Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Which teams will the Penguins be bunched with this season?

Episode Date: September 17, 2021

Lots of news to cover this episode as Hunter first starts the show out with TNT and ESPN releasing the TV schedule earlier today. How many games will the Pens play on national TV? Who will be their opponents? He then goes into the schedule overall and why this has been a long time coming with regards to scheduling new teams. After that, the episode shifts to which 3 teams the Penguins will likely be jockeying with for positioning. Are the Flyers and Rangers in there after their offseasons? Does Hunter have the Caps missing? What about Carolina? All that, plus a lot more, on this episode of Locked On Penguins.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Your Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this Thursday evening episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm your host, Hunter Hodes. Remember to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the show's Twitter at L-O-Nus-Wer.

Penguins. Today's episode is brought to you by Rock Auto. Amazing selection. Right below prices. All the parts of Car. ever need. You can visit rockado.com and tell them that locked on send you. Before we do get into all of the things that I wanted to discuss on the podcast today, did have some sad news to report to you all. Former Penguins forward and coach Lou Angadi has passed away at the age of 83.

In case some of you other young Penguins fans like myself did not know, he was behind the bench during the 83-84 season when their record was the worst in the least. week. 16 wins, 58 losses, six ties. They wound up with the number one choice in that draft, and I'm sure you all know who they took with that pick in 1984. I do not have to say that on this podcast. The rest has been history. That is, he is the greatest player to ever play the game. But, you know, rest in peace to Lou Angotti, sending all my thoughts and prayers to his friends and his family during this very difficult time. Now, to get into the main thing what I wanted to discuss today, well, at least for the first segment. So ESPN and TNT, they released their TV schedules for this season.

And for the Penguins, everyone, they will be on both networks a combined nine times. ESPN and ABC combined and then TNT, of course. So ESPN, for the games there, they will only be on one time. that will be the season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They will not be on ESPN or ESPN 2 the rest of the season. Now, in terms of ABC, they will be. They will play February 26th against the New York Rangers, April 2nd against Nathan McKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche,

and April 9th against the Washington Capitals. Among those games that I discussed with ESPN ABC, obviously you are going to get a game with the Rangers. It's one of the best rivalries. Well, I shouldn't say one of the best rivalries, but it's a decent rivalry in hockey. Obviously, Washington, Pittsburgh is the best rivalry, if not, you know, it's one of the premier rivalries in hockey.

But, you know, that April 2nd game against Colorado, that's going to be a lot of fun because I don't think we've ever gotten a nationally televised game between these two teams. Excuse me. In at least a few years, I want to say that the last time they had it on national TV was when Sid had that hat trick back in Colorado, and I believe I want to say that was 2018 the year they got Derek Broussard. So it's been a few years since, you know, we've seen Sid and McDavid go at each other. And yes, you know, Sid will be back for that game. He's not going to miss what, you know, like just six months with a wrist surgery. But, you know, that's going to be a lot of fun to watch. For TNT, they will

peer on there five times. December 1st against the Edmonton Oilers. Finally, another freaking game. with Connor McDavid versus Sidney Crosby. We have not gotten this that much while those two have been in the league. I mean, I think we've only seen it on national television once, if I'm not mistaken. And that was when Matt Murray made that spectacular glove save during the 2018-9th season on McDavid, actually with that penalty shot in Pittsburgh, ended up winning that game, I believe, by a score of two to one. They will play January 1st against St. Louis Blues, March 23rd against the Buffalo Sabres, April 10th against the National Predators

and April 24th against the Philadelphia Flyers So only one game against the Flyers on national TV Only one game against Washington on national TV You get your usual Buffalo one Which they've been doing for years They get the Tampa Bay one which is not usually there But you know St. Louis, that's going to be a fun one to watch I mean these, I don't think the Penguins and Blues

