Dan’s Daily: Big-Name Trade Board; Penguins Historic Night

MONTREAL — The Pittsburgh Penguins obliterated the Montreal Canadiens in the third period Thursday and set a record with their six-goal third period outburst that propelled their 9-2 win. We’ve got the full analysis, locker room video, and the breakdown. Also, we poked at a pretty sensitive topic. Elsewhere in the Daily, Nick Kypreos is hearing a few things from around the league and released his NHL trade board, which had several big names at the top. Not to be outdone, Scott Laughton netted four goals, and J.T. Miller made a triumphant return in Vancouver, where fans serenaded the Pittsburgh-area native.

I’m ashamed to admit that despite being here for two days, I haven’t ventured out in Montreal. It is bitingly cold here with gusting winds, and the furthest I’ve strayed from the hotel (besides the arena) was a little bodega across the street that also sells soup. However, the hockey more than made up for the lack of eating my way across Montreal (I’m a big shawarma guy. It’s really good here, too).

I made this challenge to Penguins fans on X. Montreal is a losing team, too. They’ve been struggling mightily, but the house was full; the fans were going wild for every scoring chance and defensive play, and it created a wonderful atmosphere. It’s been 30 years since the Canadiens were really good and had generational players — Pittsburgh will not replace Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang with more Hall of Famers, so it’s time to create a hockey culture in Pittsburgh that embraces hockey, not just winning or stars.

That’s not a knock; that’s a challenge. I don’t know how much I can do, but I suppose I’ll start chipping in where it doesn’t cross professional bounds. If we don’t, Pittsburgh isn’t a destination city, either.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The game recap. Wow, that was an explosion. Montreal “fell on our face,” and the Penguins just kept attacking. According to historian Bob Grove, it was a historic onslaught, as the Penguins scored six in the third, the most ever in one period against Montreal. Here’s the Penguins recap.

The analysis is far more intricate than simply the goals. It’s the high points, mistakes, and the bevy of things the team needs to clean up—and there were plenty. However, there were also a few sterling grades that should be noted, earned by players not usually praised. Here is the Penguins’ report card.

PHN Video: The five-minute Penguins postgame.

For the locker room video, our YouTube page has it all. Bryan Rust couldn’t stop smiling. Sidney Crosby took a few hard questions from the Montreal folks, and Tristan Jarry answered the million-dollar question–what was his and the team’s mindset after once again giving up the goal on the first shot? (Yes, I asked that question). Here is the PHN YouTube page.

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NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: I’m a fan of Nick Kypreos. He’s not afraid to say it, whatever “it” might be. He’ll tell you what he’s hearing, and he doesn’t harp on it beyond that. His trade board is quite interesting and makes a lot of sense–we could see a few shockers, including Josh Norris, Thomas Chabot, and even Sam Bennett.

Fans went out of their way to welcome back J.T. Miller in Vancouver. He had a pair of assists as fans serenaded the gritty forward whose frustration from dealing with a nagging injury forced him to step away for a moment.

Detroit Hockey Now: We’ll announce our new Flyers writer (and staff) in the next few days, but in the meantime, we’ll use the opposing story. Flyers’ center Scott Laughton netted four goals in the Flyers win over Detroit. The Flyers soared while the Detroit Red Wings fizzled.

TSN: More on the fallout in Buffalo. Fans are mad, the organization is trying to manage expectations and disappointment, and changes are coming. The Carolina Hurricanes are on the NHL trade market, and Alex Ovechkin won’t return for a few more weeks.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The top guys from Jack Hughes down were on it last night. The big guys carried the day, even as the goalie might have been a little shaky against the LA Kings. Here’s some pretty good New Jersey Devils analysis.

NYI Hockey Now: The team hung on for the win, but the Hall of Fame coach wasn’t having any of the celebration. Patrick Roy was fuming after the New York Islanders’ 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.