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The Penguins will head off on their toughest road trip of the season, and it begins in a place they have not won since 2018. Hunter and Patrick begin the show, taking a look at the Penguins’ lineup they’ll take to Raleigh tonight to face the Carolina Hurricanes. (1:15) Without some key pieces, who needs to step up, and how can they find a win? They also get into their keys to victory for the Penguins, what they have to do to counter Carolina’s attack, and more! (10:54) Finally, they look at Carolina’s roster, which is once again incredibly deep, but the Penguins could get a break with who will be starting in net. (21:23)
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Penguins will go for their first win in Raleigh since the 2018-19 season on Tuesday night
and Pat and I are going to get you all set for that big game against the hurricanes right
after this.
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Hello and welcome back to the Tuesday edition of the Lockdown Penguins podcast.
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Pat, the biggest road trip of the season is finally here.
The penguins will get underway tonight in Raleigh against the Carolina hurricanes who are
in first place in the metropolitan division.
The penguins have played them once this year and they crushed Carolina at home.
A five to one win earlier this season that came back on December 30th right before the
calendar flip.
And the penguins are up three nothing after the first period and then they ended up winning
five to one two goals.
Anthony Manta, Justin Brzo also scored so to Tommy Novak and Cindy Crosby and Pat speaking
of Cindy Crosby.
He is on the road trip.
He did participate in the morning skate today, but it does not appear that he is going
to be returning just yet.
He was skating on an extra line with of getting Malcolm who will be serving the third game
of his five game suspension tonight.
And Kevin Hayes who apparently is day to day now Pat, even though he didn't play
the last game.
So I'm not really sure where he got hurt.
We'll get into more of the injuries a bit later on in the show.
But the lines for today, Dan News, switch things up ever so slightly.
You do have Igor Chinakov with Ricardo Raquel and Ryan Rust up on that top line.
Very deserved for Chinakov.
He was outstanding this past weekend.
He was the best forward on the ice on Sunday against Boston.
He very much deserves to be on that top line.
And you know, I've been critical of Raquel at center.
I have seen him take at least a few strides for.
They're not big strides, of course, because he's going to go back to wing once it
across me.
It does return.
But he has been playing at least a little bit better in that top line center spot.
Mantha with no back in Delic Covenant on the second line, Soder Blom with Kindle and
Avery Hayes on the third line.
And then Connor Dewar Blake was on in the fourth line defensively Parker Walterspoon, Eric
Carlson, Ryan Shea, Chris Teng, Ilya Saloviov and Connor Clifton and Stuart Skinner
will start for the penguins tonight.
Pat.
And I'm sure people noticed there are some names that aren't listed there, Sam Gerard.
He is day-to-day with an injury just in Brazil.
He was day-to-day, Pat.
He is now week to week.
I discuss Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves.
He's not out there for personal reasons, but he is available for tonight.
So Pat, the penguins going through the injury bug once again.
It wouldn't be a Pittsburgh penguin season if we didn't suddenly have a rash of injuries.
It's just the penguins experience top to bottom.
But you brought up something and we'll obviously talk a little bit more in depth about both
the injuries in this matchup as a whole, but let's stick with the penguins internally
right now.
I was having this conversation with a friend last night about the center problem right
now.
They referenced the Philly game and said, oh, what are you doing with that third period
late face off?
You got Ricard Rickelle out there taking a draw when you got these guys.
Here's the thing, man, penguins haven't been a good face off team this year.
They have consistently been in the bottom half of the league and face off percentage.
So I understand the gripe, and this isn't even excusing anything that's happened since
Ricard Rickelle has taken over center duties, but the thing I'm looking at lately is this
isn't a good face off team.
Just become more of a problem since Sid has left the lineup because Sid is pretty good
at them.
But on the whole, this is not a very good face off team and you look at tonight's game.
You've got Carolina who is 15th and then you've got the penguins at 21st.
