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00:00:00
Speaker 1: Yo, it's Madden on the X. I'm joined now by Tim Benz from The Trip.
00:00:05
Speaker 2: Mark, you had your trip to California, so why don't you tell us how your trip to California went and how you think it went compared to how the Penguins' trip to California is going so far.
00:00:16
Speaker 1: I think Aerosmith was a lot better than the Penguins' penalty kill at Anaheim, I can tell you that. I have not yet this season blamed coaching much for what's gone wrong. But I wonder about the priorities of the coaching staff when the younger players get marginalized, like McGordy flies to Anaheim and gets scratched. Now, you can make the argument that maybe he's not ready to play after a cross-country flight. Maybe he'll play Wednesday at San Jose. But I do know that Jake Livinovich drove across the state. and got scratched for two home games before the Penguins left on their California trip and Livinovich went back to Wilks without having played an NHL game this season. I also wonder about specialties because... They're not very good, and that ties directly into coaching, too. I was told Mews was a developmental coach, but I see him as a scratch and claw, one game at a time, never looking at the big picture, coach, the way things are going this year. And I can't help but wonder what's being said to him from upstairs or if he's ignoring it. And I can't help but wonder if last year making the playoffs put a taste in his mouth that really doesn't do the Penguins any good right now.
00:01:34
Speaker 2: What about what he's hearing from within the dressing room, too? Do you think he's catering to that?
00:01:38
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think the dressing room might be in a bit of a funk because Dubas reportedly talked to a bunch of agents to ask where their clients might be willing to be traded to. So that might have things a bit discombobulated as well.
00:01:54
Speaker 2: I don't know if that was a bad move by Dubas or if it was with a lot of intentionality for exactly this to happen.
00:02:04
Speaker 1: I don't think it's intentionality for this to happen. I think it was absolutely necessary that he asked these guys about where they want to go because moves got to start getting made. The one thing that I wonder about in terms of the trades he's going to make, I don't know how much of a market there is, literally, for anybody he'd be willing to trade. Maybe Carlson closer to the deadline for a team that wants to– great power play defenseman to come in and put him over the top. But, like, you look at a guy like Ricard Raquel. He's 33, past his prime, not Mike Bossy. How many teams are going to want him? I'm not talking about perceived inadequate return, Kim. I'm talking about teams wanting these guys at all.
00:02:51
Speaker 2: LeTang could probably fall under the same umbrella for a team that needs a defenseman, but they're just not going to move him.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: I can't think of one team that would feel they want Chris Letang in a contract that runs, what, for a couple more years. I just don't see it.
00:03:04
Speaker 2: I mean, I was just thinking about then somebody spinning him somewhere else after that, but you're probably right.
00:03:11
Speaker 1: They waited too long to trade these guys. And by these guys, I mean all of these guys.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: When do we start paying attention to the fact that Sid doesn't have a contract yet?
00:03:21
Speaker 1: It In terms of what? In terms that he doesn't have a contract yet. Well, the end game would be he retires. He's not going to go anywhere. But I think he wanted to see how the team was and where it was going before he committed. And I think you want to see how he'd play after a series of injuries last year. But I don't think he's going to get traded. I don't think he's going to leave via free agency. I don't think he's going to leave Pittsburgh, period. If he does, I wouldn't blame him. I'd actually support it. It might be best for all the parties involved. But I don't think it's going to happen that way.
00:03:55
Speaker 2: Well, if the endgame is he retires, then it sure would be nice to let everybody know that so then that they can trade guys and try to get more prospects in for when Sid is gone next year.
00:04:05
Speaker 1: I don't see how Sid retiring or not affects what Dubas has to do at all. You think he should do it anyway? Absolutely. Sure makes it easier if Sid says he's out the door, though, doesn't it? I don't think it's a matter of easier. I think he's got to do it. Yeah, well, he's got to get support. You know, the interesting guy is Geno. Because Geno has to submit a minuscule, just a three-team list of teams he'd be willing to be traded to as of January. If he doesn't want to go, you know how he beats that, don't you? He lists the three worst teams in the league who would have no reason to trade for Malkin. If he wants to stay here, he can stay here. And I don't think he ever intends to retire. You hear him talking already about playing next year. I think it's going to end bad between him and the Penguins no matter what, which is why it should have ended long ago.
00:04:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, it would be a great irony if Sid retires and Geno and Letang are still here when they kept Geno and Letang around for as long as they did to keep Sid happy.
00:05:04
Speaker 1: Well, they can always tell Geno he just can't play. He's on a one-year deal. Yeah, they could.
00:05:09
Speaker 2: I guess they would at that point then if it came down to it. But I don't know, Mark.
00:05:13
Speaker 1: They would have to at that point. They should have had to already.
