Loading...
Loading...

The Pittsburgh Penguins walked into Ball Arena on Monday night and hung a seven spot on them! Hunter and Patrick start the show with an overall recap of the Penguins' 7-2 win over the Avalanche and how they turned a sloppy, but successful first period into a dominant second and third period. (1:00) After that, they discuss Evgeni Malkin's return after his suspension and how great he was. (14:00) It was a CLASSIC Geno game! Finally, they break down Erik Karlsson's marvelous game and how great he has been as of late. (23:15)
Quo
Make this the year where no opportunity — and no customer — slips away.
Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first 6 months when you go tohttp://Quo.com/lockedonnhl.
Indeed
Now, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply.
Robinhood
You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm.
FanDuel
FanDuel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a College Basketball Parlay Profit Boost. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game.
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.
It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
I'm Joey Erickson of Lockdown Stars.
In business, there's no room for guesswork.
Every shipment matters, every deadline counts.
When you're trying to keep operations running smoothly, the last thing you need is uncertainty.
That's why reliability is at the core of USPS Ground Advantage.
Each package moves through a secure nationwide network, track from dock to door with affordable
upfront pricing.
And delivery, you can depend on because knowing your logistics are handled lets you focus
on everything else.
Visit usps.com slash ground advantage to start shipping with confidence, USPS official
shipping sponsor of the NHL.
Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Lockdown Podcast Network.
Thank you for being here because your support means everything.
And if you're looking for another way to support the show that you love, while getting
something awesome in return, check out the Every Day or Club.
You get ad free episodes of your favorite Lockdown show, access to a member's only group
chat for fans of your team.
And you can even jump into the national chats and talk about whatever is happening across
the league.
Tap the Every Day or Club link in the show notes to learn more.
The Pittsburgh Penguins absolutely obliterated the Colorado avalanche 7-2 on Monday and
Pat and I are going to recap everything that happened in that game coming up right after
this.
Your Lockdown Penguin, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Lockdown
Podcast Network, your team every day.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast.
I, one of your hosts, Hunter Hodes, you can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, joined
by my co's Patrick Damp.
You can follow him on all social media platforms at Center for Wet.
You can also follow the show's Twitter at hello underscore penguins.
And you can find us on Instagram at locked on underscore penguins.
And of course, thank you all so much for making this your first lesson slash watch the day.
We are free and available on all platforms.
Pat, I was blasting Blink 182s all the small things after this game, a little trolling
can never hurt.
And when you're playing a team that you're not arrival with.
But of course, that was the avalanches Stanley Cup theme song.
Just a few years ago when they won this Stanley Cup and man, the penguins went into Denver
and absolutely dismantled the best team in the NHL 72 final.
That first period, probably the most fun period of hockey.
I have watched all season when it comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Back and forth action, virtually no defense on either side.
There's no goldening either, especially on the avalanche side where the penguins were
scoring on 70% of their shots in that first period.
But I was texting you this at the time and I'll say it here.
The avalanches were really outplaying them in that first period.
And I felt the penguins for them to win this game.
They really needed to start getting back to basics, playing a smarter brand of hockey,
playing a cleaner brand of hockey, simplifying a lot of their game.
Boy Pat, did they do that in the final 40 minutes?
If they were to try to play that running gun style for the final 40 minutes, I personally
don't think they would have won this game.
I know they may sound weird to say, but the way the avalanches were coming at them in
ways, I just don't think that was sustainable for the entire game.
And I really liked how Damus was able to get the entire team to play a smarter brand of
hockey.
They were keeping Colorado to the outside for the final 40 minutes, defending a lot better.
You remember, the avalanche almost had 20 shots on goal in that first period.
Artichie Loves was on pace to see 60 shots, which again, also not sustainable.
They only allowed 10 shots in the final 40 minutes of that game.
To do that, against this Colorado lineup, as potent as it is, even without reckoning,
even with that land escog, that is a very, very job well done.