Have ever played each other on national television in the last five, six, seven years. It's been a long time, I think. Nashville, those two teams have not played on national TV since the 2017-standing Cup final. And if you all have been following me, while I've been just talking about, you know, the TV ratings and the TV deal that the NHL eventually signed, I have been wanting the league to go beyond just the same four to five teams that they

televised every single week, or NBC, I should say. I've been wanting, you know, the next deal to have more teams televised nationally so that some of the stars that are hiding on some of these other teams can finally play on a national stage and that can potentially hook a lot more people into the sport. I was looking over that TNT schedule today, actually, and the Arizona Coyotes are on for a game. I mean, we know they're going to be so bad this year, but they're still on national TV. I mean, their best players, what, Clayton Keller, but he's still going to be. to get that stage and coyotes fans will actually get to chalk that up as probably their first

win in quite a long time. I mean, you're actually going to get Canadian teams on US television. You're going to get to see Austin Matthews a few times a year. Connor McDavid, I believe, is on the TNT schedule six times. I mean, that was never the case with NBC. You're going to get Montreal on TNT and ESPN a couple of times. You're going to get, I saw Vancouver on this schedule a couple of times. I think one of them was against Montreal. you're going to get, I think, Los Angeles on there a lot as well. And that's a team. Obviously, they have not been good the last few years, but they're on the upswing right now,

and that's a team that I think a lot of people are going to want to watch this year just because they have a lot of young talent down there that is ready to go. And, you know, they just signed Philip to know who's probably going to be a difference maker there as well. So I have been just begging for the league and its TV partner to actually showcase some of these other teams that, you know, they're not on TV a lot. I mean, I'm looking at TNT stuff right here. I mean, again, you have a wild act coyotes game. The Maple Leafs versus the Kings right before Thanksgiving.

I mean, they've never put that on national television. Dallas is on there plenty of times. Again, there's so much talent there with Ben and Sagan and Radulov and the goalies that they have, in Miro Haskin and in John Klingberg. Obviously, you want to play, excuse me, you want to put Colorado on there as many times as you want, but Nashville's on there against Seattle. Ovechkin versus McDavid is on TNT's schedule.

I think that one is March 9th. That matchup has never been on NBC before. Boston, Minnesota, I mean, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Kings versus Coyote. So again, Arizona's on here more than once. Boston, Montreal, it's almost like we haven't gotten that matchup at all in the last few years when NBC has been doing it. Maple Leafs Rangers. I mean, Colorado, Anaheim,

Austin, Colorado. I mean, there are some damn good matchups on here. And I am very happy with what TNT did. Because, you know, even as, you know, Shana from the Athletics said, you know, a nice part about this schedule is that a good variety of teams are going to get the national spotlight for the first time. And as I just said, you're going to get Canadian teams on there. And, you know, obviously Penguins Capitals and Penguins Flyers is so good.

And some of these other rivalries like, you know, Rangers Islanders and Rangers Devils, Devils Islanders, you know, some of these are good rivalries, but, you know, we just haven't seen a lot of these other really good matchups that should have been on NBC five to six years ago. We have, again, I just said this a few minutes ago, I know I'm repeating myself, but we have never gotten a Vechkin versus McDavid matchup on national television. Why? I have no idea. We've never gotten a Montreal Canadiens at a Vancouver Canucks game on national television. Are those two teams going to be playoff teams this year? Who knows? But again, I mean, this is so great for the league because there are so many good players on these teams that have never really played on national television that will now get the chance to.

And with that comes bringing in new fans, which, you know, is so huge for the longevity of the sport. So I am really happy with these schedules, especially TNT's. I thought they crushed it. I know when I talked about on my episode on Tuesday that they're, I guess their team isn't that good, even though I do like Brendan Burke. I do like Darren Pang. I do like Kenny Albert, their studio team. It's not the greatest despite William McHugh being good. But, you know, they know how to put a schedule together.

And I'm going to be really curious to see how the production is for a lot of those games. Do they treat the NHL like it's their number one sport on the network? Or do they kind of treat it like NBC treated the NHL, which was just, you know, sending games to the golf channel or peacock or whatever. I don't think TNT's going to do that. But with this schedule, you know, it's looking much. better than it had been under NBC all these years. And in case you all are wondering what day the TNT matchups will be on,

there will be 25 games on Wednesdays, 15 of those doubleheaders. So basically 40 of the 50 games will be on Wednesdays. And then I believe 7 to 8 games on a Sunday after January. And then there's two games on Saturdays, which I think the winter classic and I think the Heritage Classic will be on Saturdays on TNT. For ESPN, there's members. there's going to be a thousand out of market games on ESPN Plus. That's basically what NHL.tv is going to turn into.

There's also going to be 75 exclusively broadcast games on ESPN Plus and Hulu. So if you don't have an ESPN Plus subscription, excuse me, that is okay. You can just use someone to your Hulu. I mean, for me, I'm just going to be using my girlfriends. I'm not going to pay for my own Hulu. There's really no need to do that when I just have my girlfriends here who, you know, she's paying for it. So I'll just use that to watch the Penguins game.

But for the Penguins on here, I don't think I touched on this on my Twitter page. They will be playing December 10th, 7 p.m., ESPN Plus, and Hulu. That'll be the Penguins versus the Capitals, scrolling on down here. January 6th, Pittsburgh versus Philadelphia. I believe that game will be in Philly. 7 p.m. Eastern start on ESPN Plus and Hulu. Scrolling on down a little bit more to see if there's any others. April 7th, Pittsburgh versus the New York Rangers.

7 p.m. start. And then April 26th, Edmonton. versus Pittsburgh 7 p.m. start. That game will be in Pittsburgh. The first game between McDavid and Sid. That will be early December, and that will be the Western Canada Road Trip.

So those will be all the games where the Pittsburgh Penguins will be on national TV this year. Just to end this, you know, looking at ESPN's exclusive schedule, 25 games in the regular season. You know, Kings Ducks, you know, whatever. But, you know, Wild versus the stars. Dallas versus Carolina.

Again, that's an awesome matchup. St. Louis versus San Jose, St. Louis versus Colorado, Colorado versus L.A. You know, we got the same Flyers Bruins one, but Minnesota versus Boston, we finally get a Vegas Colorado game on national television. And, hey, you know, the Islanders are going to be on national television for one of the few times on ESPN as well.

So I'm a big fan of the games that both of these networks chose, and I really think that this deal is going to take the NHL to new high. in the United States. If you know what the games are called right and if the production is really good, this sport is going to grow in a way that I don't think any of us have seen before. And then remember in the press release, as ESPN says, you know, the Stanley Cup final and the Stanley Cup playoffs will be on ABC and ESPN. And I think they get to handpick which conference final they want in the playoffs before doing four of the seven Stanley Cup finals. TNT will get the other half of the Stanley Cup

playoffs. But that'll do it for this segment. Let me know which games you're looking forward to to watching on national television. And let me know what your preference will be. Will you be wanting to tune in to TNT or will you be wanting to tune in more to ESPN? And as for ESPN with their dates, those are mainly going to be Tuesday, Thursday games with some sprinkled it on Friday as well, but TNT will be having the slot on Wednesdays. But okay, that does it for this last segment of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. Coming up in the next segment, I'm going to go over just the three teams that I think Pittsburgh will be in the closest competition with this season.

I have not done that, but with training camp about a week away, I just wanted to fill you all in and just who I think is going to be the biggest competition within the division this year, just because the Metro is going to be a really tough division to predict outside of, you know, the bottom feeders. But before we do get to that, we do have to talk about direct TV shows. stream. Does this sound familiar too well? You've got one device that lets you catch the game live, another that lets you stream your favorite shows, then you're watching sports highlights on your phone, and you've got your neighbors, best friends log in for the good stuff. Well, I want to tell you about a simple way to get all that entertainment you love without the hassle and a great way to finally get your TV together. It is called DirecTV stream, and it brings your live TV and on-demand favorites together like number four, so you can watch your favorite movies and shows all in one place. That means no more juggling remotes and no need to buy another device ever end and the best part, there's no annual contract. So get rid of the clutter and the confusion and get your TV together with DirecTV stream. You can learn more at directtv.com. That is

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That is rock-auto.com. All right, so we're back here on this episode of the Locked On Penguins podcast. I'm your host, Hunter Hodes. More to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes' All this shows Twitter at L.O. and score penguins. So in terms of, you know, the three teams that I think Pittsburgh will be in the closest competition with, obviously number one is going to be the Washington Capitals. It's pretty funny.

They've followed basically the same trajectory as the Penguins have. You know, they both rose to power at the same time. You know, they won, Pittsburgh won the two Stanley Cups. well, they won three Stanley Cups, Washington eventually got theirs, and then just like Pittsburgh, they started to slide off the map ever so slowly and started to get a lot older really quickly. I mean, especially the Capitals with getting older. I mean, I think they still have the oldest roster in the league right now,

but I still think Pittsburgh is going to be in very close competition with them. It went down right to the wire last season with the East Division. They're going to be in heavy contention to win the Metropolitan Division again. Remember, before the pause, I think Washington was in first place at the time in the division. They've won the Metropolitan Division more times than any other team for as long as that division has been a thing. So they will be in there. They have the talent with Ovechkin, Baxterom, Carlson, Kuznetsov is still there. He was not traded.

They're still fine in goal potentially with Vannichick and Samsonov. They got Oshy there, who's always a Penguins killer. they got Lars Eller still. This is still going to be a pretty strong team next season. I think Carolina as well, I don't like some of the moves that they made this offseason. The goetting decisions were really baffling, I think, just letting Alex Ndalkovich go just because you're being cheap and signing Frederick Anderson.

And I believe it was also Auntie Ranta that they brought in. I mean, there's a lot of risk there. Both of those goalies have been banged up a lot throughout their careers. And, you know, both of them were also. not that good last season. So I think they're banking on them being their pre-injury selves, but I'm not sure that's going to be a thing. But those games against Carolina are going to be a lot of fun to watch.

I always love when Jordan Stahl comes back to Pittsburgh. I will never have a bad thing to say about Jordan Stahl. And I don't think any of you should either, especially with what he did for this franchise during the beginning era of Sid and Gino. and, you know, they're just a fun team to watch offensively, too. You know, Rod Vindamore is a great coach, but Sebastian Ojo is turning into a top 10 player before our very eyes. Svetchnakov is incredible.

The deal that he signed is such a steal. I know Doug E. Hamilton walk, but they're still good on D, too. I mean, Jacob Slavin is still there. Brett Pesci is still there. Actually brought in former Penguin Ian Cole to probably play on the bottom pairing. I mean, that's going to be really fun to watch. But, you know, just going back to forward, they still got Ter Vine in. Nino Niederwriter, you know, Martin Nekas, I believe

Yesper Fost is still there. This is still a really deep team with their 12 forwards and their defense. And, you know, despite the goaltending being a bit shaky, this will be a team that Pittsburgh is in direct competition with this season. And the other one, you know, I slept on them so many times. I'm not going to make that same mistake again. That is the New York Islanders. You know, I really don't think the Flyers and the Rangers are going to be any good this year.

I just do not like what the Rangers did this offseason. I think once Pittsburgh gets a two-headed monster back, especially as I think he'll be probably back before Gino, they're going to catapult right up to the top of the Metro Division, and I think they're going to stay there for the rest of the season. And especially if the players that they sign this offseason are better than some people are anticipating them to be. I think that's one of the biggest ones.

For some people, when they're evaluating this team, I think they're a little less bullish on them because they're not, sure that McGinn can do what Tanaf did or what Danton Hayden did with the ducks. You know, is that going to come over and just basically be like another March and Kanski situation? You know, my personal opinion, I don't think it is. But, you know, I think that's holding some folks back from really committing to the penguins this season, you know, outside of the two big injuries to sit and Gino.

But you know what you're going to get with the Islanders. They're very well coached from Barry Trots. Their forwards are good. You know, Matt Barzell is incredible. Anders Lee is going to be back. just remember that, you know, Bavillier's still there. Brock Nelson, they brought back Kyle Palmieri, you know, J.G. Pajot is there still.

Adam Pelok and Ryan Pulock are there. Sorokin is going to be there for a long time. Varlamov is still there. That's still going to be a dangerous team again next season. And, you know, I'm not sure if they're going to get back to the Eastern Conference final for the third year in row, but I am sure that, you know, they will be in direct competition with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metro.

I think that's honestly going to be your top four. It's going to be, you know, New York, Carolina, Washington and Pittsburgh, in whatever order. All four of those teams, in my opinion, will be getting the playoffs. You know, obviously from the Atlantic, you're going to get Tampa, you're going to get Florida, you're probably going to get Toronto. And then it all comes down to what other team gets into the playoffs. Do you get a fifth metro team in there? Or do you get a fourth team from the Atlantic that will get in, you know, and I'm kind of leaning towards that. right now. If I had to say today who your playoff teams are next year, I think from the Atlantic,

it's Tampa Bay, Florida, Toronto, and Boston. And then I think from the Metro, it is Pittsburgh, Carolina, New York, and Washington. I do not think Montreal gets in. I don't foresee that happening at all. And I do not think the Flyers or the Rangers will get in next season, despite having quite a bit of town. So those who I think are the playoff teams. I'm not going to give you my division predictions yet just with where everyone is going to align. I was right last season where I thought the Penguins would be a top two team in the east. I'm not, again, I'm not really sure where I'm going to have them yet. The injuries are kind of clouding my judgment right now.

But still, as I look at them today going into training camp, this is a playoff team, and they will extend their playoff streak after this regular season. You can bet on that. But okay, that wraps up the second segment of the show. we have a little more to get to to end this episode of Lockdown Panguins. Before we do that, it's time to talk about betonline.ag. They are back and better than ever, and all eyes are on the gridiron as teams are back on to start another football season.

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A couple of things to come out of the NHL's Media Day today. Apparently, the league expects 98% of their players to be fully vaccinated by the time the season comes around in 27 days. Apparently, Bill Dilley said that it's only going to be around 10 to 15 players who will enter the season. Unvaccinated, I would love to know the name. of those players, but will we ever get those? Probably not.

Another cool thing that I did want to end on this show was apparently, so during Media Day, Sydney Crosby and Alex Lovetchkin were just, you know, they were talking with each other. Well, honestly, just sitting next to each other because they were just, you know, getting the pictures and everything. And it sounds like Sid is rooting for OV to break the all-time goals record that is currently held by Wayne Gretzky. For those that do not know, Gretzky has 894 goals, and OV is at 7.

130 so he needs 164 to break that record and you know with that five-year contract I think he has a chance but it's going to be really hard he's going to have to score 40 a year for the next four years and someone who's 35 years old that's going to be really challenging but sid said you know I hope he breaks it I told him today that I hope he does it would be awesome he is in range but then you know Sid added of course he had to be a little bit funny with it he goes I just hope that all All of the goals that he gets are against the other teams as he's trying to add towards it. So, of course, it is going to do that.

He's seen Ovi score way too many goals against the Penguins while he has been here. And, you know, just Ovi was always that big Penguins killer, especially during the early years of the rivalry, especially 2009. Again, you know, that series was just so fun because every time the penguins would score, Ovi would answer right back. And then, you know, there would be a little bit momentum towards the penguins, but even in a tied game, Ovechkin would score to give them the lead, and then they usually wouldn't give it back.

It would just be sensational to watch. And again, I am also someone that believes in Ovechkin breaking that record. I think it would be incredible for the sport. And for those that don't say that he is the best pure goal score of all time, I think they would change their opinions pretty quickly if he were to break that record by the time his career is over. even though in my opinion I don't think you can really argue that hard for some others. I mean, you know, I'll listen to Mike Bossy, I'll even listen to Mario.

But in terms of this era and with how goal scoring is a lot harder now, it's definitely Ovechkin over anyone else, at least in my opinion. In former Penguins News, the Oilers signed Colton Severe to a professional tryout agreement. I'm not sure if he's going to make the team, but you know, did have five goals in 10 points in 46 games last season. and, you know, this stat from Danny of the Pensbog really intrigued me because I did not think that he was this go while he played on the fourth line. So according to Danny, Severe scored 0.8 goals per hour at 5E5, which ranked fifth among Penguin Scaters to play at least 100 minutes. Obviously, you know, that's not going to hold up over a full season.

But, yeah, I mean, he definitely looked a bit serviceable towards the end of the season. and, you know, I'm sure some of that has to do with March and Calci being a healthy scratch and the team being a bit healthier. But I remember, you know, when I was on vacation a bit in mid-April, and I think it was the game after he was placed on waivers, they played in New Jersey Devils, and he just exploded for two goals in that game, and I was like, whoa, where in the heck did that come from? And, you know, I guess it just had to do again with not having a bunch of dead weight strapped

to him. So I am rooting for him. I hope he does well in Edmonton, even though, you know, the expectations there. are pretty high, but he's just going to be a bottom six-four for them. It's not going to be a huge role or anything there. But, you know, I think that's where I will end today's show. I really appreciate everyone listening to this one. We'll do another episode tomorrow before we are back full-time on Monday,

five days a week until the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs and probably until next July. I cannot wait to do this. But, you know, stick with me for one more episode of the all season, and then we'll be back to daily coverage starting on Monday. So hope you all have a great rest of the evening. We'll talk to you tomorrow.