So you might have an opportunity to change on that tonight.
But anyway, looking at the lines, you're absolutely right.
Chinatown is earning more ice time.
He has been one of the penguins best forward since becoming a penguin, just playing his
ass off that overtime goal does not happen against Boston without Chinatown's effort.
Brian Rust, I mean, the guy is trying his hardest to put this team on his back with some
of these absences, the way he's working, the way he's playing, the way he's leading.
So I do think in a way, it's not the worst idea for Dan Muse to shake these lines up
a little bit, especially with injury.
And the first half of the game against Boston wasn't the most successful night.
So you might as well try something new, see what comes out and you're playing against
the team you haven't beaten in their home barn for eight years.
This is kind of a big game.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, you're going up against the top team in the division, one of the top teams in
the conference.
And, you know, as for the lines overall, it's not going to be too much longer.
Sydney Crosby, obviously, was out there for the morning skate.
And I know Pat, it's technically not called a practice, but I'm calling it that for this
one for the morning skate.
This is now his second time joining the team for a practice slash morning skate.
I don't think it's going to be too much longer.
I think they're going to get him up to speed a little bit more.
Maybe he returns on Thursday and Vegas, maybe Saturday and Utah.
But you're going to see where Kel go back to wing here pretty soon.
I always felt Tuesday was a little bit more wishful thinking for Crosby to come back.
I'm thinking more Thursday, Saturday.
That's the two games I would circle for him.
It felt it felt like outside shot for tonight, unlikely, but not impossible.
But the reality probably was later this week, he would return.
Yeah.
And he by all the tens and purposes by the reporters that are there, he looks pretty
good.
So again, I don't think it's going to be too much longer.
I'm getting malk and also skated today.
This will be the third game of his five games as pension.
He'll also miss Thursday's game and then Saturday's game before he's eligible to return.
Next week.
And then Pat, as I mentioned, Stewart Skinner getting the start in goal very deserved.
They're just going to keep going back and forth because they can.
And both goalies have been fairly solid in most of their starts.
He also started that game against the Hurricanes back on December 3, only allowing one goal.
So totally good, allowing him to start here.
And I also want to see him, I'm trying not to be too picky, just his game dipped a little
bit against the flyers this weekend.
So I want to see him read out a little bit here.
Both goalies didn't have a great weekend against Philadelphia in Boston.
But there were a lot of other issues surrounding the team in those two games that we didn't
really have to worry ourselves about what was going on with the goal tending.
So yeah, I'm with you on that that Skinner's got to be a little bit better.
Carolina was his first win as a penguin.
And it was an underrated tough night for him.
The score said five to one because the penguins offense went off, but it was a very classic
Carolina Hurricanes game.
They took every opportunity they could to shoot.
They worked at low to high, they had your point shots, you had your traffic in front.
Skinner got tested quite a bit like you will when you play the Carolina Hurricanes.
And he was equal to the task for the entire game.
So I'm totally good with news continuing the rotation, kind of to bring this full circle.
I'm fine with him continuing the rotation because it does feel like every time one of these
guys starts to pull away, the other has a good performance.
And when one of them kind of falls back back to earth, so does the other.
It kind of feels like they're tethered together.
So at this point, you have to keep the rotation going because this weekend could have been
a great opportunity for Skinner and or she loves to really separate themselves from
the other neither of them did right.
I mean, I like they're just going to keep pushing each other.
And so the end of this season and potentially into the playoffs.
If this team does get in and by the way, speaking of that Columbus did lose an overtime on
Monday, meaning the penguins are now four points up on the jackets and over chance to
potentially make it six tonight with a win over Carolina and the jackets potential loss
to the Tampa Lightning.
That's the second half of back to back for Columbus.
And you're going up against a very pissed off Tampa Bay team that kind of got pushed
around by the Sabers.
I don't think they're going to be happy applying this Columbus team.
So there is another big opportunity for the penguins to potentially separate themselves
even further tonight in the standings.
