Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Yinz ready for Round 3 of Penguins-Hurricanes?

Episode Date: December 22, 2022

It's another Pittsburgh Penguins gameday as they have just one game left before the Holiday break. This contest will come against the first-place Carolina Hurricanes as the Penguins look to defeat them for the first time this season. Hunter is joined by Jared Ellis once again on the show to preview this matchup. They get into the game from Sunday and how both teams were able to follow that one up with a win prior to this game. Jared looks at what the Hurricanes have done better during this winning streak. They also look at how the Canes have had the Penguins' number this season and if that could be a cause for concern going forward. After that, they get into both goaltending situations and how both young goaltenders are really stepping it up for both teams as of late. Finally, they give some keys for each team to win, plus make predictions. All that, plus much more on this episode of the Locked On Penguins podcast.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!NHTSADrive high, get a DUI. Click HERE to learn more.Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NHLNETWORK 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.

Hey there, Penguins fans. Welcome back to another episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm your host, Hunter Hodes. For today's special episode, we have another crossover with Jared Ellis of Lockdown Hurricanes as the Penguins and Hurricanes will be meeting for the third time in the last month, second time in the last week. They will play again in January to wrap up the season series. But this is a big one for the Penguins as they try to beat the Hurricanes for the first time this season.

And we'll have a full preview right after this drop. You're Locked on Penguins. your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins part of the Locked-on podcast network your team every day Hey there, Kaniacs, and hey there, Penguins fans. I'm Jared Ellis, and I'm joined by Hunter from Locked-on Penguins today

and we are back to preview yet another matchup between the Penguins and the Hurricanes. And of course, this episode is brought to you by Bet Online Bet Online has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before. Bet Online where the game starts. I know. Third time and not even a month that the two teams are hooking up for a matchup, second time and be four days.

So a lot of tough matchups right now for the Penguins. Their schedule is very tough. But I'm glad we can come together for another crossover. Jared, you know, the first two games, I think, have been true 50-50s between these two teams. I think the penguins, I thought they played a bit better in the second matchup compared to the first one when they got a point. And I think this game is going to be really good as well. Yeah, I expect the same with this game as well. These teams are definitely evenly matched.

With going into this game, the hurricanes, like you said, they're coming off of a win against the Rangers. And the hurricanes have now won six straight with their win over the. the devils they have taken first place in the Metro division and are now second in the NHL. And the Penguins are, again, no slouch either. While they are third in the Metro, Metro is super stacked right now. The Penguins are eighth in the NHL. So this is a top 10 matchup in the NHL. Yeah.

And, you know, this is a potential playoff preview, you know, sometime down in April or May. I think every other metropolitan division team is hoping that this ends in regulation and that it doesn't go to overtime because I was doing the other day. It almost seems like the top five or six teams in the Metro just don't want to lose. Yeah, I was just joking that. I think they're going to win every single game in the rest of the way and make this sweat. And, you know, I did see you guys had that big win against New Jersey Devils who have now lost six in row. It turns out you do not win the Stanley Cup in November as some other people have liked to think that they did.

but you know Jared to talk to me about you know that game a little bit you know what have you seen from the hurricanes in that game and just you know during this hot stretch that it's just you know made you more confident in them because you know they started out a little slow they're still doing with a couple injuries that i know um ah ho i believe has been hurt he didn't play in the game on sunday against the penguins but you know what have you been seeing lately from this team that you know it was just giving you more confidence yeah so since the last time you know we talked uh they've kind of kick that losing streak. Ever since they got shut out by the coyotes at home,

I think it was like 3-0-0-0-0-0. They have not lost in regulation at home. And I want to say, actually, I think in general they haven't lost in regulation, if I remember correctly. But that seemed to be really kicking the pants that they needed to really get going. They're firing on almost all cylinders right now. the one issue is still being special teams. It has improved a bit since we last spoke, which is good.

And the Penguins definitely happen. We'll talk about that later. But everything is, they seem to have gotten out of their own heads. They're like, all right, you know, we're winning games. We got this. And they're playing like a team that should be contending for the Stanley Cup. And a big part of that is Piotr Kocheck Cop. he has firmly planted himself in the Calder conversation.

