The Pittsburgh Penguins shone brightly Thursday night, both in their surprise-revealed third jerseys and how they performed in a wildly entertaining 4-3 win over the New York Islanders. We’ve got full coverage and analysis from the arena. Elsewhere in the Daily, Thursday was the thunderous return of Jonathan Toews, there’s bubbling talk about the next crop of free agent stars who could hit the market next July, the first of the Team Canada 5 signed a contract to resume his hockey life, and ESPN reported there is an assumption that the Penguins will trade Evgeni Malkin.

The Penguins game was as much fun to watch as any I’ve witnessed in the recent past. It was uptempo with some emotion. The game was gritty with scoring chances without oppressive structure. And there was offense without irresponsibility.

A sunny Friday without a Penguins practice. Hmmm, what shall I do?

You get three guesses what I want to do. Whether I get time enough to breathe is another matter.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins revealed their yellow third jersey last night. They wore the yellow lids in warmup, but returned to the ice for the game in the third sweater with three black rings (for the sister bridges). The Penguins also made a point to honor the 20th season of the championship core. Here are the pretty sharp Penguins alternate jerseys.

A 4-3 win with another beaut by Justin Brazeau, a first NHL goal by Harrison Brunicke, and a first point by Filip Hallander. The Penguins recap.

These rookies are fun. We got into the deeeeeeeep analysis of the game, from the Xs and Os of Dan Muse’s attack, to the player grades–Who played well and who didn’t. Most of the rookies, including Ben Kindel and Brunicke, were graded very well in the Penguins’ report card.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

NHLtraderumors.me: Greg Wyshinski of ESPN appeared on the Halford and Brough podcast and reported there is an increasingly accepted narrative that Evgeni Malkin will become the top line center of the Florida Panthers sooner than later.

Sportsnet: Jonathan Toews returned to the NHL, and it was a near storybook ending to Game 1.

TSN Insiders: The first of the acquitted Team Canada 5 has signed, and we’re expecting another to sign very soon. And some updates on the next top tier of 2026 free agents.

Montreal Hockey Now: Ole’ Ole’ Ole’! The kids in Montreal are sparkling, as well. Zachary Bolduc had himself a night, and Ivan Demidov is pretty, pretty good. It was a big night and a win for the Montreal Canadiens.

And we’ll end the Daily with another crazy game between the VGK and the Sharks. From both sides:

Vegas Hockey Now: Hannah Kirkell termed it, UNBELIEVABLY lucky, with a late comeback win spurred by an improbable goal by Jack Eichel for the Vegas Golden Knights.

San Jose Hockey Now: What happens when you have three whacks at an empty net from a few feet away and miss? What happens when goalie Alex Nedeljkovic misplays a weird bounce from the blue line? Yep, the San Jose Sharks lose.

Soak in some sunshine.

Tags: 2026 free agents NHL Evgeni Malkin nhl trade Pittsburgh Penguins

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