. But I look at this team's situation, especially with the salary cap. And I don't see how you can move a lot of these guys. Ryan Graves, Tristan Jari, Eric Carlson, those are contracts that will be damn near impossible to move.
Starting point is 00:16:00 And then, yeah, you can maybe try to move Chris LaTang, but we got to be honest with ourselves here. As much as we love them, as good as he's been in his career, his values, pretty low this year. He has not been good for maybe, for more than maybe a couple of games. Eric Carlson, that is a contract that's going to be incredibly difficult to move because he's still got three years left on it and you don't want to be wasting a retainment slot on that contract. 71, yeah, maybe you can move him, but I don't think he wants to. He also has a no movement clause, so he has to agree to it. And I get what he's trying to do. He's trying to light a fire to say,
Starting point is 00:16:38 you guys are all up for sale if you don't figure this out. And maybe that works, maybe it doesn't. But count me skeptical is saying that there's going to be a ton of trades made between now and the trade deadline. He's obviously fed up with how this season is going. I don't even think he personally envisioned the team being this bad through the first month of the season. But I definitely agree with you. I do think he's trying to at least wake this team up saying, okay, if you're not going to play at least a little bit better, I'm just going to have trade calls with teams.
Starting point is 00:17:08 and I'm just going to dangle all of you out there on the trade market. I agree. I don't think of getting himalken is going to get moved. He also has a full no move gone. So he controls where he plays. I don't think he wants to leave Sidney Grosby. He has said so many times in interviews that he wants to finish his career with Sidney Grosby. So I don't think he goes anywhere.
Starting point is 00:17:27 Chris Lattang, I've seen people out there speculate like, oh, I don't think he finishes his career of the Penguins. I have to disagree, honestly. And yes, I know that Latang has been really bad this year. people don't want to talk about it. Everyone's been focusing on Eric Carlson. Chris Latang has been worse than Eric Carlson this year, and I don't really think it's been that close.
Starting point is 00:17:46 Latang skating is completely gone. His offensive production hasn't been there this year. His defending hasn't been there. At least you've gotten some offense out of Eric Carlson. He's made some really strong plays in the offensive zone. It's just his defense is worse this year compared to last year. Latang, his entire game has fallen off. But again, I don't think a lot of people are talking about that,
Starting point is 00:18:06 even though it's true. I don't think he goes anywhere. I also think he wants to finish his career with 71 and 87. I could be wrong. Everyone else, I can understand being on the market, even Eric Carlson, though that's going to be a hard contract. Move, Pat, you know, 10 million. How many teams have that type of space right now to take on that contract? The Penguins also could have to retain in that situation.
Starting point is 00:18:28 It would kind of be a mess of a trade, I think. Lars Eller, he's obviously probably out there. Marcus Pedersen, we've been talking about that for a while. Ricardo Raquel, I'm sure it could be out there as well for the right price. He's been great to start the season. I think you could get a package back that could definitely help you for the future. I'm not really sure that could help you right now because you saw in Taylor's article, they want to get pieces that can help right now.
Starting point is 00:18:51 And it's like, I don't know. You want to keep building for the future, but are you really trying to salvage this season? I just, that Taylor's report was very good. Don't get me wrong. I would never question her reporting. She's one of the best Penguins reporters out there. I'm just kind of questioning Dubis's motive with the traits if he goes down that path because why are you trying to get pieces for right now when you've been talking about this
Starting point is 00:19:14 rebuild on the fly, retool on the fly that can help you next season and in seasons after that. I guess that's where I'm kind of just questioning a little bit. But there was still nothing in that article at least about the head coach. And that's, again, not anyone's fault. I'm sure, again, she did a great job with that article. but there has to come a point in time where enough is enough with this head coach. I really thought heading into this season, they would at least be in the playoff mix but miss the playoffs. This is below expectations.
Starting point is 00:19:47 Someone has to answer for this, and this head coach has not won a playoff series in six years now, and he is well past his expiration date. I understand firing him may not change much about this team with the way they're playing, but you have to try something. He's here way past his expiration date. He's not getting enough out of these players. It looks like the message has gone stale. It's not enough.
Starting point is 00:20:13 And for as quick as Mike Sullivan will probably get another job in the NHL, a change has to be made. I don't know why the front office and the ownership remain steadfast and not doing it. But I feel like after Rock Bottom last night, you got to really do something to shake things up. And I think that would be a really big way to do it. Right.
Starting point is 00:20:36 And here's the thing. I'm mostly with you because what I'm about today is going to kind of go through the gambit here. It's going to sound like I'm hedging. It's going to sound like I'm trying to take both sides of the fence here. Because this is a weird position for the penguins to be in right now. Because I know, and I'll start here. I know everybody loves to sometimes seriously, mostly as a joke, make the point that, hey, in this era of Penguins hockey,
Starting point is 00:21:08 they've fired a coach and gone on to win the Stanley Cup. The difference between then and those points in right now is this isn't a contending team. Those teams in 2009 in 2016, definitely 2009, they were bona fide contenders. 2016, you could see the bones of a contender, though they weren't playing like it. and then they became one. But this time, they're not that. So the problem with that is you fire the coach. What do you really achieve here?
