Mark Madden and Tim Benz discuss the the NHL playoffs, what could be coming for the Penguins, the Steelers outlook, and more on this week’s edition of “Unfiltered” on TribLive’s Facebook page.
Madden and Benz discuss the New York Islanders as they continue to roll in the postseason - they took Game 1 of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Madden gives them a 50-50 chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The guys also look at the other series featuring the Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens.
As far as what the Penguins are going to do, Madden says that he thinks they are going to extend the team they have now for one more year. He thinks they will extend Evgeni Malkin. And Madden isn’t sure any longer whether they will trade Jake Guentzel or Bryan Rust.
“Any changes they make will be very minor. Very superficial. They have a team that won the division last year, so maybe that is the right way to go,” says Madden. “Maybe they are convinced, as am I, that they would have beat the Islander if they got even average goaltending.”
If that’s the case, the maybe the team should get better goaltending, Madden continues. He thinks they will get a veteran goalie to compete for the top position, or at least as a backup.
The guys also talk about the Steelers and the biggest X-factors on the team like offensive tackles Chukwuma Okorafor and Zach Banner. But the entire offensive line is shaky and there are plenty of questions and X-factors, says Benz.
“Here’s an easy way to sum it up: They are not going to make the playoffs. And they will be lucky if they have a winning season,” says Madden.
The guys also talk about Le’Veon Bell’s comments about playing for Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, JuJu Smith-Schuster’ss desire to line up outside, the college football playoffs and the state of the Pirates.
The guys also answer viewers comments and questions.
Watch the show here:
