Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins and Red Wings meet with playoff implications on the line

Starting point is 00:00:00 Tonight is the biggest game against the Detroit Red Wings since June 12th, 2009. You're Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello and welcome back Penguins fans to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host Patrick Damp, joined as always by the one-and-only Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Synonym 4Wet.

Starting point is 00:00:43 You can follow Hunter at Hunter Hodees. And you can follow the show's account at L0 underscore Penguins. We thank you for making this your first listener watch of the day because we're your team every day. And you can find us wherever you get your podcasts, including YouTube. And before we get started today, today's episode is brought to you by Indeed. Indeed knows when you're growing your own business, you have to make every dollar count. That's why with Indeed, you only pay for quality applications that match your must have,

Starting point is 00:01:10 job requirements. Visit indeed.com slash lock on to start hiring now. Terms and conditions apply. So here we are. Tonight is arguably the biggest game against the Detroit Red Wings since they lifted the cup all those years ago at the old Joe Lewis Arena on June 12th, 2009. Because for all intents and purposes, Hunter, tonight's game, while it's not quite the fate of their season, while it might not be the total end of it, should they not come out victorious. A victory tonight pretty much puts them in the driver's seat for a playoff spot in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. And it is not going to be an easy game because as we talked about yesterday, this is a team

Starting point is 00:01:59 that they are tied with in the standings. There are essentially only two playoff spots remaining, the third place in the Metropolitan Division and the second wildcard. spot and there are four teams fighting for those spots and it's the penguins, the islanders, the Red Wings, and the Washington Capitals. And tonight, the Penguins will take on the Red Wings in an opportunity to really put themselves ahead of the Red Wings who they are tied with at 84 points. And should they get this victory, they will hop into hopefully the second wildcard spot and create some more distance.

Starting point is 00:02:39 between them and the Red Wings. So Hunter, I ask you the same thing. I always ask you on preview day. How do the Penguins get a massive two points tonight? I mean, the core has to keep doing what they've been doing for the last several weeks. And honestly, the season as a whole, when I go back and I look at that game against the Red Wings from a few weeks ago, the Penguins destroyed them in that game. That was the second half of a back-to-back after the game. the Penguins lost seven for the Rangers, and the Penguins really took it to the Red Wings.

Starting point is 00:03:14 There was a point in that game where the Red Wings only had 10 shots halfway through regulation time. If the Penguins can play that well defensively in this game, I do think they have a really good shot of beating this Red Wings team for a second time this season. Another thing that I really want to see from the Penguins in this one overall, scoring from not just the top six. When I go back and I rewatch that game against the Red Wings, they got a couple goals from Lars Eller.

Starting point is 00:03:41 Valis Reutersen scored. Riley Smith scored a massive goal for the penguins in that game. If they can get contributions from players outside of the top six, that's going to go a long way towards the penguins winning this game. And speaking of Pustin, I do think he has earned his spot on this team, but he's gone cold a little bit this last week or so. I think you could see him have a big game in this one with the way he played against the Red Wings last time.

Starting point is 00:04:07 and overall, I know that third line hasn't been as good these past couple of games, but it's due for a big breakout. And what better game to do it than in this one with everything on the line. I expect PBG Paints Arena to be loud for this one. This is definitely a playoff game overall because you said it, the winner who wins this game, especially in regulation, is in the driver's seat to potentially steal one of those final two, playoff spots. And for the Penguins case, they will be two points up with a regulation win,

Starting point is 00:04:41 and they would own a tiebreaker. So in a way, they're kind of three points up on the Red Wings if they win this game in regulation. Yeah, the regulation part of it is gigantic. This cannot be a three point game. This has to be a clean two point game for whoever wins, obviously, our rooting interests lie with the Pittsburgh Penguins. But regardless, when you talk about the playoff race, it has to be a regulation win. Speaking of that bottom, It was announced yesterday. We did not say it on the Wednesday show. Sam Poulan has been reassigned to Wilkesbury Scranton. And coming up in his place is Redim Zahorna, who actually has really earned a call-up in the last few weeks. He is currently riding a five-game scoring streak

Starting point is 00:05:26 where he's scored in five straight. And he was a guy that we had an eye on at the start of the year to come in and make a difference because up until this this current season, he had been an effective bottom six player with the Penguins. He actually had a very solid preseason where he looked like he was going to become a regular contributor on the Penguins NHL roster. And then you look back at the way he played in his time in Pittsburgh a couple of seasons ago. He really was trending towards being a solid bottom six option. He's got size, he's got a little bit of speed, and he has a nose for the net, which is something that showed itself in the preseason.