I can't credit the staff enough and especially the players for the way they started simplifying
their game in the final 40 minutes.
To me, Pat, I think outside of them being opportunistic with their chances, that is the
biggest reason why they won last night.
It's a tale of two games for the penguins on Monday night in Colorado.
The first period they got incredibly lucky that the Colorado avalanche couldn't get a
save because let's keep it real here.
First 20 minutes, penguins got outplayed.
They didn't play poorly.
They played arguably the best team in the league and sometimes they just decided to be the
best team in the league and good luck stopping them when they decided to do that.
Problem was they couldn't get a save.
So the penguins were very opportunistic when they needed to be and they come out of the
first period with a 4-2 lead.
Then in the second period, like you said, they really ratcheted it up.
They were playing very smart defensively, very disciplined defensively because I'll say
this, it gets a little overshadowed.
I'm not going to say that he played poorly because obviously he did not.
But I didn't like either goal that Ardor Shilov's let up, but much like the team in front
of him in the final two periods, he got his act together, he made the saves he needed
to make.
It really looked like we were going to be on track to play like an 8-7 game where neither
goal tender was going to make a save, but Shilov's got himself steadied, made the saves
he needed to make.
The team in front of him obviously gave him plenty of run support, so it didn't matter
after the first period if he was able to give up a goal or two.
But end of the day, I mean, the penguins deserve a ton of credit for walking into an arena
that the league's best team plays in, they did not back down, punched them in the mouth
and walked out with a massive win.
This is also only the third time all season that the avalanche have lost back-to-back games
in regulation.
They've lost other times back-to-back, but they've gotten a point in those games.
This is only the third time that they have failed to register a point in back-to-back
games.
That's how good Colorado has been this year, and it also just goes to show how well the
penguins have played throughout the season and why they have a real shot at getting
into the playoffs over the next month.
These next four weeks are going to be crazy.
You mentioned Artichie loves there.
I thought he played very well.
It was a nice bounce back in a row.
I know what you said about the first two goals.
The McKinnon one, I'm going to give him some grace, Pat.
That is a picture-perfect shot.
I mean, I don't know how you place that any better, wicked release as we all know with
Nathan McKinnon.
I don't know what goalie is stopping that, personally.
If you want to say the second one, sure, but the McKinnon one, man, oh my God, that's
disgusting.
Yeah.
That's totally fair.
It was just a matter of that first period.
There was not a lot of goal-tending going on, and she loves got away with it because it
was overshadowed by Colorado's goalies really, really failing to do anything good, but like
I said, he steadied himself and was able to really keep this team at an even when Colorado
got some looks, and then obviously the offense in front of them just exploded.
Right.
And all four lines really contributed for the penguins in this one.
We're going to get to Evgeny Malkin coming up here in the second segment because he is
back, especially with a vengeance, the goals that he scored were outrageous.
The past that he had to Ryan Russford, his powerplay goal was also great, but I do want to congratulate
Anthony Malkin, the 26 goals, a new career high for him.
You understand why Dan Muses has been putting him, excuse me, in Cheetos when you see him
have some soft hands around the net front.
Now, has he scored on any of those yet?
No, and hopefully we don't see another shootout for the rest of the season because I am done
watching this team in Cheetos, but I understand very much why Muses continues to put him out
there.
When you see the moves that he puts on opposing goal tenders, at least during regulation
during overtime, but what is signing he has turned out to be.
I know we have gotten some questions about Anthony Malkin in his future.
Look, if it's anything beyond a two-year term, probably not going to happen.
And even then, he's going to ask for a big pay raise.
If you want to do it for a year or two, I'll understand, but I think this is going to
be a player pat that commands too much term that the penguins are not going to be interested
in.
That's kind of where I am with Mantha.
If you can get him on a two, maybe even a three-year deal, I wouldn't hate the idea of it,
but the problem is he's going to be 32 at the start of next season.
