Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins set to take on Marc-Andre Fleury for perhaps the final time...

Episode Date: February 9, 2024

The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in action on Friday night against the Minnesota Wild and it might be Marc-Andre Fleury's final game against his former team. Hunter and Pat start the show by reminiscing on Fleury's time with the Penguins and how he's one of a kind. They discuss how he was a beacon of hope when fans needed one and how he's always been one of the best people in hockey. They then go through some of their favorite memories from his time as a Penguin before previewing the game against the Wild. Hunter and Pat give their keys for how the Penguins can skate out of this one with a win before ending the show with a preview of Saturday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets. All that, plus much more is on this episode of the Locked On Penguins podcast.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.IndeedIndeed knows when you’re growing your own business, you have to make every dollar count. Visit Indeed.com/LOCKEDON to start hiring now.SleeperDownload the Sleeper App and use promo code LOCKEDONNHL to get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. Terms and conditions apply. See Sleeper’s Terms of Use for details.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.RobinhoodRobinhood has the only IRA that gives you a 3% boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robinhood Gold. Now through April 30th, Robinhood is even boosting every single dollar you transfer in from other retirement accounts with a 3% match. Available to U.S. customers in good standing. Robinhood Financial LLC (member SIPC), is a registered broker dealer.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your best bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) 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.

Tonight could be the last time Penguins fans see old friend Mark Andre Fleury. Hunter and I are going to break down that game and more on this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Your Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Welcome in Penguins fans to the Friday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp.

You can follow me on Twitter. at synonym for wet, joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can follow the show's account at L.O. underscore Penguins. We thank you for making this your first listen slash watch of the day because we're your team every day and we are free and available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

So it's Friday and it is going to be a bit of a bittersweet game tonight because it is Mark Andre Fleury-Flery Night in Minnesota. Minnesota, the Wilder set to honor him for becoming the second most winningest all-time goalie in the league. And this possibly could be the last time Penguins fans see our old friend, Mark Andre Fleury, in competition because he has not quite said that he's going to be done after this season, but a lot of signs point to this could be his final season. And before we get in, to previewing tonight's game. We're going to do that in the second segment.

You can never go wrong talking about one of the greatest people. And I don't mean that just in the way he plays the game. He is one of the best human beings to ever come through the Penguins organization and the NHL in Mark Andre Fleury. He was, to me, the first building block of this era of Penguins hockey, drafted first overall in the 2003 draft the penguins trade up to get him he kind of makes his debut around uh right before guys like crosbie and malkin in latang come into the league and really the biggest thing before we get into everything else is that mark andre flurry's

drafting his debut with the penguins all of that it represented hope after a few years where This team was just down in the dumps, and it looked like there might be some light on the horizon. And it's going to be really difficult to watch this one tonight, especially considering everything he meant to the penguins. And that this might be it for a guy who has played his way into becoming a first ballot Hall of Famer. So, Hunter, I am going to hand it over to you just, like I said, we can never go wrong, waxing poetic about one of the happiest. goalies to ever play hockey and Mark Andre Flurry? Outside of his play on the ice, there was never a time where he didn't have a smile on his face. Even when the team was losing when he first got there before Cindy Crosby was drafted,

to even after 2009 when he struggled in the playoffs, he still came to work every day with a smile on his face, even when he was struggling a bit. And especially during 2016, when he really didn't play much at all in that St. the cup run. And then even 2017, he gets pulled for Matt Murray. You know, I'll always say it. Flurry started that run and Murray finished it, but he still had a smile on his face. Yeah, probably deep down, he was hurt and upset that he got replaced again by Matt Murray, but he still came to work every single day with that smile on his face. He was so respectful to the media and all the players in that locker room. And he's always going to be loved by

every Penguins fan, everyone in that organization. And we talked to, about this before on the show. There might be a time where his number gets retired by this organization. I know I have my thoughts on it. You have your thoughts on it. If it does happen, it's going to be one heck of a night considering what he has represented when he's been on this team. But I'll never not have a smile on my face when I think of Mark Andre Fleury because I

loved watching him as a kid. He played the position, or he's played the position, I should say, with such a fun attitude. it's fun watching him play in gold because, yeah, he can make some hilarious mistakes, but he can also make some insanely acrobatic saves outside of obviously his great playoff runs with the Penguins. And yeah, he had some stinger as well. Some of my favorite times watching Flurry was in the shootout because he was so good in that, right?