Starting point is 00:21:38 Because this team is not very good. But to that end, this team wasn't built to contend this year. They weren't built to win a Stanley Cup. What they were built to do was be around the margins, sniff around the playoff picture, and send all the guys who help you get to that. point out for futures in prospects and draft picks at the trade deadline. The problem is they're not even doing that. Yes, they're one point out of the second wild card, but that's because the East is a mess.
Starting point is 00:22:12 The East is not very good this year. But at the same time, it's not going to matter if you miss the wild card by two points, but there's six teams ahead of you that have one point or more than you do. So that's the thing that brings me back to, yeah, it's probably time for him to go, is that this team is underachieving, even when it was built to essentially underachieve. Then the other side of it that worries me about this, who do you get to replace him? Because I don't want it to be David Quinn. We've seen what he's done in the league with New York and San Jose. That's a tough one.
Starting point is 00:22:50 I don't see any upside to making Mike Volucci the head coach because I know next to nothing about him. and that's just kind of been his career. And then do you really think that Kirk McDonald is ready to make the jump already to the National Hockey League when his resume is basically a bunch of stops as an assistant coach and an associate head coach in the ECHL and then a bunch of junior teams? And now he's in his first AHL season. I don't see that. So I honestly kind of look at it as he might be the worst best option right now,
Starting point is 00:23:24 unless somebody gets fired over the next couple of weeks that's not Mike Sullivan that you can replace him with. And then I come back to your favorite person if you can go get him. If you can go get Jay Woodcroft and bring him in, I will be more than happy with that decision. But we also have to factor in the idea of this as well for all potential replacements. What are you coming into?
Starting point is 00:23:50 Because this isn't a contending team. They're not really, that close to contending. They're kind of rebuilding, but kind of not. So what exactly are you being brought in here for to be a transitional coach to the next guy, to just be another scapegoat? So, I mean, at the end of the day, I'm in agreement that it's probably time to fire Mike Sullivan, but then I play out all the game theory of what happens after you do, and a lot of
Starting point is 00:24:19 it looks worse. Oh, there's no probably about a bat. It is beyond time, I think, to make it. change here with Mike Sullivan. And I agree David Quinn would not be the answer. I would prefer Volucci over Quinn, but it's really not by much. McDonald is definitely not ready. I agree with you on that. Woodcroft would probably be the best option to come in right now. I kind of feel like he got the bad end of a stick in Edmonton, especially with how they started last season. Their goatting wasn't great. They weren't getting good production. And then he gets let go. And then,
Starting point is 00:24:48 you know, the new coach comes in. Their goaltending is able to be a bit better. And then obviously make David Dryson and Company wake up beyond belief. But he is at least someone that can come in here. He would demand respect, I think, from the star players in this locker room. He's been a successful coach before in the NHL. He doesn't have that long of a tenure as a head coach, but I still think he did a really good job in Edmonton. He would be my first call if you do decide two part ways with Mike Sullivan.
Starting point is 00:25:13 Now, if you want to wait until after the season, for example, Jim Montgomery from Boston could be available. because the Bruins have not been good. But I think right now, even though the ownership group may not want to fire right now and eat that $5 million for the rest of the season and then beyond, I just kind of feel like they might not have any choice after what happened last night. And you saw in Taylor's article, which again was fantastic, her reporting is top notch. Ownership said, oh, we're going to be better this year.
Starting point is 00:25:44 You're not better at all. Because heading into this year, I felt like this team, on paper at least, was close to a playoff team. I didn't have them making it, but I had them in the mix. People are saying like, oh, they're performing like how I expected them to. I think you're lying to yourself if you think that. I really
Starting point is 00:26:02 personally believe that. That's my opinion. I did not see them playing this bad through the first month of the season. This is a, in my opinion, roster wise, roster on paper wise. Similar to the team we saw at the end of last season without Jake Gensel and that team almost made the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:26:20 It's almost, you changed some of the forwards, you brought in Matt Quisloch to replace Bill Joseph, who has obviously been awful. You've gotten good goaltitting from Blumquist and Delkevich has been, you know, at least okay this season. Roster-wise, it's pretty close to what we saw at the end of last season. The team is just performing a lot worse now compared to last season. And while I didn't expect them to be on that heater for this season that you saw at the end of last season, I didn't expect them to be this bad. And I think if some people did, I think they're kind of lying themselves. Yeah, I'm right there with you. And we'll see what happens. If this change gets made
Starting point is 00:26:56 today, we will be back and do a quick episode breaking it all down. But until then, right now, Mike Sullivan remains the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And the season continues because last night was not game 82. We've still got more games to play and we'll have more games to break down. And Hunter and I are going to look at the rest of the week coming up here for the Pittsburgh Penguins real quick. But before we do that, we're going to tell you about our last sponsor and that is prize picks. Prize picks is the best place to get real money sports action with over 10 million members and billions of dollars in rewarded winnings.