00:05:18
Speaker 2: And every now and then they get a game like they did against the Kings where the old guys all get rejuvenated and all have a great game and everybody thinks that there's still something left in their tank and there just isn't.
00:05:28
Speaker 1: Well, it's easy for an old guy to get rejuvenated a game here and there, especially
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a really talented old guy in November. Let's see what's happening in February. Let's see where they are in the standings in February. Heck, probably the same place they are right now. Where are the Steelers going to be in January? I think that depends on what happens Sunday at Cincinnati. I think if they win that game, they win the division. I think if they lose that game, they're very likely just a wild card. I think this is a very cataclysmic game for the short and for the long term. There is a lot on the line.
00:06:03
Speaker 3: I think.
00:06:05
Speaker 2: If you look at what the sixth seed would mean versus the three or the five seed would mean versus the two, that could be a possibility as well. There certainly is a lot, especially, Mark, for a team like the Steelers that hasn't won a playoff game since 2016.
00:06:20
Speaker 1: They managed to win that division, and they're at least the two seed.
00:06:23
Speaker 2: You get the worst wildcard team in from the AFC this year. That should be pretty easy pickings for a team that has home field as the two seed.
00:06:33
Speaker 1: I don't think there's any such thing as easy pickings for a team that's as old as the Steelers are once the playoffs roll around, no matter where it is, no matter who the opponent is. But, yeah, I feel you. I think that would offer the best odds, certainly.
00:06:46
Speaker 2: And, by the way, for people who say, okay, well, if the Steelers lose to the Bengals, it's not that big of a deal because the Steelers have a pretty easy schedule on the backside, easier than we thought it would be. Take a look at the Bengals' schedule. Washington after Pittsburgh, then New Orleans, Cleveland. They do play the Chiefs.
00:07:01
Speaker 1: That's tough. Panthers, Colts, Ravens, and Browns again.
00:07:06
Speaker 2: So, you know, it's pretty easy pickings there, if you want to use that phrase again, for the Bengals the rest of the season after Pittsburgh.
00:07:14
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, I know. I mean, that's why I think this game weighs so heavy, because you get the tiebreakers on top of the lead in the division. So, yeah, it's big. The Bengals had a great game in Spain beating the Falcons. You might say it's only the Falcons, but the Steelers struggled to beat them earlier in the year. Burrow had a big game. Jamar Chase had a huge game. The big factor I wonder, the X factor in this game coming up Sunday, I wonder if Jalen Warren could have a big game against the Bengals again, like he did the last time, over 120 yards. Because the game plan was simple. All they did was run away from Dexter Lawrence. I would assume the Bengals will come up with some kind of antidote for that.
00:07:57
Speaker 2: The big thing the Bengals want to improve is that aspect of their game. The big thing the Steelers want to improve is getting after Burrow.
00:08:04
Speaker 1: He was sacked just one time.
00:08:06
Speaker 2: The pass rush for Pittsburgh has been really good for the most part since then. It's improved as the season has gone along here. And that's the big key, I think, for them in the entirety, Mark, in the second half of the season. It's keeping the pass rush fresh, and that's not just keeping the pass rushers fresh, not just the bodies of Watt and Hayward and Highsmith. I'm talking about the schemes and how they get after the quarterback, how often they blitz, where they're blitzing from, etc.
00:08:33
Speaker 1: No, I agree with all that. You know, I'm on record, Tim, as predicting that they will knock Burrow out of the game Sunday. No special reason, just because the spirit of Kimo von Ohlhoffen and Carson Palmer. And it is amazing with a team that has as many sacks as the Steelers traditionally do. When's the last time they knocked a quarterback out of the game? Even against Cleveland, they concussed Deshaun Watson, but he stayed in the game. They knocked him out of the next week's game.
00:09:00
Speaker 2: I can't remember off the top of my head. I'd have to go back and look at it.
00:09:05
Speaker 1: The fact that you can't remember says a lot, don't it? I guess, yeah.
00:09:10
Speaker 2: But from an injury perspective with the Bengals, that's the biggest reason why, if you look at Cincinnati, you put that asterisk on them all the time. It's if healthy, Cincinnati's the best team in the division. If healthy, Cincinnati can make a Super Bowl run. Well, they're usually not healthy at the wrong spots because they rely on the pass as much as they do. Burrow just drops back too much. Higgins and Chase have the ball thrown their way too much. The way to offset that is a run game. It's not just about keeping the defense off balance for Cincinnati by sprinkling in the run. It's taking reps away from those two receivers getting hit all the time and Burrow dropping back so often.
00:09:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, but like I said, that won't be a factor this Sunday unless it happens mid-game because they're all healthy right now. If you made me pick the 250... to win the af of time it'd be buffalo and cincinnati because they got the two superman quarterbacks and that value was heightened even more in an era where there aren't even very many decent quarterbacks in the nfl.
00:10:15
Speaker 2: One thing that jumps out to to me mark about um what they've got coming up, coming out.
00:10:20
Speaker 1: Of the buy here for the Steelers.
00:10:21
Speaker 2: At six and two, not only this division on the line, but then conference alignment thereafter, should they win the game? Like if, I heard Mike McCarthy on your show, and it was interesting to hear him discuss these three games coming out of the bye as a sequence, a three-game sequence. He talked about the four-game series that they had coming out of the last Cleveland game, and that made a lot of sense to me. It was the three NFC South teams in Cleveland at home. All games they were favored to win. All games they had to win to get themselves in a position to be 6-2. It was refreshing to hear a
coach talk about not just one week at a time, one game at a time, but acknowledging that they look at it the same way some of us do in the media and the fans do. You got to be X, Y, Z in this spot. By the time you get to X, Y, Z game, they were good for them. Now you got this contest coming up against the Bengals followed by the Eagle game on the road. And then the Broncos for black Friday, none of those games feel similar to me at all. So I get McCarthy's point and he's kind of breaking it up into months or breaking it up into segments or whatever, but again, These three games feel very disassociated to me.
00:11:29
Speaker 1: It's not like what they just concluded. First off, Tim, I find Black Friday to be an offensive term. I call it Diversity Friday. Okay, understood. Yeah, you're right, but it is a sequence of games in that they're consecutive. And I think if they come out of this 2-1, it's clear sailing. Anything worse than that, the waters get muddied, and God forbid 0-3. um the the philly game not to look past cincy but the philly game i find very intriguing because that's a good team that's gone in the tank has coaching problems at least that's what the the citizens think in philadelphia and you got uh the quarterback out so it's just uh it that it's it's a bunch of weird games in the rose probably the best way to.
00:12:15
Speaker 2: Put it yeah there's a bunch of non-sequiturs there and I don't think they're done or cooked. My opinion of the Steelers won't change all that much, even if they're 1-2 in this three-game stretch. If they lose to the Bengals, let me put it this way, Mark, especially if they beat the Bengals and they're 1-2, my opinion doesn't change at all because they're still in fine shape to win the division.
00:12:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, you're 1,000% right about that. But there's a part of me that, in the back of my mind, thinks we're overrating the Steelers right now, that the enthusiasm is running amok. I hope that's wrong. It could be right. And this sequence, as McCarthy calls it, might prove that.
00:12:55
Speaker 2: What else from your interview with McCarthy? I listened to it. A couple things stood out to me. What did you find the most interesting?
00:13:04
Speaker 1: That he takes culpability for everything. We all know that Rodgers is the guy who picks the pass option on the RPO with the goal line every time. But McCarthy says, yeah, next time we'll run the ball. That's on me. I love a coach who does that. Tomlin pretended to do it. He'd half-assed do it. He'd passive-aggressively do it, which means he really didn't do it. And I like that McCarthy talks openly about problems, and that's why he fixes them.
00:13:35
Speaker 2: Well, I thought that the red zone conversation was one that does deserve some intrigue because you're right. It's not just about the coach. It's about the quarterback here.
00:13:47
Speaker 1: Oh, it's more about the quarterback.
00:13:49
Speaker 2: It is, but then who tells the quarterback
what to do?
00:13:52
Speaker 1: At that point, it becomes about the coach. Well, apparently they told the quarterback to run the push-push because they did run it in at the goal line at the end of the half, so.
00:14:04
Speaker 1: But I don't think McCarthy's ever going to overrule Aaron Rodgers. I still don't like that play, by the way. Why?
00:14:10
Speaker 2: Not the tush push in general. I didn't like that they did it there in that situation. Take the three, because if he gets stuffed, we're still killing him today for doing it.
00:14:19
Speaker 1: Couldn't disagree more, Tim. That's Tomlin-esque. Shame on you. No, it's three points with your defense playing well.
00:14:25
Speaker 2: Okay, it's Tomlin-esque, but that makes sense there to do it. It makes no sense to run a play where if you get stopped on it, you get nothing instead of at least three.
00:14:32
Speaker 1: Did they score?
00:14:34
Speaker 2: Yeah. It's not one of those plays, Mark, where just because it works, it's smart.
00:14:40
Speaker 1: I stand by the play, by the result, and by the coach. That's Tim.
00:14:45
Speaker 3: I'm Mark.
00:14:45
Speaker 1: Up next, wait to hear what Bill Cowher says about the Cleveland quarterback situation. He suggests something that I guarantee he would not do if he were coaching. 105.9 The X. from the NJM Insurance Traffic Center. This report is sponsored by Lowe's. It's a 15-minute delay on the... Inbound slows green tree to the Fort Maria Hotel.
00:15:07
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00:15:34
Speaker 5: And now the super genius, Mark Madden.
00:15:37
Speaker 3: Hey, double F, big fan, man.
00:15:38
Speaker 1: Thanks. If you were a hot dog.
00:15:40
Speaker 5: And you were starving, would you eat yourself?
00:15:42
Speaker 3: I would.
00:15:42
Speaker 1: I'd be delicious. Ditto.
00:15:44
Speaker 5: The X at 105.9.
00:15:54
Speaker 1: Kind of a funny note, Mike McCarthy was doing his media briefing today, and somebody asked him about the Philadelphia game at Philly on Sunday the 22nd. It was flexed to 1 p.m. by TV because the Eagles stink. And somebody asked McCarthy about it. That was the first he found out about it. He goes to Burt Lawton, our buddy who does Steelers media. What, Burt, did this just happen? To recap what McCarthy said, the thing of most consequence is that he's not sure about the status for Pittman and Harmon on Sunday night at Cincinnati, but he said Pittman is getting close. Now, Matt Williamson a bit earlier brought up a real good point. If Pittman is back,
is he going to be the guy they need him to be? Because he's been basically hurt all year. Will he ever get to being the guy they need him to be? I really do hope they make a move before tomorrow's trade deadline, but I frankly doubt it very much. Here's an amusing soundbite. It's former Steelers coach Bill Cowher on CBS where he's great, and he just makes an insane statement about the Cleveland quarterback situation.
00:17:14
Speaker 6: I would just say this moving forward. Shador Sanders should be the starter for this football team. He's going to be the future. And I think what he showed today, his resiliency, continuing to come back. He made great decisions. He extended plays. I love the way he played, and I would move forward with.
00:17:29
Speaker 5: Him.
00:17:29
Speaker 1: Okay, nobody loves Bill more than I do. But he's crazy here. A, Shador stinks. B, the Browns have been doing okay with Watson. They're not out of it. You can't pull him while they're not out of it. And C, the Browns lost yesterday to Bummy New Orleans, which should award quarterback. Not that he didn't have a decent game. And D, this is the big one. This is what makes it mondo nutso. I can guarantee you Cowher himself would not do what he's suggesting if he was coaching Cleveland. And by way of proof, if Tommy Maddox hadn't gotten hurt, Bill Cowher would have never played Ben as a rookie. I love Kyle, but in this case, and very entertainingly so, Bill Kyle is farming horse manure. Up next, going to talk hockey with our buddy, the old two-niner, Phil Bork, here on 105.9.
00:18:30
Speaker 5: It's the Woody Show. Weekday mornings at 6. Yeah, it'll be enlightening.
00:18:34
Speaker 7: On 105.9.
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Speaker 5: The X. From the Dollar.
00:18:36
Speaker 1: Energy Fund Weather Center. This report is sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Only pay for what you need. Just a few clouds tonight from time to time. Chilly, though, dropping down to an overnight low of 39. Should be it.
00:18:47
Speaker 5: Mark Madden.
00:18:47
Speaker 1: Super genius. Yeah.
00:18:49
Speaker 5: Mark, love the show.
00:18:50
Speaker 1: Well, if I won you over by imitating Dusty Rhodes, the man can dream. So be it, baby.
00:18:54
Speaker 5: The X at 105.9.
00:18:57
Speaker 1: Penguins with the loss last night at Anaheim. The West Coast road trip continues Wednesday at San Jose. Joining me now to discuss, always a pleasure to talk to the old two-niner, two-time Stanley Cup champion, Phil Bork. Borky, before we talk about the current Penguins, we've got Hall of Fame night at PPG this Saturday when the Penguins host Ottawa. We've got Jim Rutherford, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Larry Murphy being inducted. Let's talk a bit about Larry Murphy because he was your teammate on the 91 and 92 Cup winners. And a guy who, even though he's in the Hall of Fame and everybody knows how great he was, I feel like he still and always was underrated.
00:19:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, fair enough.
00:19:39
Speaker 8: When you think of,
you know, people forget how good he was as an L.A. King, as a rookie. I think he had 80 or 82 points in his rookie year.
00:19:47
Speaker 3: As an LA King.
00:19:48
Speaker 8: People forget about that because they had the triple crown line, they had Marcel Dion, they had some really good players that probably were talked about more than Larry Murphy. Then he goes to Minnesota and it wasn't a good fit for him at Minnesota. Him coming to the Penguins, again, he's behind Paul Coffey, right? But you know, Murphy, you know, his personality that he kind of liked that, you know, he, he knew he was very confident player and could do a lot of great things in his own right, but he didn't need the spotlight on him. In fact, I think he performed better when he didn't have the spotlight on him. And there's more on Paul coffee than Larry Murphy. Same when he leaves the Penguins, he goes with Scotty Bowman to Detroit and when it's two more cups there in 97 and 98, he's playing.
00:20:32
Speaker 3: Behind Nicholas Lidstrom, you know?
