00:00It is Judd Surratt of Nessun. Judd, good morning.
00:03Hey, good morning, and a belated happy birthday to you.
00:06Thank you. And listen, I got a win from the Boston Bruins.
00:12They had to get it done in the shootout, but got a win for my birthday.
00:16And I was we were talking about that game on Wednesday.
00:21It was yesterday. It was yesterday, Wednesday.
00:25And happy or Tuesday, whatever.
00:27Happy with the happy with the Bruins who let those guys back in that game
00:31and then go on and get the get the win.
00:34No, listen, they don't say how they say how many for the Bruins.
00:38It's 11 wins here early in the season.
00:40And it keeps them on top of the Atlantic Division.
00:43So really important to continue to rack up points.
00:45It's a really good Vegas team that they saw the other night at TD Garden.
00:49But I think it was a game that the team needed because they needed to start to dial in their
00:53details.
00:53I think that kind of had slipped in the last three or four games.
00:58And in order to stay in that game, in order to win it, they needed to play not only a
01:04much more detailed game,
01:06but there needed to be a little bit more tenacity to their game.
01:09And as a result, they were able to come out of there with two points.
01:13Judd, Marco Sturm talked about Hagen's not putting too much on his plate
01:16and pivoted to really his giveaways that have turned into goals for the opponent.
01:20Pasta has double the amount of giveaways of Hagen's, but is he just focused more on the points
01:26and the places where Hagen's is giving the puck away?
01:30Well, I think it's obviously come up about Hagen's usage here early in the season, Courtney.
01:36And this is a kid who just this week turned 20 years old.
01:40You know, remember the timing of everything.
01:43So, against Vegas, he played what?
01:47A season-high 17 and a half minutes.
01:49That's coming off a game where he was benched for the last seven after he had a key giveaway late
01:55in that game.
01:55It was a one-goal affair.
01:57Gives the puck away to Conor Bedard.
01:59The Blackhawks then go up 4-2 in the game.
02:02I think it's tough for National Hockey League coaches, Courtney,
02:05when it comes to young players because they have a couple of different jobs.
02:09Number one, they have to win games, but at the same time, they have to develop young players who come
02:16onto their roster.
02:17The kid, again, just turned 20.
02:19Off to a terrific start.
02:21Not perfect.
02:22Really good.
02:23So, it's important, I think, especially for young players to build their confidence
02:27because I've got to tell you, over the last 20, 30 years, it is very easy to see how many
02:33times young guys get ruined
02:35because they've been given too much too soon and they spiral down mentally.
02:40And some of those guys don't recover.
02:43Higgins is off.
02:44Listen, you love the start that he's gotten off to offensively.
02:48He should be one of the favorites at this point for rookie of the year in the National Hockey League.
02:53He's only going to get better.
02:55You love the fact that he's owned some of the mistakes that I think that you alluded to.
02:59But, remember, he's playing against guys he's never played before.
03:03He's playing a schedule he's never played before.
03:06I think for the Bruins, they want to try and be able to build him up.
03:11And, listen, I think long-term, what people are going to think is,
03:15thank the hockey guys, this kid fell to the Bruins in the draft.
03:18For those interested, James Higgins shares his birthday with a legendary defenseman from the Westboro Over-40 League.
03:27So, in case anybody is interested.
03:31That's what he wants.
03:32Judd, you look at this team.
03:33We talk to Ray Bork every week and he talks about the importance of special teams.
03:38When you start to look at where this Bruins team is,
03:41what do you think are some of the areas that you feel like watching them night in and night out
03:45that they have to improve when it comes to power play or penalty kill?
03:49Well, let's start with the power play.
03:51Certainly good to see them get one.
03:54And, in particular, to see Morgan Geeky get one the other night against the Vegas Golden Knights.
03:58You know, and I think it's a lot of the similar things when it comes to the man advantage.
04:03It's, what are your entries like?
04:05That has been a difficult issue for the Bruins here early in the season.
04:09And then, once you get in, how do you get set up?
04:12And how do you move the puck?
04:14I think if they're able to do a little bit better job in all three of those facets,
04:18then I think the man advantage will get a little bit better.
04:20As far as the penalty kill,
04:22so I think at last check it's sort of right in the middle of the league.
04:26It's, I think, at 18th at the last check.
04:30But some of the goals here that have come in the last few games have come right off face-offs.
04:35And I think in listening to some of the coaches and watching some of the games,
04:41I think there have been some guys that, there have been some breakdowns in some of the coverage.
04:45But that's an area, certainly, where you definitely need to get better at.
04:49You know, I think if you think long-term, Wiggy, about special teams,
04:53you can win late in the season, in the playoffs, without a good power play.
05:00It is really hard to win if your penalty killing is off-kilter.
05:03John, don't you think, though, with the exception of your number one pairing,
05:07at some point, if things don't change,
05:09you've got to take a look at the rest of the defensemen on this hockey team?
05:14In what sense, Greg?
05:16Make a change.
05:17You know, we're a long, Wiggy talks about the deadline all the time.
05:21We're a long ways away until March.
05:22But some of those guys, I pick one.
05:26I don't want to single anybody out.