He would make stopping those breakaways just look like a piece of cake. And I will forever cherish those memories. and you're right, it's going to be hard watching this tonight, man. I mean, I'll say this here, you know, when he had his first game back in Pittsburgh when he was with Vegas, I was in college at the time. I was watching it, you know, in my house, I was obviously in my room watching it. I'm not going to lie. I mean, my eyes got watering during that ceremony because of what he meant to me growing up,

what he's meant to so many people that have watched this team. And again, man, you know, he's also getting honored for 1,000 games tonight as well. I know you mentioned the second, all. All time wins, but he's also getting honored for 1,000 games. So if this is it for him, he's had one hell of a career and the Hall of Fame is going to be calling very shortly for him. Yeah. And I think I brought this up the last time we talked about him.

But if not, it's such a curious case to me because you can't say that he's not a first ballot Hall of Famer. Second all time and wins, three Stanley Cup rings, two of which he was a. huge factor in winning those Stanley Cups. And it's funny because at no point, except for the season he won the Vesna in Vegas, I don't think you could ever say he was the best goalie in the world, but he has consistently put together winning season

after winning season, after winning season. He's got a solid career save, percentage. You obviously talk about the wins, you talk about the Stanley Cups, and this is going to sound kind of silly to say, but you also factor in the person. The fact that he has been arguably one of the best teammates to everybody he's played with, that goes into the discussion of whether or not a guy will go into the Hall of Fame. You know, I can always point to a guy like Phil Kessel, who is one of the best American girls. goal scores, three Stanley Cup rings, and he's been an Olympian, but he's not the most pleasant

guy to people that aren't his teammates. And I think that hurts his case while on the other hand, it helps Mark Andre Fleury's case. And to what you said about the breakaways to keep the good times rolling on Mark Andre Flurry, I always think back to HBO 24-7 when they had that one practice at Heinz Field and they ended practice with the shootout and Jordan Stahl ends up losing and he has to climb all the way up to the highest section in the stadium and touch the sign. The whole time they had him miced up for that shootout and he was just talking endless trash to everybody coming down on him in the shootout and most of the time he made the saves. It was great.

And that's what he does. yeah, he's funny, but he can talk quite a bit of trash as well. I mean, obviously one of my favorite memories from him in-game outside of the save on Lidstrom. He makes the save on Ovechkin, 2017 Game 7 with his stick. And then afterward, the camera pans to him doing what, Pat? Stroking the stick a little bit, just kind of talking trash to the greatest goal score I think this league has ever seen. He's such just a great personality.

You've seen the pranks that he's done on Cindy Crosby. of Kenny Malkin, Chris Laetang, heck, even Pascal DuPlee when he was a member of the Penguins, Chris Kunitz, I'll throw in there as well. There's never going to be another one like him. And I'll also say this. If this is it for him this season, he deserves to be dealt to a team at the trade deadline

that's in the playoff race. Whether that's Carolina, and I know that's going to sting a little bit because I don't want to see him in the metro or the same as New Jersey because I think they could use another goalie, or whether it's someone like Edmonton, for example, if they want to get some more goalie debt to help out Stuart Skinner.

Those three teams just came into mind right away. I don't think he deserves to be on that wild team after the deadline just because, A, I mean, they're not going to make the playoffs. And B, that would just be kind of upsetting to see him just kind of waste away for his potential final season, I should say. But, yeah, just nothing but very warm memories. And I know this ceremony tonight's going to be awesome. Yeah, it's going to be a little bit of a challenge, I think, to deal him at the deadline,

because he has kind of made it known that wherever he goes, he doesn't want to be a backup. He wants to be either a starter or a 1B. And unfortunately, that's just not who he is anymore. I think his ceiling at this point in his career is a 1B goalie. He's not quite a starter anymore, but he's definitely not. a backup either. And the problem is a lot of teams that want goaltending right now, there are probably four or five guys out there who probably fit the bill as a starter better than Mark Andre Fleury. And I don't know if a Carolina or New Jersey or even

Edmonton like you mentioned would be willing to give up assets to get Mark Andre Fleury and put him in a platoon rule. Because as we've talked about, we have seen the last few years, yeah, a platoon goalie situation gets you to the playoffs, but eventually you have to pick a goalie and run with one in your playoff run.