But that's going to do it for this first segment coming up in the second segment.
We're going to look at this hurricane's team and give you all some keys to victory to try
and get that first win in Raleigh again since the 2018-19 season that's coming up right
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All right, we're back here on the Tuesday edition of the Lockdown Penguins podcast.
I'm one of your host Hunter Hodes joined by my coach, Patrick and Pat and typical Carolina
fashion.
They have some of the best underlying numbers in the league.
They don't call them a Carolina courses for no reason.
They are top in the league in terms of shot attempts for 60 minutes.
They are second and expected goal share at five on five and they are six and actual goals.
So again, their underlying metrics are good and they're finishing a lot of their chances.
And oh, yeah, by the way, they're borderline top 10 in goals against this year.
This is a very good defensive team.
There's a plenty of reasons why this team is a bona fide sound like a contender.
And you've seen why throughout the year, they are deep.
They are fast.
They forecheck hard.
They stifle you defensively.
And at least when they're playing Bren and Busy and not Freddie Anderson, who is going tonight,
it'll be Freddie Anderson, which I do think is better news for the penguins.
I say that now, until he potentially shuts them out.
But Freddie Anderson has not been good this year.
Only has nine wins and 25 starts.
Eight seventy three savers engine of three point one six goals against average.
Those last two numbers are the highest marks on the team of all three logo.
He's that have played now turns up Brandon Busy.
He has 25 wins in three games played with basically a nine hundred a percentage of two point three
goals against average, but he is not playing tonight.
But in terms of success against Carolina, I say it all the time whenever the penguins play them.
You have to box out their forwards when they're in around the net.
It's a lot of cycle point shot repeat looking for those deflections.
If you box out those fours, you'll have a better chance of stopping those second or third chance opportunities.
The hurricanes like to get obviously every shift for them.
It's like game seven in the final.
That's just because of that's the way their head coach played.
Rob Brindemore.
So this is going to be a tricky game.
The penguins have had trouble generating against this team in the past, especially on the road.
I'm curious to see if that success on December 30 can translate over to this game on the road.
Also, sometimes this can be tricky for teams to have the hurricanes just had their Alberta trip.
First game back home.
Sometimes that can be a little weird for the team that just comes back from a long road trip.
So we'll have to see if that plays a part tonight.
But the depth is going to really have to step up for the penguins at two points tonight.
There's actually a lot working in the penguins favor for this game tonight.
I say that knowing full well.
I probably just Dan Housen cursed them.
But at the end of the day, you're right.
They came back from their Alberta trip.
It's their first game home.
That's an adjustment.
They're playing Freddie Anderson, who is for all intents and purposes.
They're back up goalie.
And there's a lot of room for a let down here because the penguins all,
and I look at this from the Carolina perspective of there's no Crosby.
There's no Malcolm.
There's no Justin Brzo.
Like this is a penguins team that let's be completely real without 87 without 71 without 16.
It's not that impressive or roster on paper.
It's not that great of a team.
They know how to play their system.
They know how to play very well and they can work through it.
There's talent.
But when you take those three out, it's a difficult, it's a different kind of team.
So for the penguins tonight, you have an opportunity to really take advantage of a Carolina team
that might be overlooking you.
And the other thing, I have my eyes squarely on the penguins defense tonight.
I thought overall they had a solid day against Boston.
There were some hiccups here and there.
But I thought you look at the pairings, Watherspoon Carlson, obviously been good all year
long.
Shayla Tang.
They've got a track record of being pretty good.
Saloviav Clifton interested to see what that brings.
But I do think Saloviav earned himself another look after playing against Boston.
He was real good with Gerard and it really stinks that Gerard got hurt during that game
in his day to day because I liked that pair.
I've been I talked a lot about that on Monday, man.
I thought Gerard was moving the puck with a lot more authority.
Thought he was skinny better.