As of recording right now, he is second in the NHL in goals against. He is tied for third and safe percentage and tied for first in shutouts. He has firmly planted himself in that conversation. And if it keeps up, maybe even Vezna conversation. Because again, he's top three goalie in the league right now. and that has been a really big part of this. He is just playing so well. He's on a 10-game point streak himself.

He's tied the longest in franchise history. Cam Ward had three of those 10-game point streaks back when he was playing here. And I want to say he's crept into top five in the NHL history. I know it's 13 was the longest point streak. I know that I just don't remember where exactly it was for him, but he's been a big part of that. The team has really rallied behind him, and he's basically forced them to keep playing him.

Nothing against Antiront at all. You know, when he is in, yeah, he has looked good, not great, but good. He definitely seems to be missing a step, kind of like Frederick Anderson was whenever he wasn't. hurt, but he's forced himself into the number one goaltending spot for the hurricanes and the team has rallied behind it. And whenever Freddie does come back, I think it's a situation similar to Detroit. They're just rolling with three goalies because Peotor, he's playing so good.

You can't send him back to Chicago. No, I mean, I don't think you can. I mean, in the two games against the Penguins this year, he's played really well. He was making some dynamite saves, I thought, on the Sunday, in the Sunday, I think the goals that he allowed were not his fault at all the Raquel goal was just a tip in front. And then the McGinn Shah was just a beautiful one-timer. But I was going to ask, Jared, like, if when, but you kind of answered, like when Freddie is ready to come back from his injury, just, you know, how do they divide up the goalie starts there? It's going to be interesting. And then you know you think about who starts in the playoffs because I'm sure Carolina is going to get there.

that's going to be a very interesting question. I assume that, you know, Coach Egoff will be starting on Thursday. And, you know, it's funny to talk about the goaltending being good there. You know, Tristan Jari continued his strong last four to five weeks with another win on Tuesday. He's 11-0-2 in his last 13 starts. He's getting close to, I believe, time the record that Mark Andre Fleury has for the longest point streak among goalies in franchise history. He is giving this team. team a chance to win every night playing like the goalie that we all saw last year when he was

top 10 in goals, he above expected looking like a Vezna Trophy candidate for much of the season before he kind of slacked off towards the end of the year. But over the last four to five weeks, he, I think, is showing, I think a lot of the fans and especially the management group that, you know, this is for real. And if he keeps this up, you know, he's a pending free agent. I think he could find himself getting a nice four to five year term contract with a nice raise, maybe 5.5 million. I'm always a bit hesitant to pay goalie's top dollar just because I kind of view it as a running back position in the NHL.

You can kind of get average goaltending, of the NFL, excuse me, you can kind of get average goaltending for pennies on the dollar. But right now he is showing that he is a true number one. And he was one of the biggest reasons why the Penguins came back and won that game on Tuesday to get back into the wind column. So, you know, definitely, you know, it's kind of the same with, you know, the Penguins having a really good goalie playing right now,

just like how Carolina is. Yeah, it's definitely going to be a goaltending battle for sure. I definitely see a very low scoring game. I think we'll very much see kind of like last game of, you know, between us where the winner probably has like three goals and that's it. And that third very well could just be an empty net goal. So I definitely see something like that. these teams are definitely on the up from the last time we spoke.

And, you know, you did mention playoffs as well. I think that's a bit far out to kind of predict of what is going to happen because it's months and months away. But yeah, whenever Freddie comes back, you know, it will obviously get his starts in there, of course. You know, he is, you know, technically the number one goalie here in Raleigh. but Peotter is definitely, you know, gunning for that job for sure. And, you know, he's heading into next season.

Pioter is the only goalie under contract because he already signed his extension. And I think that, you know, how they'll divide them up whenever Freddie comes back, it will be very interesting. I am not really sure how they're going to do that, honestly. I think, like I said, they'll probably pull a Detroit role with three goalies. until, you know, something happens, whether it be a trade or someone falters or hurt or whatever. But playoffs, I think it's too far out right now to kind of predict that. But with the way things are going, I would probably say it'd be, you know, he odors the guy.

He looked great in the playoffs last year. So, and he's just continuing to improve this year. Yeah, I mean, I remember watching that series against the Bruins when he was starting. and I believe he started a couple games, if I recall correctly, Jared. He was solid in there, and I was almost, you know, I think he, I think Ronta got most of the series against the Rangers. Was that? Yeah.

