The playoffs are near…

The Penguins absolutely STOMPED the Panthers over the weekend, and now ending their playoff drought is in their grasp. @hunterhodies.bsky.social and I recap the games and break down the clinching scenario on Locked On Penguins! Tap in here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eupp...

For the time being, the Flyers are in third place in the Metro after Martone scored the OT winner

Can we sim the rest of this game? What a dominant performance. They understood the assignment coming into it.

That was by far the best period Girard has played as a Penguin. He was a one-man zone entry on the tying goal and continued to lead the charge out of his own zone when the Penguins were hemmed in.

I’m running out of things to say about Chinakhov’s shot. That thing is a laser

This crazy lady is 6 today! Happy birthday Teddy!

Check this out: Detroit Dead Things. Penguins with a very business-like win, and they're one step closer to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. @hunterhodies.bsky.social and I break down the win, talk about playoff scenarios, and give out our weekly MVP. Come hang: youtu.be/vXIhkLPHXx4?...

Elmer Soderblom’s nickname is now The Sherminator after Rickard Rakell called him General Sherman. I don’t make the rules

Raise your hand if you thought the Penguins would have 95% playoff odds with two weeks left back in October.

The Penguins finished the March gauntlet with an 8-6-3 record, which is better than what I expected, considering the injury situation. They now have 6 of their last 7 games against non-playoff teams.

4/4 points to start the most important week of the season. I think they probably need 3-4 more wins to get in but the odds should be around 92% after tonight. Excellent game from all the skaters tonight

GUINS WIN: The Penguins CRUSHED the Islanders on Monday night. @hunterhodies.bsky.social and I break down the win, discuss if it's Murashov time in Pittsburgh, and get you set for Pens-Wings tonight. Come hang: youtu.be/vcYSZubWOHw?...

That is a massive win to start out a very important week. They bullied the Islanders for most of that game, despite Silovs being really shaky in the second. However, everyone responded and started defending a lot better after that third goal against.

The Penguins scored 15 goals in three games on the likely Vezina Trophy winner. They had Sorokin seeing ghosts this year.

Biggest third period of the season coming up here. Everything needs to be simple and direct. The zone exits have to be clean. Think about the Detroit game back in January.

I liked the second half of that period a lot more than the first. They still need to get more traffic in front of Sorokin or he’s going to keep gobbling these shots up.

Alexa, play Motorhead's "The Game." Tonight's Pens-Isles game is the Penguins' biggest game in two years. If you're not nervous, you're not living. Here's a preview for it, including some top storylines and lineup notes: thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsbur...

Here we go. The biggest week for the Penguins in years. Islanders tonight, Red Wings tomorrow. Also a talk about officiating and a loss to Dallas. Come hang with me @hunterhodies.bsky.social Tap in: youtu.be/witmXOUvlMQ?...

@hunterhodies.bsky.social and I have a MASSIVE Locked On Penguins for you today! We recap another shootout W, the Dallas matchup tomorrow, and who gets credit for this season's success so far. Tap in: youtu.be/cLHdLNqO6PI?...

Talk about a lightning strike. Tonight I caught what might be one of the tallest bolts I've ever shot in #Pittsburgh, where you can see the entire thing, even where it exited the cloud from. Absolutely amazing to see in person, and one of my new favorite storm images.

Erik Karlsson has played almost 235 minutes at 5v5 this month. In those minutes, Karlsson has been on the ice for: - 54.4% of the shot attempts - 55.1% of the expected goals - 54.6% of the scoring chances - 57% of the high-danger chances. Special player.

That’s the Penguins’ first win in Ottawa since Feb of 2022. Just a gigantic second point to get, considering the standings and the injury situation. They fully deserved that win

I simply don’t understand how Ullmark is doing this

Outside of the PK, I liked that period a lot from the Penguins. Ottawa loves to stack three at the blue line and clog everything up, and I thought the Penguins did a great job of getting through that, getting some good chances.

Gonna be saying this a lot over the next week, but tonight will be the biggest Penguins games in two years. Here's a preview for it, which includes likely line combos, who to watch out for, etc: thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsbur...

Pens vs Sens Thursday another huge game moneypuck.com/preview.htm?...

Teddy isn’t having it today

The road to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is often a bumpy one, and the Penguins find themselves in one of those stretches, so can it be fixed, and will they make it? @hunterhodies.bsky.social and I dive into that after a tough loss. Come hang: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaDj...

The Penguins actually won a shootout and then followed it up by no-showing against Carolina. There were bad calls, dives, and a whole lot more. @hunterhodies.bsky.social and I talk about it all! Tap in: youtu.be/m7L0yKIf12s?...

The NHL is just trolling everybody with these goalie interference and player safety rulings. Embarrassing league. The arrogance of everybody involved makes it even worse.

Also I try to keep it cordial on here but Taylor Hall is a massive pussy. Biggest diver in the league.

This is one of those very and I mean VERY rare no-shows this season. They have nothing.

I am very happy that this is the final game against Carolina (unless these two teams play each other in the playoffs). My water boiling for pasta is a more enjoyable experience than watching this slop.

Seeing a lot of the same issues that plagued them yesterday. There's no resistance at the blue line. They're not handling the puck properly. Can't generate any offensive zone time.

Erik Karlsson was the best player on the ice once again and it wasn’t close. It reminds me of 2017 Karlsson when he carried that Senators team to G7 of the ECF on one leg. What a special player.

Scoreboard watch update: - Blue Jackets win in regulation, are now third in the Metro - Islanders lose in regulation and are out of a playoff spot - Bruins win in regulation - Red Wings win in regulation

Ash and I just did our food tasting for the wedding and I think I’m in a food coma.

From a pure entertainment standpoint, last night was probably the game of the year. That third period was just bonkers. I know probably every PIT fan is stressed as hell, but this race is so awesome. Meaningful hockey is the shit.

He’s baaaaaaaack

Erik Karlsson masterclass

No matter what happens on Wednesday, this is already a VERY successful road trip for the Penguins. They’ll get at least 5/10 points, which I felt was a reasonable expectation going in. This was only the third time all year that the Avalanche lost back-to-back in regulation.

The one big thing I really liked about this performance was the way the Penguins simplified in the final 40 minutes. They knew they couldn’t get away with the way they played in the first frame and played smart, clean hockey the rest of the way.

Clifton saved Malkin from himself there

There are a lot of people in this fanbase who owe Erik Karlsson a big apology lol. He’s on bath salts this year.

The way the Avs come at you in waves is something to behold. Silovs might see 60 shots by the end of this game lol

The Avs have dominated territorially, but that doesn't matter when the Penguins have scored on almost 70% of their shots so far

There is absolutely zero reason not to extend Evgeni Malkin.

Welcome back, Evgeni Malkin. Shades of 2009 against Cam Ward a bit there.