And it's not even me worrying about the aging curve just because if you get him on a two
to three-year deal by the time he's done with that deal, you can bury it, you can trade
it, whatever, it's not going to make that big of a difference.
But it's the fact that this is probably going to be one of, if not his final contracts
in the NHL, so he's probably going to want some term.
And if he's willing to do a two to three-year deal here in Pittsburgh, wouldn't hate the
idea of it, but at the same time with how weak the free agency class is looking with
how many teams that are going to want to overspend or find some big solution on the market,
he is probably going to get paid and get paid for a long time.
So thank you for the memories, great season, great bounce back, all the best in your
future endeavors.
Yeah, I mean, I'm going to enjoy the rest of the season with him considering how great
he has been for this team.
I just think right now, in my opinion, it's a bit unlikely, he resigns, but it's
if he does, I think it's going to be for a very short term contract.
I'm personally not going beyond two years for him on an extension, anything else I think
that's.
Hey, thank you for your services, but we're going to no give your spot to a younger player
or maybe they can acquire someone via trade, something like that.
Otherwise, Elmore Soderblom, really nice game from him last night, some soft hands
around the net front.
You really see just how big of a player he is when he scores a goal like that, Pat, because
the other two players on his line just look like hobbits compared to him, since he's
almost seven feet, the pass that he had for Noah Chari's goal was simply great.
And I thought that was by far his best game as a penguin.
So there's definitely at least something there.
I'm intrigued to see where else it goes.
I still think when this team is fully healthy, he's probably the 13th forward and he's
going to get again, more of a look next season, but I like this game a lot last night.
I did too.
And I think that goal last night is a nice little encapsulation of what he could be as a
penguin with his age, his size and his skill.
Because yeah, the soft hands on the goal were really nice to see, but it was also a brute
force goal.
He just barreled his way to the front of the net and dared everybody else to stop him.
And because he's a massive human being, that's a lot easier said than done.
So that could be a nice combination for a player like him where he's big, he's strong,
but he's sneakily got hands.
So if you want to try to get in his way, go for it.
But I liked his game.
I really liked the overall game in the final two periods because the offense, and we're
going to dig into a lot of this throughout the rest of the show because you beat the
best team in hockey, seven to two, there's a ton to dive into, but just kind of transitioned
us into break and into the second segment.
I liked the overall game in the second and third period.
It was balanced.
It was disciplined.
They weren't taking, and obviously you go like, you go into the second period up four
to two.
You're going to maybe take your, take your foot off the gas a little bit, right?
Because it's four to lead.
You probably played a little too carelessly in the first period.
But they did enough to keep their foot on the gas, to keep pushing against Colorado because
they knew this is the most dynamic team in hockey.
Four to two to them is one, nothing to somebody else.
So they pushed when they needed to push, they defended when they needed to defend.
And it was honestly one of the most impressive games I've seen out of this team all season
long.
It's really funny.
We keep saying for the last week, week and a half, oh, this is the win of the season.
We said after Boston, no, this is the win of the season.
We just said after Utah.
Now, we might be saying it for this game against Colorado, where this might be the win of
the season.
But I'm sure we're going to be saying something like that again, potentially Wednesday if
they finally bite the curse in Raleigh, maybe the Sunday to be the hurricanes, they have
the Islander game later on this month.
So I think we're going to be coming back to that statement, going to sit down this stretch
here.
But over the last week, week and a half, they have played some of their best games of the
season.
And it's the perfect time because you are in the fight for your life to get into the playoffs.
But that is going to do it for this first segment.
Coming up in the second segment, Evgeny Malkin returned in a big way for the penguins on
Monday night.
And Pat and I are going to discuss his performance coming up right after this.
But before we get to that, we have to tell you about our first sponsor, which is Indeed.
Workplace chaos, deadline stacking up, inbox overflowing in the one position you have to
fill that's still sitting open.
