Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins get a weekend split, stay alive in the playoff race

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to split this weekend's back-to-back and stay alive in the playoff race even though it's unlikely that they'll make the playoffs. Hunter and Pat start the show with their thoughts on the game against the New York Rangers and how the Penguins' offense showed up but everything else lacked. They dive into how poor the team was defensively and how Tristan Jarry didn't have his best. That said, they do get into some positives, including how Sidney Crosby woke back up after a small slumber. They also analyze how Valtteri Puustinen continues to play super well and how he's earned a spot on the team for next year. After that, they break down the win against the Detroit Red Wings and how the Penguins dominated them from start to finish. They shout out the new third line, plus give Crosby his flowers again for his performance before ending the show with a look at the week ahead.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.IndeedIndeed knows when you’re growing your own business, you have to make every dollar count. Visit Indeed.com/LOCKEDON to start hiring now. RobinhoodRobinhood has the only IRA that gives you a 3% boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robinhood Gold. Now through April 30th, Robinhood is even boosting every single dollar you transfer in from other retirement accounts with a 3% match. Available to U.S. customers in good standing. Robinhood Financial LLC (member SIPC), is a registered broker dealer.SleeperDownload the Sleeper App and use promo code LOCKEDONNHL to get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. Terms and conditions apply. See Sleeper’s Terms of Use for details.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelNew customers, join today and you’ll get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON 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.

The Penguins got a weekend split against the Rangers and the Red Wings, and Pat and I are going to discuss that, plus a lot more 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. Hello, welcome back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your hosts, Hunter Hodes.

You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. joined by my co-host Patrick Damp. You can follow him on Twitter at Center for Wet, and you can follow the show's Twitter at L.O. UnderSwar Penguins, of course, thank you all so much for making this. Your first list and slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms.

And finally, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make Every Moment More. Right now, new customers get $200 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $200 if your bet wins. Visit fandul.com slash locked on to get started. So the Penguins get two out of a possible four points during this weekend's back-to-back. They lose seven to four to the New York Rangers before blowing out the Detroit Red Wings at home,

six to three. We're going to start with the Rangers game for this one. That game happened on Saturday at PBG Paints Arena. And the Penguins came out like a house on fire. John Ludwig gets things started really quickly, one-nothing lead. But then the Penguins give up two really quick goals to go down to one. They're able to tie it. Rangers go back up three-two.

Penguins are able to tie it up again. That was a crazy first period, man. nonstop action back and forth, no defense between either team. But in the end, the Rangers were able to score seven goals and win this game. I actually liked the way the Penguins played offensively in this game. They generated quite a few chances. They had Jonathan Quick flopping around like a fish in his net, but they really gave it back in their own zone.

I was not happy with the Penguins defensive effort in this game. I thought Ryan Graves, especially at times, was out of position. You saw Sidney Crosby going behind the net for the Rangers' second goal. just going for a skate there for some reason, and then letting Adam Fox come in, very unimpeded. I also would like a save there from Tristan Jari. And speaking of Jari, I don't really think he played that well in this game either.

I think it's a combination of both the Penguins' lack of defensive awareness in their own zone and Jari giving up a couple of softies that really doomed the penguins in this one. Again, I like the chances that they created and they were able to get contributions from, like everyone in their lineup. but the way they play defensively and the goaltending they got, that's not good enough against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and in the NHL as a whole. Shout out to the Penguins and Rangers for really keeping up the spirit of St. Patrick's Day

in Pittsburgh on Saturday, because I said it on Twitter during the first period. I mean, that game needed to mix in a water because that was going hard right from the drop of the puck. But yeah, no moral victories this time of year, especially with where the penguins are and where they have been all season. But overall, I mean, you're playing one of the best teams in the National Hockey League, and I think you played a very strong game, all things considered. Yes, I'm with you.