And I don't know if that's him anymore. I hear what you're saying. I just think in New Jersey, especially this year, VTek Vanecheck has been really bad for them. I mean, they're not getting a save from him at all in any game. You know,

you have that Schmidt kid, well. I mean, he was fine in the playoffs last year, but I don't know if he's a long-term answer. I think getting him shows their fans that at least they're a little bit serious about trying to make the playoffs this year. And I think, in my opinion, I would start Flurry over Vanichick if I were the devils if they were to make the playoffs because Vanajek just hasn't been that good this year. Carolina, yeah, I understand your point, but both could check off him. He just gave up a goal from Sarah Ice on Thursday night. Ronsa has been on waivers this year. He's been bad, except against the Penguins. He only plays a lot.

against the penguins for some reason. And then Freddie Anderson just can't say healthy. So I think if it's those two teams, I kind of disagree with a little bit. I think it would be worth it for them to maybe look at seeing what it would take to get for it because honestly, Pat, I don't think he's going to cost that much like draft pick wise or maybe prospect wise. I think the biggest thing is convincing him to go to one of those two metro teams. I also think that that's also going to be like Edmonton, for example.

Yeah, I also think that's a bit of a challenge too for those. teams that would possibly want to acquire him is that it's the old Elliott Elliott Friedman Jeff Merrick line of when other GMs see you're drowning, they don't throw you a life preserver. They throw you a boat anchor. And it's well known that especially New Jersey, a little bit Carolina and a little bit Edmonton are in need of goaltending help. So that puts all the onus on them to pay more.

And at this point, if you're Bill Guerin, you're asking for the sun and the moon for him because you know those teams really need goaltending. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, I just think like, you know, when you look at his stats this year overall, 89 and 3, 2.95 goals against average 897% percentage. I mean, I don't know how much, you know, the sun of the moon can get you for someone that has those numbers, but he does have the respect of basically everyone in the NHL. So maybe he goes for a bit more than I suggest.

But again, goes back to my original point. I don't want to see him waste away on Minnesota after the next. deadline, especially because they're not going to make the playoffs. No. And we will talk about that game here on the Locked on Penguins podcast right after this. But first, we have to tell you about our sponsor, and that is eBay Motors. Passion, drive, and patience. What brings home the winning trophy is also what keeps your ride or die alive.

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only available to U.S. customers. We're back here on the Friday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp, joined as always by the illustrious Hunter Hodes. And yes, as fun as it is to wax poetic about Mark Andre Fleury and get excited for tonight's ceremony honoring him. They are going to have to play a hockey game tonight. And the Penguins and Wild are set to play tonight in Minnesota at 8 p.m. and this is a game where the penguins need to take advantage.

We were talking about it before we hit record. It appears everybody they're chasing in the standings right now. They wanted to keep losing before the break. Now nobody wants to lose. Everybody's going to win. So there's still five points out of the playoffs. This is a huge back-to-back. This is the first leg of it.

And they're playing a team that we hins it out a little bit in the first segment. Not a very good hockey team. They're probably not going to make the playoffs. like the penguins there, five points out at this moment, but not a lot of good underlying signs there that they might jump back up in the standings. It's, there's not a lot here for this Minnesota team.

So Hunter, your thoughts on what the penguins need to do tonight to get a win against the wild. My biggest thing is you show up earlier this week against the Winnipeg Jets. And yeah, I know they've lost a couple games since then. They've actually lost five in row heading into this weekend, funny enough. they're just not playing that well.

They haven't been able to score. But that was still one of the better teams in the Western Conference, and you dominate them to a pretty nice degree. Now you're playing one of the bottom feeders in that same division, and you need to keep up that consistency to get your third win in a row. You can show up against the Winnipeg Jets. That's great. You win that game.

