Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins shuffle up the lines ahead of two weekend matchups!

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

The Penguins are heading into the weekend with some new-look lines and new-look defensive pairings. Patrick and Hunter begin the show getting you set for tonight's matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who the Penguins have yet to beat this season. They dive into how the Penguins can get a win against their divisional rival and their roster of young upstarts. Then, we saw some shuffling of the forward lines and defensive pairings on Thursday at practice, and they discuss how while some players have earned a promotion, others likely haven't deserved a demotion. Finally, the Pens head to Florida on Sunday to take on the defending champion Panthers, a team that the Penguins have hung tough with all season. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FactorLooking to optimize your nutrition this year? Eat smart with Factor. Get started at FACTOR MEALS.com/FACTORPODCAST and use code FACTORPODCAST to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.5-Hour ENERGYHead to 5-hourENERGY.com to find over 15 flavors to choose from, including Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, and Peach-Mango. Need one now? Grab a 5-hour ENERGY shot at your local grocery or convenience store—they’re everywhere! Stock up today and stay energized. UpworkVisit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free to connect with top talent and grow your business today!Wonderful PistachiosGet snackin’ and get crackin’ with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more! GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHLfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins! 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.

Today on Locked-on Penguins, the Penguins will look to close their homestand with a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. We saw some lineup changes at practice on Thursday. Then the Penguins will take on the defending Stanley Cup champions this weekend. Hunter and I are going to talk about all that and more on this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team, every day. Oh, happy Friday, everybody, and welcome back to the locked on penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms at Synonym 4WET,

joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can give our show's Twitter account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. And of course, we appreciate you making us part of your daily routine. don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcast as well as YouTube and Roku channel. Plus, if you follow us on YouTube, go ahead and hit that notification button so you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Before we jump into it, Hunter, today's episode is brought to you by Fandle. Right now, new Fandul customers can get $200 in bonus bets if their first $5 bet wins.

right now, though, I got to say real quick, thank you to everybody for bearing with us. Hunter and I both had a couple of things come up on Thursday. We were unable to record our usual Thursday episode. So we appreciate you hanging with us in coming back today for our Friday episode. And we've got plenty to get into today. First among them, the Penguins will finish up this five-game homestand by welcoming in their little brother, the Columbus Blue Jackets. But this season, Little Brother has been anything but that.

This will be the third and final meeting between the two clubs and the penguins are winless in both, dropping the first back in November 6 to 2 to the Blue Jackets. And then in the second, they lose 4 to 3 in a shootout after the penguins have a two-goal lead, which they were unable to hold on to. So the penguins trying to salvage a win against a Columbus. Blue Jackets team that has been a pretty good story this year right now. They are in the thick of the wild card playoff race. Just three points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second and final wild card

spot. They are chasing the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders. Good Lord Islanders go away already, but I digress. So they're coming off a pretty tough one-nothing loss in over. overtime to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. And this kind of shows us where this Columbus Blue Jackets team is developmentally. They went toe to toe with the defending Stanley Cup champions. They only lose a one-nothing game in overtime to a Florida team who is still pretty good.

I'm not sure I would say there is good as they've been in the last couple years. Part of that is injury. Part of that is probably fatigue. Part of that is some players have left, but still a very solid team who the penguins will see this weekend, but we'll get into that later in the show. But for the penguins, eventually, regardless of where this season is going, you've got to try to gut out a win against the team that historically you have dominated. And this season, they've kind of taken it to you.

Yeah, I mean, the penguins got blown out in Columbus earlier this season. And Penguins probably should have won that second matchup, in my opinion. The Penguins, remember, Pat, they were up three to one with less than half a period to go. This was when they were very much still in the race this season. And then they gave up two goals in the final 10 minutes and then lose a shootout because this team cannot win shootouts to save their lives anymore. I remember a time, especially when Mark Andre Fleury was here, when every time a game went to a shootout, it was automatic. But these last two, three seasons, it's been rough for them in shootouts. And the Penguins, they had a lot of golden chances in overtime,

especially to win that game, but they weren't able to win it. But still, they, I feel like they outplayed Columbus for the most part in that game, the second meeting. But, you know, once you blow another third period lead, you don't play well on a shootout, that's what happens. You lose the extra point. And that's a pretty rare win for Columbus in Pittsburgh, by the way, Pat. Like, usually the blue jackets are pretty cursed at PPG paints arena.

