Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins make it SIX IN A ROW on Saturday, will go for SEVEN tonight!

Episode Date: February 2, 2026

The Penguins winning streak has reached six games after they got a win over their former coach and his new club. Hunter and Patrick first take a look at the Penguins’ 2016 Stanley Cup 10-year ceremony which even made Sidney Crosby tear up. (2:00) Then, they recap the game, which saw the Penguins blitz the Rangers for the first two periods, only to let up late. Fortunately, they were able to hold on and get the clean two points, but concerns about holding a lead might be back. Then, the Penguins will take on a team tonight in the Ottawa Senators who have given them fits for the past few years. How they can get a win, and who need to step up for the Penguins (20:30). Finally, a big week looms before the Olympic break, including a big Metro showdown on Long Island. (29:20)Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!IndeedNow, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/lockedon right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelIf you’re a new customer, bet just $5 and get $200 in Bonus Bets if you win. Make it count — because after the Super Bowl, the season is over. Last call for football on FanDuel, an Official Sportsbook Partner of Super Bowl Sixty.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.

Make it six in a row for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they defeated the Rangers six to five on Saturday. And Pat and I are going to recap that game for you all. Plus get you guys set for Penguins senators 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 am one of your host, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-st, Patrick Damp. You can follow him on all social media platforms at Center for Wet.

You can also follow this show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. And you can find this on Instagram at Lockdown, 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 Fandle. It's the last call for football on Fandle. if you are a new customer, bet just $5 and get $200 in bonus bets if you win. Pat Saturday was another wild and chaotic win for this crazy hockey team.

The Penguins make it six in a row, beating the Rangers 6 to 5 and get two crucial points for the season as they stay in second place in the Metropolitan Division, heading into Mondays, the game against the Ottawa Senators. Remember people, this is the final week of games before the three-week Olympic break. Penguins will play tonight at home against Ottawa, tomorrow on Long Island against the Islanders. A huge game for the standings. That's the classic four-point game, as I like to say on the show. And then Thursday, they will head to Buffalo to take on the red-hot and surging sabers

who very much look like a playoff team right now. More on those matchups a bit later on in the show. Pat, let's get back to Saturday's game against the Rangers. The 2016 team was in the house, and I can't lie, man. I got a little emotional watching the. that ceremony back. They didn't show it on ESPN because they were showing the end of that stupid blowout of the avalanche Red Wings game. But I got a bit emotional seeing that, considering how much that championship meant to me back when I was, you know, 18 years old,

a senior in high school, you know, I'm 28 now. That team was just so special in the way they bulldozed everyone once they got hot down the stretch and then into the playoffs as well. And you also knew they weren't going to lose when you saw Sidney Crosby get very emotional. He was brought to tears watching that video and he explained after that. He just, he loves that group and he won with them and, you know, just watching that video brought out his emotions. So, you know, it was awesome seeing the Penguins really put up a great performance for, I'll say this, Pat, 52 of the 60 minutes, final eight minutes, not so much.

And we'll start there because I'm going to be very quick with this. We have a lot of positives to get into the fourth line was once again great. Rucker McGority is playing really well. right now. I thought Parker Waddrewspoon was fantastic. Anthony Mantha has almost 20 goals this season. Trust me, people, we're going to get to a lot of the positives because this team is rolling right now. But this team still needs to clean up in their own end at the end of the games when they have big leads. I loved the way they were playing for 52 minutes until I'm getting him all getting got a little too careless with a puck, leads to a shorthanded goal. And then after that, they were just kind of

handling the puck still like a grenade. Even after Ben Kindle made it a 16. the game, okay, we can skate it out. Nope, they're making dumb decisions. They're not playing well in their own zone. It got a little too dicey, especially in the final seconds pat, where there was that icing. All the player had to do was just skate two more feet, dump it in, and the penguins would have been totally fine.

The clock would have run out. But just, again, too many not so good decisions, stuff that still needs to be cleaned up. So maybe I'm nitpicking a little bit, but the end of games, when they have leads like this, they still need to be better. I know it's the Rangers, but sorry, I had to say it. That's the point for me is that basically any other opponent, if they play that way in the final eight minutes, I'm coming on here and tearing them to pieces,

because that's an unacceptable effort in the final eight minutes. But I'll full disclosure to our audience, Saturday was nerd heaven for me, two screens up, penguins on one, royal rumble on the other. So I was just having myself a grand old day on Saturday. But I watching the focusing on the Penguins game as I did, the overall vibe I got from that game is that it's not just the Rangers management who has waved the white flag on this season. It's the team itself. They just looked utterly disinterested in being there. And even in that

eight minute span where they made their quote unquote push, even that was pretty low energy. So when they do that, because again, we know this season, they have blown some massive leads and it's haunted them. But even against the Rangers in that final eight minutes, I was watching it going, we're all right. They're still coming out of here with two points. Like this Rangers team is just, they have no heart. They have no effort.

Both teams in the final period just looked like they wanted to be anywhere else in the world than playing that game. So I'm putting an asterisk on it. and I'm filing it away. If they get that, if they do that kind of thing against the senators, the islanders, the sabers, or when they get back against other teams, then yeah, I'm going to have a big problem. But they did a, they got the two points they needed to get against the team they needed

to beat in a celebratory day at PPG paints arena. Right. 100% agree with you on that latter point. It's just something to file away, but also cleanup because the end of games has been a problem for them at times this season, especially. in December, of course, when they were blowing all those leads. So it's still something that I just want them to iron out a little bit just because it should not have gotten that close with, you know,

a D-Zone face off with three and a half seconds left. Thankfully, I've already won it and they skated out with the two points, but it still should not have gotten to that point, is all I'm saying. But, okay, enough about the final eight minutes. Let's get to the rest of the game because the penguins, you're right, Pat. They were skating the Rangers right off the ring. The Rangers were playing like a team full of quitters. I found it very funny that the main heart that they showed was Matt Rentby,

just trying to goon it up in the third period. I'm like, okay, man, you're playing like six minutes a night. You don't really do anything except try to just be stupid. But whatever, the fourth line once again, man, continues to play, in my opinion, like the best fourth line in hockey. Noachari, two more goals. That second goal, especially, the one that made it to nothing. Just again, hard work and determination.

The way that he was able to rifle that one-timer, passed John and the thing quick was a thing of beauty, the way that the fourth line was able to just continue to be so relentless as well, well, as a sight for Soul Rise. Again, man, I love the way that line is going. And I'll also throw this in there too. I thought this was another great game from Rucker McGority. He continues to be quick and decisive with his decisions.

He's showing a shoot first mentality. He made that opening goal happen with Anthony Manta. Shot it, goes off Manta and N. But I just loved how right away, He's like, you know what, I'm firing that. I'm not going to take another second or two to decide what I'm going to do with the puck. I'm just going to fire a one-timer, see what happens. I am also really liking his game lately.

He's been really good since returning. And he continues to give Dan Mews and Kyle Dubus and the rest of the staff a difficult decision to make because the points aren't going to show it because they haven't been there. He does get an assist on Mantha's goal. But just everything he's doing is working. He's playing really hard. He's playing physical. He's getting pucks to the net. He's good in the defensive zone.

It's the kind of player that we kind of hoped we would see in Rutger McGority and we have been seeing as of late. So that's going to be a really difficult decision. What else do we have to say about the fourth line? They provide a spark when you need it. They're continuing to provide offense. Nolachari already has six goals this year. And it just seems like every time that line is on the ice, they're making something happen. They're not just holding serve.

They're not just out there to keep the other team at bay. They're taking the attack to them. And that is extremely valuable. And just overall, I do want to say the REMPY stuff, any other year with the Rangers, I would agree that it's just Rempe being a goon. I also think at the end of the day, it kind of goes hand in hand with what I was saying about this Rangers team quitting. Along with them quitting, you can tell they're frustrated. They had higher expectations for themselves.

And we can call it piss baby stuff. We can call it whatever we want. But it's human nature. This team's frustrated. And they have really no other way to take it out on teams because they can't score. They can't get saves. They can't defend. And that leaves one thing.

And that's to kind of take it out on your opponent, physically. So the penguins deserve flowers as well for basically not falling into that and just being like, you guys think we're, we've got our eyes on a playoff spot. You've got your eyes on the draft lottery. Get out of our face. They utilize the just play mantra that Mike Sullivan had for the 2016 team with Mike Sullivan and the house for the 10 year anniversary. I just find that a little bit funny. But yeah, the penguins were kind of just laughing at that. Like just watching that after they're like, okay, man, you're kind of a joke. at this point. We're just going to skate away, look at the scoreboard, yada, yada, yada.

But yeah, man. Also, Anthony Mantha, man, what else can we say about him? 19 goals, 40 points this season, five goals also in eight points in his last four games. He continues to be such a revelation. What a steal by Kyle Dubus over the offseason. And look, man, I expected him to have double-digit goals by the trade deadline and potentially get flipped to a contender for the second round pick. That was also before I saw the team being this good this season. I didn't expect him to have 19 goals and 40 points as we hit the month of February. He has been everything and then some for the Penguins this year.

And he was once again fabulous in this one, Pat. It's easy to say with hindsight now that he's got 19 goals and 40 points, but you look at his career, he has had double-digit goals six different times. And usually when a player comes off the kind of injury and surgery that he does, there's a good opportunity for a bounce back. There's a good opportunity for him to really make his mark. And it was a good bet by Kyle Dubus that Anthony Mantha was going to do this, because you also look at a lot of the teams that he has played for since he's entered the league,

with the exception of a cup of coffee with the Vegas Golden Knights. the teams he's been on have been competitive to not competitive. And he hasn't really spent time on a contender. And yes, I know the penguins are not at least yet a contender. But he's done things like this on teams that weren't very good. Yeah, he had some time with the caps in the early 2020s when they were, yes, competitive, yes, kind of bordering on contender. And then he was with the Red Wings during this, during that stretch where they weren't very good. So there's a talented offensive player in there.

So Kyle Dubus deserves the credit for seeing that opportunity and realizing that it's a win-win for the penguins. Either the penguins weren't going to be very good this year and Anthony Mantha was going to produce and you can go get a really good haul for him or he's going to be good. And the penguins might be good. And he's going to be a reason for that. So at the end of the day, this was a really, really savvy move by Dubus. Right. And as each passioning game goes by, the likelihood for him being dealt, especially, continues to get less and less and less and rightfully so with the way this team is humming. I don't think you're going to see Kyle Dubus subtract a lot out of this team. I've continued to say that I think he's still going to get calls on some players.

But I think at this point, unless they really collapse before the trade deadline, I think Anthony Manta is going to stay beyond that. And he will finish this season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. But that's going to do it for this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to discuss another vintage game from Ben Kindle, a couple other performances that really stood out to me and get you all set for Penguin Senators. That's all coming up right after this.

But first, we have to tell you all about our first sponsor, which is game time. There's nothing like being in an NBA arena, the crowd, the energy, the moment. Getting tickets, though, that part hasn't always been so simple. And that's why Game Time has become the go-to app for scoring tickets fast without the hassle.

It puts the advantage back where it belongs with the fans. I voted the GameTime app today. I was able to pick an upcoming NBA game, and I had tickets locked within just a few minutes. I love seeing the all-in price up front with no surprise fees of checkout. Also, being able to see the view from my seat before buying, made the decision very easy. Zone deals, they also stand now.

You just choose the section. Game time picks the seeds, and you save right away. They also have great last-minute options, too, with NBA tickets showing up at solid prices. Take the guest work out of buying NBA tickets with GameTime down the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Locked On for $20 off your first purchase. That's code Locked On for $20 off down the GameTime app today. And remember, it's GameTime.co, not gametime.com.

All right, we're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my good friend, Ann Co's Patrick Damp. And Pat, Ben Kindle, once again, another Marlon. marvelous game against an empty neck goal to make it 6 to 3. That's the game winning goals. Of course, it was a 6 to 5 final. And he was all over the ice once again. If he had buried that breakaway that he had on Jonathan Quick,

buddy, that would have been the goals of the year for the Penguin so far. The way that he was able to take that pass, go right around J.T. Miller, and put that move on Jonathan Quick. Again, just missing it on that move. But he was phenomenal, man. And I love that Muse is also putting Kendall out there for the six on five. He fully deserves it considering how smart of a player he is. And also how he can anticipate plays happening before they do.

And you saw that with the empty net goal. I want to point this out for everyone. He finished Saturday's game with a 98.89 expected goals for right, Pat. Highest on the team, he was everywhere in all three zones. He continues to be so good for this team, man. man you got a figure on Saturday Mike Sullivan was watching Ben Kindle and going where the hell were players like this when I was behind the bench? Because I still maintain that like there were outside of McGority and Covenin by the end of his tenure, the young players were not very good. He didn't hate them.

He was just like they don't have a spot in this lineup. They're not very good. Now you got Ben Kindle. You got a couple others. But enough about that. I just continue to be impressed because it's the maturity of his game that is most impressive because you look at a lot of 18-year-olds, especially 18-year-olds picked outside of the top 5 or 10, and they're rough around the edges.

They'll be really good at one or two things and everything else kind of really needs worked on and refined. And they're probably going to need some time in the minors or back in junior. With him, he has the hardest. part of the game pretty well set. He's very good defensively. He plays a very smart 200-foot game. And he thinks the game on a level of a five to 10-year veteran. So the fact that Mews and company are trusting him in every situation, even strength, penalty kill, power play, six on five, it speaks to what a mature player he is in everything that he's doing up to this Point is working.

He has never looked out of place in any NHL game this year. And he continues to just, I think, blow everyone away for how great he already is for an 18 year old and how he's just making some NHL players veterans. That is also just look very bad just with the way that he plays. Again, I continue to be just going nuts about the way he is playing. And he was once again fantastic for this team on Saturday. You mentioned the power play a little bit there. I do think, Pat, it was a little bit clunky at times,

but they did get back to basics a little bit during this game. There was a nice power play goal in there where you saw the zone entries were there. The puck movement was superb. They were getting to the net, having a shoot first mentality. It was everything they were doing when the power play was really hot earlier this season. I just want to see it on a more consistent basis. But, hey, it was nice to see that version of the power play come back out a little bit. still more room to improve especially you know when you're going up against some penalty

kill sometimes that aren't that good the Rangers that is they're a little below average but still I want to see more of what we saw on that one power by pat where everything was just clicking right and they go one for five so it wasn't the best day but you could see the building blocks like you said of what this power play was doing when they were successful so you want to see them carry that momentum into this week. And when they get their opportunities against the senators, the Islanders, and the Sabres really start turning those into goals. It was pretty much what we had said going into this game where it's not going to be the biggest of deals if you don't score. We just have to see the process there to show that this power play is still capable of doing what it's been doing

for most of the year because of the last couple weeks, they've gotten away from that. So this game against the Rangers, they did a solid job of doing those things. So they deserve credit for that. And I know that there was a lot of discussion and argument about the goaltending. Listen,

750 save percentage for Stuart Skinner's not great. But at the end of the day, he faced 20 shots. and the majority of the shots that had a chance of going in were in the third period when the team in front of him was not playing particularly well. So this is not a performance where, yeah, you're going to look at the box score and go,

oh, Skinner must have had a rough night. Not really. First two periods made the saves he needed to make. Third period, everybody, including the Rangers, even though they made a push, wanted to be anywhere else. Right. I got a couple questions about that from some fans on social media. Like, oh, he was at 7.50.

was he bad? I'm like, no, it was really the team in front of them that was just not good at defending. I mean, you look at the goal pad that made it six to four, for example, goes off Brett Kulak stick and then if that doesn't go off Kulak stick, that's going wide of the net. If you just look at the way the puck is moving. And then the fifth goal to make it six to five with basically 10 seconds left, penguins are just not doing a good enough job in front of the net there. So again, that just goes back to what I said the beginning of the show. They still need to clean up some things late in games in their own zone when they're protecting even if they're up by two to three goals, for example.

Also, Penguins 10 and 1 and 4 now against Metro teams this season. They only had nine wins in all of last year against Metro teams. They've already surpassed that, Pat, and we are on February 2nd of this season. It goes to show how well they are playing against their division this year. All right, moving on now from the 6 to 5 win over the Rangers to tonight's game against the Ottawa Senators, another opportunity for the Penguins to stack two points in the standings against a team that has really had the Penguins number over the last few seasons. Pat, the Penguins have lost eight of their last 10 against Senators.

They did beat them last year, won nothing in overtime back on March 30th. But before that, Pat, their last win against Ottawa was January 20th, 20th, 23 before that 1-0 overtime win last year. That's also the last time they won in regulation over the Senators was January 20th. 2023. So a little over three years, for whatever reason, this team just gives them fits. So the Penguins are going to have to try to figure out the Sends tonight. This is a Senator's team that had lost four of their last five games, but they've been playing well, these last three games, all wins. They blew out Vegas 7 to 1. They blew out Colorado 5 to 2, and they also blew out in New Jersey, 4 to 1. And now they're coming to Pittsburgh tonight.

The biggest thing for Ottawa this year, you look at some of their underlying numbers, they're not bad. You go to Money Puck. Their third and expected goal share in the league, their 13th and actual goals. If you look at goals for per game on ESPN, the ninth there. So they're generating a lot of offense, but my God, they cannot get saves. Now, they do have Linus Omark back.

He won his first start over the weekend back from with the team. He's 15-8-5 this year, 8-84, say 8%, 2.89. Goals against average, but again, Pat, this team is used not one, not two, not three, not four, but five goaltenders this season as a team they have an 873 say percentage combined from those five goaltenders the biggest reason why they're out of a playoff spot right now is because their goaltending has been absolutely atrocious all year long so penguins best chance to win tonight pat popping a couple early against whoever starts in this one that's really the long and the short

of it of the ottawa senators this year a lot of people are going to look at their place in the standings and wonder if they're regressing. And technically, yes, they are. But it's only because they don't have goaltending. They've got the ability to score. They've got the ability to defend. They just can't get a damn save. And hopefully for them, Omark coming back from his leave of absence, his first start against the devils he plays really, really well, is that he can find his form again. because this is a good Ottawa Senators team. They're just facing the same problem. A lot of teams in and around that area they're in the standings right now are facing.

And it's that they're in a deep hole in a very competitive, quote unquote, competitive Eastern Conference. They're eight points out of the second wildcard right now behind the Sabres 67 points. And who knows if there's enough time for them to make up that ground? because even the teams ahead of them, the blue jackets, the capitals, the Panthers, they're all some sort of rounding into form or at the very least holding serve with how good they've been.

So it's going to be a really tough lift for them. But that's the biggest thing that the penguins are going to need to do and hope for tonight is that O'Mark, if he's the one in net, is going to go back to the old mark he's been for the majority of the season, and that's not very good. for the senators, it's a damn shame because this is a talented young team that has a lot of a lot of talent, a lot of potential, but they got to figure out the goaltending. And if you're the penguins, that's the weakness you've got to try to exploit. I agree. And it also is

funny, whenever the penguins play Allmark, I feel like he always just stands on his head. So Penguins is about to deal with that, especially if he does get the start trying, just because, again, he plays the Penguins very well throughout his career. Outside of the Ottawa Center's goaltending, it's all players that can hurt you anytime, starting with Tim Stutzler, 25 goals and 57 points in 54 games. Drake Batherson has also been great with 19 goals and 46 points in 51 games. Brady Kachuk is over, point for game. Now that he's back healthy, always have to worry about God Drew.

Dylan Cousins almost has 20 goals. Jake Sanderson, who I think is only the most underrated defenseman in the league, 10 goals, 44 points in 54 games. This is a team that has a lot of double-digit goal scores, a lot of players that can really hurt you. both forechecking-wise and off the rush. So the Penguins, they're going to have to especially tighten up defensively against a team that is potent offensively.

Because again, over the last three games, Pat, senators are really scoring quite a few goals. The biggest problem, again, has been their goaltending. So I do want to see the Penguins put together a really solid defense performance tonight. Also, I want to see Sid get more involved. Her last few games hasn't been his quote-unquote best games, but they've also scored 12 goals

in their last two. He's factored in on one of those goals. It does go to show how deep this team is. But I still want to see him get back to a level that we've seen him play out for most of the season. He did have a point against the Rangers on Saturday, but he's just been a little bit off these last few games. Yeah, the night could be a game where he gets back to, well, we all know what he can be. The depth has been carrying the penguins. And in no way is that a negative.

That is very much a positive because it gives your Sydney Crosby's, your of Genni Malkins, et cetera, et cetera, an opportunity to work through whatever they're working through, or if it's just one of those moments where every player goes through them, where they have a few game stretch where they're not producing with where this team is right now, they're in a position that they can live with that. But you always know that 87's lurking around the corner and he's got one of those three, four point night monsters lurking in them. So you want to hope that that happens tonight, especially against a team like,

the senators who we said can't make can't get a save and then a team that's ramping up the other thing is and we're going to preview the rest of the week here in a minute is this is a crucial game for the penguins because there are two points up on the islanders the islanders the islanders play the capitals tonight if the penguins can get two two points tonight and they can get some help from the capitals against the islanders it doesn't make tomorrow against the islanders meaningless because you want to continue to stack points above them but if you can go into tomorrow night four points up on the islanders and then get a win and go six points up on them, that's even bigger.

So this is a big, big night for the penguins. With games in hand to remember the penguins still have two games in hand on the islanders right now. So again, that could be pretty big if the penguins do get the two points tonight and the capitals beat the islanders in regulation. Of course, you don't want to give them a loser point in that game. That game, whoever wins that game, and we obviously prefer it to be the Caps, has to be in regulation.

But, yeah, big one tonight for the Penguins, Archer Sheelovs. We'll get the start. He was the first goalie off the morning skate, which means Stuart Skinner will be in line to start on Long Island on Tuesday, which, in my opinion, is the right call. Skinner again, by a little bit, has been the better goalie this season, and I want him starting a little bit more than She-Laws on Long Island in a pretty big game for the Penguins. And speaking of that, that's going to do it for this second segment.

Coming up to end the show, Pat and I are going to look at the rest of the week ahead and what a successful week looks like for the Pittsburgh Penguins heading into the Olympic break. That's coming up right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our final sponsor, which is Fandall. It's the last call for football on Fandle, one final Sunday, one last kickoff. The final chance to get in on the action before the NFL season officially comes to a close. This is Super Bowl 60 and Fandal is making sure you are right in the middle of it with a special offer just in time for the biggest game of the season. Whether you're back in the favorite, riding with the underdog or building one last same game parlay.

This is the game that everyone has been waiting for. This is where predictions turn into plays, stats turn into storylines, and every snap feels bigger. It's the perfect way to cap off the NFL season and make the Super Bowl even more exciting from kickoff to the final whistle. If you're a new customer, bet just $5 and get $200 and $100 and $1. bonus bets if you win. Make it count because after the Super Bowl, the NFL season is over. Again, last call for football on Fandall and official sports partner of Super Bowl 60. Visit fandle.com to get started. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-s, Patrick Kemp and Pat. I think a successful week for the Penguins is as follows. If you get four out of six points, I will chalk that up to a big win. Just considering the team that you're playing against, Ottawa, I know they are not in a playoff spot right now. This is still a team that has given the Penguins fits over the last few years. I witnessed some of the stats earlier on in the second segment. The Islanders, that is a huge game. They're in a playoff spot right now. They're trying to chase the Penguins down for second place in the metro. And then the Sabres, they have been mostly kicking everyone's ass as of late, and they're also

in a playoff spot. So if you can win two of the three this week, that is big. though if you win one, I think in my opinion, has to be against the Islanders in regulation. Yeah, the Islanders game is the biggest one of the week. There's no doubt about that. That's the team that you're jockeying with in your own division right now. Like we said, they've got games in hand, which is nice, but the points are what matter right now.

There are only two points up as we record this on Monday morning. So you really want to continue to further that gap. you want to really put some distance between you and the islanders or whomever takes the third spot in the metro. Then you got Buffalo who has been red, red hot. And I don't want to discredit how good they've been because it's undeniable how good they've been. But I also want to highlight that their January schedule was a bit soft.

They have played the blue jackets, the Canucks, the Rangers. I know that they're the defending champs, but they have not been playing very well. The Panthers, the Flyers, the Nashville Predators, the Maple Leafs, the LA Kings, the Ducks. Like, there's been a lot of games for them over the last month that were very winnable.

They were against teams that are either out of the playoffs or just on the fringe of the playoffs. They deserve the credit for winning them. So I'm not sitting here saying, I don't believe in Buffalo. They're not good. they continue to roll. So you win the games you're supposed to win.

It's the joke I always make on this show. Your schedule is not a menu at a restaurant. You can't look at it and go, sorry, I don't like these matchups. Can you please send them back? They're winning the games they need to win, but they have been helped by a softer schedule. Because there are some good teams in there like Montreal, Minnesota.

You've also got the hurricanes. So they, but they have passed this. this test and they are right there in the thick of it for the Atlantic Division. So they deserve the credit. But at the end of the day, to the main point, your biggest game this week is Tuesday night against the Islanders national television, a huge game, and could even be bigger depending upon what happens tonight with both of the Penguins and the Islanders. Right. Because say the Penguins win tonight, Islanders lose, both in regulation. Penguins are four points up with two games in hand. And then say,

you sweep the back-to-back, you beat the Islanders in regulation, you're then six points up on them, still with two games in hand, you win those games in hand. All of a sudden, you're 10 points up on the Islanders, and you're forming a pretty good cushion for that second-place spot in the Metro. And by the way, the Penguins still have, as of right now, Pat, three games in hand on the Washington Capitals.

Obviously, the only thing that matters is that you win those games in hand, but Penguins have them right now. So there's a pretty big opportunity to make up, not even make up ground, but to really solidify themselves in the standings, heading into the three-week Olympic break. And I'm excited to see if they can take advantage. You touched on the Sabres a bit. I mean, Tage Thompson's been unreal this year.

So is Alex Tuck. Rasmus Dahlin has played like a top five defenseman on the planet this year. I'm really excited for that matchup later in the week, just with the way that both teams are really humming as of late. The Islanders, I think they have the Vesna trophy favorite right now with Ilya Sorokin. If he doesn't win the Vesna, I'd kind of be surprised. He is putting that team on his back and then some. Their defensive metrics are not very good. He is saving them in a lot of these games. And don't get me wrong, people. Matthew Schaefer has been a revelation for the Islanders this year.

God, he is so fun to watch. I love that he's chirping the Rangers as well when he's been healthy. Beau Horvats been great. Barzell, when he's been healthy, has been great. So they still have some other really good pieces. But Sorokin especially is having an elite of the elite season. And then when you combine that with Schaefer and the impact that he has brought to this team, no, there you go. Again, those are the biggest reasons why they are where they are in the standings. And then overall, it starts with Ottawa tonight.

You can bank the two points, try to get two more against the Islanders. And then, you know, we'll see if you can even potentially sleep a week. But hey, let's go one game at a time here. The biggest thing, the biggest thing. The biggest thing that I will say, I've referenced this on plenty of occasions when you look at the way the penguin's schedule has set up. They only have four guys going to the Olympics this year. So you got three games this week and then you get basically two full weeks off. You get two full weeks off.

You almost get a three week total break. But you know that there's going to be some workouts and some skates and practices. Three weeks between games, which is huge. So there is no reason for you to preserve anything here. And both you and the islanders are going to be traveling tonight to get back to the island for tomorrow's game. No need to leave anything in the tank here. Yes, to make the water boy reference. Last game of the year, can't hold anything back now.

You've got an opportunity to really solidify yourself as a playoff team as you head into the Olympic break. So all forces go for the. this week. 100% agreed. And the break will also be great for someone like of Gagin Malkin, who is obvious, he's not 100% as he continues to deal with a shoulder injury. And then also Chris LaTang,

he's going to be out for at least a month with a fractured bone in his foot. That break is going to be so crucial. Hopefully he'll be back at the start of March, Pat, for the big push for the playoffs because you're playing juggernaut after juggernaut, basically every night in March. But that's going to do it for the Monday edition of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for take the time. to listen to slash watch this one. Pat and I will be back with a fresh episode for you guys on

Tuesday, breaking down this game against the senators, and getting you all set for Penguins Islanders on the island. So for Patrick Damp, I'm Hunter Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in. We appreciate it. We'll be back on Tuesday.