Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins set for a big Metro matchup, we break it down with Locked On Rangers!

Episode Date: November 21, 2023

The Penguins are set to take on arguably the hottest team in the Metropolitan Division this week - the New York Rangers. Patrick and Hunter are joined by Jon Chik of the Locked On New York Rangers Podcast to talk about the Penguins offseason, the Rangers hot start, where this rivalry is and where it's going, plus we've got some predictions in store for Wednesday night!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Find your bright spot this season, with BetterHelp at betterhelp.com/LOCKEDONNHL and get on your way to being your best self.eBay MotorsWith all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to turn your car into the MVP and bring home that win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.SleeperDownload the Sleeper App and use promo code LOCKEDONNHL to get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. Terms and conditions apply. See Sleeper’s Terms of Use for details.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime.Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's a special edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast today as we're joined by John Chick from Locked-on Rangers to discuss their hot start and more right after this. Your Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Ranger fans, Penguin fans, like I said, a very special crossover edition here for you guys today. This is John Chick with Locked on. New York Rangers, joined by my good friends, Hunter Hodes and Patrick Damp of Locked on Pittsburgh

Penguins. And fellas, you know, we were talking off air just for a minute there. And obviously, big time, you know, heated rivalry between these two teams. It's been going on really for years now. The players come and go, but the bad blood always seems to be there. And round one so far this season. And, you know, as a Ranger fan, watching the penguins are kind of keeping an eye on them throughout October. Obviously, they scuffled a little bit then. But they've clearly picked it up. in November. So in your guys' estimation, you know, what are they doing better? Is there a certain player that stepped up or just a certain area of the game where they've improved? Just what's been the key to this turnaround here?

First off, a lot of it has been the play of Cindy Crosby. He continues to turn back the clock to looking like the 22, 23-year-old of so many years ago, leads the league in five-on-five scoring. He's, I think, been the main reason why they've really turned this around. Eric Carlson has been tremendous over these last several games. continues to show why he won the Norris last year. But also, it's been the Penguins really strong commitment to team defense in the defensive zone. Mike Sullivan has tweaked a couple of things with the system. They're not playing as aggressive.

They're taking away the neutral zone. They're keeping teams to the outside. And it's led to this team having five shutouts in their first 17 games. They only had two shoutouts all last year. The commitment to team defense has been really strong as of late this month. and I think that's outside of the individual players, you know, Crosby, Carlson, we can put up getting Malkin in there, Riley Smith,

outside of those players and a few others, that I think has been the main reason for this turnaround. It's the Penguins really just strong commitment to team defense. For me, it comes all the way back to coaching because to build off of what Hunter was saying, you know, there was a lot of talk in Pittsburgh and on our show specifically about how as talented as this Penguins team is, they are the oldest team in the National Hockey League.

Couple that with the rest of the league kind of getting on board with this trend of being fast, playing aggressive and focusing on speed. The rest of the league caught up to the Penguins. So their idea and system of always being aggressive in all three zones kind of was starting to haunt them early in the season. And so with Mike Sullivan making that adjustment to pulling the pressure back and keeping teams in front of them, as he likes to say, for me has been huge for this team's turnaround, simply because instead of chasing a game that they played well five, six years ago, they're playing to the strengths they have today. So we all know, and, you know, penguins and Rangers fans know all too well about, coaches who will go down with their system no matter what.

So it's nice to see that Sullivan was able to say, okay, we aren't that team anymore. So let's switch some things up here so we can find some success. Absolutely. And you know, you guys both kind of touch on Eric Carlson a little bit there. And obviously, you know, you look back at the off season. And that was one of the bigger, you know, transactions, not just for the penguins, but really for any team across the entire NHL, there was kind of that steering contest between the penguins and sharks felt like it went on forever.

But I think the general consensus is that it was always eventually going to get done. And it got done and Carlson's here. And kind of the same thing with the penguins as a whole. Eric Carlson, maybe scuffled a little bit to start the season. But he's picked it up recently 17 points in 17 games and a plus 10 so far for Carlson. So what's been the key is just kind of a situation where he had to get used to his new teammates, his new surroundings, new system, the whole nine yards? I know.

Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead, Pat, I think. Yeah, I mean, that, and he's, I don't want to, like, this is going to sound silly to say, but he's somebody you have to get used to playing with because it's kind of the opposite of Sidney Crosby where he can kind of just take whomever and make them work. Carlson, because he plays from the back end, is so creative and so one step ahead of everything, that you could see it early on.

He'd make passes to wingers and forwards, and they were genuinely, surprised that that pass was there. It wasn't, say, like with Sidney Crosby, where he basically just says, go to the net with your stick down and I'll find you there somehow, some way. With Eric Carlson, you're coming through the neutral zone and there's a quagmire of bodies between him and the next guy and he somehow fits a puck all the way across, and the forward's just not ready for it, nor would he ever be because you don't expect that pass. So once the team kind of started adjusting to the way he plays, you could see the production and the fit really start to work.

Yeah, just going off what Pat said. I mean, he's made passes this year that, I mean, I love Chris LaTang, but I haven't seen Crystal Teng make some of those passes in quite a while. And his acquisition, Carlson, that is, it's really helped Latang just really, I mean, it takes some of the responsibilities often just because he's had to do so much throughout these last several years. And you can split them up, their minutes up. And it's been really great to see him grow into his role with the Penguins.

He's had multiple games where he lets his canada of a slap shot loose and it's a sight for sore eyes. Him with the getting Malkin, their chemistry, I think, is really starting to grow over the last week or two. And that's something I think to keep an eye on for this game against the Rangers when whatever Peter Lobby, whoever he wants to match up against those two when they're out there because they've been getting a lot more minutes together. That's going to be interesting for me as well. But, you know, the Penguins pulled off a heist to get them.

They didn't really give up anything of value to get one of the best defensemen on the planet. And so far, so good with them. Yeah, absolutely. And something that kind of comes up, I think it's come up for both these teams in the past. And, I mean, really, it's one of those things that you can probably apply to just about any team in the NHL. But certain teams, you know, the feeling from the fan base a lot of times is that they don't have enough depth or to kind of piggyback off that. They don't have enough scoring depth. And I think for the Penguins, certainly last year, that was maybe a lot of,

knock on them and maybe one of the reasons why they weren't able to continue that very impressive playoff streak that they've had over the years. But do you think, I mean, Carlson's obvious, but beyond him, like, is there a better supporting cast now than maybe there was the past couple of seasons? I would say the bottom six, this season is a bit better compared to last season, but it's still a work in progress. I feel like Pat and I have been complaining about the bottom six quite often this season. But the third line, for the most part, has improved ever since Redeems O'Horne, came up for Jansen Harkins. Horna has been just a blessing for that third line, honestly.

I think Lars Eller has also really fine-tuned his game a little bit. He's finally starting to show why he was signed this offseason. I think Drew Connor is starting to go a bit more as of late. That line is getting a bit better. Fourth line, you subbed out Jeff Carter. We'll have to see what happens. They're practicing today. Vinnie Hennishroza is on ice or practice.

We'll have to see if he's ready to go for the game against the Rangers. But if not, Carter will be in the lineup. Fourth line, you know, still needs at least a little bit of work. Noah Chari finally got his first goal against the Golden Knights. Matt Nietto had one before against the Sharks. I'm still not seeing enough depth scoring from them, but there's still time to fix that. There's plenty of months before the trade deadline.

I still think there are another score short, but overall as a whole, I do think this bottom six is a bit better compared to last year. It's just still a little bit of a work in progress. I just don't want to see the team have to rely on the top six every night. And speaking of that, they didn't have to on Sunday night against Vegas when the bottom six really carried the way for one of the first times this season, and I hope that continues. The thing that's nice is that the big guns are going right now. All the top guys are producing, and that gives you some leeway for this bottom six, as it is a work in progress,

to find its footing. And they're starting to find said footing, like Hunter said, they were the drivers on Sunday against the defending champions, which is something you want to see. even though Vegas was on the second half of a back-to-back, that's still a very good hockey team. And they played the Penguins top six to a draw. And then the Penguins' bottom six made the difference. But I would say it wasn't hard to get this team a better bottom six than last year. It would have been genuinely scary if it was worse.