00:20:34
Speaker 8: So, Just an incredibly talented player that I think because he wasn't that fleet of foot and seemed like he was doing a lot of things in slow motion, Mark, I think that helped in him being unappreciated.
00:20:48
Speaker 1: Now moving ahead to last night's game at Anaheim, was last night just a bad game for the Penguins or are things just going bad?
00:20:58
Speaker 3: Interesting question. I'm not going to buy the latter part.
00:21:05
Speaker 8: Because there's too many good players on this team to say, oh, it's just going bad. No, I just don't feel that there's 100% buy-in. And I don't want that statement to be misconstrued, because players are trying hard.
00:21:19
Speaker 3: I get all that.
00:21:20
Speaker 8: Players are trying to battle. But I almost feel like there needs to be one of those conversations, whether it's coach to players or players to players.
00:21:31
Speaker 3: Of, We've got to be all in.
00:21:33
Speaker 8: If we have five passengers right now, we're not good enough and at least too good. And so that's what I feel like. I feel like there's guys not with 100% buy-in.
00:21:43
Speaker 3: And I kind of understand, too, that also. And that's why I preface my comments, Mark, because confidence is a funny thing.
00:21:56
Speaker 8: Worry more about yourself than you worry about the team concept and whether you mean it or not, it still happens.
00:22:02
Speaker 3: And so by it, Oh, just things.
00:22:05
Speaker 8: Aren't going their way. I don't think have a hundred percent buy-in from everybody. And that full commitment takes for them to win. We've seen it in spurts, but we don't see it on any kind of a consistent basis.
00:22:18
Speaker 1: What is most easily fixed and how do you do it? I'm not talking about the buy-in. That's more of a mental thing and what the coaches need to do to get the players to do that. But in terms of actual execution, what's most easily fixed and how do you do it?
00:22:32
Speaker 3: It's on the top of my head.
00:22:34
Speaker 8: It's being connected and supporting each other in all three zones.
00:22:38
Speaker 3: And that's what we saw a lot of. We almost overused that word last year, Mark. Connected. They're connected. They're connected.
00:22:44
Speaker 8: But It's really true because connected doesn't just mean offensively. It doesn't just mean in the offensive zone. It means in all three zones. It means you're connected where if your defense partner or your linemate gets beat on a play, you're there to not only take care of your responsibility, but you can help him out too. And that's a mental thing as well as a physical thing. And so, again, I think because the confidence is down, because the what-if monster has entered the picture, that at this league, when you hesitate or you think, For one second, you're behind. And so that's probably why you're not as connected or supportive to your teammates.
00:23:21
Speaker 3: But that's a correctable thing.
00:23:22
Speaker 8: If you're looking for one thing that they could fix on Wednesday night in San Jose, let's play together as five-man units in all three zones.
00:23:31
Speaker 1: Where are Sid, Gino, LeTang, and Carlson at right now? The core three plus obviously a Hall of Famer in Eric Carlson because Sid and Gino are producing Sid at least lately.
00:23:44
Speaker 8: Yeah, but producing doesn't tell the whole story, I think, in Sid and Gino. If I'm going to honestly answer your question, I don't think they're close to the way they can play.
00:23:52
Speaker 3: I don't think it... at their ages.
00:23:57
Speaker 8: I don't think we expect them to have 100 points, but I do expect them to play a lot better than they have been playing. I don't think that's unrealistic as far as Sid and Gino. As far as Tanger... Tanger has moments too. Tanger has moments where he's just rock solid and there's other moments when he's just serving up pizzas. You know, same with Eric Carlson. You know, Carlson does things that brings me out of my seat that I'm just blown away and how talented. That pass that he made to Evgeny Malkin in LA the other night, it's one of one.
00:24:29
Speaker 3: I don't know if even, you know, Hughes and McCarr and.
00:24:32
Speaker 8: Those great defensemen can do some of the things that he can do, but there's been too many times this year where it's been that giant one step forward but two giant steps backwards, you know, with some of the turnovers and the mistakes that he's made defensively. And so, again, his game is good, but it's collectively, he's got to be better. The rest of the group's got to be better because this team isn't good enough to just be good and win games. Again, if they have two or three passengers and just mediocre, they're probably not going to win.
00:25:05
Speaker 1: We're talking to the old two-niner Phil Bork here on 105.9 The X. Borky, how do you fix the special teams? Because that's a problem. Anaheim three for
four on the power play, and the Penguins once again fail to convert a five on three when they have the man advantage.
00:25:21
Speaker 3: Yeah, let's start with the PK first.
00:25:22
Speaker 8: First of all, and again, I'm not going to point fingers here.
00:25:26
Speaker 3: You can figure it out yourself.
00:25:27
Speaker 8: The Penguins face-off win percentage in defensive zones, and especially on penalty kill, is is not good. And you hate to say this, but boy, you miss Nola Chari, you know, and how good he was as a right-hand shot, because most of those first face-offs are to the penguins right side.
