Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins still mostly control their own postseason fate after Tuesday's games

Episode Date: April 10, 2024

The playoff race continues to get crazier but have no fear, Hunter and Pat are here to discuss the latest standings and what the Penguins need to do to make the playoffs. They look at some of the help that the Penguins got and how massive that game is against the Red Wings. Is this for their season? There's a good chance of it since this could be a four-point swing. They also look at the chances of the Caps winning their final four games and how some teams could be looking to play spoiler. Also: Are the Philadelphia Flyers done? They discuss that before looking at how Sidney Crosby took home another NHLPA award for the NHLPA Player Pool on Wednesday and how he continues to have all of the respect among his peers. Finally, they give out their warrior helmets for this week.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Factor MealsGet started on your resolutions with Factor, so you’re ready for the new year. Head to factormeals.com/lockedonnhl50 and use code lockedonnhl50 to get 50% off plus 20% off your next box. 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. PolicygeniusCheck life insurance off your to do list in no time with Policygenius. Head to policygenius.com/lockedonnhl to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save.  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 LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARENTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – win or lose! 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After Tuesday night's slate of games, the Penguins playoff chances remain mostly unchanged, but now it's time for the final push. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Patrick Damp. You can follow me on Twitter. at Synonym 4 Wet, joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can follow our show's account at L.O. underscore Penguins. And we thank you for making this your first listener watch 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 GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Locked on NHL for $20 off your first. purchase. So on Tuesday night, Hunter, the Penguins didn't get a ton of help from anybody when it comes to the state of the playoff race. They actually now sit one point behind the Washington Capitals for the second wildcard and three points behind the New York Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division. All of that came down on Tuesday night when, like I said,

Rock the Red, Route for the Caps. They beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2 to 1 in regulation. And then New York Islanders get a pretty surprising victory over the New York Rangers 4 to 2. And just for posterity's sake, let's mention it. The Philadelphia Flyers get crushed by the Montreal Canadiens 9 to 3. Yes, I said 9. And at this point, this leaves the penguins going into tomorrow's matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. looking at probably the biggest game of the year in the last two seasons because this is pretty much going to determine whether they have a legitimate

almost, I don't want to say guaranteed because a lot of other things do have to happen, but a much greater chance of making the Stanley Cup playoffs should they win and then the road would get a lot tougher should they lose. So this is where we sit. At this point, their Stanley Cup playoff chances, excuse me, are pretty much a coin flip at this. point. Yeah, I mean, I agree with you. This is the biggest game of the penguin season to date. A very much must win for this team. If the penguins lose this game, especially in regulation,

their season is back to being on life support, in my opinion. You look at the odds right now for the penguins to make the playoffs per money puck. It's about 40%. The capital's odds, about 42% of the Red Wings, a little under 28%. Right now, it is very much a coin flip. But if you were able to beat the Red Wings in regulation, your odds probably go up to a little over 50%, especially if the Capitals lose to Buffalo on Thursday night. And the Capitals just got crushed by the Sabres last week in Buffalo. So that's no gimme game for the Capitals. I still laugh when I look at this Capitals team because they have a minus 40 goal differential. They were brutally outplayed by the Red Wings, but Detroit just got goalie. Charlie Wingren has been great for the Capitals all

here, he can do that at any time. And he's one of the biggest reasons why the capitals are in that final playoff spot right now. The Islanders, you said it, I think that's a pretty surprising win. They played one period, took the next two periods off, but that was still good enough to win because for some reason, Semyon Varlamov has decided to turn the clock back 2009 and look like one of the five, ten best goaltenders in hockey. He has been outplaying Ilya Sorokin all year.

and it's almost similar to the penguin situation, right? I mean, obviously, Sorokin is a lot better than Tristanjari, but Verlana started this year as the backup, and now he's getting the starts in the biggest games, just like Alex Ndilkevich has been over Tristanjari. So I just like the similarities a bit there. But for this game against Detroit, if the penguins get those two points and the Sabres give them some help,

the penguins could be in a playoff spot by the end of Thursday night. And I think at this point, it's a four-team race. for two spots. I may get old takes exposed for this. I really hope I don't. But it seems like the flyers have run out of gas. They got absolutely destroyed by the Canadians. They got crushed by the Blue Jackets a few days prior. They lost the Wackhawks a couple of weeks ago. They had a very easy schedule down the stretch. And they just blew it because I just don't think they have that much left in the tank. I know people can make the Torrella jokes and that they've quit on him. But I just don't think they've done that. I just think they've been going zero

to 100 all year. And I think they've just finally hit their breaking point where they're just gassed. And their next game is against the Rangers. And I'm sure the Rangers are going to be fired up to play that game. So I just think the Flyers season at this point, it's very much done. And it's a race for four teams for two spots. I would agree with that on the Flyers part of it. I think that team overachieved most of the year.