They were able to get a pretty rare win. And that one, they'll go for two in the same season. My dog here is, see, she's upset by it as well. but Columbus, man, they're desperate. Like, that's the biggest thing for me. They've lost five in a row going into this game. They're three points out of a playoff spot. They need this game against the Penguins.

Second half of a back-to-back, it's going to be a bit tougher. But still, they're in a playoff race. This has been such a great season for them. They've come out of nowhere. No one expected them to be this good. They've got contributions from everywhere in their lineup. Did you know they have five, 20 goals scores this season? Some people, like,

you look at their lineup and be like, oh, like, they're still lacking that true high-end player. And while I would be inclined to agree with you, they still have a lot of really good depth. Voronkov has been awesome this year. Adam Van Tilly is going to be a thorn in a lot of team sides in the Metropolitan Division for a long time. Karel Marchenko is having a massive breakout season. Zach Wrenski defensively, I think, is having the best season of his career. They have a lot of really good young talent here. And if they make some additions over the off season,

it won't be long, Pat, I think, until their Assembly Cup contender. This is a good team this year. They may not make the playoffs, but they're miles ahead of where I thought they would be. This is going to be a very tough game for the Penguins. They are bluejackets also 11th in the league and goals for per game. Defensively, they're giving up close to two and a half goals per game. So a little below average. But this is a team that can put the puck in the back to the net.

Penguins are going to have to, again, bring that L.A. slash Washington blueprint from earlier in the season into this game. if they want to win. And honestly, we could even say that second game against Columbus blueprint as well, where they were doing a great job through 50 minutes before just scrapping the bed. Yeah, you can't have another game this season where you play the hits, as we said a few days ago after the Islanders game, where you play pretty well for 85, 90% of the game, maybe even 75%,

and then that last 25, 10, 15, whatever you want to call it. you kind of go to sleep because if they put together a full 60 minute effort, I do like their chances against this Columbus team because this is a Columbus team that is too young to know any better, but still too young to know any better. They aren't supposed to be here right now. They're supposed to be a team that is rebuilding and figuring it out, finding out what they have in their young talent in some of their younger players. and they're all taking big steps this year.

You said it about Adam Fantilli. There were some questions early on about him. Was this the right pick? Is this kid going to turn into what everybody thinks he's going to? This year, he is telling all of the critics to go pound salt because he has looked very good. And he is on a solid developmental track. And I will say this about Columbus.

You look at, excuse me, Everybody kind of wants to throw out Elvis Merslikins. And I get it. He is pretty inconsistent. But you look at how this Columbus Blue Jackets team is playing this year. They're a little bit spotty defensively. They're not a very good defensive team. And he still has put up in 45 games an 897 save percentage.

On its face, that's not very good. But when you put it in the context of this is a. Columbus Blue Jackets team that struggles a little bit defensively. The fact that he's hovering around league average tells me when this team takes a step defensively, he's making a solid case to be their long-term starter because if he can hover around league average with a young developing team that is going to eventually learn how to play better defense, he could be a good starting goaltender. However, would be shocked if he starts tonight because he did start last night against

the Florida Panthers. So we probably could see Teresov tonight in net at PPG Paints Arena, who this is a goaltender for the Blue Jackets who has struggled, only been in 17 games, 882 save percentage. So if you're the Penguins tonight and Teresov gets the nod, you have to take advantage of playing against a subpar goaltender. That's fair. I also will say, don't woo out the possibility of them going to Merzleekins on the second half of this back-to-back just because of how important this game is to Blue Jackets.

Again, they've lost five in row, their three points out. They need to bank points. Like, there have been times this year where they've been in that second wild card spot. Like, they're going for that final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but it feels like the last week, 10 days that they've hit a little bit of a wall. I'm not really going to sit here and say, yeah, that they maybe run out of gas or anything like that. But just don't be shocked if they did go back to Merzleekins, considering, A, he played great against the Panthers last night.