But they brought in some better pieces. They're starting to fit and they're starting to find some chemistry. So you have that in the month of, of November a little bit of leeway because the top six and the main contributors are doing their best. So it gives them some room to get better. But hopefully, you know, when the inevitable days come where these slumps hit, you got to hope these guys can finally start chipping in a few goals and points to supplant the top guys

when they inevitably go cold. Yeah, for sure. And I figure we'll keep everything rolling in just a second. I want to talk about some of the matchups in this game in particular, probably going to get Igor versus Jerry, so that's always a very good matchup. And obviously both of them off the good starts this season. You know, Igor back from an injury recently. But first, guys, would you like to let everybody know about one of our sponsors, GameTime?

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Both shows are free and available on every platform, including YouTube. And to just kind of keep everything rolling here, I mean, obviously, you know, Tristan Jerry, back with the Penguins, signs the big extension in the off season, and off to a really nice start this season, kind of a heavyweight matchup between him and Igor Shus Durkin for this game. And, you know, Hunter, I remember we talked about this a while back on one of our crossover episodes. It seemed like Penguin fans were a little bit split on Jerry,

like extend him or, you know, don't pay him the big bucks. And, you know, he gets a pretty sizable raise, and obviously they're going to be keeping him around. So, I mean, how is everybody feeling now? Like, is this your guy, or is there still a little bit of trepidation? Or just your thoughts on Jerry and him going forward? depends on who you ask when it comes to Tristan Jari. You don't really know what you're going to get with him, I think, on any given night.

You could get the version where you've seen him have multiple shoutouts this season, and he plays aggressive, makes some really nice falling saves, or you may get the version of him that we just saw against the devils where he was off his angles, laying in a couple soft goals, just wasn't there. And the inconsistency with him has been my biggest gripe on him this year. you need to be consistent, especially after you got a five-year term

and you're making over $5 million per year. Pat and I have said that on our show. We want the $5 million man to play like a $5 million man. And at times, he has done that. And at other times, you know, as I just said, he hasn't. We just want him to see, to just do this on a consistent basis.

You can't just have, oh, a shout-out on one start and then you're giving up four goals and having an 850, save percentage on the next one. You can't just go back and board between that. You need to have, you know, String together four to five to six, really quality starts. And then if you have a howlure of a game after that, okay, that happens to any goalie in the league. But it's just been too common with him to have a really good start, followed up by a really bad start.

And I do agree. I think he's going to get the start in this one, even though Alex Ndilkevich came back on Sunday, played a really good game against Vegas. I still don't think there's a goalie controversy in this city. I think Nidalcovich should get more starts going forward, but I don't think he's going to suddenly be the number one goalie. I think Johnny will get the start, but he's just got to find that consistency. He's been fully healthy for this season, knock on wood, at least. But he's just got to continue to, well, I shouldn't even say continue.

He's just got to start being more consistent, I think. Yeah, the wild swings are a huge concern because there are nights where he looks like he could be in the conversation for the Vezina. And then there are nights where it looks like he's below replacement level and should be in American Hockey League. And I say this all the time on the show to Hunter. I've said it in writing. I've said it everywhere I've ever covered the Penguins. When you're a Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender, you don't need to be a Vesna candidate.

You just have to be good enough. You just have to be an NHL average goalie because the Penguins brand has and always will be scoring. That's what they do. And you don't need your goalie back there stealing games. So that's all I've really asked of him. and it's been an incomplete grade that kind of doesn't look great so far. And you look at the shutouts and you think, oh, he's got three shutouts.