Starting point is 00:06:11 But once the regular season came, for whatever reason, that went away all the way until he was eventually sent down to Wilkes Bear. He comes back up. We'll see if he's in the lineup tonight because at practice on Wednesday, Lars Eller was absent due to illness. there really wasn't an update given on whether or not his status for tonight is available or not. So we'll wait to see with that. But should he draw into the lineup, I would really like him to see him to bring that confidence he has shown the last couple of weeks in Wilkeshire and build on the things that made him so successful in the preseason. I can also add to that as well.

Starting point is 00:06:52 You know, the call-up that he had during the early portion of the season, he actually played fairly well those first three to four games and was giving the penguins at least a little bit of life on their third line. But then he did what he's done a couple of times before, right? He kind of fizzled out and then wasn't producing. And then that led to him being sent down for basically the rest of this season up until this point. I want to see if he can build on that confidence that he had during the early portions of the season, those first three games when he was originally called up for this one overall. Now, will he, actually play in this one, we'll have to see.

Starting point is 00:07:30 I mean, I imagine Lars Eller is going to be fine for this game, considering how big it is and how I feel like a lot of players are playing through an illness last week when that massive stomach bug was going around. But again, I just want to see that confidence in Zohorna that I did see at least a little bit because usually when he gets called up, at least a couple of times before, he's looked decent, at least in that first game or two. It's just after that he's kind of fizzed out like a lot of these other Wilkesbury

Starting point is 00:07:56 players have as. well. I understand that people are upset that Sam Puland was sent down, but he wasn't getting any game action. And honestly, I don't think this is a hot take. He wasn't that good in the few games that he played. I like how he's played in Wilkesbury this year. But if you're not going to use him when the games really matter, then what's the point of having him on the roster to begin with? Yeah. And I know that he had some limited ice time. I know a lot of people will be inclined to say that he wasn't really given a shot. I don't totally disagree with that take,

Starting point is 00:08:29 but the thing I would add to that is in the limited minutes he did get, he didn't really do anything that would warrant getting more ice time. You can see a lot of the times, even though we have had our gripes with Mike Sullivan, like everybody else, you can tell one thing he has been fairly consistent on this year, because we talked about it earlier this week with the overtime struggles, when Lars Eller has played well, he has seen his ice time increase.

Starting point is 00:08:59 And this isn't getting into the Jeff Carter of it all, who for some reason he continues to trot out there. But for the most part, when guys play well, he gives them more ice time. He doesn't just staple guys to the bench. Now, there is the discussion of a lot of the times he does staple younger guys to the bench for the smallest of mistakes. But in Sam Poulan's case, he wasn't a negative, but he wasn't a positive. So at this point, you can't really say he wasn't given a shot because maybe he wasn't, but at the same time, he didn't really do anything to warrant more ice time and continue to stay on the NHL roster.

Starting point is 00:09:35 Right. He didn't do enough to have Mike Sullivan take out someone from the lineup right now to put Poulan in when the games really matter as they have for the last week and a half to two weeks overall. But getting back to the Red Wings as a whole, I mean, I think the Red Wings are going to be really upset heading into this game. I thought they deserved to win that game against Washington at home on Tuesday. They threw everything at Charlie Lingren, including the kitchen sink, I should add.

Starting point is 00:10:02 But Lingren was just fantastic for the Capitals in that game. And when you look at this Red Wings roster, they have quite a bit of talent up front. I mean, it all starts with Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, 64 and 62 points, respectively this year for Raymond and Larkin. DeBrinke, also has 60 points, 24. those are goals. Patrick Cain, 44 points in 46 games. You know we're going to get from him on a nightly basis. They have David Perron, J.T. Comfer.

Starting point is 00:10:27 They do have a pretty solid top sex. That is a potent top two lines. And the Penguins are going to have to be on high alert when both of those lines are out there. It's after those two lines where I think they kind of have some depth issues. I think defensively the Red Wings, they have Mo Sider.

Starting point is 00:10:43 And not too much else there. I think Shane Gossisbiter has had a pretty decent year for the Red Wings, but they really are. only have one and two defensemen and then not much else for their depth. Goaltending-wise, Alex Lyon is going to get the start for the Red Wings. He's 2018-and-4 this year, 908, say, percentage, 2.96 goals against average. He has been their best goalie, but the Penguins did light him up like a Christmas tree

Starting point is 00:11:05 in that last game against them. They put up six goals on him overall. He had a sub-900, say percentage. They're going to have to have a repeat of that performance, again, if they do want to win this game. And also, for another key for the Penguins to win this one, I want the penalty kill to get back to basics a little bit. It's been really lackluster over the last week.

Starting point is 00:11:27 I feel like it was really bad against the lightning. And I understand the lightning have the top power play in the league. But I didn't like how, what's the word I'm looking for here? Just soft it was. They gave the lightning way too much room to operate. And again, I understand they have so much star talent on the ice. But they were way too passive in the defense zone. I also thought it was the same against Toronto in that game on Monday.

Starting point is 00:11:51 So I want to see this PK unit be a little more aggressive. You know the Red Wings have a top 10 power play. It's number nine right now when you look at the overall rankings for top power plays in the league. I still want the PK to be a bit more aggressive. For sure. And we'll keep the preview talk going here in the second segment. But that's going to do it for the first segment of today's episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Like I said, when we come back, we're going to keep talking about tonight's game.

Starting point is 00:12:17 but before we do that, we have to tell you about our first sponsor, and that is Factor Meals. Eat stress-free this spring with Factor's delicious, ready-to-eat meal. Every fresh, never-frozen meal is chef-crafted, dietitian approved, and ready to eat in just two minutes. Choose from a weekly menu of 35 options, including popular options like calorie smart, keto, protein plus, or veggie, and vegan. Also discover more than 60 add-ons every week, like breakfast, on-the-go-lunch snacks, and beverages to help you stay, fueled and feel good all day long. So what are you waiting for? Get started today and fuel up for your springtime goals. Looking for gourmet meals, try meals that feature premium ingredients like filet mignon, shrimp, truffle butter, broccoli, and asparagus. No fuss, no mess meals. Factor

Starting point is 00:13:03 meals eliminate the hassle of prepping, cooking, or cleaning up. Simply heat and savor the good stuff. It's tailored to your schedule so you can customize weekly meals with the flexibility to get as much or as little as you need. You can also pause or reschedule deliveries to suit. your lifestyle. Head to factormeels.com slash locked on NHL 50 and use code locked on NHL 50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next box. That's code locked on NHL 50 at factormeals.com

Starting point is 00:13:33 slash locked on NHL 50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next box while your subscription is active. All right, we're back here on the Thursday edition of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp, joined as always by the illustrious Hunter Hodes. And I want to pick the ball up, so to speak, where you left it in the first segment with the PK. We were running a little long on time there, so I didn't want to stretch that segment out too long. But I want to add this to it. I agree with your penalty kill take.

Starting point is 00:14:04 But here's the way that I will kind of build upon that is I've noticed it this year as kind of a trend for as good as their penalty kill has been. it kind of seems like when they go up against the likes of, say, Toronto or Tampa Bay or Edmonton, those teams with really potent power plays, they seem to overthink it a little bit because they know that they're going up against a team that can pretty much score at will on the power play. And they get away from being an aggressive penalty kill, which has served them well most of this season. when they are taking the attack to that power play, they are able to get even the best power plays out of sorts because they don't allow them to get set up,

Starting point is 00:14:50 they pressure them at the point of attack, they disrupt their puck movement, and they're very aggressive in the neutral zone. They pretty much play a normal forecheck in the neutral zone when a team is trying to get set up, which disrupts their entire zone entrance and breaks up the power play before it can even get set up. And I want to see that tonight because,

Starting point is 00:15:09 Like you said, it's a very good top six group. And they have some talent on the back end with guys like Gostis Bear. So this is a power play that went on the ice and make you pay. So for the penguins tonight, I want to see them be able to disrupt this power play before it can get settled in. Right. One of the biggest things for me is not giving free zone entries like their pieces of candy on Halloween. Right. Because I feel like they were doing that quite a bit against the lightning on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:15:39 and against Toronto on Monday. You cut down on that and you actually make them work for their zone injuries. I do think the aggression will get back to them and they'll be able to play like the penalty kill that we've seen them play like for most of the season. Yeah, for sure. And that's going to be the biggest thing for me tonight. That's probably my biggest factor. Aside from this, they have to continue to play with the desperation they have been playing with

Starting point is 00:16:06 for the last week. you look at the Toronto game, the Tampa Bay game, all the way back to the third period against the Devils. And then even before that, the Rangers game. This team was playing like they knew their season was on the line. And that is more true than it has ever been for the last two weeks tonight. Because as we talked about off the top of the show, winner of this game, especially if you take it in regulation, you are driving the bus at that point. Because the penguins, as we've said multiple times now,

Starting point is 00:16:41 they get a regulation win. They immediately have that tiebreaker over everybody else that they're in this race with. There is no math in the world that puts any of those teams into the same amount of regulation wins as the penguins. So if they get two points in regulation, it's their journey to take. But then you look at where the two teams are coming into tonight's game.

Starting point is 00:17:04 Red wings are 4-4-2 in their last 10. Penguins are 6, 1, and 3. They're riding a 9-game point streak, and they have put down some very formidable foes. Then you look at the Red Wings coming off a tough loss to Washington where they did play well but got goalied. They beat Buffalo, but they've also lost to the Rangers. They've lost to the Panthers.

Starting point is 00:17:25 They did get a win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But they have also had some other tough losses to Carolina, Washington, Nashville. So whereas the penguins have been stacking points, the Red Wings have been kind of trading between getting a point, getting two points, getting no points, getting a point. So the penguins have to keep that trend alive for them and keep them down, so to speak, after tonight. Agreed. And I want to go back to what you said about the desperation because that has definitely been there over the last week, week and a half, two weeks. The way that they have played in their last nine games is unlike anything we've really seen for most of the season. Look at the way they're forechecking in the offensive zone.

Starting point is 00:18:10 Look at the way they're defending in their own zone. Look at the way Alex Nadelcovic has been giving them timely save after timely save when the penguins really have needed one. And that just hasn't been there for a lot of penguins games this year. Heck, if they were playing like this for most of the season, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now because they probably would have already had clinched a playoff spot by this point. But hey, sometimes it's better late than never. I hope that it's not too late overall,

Starting point is 00:18:42 but you have to win this game. And just looking beyond, if you are able to win this game in regulation and the capitals also losing regulation to the Sabres, the Penguins will be in a playoff spot after Thursday night. and they'll have a chance to grow that lead for that second wildcard spot heading into the weekend because say all that happens, the penguins beat the Bruins over the weekend and then the Red Wings lose in Toronto,

Starting point is 00:19:08 you can build a three, actually excuse me, a four point lead over the Red Wings with only two games to go. You will have the tiebreaker. They won't be able to pass you. You will have almost clinched a playoff spot, especially if Washington loses to Tampa. But that's so far down the road. We have to see what happens on Thursday. I'm just giving the listeners and watchers a potential outcome as what could happen at some point this weekend.

Starting point is 00:19:31 It's, again, it's going to be crazy, but I really want to see that same level of desperation in the way that they've been able to respond after something has gone wrong. I know I've gone at this team for being mentally fragile just because they have been really fragile when stuff has gone wrong for most of the season. But over the last week, week and a half, that's kind of changed. When stuff has gone wrong, they've been able to weather the storm or write the ship. and respond in a pretty big way. And I want to see if that happens in this game as well. For sure. And before we head to break here and then talk about the rest of the games tonight

Starting point is 00:20:05 that we need to keep an eye on as the penguins are facing off with the Red Wings, you said something there that I want to ask you. And I'm very curious to hear what your answer is. You said Alex Nadelcovic has been given them timely saves lately, which is absolutely true. He has, for all intents and purposes, grabbed the starting job from Tristan Jari. So I ask you this,

Starting point is 00:20:24 do you start him tonight? Delkevich, oh, absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind with everything on the line and with how he's played over his last nine starts, I don't think twice. I do start Nadelcovich in this game. That said, it'll be interesting. Does Jari get one of the final three games if he doesn't start tonight?

Starting point is 00:20:43 I mean, we discussed earlier this week. We would have given him the start to Toronto, or at least I would have, but then what about Boston? I think the Delkevich is going to get that start. What about Nashville? I mean, I think that's the second best. option for Jari, but what if you still having clinched a playoff spot at that point? It's going to be a really tough call for Mike Sullivan over these final few games, but 100% I start

Starting point is 00:21:03 Adelkevich in this game. I would definitely agree with you. I think at this point, if Jari is to get another start this season, it will be against Nashville since it's a Western Conference game. And even though all points are absolutely at a premium right now, I think that's a game where the least amount of damage could be done because you're not playing a team in East. But we will see for transparency sake, we are recording this the night before, so we have not been able to look into the future and see the morning skate and find out who is starting in that. Our vote goes to Alex Nadelcovic, so we will see.

Starting point is 00:21:37 When we come back, we are going to talk about the rest of the games on the schedule tonight that you will have to keep an eye on as the Penguins and Red Wings are facing off because we're in that kind of a playoff race where we may need some help. But before we do that, we're going to tell you about our next sponsor. is Indeed. When you're drafting your fantasy team, do you ever wish you could handpick the best stars for your business team?

Starting point is 00:21:59 If you're building your talent roster, you need Indeed. Indeed is the hiring platform where you can attract, interview, and hire all in one place. Don't spend hours on multiple job sites looking for candidates with the right skills when you can do it all with Indeed.

Starting point is 00:22:13 Find top talent fast with Indeed's suite of powerful hiring tools like matching, assessments, and virtual interviews. Hate waiting. Indeed's US data shows over 80% of Indeed employees find quality candidates whose resume on Indeed matches their job description the moment they sponsor a job. Told you guys before, Indeed was crucial for me when I was job hunting.

Starting point is 00:22:34 It got me hooked up with a lot of employers, got me plenty of interviews, and eventually found me my current job. Indeed knows when you're growing your own business, you have to make every dollar count. That's why with Indeed, you only pay for quality applicants that match your must have job requirements. Visit Indeed.com slash locked on to start hiring now. Just go to Indeed.com slash locked on.

Starting point is 00:22:55 That's Indeed.com slash locked on. Terms, conditions apply. Cost per application pricing not available for everyone. Need to hire, you need, indeed. All right, we're back here on the Thursday edition of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp. That's Hunter Hodes. And yes, we are still going to have to scoreboard watch tonight.

Starting point is 00:23:19 Granted, that said, if the Penguins take two clean points, The scoreboard watching, not as important, but there are a couple of matchups we need to keep an eye on. And first and foremost, that is the Washington Capitals at the Buffalo Sabres. As we said, the Sabres were able to beat the Capitals earlier this season, and it was a fairly significant win. So with the Penguins now chasing the Washington Capitals, a regulation win for the Sabres would be huge. We also have the Flyers and Rangers, despite the Flyers' playoff hopes being pre-executive. pretty much buried at this point, still could have some impact. And then, of course, we have the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Islanders,

Starting point is 00:24:00 as the Penguins still could potentially move up to third in the Metro. So which of those games, Hunter, like the Sickos we are, are you going to have on your screen? Oh, it's 100% the Capitals game. I mean, I think that's the most important one to the Penguins at this point. Because, again, I'll say it for the 1,000th time over the last 24 hours. If the penguins win this game against Detroit in regulation and the capitals losing regulation to the Sabres, the Penguins will be in that final playoff spot heading into the Friday games, and they'll have a chance to potentially build on that on Saturday at home against the Boston Bruins.