And B, they really need the points. Mers Likins. He's above water and goals say it above expected this year, 1.4. And you're right, Pat, like if they can make a couple adjustments to their defensive group over the offseason, whether it's via trade or via free agency, he can definitely put up better numbers next year. Like, this is already one of the better offensive teams in the league. Again, they're 11th in the league in goals for per game. They know how to put the puck in the back of the net.

They have a really nice balanced lineup. and I do think a time is coming where they might get a bona fide superstar, whether it's free agency or via trade. But still, they're offensively great. But if they can make a couple adjustments to the way they play defensively and maybe get one or two better defensemen in their lineup, this team's going to be very scary for a while. Dean Evanston has them playing good hockey.

And we said it when they were on their general manager. Yeah, and we said it over the summer. and a lot of people did when they were on their general manager hunt, that whoever took over, ultimately it was Don Waddell, that whoever took over Columbus was going to be in a very advantageous situation. They don't have a ton of salary cap restraints. There's no real boat anchor contracts. They've got a ton of draft capital.

They've got a ton of good prospects. So they play their hands right. And so far they really have. this is a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference that if they continue on this track over the next five or so years, this is not going to be just the cliche, scrappy Columbus Blue Jackets, look at them, they're fined in a way. This is going to be a team that is really dangerous. And that's why I'm also hoping that this Penguins rebuild, retool on the fly turns out to go what turns out and goes well,

because a real actual Columbus Pittsburgh rivalry would be awesome. Because you look back at the last decade or so, it's like I said about the Columbus teams. They were just these kind of scrappy underdog. They're fighting above their weight class and they're figuring it out. I want to see a Columbus team that has a strong foundation, that has a strong supporting cast and can be an actual threat and not a, oh, they snuck up on us because we didn't think they were that good.

They're well on their way to doing just that. So we will see what happens. But big game tonight in Pittsburgh, not only is it the annual Sportsnet, Pittsburgh Lemieux Foundation charity game. It's the Phil Castle Bbblehead night. So big night at PPG paints arena, you're going to want to be there for that one. Hunter and I will recap this game on Monday. So be on the lookout for that.

That is going to do it for our first segment. When we come back, we saw some lineup changes at practice on Thursday. We will dive into those and give our thoughts right after this. But first, we've got to send it to a message for you from Bear Mattress. Did you know getting a good night's sleep is the number one recipe for long-term success in life? I didn't. It took me way longer to realize than I'd like to admit. It was years of tossing and turning.

I was always tired. I never felt like I could live. up to my potential. But not anymore. Thanks to Bear Mattress. I use their sleep quiz and I matched with the elite hybrid. It's perfect for side sleepers like me. Now I wake up energized.

I'm getting deeper sleeps and I'm ready to attack the day. No matter how you sleep, Bear Mattress has a match for you with a focus on recovery, cooling and pressure relief to upgrade your sleep and improve your overall quality of life. Go to Bear Mattress.com and you. use promo code locked on NHL at checkout for 40% off site wide. This offer is not available anywhere else. You have to use my promo code on the very last page of checkout to get this discount. That's bear mattress.com and use promo code locked on NHL for 40% off site wide.

Bear mattress.com promo code locked on NHL. All right, we're back here on the Friday edition of Locked on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp alongside Hunter Hodes. We got a few changes in practice on Thursday when the penguins were at the Lemieux complex. Chief among them that I know you would like to talk about Hunter is that we got some changes on defense. We had some switchups of the pairings. Connor Timmins gets promoted to the first pairing alongside Chris Latang. And Vladislav Kulia Chanuk is down on the third pairing with Ryan Grimmons.