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Starting point is 00:28:41 locked on nchl to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup download the app use code locked on NHL and get $50 instantly after you play your play you your first $5 lineup. Prize picks run your game. All right, welcome back to the Tuesday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp, joined as always by Hunter Hodes.
Starting point is 00:29:02 And yeah, as bad as last night felt, as bad as that loss was, the Penguins do still have games to play this week. They will not be using the EA Sports NHL-25, Sim the rest of season button. They are going to have to play more games this year. And this week,
Starting point is 00:29:19 from here on out, this actually could be a little bit of a reprieve for this team. This actually could maybe put them in better positioning because we have seen the trend continue with the exception of the Caps game this weekend. They play non-playoff teams from last year. They beat them. They play play play playoff teams from last year. They lose. And they've got three games coming up against non-playoff teams.
Starting point is 00:29:44 They've got Detroit here in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Then they head to Columbus. on Friday, and then on Saturday, they're back home to play the San Jose Sharks. These are three games, Hunter, that they could win. Yeah, I mean, they've already dominated Detroit at least once this season. They played very well up in Detroit in that game to start the season. That's a game they can definitely win. Columbus, they've been dominating Columbus since numb at this point.
Starting point is 00:30:11 It's pretty rare when Columbus beats the penguins either in Columbus or especially in Pittsburgh. It is extremely rare to see the blue jackets when. in Pittsburgh and then San Jose also one of the worst teams of league. They've been played at least a little bit better lately, but they're still not a very good team. I can see the Penguins winning all three of these games, but I don't really know, Pat, that that's going to tell me that much,
Starting point is 00:30:32 considering that these are non-playoff teams from last year, and these three teams are not that good this season. So even if they win all three games, like, yeah, it's going to be fun to see them winning those games if they do, but I'm still going to be like, eh, I don't really think that's telling me that much, considering how they've struggled a lot against playoff teams from last year.
Starting point is 00:30:51 Yeah, that's the biggest thing is that, yeah, they're playing three non-playoff teams. And we've seen that they have the ability to feast upon those teams this season. But what's it matter? Because when they go actually play teams that made the playoffs last year, look like they might make the playoffs this year, they fall apart. So if nothing else,
Starting point is 00:31:12 you can treat these three games as a building block. If you can get three very solid wins, string them together and you can suddenly find yourself climbing up the standings a little bit and having a little bit of momentum. Maybe it helps out. Maybe it helps you get to a better spot. But then following that, there is absolutely no rest for the wicked because after they finish with San Jose, they get a couple of days off.
Starting point is 00:31:39 And then it's a murderer's row coming to PPG paints arena for four straight. And then it's Tampa Bay. And then you've got two days off. and then you've got a back-to-back one against Winnipeg, who we know is an absolute wagon this year, one of the best teams in the league. Utah, young upstart team that doesn't look too bad, been kind of back and forth all year.
Starting point is 00:31:59 And then you finish this long homestand with the Vancouver Canucks, who you've already had some bad losses against. So we will see, but the penguins will get the opportunity to bounce back tomorrow. And I would like to, at the very least, see them show some pride against. the Red Wings. Go out, do what you did early in the year. You got embarrassed by the New York Rangers
Starting point is 00:32:22 on your home ice. You went and played Detroit. Now this time Detroit's coming to you, but you have a chance to bounce back and it's a place to start. Yeah, you need to show a response. What you did on Monday against the Dallas Stars was putrid. It was an embarrassment to the fans who paid money to go see you at PBG Paints Arena and then a good chunk of the left after the first period. It was pathetic. You need to show some type of a response. responds in that game. Yeah, the film study is not going to be pretty for basically anyone on Tuesday, but you need to have a quick mind, get that out of your system, and need to go out there and bully a team like the Red Wings. You need to go out there and take your frustrations out on
Starting point is 00:33:03 them after the way the stars kind of did it to you on Monday because the stars have been kind of up and down to start the season. They're still very much a bona fide contender in my mind, but you can see they were taking their frustrations out on the Penguins in that game on Monday. I need to see the same thing for the Penguins reverse wise to the Red Wings in this game on Wednesday. For sure. And we will get you set for that game with a brand new episode tomorrow when we come back. But that is going to do it for the Tuesday edition of Locked-on Penguins.
Starting point is 00:33:33 For Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you, as always, for tuning in. And we will return with a fresh episode for you on Wednesday. Until then, if anything happens, maybe we'll come back. Maybe we won't. But we'll see what happens throughout. the day but for now thanks as always for tuning in and we will talk to you on wednesday

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