And now we're seeing who they are for real. Plus, it really hurts that they don't have goal tending. I mean, we have seen it with multiple teams throughout the years that if you don't have goaltending, it pretty much derails your entire season. Meanwhile, there's the other end of it where if you have great goaltending, it can mask some serious problems. And for that team to overachieve the way they have all season long, and now they're getting basically sub-professional goaltending,

that's a big issue mixed with they're probably just out of gas. But back to looking at the rest of this playoff race, I mean, obviously for both teams tomorrow night, this is a must-win game because it's going to seriously impact their chances to make the playoffs. But then you look at Detroit. They don't have it as hard as the penguins, but they do have the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. That's a great team as we've seen this week. And at this point, it feels like that's going to be the night they have circled on the calendar to get Austin Matthews number 70. so they can rest him until the playoffs start.

But then they have Montreal with a back-to-back home at home. And they start at home on the first game, and then they go to Montreal for the second. That is not easy at all because you're not just, it's not a far trip for Detroit, but you still have to cross the border. You have to go through customs. You have to get to Montreal.

And you do all of that after you play an NHL game. So the Red Wings, kind of like the Penguins need this one because the schedule that follows, the final three games, are not at all cakewalks. Agreed. And I do think as long as the Penguins do win out, they win these final four games, they will most likely make the playoffs. And I know they don't fully control their own destiny at this point. It's actually the Capitals that do because they have the same number of games played, but they're one point ahead of the Penguins. but you look at the capital schedule as well, these final four games. They play the Buffalo Sabres, who I just said,

the Sabers destroyed them in Buffalo last week. That is not going to be an easy game. Sure, the Sabers really don't have much to play for. They were eliminated from playoff contention this week, but they still may want to try to play. Spoiler, try to take another team out with them, and they still have quite a bit of talent offensively up front. After that, they have Tampa Bay and Boston.

Sure, both are at home, and maybe the Lightning won't have that much to play for it in that game, but those are still two really tough teams to beat at home. I would be really surprised. Even though the Lightning may not have much to play for, same with the Bruins. I would be stunned if the Capals went four for four and took all four points against those two teams.

And then they end the season with the Philadelphia Flyers and say what you want about how the Flyers have been really bad over the last couple weeks. That game is still in Philadelphia, and if the Flyers are fully eliminated from playoff contention, I'm sure they would love nothing more than to take the cap capitals out with them overall. So that is not a cupcake schedule either. Again, I do think if the penguins win out, they get in. I know that, again, they don't fully control their own destiny,

but they're still in a pretty good shape overall. I saw some people that were a bit upset that the Capitals won that game over the Red Wings. I honestly wasn't because as long as the game ended in regulation, you still need to go win this game against Detroit. That's still all that matters. And based on the way the capitals have played the Sabres the season. I think there's a legit shot that the Penguins are in a playoff spot at the end of tomorrow night, especially if they can beat this Red Wings team at home. So yes, are the capitals in the driver's sheet? See, excuse me?

Sure. But I'm not here to say that they're just going to win out because I don't think they're going to. Well, and, you know, I said it yesterday. I know it was a little bit different. I know the odds make it different with a Capitals win. But the reason I brought them up to be the team you want to cheer for is just because, just because with the way the point spread was not the betting kind, just the way the points in the standings were spread out, that was the team that keeps you in the closest striking distance.

If Detroit wins last night, you're now two points back and then all you can really do is chase them. Now, all you have to do is catch the capitals and it gives you a chance to bury the red wings. Last thing here before we throw it to break. They also do have, again, they have the tiebreaker over all these teams. All they have to do is tie them and they have the advantage because of regulation wins. And that's going to stay that way until the end of the season. It's looking more unlikely at least right now that they can catch the Islanders for third. They can catch them as long as they're one to two points back heading into that final game on the island. If they are able to cut it down to one to two points,

I would like their odds to win that game on the island. Even though the Islanders have won five in row, I still don't think they're that good of a team. No, I would agree with you. And that was the last thing I was going to bring up is the Islanders schedule going into the end of the season here. They've got the Montreal Canadians on Thursday. I mean, I don't think we're going to see the same Montreal team we saw against Philly. I would give the advantage to the Islanders for that one. But then they go to the Rangers. And that has been a battle for them this season.

