And down the stretch they come! The Pittsburgh Penguins cruised past the Vegas Golden Knights, and we dig into surviving without Sidney Crosby as the team races toward a playoff spot. Of course, it’s NHL trade deadline week, and there is scalding heat in Toronto and Edmonton, while New York Rangers star players such as Adam Fox are non-committal about their future, leading to further trade speculation. And the Minnesota Wild reportedly have a standing offer for Vincent Trocheck.

A news note that could mean something: The Edmonton Oilers cut bait with a pair of players, including Andrew Mangiapane, whom they put on waivers Sunday.

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Did anyone catch this guy on WXPI’s Final Word last night? Aside from losing my train of thought during my actual final word, we actually got into some hockey talk. While I hate when they phrase questions like, “What is your confidence in…?” it was a good show. After all, I’m a beat writer and analyst, and I don’t have confidence. I have opinions and insights, but not a rooting interest in the team’s success. Anyway…

The question was, “What is your confidence that the Penguins still make the playoffs while Sidney Crosby misses four weeks?” While doing my 30 seconds of prep work, I realized something that I’ll share in column today…

Also, has anyone checked out the PHN+ subscriber platform and discussion area?

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: You want the goals? Got ’em. The details? Got ’em. Here is the recap of the 5-0 Penguins win.

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Vegas Hockey Now: Here’s the flip side coverage from Hannah Kirkell. Not only did the Golden Knights fall flat, but Mark Stone was also injured in the first period. It was not a good day for the Vegas Golden Knights.

So, let us belly up to the buffet and really take a look at one thing the Penguins have done without Sidney Crosby, or more specifically, the one thing they are not doing. The game analysis became a microcosm and a handbook for succeeding without Crosby. Check out the Penguins Report Card.

Sorry, no, I didn’t do a postgame video yesterday. I was just dog tired after getting home around 1 a.m. the night before, and I had about 90 minutes to stop at home, nuke some soup, and get to the TV station for the show. How about a make-good today?

And in case you missed it in the furor of so many people having the same story at the same time Sunday–we took the Evgeni Malkin story a step further with some new information. When we published, it was exclusive (I’ve since learned a couple others, including Elliotte Friedman, got part of the story), so here’s what’s up with Malkin’s future.

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NHL Trade Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

NHLtraderumors.me: A standing offer, but will the player and team accept? The Minnesota Wild want Vincent Trocheck, but will the Rangers take the deal, and will Trocheck accept it, too?

Dude, go play with Quinn Hughes. No, St. Paul is NOT New York, but it’s got some spots. And with Trocheck, Minnesota can compete with Colorado.

NY Post ($): When your star players are non-committal, there are problems. Mollie Walker writes that when asked, several players, including former Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, waffled on their New York future.

The LA Kings fired coach Jim Hillier Sunday. DJ Smith was named the replacement for the remainder of the season.

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TSN: Cameron Gaunce, a TSN analyst, took on the Edmonton goaltending situation. He dismissed the attempt to fix their goaltending by acquiring Tristan Jarry. Gaunce went through the situation and circled Jordan Binnington and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Craig Button opines that the Toronto Maple Leafs are toast. No retool. Go full on rebuild.

Detroit Hockey Now: Boys, don’t do it. No. However, rumors persist that Steve Yzerman is interested in Elias Pettersson. So, Bob Duff looks at what it would take to make the big Red Wings trade.

Also in Detroit, Kevin Allen teed up the top four defensemen on the Red Wings trade wishlist.

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San Jose Hockey Now: Hello and goodbye. Are the San Jose Sharks willing to flip Kiefer Sherwood?

The post Dan’s Daily: Trade Deadline Heat; Rangers Purge? Penguins Learning appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

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