Graves, Matt Grizzlic, Eric Carlson remains untouched. So Hunter, your thoughts on that move. While I do think Connor Timmons deserves a promotion with the way that he has played, the one thing I don't like about it, Pat, is that it forces Latang to play on his offside. He has really struggled throughout this year, in my opinion. I feel like his skating is not nearly as good as it used to be. I feel like his decision making has also gone downhill a little bit. And again, people, you will not find a bigger Chris Latang fan than maybe. I have loved this player ever since he came into the league. I am part of the Latang Colt, as some people on Penguins' Twitter,

coined it and such. He is, his number is going to be retired, in my opinion. One day I think he's also going to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is Penguins' royalty. But this year, he has not been as good. Father time, you can tell, has really creeped into his game a bit. And I think by putting him on his offside, I think you're putting him at an even more of a disadvantage,

in my opinion. And again, while it's great that Timmins is up there, he's played really well, I want Letang on his normal side. And I don't know. I probably would have kept Koyochana up there for another game or two to see how that pairing would go. And I want to be clear here when I discuss Koyochana. I'm not sitting here and saying this guy is a shoehorn. Oh, he's going to be a great top four defenseman for many years to come.

No, the sample size is good, though it's very strong. small and because of that I still want to see if he can play good minutes on that top pair. I didn't like, for example, that he was very limited in the third period last game. I felt like you could just play a bit a bit more. I don't really think he made any mistakes in the third period. Again, his shifts were few and far between the third period. I went back and watched them. I didn't see a good reason for him to be benched.

I didn't agree with that decision from Mike Sullivan at all, which is why, in my opinion, I would have went back to that pairing and be like, okay, I'm still trusting you to be on that top pairing. Yeah, I know I limited your minutes in the third period, but I'm going to send you back out there with Chrisa Teng and see how you do against a young and hungry Columbus bootjacket scene. That's what I would have done. Again, people, I think his ceiling is probably a bottom pairing defenseman,

but I still want to see what they have in this player, which is why, again, I just don't really like Timmons. I'm not timid's excuse me. I don't like Letang on his off side. Like you have Latang and Carlson on the right side for a reason. Why change it for the sake of changing it? I don't know. I think Mike Sullivan is doing the classic situation where, you know what?

I'm going to throw all my lines and pairings in a blender after a really ugly third period loss to the Islanders once again. That's what I honestly think he's doing because I saw some people freaking out also about Connor Dewar on the second line. And while I understand it a little bit, because I like Dewer and Lazotte together quite a bit. I think they've put together some really nice shifts. I get to a degree why Sullivan wants to see what Deer can do with Malkin

because he has been good since coming over from Toronto. He scored a few goals. He foreshacks his butt off. He goes to the dirty areas around the net. And Evgeny Malkin loves playing with those types of players. So I get it, even though I also understand why some fans are a bit hesitant about it. Because you look at the rest of the lines here, Pat, you know, Deer with Malkin and Tomasino, the top line is staying the same,

Danton Hyne with Kevin Hayes and Boe and Mama, and then you have Blake Lazot with Copeland and Nolichari. So it looks like they're just going to roll with those lines tonight. Again, on one hand, I don't like making your bottom six a little bit worse, even though it's not good to begin with, and we know this team is not very good this year. But on the other hand, I get putting Dewer with Malkin because he's played well, and they want to see what he can do in a top six role,

at least for a little bit to end the season. Because again, he's an RFA after this year. They still got to decide what they want to do with him. Same with Connor Timmons. As of right now, I think they're going to bring both back, but that's still not close to setting us down. You got a few games left here. And they have almost a full month of games left before the season end.

So they're trying to give them more opportunities, even though still I question the logic at least a little bit with it. Those are my very jumbled thoughts on these matters. I totally get where you're coming from on the forward side, but I also look back at something you said that I think is pretty profound, that when it comes to forward lines, Mike Sullivan doesn't think so much in trios as he does in duos. Right.

He's got his two people that he wants to keep to. together. You look at the exception being the top line because Raquel Crosby Rust, all three of them have complimented each other very, very well. So there's no reason to really break up that trio. But then you look at the second line. There is clearly something there between of Gennie Malkin and Philip Tomasino. So keeping those two together, I think was paramount for him. Now it's finding a player like Connor Dewar, who I do think will complement the both of them very well. We know of Genie Malkin likes playing with some of those high energy guys. Doer has shown he can play that kind of game.