That rivalry is all the way back. And then Monday, they go to play the New Jersey Devils, a young team that's still scrapping their way around. They're probably, they're not mathematically eliminated yet, but they're pretty much eliminated. They are. I believe they are actually eliminated. Oh, they are. Well, either way, that's a team that's still fighting and scrapping to look better into next year. And then obviously, you have the showdown on the final game of the year when the penguins come to town for that one. So all in all, I mean, this shapes up for tomorrow night to be the biggest game of the year by a mile. But that is going to do it for this first segment.

When we come back, the NHLPA's annual player poll was released today and still a lot of respect for the captain amongst his peers. But before we do that, we have to tell you about our first sponsor. And that is Indeed. When you're drafting your fantasy team, do you ever wish you could handpick the best stars for your business team? 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. Find top talent fast with Indeed's suite of powerful hiring tools like matching, assessments, and virtual interviews.

If you hate waiting, Indeed's U.S. data shows over 80% of Indeed employees. Find quality candidates whose resumes on Indeed match their job description the moment they sponsor a job. I've said it before during the Indeed ads. It really helped me out as a employee when I was looking for a job. a lot of quick interviews, a lot of response times, very well done, and it's definitely worth your time. Join over 3 million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast. Indeed knows when you're growing your own business, so 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. Indeed.com slash locked on terms and conditions apply. cost per application pricing not available for everyone. Need to hire. You need, indeed. All right, welcome back to the Wednesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am Patrick Damp.

That's Hunter Hodes. And today's a day that we as hockey fans always seem to enjoy, especially on social media. It's when the NHLPA releases their annual player poll where they ask basically everybody in the players union, 15 different questions. basically about what they think of their fellow NHL players. And once again, Sydney Crosby takes home one of, in my opinion, the best awards and the best question that you can be named in amongst your peers. And that is who is the most complete player. His peers with the vote of 38.37% puts him in first place as the most complete player,

behind him with 14.6 was the Florida Panthers captain Alexander Barkov. Anse Copatar of the L.A. Kings got 8%. McDavid got 7 and his buddy Nathan McKinnon got 6. So that's a hell of an honor for Sidney Crosby once again. And if my math is correct, it's the fifth straight year. He has been voted that by his peers. You're right. It is.

It is the fifth straight time that he has been voted for this award. And it goes to show just how special a player he's, still is despite being 36 years old. I mean, what he's been doing for the last several weeks and trying to carry this team into the playoffs is second and not. I loved the article that Josh Ewey wrote for the athletic today and how this will be one of Cindy Crosby's greatest accomplishments because it would be. I mean, we kind of said similarly last year when he was also trying to carry this team into

the playoffs of getting Malkin was as well, Crystal Tanks, just because of how bad that team was as well. but it's the same this year too and especially with how they were nine points out two weeks ago to now just one point out of the playoff spot heading into the final week of the season and he is a total inspiration when you watch him on the ice he does everything beautifully in all three zones and it's no wonder that everyone still respects him with the level that he's playing at in the NHL and honestly this doesn't even go to just players. I've seen plenty of rival fans over the last couple of weeks, especially Rangers

fans on social media being like, man, I want no part of seeing Sidney Crosby in a playoff race. And that's crazy just because of how this Penguins team has been this year, but they just don't want to see Crosby based on the way he has been playing. He has all of the respect from everyone around the National Hockey League now. And it's amazing to see just because, I mean, a while ago, man, we were going to war on social media regarding Crosby and his character and all that good stuff. But his peers, they continue to respect him as one of the top players in the world. And I think he's going to win this award again next year, too. It wouldn't shock me if he has a similar year, just because you look at the way his game has been played this year. It's not just that he's putting

up points. It's not that just he's being dominant in the offensive zone because he is. I mean, you look at his metrics and they tell that story that when he's on the ice, his team has the puck, the other team does not, his team is getting scoring chances, the other team isn't. And but when those moments come that he's not in the offensive zone, who's right there down low doing great defensive work, who's throwing hits along the wall, who is blocking shots, Sidney Crosby is. And to Josh's article, I mean, I don't know if I would put him in the heart trophy conversation. I sure wouldn't.

