Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins humbled again on Thursday, will try to rebound on Friday

Episode Date: November 8, 2024

The Pittsburgh Penguins got humbled in a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night and Hunter is here to break it all down. He starts with the play of Erik Karlsson and how he had a horrendous effort, especially in the first period. He breaks down the first two goals, which were awful reads from him. He discusses how it's not close to good enough and how Mike Sullivan appears to have had enough of some of his play, based on his post-game presser. He also discusses how Alex Nedeljkovic didn't play well enough before previewing Friday's game against the Washington Capitals. Hunter looks at how the Caps have played this year and how this one presents another challenge for a Penguins team that really needs to get back into the win column. Finally, Hunter ends the show with some thoughts on the first month of the NHL season.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PrizePicksDownload the app or go to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNHL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Penguin struggles in Raleigh continued on Thursday night in a 5-to-1 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes, and I'm going to break down that loss for you all. Plus, get you all set for Penguins Capitals tonight 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 Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes.

you can follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. And of course, you can follow my coast on Twitter, Patrick Damp at Senderfrewett. Also, 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 Game Time app, grant account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. And before we get into this 5 to 1 loss against the hurricanes, for those that maybe did not listen to or watch Thursday the episode. Pat is not here on Friday because, well, he's in Mexico with his girlfriend for a wedding. So when he comes back next Tuesday, yes, he won't be on Monday's episode either. I'm sure he's

going to be a pretty hungover and be pretty tan. But I hope that he and his lady have an absolute blast down there celebrating a couple of their friends. But let's dive into this 5-1 loss for the penguins as they've now lost eight of their last 10 games after winning three of their first five games to start this season. Honestly, this is going to sound very strange. I feel like the penguins played a lot better tonight than some of the takes I saw on social media. The thing was, the penguins were just never close to winning this game. That's the thing. I thought the penguins were the better team for most of this evening. They basically outshot the hurricanes by a two to one margin. It was 37 to 19. The underlying numbers were very good. But a few of the same

issues kept popping up, especially number one, their coverage in their own zone in the first period, notably from Eric Carlson. Eric Carlson peaks in valleys this season. He's had games where he's played very well, especially these last three before this game, of course. But then it all comes crashing down and it's just like, what the heck were you thinking, especially in that first period? Three games in a row, he led the Penguins in average game score and the eye test backed that up. He was great at creating offense. He was fine in his own zone.

He was good in his transition. But tonight, all of that went out the window. Just not even a minute into the game. He takes the wrong angle on Jordan Martinook, not even on the right side of the ice, doesn't have a stick down. Boom, Martinuk gets the scoring 1-0, not even a minute in.

That's not good enough from Eric Carlson. And then just a few minutes later, he let Sebastian Ajo go right around him in the neutral zone. Carlson really not even making an effort to impede Ojo there turns into an on-man rush and Delkevich no shot on that second goal. And it's just like, again, where is the consistency with this player? He's had good games this season.

He hasn't been fully bad all year, at least in my opinion. But his bad games are worse than his bad games from last year. I think his good games match what he did at the end of last season. but his bad games are far worse than any of the bad games that he had last year for me. And the Penguins, again, you need a much higher level from Eric Carlson if you have any shot of getting this season back on track. And right now, I mean, we're a month in the season that doesn't look like it's going to happen. And Mike Sullivan was pretty fed up.

It felt like after the game with the play of Eric Carlson, he didn't specifically mention And I was watching the post-game presser on Sportsnet Pittsburgh. I usually don't, but I really wanted to see what Sullivan had to say after this loss. And after that play on Martinuk, Sullivan called it soft or soft, as Michelle Tarion once said, as Penguins head coach. And it's pretty rare when he says that word. And to me, it definitely felt like that was a message, excuse me, to Carlson saying, you know what, man, it's time to be way more consistent and clean up your act

in the defense zone. And granted, yes, he has never been good in his own zone as a player, but you can't be this bad and especially leading to two goals against in the first period. It's not good enough on Martin Nook and it's not good enough on Aho. You're letting Ajo go right around you in the neutral zone. You're not even doing anything to impede him from getting into the zone. You don't have your stick down on Martin Nook to even get that puck away for that chance. It's bad.

It's unacceptable. That has to be better. And also another thing that the Penguins did not get tonight was good goaltending. At a time, Nadelcovich had allowed four goals on 13 shots. Coming into this game, he had had a few really good starts in a row. But the thing with the Nadelcovich is if you ask him to make quite a few starts in a row, and we saw that last year, his game, excuse me, kind of starts to deteriorate a little bit. And you saw that a bit in this game.

I felt like the third goal he would want that back. I don't think his movement was all the way there. And on the fourth goal, yes, there's a bit of traffic, but I still think he would want that one from Slavin back as well. He didn't give them the sames tonight. He's been, there's been a couple games where I think he's wanted a goal back, but these last three starts, especially, I feel like he's been really good. Tonight wasn't near good enough. And on the other end for Carolina, Peter Kachakov was great. I mean, the penguins were getting some pretty good quality chances, especially on one of the power plays in the second period.

Heck, even in the first period where the shots were 10 to 2, 10 to 3 at one point, the penguins were getting good chances. But the Chekhov was right there. I mean, he was a brick wall tonight. He was very, very good for Carolina. So there's your difference. I really do think the penguins carried play for most of this night. And it's rare when they do that against Carolina.

Usually when the penguins play the hurricanes, these two teams will kind of take turns carrying the play. You'll see the penguins carry play for a bit, and then the hurricanes will carry play. And then it's a seesaw, goes back and forth. Obviously last game, the hurricanes carried play for basically the entire game, even when the Penguins went up, won nothing in that game in Pittsburgh. I'm like, man, I don't think this is going to last with the way the penguins are playing.

And sure enough, I was right. But tonight, Penguins doubled them up in shots. Again, you look at the underlying numbers. The Penguins out attempted them 55 to 39. They also had 27 scoring chances for, 19 scoring chances against. They had almost three expected goals at 5 on 5 tonight. And they did hold Carolina to 1.44 expected goals at, five on five. So the Penguins, they did clean up a little bit defensively in the final 40 minutes,

but those two gaffs from Carlson in the first period, that cost them. And coming into this game, I was kind of like there's really no chance for them to win just because they never play well in Raleigh and with how hot the hurricanes have been. I, this win probably would have been the biggest shock of the year so far for the Penguins. But it just stinks because I feel like for the most part, they played a pretty solid game. It's just A, two gaps by Carlson, can't have it. And B, they didn't get the goal tending. And if you want to add C, Cachecoff was really good in his net.

I thought the Penguins at five on five. They were getting chances from all four lines, especially the Malk and Crosby, Raquel line. I mean, they were a menace in the offensive zone. I mean, Crosby was taking Slave into school in quite a few shifts throughout that game. He had a gorgeous pass to Raquel pretty early in the game. Rekyll just shot it over the net. that's a chance that Raquel really doesn't miss too often, especially this year with the

level that he's played at. So obviously, frustrating to lose five to one. But it's even more frustrating that even though the penguins played well, they just were never even close to winning this game. Just goes to show how good the hurricanes have been this year and how the penguins have been this year. And once again, that's another loss to a. playoff team from last year. They are 0 and 7 and 1 against playoff teams from last year. They would have won against the Islanders earlier this week if they would have kept the 3-1 lead, but they lost in a shootout. That would have been their only win against a playoff team from last year. So that trend continues. The Penguins, they're able to beat the teams that are

kind of below them in the standings to kind of right around them in the standings, but they're not able to rise up and beat the average to above average team. so far. And it's not going to get easier tonight against the Capitals. This is a Capitals team that has played very good hockey. Alex Ovechkin is off to a great start this year. And they're getting contributions from all four lines. Their goaltending has been decent. And Spencer Carberry is coaching really well. I'm going to dive more into the Capitals in the second segment. But just wanted to end this segment by saying you need more from some of your players on the ice, including Eric Carlson. and I do think while I was watching that press run sports in at Pittsburgh that he was sending him a message.

No, I don't think Carlson is going to be scratched or anything like that, but it is past time for him to be way more consistent this season. He's had some good games, but he's had some really, really bad games. And if I had to make a comparison, I think so far this season, he's had a bit more bad games compared to good games. that needs to turn around ASAP. And seeing with Crystal Tank, I don't think he played well again tonight. And again, it just really stinks to see all aspects of his game rotting away, not even just him not creating in the offensive zone,

but his skating is not there. I mean, I remember a time when he was easily able to win foot races and use his skating to his advantage. He's not doing that at all this year. And it really stinks to see. But other than that, I really don't have many other thoughts on this game against Carolina.

I thought the Penguins put up a mostly good effort, but can't make those plays in the defensive zone in the first period, and you need some saves from your goaltender. So that's really all I have to say about this game against Carolina. Coming up in the second segment, I'm going to preview this game against the Washington Capitals and how Penguins can at least, again, try to get a win in this one against a very red-hot Capitals team.

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What time is it? It's game time. All right. We're back here in this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes. And I was about to say, join by my co-ist Patrick Dan, but of course, I'm solo for today. I've been saying that every time I host this show for the last year and change,

it just comes naturally to me at this point. So I got to go back to my OG Roos. as hosting this show solo. But Penguins Capitals tonight in Washington, and if you are making that trip down there, I also hope that you're maybe potentially thinking about going to Steelers Commanders on Sunday. That is a very underrated trip to D.C. this weekend.

You have Penguins Camps on Friday, followed by Steelers Commanders on Sunday. I can't recommend that trip enough. As someone who lived in the D.C. area for most of my life before moving to Pittsburgh, Capital One Arena, it's actually a pretty nice arena fans aren't that terrible. There's some bad eggs there, but there's bad eggs, I think, in every fan base.

But if you are thinking about going to that game or if you are going to that game in D.C., you won't be disappointed. And on Sunday, it's the same thing. I expect a lot of Steelers fans taking over. I'm still going to call FedEx Field and land over. It's always going to be FedEx Field to me. Just like how Ackresor Stadium is always going to be Heinzfield to me here in Pittsburgh. But that is a very fun trip if you're going on it.

but Penguins Capitals tonight in D.C. And this Capitals team, they are red-hot to start this season. Right now, third in the Metro, nine and three record. They've won eight or the last 10 games. This is a team that's firing on all cylinders right now. And it starts with Alex Lavechkin. He has been fantastic yet again for the Capitals. Eight goals, 16 points in 12 games.

He is getting very close to breaking the NHL's all-time goal record that's been held by Wayne Gretzky. And if you ask me, I think he might do it this year. If he doesn't, it's going to be early next season, but he has a very strong chance of doing it by the end of the season. And I was half joking on Twitter last week, but also kind of not. I kind of think he might break it in mid-April in the Penguins' final regular season game of the 24-25 season.

Their final game, it's against Washington here. And if he is, say, one goal away from breaking that record, he will have a very good opportunity of doing it here. And honestly, I kind of hope he does because it kind of would be poetic with how these two teams have played so many great classic matchups against one another over the years. And I do think he would get a pretty outstanding ovation here. And he's been, again, on fire to start this season. He does not look like he is close to 40 at all.

But they've also been getting really good play from Dylan Strome. Only four goals, but he has 15. points, 15 to 6, excuse me, 19 points in 12 games. He's been a great playmaker all year. Connor McMichael, another one of their young pieces, eight goals, 13 points in 12 games. John Carlson's almost at a point per game. You know what you're going to get from Tom Wilson. He has six goals, nine points in 12 games.

He's always going to be a pest to play against. But the biggest difference for Washington this year for me is the way they're playing in the offensive zone. I felt like last year they were more of a defensive team and they were just kind of just getting by with, you know, these two one, three, two wins. Charlie Lingren was playing outstanding in net, especially down the stretch. And this year, he's been totally fine, but he hasn't been nearly as good last year. But it also really hasn't mattered that much because the capitals are scoring at a higher

clip this year compared to last year. Credit to the Capitals front office, they were able to go out there in free agency and on the trade market and add younger pieces to their lineup to not only help Ovecgen, go and get the goal record, but to also make them competitive into a potential playoff team. You're seeing both of that this year. Ovechkin looks rejuvenated after last year. He's having a blast on the ice. And these younger pieces and some of these veterans they went out and acquired are performing really well.