Defense that game, very suspect. That is not a game that is going to go on Tristan Jari's highlight reel because he was not good. There were a couple of goals where, yes, there were defensive breakdowns in front of him, and the team was not great in the D zone. But again, we said it before. Eventually, you have to ask your $5 million goal tender to make a save. And I think he's given himself enough runway this season that we can not hit the concerned button just yet. But let's not make any mistakes about it.

Our hands are hovering over the panic button when it comes to Tristan Jari for the last few weeks. because while I don't think he's been a disaster, there are some warning signs flashing on the proverbial dashboard right now when it comes to Tristan Jari. But overall, like you said, you get contributions from up and down the lineup, Valteri Pustinen scores, Lars Eller scores, Brian Rust scores,

and they didn't back away from the challenge again. We talked about this last week. One of the things that have doomed this penguin's team so far this season, this season is that any time things seem to go poorly, they implode. They completely collapse. And they kept punching back against the Rangers, so to speak. And let's not get this twisted. We may dislike the Rangers.

They may be a huge rival, but games got to recognize game. They have the second best record in the National Hockey League. They are playing some kind of hockey right now. And that would have been a game where you could have very easily packed it in and gone, You know what? Not our day. This team's too good. We're not good enough.

Pack it in. We'll go get Detroit tomorrow. And sure, they lose 7 to 4. I'm going to say 6 to 4 because empty net goals are empty net goals. But they stuck with it. They played hard. They gave the Rangers a challenge through three periods. And again, no moral victories this time of year because I know people are going to laugh at it,

but they are in a playoff race right now. And along with that, it's what you and I have been saying. We wanted to see fight from this team. We didn't want to see him go quietly into the night. We didn't want to see them pack it up with a month ago and say, you know what, we're done this season. We're not making the playoffs. So we're just going to go through the motions every night and just get through this

season, get to the off season, let Kyle Dubus make his changes, and we'll try it again next year. So I like their effort. Defense was suspect, goaltending was suspect, but overall the effort was there. The fight was there. And they took it to, not took it too because they lost, but they took the fight to a team that you might have expected them to lay down against. One of the biggest things that I notice this weekend overall is that this team still very much cares this season. They're not just going to pack it up and try to lose every game at this point.

They know that the task is daunting and that, you know, it's very unlikely that they get in, but they're still not seeing it that way. They still feel like they have a puncher's chance of getting in and they still play teams that are ahead of them later on this season because, you know, those are four-point games and you have to win those games, especially in regulation. They play the Devils this week. We'll get to that a little later on in this episode. They saw the Capitals one more time.

They got the Devils a little later on this season again. As well, they have the Red Wings one more time as well. But they still feel like they have a puncher's chance. And they showed to me at least that they still really much care about this season overall. But just going back to the Ranger game in general, it just felt like to me that every mistake they were making ended up in the back of their net. Ryan Graves sliding down on that odd man rush with Vince Trocheck and Artemian Panarin. I don't want him to slide down there in that situation. Just play the puck with your

by sliding down. You're giving Trochec a free lane to get that saucer pass over, and that's exactly what he did. And then you have the other Panarin goal. This was late in the second period, the Penguins and Rangers are tied. And Jari's not able to cover the puck up. That's a mistake. Boom, puck's in the back in the net because Pernarin pounces on the rebound. And then I know you have that really bad penalty by Latang. That was a joke of a call, by the way. I don't know why they even called on Sports Month Conduct on them, but you can't take that many penalties against the Rangers when they have one of the top 10 best power plays in the league. You also have even the tying goal to make it 1-1 earlier on in the game.

Jimmy Visi, really nice pass over to Capo Caco, but I still don't want that pass going through in general. I already discussed my complaints with the Adam Box goal, letting him walk down Main Street, unimpeded. Just too many mistakes defensively, too many mistakes from Tristanjari really doomed to the penguins in this game, even though for the most part, especially offensively, I thought they played well. They were generating quite a few chances.

