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Dan’s Daily: Imperfect Penguins Points, Vegas Honors Phil Kessel

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Pittsburgh Penguins win, Phil Kessel honored, NHL trade talk
Phil Kessel: Photo Courtesy of Vegas Golden Knights

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Pittsburgh Penguins somehow found a way to get two points in Minnesota. It wasn’t pretty and far from perfect, but Sidney Crosby had four points, and a win looks much better than a loss. There were wild and crazy games in Montreal and San Jose. Despite the explosion of NHL trade rumors, Erik Karlsson hasn’t yet been asked to waive his no-trade clause. Dallas goalie Scott Wedgewood was taken from the game on a stretcher, Josh Bailey looks to be on the outs with the Islanders, and Vegas honored Ironman Phil Kessel for playing in his 1000th consecutive game.

By the time you read this, I’ll be gone … from frigid St. Paul and most of the way to ridiculously frigid Winnipeg. I’m not sure, but I may have Penguins practice to myself on Friday because no one else could get timely flights from Minneapolis to Winnipeg. I couldn’t either, so I rented a car for the dreary, flat drive that takes about eight hours.

The last time I made the drive, it was reversed in January, 2006. I watched Team Canada win gold at the World Junior Championships in Grand Forks, ND, then drove to Minneapolis. That was the night that I spent at the airport with Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, and Team Russia. We all arrived at the vacant airport around 3 a.m. They didn’t speak English. I don’t speak Russian. We had hours to kill. Fun times. Someday, I will confirm if Malkin and Ovechkin indeed used the window to slip out of their second-story Grand Forks hotel room every night to get McDonald’s, as was the hot rumor.

Whether or not it’s true, it makes for a helluva story.

Pittsburgh Penguins / Steelers, Pirates

Just in case Twitter does take a break, here’s my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dan_kingerski/.

But I can think of 44 billion reasons why Twitter will not go away, temper tantrums of staff aside.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Dave Molinari’s almost-famous Penguins recap.

PHN Video: From the XCEL Energy Center, we break down the Pittsburgh Penguins’ good and bad. There were some bright spots, especially the fourth line. Watch the 5-minute Pittsburgh Penguins postgame.

PHN+: Want to know what the Penguins were doing wrong? The entirely too thorough, informative, explanatory, and comprehensive Penguins report card.

And lastly, the most-read story of the day — The Penguins mailbag. Yinz ain’t happy. From Ron Hextall to Mike Sullivan and even Sidney Crosby, lots of questions and anger. Check it: The tough Penguins questions.

Steelers Now:

  • Minkah Fitzpatrick is back at practice.
  • A documentary casts the NFL negatively, regarding the treatment of former players with CTE. Al Jazeera focused on Carlton Haselrig, the former Steelers lineman.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now (+): Potential Rule 5 Draft options for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now:

San Jose Hockey Now: No, Sharks GM Mike Grier has not yet asked Erik Karlsson to waive his no-trade clause.

Karlsson was on the ice for nine goals on Thursday. On five straight Karlsson shifts, there was a goal scored. It was a wild one at the SAP Center, as the San Jose Sharks lost to Detroit, 7-4.

Speaking of those Detroit Red Wings, Nicklas Lidstrom was named the best Swedish player ever.

Dallas Hockey Now: Wow–Scott Wedgewood had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher (Update: he’s OK), and the Dallas Stars beat Florida, 6-4.

Sportsnet Video: More NHL trade talk. Jim Rutherford is not a happy camper, as Canucks losses pile up. It’s shocking that “the big one” hasn’t happened yet. Analyzing the Vancouver Canucks’ trade chips.

NYI Hockey Now: Scratched for two straight games, it seems 33-year-old lightning rod Josh Bailey has lost his spot in the New York Islanders lineup.

Montreal Hockey: Our guys in Montreal were going nuts. The goals didn’t stop. Just as wild, if not more, than the San Jose-Detroit game was the Montreal Canadiens game. The Canadiens eventually fell short, 7-4.

Vegas Hockey Now: And lastly, for his 1000th straight game, watch the Vegas Golden Knights honor Phil Kessel.