I hate saying this. I really do. But the Capitol's front office has kind of skated circles around the Penguins front office these last two to three seasons. I would say Dubis was a little late to the party. he's doing right now what McClellan was doing a bit these last couple of years in Washington, but that front office is one of the better front offices in the NHL. And you know, they added, for example, Jacob Trickren,

trickren, excuse me, to the lineup over the offseason. They added Matt Roy to the lineup, Sandine was a really good acquisition. They brought in Andrew Magiapani, Brandon Duhane. The Peerloot-Dubois experiment is actually not nearly as bad to start this year as I thought it was going to be. they have a lot of very young and intriguing pieces in this lineup. And Spencer Carberry is coaching really well. There are threats on every line. I mean, you start at the top line with Ovechkin and Strome.

They're playing great. McMichael's having a great year with Tom Wilson on the second line. Magic Ponny is a really good depth score. You have Sonny Milano on that line as well. Brandon Du Hame and Nick Down on the fourth line has a good checking line. And then defensively, you have Carlson, Feverevary. And we all know Ferrarvi and Crosby. They love going at each other.

every time they play. I'm sure it's going to be no different in this one. And then Sandine with Matt Roy. And then goaltending, you have Lingren and Logan Thompson. It's funny, Thompson is actually outplayed Lingren this year. Thompson has the higher Sabres. Yeah, he does have a higher Sabres. He's also 6.0 in his start so far with a 2.81 goals against average.

So they're getting competent goaltending. They're getting depth scoring and their stars are playing well. And they're playing well in their own zone. This is a very strong team right now. I had lower expectations for Washington this year because I really didn't. I guess I wanted to see them do this again before I bought into it. Well, I'm starting to buy into a bit more just with the way they're playing this year compared to last year.

They're not being hemmed in their own zone. They're breaking the puck out a lot faster. They're getting the depth scoring and the penguins. They're going to have to be on high alert for every Capitals line that goes out there. Obviously, the Capitals power play. It's not what it used to be, you know, when they had Cuisnetsov and his prime on. it and backstrom with his playmaking ability, but you still always have to be aware when Ovechkin is out there from his spot on their circle. Yes, they have Wilson out there as a player

that can hit you from the slot from the net front area. Dylan Strom is a good playmaker. Carlson can shoot bombs from the point. They have a good setup. It's just all about getting that unit to flow. So the Penguins penalty kill, which has been pretty solid this year. This is going to be another big test for them like it always is against a capital's power play where Ovechkin can blow a puck past you virtually. any time. But Penguins to win this game, got to keep their shifts short. You have to really simplify things. You have to have Yoel Blumquist play. Well, he hasn't played that much lately just because Nadelcovic has been taking up a lot of these last few starts. But I want to see how he does,

because there is a chance that this could be one of his final starts before he goes back to Wilkesbury because we're getting to the end of the line here where Tristan Jari's conditioning stand. And it looks like just based on his numbers, based on the way he's played down there, he's probably going to get called up and maybe be given one more shot on this team. So if that happens, I think Blumquist is going to go down, even though I'm not going to like it because of the way Blumquist has played at the NHL level, but I'm still excited for him to get the start in this game. You know Cindy Crosby is going to be wide awake for this one.

He always is against the capitals. And the penguins, it's weird when I feel like they don't play with. in D.C. in both games last year in D.C. I felt the Penguins played two of their final performances of the season, especially late in the season when the Penguins were really pushing for the playoffs. They played great in their own zone. If they can somehow replicate that, I mean, that would be a dream come true in this one. And of course, get the goal tending in this one as well. But again, keep your shift short. Got to watch a veteran on the power play, especially. And at five on five, you really don't want Dylan Strom to burn you. He has been

Once again, a great playmaker throughout this season. It's going to be another big test for the Penguins with the way the capitals are humming and with the way the capitals are playing in their own zones. Spencer Carberry, I know the capitals were a bit boring to watch last year, but he had been playing still pretty solid defense. It was a bit boring again, yes, but it was effective. And it's been very effective this year. They've had some injuries on the back end, but they're starting to get some guys back.

this is going to be another big test for the Penguins forwards and how they're able to create offense in this game. So really looking forward to this one, Penguins Capitals, it really never gets old if you ask me. I mean, I know Oveskens up there in age. I know Crosby, Malkin, Le Teng, even Carlson do agree, they're up there in age. But these rivalry games between these two teams, they will never, ever get old. And I am so looking forward to watching this one. It is going to feel so weird when all these players are done playing. And then Penguins Capital just goes back to being like, okay. So it's fun when these rivals play against one another,

but it just won't have the same. What's the word I'm looking for here? Meet on it with how much star talent both these teams have still. But I think that would do it for this second segment coming up to end the show. I'm going to discuss my overall NHL season thought so far as we're about a month into this season, who I think is doing well. who I'm a bit worried about and all that good stuff. But before we get to that, I got to tell you all about our last sponsor,

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just visit fandul.com to join today, and you get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. That's fandul.com, never waste a hunch and make every moment more with fandle. That's an official sports book partner of the NFL. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodey. So I figured I would end today's show with just looking around the league. I feel like I haven't done this in a while. Heck, Pat and I really haven't done this in quite a while.

But, you know, we're a month into the season just about. I figured it's a good time to check in on the teams outside of Pittsburgh and look at, you know, who is surprising me, who's kind of disappointing me and all that good stuff. And we have to start with the Winnipeg Jets, man. Holy Toledo, the way they're playing. They're 13 in 1 to start this season. They're getting depth scoring from all across their lineup. Their stars have been great.

Kyle Conner's been awesome. Eler's has been awesome. Morrissey is showing why he's a number one defenseman. Shifley's been great. Hella Buck has been him, as the kids like to say, Annette. This Winnipeg team has really surprised me this year because heading into the season, I was kind of like, okay, they're a playoff team, but they kind of got embarrassed by the avalanche in the playoffs last year.

What's going to give here? You know, was that the best that we could see from that Jets group? Well, I've been dead wrong so far because they won 13 in their first 14 games. This team is a ton of thought. to watch. We saw that on display a few weeks ago when the Penguins went on their Western Canada trip. And even when they went up to nothing, the Penguins, that is, it never felt like the Jets were out of that game with the way they're scoring this year. And you saw that on display. This team has been a ton of fun to watch. But in contrast,

I am a little bit worried about the Boston Bruins. Yes, I know they did win tonight, but they haven't had the horses this year. Marchand's been fine. Posternak's been fine, but Swamen heading into tonight. He was below 900 for his saber percentage. They're still looking to try and getting him going. Lynn Holm heading into tonight hasn't been playing that well, but did have a pretty good game tonight at home. They're still working in some of these pieces, but I'm still a bit concerned because you

look up and down this Bruins team. It's not nearly as deep. And if they're not able to figure this out, I will be curious to see what the Bruins do at the end of this season. For example, say this is the year they're, the playoffs, are they going to fire Jim Montgomery? I mean, if the Penguins move on from Mike Sullivan at any point during this season or after the season and Montgomery also gets fired by the Bruins, that is someone I would really love the Penguins to go after. I think Jim Montgomery is one of

the better head coaches in the NHL. And honestly, if both those things happen, we can potentially see a coaching change, like just both coaches swapping. I should say, you know, Sullivan may be going to Boston. I know his first tenure there really didn't work out, but I feel like compared to then with now, he's a better coach. Obviously, he's won a lot more. And I do think it's time for Sullivan to just have a change of scenery. I think I've been saying it so many times on the show. I think he's lost his way here. And I think he's hit his expiration date. It's been here for, you know, at least probably a year now. I know a lot of people have been arguing for longer. Totally understand you. I really didn't get there until the end of the last season.

Yes, I know I was a bit late on that. You can dunk on me for that if you want. But still, I would not be surprised if, you know, maybe that happens and you see, you know, those two coaches swap. But Jim Montgomery would be one of the people on my short list if the Penguins were making a coaching change and the Bruins were to make a coaching change as well. And ditto for Nashville. Andrew Burnett, I do feel like is a pretty good coach, especially with his offensive systems.

But Nashville really needs to figure this out. They spent a lot of money this year, especially on Brady Shea, on Jonathan March or so, and Steven Samcoast, but they're not acclimated with them yet. They're just not playing as a team yet. And usually Soros, I know he usually starts seasons a bit slow. But this start from Nashville is uncharacteristically slow, I think. And if this doesn't figure it out, Barry Trott said to the media this week, I'm not sure if he was joking or not, but he was like, yeah, if this doesn't work itself out, I'm going to have to

start my rebuild plan. So he's not happy with the way things are going down in Smashville. So curious to see if they figure that out. In the Metro Division, you have Carolina, obviously off to a great start with a 10 and 2 record. They've won eight in a row. The Hurricanes, they do this stuff during the regular season. But to me, it's all about how they play in the playoffs. When you get them in the playoffs, the opposing coaching staff is only able to focus on them and they're able to tactically adjust to what Rod Rindamore does. And I still feel like they could use another score or two in the lineup. So that's going to be something to watch down the stretch as well. But they're definitely performing a bit better than I thought they would, at least to start

the season. I think the Rangers, they've been good, 8 and 3-1, but I feel like they still have another level to reach. From the Atlantic, the Panthers are picking up where they left off. They've won six in a row. They've been great. Toronto, they're at 500 right now. second place in the Atlantic, but I still feel like, I mean, obviously they're a playoff team, but I'm not sure how deep they're going to go. Tampa Bay, they've lost a few in a row. They'll be fine, but I still feel like they could use a bit more depth. But then you have some of the disappointments in the conference, Montreal, they can't offend to save their lives. Ottawa has been hit or miss throughout the season.

I still feel like I'll believe it when I see it when it comes to them making the playoffs. When you go back to the Western Conference, Minnesota has been a ton of fun to watch this year. Penguins just saw them last week. If Caprisov keeps this up, I think he's going to be A in the heart conversation. I think he's definitely going to try to get them to the playoffs as well. Colorado is scaring me a bit. They're 6 and 8 through their first 14 games, but they've also been severely banged up. I mean, they've had defensemen playing in forward spots this season.

So I think Colorado is probably going to figure it out, but this has been a pretty slow start by their standards in the Pacific. I think Edmonton, yes, slow start. They haven't been able to finish. They've been one of the worst finishing teams in the league, but they did just get McDavid back. I think he's going to be just fine. I think the oilers are going to be just fine,

but they got to start waking it up here a little bit. Vancouver, I think they'll be totally fine. They're going to move up the rankings. But Vegas, so many people I feel like rode off Vegas this year, and I'm like, people, you still realize that they have a very deep forward group, and defensively, they're still pretty strong. Oh, yeah, Bruce Cassie, still a very good coach. So I don't understand why so many people were writing off Vegas heading into this year.

I even saw a few people saying that they were going to miss the playoffs. I'm like, what? I just really don't know what they were talking about. But those are some of my miscellaneous NHL thoughts for the first month of the season. We still very much know right now, at least, in my opinion, who the contenders are in the east. You have Florida. You have the Rangers. The capals are starting to get into that category.

I still think they're a playoff team that can maybe win a round or two right now, but I don't see them as a contender. New Jersey is playing well. I have them more of a contender than the capitals right now. In my opinion, you have Toronto. I don't think they're a bona fide contender, but they're at least a playoff team that can maybe win a round or two if they get the right matchup.

But in terms of contenders in the East, I would say my top two right now are still Florida and New York and in the West, Winnipeg very much. Vegas is up there. And I know they've had slow starts, but Vancouver and Edmonton are also up there as well. And of course, you can throw in Dallas. I still think the West is a bit,

deeper than the East so far this season. But I think that I'll do it for today's episode of the Locktime Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch me, just ramble about the Penguins, preview this game against the capitals, and then ramble my thoughts about the first month of the season as a whole. I'll be back on Monday with another episode of this podcast, hopefully with Jesse Marshall for Marshall Mondays. Remember this past Monday, he had something for work come up,

but we're hoping this Monday his schedule will be fully clear, and he'll be able to join me for Marshall Mondays. And then Pat, he'll be back for Tuesday's episode and the rest of the episodes going forward unless he has to go out of the country again. But that will do it for this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. Again, really appreciate all of you listening to slash watch this one.

If you haven't already, leave a like on this episode on YouTube, subscribe to the channel, and give us a five-star review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon music, all of that good stuff. But for myself, thank you so much for listening and I'll be back on Monday.