Now, bring that same effort to Minnesota against a bad, wild team tonight. And you're right. The underlying numbers for this team are not pretty. They have a 49.7% expected goals rate at 5 on 5. They have a 49.2 actual goals rate at 5 on 5. So if you're below 50%, that's not usually the sign of a pretty good team. That said, even though they're not that good, they still have some pretty good talent. Kareil Kaprisoff, 19 goals, 45 points in 43 games.

He's one of the most underrated players in the league. Joel Ericksonek has 21 goals and 39 points this year. Matt Zuccarello has 8 goals. and 39 points. Matt Boldy's been very good. Brock Faber, who's their young stud defenseman has 30 points. And I'll say this about Brock Faber. He should be getting serious love for the Calder trophy right now, people. I know Connor Bedard has been a bit banged up. And when he's been the lineup, he's been awesome. But Faber should be getting some strong consideration with Badar. I'm not saying he's going to win it, but he's been awesome for the wild this year. This is a team

that still has some talents of the Penguins will have to be aware of that. But they need to show up in the same way that they did earlier this week, excuse me, against the Winnipeg Jets. If they're able to do that, get contributions from everyone in their lineup like they did against Winnipeg, they should be fine to win this game. And Alex Deltkovich, he's getting the start in this one, which I'm totally fine with. He should be able to at least slow down some of the wilds attack. Again, overall, this should be a game that the Penguins are able to win. You have a wild penalty kill. That's third worst in the league right now with how the penguin's power play is at least hummed a little bit over the last couple of games. You would think the penguins have an advantage there,

but we all know how bad the Penguins power play has been. And the Wild's power play is kind of just league average. So Penguins have an advantage on the penalty kill as well. You win that battle. You at least play decent at five on five, get some contributions. They should be able to skate out of here with the win. You can't no show against a team that is below you in the standings and against a team. team that is definitely not going to make the playoffs, especially if you want to get in. The games in hand matter so much right now because the teams in front of the penguins, you know, the Flyers, the Islanders, they don't want to lose. So you need to keep up with them and keep winning so that when eventually maybe they do falter,

you're able to keep winning and have those games in hand come in handy later on this season. Yeah, you took away one of the points I was going to make about this game tonight, and that is the special teams. the power play has shown some life over the past few games. It has looked like it's playing with more of a purpose. They have more of a shot first mentality. They're willing to put people in front of the net and take the chances they need to take to score.

So when you play a team with like Minnesota that has the PK that they have, you have to take advantage of that. The other thing is if in the first segment we talked very positively and excitedly about Mark Andre Fleury, well, it's no secret. He is not great against his former team. He's been lit up on multiple occasions by the penguins when he plays them, and you have to keep that trend going. He's obviously one of the better goalies of this era, but he's not good against the penguins. And at this point, the penguins should take advantage of that.

They have to try to rattle him early because we even saw that in his days as a penguin. He is, I don't want to say easy to rattle, but he's a goalie that, things snowball on him when he gives up an early goal or he gives up kind of a weaker goal, that starts to snowball into worse and worse performances. So if you're the Penguins, getting a good start tonight is crucial. And yeah, it's going to suck to spoil a great friend and great former teammates big night. But unfortunately, you can't make friends right now. They're not sitting comfortably in a playoff spot.

They're not sitting with some points to spare. We're at the point now where every point is precious and important. So forget making Mark Andre Fleury feel good on his big night. You got to play spoiler tonight. For as awesome as this ceremony and this celebration is going to be, the two points are more important than it. I'm sorry, people. They just are for this team or if you are someone that wants to see this team make

the playoffs, the two points are a lot. more important than that ceremony. And the penguins will have to have that mentality, especially from their top players who have played with Mark Andre Fleury before. And it's been widely reported that he doesn't like playing against the penguin just because of how long he was with them, how he's going up against his best friends. I mean, that's been public information that's been out there by multiple people who cover the team every single day. So if you can maybe get an early one past him, put some doubts in his mind a little bit, I think that could also go a long way toward the Penguins,

winning this game. I really like the point that you made about the start. The first five to six to seven minutes will really tell me how invested the penguins are in this game. And for them to have a successful weekend, you got to win this one. And if you can obviously win the Jets won or at least get a point there, that will be massive. But this back-to-back as a whole, it's so important with how tight the standings are in the Metro right now. You just can't afford to no-show a game like this again, especially with how the wild have been playing lately, you gotta come out and have a really fast start tonight. Yeah, it's huge, especially considering they are still without the services of Jared Spurgeon and Pat Maroon, who were expected to be key contributors for this team.