He's got to be doing great this year. And well, you look at his non-shutout games with the exception of one or two of them. And it's a tough look. I also, you know, this summer for goaltending was tough because there really wasn't anything out there. There wasn't really any good free agents. And we saw with Winnipeg when they event. traded PLD to LA, you were not going to get Connor Hellebuck out of there for anything more than a huge ransom. So for the Penguins, they kind of had no real option. I wish they hadn't

gone five years, but five million was kind of about the going rate this summer for a starting goalie. So I don't like that they gave him five years, but I understand why they gave him the money they did. Yeah, it's interesting that you mentioned Hellebuck because this whole offseason, I mean, obviously the Rangers are said in that we know that, but, you know, two teams in this Metro division that maybe we're looking for an upgrade in the crease. I thought maybe either the penguins or maybe even the Devils might make a play for Connor Hellebuck. So when I saw that, you know, he inked that extension with the Jets. I was pretty happy about that. Keep him out West and keep him out of the Metro division. Thank you very much. But yeah, I think, and to build on that, you know, I think it's going to be Igor and net for the Rangers for this game as well. Obviously, he miss a little bit of time with the injury. And, you know, he's come back, kind of mixed results in the two games since he's been back. But obviously, got to shake off the rust going up against two pretty high-powered opponents in the Devils and the Stars on the Road. He made some really awesome saves against the Devils, particularly when the Rangers were down

three or two in that game. So that really allowed them to come back and not have too big of a hole to try to climb out of. He's got this weird thing, Igor, right now, where this has happened three times in two games where it seems like he's got the puck frozen, and then all of a sudden, it just kind of like falls to the ice, and the opponents are knocking the puck into the net. And I think it's just one of those things that you can chop it up as a fluke.

But, yeah, Igor, you know, he's been all right since coming back, but he hasn't, you know, had his A game yet. So if you're a Penguins fan, you know, maybe this is the right time to play, the Rainers, or maybe he is Igor and does have his A game in this game against the penguins. You know, we'll wait and see what happens there. Which would be nice if we get, Because you look at his splits against the penguins, and in the regular season, we can't beat him.

He's 929 save percentage, 7 and 4 and 1, only a little over a shade of two goals against. But then you get into the playoffs that that series they had two years ago, and the penguins were the only team that made him look human. The problem for us was we had Louis Doming on the other end who couldn't stop a beach ball with a tennis racket that series. So it didn't really matter how well we did against Shasturkin. But yeah, I think this will be a fun goaltending matchup to watch just because this is, I said it to Hunter yesterday on our start of the week episode. This isn't a must win for the penguins, but it's about as close as it gets because it's the first real metro test they've had all season.

And this is a team you're chasing and could see, you know, in April. So you want to make something out of this matchup. First row Metro test. That's interesting how you put it that way back, because I know they play the devils and the hurricanes who are also very good as well. But I think I understand what you're saying in that context as well. I mean, the Penguins, they've been okay against Metro teams so far this season. They beat Columbus. They beat Washington, who is off to a surprisingly good start. I don't think that's going to last, in my opinion. But, you know, the last is to the devils who are just a bit faster. The Penguins have had a big problem with the devils for the past couple of years. And the hurricanes, we set it on Monday show. Always a 50-50 with them. The bounces just go their way every single time. Rangers, you know, the Penguins split the four meetings with them last year. They won both games in Pittsburgh. And of course, John, you guys won both games at Madison Square Garden. You know, Jardy versus Sterkin has always been a fun matchup, I feel like there.

They played some pretty good games against each other, especially during the regular season. You know, the one that really stands out to me a couple seasons ago before they played in the playoffs. It was that one-nothing game in Pittsburgh. It was a weekend game. And the deciding goal was in the beginning mall and power play goal was the only penalty that was in the game. And both goalies were just going at it, dueling each other. It was a really fun game to watch, even though it was a no-score game for a while before Malkins scored. And I'm not saying we're going to get that in this one, but all I'm saying is that they have the ability

to play at that level for long periods of time. So they've had some really fun matchups against each other. And you know, as much as I do, you know, Penguins fans are going to be trying to get under Cesarikins skin in this one at P. P.P.G. Pain's Arena. But this should be a lot of fun. I'm super excited. I'll be there and I'll cheer against them. I'll be there and I'll cheer against them. I'm trying to remember who it was, but there was somebody, I think it's like a baseball player or something that said they don't boo nobody's. So when the, when the opposing crowd is like mock cheering your name, I think you've made it at that point. So we'll see what happens. You know, games three and four in the playoffs a couple years ago. Obviously, Igor didn't have it.