I at least wouldn't have him in the top three if this team gets into the playoffs. But I'd put them on a couple ballots. I would put them fourth or fifth, maybe sixth, just because you look at how poorly this team plays when he doesn't score and how well they do when he does, does feel kind of like that wrapping yourself around the axle definition. We always talk about when it comes to the Hart Trophy. But the other thing that he got named in that player's pool,

which was really cool because he's been. one of the best at it this season. He was second in voting for if you need to win a face off in a crucial moment, who would you pick? He gets 13.5% of the vote and comes in just behind Ryan O'Reilly on the Predators at 14.4. So less than a percentage point, and they're saying Crosby is right there with them. And lastly, before we throw it to break and get to Warrior Helmet Wednesday, one of the other things I found really funny to me,

and this is going to really annoy a lot of Penguins fans this year. The question is, who is the best breakout passer in the game? In first, Colorado's Kayla McCar. In second, Vancouver's Quinn Hughes. In third, the Rangers Adam Fox. In fourth, Victor Headman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. And in fifth, Eric Carlson. It's almost like Eric Carlson is having a lot better of a season

than I think a lot of people are saying on social media, Reddit, Discord, wherever you get your Penguins discourse these days. But you want to know what other thing I noticed for this player poll. It was, if you need to win one game, who is the floor that you want on your team? 48% of the votes went to Connor McDavid, 11.58% of the votes to Sidney Crosby. Then Nathan McKinnon was third, Nikita Kutrov, 4th, Artan, Panera, and 5th.

Crosby only getting 11%. I would bump that up a little bit, even though he's 36. And yes, I understand the people. Connor McDavid is the best player in the world. If I still need to win one game, you can call me, buy us all you want.

I'm taking 87 any day the week, especially with a better team around him, so to speak. I know what McDavid can do with a puck on his stick. I know how crazy he is. But I'm still taking Sid, even though he's 36 years old with, the level that he has performed at this year,

he should be way higher up in terms of 11.58% overall. I'm kind of surprised that Mike David got almost 50% of the votes there. The man scored the golden goal, people. He's clutch. He's clutch when it matters. But that is going to do it for this second segment. When we come back, it's Wednesday. You know what that means.

It's time to hand out the warrior helmet. Very curious to see who Hunter has picked this week because him and I did not plan this one ahead. We wanted to surprise one another. So just like you, faithful Lockdown Penguins listeners, we're going to find out who the picks are right after this. But first we have to tell you about the next sponsor, and that is Game Time.

Game Time is now an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets even faster and easier. Prices on the Game Time actually go down the closer it gets to first pitch, and with killer last minute deals, all-in prices, views from your seat, and their lowest price guarantee, Game Time takes the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets. You guys know the story.

I love telling it anytime game time comes on as a sponsor. Back in the old Mellon Arena days, friend of mine, me and him went to a game, bought tickets to see the pens. They scanned, they worked, we got in, but they were for a row in a section that did not exist. Last minute deals, you can save up to 60% buying last minute for sports, concerts, comedy, theater, etc.

With flash deals, you can save even more with exclusive in-app deals on select seats ahead of the game or event. All in price. Toggling this feature shows you the total up front with no surprise fee at checkout. Seat views that can get you a panoramic view from your seat in the app before you buy your tickets. Take the guest work out of buying tickets with GameTime, download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on NHL to get $20 off your first purchase.

Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N-N-H-L for $20 off. Download the GameTime app, last minute tickets, lowest price. guaranteed. All right, we're back here on the Wednesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp, joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. And it's Wednesday, so you know what that means. It's time to give out the Locked-on Penguins MVP award, the Warrior Helmet. It's Warrior Helmet Wednesday, where if you're new here, we pick our MVP of the previous week for the Pittsburgh Penguins, just like they did during the 2016 Stanley Cup run.

We hand out our Warrior Helmet. So Hunter, I am going to hand the floor over to you. Who gets your warrior helmet this week? For this week, I'm splitting it right down the middle. One player gets one half. Another player gets the other half. And it's scared to think that this is the second to last warrior helmet Wednesday for the regular season just because next Wednesday is the final game of the regular season on the island.

But one of the players that gets one half of the helmet, Michael Buncing, very easy choice, at least for half of it, I easily could have given him. the entire helmet. But you have four points in his last three games. He gets the Penguins' biggest goal of their season yet against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday with less than six minutes to go. We've been discussing him ad nauseum on the show ever since he was acquired, how he's that perfect player to go to those dirty areas to get you those Patrick Hornquist

or Chris Kunitz-type goals. He's been drawing penalties really nicely over the past few games as well. And he's such a perfect fit on Afghani Malkins. line. Again, do not touch that line at all. And the second half of the Warrior Helmet, you will not be surprised by this choice. Eric Carlson with the way that he has played over the last week and the way he has played over the last two to three weeks, especially as well. I think that's been the best hockey of his Penguins tenure overall. The way he played against Tampa Bay over the weekend, he was flawless offensively. He helped set up that goal to Michael Buncing. He helped set up quite a few

quality chances in that game, especially one to Emil Benstrom early on. And even though the Penguins' power play didn't score against the Maple Leafs, I thought he was great on the man advantage, he was setting up plenty of quality chances. There, he's been great in his own zone as well. He hasn't made too many glaring mistakes for a little while now. And I do think over these last few weeks, he has been the Penguins' top defense. I know Crystal Tang has, again, struggled quite a bit over the last month, but Carlson has really upped his game throughout that time.

and it's been nice to see. So those are the two players that get my helmet for this week, just based on the way they've been playing overall. Those are really good picks. I was actually considering Michael Bunting for mine, especially for the game winner against Tampa Bay, which prevented an abject disaster from happening at that game. But the one person I'm going to go with,

I'm going to go a little off the board, because his point totals don't jump off the page at you for the last week. he's only got two goals and two assists or three assists for five points, and that is of Guine Malkin. If Genni Malkin had a really great resurgent week. I think when this team is going, I always agree with the take that this team goes, yes, as Sidney Crosby goes,

but this team goes further as of Gennie Malkin goes. And when he is galloping, when he is playing the style of hockey, that he has been playing for the past few weeks, this team is just that much better. Yeah, I know, Captain, obvious. When the good players are good, they play better, who'd have thought. But the way I look at it is always this.

When they can have a dynamic attack, especially in the top six, with Sid going, with Gino going, even though they have been doing this for almost 20 years now, when this team does that, that's still a match-up nightmare. for opponents. It is really hard to decide because do you want 87 to kill you?

Do you want 71 to kill you? And with this team possibly getting a playoff berth into the Stanley Cup playoffs, if both Sid and Gino are rolling, I don't know if I like their chances in a first round series, but I certainly don't hate them either. I agree. And right now, the penguins have two bona fide first lines.

We can say what you want about Drew O'Connor being on that left wing, but he has been really good for the most part of this. season and it has 14 goals. I'm fine with that for the rest of the season, as long as they upgrade that spot during the off season, and I think they will. But Brian Rust has been playing his tail off all year. We've already discussed Indy Crosby enough during the show. But now, McGinney Malkin has really woken up ever since this playoff push started and since Michael Bunting joined his line. And what do you know, Pat, when you give him an adequate winger to work with, he is going to play a bit better. He's been creating chances, basically the entire season, but

No one has been able to finish off those chances. Now someone like Buncing is, and you're seeing Gino racked up more points. We've been waiting for it to happen, and now it is. And when these two lines are going like this, you're right. It is a matchup nightmare because who do you send out your top defensive pair against? The Crosby line? Or is it the Malkin line? And we're going to preview this game against Detroit for our episode on Thursday.

I'm going to be curious to see what the Red Wings do with how these lines have been humming over the past couple week. So I love that you gave it to Evgeny Malkin, a very deserving candidate as well. It's been nice having a lot of very deserving candidates for the warrior helmet because at times this season, it's really only been Crosby or one of the goaltenders. Pretty much. And I'm glad you ended it there because that is where we are going to end the episode. We will be back very early for you on Thursday to get you set for Red Wings, Penguins, the biggest game of the season up to this point. But for now, Thank you, as always, for tuning into the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

I'm Patrick Damp. For Hunter, Hodes, thank you once again for listening, and we will be back early Thursday to get you ready for the biggest game of the year.