Valterrey Pustin had another great game. He deserves to be on this team heading into next season. Lars Eller has continued his really strong season. I thought Sidney Crosby, after that play around the net where he kind of went for a skate, he woke up in a big way after that beautiful pass to Brian Rust for that tie and goal. And he carried that play into the game against the Red Wings. those were his two best games in the last two weeks. And that's really important to me,

just because you've been talking about it. So have I. He's been a bit of the rut this last week or two. You can tell that the Gensel trade really affected him. You can tell where the penguins are in the standings has really affected him as well. He just hasn't been playing that well. And that's fine to say just because I keep an objective on the show. When someone is not playing well, I'm going to call that player out.

But when he starts playing well again, I'm also going to say that. And that's exactly what happens. happened with Crosby in this weekend. After a week or two off, or not just not playing that well, he woke up again, great saucer passed to Rust. And then in that game against the Red Wings, he was absolutely phenomenal. We'll get to that in the second segment. But it was really nice seeing the captain wake up, even though the Penguins only got two out of four

points this weekend. For sure. And shout out to the Penguins for listening to our show, because we've been saying, oh, it looks like they're mailing it in and they're just packing it in because there were parts of the last couple weeks where it looked like that. And they told us to shut our mouths because you can say a lot of things about the Pittsburgh Penguins right now. But I'm going to say this much. After this weekend, I think it's clear they care.

It's clear they still believe in themselves. They still believe they have a shot. And whether or not that's true, who knows. But back to the Rangers game, games are one or lost in the middle of the ice. That is the primest of prime real estate in the NHL. And against the Rangers, they were, that is where the defense. broke down. They conceded the middle of the ice a little too easily, whether it was for cross ice passes, whether it was for chances right in front of Tristan Jari. They let the Rangers have the

prime real estate and that is not conducive to success, no matter who you're playing. Because, you know, the age old debate dropped in again against the Rangers of all. Maybe they should have gotten Trocheck instead of holding on to Malkin. Well, here's the thing, man. It's a national hockey league. These guys are the top 1% of the top 1% when it comes to hockey players in the world. They can all make that play if you give them the time and the opportunity, including a guy like Vincent Trochec. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. He's a great hockey player. He has carved out a very respectable NHL career, and he is having himself one hell of a season right now. But you give him that time and space to make that saucer pass. He's going to make that

saucer pass. Most players are. So for the penguins on Saturday, they did not do a good enough job taking away those middle of the ice lanes. And when you have a potent offense like the New York Rangers do, they are going to make you pay. Agreed. And another thing they also did not do very well of stopping on Tommy Panera. That was my biggest key heading into this game. He has two goals and five points in this one. You're not going to win that game if you allow Panera to just do what he wants all over the guys. And in a way a little bit, especially defensively, I felt like the penguins were trying to turn this into a track meet against the Rangers. And we kind of warned against that on our show on Friday. That's not going to work against one of the best teams in the league, especially a team that can score quite a few goals on a nightly basis. Yeah. And, you know, that's the biggest thing is you think about the New York Rangers of the last 10, 15 years. It has been built from the net out. And while that is still very true, because they, They have Igor Shisterkin in a career renaissance from Jonathan Quick this season.

They are still this season a very potent offense. They can score goals. They have one of the best goal differentials in the National Hockey League. They have coming into that game, they had scored. I think it was just a shade under 220 goals this season at all situations. So that's a team that can put the puck in the back of the net. So you can't get into a track meet with them. I will give the penguins this.

They got plenty of chances themselves. Jonathan Quick, though, again, is having a career renaissance in the third period against the penguins. He is the reason that game stayed pretty much five to three for long stretches until Kandre Miller made it six to three because the penguins were getting a lot of chances in the third period. They were getting a lot of really good looks. and Jonathan Quick was there to stop them. So, you know, you'll see the final score.

You'll see the box score and think the Penguins got taken for a ride. They really didn't. Jonathan Quick was just very good. Even after Puson's goal in the third period to make it 6 to 4, Quick had to make a couple of 10 bell saves right after that. The Penguins almost pulled to within 6 to 5 numerous times for the remainder of that period. But Quick ended up being the difference maker, even though before then the Penguins again had them flopping around like a fish in the net.

had him seeing ghosts for a little bit in that game. But then in the third period, he really turned up his game and played at the level that we've seen and play out for this entire season so far. But I think that's enough talk about this Penguins Rangers game. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to get into some good vibes for this scene as the Penguins absolutely destroyed the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about Robin Hood. Did you know that even if you have a 401K for retirement, you can still have an IRA, Robin Hood has the only IRA that gives you a 3% boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robin Hood Gold. But get this.

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Limitations apply to IRAs and 401Ks. Robin Hood IRA available to U.S. customers in good standing. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC, is a registered broker dealer. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodeys, joined by my host Patrick Dam. So after the Penguins lost to the Rangers 7 to 4 on Saturday, I know probably quite a few fans were a bit nervous heading into this game on Sunday just because of how the Penguins are playing another team that's very much in the

playoff race. But the Penguins absolutely took it to the Red Wings throughout these 60 minutes. I think that's some of the best 60-minute hockey I've seen from the Penguins in the last couple weeks, in my opinion. And especially in the first period, the Red Wings looked like they had nothing to start that game. At one point, the Penguins were out shooting the Red Wings, 12 to 2, but the game was tied. And I'm like, oh, crap, here we go.

Are we going to go into an intermission where the game is tied, but the Penguins are more than doubling up the shots on the Red Wings? Thankfully, that was not the case because Cindy Crosby and Altarey-Puson scored in the late stages of the first period to push the lead to 3 to 1. Penguins are able to push it to 4 to 1 later on in that game, and they were just, they never surrendered that lead at all. I love the way they came out. The Red Wings, again, they really had nothing for this game. And that Red Wings team right now, they stink. I mean, I know Dylan Larkin is hurt, and I know he's their best player, but that's how you're playing with your season on the line.

Over halfway through regulation, the Red Wings didn't even have 10 shots. With about eight minutes left in the third period, they didn't even have 20 shots. How is that your level of play with your season in jeopardy against a team that is below you in the Sandings? That was just an awful effort overall by the Red Wings. But Riley Smith gets things started for the Penguins in this one. And you know what?

shout out to Riley Smith these two games. I thought he was one of their better players. He had the nice saucer pass to Puson in the third period against the Rangers game. That cut the deficit to six to four, even though the Penguins lost. Gets a little bit of a friendly bounce here to make it one nothing. But solely, but surely he's been finding his game these last couple of games. And it's probably too little too late, Pat. But it's just nice to see him playing a bit better down the stretch. Oh, agreed.

You know, you said it in the first segment. We got to be honest and objective on this show. and we've hammered Riley Smith all season long because he has been a disappointment. But of the last few weeks, he has begun to emerge. He has played strong hockey. He's been producing. He's, you think back to midseason. And the biggest problem with him was that he was a ghost.

He just wasn't really, you know, when he was healthy, he wasn't really doing anything. He wasn't scoring goals. He wasn't getting assists. He wasn't engaged in the play. He was just a past. on the bus. Last couple weeks, exact opposite story. He's been putting up goals.

He's been getting assists. He's involved in offense. He's involved in the play in all three zones. And that's a good thing because, one, I don't know how his stock sits among the rest of the league. I know that Friedman in Merrick reported that there were discussions about Los Angeles at the deadline, but the cap room just wasn't there. But given the way he's played this season, I don't think he's that much of an attractive asset.

So you may just have to keep him into next season. So you have to hope that he starts rounding a corner. And I think for the most part, he has been starting to round a corner a little bit. Now, can he keep it up consistently? That's the big question. But overall, his goal is kind of the microcosm of the penguin season. Those bounces have not been going the penguins way all year long. that happens for the penguins throughout this season.