And that can free up some space for Gino. It can free up some space for Tomasino. As for the defensive thing, I got to put this out there for Koliachanuk. I understand everybody has been impressed with him. He's got that new guy bump. He's got that young guy bump. And he's been.

Fine. Has he been great? Not particularly. He hasn't been a disaster either. You look at some of his numbers. And it's like you said, right now in this exact moment where we are right now, his ceiling is probably third pair. I think long term, he's probably a second pair guy. That is probably the tip of his potential is he can raise up to be on the second pair for a while. But the other thing to keep in mind with this, they are sheltering him. more than or nearly half of his starts are in the offensive zone. And then you dig into all of his, again, it's a small sample size, but still, you look at a lot of his analytics. He's underwater in a lot of things, not by a lot. It's, you know, 47, 48, 49 percent, but still underwater. So he wasn't exactly thriving in the role he was given, wasn't sinking either. So I think at this point, you look at it this way.

He's 23. He's shown he can play at an NHL caliber level, but you also have him through next year. So you have time to figure this out. Putting him on the third pair, I think is perfectly fine. You see what he can do in that role. You continue to shelter him and give him favorable deployment in hope that he starts to increase his quality of play.

And as you get into next year, you start pushing him a little further. Can you play second pairing minutes? In a pinch, can you fill in on the top pair? This is something that I have been saying for quite a while. The penguins over the last 10 or so years have had some young players, and they've been fine. We want them to be great as fans because we have been begging for young talent. We have been begging for young players to come in and make a difference.

and a lot of these players just really aren't difference makers. They're fine. They're usable. They're serviceable. And I think Coley-Chonok will be become more than serviceable. I think, like I said, his ceiling is probably second-paired defensemen. And we've got time to figure that out. This season, we know it's not going anywhere.

So, in a little bit of a lesser way, I look at it in the same way as I talked about with Yo-L Blumquist, getting sent back down. Throwing Kulia Chonok to the wolves and putting him on the first pair, yeah, it's going to help with draft position because he's probably eventually going to flame out on that pairing, just because that's not where he belongs. But they clearly see something in this kid. So rather than throwing him directly into the fire, they're going to shelter him.

They're going to let him develop. They're going to let him build his confidence. And that's better in the long run for him rather than, hey, guess what? You're the 23-year-old who had a couple good games. get out there and play 25 minutes a night. Let him develop, let him get his confidence, shelter him a little bit. And as we get into next season,

increase that work a little bit. If he can handle it, fantastic. If not, you know what you got. No, and that's a totally a fair point. I just think after what happened against the Islanders,

if I were Mike Sullivan, and this might be a hot take to some, I would have honestly been like, okay, I'm going to give you back to Latang on the top pairing, but if you go out there and maybe struggle a little bit, you're then going back. down to the third period. I just don't think I would have done it after he was limited in the third

period, even though I don't think he did anything egregious in that period. I think I just would have been a bit slower with the demotion, Pat. But if he were to struggle in this game, for example, if they went back to him on the top pairing, I'd be like, okay, now we're going to put you down on the third pairing, for example, after we gave you another shot with, let's hang. I just would not have done it that quickly, I guess. That's the only point I'm trying to make, man. The other thing that we know about Mike Sullivan, he's not afraid to shake up his lines or his pairing. So if he plays well tonight or plays well against Florida, there's a real world where he can get some better looking minutes. And we've got to shelter Ryan Graves tonight, man.

That's going to be, I'm curious to watch that pairing and then also check out the numbers after the game. And especially if Latang Timmins doesn't work out, you know Connor Timmons can do well in a sheltered third pairing role. and if Kulachanuk is doing at least an adequate job, Sullivan won't hesitate to press that button. He rarely does. And I know that everybody's grind in their teeth right now and ready to yell at me about that. But yeah, I know that it's kind of contradictory

that, oh, he hates young players, but he also puts his lines in a blender. Once the game is on, everything's on the table. So if Timmin struggles with Latang, they'll probably pull him back to the third pairing and from there, you're either going to see Koliachana go up to the second or go up to the first. So we'll see what happens.