And that has kind of derailed what should have been at the very least a season of playoff contention in Minnesota. So you have to have a big start tonight. Gotta win the special teams battle and unfortunately you got to spoil mark andre flurries big night as much as it breaks all of our hearts to say but like hunter said this is the first leg of a back to back tonight in minnesota they will travel to win a peg for a rematch on saturday and we will preview that matchup right after this we're going to tell you about our next sponsor and that is indeed we are driven for the search for better but when it comes to high hiring, the best way to search for a candidate isn't to search at all.

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Robin Hood IRA available to U.S. customers in good standing. Robin Hood Financial LLC member SPIC is a registered broker dealer. All right, we're back here on the Friday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. And as we said right before we threw it to break, tonight is just the first of a leg back to back they are going to have with Minnesota, and then on Saturday they will go to Winnipeg for a rematch of Tuesday's game that was the first one out of the All Star break with the Penguins coming out three nothing victors. But the big story from that game we obviously all remember is the Brendan Dylan hit on Nolachari. He is out with a concussion. Brendan Dylan is out

for three games on suspension. And I think before we get into the game a little bit here, I want to say this. I do think with the way the NHL, and I wrote about this today on Penguins' perspectives on KDCA, I do think with the way the NHL currently operates. While I disagree with the way they operate when it comes to player safety, I think three games got it right within their, as people joke, Wheel of Justice. George Peros gave him the most that he probably could give him under his rules, I should say, just because, you know, you and I make fun of George Paris all the time on the show for how he runs player safety. And I said on Thursday when Nick Berlanski was on as a substitute teacher, didn't I say one to three games was probably what it was going to be for Dylan?

Again, I wish there was going to be five to ten, but they just weren't going to do that. So three games, I think or I hope that it sends the message to him that, hey, that kind of hit is not allowed in today's game. but we'll have to see if that really sets for him after he comes back from suspension. But yeah, he will not be playing in this game. And for the Jets as a whole man, they are reeling right now. They are bleeding very fast. They've lost five in row. They have scored four goals in their last five games.

And this is a team that's scored quite a bit this season, but not lately. They have not been able to score at all. And the penguins are going to have to try and keep that bleeding going and keep shutting down their top players to make sure that they don't score in this game. Just, again, use that blueprint that you had on Tuesday and how you've used it against other top teams this season in this game on Saturday. Keep your shift short. It's going to be the second half of a back-to-back with travel,

so that makes it even tougher. You will have Tristan Jari and net, though, which is big. He just played really well against the Jets earlier this week. He's had great career numbers against the Jets as well. as long as he keeps them in this game, the Penguins will have a chance to potentially walk away with four points out of this weekend, especially if they win this game against Minnesota. And if they do win this game against the wild,

they'll have a chance to go 7-0 and 0 in the second half of a back-to-back this year. I can't believe I'm saying that because this is the NHL's oldest team in the league. Yeah, it's kind of crazy that this team, for all the hemen and hawing about, oh, it's the oldest team in the league, it's the oldest team in the league. they're great in the second half of back-to-backs this season for whatever reason. But I liked what you said about Tristan Jari. He has actually never lost to the Winnipeg Jets in his career. And he's coming off at 3-0 shut out against them from Tuesday.

And this is a Winnipeg team that, as you said, is reeling. This will be their first game after getting their lunch fed to them by of all teams, the Philadelphia Flyers. And I know the Flyers are ahead of the Penguins. right now. They're still in third in the metro, but as we've talked about, they are starting to come back to Earth. The Philadelphia Flyers are starting to look more and more like the team people expected them to look like at the start of the season. And they went into Winnipeg, or they went to Winnipeg came to them and dropped a 4-1 loss to the Flyers.