Yeah. I figured, but. Yoder did try to fight Brad Marchand, though. I did remember seeing that. It's a tough customer over there trying to go after. Oh, yeah. He doesn't take anything. Yeah, he will for sure at some point.

in his career in the NHL, get it in a goalie fight. If someone's willing to drop him with him, he's going to be game for sure. I guarantee it. He'll pull a Ron Hechtel and go after someone like he did with Larry Brown with the, or the penguins, that stuff. Yeah. But, you know, one thing that I have noticed for the penguins since we last spoke is that their special teams have improved a lot.

since we last spoke and we'll talk about that right after this quick break folks now folks if you're wanting to place a bet on this game betonline.net is your number one source for all of your sports betting info stats news and analysis so get the latest odds and trends for every professional amateur league out there from pro football to college bowl season to basketball they've got you covered at bedonline.net. If you're a basketball fan, if you're Charlotte Hornets fan, I finally found my lucky Hornet shirt, so maybe they can turn a corner soon and get to double-digit wins.

And of course, if you're a Hurricanes fan or a Penguins fan, they got you covered as well because bet online is the fastest and easiest way to get all of your betting info. So head over to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more, bet online where the game starts. Now, when we last spoke, Connor, both teams were really struggling in special teams. They're both bottom of the league, power play especially. But since we last spoke, both teams have improved.

The Penguins especially, as a recording, the Penguins power play is currently sitting at 16th in the NHL at 22.9%. And their penalty kill is a third in the NHL at 84%. The Hurricanes Power Play, it's still towards the bottom. It has improved, you know, eye test-wise, and percentage-wise, it has gotten a bit better, but it's still bottom of the league at 27th in the NHL at 17.6%. Penley Kill has risen, though it is at 14th in the NHL at 80.2%. What has been a big catalyst behind the Penguins Special teams, looking more normal.

Yeah, I think that's one way to say it. And before I do answer that, before I'm not, I don't want to get my head ripped off. I'm sorry, I said Larry Brown. It is Robbie Brown that Ron Hexolet after that would have, I would have been crucified and people probably would have stopped listening to the show. So that is embarrassing that I actually forgot Robbie Brown's name there. So I apologize about that. I'm having a case of the Mondays, but that I knew right away when I said it.

I'm like, well, that's just not. That's not who it was. But no, Robbie Brown, that's a, if you want to check that out, go on YouTube. It's hilarious. But as for your question about the special teams, nine straight games now with a power play goal. Going into yesterday's game,

that was the longest streak that they've had since Dan Baalison was the head coach in 2012, 2013. This is a new record in the Mike Sullivan era. But you're starting to see it, excuse me, I wouldn't say take over games, but they're making their presence felt. Even in that game on Sunday against the hurricanes, I don't think the power play looked that good because the hurricane's penalty kill

is pretty used in. themselves, but they were still able to get a goal, even though it was on the third or fourth attempt, because you can't keep the penguins off the score sheet forever if you keep giving the power plays. I really do think those own entries have been a hell of a lot better. They're not trying to find that perfect play on the power play. They're just getting a lot of traffic in front of the net, whipping a bunch of shots from the slot area, and they're making it really tough on the opposition and especially

whichever goaltender is in net to see. and then eventually, of course, stop the puck on Tuesday night, for example. So Ricard Raquel draws the penalty on Keandre Miller. And the Penguins at that point, they have nothing, absolutely nothing. The first 30, 32 minute, sorry about that. I don't know why can you get this call? No, you're good. My girlfriend has one, too.

They have absolutely nothing. But they get that power play, and they're working the puck around the perimeter a little bit. And it finally comes to Malkin. and he has some space in front of them. Ricardo Raquel, beautiful screen in front of Shasturkin, and then Malkin just fires it to a space that Shasturkin can see. And those are the kind of goals that they're scoring right now, because, again, they're making it really difficult on the opposition.

But everything about the unit is on another level right now. And that unit saved the Penguins last night. They scored two power play goals. You know, they didn't really have much an even strength before then, and they kind of took a recipe of the Rangers. playoff success last year and they applied it to this game. I think for the penalty kill, getting back Teddy Bluger about a month ago,

I think it was just huge. You know, the PK was starting to show signs of turning around before he came back, but he just makes that unit so much better with his ability to clear the puck when other players can't, his ability to get into shooting lanes and just the overall impact that he has. There's nothing short of extraordinary. This is a top five unit in the league. Now they were taking the Rangers lunch on their power play last night.

I don't know. I really think the Rangers threatened that much on the power play at all. And I was saying during the losing streak, you know, if they can just get some of these special teams and get the goal team back on track, the rest will fall into place because their underlying metrics were really good. They were crushing it. They were getting the finishing. They were just giving goals back on the penalty kill and they were not taking a

of getting power plays and of course they weren't getting saves now the bet is turned around you've seen it pay huge dividends they've won eight out of nine they've won 13 out of 16 um and all the reasons that I listed for getting those units back on track have just been huge for the penguins and it's it's been really great to see yeah I think yeah it's definitely a slower road for the hurricanes uh definitely in terms of their power play uh but I forget which game it was but The power play was absolutely abysmal, and everyone in postgame was commenting on how bad it was. And that was a turning point for them there. And we have seen slow improvement.

It has not turned around as quickly as Pittsburgh has, but it's getting there. I do think whenever Sebastian Ajo gets back, I know he has been skating. So hopefully he'll be back soon. And I do feel whenever he comes back, the hurricanes will see a bit more of a jump in it. In that game on Sunday, the Pittsburgh went one for five on the power play. And the hurricanes went 0 for three. And, you know, the hurricanes, they definitely need, one thing they need to do, you know, obviously a penalty kill has been really good for the most part.

They do need to get their penalties under control because it has seen where they get a bit careless and a bit sloppy sometimes. And that has been a problem with the powerplay as well. Sometimes it feels a bit careless and a bit sloppy. And they're just passing the puck around. Zone entry has definitely been bad at times. Got a bit better, but still just hasn't been great. But I think it's a problem I'd rather have now here in November.

Now, God, it's about the end of December now. Oh my God. But I'd rather be having this issue now than come playoff time. You know, I'd rather just like, you know, all their issues in general with the offense looking drier than some Thanksgiving turkeys that we saw on Twitter and Instagram. You know, I'd rather have those problems now than deal with them, you know, come March and April. I do feel it will continue to improve. It's just going to be a very slow and painful road for sure. for the hurricanes.

Yeah, and I do think the penguins, they did pretty well against the hurricanes power play on Sunday from what I do recall. You know, you kind of said it back, it looked like they were kind of just passing the puck around. It really testing Casey to Smith as much on the main advantage.

But man, that penalty killed that you guys do have, it is a very good unit. I mean, I was watching them really frustrating the penguins in that Sunday match. I forcing them to the perimeter, making his own injuries, a living hell. Honestly, they just weren't able to get set up a lot, which is, you know, obviously the bread and butter for any power play,

but especially for the penguins, you know, when they're just kind of dumping the puck in, it's not working for them. So, yeah, I kind of noticed the hurricanes, they were just kind of stacking the blue line a little bit and just daring the penguins to come in. And, you know, it worked for the penguins on one power play goal, but for the other ones, they just didn't get a lot of good chance, especially on that first one, about, what, three to five minutes into that game, that thing was doing there. another one later on in the first.

Nothing doing there. You know, that right there, if they were able to get a goal on one of those advantages, that could have set the tone for the rest of the game. But, you know, that's definitely a matchup that I'm going to be really watching for this one on Thursday. Yeah, for sure. Special teams is going to be a big one for sure.

I think, you know, when it comes to the hurricanes, penalty kill, you know, it has high standards to live up to. I mean, obviously, you know, of recent memory over the past couple seasons last year, especially being historically good. You look at your head coach. He was a fantastic defensive forward back when he was playing. You look at your captain.

You know, great defensive forward. I mean, you know, they've all over the past few years, they've always been a very stacked team in terms of defense. Offense, not so much. So that's going to be a really big sticking point, you know, with this game coming up of can the hurricanes take advantage of power play opportunities because gosh, I forget what game in it.

It was, you know, in it was like a one-nothing shutout. But the game-winning goal was a power play goal. It was the game up in Detroit. It was back on it. Brady Shea's first ever power play goal. He'd played like over 400 some odd games and never had a power play goal. But it was the game up in Detroit on last Tuesday on the 13th. Power play, it showed up.

And it was the difference maker. And we've seen that a lot with the hurricanes over the past a couple weeks. Power plays made a difference. And that's going to be important heading into this game because it for sure is going to be because the Penguins PowerPlay has improved so much that they're going to have to.

And the hurricanes to prevent the penguins getting power play opportunities, they got to clean it up and you know, you know, not let the penguins draw so many penalties because like you said, you give them so many opportunities.

They're going to take advantage of it. They give them five last game. They really need to cut it back. Yeah. No, I think the hurricanes need to be a little more disciplined in that area. But there's still a lot more, I think, to get to in terms of this matchup, especially at even strength. If the penguins maybe have a problem with playing Carolina, but just because they've been struggling against them the last couple of years. But before we do

get to that, did you know that driving high is actually considered driving under the influence? That's right. Driving under the influence of marijuana is against the law in every state, even in the states where it is illegal. That means driving high could get you a DUI. And if you think law enforcement officers can't tell when you're driving high, you are wrong. Your friends can tell. Your coworkers can tell. Even your parents can tell. Everyone can tell.

So what makes you think that law enforcement officers don't know when you're driving high? Driving under the influence of marijuana can slow your response time and change how you perceive time and speed. So even if you think you're fine to drive when you're high, you're not. Because the bottom line is if you feel different, you drive different. And driving high is driving under the influence. So remember, drive high, get a DUI. All right, we're back here on this special crossover of the Locked on Penguins and the Locked on Hurricanes podcast. I'm Hunter Hodes.

That is Jared Ellis. So the two games that they've played this year so far, Jared, Penguins are Hurricanes, of course. I consider them to be toss-ups. They've been 50-50s. I think in the first one, Carolina was a bit more of the better team, although the Penguins came out firing in the first period. Carolina really stepped up towards the late stages of the first and into the second, even in the third.

Penguins got a little bit of fire. they tied the game but lost an overtime on a fairly controversial non-call. And then the second game, all the Penguins came out firing. Carolina then struck back. I thought Pittsburgh was a bit better than the third before Carolina was able to win the game, courtesy of former Pittsburgh Penguin Jordan Stahl, who just terrorized Chabrewito on that play and then cleaned out Cindy Crosby

four straight times in the faceoff circle. That is very hard to do. Trust. You know that just as well as I do. Do you think the hurricane just have, an edge over the penguins right now just because they've actually won seven of their last nine against the penguins or do you think it's just due to you know sometimes the games are just not going your way after good i would ask you about that yeah i i think it's a bit of both uh honestly i think

you know like he says especially these past couple games it just being toss-ups um and you know the hurricane's just coming out on the winning end but i do think yeah that the hurricanes um they've you know for so long had been the team that got bullied in the metro and now they have now they're the team that does the bullying so to speak figurative not literally of course but you know they they know what to do to get these wins their core has experience now they all have several years of experience under the belt they played the penguins many many times they know how to beat this team. And, you know, that's just from the player aspect. You know, they, you know, stack their roster really well for the most part. And then also some really good

coaching as well, uh, between, you know, Rod Brinmore and Tim Gleason, you know, they, they're a really well coached team. And when it comes, you know, to practicing out on the ice, watching the film, whatever, you know, they're paying attention. They know how to. You know, they're paying attention. They know how to beat the penguins now um you know jordan stall is one of the best uh guys in the face off circle in the n hl like he can hang with the best of them like you said you know cleaned out cidney crosby four times in a row and they're also feeling themselves uh now and like you said they've won seven of their last nine against pittsburgh they're like you know we can do this you know look at that we beat them seven of the last nine times we played them. You know, this isn't a game where, you're like,

oh, God, you know, like back on Sunday when the Panthers and Steelers were playing, there's definitely a game where I'm like, oh, God, you know, that, that ain't going to end well. Yeah, that's how penguins and hurricanes used to be. It's not that way anymore. The hurricanes know how to beat this team. Yeah, and I also do think it comes down to the hurricanes are a bit, of a faster team with the penguins. I think the penguins have struggled against age. Yeah, you're right. And they have struggled against some of the faster teams in the league this season.

For example, you know, Montreal has actually had a decent start. Penguins have struggled to maintain their speed. Hurricanes, I think it's been the same thing. The Maple Leafs, they lost two out of three against them. I think they struggled with their speed, you know. And I think that just comes down to the penguins are the oldest team in the league. And they are by age. You know, that was their bread and butter.

six years ago, but, you know, that's just, you know, that's not them to a degree anymore. They can still play that speed skill game. It's just they can't do it as well as they used to. So when you have a younger, more refreshed, faster team like Carolina coming in, you know, it's not going to be the best time, I think, at times. But, you know, these two games have still been a lot of fun. But I want to ask you this for the third one, how do you think Carolina makes at three in a row against Pittsburgh this season.

What do they need to do? Power play. Like I said, I think, you know, five on five, you know, it's going to be a lot of what we've already seen, you know, in this game. It's, you know, going to be, you know, for the wrestling fans, you know, out there like FTI on the briskos, there are three matches they had this year.

You know, they're all phenomenal matches. It's going to be the same with this, you know, all of these games, you know, could have gone either way. that's going to be the same with this one. There's going to be that one difference maker, and that's going to be the power play for the hurricanes, or just special teams in general. I guess you could kind of lump it together

because of the way the Penguins power play has been, but the Hurricanes power play has really got to show up because, like I mentioned, you know, in that Detroit game, that was the difference maker. And it's going to be a difference maker here because these teams are so evenly matched. Obviously, every goal counts in every, game, but a game like this where, like we said at the beginning of episode, it's going to be a low-scoring game.

Winning teams probably don't have like three goals and one of them probably an empty net. Every goal counts and their hurricanes need to come up with a power play goal in this game. And for you, for the penguins, what is it going to take for the penguins to avoid the regular season sweep? That's a great question. And I do think actually they play one more time. Oh, they do. They do. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think they play down in Raleigh after the new year. I believe it's January or February, if I'm not mistaken. So they do have one more game against them. But I really think it comes down to, you know, weathering that storm, no pun intended, against the hurricanes because, you know, they're going to be more refreshed for this one than they were for the sunny one because the hurricanes, they were coming off that win against the Dallas Stars. I'm not mistaken it was against Down. So you think, oh, back to back, you know, Penguins have the advantage.

And they did, at least for the first half of the first period. They came out, letting shots, I believe it was 10 to 2. Hurricanes then found their game, credit to them, and they were able to win. But I do think it's for the Penguins, you know, they just, they have to weather that storm because Carolina is going to come out firing. They did that in the first matchup. They did that at times in the second matchup. And, you know, they're going to have you ready for it.

The good part for the Penguins with this, this is at home. Penguins have been playing very well. home as of late five to six game winning streak for them. Tristan Jari has to be one of their best players yet again. 11-0 and 2 in his last 13 starts. He has been terrific. And I really do think a lot of the Penguins' early season struggles were due to the special teams being met.

And then Tristan just, he was playing hurt. So I didn't think of it that much at the time, Jared. But now with the level that he's playing in, how the team has really turned around, I definitely think that was a big reason why the team was struggling. So he has to be dynamite. I would very much expect him to start on this one. I do not think Casey DeSmith is going to get the start like he did on Sunday. And then, you know, special teams as well.

I want to see the power play be a bit better than they were against the hurricanes. Can they make it 10 games in a row? Will the star players be the star players? And then, you know, let's see if we can get some depth scoring. You know, at times the depth has not been that good this season. They're battling a couple of injuries right now with Josh Archibald a bit banged up. Ryan Paling left Tuesday night's game with a lower-border injury. if he can't go, rookie Drew O'Connor would slot in to the lineup.

I want to see, you know, can they get some of that depth scoring in this one? You know, former Carolina Hurricane Brock McGinn, he scored in that last one. Could he get one in this? And, you know, what's the matchup against Jordan Stahl? He killed the penguins in that game on Sunday in multiple ways. You know, is Sid going to get any revenge on him in the faceoff circle? Is, you know, Chabre Wiedel going to play a bit better defensively in his own zone against Jordan? you know, he made a huge difference in that game.

And again, I talked about this with Cat on Monday. I've seen him play like that so many times over the years. I'm just not surprised anymore because it's, it's George. So, you know, those are the big keys that I'm looking out for in this one. And can the penguins, you know, continue to play well against some of the team's best players, in this case, Nitchos and Stetschnikov? Yeah, definitely for, yeah, I agree with all that, honestly. And a lot of what you said goes for the hurricanes as well.

Depth scoring will be big. You know, you can't always rely on the big name guys to carry the load. One guy that you are going to have to look out for is Stefan Nazen. You know, he's, you know, came up, you know, from Chicago this year, getting another crack at the NHL, and he's really taking advantage of it. Back when we were running 11-7 for a couple games, he was playing really well alongside who other than Jordan. Stahl and Jordan Martinick there on that third line.

And he's really, he's been really freaking good this year. He also scored a freaking penalty shot goal a while back too. He's definitely going to be a guy you're going to have to look out for. And both teams, if they're to come away with the win, both teams are going to have to play full, complete games. As Jordan's been saying a lot this year, no passengers. You know, everyone's got to be out there and pulling their load. and doing their job.

And that's going to go for both teams, but obviously more so the hurricanes, because we want to come with the win. We want to go up 3-0 in the series this year. You're right. They do play again after the new year on January 14th down here in Raleigh. But final prediction for the game, I'm going another 3-2 Hurricanes win.

I'll say that third goal is probably going to be an empty-netter. A 3-2 win with an empty-netter. intergered? Yeah. Interesting. Okay. I'll go with that. In that instance, with the Penguins then get another six on five goal to make a three, two before time runs out?

No. No. Okay. Interesting. No. No. Hurricanes just went in a three, two. Penguins pulled a goalie, probably Tristan Jari, because he has tied it to getting pretty late into the third.

And just for you, I'll say Jordan Stahl gets the empty net or two. That just sounds terrible. But hey, maybe Crystal Tane makes another miraculous play on the MN as he did on Sunday when it easily could have been a 4-2 final there. I do think the Penguins get a little bit of a revenge. I actually got the final score right for the Ranger game. So I'm flying pretty high in this one. I'm going to go, I'm going to actually go.

for two penguins with an MD net goal to seal it at the end, courtesy of Jake Gensel. He is Mr. MDNet on this team. I do think the penguins are able to show, I think, the fan base and the rest of some of the people around the lead that they can beat this team, at least at home. And I do think they will get two crucial points in this one. And then, of course, they will get the empty net at the end, courtesy of Jake. But that's my verdict. Yeah, I will say over time would not surprise me in this game.

Me either. If our predictions are wrong, which, let's be on. they probably will be. Mine especially, it'll probably be wrong. The score will probably be right, but the other stuff probably wrong. But honestly, again, overtime would not surprise me with this game at all because, again,

these teams are so evenly matched. It wouldn't surprise me. And their hurricanes have went to overtime a lot as of late. So it'd be pretty on brand, really. Honestly, you're right. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if this goes to overtime because a lot of Metro games have gone to overtime this season. So everyone just wants a three-point games.

But I'm really looking forward to this one. It's a chance for the Penguins to get some revenge. They need to be able to know how to beat this team because if they do make the playoffs, there's a good chance that they will see Carolina. Even if they don't play them in round one, if they get to round two like Carolina last year, the Penguins would have played for the hurricane.

So they need to figure out against this team in a very quick manner. Yeah, they really do. if the penguins are wanting to, again, make that push. But at the end of the day, we got to get through the game tomorrow. We got to get through the game in January and then just the rest of the regular season. But good luck to you. In the meantime, make sure you're following Locked on Hurricanes on Twitter and Instagram at L.O. underscore Hurricanes and myself on Twitter at Jared Ellis underscore 96.

And Hunter, where can everyone find you? Yeah, you can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. The show's Twitter is at LO underscore Penguins, and you can find the show wherever you get your podcast, Apple, Spotify, you know, Amazon music with that's an ad-free version for you. Then, of course, subscribe to the show on YouTube. Yep. And again, best of luck to you, unless it's in fantasy football because you're still my most hated rival in that. He's mad that I took the title from him last year, guys. Yes, I know. You guys have a great rest of your day.

And let's go, Keynes. and in Hunter's case, I suppose. Let's go Penguins. Let's go Penns.