The puck squirts wide of the net and goes into the corner. And chances are they probably, the other team probably goes the other way and scores. Or vice versa, those bounces have been going against the penguins to where puck squeaks through Jari or Nadelcovic and somehow slides into the back of the net. So it's nice to see that bounce happen. And again,

the red wings are in the barrel right now. Nothing is going right for them at all. Like I agree with you to an extent, not the greatest team, but they're still pretty good. And but at the same time, without Dylan Larkin, we've seen that maybe they're a bit of a paper tiger and maybe they're not as deep as people think, but they are in a stretch right now where nothing is going their way, nothing at all. They've had the fights in practice.

They've lost eight of nine. They've, they, but not even losing eight of nine and looking poor. They're just not getting wins. they're not getting bounces. They are in a slump of all slumps. So good on the penguins for recognizing that and really taking it to this team the first 10 to 15 minutes of the game

because like I said on Friday, a team that's in a position like they are, you get up a couple goals on them or you play really well against them early. Really easy for them psychologically to think, oh my God, here we go again. And the penguins took full advantage of that. they really did. And they also took full advantage of the Red Wings being one of the worst defensive teams in the league heading into this game. I mean, the Red Wings, Mo Sider is pretty decent on their back end. Shane Gostas, there is fine. But Jeff Petrie, Ben Chirot, a few other players on the back end, they just don't inspire that much confidence. And when you combine that with the goaltending that they've gotten for most of this season, they're just really going through it right now. And they are now not even a lot to make the playoffs. Just two weeks ago, that team,

we felt like was a pure lock to get in. Larkin injury happened, and then they started playing my crap, and now we don't even know if they are even going to take that next step and make the playoffs for the first time in eight years. But, you know, outside of Riley Smith, I thought Lars Eller had another great game. I thought Valerie Pustin had a great game. And you know what?

That line, Eller, Smith, and Pustin, the Penguins might have something with that third line. You look at the data from this game overall. When they were on the ice, the Penguins had 75% of the shot attempts. They also had one goal for no goals against. 81% expected goals for rate, 80% of the scoring chances for rate as well. I think they found somewhat of a third line for at least the rest of this season

because A, Eller has been one of their best step forwards. Riley Smith, for B, has really been stepping up these last couple of games and C, Daltreepuzen has proven that he belongs in the NHL. that release that he had at the end of the first period, that was a piss nussle by Puson. And I liked what he did in his first stint. They send him back down, okay, see what he can do back down in Wilkesbury.

But then when you bring him back up, it looks like he's learned quite a bit from his first stint in the NHL because he looks like a completely different player, even away from the thought. I think his defensive capabilities have also improved ever since coming back from Wilkesbury. But at this point,

there is no reason to ever send him back down to Wilkesbury. He is a full-fledged NHL player at this point. And I'm really excited about him heading into next season. He has really grown as a player these last several weeks. Just what a release overall. And then even in the Rangers game, I thought he was great as well. He was one of their best players this weekend.

He was. He is at least in my estimation right now, a bona fide NHL player. I will see if that continues. And shout out to Colby Armstrong on the broadcast when they were showing the replay of his goal, he brought up what you were saying about that line, about how well they've been playing.

And he said, you know, if you're not falling in love with this line, you may never fall in love in your life. But he was right. That line has been a huge success over the last couple of weeks. And it's always funny how it works out in Pittsburgh with players and teams like this. You wouldn't expect a trio of Smith, Eller, and Pustinen to become a big productive good line. I mean, everybody knows the lore of the HBK line. Phil Kessel wasn't brought here to play with Haglin and Benino.

He was here to play with either Malkin or Crosby, but then his most productive days were with Nick Benino and Carl Haglin. So maybe that is the line that unlocks Riley Smith. And at this point, I know that I brought it up in the lead up to the deadline that like Eller might have been a good trade candidate and maybe he will be in the offseason. but right now with the way his game has been trending, why wouldn't you just hold on to him? Because he has been a very solid third line center.

And if you have a competitive team with some cap space next year, you can push him down to fourth line center if you go get somebody. Yeah, I mean, if you want to go out there and get a new third line center for next season and push Eller down, I would be totally down with that. I mean, Elear has 14 goals this season. I mean, we might be talking by the end of the season over the next month, Pat. he might be close to a 20 goal score. And I didn't see that coming.

