RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 The bodies hit the floor, and now we get to see who is left standing in a strong position approaching the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs or their organizational future.The Pittsburgh Penguins are among the biggest question marks as the league hits the stretch run. Those same Penguins undertook another rowdy comeback Tuesday, this time shocking the stingy Carolina Huricanes with a pair of extra-attacker goals before ultimately falling \u2026 again \u2026 in a shootout. <\/p>\n
There were a couple of heavyweight tilts Tuesday, including a brawl in Buffalo after San Jose D-man Dmitri Orlov hipchecked Tage Thompson. The Edmonton Oilers not only acquiesced to their porous goaltending at the deadline, but new trade rumors are emerging as the team will need a sizeable chunk of salary cap space to complete their lineup. <\/p>\n
Off to Vegas this A.M. with a full 90 minutes of sleep in tow. Of course, the Penguins game had to take forever in regulation and then go to a shootout. It was almost a guarantee that the game would go long. <\/p>\n
Also, you might see Elmer Soderblom in the next Penguins shootout. The newly acquired giant and I had a quick conversation last night. He had plenty to like about his game against Carolina, and he says he\u2019s got a nice shootout move, and I don\u2019t doubt him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my reach, that\u2019s my move,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
If you\u2019re hoping to find the latest No Pucks Given podcast, I deleted it. After the sound issues during the first attempt, which just became a live Q&A on YouTube, I recorded a new podcast, but those sound issues (caused by unstable internet at the hotel) muddled the whole damned thing. Unfortunately, the guys still posted the show, but when I heard it back, I deleted it everywhere I could. Don\u2019t bother with it, which is a shame, because I really got it right the second time. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been trying to do too much this season, and I\u2019m about done with that. The podcast is probably the first thing to go, but we\u2019ll keep trying for a few more minutes. <\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Penguins<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Well looky here\u2013there are several Penguins injury updates that are bad news, but you can see Sidney Crosby taking some hard strides after the Penguins morning skate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nothing quite like having to rewrite an entire story in under five minutes! Not that players or you minded. It was a shocking comeback because the Penguins were dead in the water before a pair of extra-attacker goals, but here is the Penguins recap<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now then\u2014the report card. The Penguins did not have the same tactical success against Carolina as they did in December. Actually, Carolina was a save or two away from boat-racing the Penguins. Instead, the scrappy Penguins earned a point, and here\u2019s a lot more on a potential playoff opponent, but also the praise, the problems, and the Penguins\u2019 shining future<\/a>.<\/p>\n Steelers Now: The Steelers and Cam Heyward agreed to a contract extension. That\u2019s some surprising Steelers news.<\/a><\/p>\n NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now<\/p>\n The Athletic ($): Goalies, defensemen, and secondary scoring, oh my. The Edmonton Oilers will need money to replace failed acquisitions and free agents. Darnell Nurse could be the player traded to parts unknown\u2014if the Oilers can find a taker\u2014to fund the roster revamp<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sportsnet: Among the biggest questions following the NHL trade deadline is the Penguins\u2019 ability to hang in there without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Other big questions involve the Vegas Golden Knights, those aforementioned Oilers, and if the Atlantic Division teams showed enough guts at the deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sportsnet: The folks up North had a bit of an exaggerated headline. It was not quite a brawl as there was really only one fight. After Orlov caught Thompson with a hip, my fellow carny Zach Benson didn\u2019t ask for the fight. Nope, he took it<\/a>. <\/p>\n I thought it was a clean hit and no retaliation was necessary. <\/p>\n However, in Montreal, I thought it was a garbage hit by Brendan Gallagher on Easton Cowan. The puck was long gone and Gallagher went high on Cowan, so Jake McCabe and his knuckles had something to say<\/a>.<\/p>\n Colorado Hockey Now: Another team asking\u2014What is goaltender interference? Nathan MacKinnon got tossed Tuesday night and the Colorado Avalanche didn\u2019t even think it a penalty. It proved crucial as the Oilers beat the Avalanche<\/a>.<\/p>\n New Jersey Hockey Now: Last but not least, let\u2019s revisit the drama in the swamp. GM Tom Fitzgerald\u2019s recent denial on Dougie Hamilton trade rumors only made things more confusing. What\u2019s up with the New Jersey Devils<\/a>?<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: nhl trade<\/a> Penguins news<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> <\/p>\n Categorized:Links<\/a> NHL Trade Rumors<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 The bodies hit the floor, and now we get to see who is left standing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,4,4433,99,100],"class_list":{"0":"post-498261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-nhl-trade","11":"tag-penguins-news","12":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116211104148522034","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}