When the pressure is on and you need the right hire, this is a job for Indeed's sponsor
jobs.
They help you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for, skills, experience,
location.
So you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post.
And here's a staff that says it all.
In the minute that I have been talking to you, companies like yours have made 27 hires
on Indeed, according to Indeed data worldwide.
So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates who check
all your boxes with Indeed's sponsored jobs and listeners of the show, you will get a $75
sponsored job credit to help get your job post the premium status.
It deserves at indeed.com slash podcast.
Just go to indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard
about Indeed on this podcast.
That's indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions apply need to hire.
This is a job for Indeed's sponsored jobs.
All right, we're back here on the Tuesday edition of the Locked on Penguins podcast.
I, one of your host Hunter Hodes joined by my coach, Patrick and Pat.
Before we get to the Geno game because he was absolutely flawless in this one shot to all
the penguins fans that made the trip to Denver for this game almost look like a home game
in there, man.
It was really crazy to see, um, I know some people were tweeting it looked like 70 30.
I don't know, man.
It looked closer to 60 40.
By the way, you can hear the Let's go pens chance through the TV.
I had some friends that were there at the game.
Just shout out to all the penguins fans that were there for that game.
That was awesome seeing them almost take over ballerina and Denver.
Pat, Evgeny Malkin, man comes off the five game suspension and very Evgeny Malkin fashion
takes a family on his first shift because that's Geno and then scores a vintage Malkin goal
literally right after the Spinarama very much shades of cam ward 2009 shades of the goal against
Edmonton just a few years later that, you know, you hear the the cling herder around the world.
I love that goal as well and then the other goal that he scores in that period makes a nice
little move in front of the net front beat Scott Wedgewood, the past that he made to Brian Russ
to spring him for the power play goal was a thing of beauty.
What a return for number 71 and watching his media availability after the game you could
tell how much this return meant to him, how much he still enjoys playing this game, how
much he was upset at himself for getting himself suspended for five games and I'll just say here
before I hand it over to you. Cow did us sign this man. Yeah, it's time. I know that I still maintain
my overall point about Evgeny Malkin in his contract and his status. I know he's a legend. I know
that he's playing really well. There's no rush for this guys like July 1st is a long way away and
you have him. Like the minute you put the contract in front of him, he's going to sign it.
There's other pressing needs that got to get figured out. You got a few R. I like what he said
to the media after the game where he said like him and Kyle are going to talk this summer. It made
me feel more confident that this is going to get done. Yeah, because Geno in moments like this
doesn't pull punches. Like if if if you remember back to when we went all through the drama a few
years ago with him in Hextal and Burke, he pretty much came out and told everybody what was going on
that like he wasn't here and from them. They were telling them they didn't want to bring him back.
There's none of that with Kyle with the penguins right now. He basically said yeah, we met.
We met again. We're going to meet in the summer. If it would have been bad, he would have done his
Geno thing where he said what they don't want me anymore or whatever, whatever. You got the draft
coming up. You got free agency coming up. Listen, it's going to happen. I think I feel pretty
confident in saying it's going to happen. So we'll get there. But yeah, the first two shifts of the
game, the complete of Genny Malkin experience takes an offensive zone penalty. His second shift
scores an unbelievable goal on the backhand. And he was just a menace all night and it was the
Russian bully that we like to see from of Genny Malkin. He was hounding pucks. He was physical
when he needed to be. He was distributing the puck really well. He just played a really solid
game. And I know that we were very upset with him and rightfully so after the suspension.
It's kind of a blessing in disguise because last couple of years, you give Genny Malkin a few days
off. He comes back shot out of a cannon and this was no different. Oh, he was flawless.