I know you didn't see that coming. I don't think really most people that follow this team saw that coming as him potentially being close to, if not getting to 20 goals this season. But that's also what happens when you give him power play one time. And speaking of that, great stuff from Cindy Crosby on the power play in this game, he got that entire rush started. He almost had the exact same play with Brian Russ, really nice saved by Alex Lyon. the Red Wings were able to clear the puck.

Sid comes right back in, beautiful cross ice pass, gets the puck back, and then does the exact same play to Eller gets the tip in. Just awesome stuff from Crosby all around in this game. He also had the backhand goal. I'll never get tired of him using his backhand on this team. But another great game from Sid,

and then with Eller on the power play there, it's always that patented slap pass for the power play. I'll never get tired of seeing that play as well. But I really wanted to highlight just how Sid really carried the load on the powerplay to get that goal to Eller, because that was one of their better zone entries, I think, of the season for the power play. And it all happened because of said. Well, he's woken up.

That's for sure. He was in a lull for a couple of weeks, and I brought it up Friday. I chalked it up to fatigue. The guy has carried the load all season long, and we saw this happen last year. But right now, I mean, we'll see if it's a true awakening that he's. he's back or if he just maybe had a couple of good games. But I think overall this weekend, we were starting to see a reemergence of Crosby because it didn't seem like anything could go right for him for a couple of weeks. He just seemed off, whether it was the Jake Gensel trade,

whether it was fatigue, whether it was whatever. He was his usual self again this weekend. He was engaged in the play. He was going to the areas he always goes to. He's making looks that only Sidney Crosby can make. So at this point, with the Penguins, I know it sounds silly, still battling for their playoff lives, an awakened Crosby, a more engaged of Gennie Malkin, Riley Smith, Lars Eller, Valtteri Pustin, starting to play well. Maybe this team can become a zombie, but, you know, we'll see because they've got a lot of teams to catch and some of the ones they are chasing despite the rest of the Metro deciding

they really don't want that second wildcard spot. It's a tall task, but you're starting to see some flickers and some hope. It's a little bit of life from this team, but we'll see. 15 games left. I feel like it would be the most Penguins thing imaginable if they went 11 and 3 and 1 and miss the playoffs by a point or two. Would that not be the most penguins thing imaginable? And then you also don't get the maybe potentially the top 10 protected pick there.

I mean, it's been an absolutely chaotic couple of weeks in Pittsburgh. So who's to say that trend doesn't continue? Feels like the Steelers and the Penguins are just trying to one up each other on who could be the most chaotic team in this town. But one more thing before we had to break. Michael Bunton got another goal this weekend. And that was right in front of the net. And I tweeted this right away. That's another Patrick Cornquist type goal.

He made everyone's life a living hell right in front of the net. He boldhosed his way there. And he made everyone pay. and just jam that puck in the back of the net. Again, very similar to a player that everyone loved when he was here. And I like that I'm actually starting to warm up to bunting a little bit more. I know I said what I said about his cap hit when he came over in the Gensel trade. I said what I said about him being the centerpiece and how I wasn't that big of a fan of it.

It's only a few games, but I really like what I've seen from him so far. I've warmed up to him. and if he can continue to score goals in those areas, he is going to become a fan favorite very, and I mean very quickly. I'll keep beating the drum, man. He is everything this team has lacked for the last couple of years, pretty much since Hornquist left because he does the things that you need to do for success.

He goes to the front of the net, goes to the dirty areas. He drags your team into the fight. And that goal yesterday was all of that wrapped up in one play. He owned the front of the net. He stretches out to put a rebound home. And that's what this team has sorely been lacking. And he has the track record of being able to produce with elite players by playing that game. He did it in Toronto.

I know there's the Dubus connection, but regardless of the Dubus connection, Dubus can only put players on the roster. How those players end up performing once they're on the roster is on them. And he was very productive with the elite talent in Toronto. and I think he's going to do the same here. No, he's not Jake Gensel. Nobody is, but sometimes to make your roster better, you have to make difficult moves like that.