Starting point is 00:24:36 That is the one game that I will definitely have my eye on. Of course, I'll be checking in on the Canadians Islanders game, but I do expect the Islanders to win that game. They have been playing pretty well as of late. I still don't think the Islanders are that good of a team. I think they kind of got lucky to beat the Rangers. Semyon Varlamov has just been awesome for them. But I do think the Islanders will win that game,

Starting point is 00:24:55 and that will set up a pretty crazy showdown in New York. Madison Square Garden, I should say. I know they're playing the Rangers. It's the Battle of New York overall. They're playing the Rangers at MSG on Saturday. And with the way the ending of the Tuesday game had with the Noah Dobson hit on Vince Trocheck, I think you're going to see some fireworks at MSG.

Starting point is 00:25:16 So the Rangers are going to be fired up to play that game. And then I'll still have the Flyers Rangers game. I'll be checking the score now. And even though I think the Rangers will win that game overall. I mean, the Flyers lose that game. They're one million percent cooked, even though I think right now they're basically done at this point. But the one game that I will fully be keeping my eye on is the Capitals Sabers game,

Starting point is 00:25:36 as well as the, obviously, the Penguins game. Yeah, obviously we've talked about how the Capitals have gotten a huge lift from Lindgren and that. He has been an absolute revelation for that team. And I think with his play over the last couple of months, the minus statistic that they have in goal differential is a little misleading because he has really provided some great goaltending for them. But on the other side of that, you look at the Sabers. And one of my favorite names in all of hockey, Uka Pekalukinin in net for the Sabers,

Starting point is 00:26:09 he has been a bright spot in what has been pretty much a disastrous season for the Sabres. He's got a 9-10 save percentage. He's 26, 22, and 3, a 258 goals against average. So for the Sabres, there still is a good amount of talent there. That's still a very talented young team that is figuring it out. And you go up against the Capitals who up until very recently have had some struggles scoring goals. This could have the makings of a game where Buffalo could, in fact, play spoiler to the Capitals.

Starting point is 00:26:44 Oh, no, I agree with you. And the biggest thing is, you know, the Sabres, they just put up a sixth spot on the Capitals last week, and all of their top players contributed in that win. They brutally outplay the Capitals in that game. And even though the Sabres are eliminated from playoff contention, they're still probably chomping at the bit to take out at least one team with them. And the Capitals, it's funny, I still look at this team,

Starting point is 00:27:09 and I look at that goal differential, and I'm like, this team has three forwards and a goalie. I mean, John Carlson is still playing at a decently high level. I guess I can include him in there as well. But there really is just not that much talent on this team. And yet they still hold a playoff spot heading into this game. I mean, this playoff race continues to boggle my mind. But the Sabres are not that good of a matchup for the Capitals because I also think

Starting point is 00:27:35 that their speed can give them some fits as well. So there could be an upset brewing there with that game. Yeah, the history is there. and it's pretty recent history. So we will wait and find out. But most importantly, it is Penguins, it is Red Wings, 7 o'clock tonight at PPG Paints Arena. It's going to be a playoff atmosphere because for all intents and purposes,

Starting point is 00:27:58 tonight is a playoff game. But that is going to do it for us on the Thursday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. We will be back tomorrow to recap this game and get you set for Penguins and Bruins on Saturday. But for Hunter, hodies. I am Patrick Damp. Thank you always for tuning in and we will be back tomorrow with a recap of tonight's game.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins and Red Wings meet with playoff implications on the line

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.