Last night skating like it was almost 2012 level from Geno last night. The way he was seeing the
ice was stupendous. Again, the past that he made to Brian Russ for his power play goal was a
thing of beauty. And even outside of his production, I just felt that he was getting chances
literally every shift that he was out there. And I also want to shout out Igor Chinakov's
forecheck that led to Malkin's second goal. He doesn't score there without Chinakov doing
the dirty work, beating his man to the puck, delivering it to Geno before Geno is able to finish
it off with a really nice move. Pascal Wedge would those two just, they're so in sync with one
another. And I really hope that we get more of that for next season. Assuming Malkin comes back,
Chinakov, I'm fairly confident that he's going to get an extension as an RFA considering what he
has done. But man, those two are just absolutely awesome together. And no, you could just tell the
rest of the team Pat, they fed off his return. They fed off his confidence. Everyone was smiling,
having a good time out there. And I kept saying, you know, for as admirable as it was to win
some of these games, at least a couple that is without Crosby, without Malk, and without Malkin,
that is both of them together, they needed guys back. They started last night getting a Malkin
back. Justin Brzo is also back. Yeah, I know, it stinks that Blake Luzat is injured again,
and we don't know how serious it is according to Joshua. We got a cast on his hand. So that might
mean multiple weeks. We have to see what penguins PR says. But they're at least starting to get
a little bit healthier. Crosby's getting closer. Sam Gerard is back for the morning skates now.
So get those two guys back. You're really only down one regular for the stretch one. And I know
Luzat is an important player, but the important thing is they're getting guys back at the most
important time of the year. And you know, last night, those two big points in the standings,
that was your game in hand on the Islanders. You've now pulled even with them in games,
two points up. And it's time to do some scoreboard watching tonight. It really is. And I'm never
going to complain about Josh's coverage because he does such a good job. But God cast is so vague.
Aircast, hardcast, rap. What was what was Luzat in? Tell us what what kind of cast. But
yeah, that's a tough loss. But you're right. You look at the way this team had been missing bodies.
The key contributors that had been missing, they kept their heads above water.
Now there are two points up on the New York Islanders. Now it's time to string wins together.
It's time to cross our fingers and hope one of these teams whether it be the Islanders,
the Blue Jackets, whomever finally fall off. Because the pace that all of these teams have
been going at over the past few weeks is absolutely insane. And it's all going to have to come
to a head here in the next few weeks. But you've still got your lead. You've still got your time.
So you can't squander it now. You haven't given yourself margin for error. But you've at least
put yourself in a position where you continue to play solid hockey. Keep your head above water.
This should get you into the postseason. This year's bubble is so much better compared to last year.
Like you look at last year in the East, right? Muncherel made the playoffs. 91 points. The
Devils were throwing the Metro. That was 91 points. That got them in last year. It's giving
away more than 91 this time. There's a very real chance the cutoff this year is 99 points.
It could be 100, honestly. That's the way it is going right now. It could be even 100,
which you just don't see very often. It goes to show how just competitive these races are,
especially in the Eastern Conference. So again, points throughout a premium, very precious this
time of year. We'll have to see if the penguins can keep stacking some of these wins together.
And of course, scoreboard watch tonight. You want to root for Carolina, to beat Columbus,
you want to root for Toronto, to try to do the penguins a solid and beat the islanders want to
see. It's going to be harder now that Austin Matthews is now out for the rest of the season.
But that's going to do it for the second segment. Coming up to end the show,
Eric Carlson has gone full nuclear mode since Cindy Crosby went down and Pat and I got to talk
about it. But before we get to that, we have to tell you about our final sponsor,
which is Robin Hood. One of the sports were traded like markets. Now you can put your sports
IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not you against the house.
It's you participating in a live market. You can buy or sell your positions live all game long.
You use your sports knowledge. In the moments that matter, Robin Hood prediction markets
changes the game. It's people moving the action. So when momentum shifts, you can move along with it.
I always knew the game, but never on a dynamic way to apply that knowledge. Now I can actually take part
live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator. Play by play you decide.
Trade every play with Robin Hood now available across the US. Download the Robin Hood app right now
to begin. All right, we're back here on the Tuesday edition of the Lockdown Penguins podcast.