And yes, this isn't saying that he's a replacement. This isn't saying that they don't miss Jake Gensel because they do and will. But you think about Neil for Hornquist. James Neal was a 40-goal score. He had all the chemistry in the world with Hvgeny Malkin. It looked like it was going to be a productive marriage for years to come. but the penguins sorely needed a guy like Patrick Hornquist. And right now, I think the penguins sorely needed a guy like Michael Bunting.

They probably need two to three more guys like him, if we're being honest here, I think. But Bunting so far has shown an ability to play with both Crosby and Malkin. And he was getting some time on Gino's line in both games this weekend, even though he's also had time with Crosby's line a little bit before these games. And I think he's a pretty good fit on both lines, if you ask me. So I'm curious to see how Mike Sullivan will continue to use. use him these final 15 games. Is he going to play more on Zid's line?

Is he going to get more time on Gino's line? They have options at least overall. But I think that I'll do it for this second segment. Coming up to end the show, Pat and I are going to take a look at the week ahead for the Penguins 3. Really tough road games, the schedule does not get any easier as we dive deeper and deeper into March. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about Fandul.

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I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my host Patrick Dam. So three big games for the Penguins this week, and they started the weekend, five points out of the final playoff spot, and they end the weekend five points out of that final playoff spot. If they had beaten the Rangers, they'd be three points out right now. But hey, they didn't lose ground. So that I think will make some people happy overall. But they'll have a.

chance to make up some more ground on Tuesday when they take on the New Jersey Devils in Newark. This is a Devils team that has beaten the Penguins six times in a row. The Penguins have really struggled against the Devils over the last year or two. But despite that, the Devils come into this game really reeling still. They're 32, 32 and 4. They've lost two in a row, seven of their last 10 games. They have given up the first goal in over half of their games this season. It's actually close to two-thirds of their games, the season that they've given up their first

goal. They have gotten awful goaltending all year long. They're really feeling the loss of Dougie Hamilton. Their forwards are still really good. But this has been, just like the Penguins, a very inconsistent and a very maddening team this year. They had sky high expectations heading into the year. I expected them to be a top three team in the Metro, but they have been anything but that so far this season. They waited, I felt like way too long to make a move at the goaltender position, and that's really cost them overall this season. They had to fire Lindy Ruff, not even a year after extending his contract. It's been a total mess in Newark.

So the Penguins, even though they've struggled against the Devils over the last year, year and a half, they have a pretty big opportunity in front of them on Tuesday to beat them since they've been really struggling as of late. This is another opportunity for them, just like it was on Sunday against Detroit. This is a team that's been struggling mightily for the last. the last month or so. I was with you. I had them penciled in for a top three spot in the Metropolitan Division going into the year,

just because they are a young, fast, talented team. But as I've said, they were a goaltender away and they just waited forever to address it and even really didn't address it at the trade deadline. So this is a team the penguins need to beat because of all the other factors you said. They have struggled against this team for quite a while. They had one of the more embarrassing losses of their season early on against the Devils when they played them back in November, where the Devils hung three in the third period and cruised to a 5-2 win over the Penguins. After the Penguins were playing them fairly well through two periods, they were tied to two.

Penguins were right there with them, Rust with a two-goal performance, and then the penguins just did what they had done, had continued to do for the rest of the season, where times got tough and they just fell apart. So you really have to take advantage of a team that's struggling and has not met the expectations just like you have. But it's also a huge game in the standings because as it sits today on Monday, devils are all at one point behind the penguins.

And yes, again, another team where you can say, yeah, it's probably not realistic that they're going to get in, but you have a legitimate race here in the Eastern Conference for the final wild card spot. So you have to take advantage of this. And what better time to do it against a team like the Devils in their building when they have just not met any sort of expectation this season. Right. And it's hilarious that the Eastern Conference is where it is right now.

Nobody wants that final wildcard spot. Everyone keeps losing. I mean, maybe the Capitals want it. They've at least been playing the best of some of these very, mediocre teams. I mean, the Islanders have been really struggling after their sixth game winning streak. The devils have been able to get out of their own way. Every time it feels like the Sabres are going to climb their way back into the race, they falter like they've been doing for the last decade. The Penguins, they've faltered, especially these last couple weeks, but now

they're closer to a playoff spot than they were a week ago, even though they were playing worse at that time. It's just funny how this playoff race is going just because nobody wants that final spot. And if the Penguins are able to win this game in regulation against Devils, those are four points swings. You win that game in regulation. Your three points clear them, and you are potentially just three points out of Detroit. And you still play Detroit one more time. Yes. Is it unlikely that the Penguins make the playoffs? Absolutely people. I'm not trying to buy into the copium here. It is still very much a long shot, very much unlikely. But they are still mathematically in the race, and they're going to abide by that until they are actually eliminated

from the playoff race. Outside of that game against the Devils, two more really tough road games. Dallas and Colorado, two of the three or four best teams in the Western Conference. I would say Colorado right now is arguably the favorite to win the Stanley Cup. The Avalanche are firing on all cylinders right now. They're probably going to get Gabriel Landis Gogg back at some point in the playoffs, especially if they're able to make a deep run. I really like the Dallas Stars. I know some people have been maybe a bit underwhelmed by them this season.

I haven't. I still think they're one of the four best teams in the conference. Three really hard road games for a Penguins team that's lost their last five on the road. So this is not going to be easy this week. This is another big challenge for Mike Sullivan because you have to play very disciplined road hockey just in general. because struggle as the Devils might, still a very fast, very talented team. And then you have Dallas and Colorado who are just pacing one another all season long. Both have 91 points.

The Colorado Avalanche has a Monday on a six-game win streak. Dallas is 6-3 and 1 in their last 10. Both teams have been able to score goals nearly at will with Dallas scoring 251 goals at all situations, Colorado at 254. and the thing for Dallas is, yeah, they've had some struggles in that. Jake Ottinger has not looked like Jake Ottinger this season, but they play such a very good structure that they have been able to mitigate the struggles in net because they play really well in front of the goaltender that they have, whoever it may be.

And then you have Colorado, who is just, it is talent up and down the lineup. They are absolutely loaded. And they have one of the five best players in hockey and Nathan McKinnon. And you're going to have to play very disciplined road hockey in this one, or you are going to just get absolutely blown out. It's similar to the Rangers game, man. If you try to turn that game into track meet against the avalanche, you are going to get destroyed.

And I don't think it's going to be seven to four. I think it's going to be a lot worse than that. So I 100% agree with you. You have to be disciplined, especially in your own zone. They have to do what they did to Colorado earlier the season. when they played a perfect home game against them. They didn't really allow Colorado to get to the high danger areas at all, and the Penguins were able to get contributions from everyone in their lineup

to really shut down the avalanche as a whole. You do that on the road. You'll have a really good shot of winning that game in Denver. But we probably went a little long on this one, 40 minutes or so, but we just had a lot to talk about for this episode. We'll be back on Tuesday to preview this game against the New Jersey Devils, and then I'll be back on Wednesday to recap this game. will not be able to record that day. He's getting his wisdom teeth taken out. So he's not going to be

able to talk at all for you all. And hopefully he'll be back on Thursday. But his mouth also might be quite sore for that one overall. But we're short term I are. We're not getting any cap relief from that one. But it is still, I'll be on IR for a little bit. I are. He's not going to be on LTIR like the Vegas golden nights are doing with Mark Stone right now. But he'll be on IR at least for a day or potentially too. But we'll be back for you all on Tuesday to preview that game against the devils. and then I'll be back on Wednesday to recap that game for you all. And then we'll have stuff later on this week for you all as well to get you all set for the Dallas game and the Colorado game. But again, thank you all so much for tuning in.

We'll talk with you all on Tuesday.