Dan’s Daily: Rangers Sinking; Former Penguins Prospect Rises; Crosby’s Big Day

DALLAS — We’re off to Chicago this morning, but the Daily comes first. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, and the rookies had another bid day. We’ve got full coverage and an informative postgame analysis column. Later this morning, we’ll start talking draft picks. Elsewhere in the Daily, the Vancouver Canucks could lose Rick Tocchet and trade Elias Petterson, but what would a Pettersson trade look like? The New York Rangers can’t get their act together, and another ugly loss means they are residing in the 13th overall spot, which also means the Rangers could keep their 2025 first-round pick if that’s where they finish. Former Penguins’ prospect Brayden Yager is getting some attention as he leads his team deeper into the WHL playoffs.

If I’m going to do all 82 games this season, today is the day it will get screwed up. We just have to get from Dallas to Chicago. No problem, eh? I’m waiting until after the trip to tell you travel stories because I don’t want to jinx anything. We’ve come this far, and you’ve been incredibly generous in maintaining your subscriptions and putting a few dollars in the top jar (gently placed to the right).

PHN+ is the backbone of what we do. If you’d like to read us every day withOUT ads, join the party. This ain’t cheap or easy (unlike me). Use code Dan10 and save yourself $10 here. Our grand Wilkes-Barre adventure awaits, as does our Steelers draft coverage, and we are covering the Pirates with a very critical eye.

I will admit to staying in a lovely little hotel near the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, but the walls are a bit thin. I’m pretty sure the guy next door has the worst snoring problem I’ve ever heard. I mean, I can hear him SNORING. In a sense, I’m glad it’s snoring … and not a couple.

Off we go…

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Color me surprised. The Penguins trailed for most of the game. Once again, mistakes undid their extra effort, but then they started filling the net. Sidney Crosby netted the hat trick, and Tristan Jarry held the fort against the Stanley Cup favorite Dallas Stars. Here’s the Penguins game recap.

I sank my teeth into the big picture. I glossed over the Xs and Os because they didn’t matter nearly as much as what really happened over the last week. Go inside the Penguins locker room and get the full analysis, as well as two shifts that exemplified exactly what Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen bring to the table. Here’s EVERYTHING in one tidy package in the Penguins analysis.

PHN YouTube: Grab your coffee and head over to YouTube for the postgame video story time.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Wow. Double wow. John Perrotto brought the lumber, which is more than you’ll be able to say about the Buccos. JP calls out Bob Nutting in very specific and clear language that I’m not sure a professional writer has used. “Tell the truth, Bob.” Settle in for a rough and tumble Perrotto column on the Pittsburgh Pirates owner.

Steelers Now: Alan Saunders had a very simple question for Mike Tomlin and got a very complicated answer. Do the Steelers have five starting offensive linemen on the roster right now? Ummm, Tomlin essentially said no. Here’s more on the lackluster Steelers offseason.

NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

The Province: The third wave of drama in Vancouver after J.T. Miller vs. Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser is Rick Tocchet’s future. Oh, and will the Canucks keep Pettersson this summer? The trade rumors haven’t quit, nor have the Tocchet wanting to leave rumors.

Montreal Hockey Now: With a couple more points, Montreal will officially eliminate the Penguins. That’s a foregone conclusion, but those hungry Habs were special against the Flyers on Saturday. You gotta see the Paul Coffey-like goal that Lane Hutson scored. The Flyers were no match, and the Montreal Canadiens are rolling.

Sportsnet: The NHL Draft is going to be entirely boring this year because we’ll all be at home … except me? The prospects will be in LA at the draft, while the GMs will be in their home city. Yeah, weird, eh? The NHL already knows it’s a mistake, but the GMs wanted to try it. Moving forward, Elliotte Friedman reports we could see one incredible week—the awards, the draft, and the start of free agency, ALL in one city.

Now, that would be a spectacle. Imagine free agency happening in an arena?! Epic.

I’m writing this late at night. My guy next door is starting to snore. I can’t quite get a good audio recording.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Oh those Rangers. The New Jersey Devils blanked the Blueshirts and are starting to get ready for the playoffs, at least as much as their beleaguered lineup can be. It’s a good thing New York lost? The Devils won.

The loss kept the Rangers in the bottom 13. Somewhat comfortably so. Now, will the Rangers keep their 13th overall pick or even 12th, or will they give it to the Penguins to hold onto their 2026 first-round pick?

NYI Hockey Now: We could see history this afternoon. It’s a 12:30 p.m. game as Alex Ovechkin faces the Islanders with history on the line. Tickets are going for well over $2000. Yeah. It will be the New York Islanders and Ilya Sorokin vs. the Hockey World.

At least when the Islanders take on the world, they’re not fighting the Capitals’ seven ex-boyfriends. Right, Scott Pilgrim?

TSN: Brayden Yager is turning heads in the WHL as he leads his team deeper into the playoffs. He didn’t toss the Penguins under the bus, but I inferred that maybe he feels more at home with Winnipeg than he did with the veteran-laden Penguins.

And I just found out that was Bryan Rust behind me: https://t.co/0oyMBWPyN9

— Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) April 6, 2025