Or you might see Ryan Graves go up there, honestly. You might as well, you might just because what else do you got? But we will see what happens with that. But that is going to do it for this middle segment of our Friday episode. When we come back, the Penguins will have a Sunday matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. We will get you set for. that game when we come back. But first, we've got to tell you about a couple of sponsors.

First among them is five-hour energy. Daylight savings snuck up on us again. And if you're feeling that lost hour of sleep, five-hour energy has your back. The extra sunshine, that means there's more time for fun. But sometimes you need a little boost to power you through. Whether you're staying up late to watch the NCAA tournament, squeezing in around a golf after work or just trying to keep up with your busy day. Five hour energy gives you that quick, refreshing pick me up whenever you need it.

Between the NCAA tournament and me working nights, I really pretty often need that energy boost. And five hour energy keeps me, keeps me help up with the day. Head to five hour energy.com to find over 15 flavors to choose from, including watermelon, blue raspberry, and peach mango. You can even build your own 12 pack or 24 pack, and it'll get delivered. right to your door. If you need one right now, you can grab a five-hour energy shot at your local grocery

store or convenience store. You know it. They are everywhere. Stock up and stay energized today. The NCAA tournament is here, and so is the bracket breakdown. Locked-on Podcast Network and Amazon Fire TV channels are teaming up to deliver NCAA tournament coverage like never before. Watch studio shows featuring former players and Locktons local experts as they guide you

through every upset, buzzer beater, and bracket matchup. Stream it all for free on Amazon Fire TV channel. Search Bracket Breakdown to see it all for free. It's your team every day. All right, we're back here on the Friday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp, alongside the one-and-only Hunter Hodes, and we've got ourselves a late evening matchup on Sunday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

The Penguins will take on the Panthers in Florida at 6. p.m. on Sunday night. And this is a Florida team that I don't know what to make of them, because we'll start with this. They're very good. They are in a fight to win a very competitive Atlantic Division. As we record this on Friday morning, they are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the division at 87 points, but Tampa Bay is on both of their heels with 85 points. and the top of the Atlantic is jam-packed, and those are three very good teams, regardless of what you think about them.

When you're in that type of a division and everybody's battling for it, it's a very good division and they are very good teams. But I look at this Panthers team, and some of it is injury, some of it is probably fatigue. They're still very good. That part I want to make clear.

But I look at Florida right now. And it kind of feels like down the stretch, they're fading a little bit. You obviously know Toronto is doing their Toronto thing, having a good regular season. We'll see if it translates. Tampa did the whole forgot about Dre thing. And they were like, hey, we're still here. We're still extremely good. And they are very ascendant.

So I really don't know what to make of this Florida team. Obviously, it's going to be a massive challenge for the penguins. they have played them twice this year. They got a surprising five to four win over them in December, and then a pretty hard fought three to two loss by the penguins in January. So third meeting for these two teams, split series. It's going to be a tough game, but I think for the penguins,

they have proven they can hang with at the very least in limited matchups with Florida. They at the very least can hang with them. They have played the panthers very tough in both games this year. Remember, you know, they had, multiple chances to even win that second meeting against them. They did get the tying goal late in the third period. Played a really fun overtime.

But hey, man, once again, shootouts or shootouts? So they just really do not win shootouts anymore. The game before that, they had a three-goal lead. They blew it, but they were still able to win the game a bit later. But they still play the Panthers really tough this year. I would expect it to be more of the same on Sunday. The Panthers coming to this game, as you said, tied for first in the Atlantic, though. They are a bit banged up right now.

And Enoch Blount, he's out right now. Matthew Kachuk, he might not be back until the start of the playoffs after getting banged up during the Four Nations face off. And Brad Marchand is still out. He has not returned for the Panthers. And I mean, I can't wait to see what he does on this Panthers team once he gets back. The Penguins are lucky that they won't be seeing him in this game because he is a penguin killer has been for a long time ever since coming into the league with the Boston Ruins.

But I can't lie, man. I'm excited to see what Marston can do on this team, especially if he plays on a line with Sam Bennett. it's one of the radiest lines and the history of radiance lines in the NHL. This Panthers team, though, they're one of the three best teams in the conference, in my opinion. Any order, them, Tampa, Washington. You can put them in any order you want. I probably would not disagree with you. The biggest thing with the Panthers, though, is will they run out of gas in the playoffs?