And this is a team that we both said is reeling. You have to take advantage of that. They're struggling to score goals. They're on a rough losing streak. And for the penguins, you've got recent evidence that you can not only play with this team, but you can shut this team all the way down. Right. I agree. It's kind of looking like a bit similar to what we saw from the Jets at this point last year. Right. They were playing really well last year. And then this type of stretch came around January, February, where they just looked like a completely different team. And it was like that all the way of the playoffs. They got absolutely crushed in that first round series.

And then you saw Rick Bonas just go off to the media about his team. He said he was disgusted with the way it went. I hope that that's not happening here again, lightning striking twice with the Jets. But I can only hope, obviously, that the Penguins extend their losing streak in this game to have Jets fans think that maybe that this is the start of what happened last year as well. But we already said it. The blueprint is there, especially at 5 on 5.

The Penguins outside of a few. shifts in that game, they were able to dominate the Jets, I think. And in special teams, the Jets had nothing going on the power play, which is below average in the league for them. Their penalty kill really had no answers to the Penguins Power Play, which is honestly hilarious to say because we all know how bad the Penguins Power Play has been this year. And oh, yeah, Tristan Jarrett when needed to be called upon made some tremendous saves. You said it. He hasn't lost to the Jets yet. And he'll be looking to put that streak on the line in this game on Saturday in Manitoba.

So again, we all know who the top players are for the Jets on this team. You need to slow down. Mark Sheifley's been great. Josh Morrissey has been awesome. Eilers, Col Perfetti, Kyle Connor, Nino, Neerriter, all those top names. The Penguins are going to have to make sure that they really hone in on those players to make sure that they're not lighting them up on the score sheet or finding their game again from the first half of the season when they were just, again, lighting teams up every night it felt like. And the biggest thing is a way for. from just having beaten them.

This is a matchup that usually favors this Penguins team. The teams that give the Penguins fits are very fast teams, teams that have speed. Those are the teams that the Penguins have been struggling with this year in the last couple of years. Like the Devils. Yes, like the Devils. Jets are not that team. They are a heavy team.

They play a heavy brand of hockey. And the Penguins do well against teams like that. We saw it on Tuesday. we should see it again on Saturday. Also, this is something that has happened in the Penguins organization forever. Anytime they go up against Vesna caliber goalies, they usually make them look pedestrian. And chances are Connor Hellebuck will be in the net on Saturday.

So again, another opportunity to make a goalie like Hellebuck look human. It's funny. They make all the great goleys look human at times. Then all the mid-to-bad goalies want to play like Prime Patrick Waugh when they play the penguin. So it feels like it should be the opposite, right? But yeah, I would assume Hellibuck will be a net for this one. I'd be kind of surprised if he wasn't. But when you look at this weekend as a whole, four massive points up for grabs,

you can take all four of those and maybe you get some help from other teams ahead of you losing. All of a sudden, the standings are getting even tighter in the Metro. you're also starting to pull away from a couple of teams behind you, like the Washington Capitals who have now lost six in a row, and their schedule, their next three games, they play three of the best teams in the league. New Jersey is also reeling right now, too. Again, they don't even have a bona fide starting goal tender.

They continue to lose games because they can't get a save. If you can start pulling away from them especially, that would be big as well. And also, you head into next week, you have another back-to-back before Yager comes to town next weekend. You have the Panthers at home for the third and final. time and you have the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that the Penguins lost to to start the season, even though the Blackhawks are one of the worst teams in the league. Right now, Connor Bedard is

still out, though. There's rumors that he might try to return next week. We'll have to see if he's back for that game overall. But you get these four points. You're setting yourself up to potentially get more, especially against a bad Chicago team next week and against the Panthers team that you've played tough two times already. Now it's time to potentially beat them at home after are losing a really close one a little over a week ago. Yep. And similarly to the Tuesday game against Winnipeg. After this back to back, you've got three days off.

So you have to lay it all out there. You have to play your best game and then you get three days of rest with some practices involved, no game action. And like you said, a chance to bank four points and really make a move in the Eastern Conference wildcard standings. So that is going to do it for us on this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. We will be back on Monday to recap both of these games and get you ready for the week ahead. But for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp.

Thank you for listening to the Locked-on Penguins podcast.