Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins have our attention after furious third-period comeback on Tuesday

Episode Date: April 3, 2024

The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the playoff race after a massive win against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. Hunter and Pat marvel at how this team has clawed their way back into it and dive into Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin's tremendous performances. They analyze how they picked them up from the mat and carried them to that comeback. They also discuss the play that Erik Karlsson made at the blue line and how that was also a major factor that started the comeback. Both then analyze how this was the best third period of the season before looking at the recent play from Michael Bunting. Hunter looks at the impact that he had on the game and a couple of the goals while also preaching that he should not be taken off Malkin's line. Finally, they give their Warrior Helmets for this past week. 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 LOCKEDONNHLfor $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.

This team wanted our attention. Oh, they've got it now. You're Locked on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. 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.

Join by my host Patrick Damp. You can follow him on Twitter at Synonym Furwet. and you can follow these shows Twitter at L.O underscore Penguins, of course. Thank you all so much for making this your first lesson slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms. And finally, today's episode is brought to you by Game Time, down the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. I cannot believe that we are sitting down right now to record this episode

and the Pittsburgh Frickon Penguins are three points out of a playoff spot. after being nine points out a week ago, especially after that debacle in Denver or the Penguins blew that 4-0-0 lead, they have gained ground on every team in front of them, and they have gone 4-0-2 in their last six games. I mean, we came on to this show after that game in Denver. It basically said, oh, that road trip basically was the end of their season.

But the Penguins said, nope, it wasn't, because they have won four out of their last five games, and honestly, could very well be on a six-game winning streak right now if they had just beaten Colorado and Columbus and held on to those multi-goal leads in the third period, they'd be one point out of the playoff spot right now with a chance to be in a playoff spot by the end of the day on Thursday. But they'll have a chance to get even closer to a spot if they can take down the Washington capitals in regulation on Thursday. But that's a discussion for tomorrow and Friday. We're here to discuss that furious comeback that Penguins made on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils.

After the way they played through two periods, I thought this game was over. It looked like they had absolutely nothing, especially as some players are continuing to battle some sort of stomach virus on this, whatever you want to call it, just because it looks like a bug is making its way around the room. But the way this team turned it on in the third period is something we really haven't seen for much of this season. I said it on Twitter and I'll say it here, that's the best third period this team has played all year. the way that they were able to turn on the afterburners with about 13 minutes left was a sight to behold. They took it to the devils in the final 13 minutes after getting taken to the woodshed through the first two periods. And it was all because of the big two guns, Cindy Crosby and McGinie Malkin,

picking this team up from the mat and bringing them back into the race. We've been saying for the last couple weeks they weren't really in a race at all that they were just going to Missed the playoffs, but maybe they'll come within five points and missing it. No, they are in the race now, Pat. They are. And the thing is, it's a lot, you kind of brought this up, and this was something I was thinking of today before we hit record. It's a lot easier to say this now.

No, we know the outcome of the game is a 6-3 victory and puts this team on the precipice of getting into the playoff picture. But it was a very frustrating game because through the first two periods, They were just completely outclassed by the New Jersey Devils. They were getting circles skated around them. It looked like they had little to no interest in being there. But now with the outcome and knowing that they have won and put themselves in this position, I think the stomach bug thing is playing a lot more of a factor than we want to tell ourselves

because it got so bad that Tristan Jari had to actually get taken out of the lineup for Joel Blumquist to come up. and we heard from Michael Bunting before the Rangers game that he pretty much told us he left a game because he got the runs. And then Sullivan tells us last night and after the Rangers game that they're guys playing through it. And I don't know about you, but when I get a stomach bug, I'm incapacitated for the day. I'm not leaving the couch except to go to the bathroom. So the fact that these guys have been battling through it, and then they picked themselves up last night to get a win, not only against a team that they have been unable to beat since 2022,

but a team that was all over them last night for more than 40 minutes. I would say there was probably a 45 minute stretch of that game where it was all devils. And then in the last 15 or so, the penguins decided to show up. But overall, it's the best third period we've seen out of this team all season long. And it's a theme of what I've been talking about all year with Sidney Crosby and why he remains one of the greats. It wasn't a big team victory.

Yes, they tightened up and played very well the last 15 minutes. But this was Crosby picking this team up and saying, uh-uh, we are not done. we are not dead and I am going to make that a thing. And then Evgeny Malkin follows him. Ricard Raquel follows him and everybody else follows suit. Absolutely. And of all things to fully get this team back into the game, even outside of Cindy Crosby, the power play,

which has been awful all year. Eric Carlson has that tremendous keep at the blue line where the devils are trying to get a clear. He then is forced to the right side of the ice, is able to get the puck to Michael Bunting, and then he makes that entire play happen right after that, gets the puck to Rust, who then does a beautiful centering pass.

Crosby puts in the back of the net, and then right after that, congratulations to Jackson and Ivaney, his first NHL point at this level. Evgeny Malkin gets a really nice deflection, and then Ricard Raquel with perhaps his biggest goal since last season, and we've gone at him quite a bit on the show a lot,

but it was nice seeing him get that deflection, to give the penguins a four to three lead with less than four minutes to go. Because I was saying to myself at that time, man, if this goes to overtime, I feel like we know how this is going to end, especially with how the devils can skate in overtimeing. We all were seeing what the devils are doing to them for the first 40 to 45 minutes at 5 on 5. Now let's take two skaters off the ice each team. And then you can put Jack Hughes, Nico Heeshire, and Tim O'Meyer and Company out there

against Cindy Crosby and Company who are still playing on the second half of the back-to-back and are gassed. I would not have liked the penguins' odds to win that if it went to overtime. But Pedersen delivers a nice little shot pass. Raquel with one heck of a deflection, gives the penguins the lead for good. And then you have Evgeny Malkin jumping in on the fun as well, Cindy Crosby with an amazing empty net goal, by the way. And it was awesome seeing, again, the big guns pick this team up when they really were down and out. And that was also the first time, that Crosby and Malkin have scored multiple goals in the third period for the Penguins throughout their tenure. That's a crazy stat, by the way, from Bob Grove. But I mean, yeah, the biggest thing for

me last night, and I was a big part, I was and have been a part of this debate on Penguin's Twitter about Mike Sullivan. I still remain with my take that I think he's likely reached his expiration date, but he's still a very good coach. I'll give him this. If there's one thing I noticed in the third period, the penguin's strategy completely changed to they wanted to get the puck in deep, draw the devils low and get now net front scrambles because in the few chances that they did get in the first two periods, they were all from the outside. Jake Allen was able to see him. Jake Allen was able to make a save. So they immediately changed to get in front of them, look for tips and deflections and rebounds and make him uncomfortable. And you look at pretty much

every goal they scored except for the empty netter, that's exactly how they scored them. They got right to the net mouth. They made Alan uncomfortable and it paid off. So if, you know, we always say it on the show, if we're going to be honest, if we're going to be intellectually honest, and we're going to criticize a guy when he does things poorly, we have to praise him when he does a thing well. And that's an adjustment that quite literally changed the entire game. Another adjustment that I did see Mike Sullivan make for the third period.

he stopped having the penguins giving the devils so much space. That was one of my main complaints when I was watching this game for the first 40 to 45 minutes. The devils would come in and they would have so much time and space to operate and get really good looks from even 20 feet out. And I'm like, pressure up a little bit. You're giving up way too many good looks. Even though some of these aren't true high danger chances, you're still giving them way too many great looks. And Mike Sullivan was like, okay, enough of that. we're going to press up a little bit.

And once they did that, the devils started to not get as many chances, especially after the penguins tied it at 3.3. Yeah, the devil's got a powerplane, and Delgovic had to make a couple of big saves. But they still took the time and space away from the devils and didn't allow them to continue skating circles around them. And I was critical of Sullivan on social media last night because they had lost seven in a row to this same team before they won this game.

And I was like, okay, basically, every other team in the league has figured out how to beat the devils at least one during the regular season. Why don't you figure out as well? And to Sullivan's credit, he made the adjustment that you saw and he made the adjustment that I saw. And it paid dividends because the penguins were finally able to snap that seven game losing streak against them. It was. And like I said, I got to credit them for it. And then you brought him up very briefly there.

Also have to give a hat tip to Alex Nadelcovich. I mean, in the first two periods without him, this game is not three to one. It's 5 to 1. It's 6 to 1 because they the devil's got plenty. And even though it doesn't really get reflected in the numbers, they got a lot of very great A chances. And Alex Nadelcovic kept this team in the game. I mean, I had the thought last night of if you guys aren't going to do this for your very slim playoff hopes,

at least do it for Alex Nadelcovich because he gets, he has to start another game because Tristan Jari's. still sick and it's his second straight start and I think his sixth straight start. So at this point, you know he's running on fumes. You know he's gassed. Yeah, he's a competitor. He's a professional. He's battling like everybody else. But the performance he put forth in the first two periods, I mean, you have to, you really have to give him all the credit in the world. Agreed. And I would keep riding him into that game on Thursday against Washington. I think you kind of have to at this point. I know his numbers with Jari when you look at medium danger,

say percentage and high danger and low danger and just say percentage overall, they're pretty similar, but one goalie right now is playing better than the other. And I get that it's a small sample size for the past six games, but Jari has been really bad for the last month. And I get that he's healthy, but I want Nadelkovich getting that start on Thursday with everything on the line. You kind of have no choice in the matter at this playing. with the saves that he made to keep the penguins in it during that game against the devils, for example, that one on Mercer, that glove save. That was a thing of beauty.

A couple of big saves when the devils were on the power play, as I already mentioned. Part of me honestly thinks that Jari gives up a bad goal when the devils are on the power play at three all there, and I'm not trying to harp on him too much. But Nadelkovich made plenty of timely saves in this one that I'm not sure Jari would have made considering the form that he's played at over the last. last month. Yeah, I'm right there with you. I think at this point, it's Alex Nadocovich's net until it isn't. And maybe sometime here in the next two weeks, you give them a night off depending. But at this point, with your season on the line and a chance to really make a move up the

standings, you just ride the hot hand all the way. 100%. I totally agree with you on that. But that will wrap up this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to discuss a couple more things relating to this game against the Devils and why this team does in fact have our attention. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about our first sponsor, and that is Game Time. It's now an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets even faster and easier. Prices on the Game Time app actually go down, the closer it gets to the first pitch. With Killer Last Minute Neals, all in prices, views from receipt, and their lowest price

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that's code locked on NHL for $20 off down the game time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right, we're back here in this episode

of the Lockedon Penguins podcast. I am one of your host Hunter Hodees, joined by my host, Patrick Dam. Outside of Cindy Crosby, Evgeny Malk, and Ricard Raquel,

some of the other usual suspects, but we probably shouldn't say Raquel is a usual suspect, the year he's had, but he did have a very good game against the Devils. One player that really stood out to me yet again was Michael Buncing. I will continue to eat all the crow on this player. I said at the time of the trade that I didn't like him being the centerpiece of it. I thought he was making too much money.

But so far, that contract, I haven't even thought of it over the last couple weeks. He has been everything the Penguins have needed plus so much more. And I don't mean any offense to Jake Ensel. I loved him during his time here, and I solely the Penguins are going to miss him down the road. But Bunting has been such a great fit in the top six, especially of Gennie Malkins line. And Bunting, just by himself last night, had one of his best games overall. You look at some of the numbers with him on the ice. 68% of the shot attempts, about 12 minutes of even strength time.

Penguins also had four goals for, no goals against, five scoring chances for, one scoring chance against. He continues to play electric hockey for this team. He goes to those dirty areas, makes life a living hell for any goaltender that's in the net. And you can see the impact that he has not just at five on five, but on the power play as well. I mean, the Eric Carlson goal, for example, he parked his butt right at the side of the net. The Penguins were able to get a good bounce. It looked like it was bunting's goal at first. Even though it wasn't, he still played a big part in Carlson getting that goal. And then even the power play goal that the penguin scored to get back into it in the third

period, he made all of that happen as he was walking down Main Street with the puck before getting it to Russ. He is playing at a very high level right now. And with the way he's playing next to Malkin, I'm not touching that line with a 10-foot pole. No, not one bit. And then you look at his top line statistics from last night. He gets an assist on Sidd's game or not Malkin's game time goals. Excuse me.

and then he gets an assist on Malkin's second goal to put the Penguins up five to three and essentially seal the deal. So I agree. Like he's been everything this team has missed is. And I keep bringing it up since Patrick Hornquist left. Patrick Hornquist or even Brandon Tanna, like just a guy who is an absolute chaos agent. Like he is not out there to wow you with his skill. He's not out there to wow you with his speed. but he's out there to pull defensemen away from the actual skilled players in front of the net.

He's there to take the eyes away of the goaltender in net. And he does all these things that can shift the tide of a game. I think that old school hockey people put way too much emphasis on guys like bunting, but guys like bunting have so much value for teams that want to do bigger and better things because it can get opposing teams off their game because they start worrying more about getting even with him or getting a shot back at him or something like that. It can get a goaltender off his game because, oh my God, this guy's in my face again. I'm getting so tired of seeing his backside.

And then it just opens up space for the guys you need to score goals because the defensemen are pulled in and trying to clear the front of the net. And then, oh, look at that. of Gennie Malkins got five to ten more feet to make a decision. And it's a thing. It is always been a thing. A guy like that goes out, throws a big hit or gets in the face of someone or even just has a hardworking shift where he's all over the ice.

And a lot of the guys on the bench go, hey, you know what? Mike's working his butt off. We got to join him. We got to give him some support. He's the kind of player that can galvanize a team when that team doesn't have it on one night and then it could lead to that team all of a sudden flipping a switch and then winning a game where they probably have no business winning it. I'm not saying Bunting did that in this game. I mean, he was obviously very good, but I do think he has that ability for the

Penguins, much like Patrick Cornquist did during his tenure with the team as well. I also think he could grow into another leader that this team needs as well. Even outside of the core leadership group, he could be someone that people go to where, you know, again, If the court players don't really want to say too much, he's someone that can really speak up when needed. And I think he could definitely fill that role a little bit as well. It's kind of off the ice a little bit more, but my point remains the same. He can really galvanize a team overall. But is there anything else you want to add about this game that we haven't fully discussed yet?

I do want to talk a little bit about Eric Carlson. I think aside from the goal, I thought he had a strong game. We've been talking about it on the show. eventually down the stretch, we need to see some classic Eric Carlson games. And while I'm not going to call last night one of them, he was involved in everything that he needed to be involved in. He obviously scores the goal. He plays a part on the power play, which helped bring this team back to even and then up in the lead and get a lead again. And he looked like Eric Carlson for the first time in quite a while. He was everywhere he needed

to be. He was skating smooth. He made good decisions with the puck. And obviously he gets a goal early in the game that doesn't really play that big of a factor overall. But I liked his game a lot last night. Yeah, he had a shoot-first mentality. He also, again, had that great keep at the blue line where the devils were trying to clear where the penguins were on the power play in the third period. I also thought his defensive work in the game was pretty solid as well. I know a lot of people have harped on him because of his defense in his own zone this year.

But again, you're not getting Eric Carlson for his defensive zone work. But I think in this game, it was better than it has been in the previous couple weeks in my opinion. And last but not least, I'm not a full on believer for the rest of the season. Do I think that they're going to get in? I still think right now it is more unlikely than it is likely. But as I said to open the show, I'm going to take my hat off for this. They have my attention now. They wanted your attention. They wanted my attention. They've got it now. And this is a race, people. They are fully entrenched in a playoff race. They win that game in Washington on Thursday.

You're a point out. Especially in regulation. If you win that game on Saturday, you get a little bit more help. You are potentially in a playoff spot by the end of this weekend. As some of the other teams in front of you lose, like the Islanders, for example, the Red Wings and all that good stuff as well. And right now, the Penguins are also only four points back to the Flyers, and they have a game in a hand on them. You win that game in hand before Friday, you're two points behind the Flyers with six games left. Buckle up, my friends, because this is going to be a lot of fun over the next couple of weeks.

I have declared this team dead on multiple occasions, and they are proving me wrong. Now, we'll talk about it more tomorrow when we preview everything, but just like it showed up in the snap of a finger, it can all be taken away in a snap of a finger. So they've got to make some hay while the sun is shining. Absolutely. And if you lose that game in regulation of Washington, well, their playoff chances definitely take a big hit because I think at this point. They really can't afford to lose a single game in regulation if they want to do the unthinkable and get into the playoffs, but they especially have to win the three games

against teams that they're chasing, the Red Wings, the Islanders, and the Capitals. And you have to win all three of those games in regulation. Those are four point games, my friends. But that would do it for the second segment. Coming up to end the show, it's Wednesday. You all know what that means. it's time for us to give out our warrior helmets. And we have quite a bit of very good candidates for this week. So stay tuned to find out who we give our warrior helmets to. But before we get that, we got to tell you all about our next sponsor. And that is Fandul. Say goodbye to busted brackets because Fandu lets you bet on every game of the NCAA tournament. Whether you're betting on a big upset or a number one seat, it's time to go dancing on America's number one sportsbook. Will you be betting on Yukon to win it all yet again?

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All right. We're back here in this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am one of your hosts, Hunter Hodes, joined by my host Patrick Damp. So it's time for us to give out our warrior helmets for this week. Quite a few very deserving candidates. We could easily give it to Sending Crosby. Evickany Malkin is a very deserving candidate. Michael Buncing as well.

Alex Delkevich, who are you giving your helmet to for this? week. You saved the best for last for me. It's going to Alex Nadelcovic. I know that the numbers might not jump off the page at you. They might not be the best of the best right now. He may not have been the only reason they are where they are right now, but just the effort that he has given out over the past week, the fact that he gets called into action at times where he probably didn't expect to play. You know, you have the bug going through the team right now. And he has to start. in a back-to-back situation in both games. And, I mean, really, I said it in the first segment.

He kept them alive in the devil's game last night. Without him, that game probably gets out of hand. And there isn't even an opening for a comeback like we saw in the third period. So for me, I really have to hand it off to Alex Nodokovic because just numbers aside, just being put into that scenario is essentially the team's spot starter, especially when you're battling for your lives, you're battling for your season, and he steps up the way he did, very, very deserving candidate. But Hunter, I think you have a very obvious one that I'm not going with.

Yes, I'm not going to give it to Alex Nelkevich, though that one would have been an easy one to give it to. I'm also not going to give it to Cindy Crosby. Yes, I know he has 15 points in his last six games. I gave it to him last week. I'm going to give my warrior helmet to have Getty Malkin. Six points in his last four games. He gets two more goals against the Devils. Overall for this season, 23 goals, 59 points in 75 games.

Again, I get that Gino is not the player that he used to be, but for a second line center, you will definitely take 23 goals in basically 60 points in 75 games for someone who is 37 years old. He turned it on against the Devils in that third. period. Both goals that he scored were honestly vintage Gino goals, in my opinion. And I know some of his detractors last week where I really supported Gino after the game against Columbus were like, oh, it's just Columbus.

Let's see if he can do that against another team. Well, he did. And that's the devil's team that I know is not going to make the playoffs this year, but that's the devil's team that has a lot of skill, my friends. They have a very deep lineup overall. And Gino came to play in that game, and he has come to play. over the last week. In a way,

his parents being in town for that game against Columbus galvanized him a bit more and it's carried over into the next few games. He gets my helmet for this week. Again, I know I could easily give it to Sid, very obvious, deserving candidate,

but I just feel like I've given it to him so many times a season that I got to give Malkin a little bit of love. You went with the old heart trophy candidate logic where we can't go with the obvious, one. We got to go somewhere else. But yeah, I mean, overall, that's a good pick. He, he has had such a great week. And, you know, the only phrase that's coming to mind for me with Hvgeny Malkin right now is better late than never. I know that he's definitely struggled this year. It has not been the of Genni Malkin we expect to see. But they've put themselves into a position where they could maybe

make the playoffs. And if there was ever a time for Hvgeny Malkin to turn the clock back a little bit, now it would be better than ever. You want your best players playing. like your best players with everything on the line. And for the last week, that is exactly what has happened for the Penguins. Now, we just need Chris LaTang to get up to that level because he still is struggling a bit more than I thought he would towards the end of the season. I want to see him have a big game, just like how Crosby and Malkin have had big games over the last week.

But I think that I would do it for this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch this one. Pat and I will be back with another episode. episode for you all on Thursday to preview this massive game against the Washington Capitals. The game that we thought was not going to have much meeting to the Penguins now has quite a bit of importance for this team. They're not only trying to get within a point of the capitals, but they're trying to play spoiler to their playoff hopes as a whole. And it wouldn't be April without Crosby and Ovechkin going head to head with a lot on the line. This could be

perhaps the last big game between these two franchises with a lot on the line for quite a long time with how these organizations are going into the future. But again, that will do it for this one. Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch this episode. Pat and I will be back on Thursday.