They've been to two straight Stanley Cup finals. They've won one. But it feels like at some point they're going to play that lightning team, whether it's the first or second round, and those two teams are going to beat the ever-living crap out of each other. And if it's in the second round, for example, I will question how much juice the Panthers have left because the lightning are going to make them work for it.

If Florida is able to beat the lightning. Speaking of juice, though, for the penguins on Sunday, one thing could really work in their favor is that this will be the second half of a back-to-back for the Panthers. they will be in Washington to play the Capitals on Saturday evening at 5 o'clock. And that is a battle between the two best teams right now, points and standings-wise, in the East. So that is not going to be an easy game between the Caps trying to continue to hold their grip on the best record in the NHL, as well as trying to show that they can hang with and beat the defending Stanley Cup champions,

mixed with Ovechkin's chase for the Gretzky goal record. That's going to be a pretty intense game for both teams. So for the penguins, that could be looked at by the Panthers as a letdown game. You're getting a team that is not in the playoffs, a team that's played you tough all year long. And realistically, regardless of how Saturday goes for the Panthers, they've got games and points to burn. If they lose on Sunday to the Penguins, it's not a big deal.

They're still going to the playoffs. They're still going to be one of the best teams in the East. But for the Penguins, it's a moment to take advantage of what could be a pretty tired Panthers team. And there's also the possibility that the Penguins won't see Sergei Bobrovsky because they had that first half of the back to back back. And I think they might start him against Washington. I would, for example, especially coming home, playing a lesser team, I would just give the backup back game. It's the easier game in that scenario. and the backup up for the Panthers as Vtec Vannichick.

The Penguins have seen him multiple times over the years, especially considering his time in Washington, even though he's balanced around the league. But still, that would be by far the easier goaltending matchup because Vanichek is nowhere new to the level that Sergei Bogov has been. But you still look at this Panthers team.

Verhegeen and Barkov on the top line, Barkov is insane in all three zones. There's a reason why I think he's the best two-way forward in the league. Him going up against Sidde Krosby is always such a fun chess match. Sam Ryan Hart is also on the top line. He is great both on the power play and even strength. You know you're going to get from Sam Bennett on the second line. He's a rap.

Like he's going to throw his body out there. He might throw out a couple dirty hits if he wants to. That's the way he plays, man. He is, by definition, a rat. So you better be prepared for him on Sunday in sunrise. Evan Rodriguez, former penguin. He's had another very good year. You have Anton Lundel, who I think is one of the more underrated third line centers.

You know, Lucerne is on the third line as well. You got Nico Sturm on their fourth line. But another big thing for me with the Panthers, their top 10 in goals for per game, 3.16. But unlike the Blue Jackets, Pat, they are great defensively. Six in the league, goals against per game at 2.09. Only the Capitals, the Flames, the Wild, the Kings, and the Winnipeg Jets are better at 5 on 5 this regular season.

I know ECWAT is banged up right now, but this is still a team that does not give you a lot in the defensive zone. And so the penguins, when they get looks, you can't overthink it. Like there was plenty of opportunities, especially in that game against the Islanders. Kevin Hayes, for example, where he was passing up clean looks, looking for that extra play, almost like a Harlem Globetrotters type thing. No, you don't want to do that here against the Panthers. When you have a good look, you got to take it because it's going to be few and far between

with how the Panthers play in their own zone. 100%. Big, big weekend coming up for the penguins. Obviously, we know they are not really in the mix anymore. but always nice to get some wins against a divisional rival and to take a chunk out of the defending Stanley Cup champions. And hey man, Cindy Crosby getting very close now to the point per game record. That is the main thing I'm looking for this week. As always, the heart and the fight that I still want to see out of this team. Even though they might lose both of these games, still want to see those two things too.

Right there with you. But that is going to do it for our Friday edition of Locked-on Penguins. Hunter and I will be back on Monday to recap both of these games as well as get you ready for the week ahead. But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Dam. Thank you as always for tuning in. Have a great weekend, everybody, and we will be back on Monday.