00:25:47
Speaker 3: And he was so good at that.
00:25:48
Speaker 8: And so that kind of starts the first domino why they're kind of on their heels as a PK unit.
00:25:54
Speaker 3: Number two, I'm really curious on this.
00:25:56
Speaker 8: I talked to Nick Veneno, who's kind of taken over the PK mark and he's going into this rotation, not, not a box on a diamond, but it's rotation. defensemen are rotating all the way out to the top of the circle and sometimes to the center point and everybody rotates at the same time. There seems to be too much thinking and hesitation and that's why you're seeing guys completely wide open. So that's the short and sweet on the PK. As far as the power play, same thing. A lot of times Sid's losing that first face off and you look at those power plays, it never gets back on track after that. Now it's not just Sid because a lot of times those pucks sit the 50-50 pucks and that Sid doesn't win, he doesn't lose, and he's not getting help from the guys on the outside. That's number one. Number two, they're way too spread out. Last night on that five-on-three, you had five players separated by 40 feet from each other.
00:26:46
Speaker 3: It was all perimeter.
00:26:47
Speaker 8: So you can have all this puck possession you want. It doesn't mean jack diddly if you're doing it all on the outside. And so take what is given. And if it's a simple wrist shot to the cage, like we've seen a bunch of teams do, Anaheim did it last night. If you remember Mitch Marner in Vegas the other night, we played them.
00:27:04
Speaker 3: Just hard, low.
00:27:05
Speaker 8: Wrist shots causing second and third opportunities. They're making it too difficult on themselves. So those are two simple things. Simplify it. Take the shot that's given. Get closer together. More net front presence. and start winning the face-offs both on the power play and penalty kill.
00:27:23
Speaker 1: Well, you're speaking my language, Borky, and let me just tack on something that's elementary but nonetheless true. Just shoot more. Just put every puck you can on goal until you kind of shoot your way out of it because I never feel like the Penguins' power play has the other team under siege, and you want to at least seize momentum on the occasions you don't score.
00:27:43
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know.
00:27:44
Speaker 8: I think as broadcasters— and media, Mark, we almost hesitate sometimes to give such a simplistic answer, right? Because it seems like Joe Blow in section 212 could say the same thing.
00:27:56
Speaker 3: But he'd be right. You know, the whole thing is shoot, shoot.
00:28:00
Speaker 8: But, you know, that's, that is the reality of when a power play isn't going well, you know, the hardest thing for penalty killers to defend is a team that just shoots from everywhere because you, It's so hard to gather rebounds off of second and third opportunities when you're killing the penalty. And so sometimes that stubbornness, sometimes it's ego, sometimes it's just dumb old pride that the Penguins don't want.
00:28:23
Speaker 3: To take that. They just seem it's, oh, that's too easy. Oh, that's not going to work.
00:28:27
Speaker 8: But it is if you can get enough guys in front of the net, especially with the skill set that they have.
00:28:32
Speaker 1: How's the goaltending been? I think show-offs has been good. And that's why he's got the majority of the games. I don't feel like he's stealing games though, either. And maybe that's what they need more often than they get.
00:28:45
Speaker 3: Fair enough. Yeah. I can't disagree with that. I think it's been good.
00:28:49
Speaker 8: I think you can say, look yourself in the mirror and say that this duo has given you a chance every single night, pretty much to win the game. And that's the last of my worries is the goaltending. There's a lot bigger fish to fry for this hockey team. Um, besides the goaltending. I think when you've collectively got two goaltenders, you know, 25 years and under that, I don't think.
00:29:13
Speaker 3: Collectively they played.
00:29:14
Speaker 8: 80 games, maybe less than 90 games ever in the national hockey league in the, in the regular season. So they're, so they're young and they're still learning their, their future guys. But I think for the most part, if you go game by game, they've given the penguins a chance to win.
00:29:29
Speaker 1: I think so too. I'm not playing the blame game with, with, with them. I just, If they could go a step above, which might be expecting too much, it would help occasionally. I know you and I are going to disagree on this, but when's it time to play some of the younger guys and play some of the call-ups? And might I add, I thought it was criminal last week when they made Livonovic drive across the state to get scratched twice.
00:29:53
Speaker 3: No, I get it.
00:29:54
Speaker 8: And Rutger McGordy's here with Billy Corvin on the shelf, and so I'd be shocked if he didn't play on Wednesday against San Jose because, you know, under Kuzmenko, it's tough to watch right now, really, for Kuzmenko. And part of you feels for him, but another part of you, you know, has the tough love of saying, sorry, next man up.
00:30:15
Speaker 3: We need you to give us a spark. And so I'm.
00:30:20
Speaker 8: Disagreeing with you a lot less than the last time we had this conversation just because of the
shortcomings of some of the guys.