They were doing that chant. He got pulled out of both those games. They tried it again in game six. And he did quite a bit better in that one. But yeah, it's going to be interesting for sure. are always a fun environment and, you know, these two fan bases, you know, that they tend to go back and forth a little bit. And anytime it's Rangers, Penguins, whichever barn it's in, you know it's going to be a very electric atmosphere. And I'm sure it's going to be the same here. So I figure in just a second, we'll go ahead, talk about maybe like some under the radar players to watch and get into some predictions as well. First, though, would you guys like to let everyone know about our other sponsor for today, eBay Motors?

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Keep your ride or die live at eBay motors.com, eligible items only, exclusions apply, and eBay Guarantee Fit is only available to U.S. customers. All right, so with that, we'll go ahead, keep everything rolling here. And guys, one of my favorite questions anytime we do these crossover episodes, you know, whether it's with you guys or anybody else. And Hunter, I know we've done this question before. But I always like to ask, like, any under the radar players to watch on this game? Because obviously, you know, we know about Crosby and Malkin and you guys know about Panarin and Crider and all the big names. But who's been impressing you lately and who's somebody that could be a threat to impact this game for the penguins?

Well, I'm going to say Marcus Pedersen, actually. Not going to do a lot offensively, maybe. but defensively he has been a workhorse this season. His pairing with Eric Carlson has been one of the best pairings in a league, both eye test-wise and analytically. They are super fun to watch when they're on the ice. I wouldn't call Pedersen Carlson's babysitter, but he does do a really sound job of just getting the puck out of the defensive zone

and just being that stable presence for him on the blue line. He continues to be, I think, one of the more underrated defensemen in the league. And I think his play this season has kind of gone a little under the radar for a lot of Penguins fans. I would definitely have my eye on him from a defensive standpoint. I guess if you want someone who can maybe bring a little more offense compared to Pedersen, I may say keep your eye on, I'll go Larzeller, actually. I've really liked his game as of late. Ever since that West Coast trip, you know, he scored that gorgeous goal against the Kings, just dusted Kevin Fiala, Andrew Doughty on this short-handed rush.

Ever since then, I feel like he's really grown into his role with the penguins, and he's continued to get chances. The puck hasn't gone in the net just yet since that game, but he's been playing really well. So I would keep my eye on him as well. The guy that I have been thoroughly impressed with this season, and I've said it to Hunter before, is while the Carlson deal is going to get all the headlines and all the hype,

the guy to watch in Pittsburgh this year is Riley Smith. Yeah. because he has been lighting up the score sheet. And I haven't seen a winger have this kind of chemistry with Evgeny Malkin since James Neal. And if you remember, Evgeny Malkin's MVP season about a decade ago, it was because he had James Neal riding shotgun with him and they fed off each other

so well. And that's exactly what Riley Smith has done with Evgeny Malkin. And all they got that guy for was a third round pick. So that's a big one for me. the other one I want to see against the Rangers step up and play a solid game similar to what Hunter said is Ryan Graves. He's had a bit of a mixed start in Pittsburgh. I mean, but that's because he's, you know, maybe the third or fourth defenseman behind Chris LaTang, Marcus Patterson, and Eric Carlson. But they did spend a good bit of money to get him.

And while he hasn't been bad, he also hasn't been good. so I'd like to see him kind of have a standout game against one of, if not the best team in the Metro right now. Yeah, for sure. And if I'll throw out a couple as well, I got to go with Eric Gustafsson just because I've been saying, I've been heaping a lot of praise on him really ever since the season started. The Rangers picked him up kind of an under-the-radar free agent move.

The Rangers, like a lot of teams, do not have a ton of cap space to put it mildly. So they had to kind of go bargain hunting this offseason. and what a pickup this guy has been. He's on like his eighth team in the past five years or something ridiculous like that. And I'm watching him play, and I can't figure out why this guy can't find a home because he has really stepped up big for the Rangers. Obviously with Adam Fox out of the lineup, that creates an enormous hole in your lineup. And they've moved Gustafson from the third pairing up to play with Ryan Lingren.

And he's done a great job there. He's done a great job in the power play as well. He's quarterbacking the top power play unit. And they haven't really missed a beat since Adam Fox went down, the power play. that is. And there's no substitute for Adam Fox, but Eric Gustafin doing as much as he possibly can to make that hurt as little as possible. And I've mentioned this too for somebody that has a reputation as kind of an offensive defenseman. And I get why, you know, he does kind of put up points, but he's made some great defensive plays this season as well. There have been a couple times where

there's been a rush, an odd man rush, and he's made a nice play, or maybe even there's about to be a breakaway and he'll catch up to the guy and knock the puck away from. There was a game not too long ago where he steals the puck behind the Rainer net, passes up the ice, and the Rangers are going the other way, and then they score on a rush. So cannot say enough about the job that he's done. The only downside of this whole thing is that a lot of Ranger fans are saying,

oh, re-sign him, resign him. It's like, dude, like Gusafson is not going to have to settle if he keeps playing like this for just $825K in one year next year. But that will cross that bridge when we get there. So I'll throw out Guseson. And also your old friend, I'm going to throw out Nick Bonino, obviously another under the radar pick pick up for the Rangers and now two-thirds of the HBK line has now played on the Rangers.

But he's done a great job in his role. He's one of those players that he's a veteran. Obviously, there's not a whole lot there these days offensively. I believe he only has one assist the entire season, but an excellent penalty killer, block shot machine and just a hard nose player. And we've all kind of been hinting. I think that maybe we're expecting this to be a little bit on the low scoring end. And then I just get the feeling that, you know, both teams have good power plays.

Nick Bonino, I think, winning some faceoffs while his team is short-handed and killing the actual penalty. That could be huge for the Rangers in this game. So give me a Gusison and Bonino as my two kind of under the radar players that could impact this game in a positive way for the Rangers. No, that makes sense as well. And I didn't want to ask you, John, you know, with the Rangers off to this crazy hot start under Peter Lobulet, what do you think has been the biggest difference for this team compared to last year's team? under a lot. Yeah, I think overall it's probably just they're playing a better defensive structure that they're maintaining defensive structure a lot better now than they did in the past.

They're kind of wearing this one three one defense. And it was very apparent right even from opening night. They went into Buffalo and, you know, a team that is solely but surely getting a little bit better. They've got some talented players. And they won 5-1 and they just shut them down. And Buffalo just didn't seem to have any idea, you know, how to attack this team or how to get through the neutral zone. It feels like they're just much more structured than they used to be. And I think the other thing that's kind of working in their favor right now is they've kind of embraced this next man up mentality. I mentioned, you know, Eric Gustafin stepping up for Adam Fox. We've also got a situation right now where Philip Heel is out with a concussion and nobody seems to know when he's going to be back. And as I've been saying on my show, you know, all the best to him, obviously get healthy first. That's first and foremost before hockey.

But he goes down and then Vincent Trochecks steps from the third line into the second line. and I'm trying to remember if he had any points last night. I don't think he did. But in the five games that he played with Panarin and Lafranierre, he had a five-game point streak and ten points overall. So he really stepped up in place of Philippeal. And that line's been on fire, you know, Panarin and now Trochec and Lafranier. They've kind of been carrying the team offensively, 5V5.

And then Igor, you know, he missed some time as well. And Jonathan Quick, you know, partying like it's 2012 and really turning back the clock. And not just giving the Rangers a chance, but Quick and a lot. of those games that he started was one of the biggest reasons why they won those games. And even your old pal Louis Doming, he got into a game as well because Igor and Quick were actually both out of the lineup on the same night. So Doming got in there, only allowed one goal and led the Rangers to a win. So yeah, I think it's just kind of that next man up mentality. They seem to have all embraced it. And I'm just very impressed with how fast this team

has kind of picked up Lovulet system and embraces system. I thought there'd be some growing pains. And I guess here and there have been, but you look at their record and how well they've started, It feels like everything's clicking pretty quickly here. He gets results pretty quick when he goes to new teams. You saw it in Philadelphia. You've seen it in Nashville. Heck, even his first year in Washington, you know, Pat and I were discussing this on a Monday show. He did pretty well before the wheels started to turn a bit sideways.

I don't think he's a coach that's probably going to be with the Rangers long term, John. But he's definitely good in terms of the short term to get results. And he's showing that so far with how good the Rangers have been. Because, again, I thought the Rangers were definitely going to be a playoff team this year. I thought the penguins would be kind of in contention of that third spot. I did not think the Rangers would be this far ahead of for the number one spot in the Metropolitan Division. That's for sure.

You guys have been on absolute fire. Artemian's been great. Chris Cryer continues to score goals. And that's, he's always been a penguin killer throughout his career. I think the biggest thing the Rangers probably have to do at some point is get meek as a vintage out going. I've seen him struggle a little bit this year, Johns, which is, I wouldn't say concerning,

but he's got, I think, wake up sooner rather than later with how he, his slow starts gone. Yeah, it's one of those things. I'd be more concerned if he didn't already have such a proven track record. Right now, he's just a little bit off. You know, the game last night, he really struggled. And, you know, pretty basic passes are kind of bouncing off of his stick. And it's like, what's going on? We also know how lethal he can be, especially on the power play when it comes to that one timer. And when he's taking the one timer now, it just feels like he doesn't know where it's going. Like he can't even hit the net. He can't even put it on net, much less score.

So I think he'll eventually figure it out. I know some people are talking about splitting up, Mika and Crider, which is an option. But if you do that, the one line that I think should be untouchable right now, because it's carrying the Rangers at 5V5 is Panarin, Trocheck, and Lafranier. I think you have to leave those three together. And then your options kind of become limited. Will Cooley is a second round rookie who's played pretty well for the Reuters. You could flip-flop him and Crider if you want to.

But the nice thing here is that even though Mika and even Crider to an extent are struggling a little bit 5-5, this start that they're off to, you can afford to be patient. It's not like they're down in the standings and, oh, my God, the season's getting away from us. They can kind of let them work through this and figure it out. So it's a nice luxury to have. And it's also nice that they've won as many games as they have, even without some of their best players playing like their best players. Yeah, the biggest thing for me with the Rangers coming into this season, because I was right there with Hunter kind of thinking that it would be the penguins and Rangers kind of battling it out for third or first wild card through this season.

But the biggest thing for me with them was when it became apparent that Igor was going to miss. time early, we were going to see what this team was made of. Are they deeper than just a great goalie? Because if scoring has been the Penguins Hallmark forever, the Rangers hallmark for at least the last 30 years has been great goaltending. So the fact that they pass that with flying colors, you look at this team now.

And if I'm any sort of analyst looking at the metro, I'm going, man, New York might be the team because they didn't just survive without Shasturken. and they thrive. Yeah, in a really strange way. I feel like maybe, obviously, you don't want Igor to get hurt. You don't want anybody to get hurt. But in a way, that was almost like a call to arms because it's like, all right, well,

we can't get lazy. We can't turn the puck over in our own zone. We don't have Igor back there to bail us out every time we have a miscue. So I think they just kind of tighten things up. And like I said, you know, Jonathan Quick did a heck of a job while he was in there. But I think it also kind of got the Rangers to just kind of bear down a little bit defensively throughout that entire stretch that Igor wasn't there. do we want to go ahead and toss out some predictions for this game?

You know, final score, somebody to get a goal or anything else you guys want to do here before we call it? I think I've been pretty good with my predictions, haven't I lately, Pat? I feel like I've been. You've been on a nice little roll, so I'll let you cook. I'll try to cook here a little bit. I think you are going to see a vintage Sydney Crosby game in this one. He has just been tremendous so far this season. You know how much he loves playing the Rangers of both of you.

I mean, he has cooked them throughout his career, to be honest. I'm not going to sit here and say there's going to be like a five-point night or anything like that. But I do think you're going to see a multi-point night for him, whether it's two or three points. I think one of those points will be a big goal that he scores in this one. I think Sid, after a little more of a quieter night against Vegas, he had his 11-game point streak snapped. You're going to see him get right back into another point streak for this one. I think he's going to play really well. Not going to give a final score prediction.

Those usually go wrong when I do those. But I am going to sit here and say that sit is going to play really well in this one. I think this is going to be a 3-2 final with special teams making a big difference like we talked about. I don't, I think it's going to be 3-2 Pittsburgh. I think the penguins are feeling themselves a little bit right now. They want to make a statement. And the biggest thing for me is I think it's not going to be 90s level, but this might get a little ugly because, these teams genuinely have developed a dislike of one another because of the playoffs and because of the last couple of you.

Right. And I have said this to our friends on Locked on Flyers and I'll say it here to Locked on New York Rangers as well. Hockey is better when the Penguins and Rangers have a legitimate rivalry because since the late 80s and up until today, it has been a really good, really fun rivalry. So I think we're in for a three-two slug fest where the penguins come out victorious and the power play is going to make a difference. So it's funny. I actually did an episode during the off season. We were getting to kind of, I guess you could say the slower parts of the NHL calendar. I did a top five, you know, greatest ranger rivals right now.

And I put the penguins at number one. You know, there's some old school ranger fans that will always kind of fight me on this. Oh, it's always the islanders. No matter what happens, it will always be the islanders. but when the Islanders were winning the Cup, I wasn't even alive for that. So I didn't have to suffer through all that like some old school Ranger fans did. But you watch the way this has gone the last few years. And to your point, Patrick, what you just said, there's a genuine dislike between these teams.

I remember a few years ago before they met in the playoffs, it was the last regular season matchup and the Rangers won that game. But remember they had that crazy standoff after the game ended at the red line? And I'm thinking, is there about to be like a 20 on 20 brawl here? Like it was getting ugly. And I think, you know, we could see some of that in this game. If it doesn't happen in this game, it'll certainly get ugly by the second time. These two teams play each other this season.

But I was torn between three-two-rainers and two-one-rainers. I'll go two-one because I feel like I've been using three-two a little bit lately. I think both goalies are going to be at the top of their game. They seem to bring out the best in each other. I think we're going to see some really nice saves. And as far as the game winner, you know, Panarin just had his 15-game point streak snapped in the last one. So let's say Laffer here to Panarin for the game. winner, two to one Rangers pulling it out in Pittsburgh.

I guess I'll give one to. I'll go four or three penguins. It's probably going to age like milk. But you know what? These games are always so much fun, man. I have so many good friends that are Rangers fans. John, you're obviously one of them. And this rivalry has really taken quite the turn over the last couple of years.

I always knew that the Penguins and Rangers were pretty big rivals. But I think right now the Rangers are the Penguins biggest rivals. It always kind of changes as the years have gone on, right? It's the first time it was the Flyers, especially in 2012. Then it went to Washington with all those playoff series. That one's kind of taking a back seat. Now with the playoff series, everything involving Jacob Truba and just Penguins Rangers in general, it's definitely I think the Rangers at the top of a lot of Penguins fans list right now.

Yeah, for sure. And, you know, it's interesting hearing you say that because, you know, for a while, you know, Rangers and Capitals really picked up quite a bit. I mean, they met each other like five straight years in the playoffs or something like that. And every time those two teams play each other, I mean, we're going to. getting multiple overtime playoff games and playoff overtimes to go to the third overtime and game six game seven game seven overtime it's wild and uh back and forth the whole way and that's kind of taken a little bit of a back seat because they haven't seen each other in the playoffs in a while but yeah i mean

rangers penguins uh the intensity is always there the the the passion's always there and um ranger fans and penguins fans let's let's try to be like somewhat civil to each other you know let's do our best here uh you know some lighthearted smack talk is all good but let's try to keep the gloves up i i think would echo those sentiments. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It can't get as nasty as it did during the playoffs series. That was unbelievable. That series needed to end, one way or the other, that series needed to end.

Yes. But yeah, I figure we could pretty much call it there, but guys, it's a ton of fun as it always is, and I figure we can do this again when these teams play each other again, somewhere down the road here. Yeah, absolutely. All right, sounds good. So Ranger fans, Penguin fans, thank you guys as always,

and we'll see you next time.