05:27But Lorai, whatever, like, those guys are struggling a little bit.
05:32I don't know if I see it that way.
05:34Are you talking about the way they're playing on special teams
05:36or the way they're playing five-on-five?
05:38Five-on-five.
05:39They're the number one team in the National Hockey League, five-on-five.
05:44So I don't know if the numbers necessarily bear out what you're talking about.
05:48I think it's been really good for the Bruins that they've added a guy
05:52like Will Borgen to the mix because that takes some off the plate
05:55for a guy like Charlie McAvoy who can now express a little bit more offense
06:00in his game by playing with David Pasternak more
06:03and playing in more beneficial matchups, especially when you're on home ice.
06:07But you also have the benefit in a game like this
06:10where you can play Charlie in matchup minutes,
06:13which is typically what he is used to.
06:15So I think that the six-pack they have back there
06:19has actually been really good.
06:22And I think if they start to play the more detailed game that we saw
06:26against the Vegas Golden Knights, they're going to be fine.
06:29Okay.
06:30Judd, Pittsburgh coming into this one with three straight losses,
06:33is this team better than they've been playing recently?
06:36Is this a team that the Bruins shouldn't overlook?
06:39I don't think they should overlook any team in the National Hockey League.
06:42That's sort of the way that the league is built, Courtney.
06:45But, you know, it's a really good question.
06:47Pittsburgh's come out of the gate struggling here.
06:49They've lost each of their last two.
06:50They lost a heartbreaker the other day against the Vegas Golden Knights.
06:55They had an opportunity with a five-on-three to be able to win the game
06:59in the last two minutes.
07:00Couldn't get it done.
07:00And it's Vegas that gets the game where it walks out with two points.
07:05So this is going to be a fascinating team that the Bruins are up against here tonight.
07:09You know, and I think for us, listen,
07:11how many more times are we going to get an opportunity to see Sidney Crosby?
07:14He's 39 years old.
07:16He is an unrestricted free agent at season's end.
07:19I think he's going to continue playing.
07:21The question is, will it be here in Pittsburgh?
07:23Will it be somewhere else?
07:25I think that my gut tells me that he's going to do something like Patrice Bergeon
07:29and play the entire time with one single team, and it'll be in Pittsburgh.
07:34But, listen, it's always a treat to get a chance to see a guy who's more than a generational player.
07:39He's just one of the legends of the game.
07:41Judd, we always talk about Swayman and what, from a fan's perspective,
07:45what it means to have a goalie like that night in and night out.
07:48But you're around these guys in that locker room, in that dressing room.
07:52What is it like for them, you know, knowing that they have an elite goaltender between the pipes?
07:58What is some of the messaging maybe you hear from the players, knowing that they have a guy like Swayman
08:03who's there to, like, you know, bail him out if he needs to bail him out in specific situations?
08:09I think to dovetail off that, Woody, he is just such a calming influence because he knows,
08:15or the team knows, that Swayman has their back if a mistake gets made.
08:19So I think that's so vital.
08:21And even if for some reason the team is behind,
08:24I think that everybody in that room realizes that he's going to keep the game in check,
08:29which allows the Bruins to try and rally.
08:32It is so vital to have a really good goaltender in the National Hockey League.
08:37At last check, I think the Bruins, you know, and that includes Michael DiPietro,
08:41who's played really well, and it'll be interesting to see if he gets the start tonight.
08:44Not sure because of the schedule, but they are number one in the league in safe percentage.
08:49And Swayman and DiPietro are a big reason that the Bruins are on top of the Atlantic.
08:54Okay, Judd, enjoy your time down there.
08:57What's the local offering food-wise in Pittsburgh?
09:02Oh, Primanti Brothers sandwich?
09:03Oh, I don't know.
09:05Oh, no, no, no.
09:05I've done that before, you know, but I don't know if I can have a gut rocket and then do
09:09a game.
09:11So, you know, I don't know.
09:14I may wander across the bridge.
09:16We're close to PNC Park, and there's a few places over there.
09:19I know one of our camera guys, Stevie Da Silva, saw a stake on a stone.
09:23So, who knows?
09:24We'll see.
09:24A stake on a stone, okay.
09:26There's a casino.
09:27Is the casino still over there, too?
09:30It is.
09:30I think it's over by where the Steelers play.
09:33So, wait, let me roll down there and play a little crap.
09:36Well, you just got to, Judd, you just have to cross the Roberto Clemente Bridge,
09:41and you will be there at the casino.
09:44If you're looking for a place to eat, Eleven is wonderful in Pittsburgh.
09:47Really?
09:48That's my favorite restaurant there.
09:49I like the place that's up on the hill that overlooks the three rivers.
09:54Oh, Applebee's.
09:55What is it?
09:56Applebee's?
09:56Yes.
09:57No, it's a legendary.
09:58Yeah, I haven't been up there in a while.
09:59It's a legendary restaurant in Pittsburgh.
10:03Do you know what I'm talking about, Judd?
10:06I don't know the specific place, but I know the hill that you're talking about.
10:09We got to take that little contraption to get up there if you don't have a car.
10:13Yes.
10:14Yeah.
10:15All right, Judd.
10:16We'll talk to you again next week.
