Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins hoping for draft lottery luck tonight!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The NHL draft lottery is tonight, and the Penguins look poised to get a top 10 pick in the 2025 NHL draft. Pat and I are going to preview the draft lottery, plus discuss Cindy Crosby going back to the World Championships 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 and welcome back to another episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Join by my co-st, Patrick Dambe. We can follow him on all social media platforms at Cinderunfer Wet.

Starting point is 00:00:42 And you can follow the shows, Twitter, at L.O. UnderSore 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 GameTime, down the GameTime app, create account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Sunday was May the 4th, so happy National Star Wars. day to everyone out there. And then also for today, Pat, happy revenge of the fifth to everyone

Starting point is 00:01:09 out there. Had to get my Star Wars references out of the way because these last two days, really fun. You can just sit at your home, watch all the Star Wars movies. The third set of indoor episodes comes out on Tuesday if you guys are big Andor fans, anyone that listens to the show that likes that. So again, really good time to be a Star Wars fan right now. But let's get into the meat of today's show. And that is the annual draft lottery is tonight. We're obviously not very used to this. I mean, we've been used to this bat for the last few years because the Penguins have missed the playoffs three years in a row. But the Penguins, as I said in the intro, they are poised to get a top 10 pick in the draft. So as long as they don't move down in the lottery.

Starting point is 00:01:47 Right now, they have the best odds to get the ninth overall pick, which would be great, by the way. You look at some of these mock drafts, like for example, Bob McKenzie, who is one of the top prospect people out there. He released his top 16 over the weekend, and he is Victor Eckland at the number nine spot. to say this right now people if victor eckland drop us to the number nine spot i will race up there to the podium myself and draft him if the penguins get the ninth overall pick he is the fifth best player in the draft in my opinion great playmaker for someone who is so small he has great hand-eye and he takes it to these big large adults right in front of the net for someone again that pat that is so small he doesn't play like it he plays like someone who is a complete wrecking ball so if he is somehow available at the ninth

Starting point is 00:02:31 the overall pick, sign me up for that because he instantly becomes the best prospect in the penguin system again. I'm going to drop my big board a little bit later as we get closer to the draft, but I did just want to say that to kick things off here in this first segment. Now, in terms of the penguins' odds to get the first overall pick, 5%. As Hans Solo once said, never tell me the odds, another Star Wars reference for the show here. But yes, five percent are the Penguins odds to get the first pick in the 2025 in the actual draft. San Jose Sharks have the best followed by the Chicago Blackhawks, then the Predators, Flyers, Bruins,

Starting point is 00:03:06 croaking, savers, ducks, penguins, and the Islanders, and then the Rangers right after that. And then you can go to Detroit, Columbus, Utah, Vancouver, you know, and all that stuff. But again, Pat, this is going to be fun. And so let me go out, the Penguins somehow win this draft lottery. I will be there for the takes on social media.

Starting point is 00:03:23 It will be hilarious. I think you will see fans of other teams on their local news networks if the Penguins win the draft lottery tonight somehow some way. But Pat, your thoughts on the draft lottery that's to come tonight. This is going to be very interesting because they're in an odd spot. They're in the ninth, in the ninth slot. And like you said, it gives them 5%, which means they're pretty low with the odds to get the first overall pick. But they're not completely out of it. They just make the cutoff

Starting point is 00:03:57 because if you understand how this convoluted draft lottery works, which I already suck at math, so I'm not going to try to explain the odds and all of that stuff. But basically, you can only move up 10 spots max. So the bottom 11 teams have the odds of getting the first round, the first overall pick. So here's where this gets interesting. Number 11 is the New York Rangers.

Starting point is 00:04:27 And as we know, the penguins have that first round pick from the New York Rangers by way of the Vancouver Canucks in the Marcus Petterson trade. So I'm more curious than anything to see what happens with the Rangers at this draft lottery because I genuinely don't know where they're going to go with this. because the hiring of Mike Sullivan tells me that they still believe they are a top tier team. They still believe they are one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. This year was a blip on the radar. They'll make some changes here and there. They got the coach they need. And they're not worried about the future right now.

Starting point is 00:05:13 However, I look at it two ways. If I can try to handicap this in advance, because with that pick, the Rangers have to inform Kyle Dubus and the Penguins within 48 hours of the first round of the draft if they're going to give them this year's pick or if they're going to give them a completely unprotected 2026 first round pick. So the way I look at this is how I see this going. If the Rangers move up to, let's say, between five and nine, if they get five or five and nine, or stay, between five and 11 actually. I think they would actually probably give the penguins that pick. I think they would say, you know what?

Starting point is 00:05:57 It's somebody that we'll get in a few years. We're not that worried about it right now. We'll give them this pick. And if we bought them out next year, we still have a first round pick. Now, if they move up, if they get into the top five, I think they'll call Kyle Dubus right after it and say,

Starting point is 00:06:16 this is ours, you get next year's. So I'm curious to see what happens with the Rangers, but I'm also with you. If the penguins somehow defy the odds, if they somehow move up into the top five, the top three, or in a great perfect world, they get the first overall pick, oh, buddy, I may just call off a work because I am going to need to see all of the meltdowns across all of social media, all of local media, and everywhere else that's going to to talk about how, oh, here goes the NHL again, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins. But I do think at the end of the day, we should realistically temper expectations here.

Starting point is 00:07:03 It's more likely than not that they stay where they are in pick ninth. Maybe they move up a couple spots. Maybe they get somewhere between five and seven. But I'm very interested to see how this happens because, like you said, we haven't been here for quite a while. We're not used to the penguins having their name in the draft lottery. So we got to hold on to something right now because as Kyle Dubus likes to say, it's a team in transition right now.

Starting point is 00:07:29 Hey, we're especially not used to this team potentially having a top 10 pick in a draft. It's been very rare throughout Zinnie Rosby's tenure here over the last 20 years. But yes, the best, well, I wouldn't say the best case scenario, but the most likely scenario, obviously the best case scenario, Pat, is that they win the lottery and get number one. Very unlikely, 5% though. but the most likely scenario is that they stay at nine. And even if they do stay at nine, like I said, man, they're going to get a good player.

Starting point is 00:07:58 I like how Kyle Dubas and West Clark have conducted themselves with how much scouting they've done over the year. And you look at West Clark's draft history during his time in Toronto. He knows what he's doing. And I had Jesse on last week and he even told me that, you know, they've really been scouting Frontell. They've scouted Eckling. They've scouted a whole bunch of other top prospects in this draft.

Starting point is 00:08:17 And I'll say this right now. Like if someone like Eklund falls down to nine, if they get the ninth overall pick and Eklund is there at nine, I one million percent think he would be the pick. It is a textbook, West Clark, Kyle Dubus pick. You know, Jake O'Brien is someone who I think they've been scouting a whole bunch as well. Obviously, you know, the big ones, you know, Mesa, Schaefer, Martone Higgins. We actually had someone ask us in one of the comments last week,

Starting point is 00:08:43 if the Penguins were to win the lottery, who would they take first overall, Mesa or Schaefer? I think they would take Schaefer. That is a bona fide top defenseman. Penguins don't have that in the system right now. I like Harrison Brunich, but I think some people are overrating him a little bit. Again, I like him quite a bit, but I think some people, at least some of the fans I've seen like, oh my God,

Starting point is 00:09:03 he's going to be like this Chris Lattang replacement for the next, you know, 15, 20 years. We've got to pump the brakes a little bit on that. But Matthew Schaefer, he 100% would be the pick to me. That's who in the draft lottery. If they were to somehow win, it's the most obvious pick. He's obviously the top of the draft for a reason, but what have we been talking about on this show for a couple weeks?

Starting point is 00:09:26 The penguins need to rebuild their defense. They have- It would be ready next year, I think too, by the way. Yeah, and they have some solid prospects on defense, but nobody right now who can take up that mantle as the number one defenseman on the roster. And Schaefer very clearly has the tools to do that. Obviously, it has to work out.

Starting point is 00:09:46 He's got to develop. it's all got to translate to the NHL level, but you look at a lot of the pre-scouts with him, he is exactly what you want in a number one defenseman. He's not all gas, no breaks, offensive defenseman, but he's also not stay at home, defense only,

Starting point is 00:10:04 doesn't do much on the offense, offensive side. So if it were to come to pass that they were to get the first overall, in my estimation, it should be Schaefer because, like I said, they need a bona fide number one defenseman not just right now, but going forward in the future, because they really don't have one right now on the roster, nor do they really have one in the system.

Starting point is 00:10:29 If they stay at nine, I'm right there with you. I will gladly bullrush the stage right alongside you if Eklins available. That is a name I've had circled for a while now, even when it looked like this team was going to bottom out even further. if they were going to pick in the top five, let alone the top 10. Eklin was a guy that I was like, rush the stage, get him in your system right now, because he very much fits the flavor of what you see, especially what we're going to talk about at the end of the show. Some of these teams that are near the top of the NHL right now,

Starting point is 00:11:04 he is that kind of player that is going to be a nightmare to play against. Is he Connor McDavid? No. Is he Sidney Crosby? No. But he's a guy who he is a classic long night player, where when he steps over the boards, opposing defensemen, opposing centers go, God, I have to deal with this guy again.

Starting point is 00:11:32 And the penguins really badly need one of those players. The penguins will probably have to get a little bit of help for him to drop to number nine because someone would have to galaxy brain. and take Roger McQueen in like the top six or seven, which I do think could happen. He has too many injury concerns for me. Like he obviously has talent, but the injuries really scare me away.

Starting point is 00:11:52 I don't even have him in my top 10 for my penguin specific big board this year. I have him hovering near the 15-ish range a little bit outside of it, but I would not touch him in the top 10. But I do think one team might just because, you know, that's how teams operate. The talent's there. It's just like you said,

Starting point is 00:12:09 the injuries are the issue. He's a very, good player, but you really have to worry that he can't stay healthy. And not even from saying he's injury prone. Obviously, that's part of it. But if you're at that developmental hockey player age and you're continually hurt, it's going to stunt your development as a player. So he's going to need to get the reps.

Starting point is 00:12:32 He's going to need to get the time. But if he can't stay healthy, that's going to throw all of that in the trash. 100%. And one last thing before we had to break, Pat, the initial draft law already will be held. Usually the lottery, it's taped and then they reveal, oh, like, who, which teams will pick where, right? Well, no, the lottery is going to be done live.

Starting point is 00:12:51 So that's going to be fun to see how fans react to this. It should have been doing this for years now. The fact that this is the first year that they're doing it, I don't know, man, kind of crazy, but I'm excited that they're doing it live. So remember people, that happens tonight directly before the second round in the Stanley Cup playoffs starts. And that'll do it for this first segment coming up in the second segment. for the first time in 10 years, Sidney Crosby is going back to the World Championships

Starting point is 00:13:16 and oh yeah, he'll have his best friend with him for that. Pat and I are going to discuss that coming up here in the second segment. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our first sponsor, and that is Monarch Money. Ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping and entertainment,

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Starting point is 00:15:30 He's been working out of Ben in Pittsburgh since the season ended, and it was confirmed by the Penguins on Sunday, Sunday evening, I should say, that Sidney Frosby is heading back to the world championships. He will be representing Team Canada once again, and it will be the first time since he captained the team to the gold medal in 2015. And his best friend is going to be joining him. Nathan McKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, we're eliminated in seven crazy games against the Dallas Stars. We'll touch on that a little bit later in the show when we make our second round Stanley Cup playoff predictions. But he will have his best friend there.

Starting point is 00:16:05 And I just have to get this out of the way. I was listening to Elliot Freeman on 32 thoughts this morning. Buddy, we don't need to talk about Cindy Crosby to Colorado and all that now that they got eliminated. Stop it. Don't even bring it up. He's not going anywhere. Everyone in the hockey media stratosphere needs to stop bringing up. I saw it on spitting chicklets over the weekend.

Starting point is 00:16:27 I saw a clip circulating on Twitter. We really have got to stop this nonsense. It's not news. It's never been news unless Sidney Crosby somehow goes out there and says, hey, I want out. He's never said that. I don't think he's ever going to. But hey, congratulations to Sid. He's going to team Canada. And I'm excited to see what he can do. Same here. And yeah, I'm, I'm 100% with you on that. I saw the same thing from Chicklets with John Butchagros who decided to talk about how he should go to the habs for some reason,

Starting point is 00:16:59 because it was his favorite team as a child. And well, I mean, if we're just going to do that with every single superstar, then I guess if the Leafs decide to underperform here against the Florida Panthers, then Austin Matthews should just go to Utah because his favorite team was the coyotes growing up. So it's just, it's so dumb. But yeah, there is one thing about this that I think it was pretty obvious that Crosby was going to do this because he kept working out. He kept him, he kept himself in Pittsburgh. He was working with a lot of the injured players who, were rehabbing at the end of the year. And as much as Crosby is a total hockey obsessed freak, he doesn't really stick around for very long after the season. He goes home. He goes back to

Starting point is 00:17:49 Nova Scotia or goes on vacation or does something to the effect of where he gets away for a while. And seeing how often he was still at the Lemieux complex working out, kind of signaled to me that, all right, he's waiting to commit to Team Canada for the world championships. So that didn't really surprise me. Now, I know this is going to come off a little conspiracy theorist, a little hot takist, but I don't think that there was ever going to be a world where he was going to be upset with Kyle Dubis because his loyalty lies to the logo more so than it does any single person. And with Kyle Dubus being the GM of Team Canada at the World Championships,

Starting point is 00:18:35 now just a week removed from the dismissal of Mike Sullivan, who as we know, Sidney Crosby is extremely loyal to, is an extremely big fan. I do think if Crosby would have said no to going to the World Championships, it would kick off a pretty tough media cycle for the Penguins, because you have your president of hockey operations running team Canada. Crosby is still one of the best Canadian hockey players on the planet. And he says no to going the world championships.

Starting point is 00:19:11 That would have kicked off a lot of people saying, ooh, maybe Crosby isn't happy with Kyle Dubus. Maybe Sidney Crosby wasn't exactly thrilled about the decision to get rid of Mike Sullivan. So now I think if nothing else, it puts that to rest. It puts to rest any of the, there's friction between Crosby and the front office. He's not happy with Kyle Dubus. That's all put to bed now because he's going to go to the world championships. He's going to continue to be Sidney Crosby.

Starting point is 00:19:42 And I'm sure over the next few weeks, we're going to talk about him just lying complete waste to this tournament. And guess who's the GM of Team Canada at the World Championships, Pat? Oh, Kyle Dubis. So you have that as well. the world championships will take place in Denmark in Sweden from May 9th until May 25th. And this will be the third time that he has represented Team Canada at the World Championships. Again, 2015 and in 2006, Canada's scheduled throughout the World Championships here. On May 10th, they'll play Slovenia, May 11th, they'll play Latvia, May 13th, they'll play France, May 15th against Austria,

Starting point is 00:20:18 the 17th against Slovakia, May 19th against Finland, and then May 20th against Sweden. So that's the schedule for Team Canada. And again, I wish Indy Crosby the best of luck. He usually plays very well at the World Championships. Well, I mean, he plays very well every time he puts the C on for Team Canada. And I think it's going to be no different here. Also curious to see who else goes to Team Canada with Crosby and McKinnon. But again, people May 9th until May 25th are the World Championships.

Starting point is 00:20:45 Do you really have anything else to add about this? I mean, listen, I know it is two completely different situations. to completely different eras. But if you remember how absolutely dominant Sidney Crosby was between 2015 and 2017, it kicked off at the World Championships. The Penguins lose to the Rangers in the first round. He goes to the World Championships, does a hell of a job with them. They come back the next season.

Starting point is 00:21:18 Obviously, they have the coaching change. Crosby scores, I think it was 80 points from the time Sullivan. was hired to the time they got to the playoffs. He was absolutely electric in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, falls it up with another great season in 16, 17, another great playoff in 17. Oh, and between that, there was also the World Cup of hockey where he was easily the best player on the ice.

Starting point is 00:21:45 So, yeah, I know these are two different scenarios and two different areas and a lot of time has passed, but I've said before on the show, history may not repeat itself, but it certainly does rhyme. And with the way Crosby ended the season with what he's going into now, I don't think it's going to be anywhere near that level. But this kind of feels like Crosby ramping up back to that whole, oh, you guys think I'm done, just you watch.

Starting point is 00:22:10 And him and McKinnon, they're going to have something to prove, especially with the way the Avalanche lost in the first round, because that was a total heartbreaker. And with that, I'll do it for the second segment. Coming up to end the show, we're going to recap these two crazy games. sevens that we saw over the weekend and make our picks for the second round of the Stanley Got playoffs. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about our final sponsor, and that is Upwork. Scaling your business requires the right expertise at the right time. And with Upwork,

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Starting point is 00:23:15 One more time, Upwork.com to connect with top talent and grow your business today. All right, we're back here in this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-s, Patrick Dam. So, Pat, two, outstanding game sevens this past weekend. Colorado, they take a two-nothing lead in the third period. It looked like, oh, Nathan McKinnon is an assassin. They're going to move on. I'm going to get that series prediction, right?

Starting point is 00:23:40 I have the avalanche in six, but I was like, okay, I think I'm going to get avalanche in seven, though, so I'll take it. And then Miko Ransonon decided to happen and delivered a gigantic, tick F you to his former team. We're not going to say that word on this podcast because we like to be at least PG, PG-13 on the show. But that was one of the biggest

Starting point is 00:23:59 screw you performances I have ever seen an elimination game. He gets the stars on the board, makes it 2-1. He ties the game later 2-2. Wyatt Johnston makes it 3-3. And then, oh yeah, he delivers it for good measure for a hat-trick and has some words for his former team as he's going

Starting point is 00:24:16 to the bench. He put up 11 points in the final three games of the series. Hey, Joe Sackick, maybe don't trade me, go Ransin next time and decide to be cheap about it, man. Just me. I don't know. I wouldn't have traded him, brother, but that's just the way I see it. That is a awful loss for the avalanche. I felt like for a good chunk of this series, they were a bit better, but the stars, man, they got some stones with a makeshift right side of their defense. They were able to do just enough to advance. Jake Ottinger was once again fantastic,

Starting point is 00:24:53 and they will move on to play the Winnipeg Jets, who also had an even crazier comeback over the weekend. Down 3-1 with two minutes left. They scored to make it 3-2. The Blues are one point six seconds away from advancing to the second round. They give up a tying goal, and then they lose in double overtime.

Starting point is 00:25:10 I'll say this, Pat, if the Penguins ever lose a series the way the Blues just lost it, you would see me on the news, my friend. You would see me on your local news. Either that, or I wouldn't come out of my house, for a week. I don't know how Blues fans are coping right now. I feel awful for our good friend and host, Kaylee Taylor, Simon, of Locked on Blues. She did a live last night, and you could just

Starting point is 00:25:29 tell she was absolutely gutted. I don't know how that fan base is doing it right now, but that was an absolutely awful way to lose a series. And with that, the second round is set. Starts tonight, Toronto versus Florida. Give me the Panthers in six games. I think this is the best team in the conference right now. They absolutely bullied the lightning in the first round. They gave them absolutely nothing. They made Nikita Kutrov look like a JV player. And I don't say that lightly.

Starting point is 00:26:01 Nikita Kutrov is one of the five to ten best players in the sport. He is one of the best players of this generation. He's going to go down as one of the best Russian players to ever play in the NHL. And the fact that they made him such a non-factor continues to be crazy to me. Babrovsky continues to play great in net. their defense, while it's not as deep as last years, it's still good. Sasha Barkov is doing his thing. Matthew Kachuk is doing his thing.

Starting point is 00:26:26 They have the depth still. Give me the Panthers in six over the Maple Leafs. And then for the other Eastern Conference series before, I hand this over to you. Give me the Carolina Hurricanes in seven over the Washington Capitals. I think the hurricanes have what it takes to win this series. If Freddie Anderson is healthy, that changes things quite a bit. He's been skating. So hopefully he's going to be good to go in this series.

Starting point is 00:26:49 Stan Coven coming over from Dallas and that Ransin trade. He's been great. Fetchinac had a really good first round series. He needs to continue that in the second round. Spachanahe was really good in the first round. But they also really need Jacob Slaven to continue to play like one of the top defensemen in the league. They have a style that can really frustrate you.

Starting point is 00:27:09 And with how stingy they are in their own end, I think they will defend just enough and get just enough scoring as well to move on over the Washington Capitals. So in the East, I will go. Panthers in six and I will go Hurricanes and seven. This is tough for me because I'm in an ESPN bracket challenge with a bunch of my friends. And my Stanley Cup pick was the Maple Leafs. And that was contingent upon the lightning getting through the first round.

Starting point is 00:27:41 And I am still stunned at how badly the Panthers beat up on the lightning. I didn't think it was impossible, obviously. the Panthers are the Panthers. They're one of the best teams in the league, but it really felt like everything was lining up for the lightning. I am still stunned that they won that series in five. So I am, despite having my picks locked in on ESPN, I'm just watching it fall apart in real time because I can't take the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Panthers.

Starting point is 00:28:13 The Panthers just did way too much. Don't be a fake. Don't be a flaker. Take the Leafs. But listen. again, if we're analyzing the here and now, I had them play in the lightning. They're not playing the lightning now.

Starting point is 00:28:27 They're playing the Panthers, and the Panthers are the better team. But I think that is going to be a closer series than people think, and it's going to go seven, and the Panthers are going to take it. Now, as for Carolina Washington, yeah, the Caps beat Montreal, but they gave him a scare. It was five games, but it was a scare. And I think the wheels are wobbling a little bit in Washington.

Starting point is 00:28:54 Give me the hurricanes in six. I think the hurricanes are going to be the better team in this one. And we are going to get a Carolina, Florida, Eastern Conference Final. I have that conference final as well. And with that, if we do get it, I will take the Panthers to win that series, by the way, and go back to the Stanley final. I still think right now they are pound for pound when they play up to their potential, which they have been all playoffs long so far.

Starting point is 00:29:19 This is the top team in the Eastern Conference. Now, shifting gears to the West, Vegas, Edmonton, give me Vegas and seven. I saw what they did to Edmonton a couple years ago. I understand the Oilers are a bit deeper now. I know it's very much Connor and Leon against the world. I am still not going to trust Calpicker to beat the Vegas Golden Knights and a seven-game series.

Starting point is 00:29:37 I know Aiden Hill was a bit shaky in the first round against Minnesota. I think he can bounce back a little bit in this series. And I also do think Jack Geichel and Mark Stone have a bit more to get. They answer the call in the elimination game. game in game six, and I think they're going to carry that momentum into this series. Ikel has developed into a very good two-way player. It's going to be obviously very tough to shut down both McDavid and Drysidal, but he's going to do everything it takes.

Starting point is 00:30:03 Mark Stone is the same way. I like William Carlson also in this series. Also, Shea Theodore Alex Petrangelo, it's going to be a lot of fun seeing them go up against McDavid and Drysidal, but in the end, I think Vegas is going to be a little too much for Edmonton to handle. their depth is going to be a bit better than Edmontons, and I will take Vegas to win in seven. For Dallas, Winnipeg, I will take the stars in seven. It looks like hopefully they might get back Robertson and Hayskin, which is going to be massive,

Starting point is 00:30:35 two of their best players. I think with Winnipeg, yes, it's great that they got past the St. Louis Blues, but they still really scared me in that first round. Connor Hella Halebuck. He has a goals against average of over seven on the road. in the playoffs this year so far. He has not been good. Yeah, he got into the game a little bit more in game seven last night,

Starting point is 00:30:58 but he's been way too shaky for me. I had a take early in the playoffs, and I still think it holds true now that I am scared to death of him starting for a team USA in the Olympics next year if he's going to continue to play like this. The Jets are going to give them a fight, and I wouldn't be necessarily surprised if they won this series, but I'm going to take the stars by a hair,

Starting point is 00:31:18 but especially because of Jake Ottencher, he has been tremendous in the playoffs so far. Give me the stars in seven hard-fought games. This is going to be a very difficult series for me to talk about. But let me say this. The Jets, they bought their goaltender, a stay of execution. He can rewrite his story in this round. If he bounces back, I think he can fight back against a lot of the narratives against him. because, yeah, he got into the game late in game seven.

Starting point is 00:31:50 I will say, because I have been saying this about Hellebuck, I think there was maybe one or two games where, yeah, it was Connor Hellebuck's problem. But for a lot of that series, for a lot of the moments where they got their scares from St. Louis, it was a full team meltdown. It wasn't Connor Hellebuck just throwing out a great effort by Winnipeg because he couldn't make a save.

Starting point is 00:32:17 It was everybody in front of him failing and then him failing as well. But I do think with the reinforcements on the way for Dallas, I'm with you on the pick. It's going to be Dallas and seven. But if Connor Hellebuck looks like Connor Hellebuck in seven hard-fought games, I think he rewrites his narrative a little bit more. Now I save this for last because this is going to be my hot take. I'm taking Vegas against the Edmonton Oilers, but I am taking Vegas in five, because here's why.

Starting point is 00:32:53 I don't think Edmonton beat L.A. as much as L.A. beat L.A. As soon as they challenged that goal and gave up that power play goal to Edmonton to lose a lead and to fall into a deficit, they never recovered. Yeah, Edmonton played well. I'm not going to take that away from them. I don't think they played poorly. You can't say they did. But they ended up being the beneficiaries of a team that just went, oh my God, we can't do it. We can't beat this team. In Vegas, some of their best players haven't really arrived yet. And I think it's a much deeper team than Edmonton. And no disrespect to McDavid and Drysidal, but they're about. find out what it's playing against a really deep, really talented team.

Starting point is 00:33:47 And I think Vegas is going to smack them around in five. Well, let's see if you get old takes exposed on that. I'm not going to say Vegas in five just because, I don't know. I feel like that might be a little too disrespectful to Connor and Leon just because of the way they're playing right now. And again, it's very much them against the world. Evan Bouchard has also been really good in the playoffs so far too. But I think they're going to, they're going to give Vegas a hell of a fight.

Starting point is 00:34:09 again, this is very much a coin flip series to me. But in the end, I am going to take Vegas with their debt. And also, I do think they have a better goal tender. I'm not trusting Cal Pickard in the seven-game series to be Vegas. But hey, maybe I could get all takes exposed on that as well. But those are our picks for the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. And with that, that would do it for today's episode of the Locktown Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch this one.

Starting point is 00:34:33 We'll be back with another show for you all on Tuesday to recap the drop flottery and continue our season in review series. and then Wednesday we'll have another season in review. We'll continue that throughout the off season. We'll have the Wednesday episode up for you all pretty early because Wednesday I'm going down to my school of Virginia Tech to watch Metallica play at Lane Stadium, a once-in-a-lifetime concert.

Starting point is 00:34:54 For those that maybe don't know, Metallica's Enter Samin is Virginia Tech Football's entrance when they come out of the tunnel, and this is going to be one heck of an atmosphere. I am so stoked to go down there, but don't worry. We will have an episode of proceeds for you all very early in the day on Wednesday,

Starting point is 00:35:08 Wednesday and then again we'll have episodes for Thursday and Friday too. So for Patrick Damp, I am Hunter Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in. We really appreciate it. We'll be back on Tuesday.

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