00:30:27
Speaker 3: I mean, even, listen, I hate singling guys out, but it's time, Mark. We're probably going to have to be 20 games over 500 to have.
00:30:35
Speaker 9: A stand for the playoffs where we are right now. We're one easy point in front of the Philadelphia Flyers, so it's time to rip the band-aid off.
00:30:42
Speaker 3: And it's time for these young guys. Bring them up. But they can't come up and keep going for the two-ups. You've got to tell them, let it fly, man. Just go out there and be your best version of yourself. And don't be afraid.
00:30:52
Speaker 9: We need somebody to give us some light, some spark, some fight, and some real.
00:30:59
Speaker 8: You know, lift right now, because what we're doing right now, we're just kind of rolling out the same thing every game and we're getting little blips on the radar, but we need somebody.
00:31:08
Speaker 3: And maybe it's a young guy, maybe not. Maybe we have to make a deal to go get one of those guys, you know, like a Patrick.
00:31:14
Speaker 8: Like a Chris, like a, you know, a max tablet, a guy that's not afraid to get out of their, their own skin and out of their comfort zone to really give this team a spark.
00:31:25
Speaker 1: I will say, Borky, I've not been happy with a lot of the guys we recycled from other teams or got in trade in this case, but I think Korczak on the right side on defense has been pretty good. I think he's been a highlight among that group.
00:31:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's been consistent. He's been solid. He's been as advertised. But yeah, I have absolutely, Caden Korczak has been a good citizen for the Penguins. And yeah, I like the way he plays.
00:31:51
Speaker 9: Again, You know, Demi just reminded us when it comes to Declan Carlisle and Caden Korczak.
00:31:56
Speaker 3: That these are still young guys and they're going to have growing pains and.
00:31:59
Speaker 9: They're going to have moments where you're like, holy moly, what's going on out there?
00:32:03
Speaker 3: But they don't let it kind of stack over and over and over again. And so, you know, as far as Caden Korczak, I think there's a consistency to his game. There's some size and some.
00:32:14
Speaker 8: Bite, but But that being said, I still feel like there's another level.
00:32:18
Speaker 9: Of two to be more of a son of a you-know-what out there because we need that more.
00:32:25
Speaker 3: Listen, I'm going to choose my words carefully. We're not tough enough, Mark. We're not tough enough. We get pushed.
00:32:32
Speaker 8: Around too much. And so we have the fewest hits in the National Hockey League by about 40 hits. I think Seattle is next up from us.
00:32:41
Speaker 1: I don't know how you.
00:32:42
Speaker 3: Expect to win games. If you're not going to fight and battle and scratch and crawl and throw yourself out there.
00:32:49
Speaker 8: Because, again, retaining this little bit of self-preservation is just going to continue to mount losses. And it's not the identity of who the Penguins should be. If you're going to lose, then hell yeah, go down fighting and swinging.
00:33:03
Speaker 3: And leave it all out there.
00:33:06
Speaker 8: But to only go at 70% or 80%, it's just going to mean more losses coming down the road.
00:33:11
Speaker 1: Bork is always great insight. Enjoy San Jose, and we'll talk to you next week.
00:33:17
Speaker 3: I've enjoyed it, Double M. Enjoyed our time together. This was good hockey talk.
00:33:21
Speaker 1: That's Phil Bork. Up next, it's time to ask Mark anything. Dial now 833-412-WXDX. That's 833-412-WXDX. Or you can leave a talk back via the microphone icon at the iHeartMedia app. 105.9.
00:33:36
Speaker 10: It's time to submit your questions for Ask Mark Anything. Use your free iHeartRadio app and tap the microphone icon to send your questions to the super genius instantly.
00:33:46
Speaker 5: It's the Woody Show. Weekday mornings at 6. Oh, I like it. On 105.9 The X.
00:33:55
Speaker 1: Back in this world. Unless, of course, they're good enough to make the NFL.
00:33:58
Speaker 5: The X at 105.9.
00:34:03
Speaker 1: Time to ask Mark anything brought to us by People's Natural Gas. That's peoples-gas.com. Got a real treat for you later. Today is the 41st anniversary of the Hard Times promo by Dusty Rhodes. I usually do a knockoff of that. Not necessarily an anniversary, but... Whenever one of the Pittsburgh teams is going through hard times, but they all are. I wouldn't know what to say, but Dusty sure did. It's the greatest babyface promo in history, and we'll play some of that a little bit later. Best wishes still go out to Jack Hamm, who had a medical episode at Penn State's game. He said he'd be in stable condition, so get well, Jack. Down to Dow, they're debating whether the Steelers should get Tyree Kill or not. I swear to God. They're not going to. That would never even be considered by them. That's fictionalizing to fill airtime with empty rhetoric. And I don't do that here except to criticize it. Also, Scott Arneal, the Winnipeg Jets coach, he was asked about all that ridiculousness of Connor Hellebuck deciding to not play in Winnipeg. And by the way, Josh Owee doesn't think that it's Hellebuck's call. He thinks the devil's made the call. I just can't believe that. He says Hellebuck would want to play there. I just don't believe that because of what's happened. But Arneal was apparently asked about it at.