I one of your host Hunter Hodes joined by my coach, Patrick and Pat Eric Carlson has been
unbelievable all year for the penguins. His game has been on bath salts, especially
for the last couple of weeks without Cindy Crosby. Again, and I said about a week ago on the show,
I felt that weekend when Gina Cobb and him went off. I felt they were the two best players on the ice.
I think Carlson has been the overall best player since Crosby went down for the penguins.
He is doing it all, whether it's at five on five, the power play or the penalty kill. He has been
absolutely spectacular for the penguins. That past spring, Anthony Mantha for his goal was
simply disgusting. I don't really know what else you can say. He has 13 points, three of those
are goals in his last nine games. This has been unbelievable to watch. Damien says unlocked him
ways that we really hadn't seen under Mike Sullivan. I still pushed back on some of the fans that
were really unhappy with him when Sully was here because he was still doing a big part of
generating offense for the penguins. It was just that, you know, the team was also just simply
not very good. But now you're seeing Eric Carlson when he has even better coaching around him.
Damien has fully unlocked his game here and he has been a revelation this season. But especially
the last couple of weeks, tremendous stuff from him. And I hope we get to see him in the playoffs.
I mean, I said it back in his first two years as a penguin. He was a victim of unrealistic
expectation. His Norris year scoring 100 plus points was a genuine outlier. You look at his career
from the time he broke into the league in 0910. He averages around 50 to 70 points a year,
especially when he really starts to hit his stride. I should rebut that. It's about 40 to 60
ish range is where he ends up. But he had one season of 101, one season of 82, one season of 78.
But he is just one of those players that you put unrealistic expectations on him. He doesn't
meet him. You think he's not playing well. He played fine enough under Mike Sullivan. Was he good?
Was he great? No, he was fine. Now, under Dan Muse, he has been electric. He is arguably,
and I say this knowing full well who was on the penguins this year. He very much is the team MVP
right now. He has been that good. He has been their number one defenseman. He has played
extremely well. And as soon as Crosby and then Malkin went down with him, he just jumped into
the captain's chair and guided them through this. And last night, it would have been a real easy
game for Eric Carlson to get exposed because Colorado plays an unbelievably uptempo style and
they cheat a lot to offense. And that can expose an Eric Carlson. He was not good, not just good
offensively. Carlson was good defensively too last night. He played a really good all-around
game against a team where if he would have had a rough night, I don't think any of us would have
gone Carlson, what are you doing? It would have been like, yeah, it's Colorado. We get it. But
he was the best player on the ice last night in a game with that much talent.
I mean, did you see his interview before the game with Eric Johnson when he was like, oh crap,
here we go. When he sees Nathan McKinnon coming down the ice, I think that's how every player reacts
when they see Nate coming down just with his burst of speed. But even with a game, you know,
with Nate Mac, you know, Kaelma Carr, especially who I still think is the best offensive on the planet,
you know, you can make a legit argument that Carlson was the best player on the ice last night.
Sure, the goal that he scored was a little bit of a, you know, lucky bounce. But outside of that,
his playmaking was superb. His decision-making was great. His gap control was really good.
He is just playing in a leap brand of hockey right now. He's one point away from his 50th
of the season. Remember, last year Pat finished with only 53 points last year. I think he is going
to break that by the end of the season. The year before doubt the penguins finished with 56.
I think he is going to hit 60 plus by the end of this season. He continues to be, again,
just fantastic for this team. I'm just running out of things to say because of just how
a lead he's been. That's what it comes down to. I mean, your bold prediction for this season
with him was 70 plus points. I'm getting there. And I'm close with Novak as well. You are
Novak who is 20 goals. He's at 15. You're very close on this. You know, Carlson is at 49 points.
The rate he's going, he's going to hit 70 just because in the last five games, he's got nine points.