I just thought Saloviav as a partner just fits so much better.
And you saw that like Gerard with a tang was just maximum chaos.
And I was fine with them trying it.
You could tell one game in that it really was not going to work.
So I liked that pair.
Stinks that Gerard is hurt now only day to day.
But curious to see now how Saloviav does with Clifton who, firstly, I think Clifton has
been a bit better as a late, but when this whole defense is healthy, I think you're just
going to see Clifton and Saloviav keep going back and forth, kind of just going blow for
blow with one another.
But but to finish what I was saying there, you brought this up the way the Carolina Hurricanes
play.
They work at low to high.
They look for the point shots.
They look for rebounds.
They look for deflections.
This Penguin's defense at least as of late has not been very good at clearing the front
of the net.
And when you play the Carolina Hurricanes, they love offense from the front of the net.
They love generating those chances from net front scrambles, from chaos, tips, deflections,
screens.
So these, the Penguin's defenseman tonight are really going to have to up their game
in front of Stuart Skinner or it could potentially be a really, really long night in Raleigh.
Yeah, I'm glad that you brought up a net front defense or something that you and I talked
about on the Monday episode as well.
It was JV level throughout this weekend, especially against Boston where I, all the
penguins were the better team throughout, but they were not helping Artichie loves
out at all.
And yeah, did she let us give up a goal or two that I think he would want back?
Absolutely.
I mean, you and I very much talked about the post not go and why he should not have misplayed
that behind the net.
There's another one where he was just losing his net completely.
Those two goals can't happen.
Outside of that, I still don't think they helped she loves out enough.
And I can say the same thing during the flyers game with Stuart Skinner.
So that also very much has to improve another area pat, got to see more from the power
playstyle.
I know, Crosby's not back yet, but he's close, Balkan.
So as a few games left on his suspension, I know you're still working out.
The King's a little bit with this new look unit, but I want to see a bit more consistency.
I get it, man, you take away that elite playmaking and that elite vision from Crosby.
The one timer that Geno has also his elite playmaking as well.
Things look different, but I just felt throughout this weekend as a whole, it was a bit
too stagnant, you know, outside of really that five on three goal from Igor Chinacombe
and the really nice passing play from the second unit against the flyers game.
I just didn't see enough from that year.
The penalty kill for the most part was very good.
Listen, I'll say this much for the power play.
With where we're at right now, injury wise and with the way the lineup is, if the lines
from morning skate are to be believed, your top power play unit at this point should
just be the first line in the first pairing, Chinacov, Raquel, Rust, Watherspoon, Carlson,
let Carlson distribute, let Carlson go bombs away, give Chinacov a spot for being the
trigger man on the wall, Rust work down low, let Raquel work in front and just go.
And I was like, you need to try to run that power play through Brian Rust.
I was seeing way too much of that this weekend, and look, I love Brian Rust.
I think he's been a phenomenal penguin throughout his career.
I don't think you need to be running your power play through him.
I just think that's a mistake.
My opinion, I would put Kendo on that top unit over Watherspoon, that's just my take
though.
Uh, yeah.
I also just, I look at it this way.
I said this last week when we were getting ready for everything for this week and this
month, when you don't have 71, when you don't have 87, when you don't have your best players,
your most, your top talented players, when you get to special teams, especially the power
play, you don't need to reinvent the wheel.
You don't need hell.
That's the wrong phrase.
I shouldn't say reinvent the wheel.
You don't need to try to replace them.
You just need to adjust, you just need to go make it K ISS, keep it simple, stupid.
Just put out your three best forwards that you got going and your two best defenseman
you got going, tell them where to go and just say, we are going bare.
It is shots, screens, deflections, whatever you can get and just try to score.
You don't want to try to reinvent your umbrella.
You don't want to try to reinvent whatever system or whatever you're running honest to God.
You almost have to treat it like beer league, just put your five best out and try to score.
And again, for me, that involves Kindle being on their overwilderspoon, Carlson, obviously
yes, he's going to quarterback it, Raquel and Russ, I don't think you're going anywhere.
Yeah, you have to have Gina Cobb there as a tournament.
I mean, you saw that release pad to get the penguins back in that game against Boston.
That thing was in and out of the net, so it has to felt like a lightning bolt striking
the ground.
His release is just something to behold.
So that's the unit I would have at least for the power play.
And I just still want to see Todd Nelson adjust a little bit more before Crosby is set
to return.
Hopefully later this week and then Morgan, obviously returns next Monday against Colorado.
But that's going to do it for this second segment coming out to end the show.
Pat and I are going to look at the Carolina lineup, players to watch, all that good stuff.
And that's coming up right after this.
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All right, we're back here on the Tuesday edition of the locked on Hanglands podcast.
I'm one of your host Hunter Hodes joined by my co's Patrick and Pat.
Let's go over the lineup for the hurricanes because as I said, man, it is a very deep
group.
The top line, such a combo, Sebastian Aho, who I think is one of the more underrated
centers in the league and Seth Jarvis, Jarvis was on team Canada, Aho was on team Vinland
and he was fantastic.
He has 23 goals and 65 points and 63 games, especially to come of his almost had a point
per game this year with 55 points and then Seth Jarvis.
He has been really good.
He leads the team in goals of 27, also has 52 points, Nick Eagler's 20 goals and 50 points
this year his first season with the hurricanes after coming over from the Winnipeg Jets.
He is on that third line, the quote unquote, shut down line with Jordan Martinook and Jordan
Stahl.
Their second line, Logan Stan Kogan, who they got from the Miko Ranton and deal with Taylor
Hall and then Jackson Blake, or their young players who is closing in on a 20 goal season.
He has 39 points this season defensively, man, Jacob Slaven, who he has a very legit
argument as the best defensive defenseman in the league.
It's him and Gustav Forzling to me, 1A1B.
You saw how great Slaven is at the Olympics when he is healthy.
He is elite at shutting down chances in his own zone, suppressing shots, all that could
stop.
It is very hard to get chances when he is out there.
He is so much fun to watch when he is doing his thing.
He is with Jalen Chapfield.
They have Sean Walker on the second pair with Ciondred Miller, who the hurricanes acquired
last season with the Rangers and then they have Alex Nikeschen, who was one of their top
prospects.
He is getting a lot of minutes now for them.
So again, Pat, this is a very deep team.
They can run four lines against anyone.
They have three solid pairs with Busy plays.
I think he is the better goalie.
I still think they are one elite forward short.
That's going to be the big thing for me.
How do you go against some of the big dogs in the playoffs?
We've seen that.
You're after year wear.
Okay.
You can win a round or two, but you go up against a team like Tampa or Florida that has
better big dogs than you do.
You get crushed.
So that still get to be the biggest question for me when it comes to the hurricanes.
This might be a weird take.
I'm going to get Buffalo Bills vibes playoffs when I think about them, but still in terms
of tonight, very, very good hockey team.
And this is going to be a, as we've been saying a lot of episode, a very tough challenge
for the penguins.
Penguins come into this game, a 16 game point streak against Metro teams, Pat.
I did find it funny to your point that Brenda more kind of like hinted in, in, in
complained that the hurricanes didn't make any big moves at the deadline this year.
Because buddy, your team has gone big game hunting the last two years.
You got Gensel and then you got Ranton in, but that didn't work out.
And at that point, if I'm the Carolina GM, I'm just going, every time I get you a big
gun, you fall short like so show me you can do it with this group.
And then in the off season, I'll go big game hunting again.
But I, I, I did find that funny.
But back to the point at hand, yeah, man, this is a good team.
This is a real good team.
Like even with those comments, I just talked about like, it's funny how deep this team is
that I had to go, oh, that's right, they have Taylor Hall.
Yeah.
That's how deep this team is.
Like granted, he's not having the best season, 35 points and 63 games, but he's got
some hard miles on him after all these years.
But 35 points, 14 goals.
That's nice production to have in your middle six.
And Sebastian Ajo, damn good player always has been, I don't want to do the annoying hockey
media thing of like, you know, it's a shame he plays in Carolina.
If you played somewhere with more attention, he'd be even bigger star.
We as hockey fans got to do a better job lifting up these players because Ajo is really
good and deserves his flower.
Awesome.
The one thing that I have been really, really impressed with Carolina.
And I think some of it is the organization and the coaching staff.
The other half of it is the player himself, Shane Gostaspar.
Talk about a redemption arc, man, 43 points in 45 games, 11 goals to go with it.
I am old enough to remember when this guy broke on to the scene with the flyers and his
rookie season and into his sophomore season looked like he was going to be arguably the
best defenseman in the league.
And then he fell off.
The guy deserves a lot of credit for sticking with it because there was a time where annoying
as it was for us as penguins fans for him to get hyped is the next big defenseman.
The hype was real.
He was that good.
And the fact that he is still doing it and he has had second and third acts in the NHL
is a credit to the player.
It's a credit to the organization and it's somebody that the penguins are going to have
to be extremely cognizant of tonight against the hurricanes.
Well, he is, he is listed as day to day right now.
So I'm actually not sure if he's playing.
So time.
Yeah.
I should have added that he if he is in the lineup, but again, he is been really, really
good this year.
I agree.
He has.
After that, he's been one of their best defensemen.
I actually do have the tweet up here for one of the hurricanes reporters.
Walt, he says he doesn't know.
It does not look like that.
Nick Deloria is going to debut and he does confirm no Shane Gossiver tonight either.
He has a lower body injury.
So it was nice of you to wax poetic about him because it's true.
He has been good.
But the penguins.
It does not look like they will be seeing him tonight as he is dealing with a lower
body injury.
Carolina's special teams 11th and power play.
So a little bit of a test tonight for the penguin's second right penalty kill.
And then Carolina's penalty kill, which usually is one of the penalty kills that can run
a power kill with how aggressive it is.
It's 14th in the league.
So I have to see how the penguins power play goes up against that kill.
The pat, I must you have anything else to add for this preview.
I did want to add for what you just said about the power kill because the penguins kind
of fell into this trap against the flyers a little bit.
The flyers ran a modified power kill.
They were very aggressive.
They were very quick to the point of attack.
We didn't get to this because it was a long weekend and we had a ton to go over.
But part of the reason that the power play was so poor, especially in regulation against
the flyers was the penguins did not keep it simple and move the puck when you go up against
the power kill like say Carolina.
You almost have to mirror what Carolina does at five on five where you rely on a little
bit of cycling, a little bit of low to high because they're going to be aggressive.
And you've got to catch them off the puck.
You've got to catch them over committing.
You've got to catch them trying to go after the guy at the point to spring a two on one.
And then you are going to get those mismatches down low, which will open things up for scoring
opportunities.
For tonight to kind of really put a bow on the power play stuff I have been talking
about.
It needs to be so borderline boring and unfancy because if you can counter that power kill
with that kind of simplicity, it'll bring you some success.
Y'all with you and just one more thing to add on Pat, you got to have quick decisions
here.
You can't be, you know, messing around at the point, trying to play patty cake, making
these slow decisions.
So puck movement going to be very important to try and beat a power kill like that.
But I think that's going to do it for the Tuesday edition of the Locked on Penguins podcast.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash walks this one Pat and I
will be back with a fresh episode of you all on Wednesday, recapping this game against
Carolina and of course giving you our picks for Warrior helmet Wednesday.
So for Patrick Damp, I am Hunter Hodeys.
Thank you all so much tuning in.
We appreciate it.
We'll be back on Wednesday.
Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Locked on podcast network.
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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