00:35:40
Speaker 1: Immediate briefing and our deal said point blank he just gave up on us and so it'd be nice to just finally be done with this unquote and i know what he means because at some point hellebuck will play in winnipeg again and then it'll be an issue why not just get it in the rearview mirror and the answer to that is because hellebuck is pusillanimous let's go to a talk.
00:36:03
Speaker 3: Back hey mark donna or jackie.
00:36:09
Speaker 1: What, from that 70s show? Midge. Donna's mom. Tonya Roberts, no doubt. Let's go
to Razor. Razor, you're on with Double M.
00:36:25
Speaker 5: Hey, Mark.
00:36:25
Speaker 11: So I always find it nauseating when I see Roger Waters talk smack on other musicians like Ozzy last year and James Hetfield more recently. Do you think it's safe to say that he's among a group of 1960s rock and roll musicians who just flat out hates metal?
00:36:46
Speaker 1: I think Roger Waters is just a despicable scumbag of a human being. That said, I can't take away his talent or his body of work. But it says a lot that Gilmore, who worked with him for so many years, acts like water smells bad. And let's face it, as much money as both of them have made, and Gilmore owns the Pink Floyd name, but there would be mega dollars.
00:37:10
Speaker 1: In doing a Gilmore and Waters reunion, whoever else is left from Pink Floyd, even for like a show or two or a sphere type thing, as old as they are, whether or not they're physically capable, I do not know. But Gilmore wants nothing to do with Rogers. Heck, you have Gilmore's wife cutting promos on Waters. He's just a terrible guy. Let's go to Peyton. Peyton, you're on with Double M.
00:37:35
Speaker 11: Hey, what up, man?
00:37:35
Speaker 1: What up, man?
00:37:37
Speaker 3: Hey.
00:37:38
Speaker 1: Do you think it's time to let the dominoes begin to fall to trade Raquel? I think Raquel first, because I think Raquel has put up six goals recently. Yeah, you're not going to get nothing for him, but when you start to make those trades, it's not for what you get in return. People make the mistake of thinking that's important. It's not important. If it was important, you would have traded Raquel. Most of these guys, two, three years ago, when it was obvious the team was going nowhere beyond maybe making the playoffs, and usually not, but now you're going to get nothing for them. You're just trading them to turn the page and open up roster spots for younger players.
00:38:22
Speaker 11: I think you can still get a first-round pick out of them.
00:38:25
Speaker 1: For Raquel? For Raquel?
00:38:29
Speaker 5: Are you high? Are you high?
00:38:32
Speaker 1: Are you insane? Were you born stupid? I mean, a first-round pick for Raquel, you'd be lucky to get a third and probably a fourth. You really believe that? That you could get a first-round pick? Shut up and let somebody who knows what they're talking about talk, Junior. What makes you think they could get a first-round pick for Ricard freaking Raquel?
00:38:51
Speaker 3: You still could. Goodbye.
00:38:53
Speaker 5: You're a moron.
00:38:54
Speaker 1: You're a moron. You shouldn't reproduce if you're that stupid. Let alone watch hockey. Do we have a talkback left? Let's get a talkback. At least I can cut him off. Well, I cut that guy off. Go ahead.
00:39:08
Speaker 7: Where did the ask Mark anything originate? I know you're a Doug Hurst fan. Anything to do with him or just fill in airspace or some other origination store?
00:39:22
Speaker 3: Thank you.
00:39:23
Speaker 1: That filling airspace makes it sound like you think it's a bad thing.
00:39:27
Speaker 3: No, uh.
00:39:30
Speaker 1: It actually came from my 1250 days and very early in my radio career, which is now over 30 years old, whether I want it to be or not. A guy named Rocco Pandola, who was younger than me, was kind of a child prodigy in radio and Really good at radio. I have a lot of respect for Rocco. I'm sorry we fell out of touch. I know Adam Moss. I think he's a great guy and, like I said, a great talent. But he had a segment called Ask Rocco Anything, so I stole it. Simple as that. I don't think it's a revolutionary idea. I think it's pretty elementary. I think everybody in radio does some form of it. I've got to tell you, up until recently, like about three, four years ago, when the call started getting dumb and repetitive, not this one, But I don't enjoy doing it nearly as much as I used to. In fact, that applies to a lot of things. But, yeah, it's been around forever, and I stole it from Rocco.
00:40:22
Speaker 3: 105.9. Alter Ego, 2020.