Like that's a pretty damn good pace. And Tommy Novak, again, it was another good game from him
as well. Last night, I mean, everybody was played really well last night. And I wanted to add this
at the end, not a hard break on the Eric Carlson talk because, like you said, it's getting to the point
now where I'm just running out of things to say. So I might as well move on to something that I do
have something to say about. If Blake Lizard is out for any period of time, my first call to
Wilkes Bear is Rutger McGrory. And I'm putting him on the fourth line because the way he has played
in the NHL, the way he has played since he's had his opportunities, no, he's not going to replace
Blake Lizard. But that's a good stop gap. If you ask me the way the kid plays, he's tenacious,
he's physical, he's checks, checks a lot of the boxes. Blake Lizard does. And as much as I've,
as much as I like his talent, Covenin's going to need some time back in the NHL. He's, he's really
struggling. Yeah, I think McGrory is more of a finished product right now than Covenin. And they're
both not finished products yet. Obviously, I just think the player that's closer is McGrory.
McGrory's further along. Yeah, he is. And you know, I think based on what I've seen so far at
the NHL level between the two players, I think McGrory is the better player. And I think he deserves
to be rewarded. Now, Sid is still getting close to returning. We'll have to see if it's on Wednesday
in Raleigh or Pat. I won't be surprised that they hold him out until the weekend, get a couple
days off. You fly home and get a full practice day on Friday. Wouldn't be surprised if they just
say, Hey, take one more game off. We're two and one and one on this road trip. We want you at 110%
health because I know I've seen some takes out there, Pat. Why isn't he back yet? Why isn't he back yet?
Guys, they're not going to rush their best player. Like these games are too meaningful for them to
just rush him back and not have him be fully healthy. And then say he tweaks the injury again.
And then has to go back on IR. They're going to make sure that he is as healthy as he can be
before he returns now. They also don't need to make the desperation move. They've kept their heads
above water. They've played well enough where like I said a little bit ago, they haven't given
themselves a crazy amount of cushion, but they've given themselves enough that they can look at
Sid and go, no, we want all of Sid back. We don't want some of Sid back. Right. And if it's Wednesday,
great. That's awesome. That's a huge game down in Raleigh. But if it's Saturday against Winnipeg,
Sunday against Carolina, I'll take that too. So he's getting closer, but they're taking their time
as they should. He is too important of a player to, you know, mess up, mess this thing up. That's
just not going to happen here. And I'll say this just to end the show. Penguins are now two in one
and one on this gauntlet of a road trip, five out of eight points. No matter what happens on Wednesday,
I think five points on the trip was a reasonable expectation. And they have already hit it going into
Raleigh. That said, go in that game on Wednesday. I really want them to win that game because here's
the thing. You don't want to have a letdown after this win. Yeah. And this isn't me trying to put
unrealistic or burdensome expectations on the penguins, but you just walked into the best team in
the league's building beat the crap out of them. And I know that Raleigh is a house of horrors,
but you need to win that game in Raleigh to show everybody, yeah, what we did in Denver was not
a fluke. We are here where a team you need to be talking about, where a team you need to be on
the lookout for. Yeah. And I do think more people around the league, just on a national level,
should be talking more about the penguins after this win against the avalanche, but they weren't
going to do it now. Not sure when they everyone, maybe if they make the playoffs, but I'm not sure.
All I know is is that this is a damn good hockey team right now. And we'll have to see if they
can finish this off because again, we really want this team again, the playoffs to give you all
playoff content. But that's going to do it for today's episode of the Lockdown penguins podcast.
Thank you all so much. Take the time to listen to slash watch this one Pat and I will be back with
a fresh episode for you all on Wednesday previewing the game down in Raleigh. And of course,
giving you our picks for warrior helmet Wednesday for the last week, the team MVP. So for Patrick
I am Hunter Hodes. Thank you all so much tuning in. We appreciate it. We'll be back on Wednesday,
especially now that my dog is going nuts at the end of the episode.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins
