Dan’s Daily: Tortorella Shreds Flyers; Penguins Surprise

The Pittsburgh Penguins pulled a stunner Monday night by handling the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, earning a point in their fifth straight game. The Eastern Conference playoff race is further muddled as the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders went to overtime, though Flyers coach John Tortorella shredded his team afterward. The St. Louis Blues will be heavily mentioned in coming NHL trade rumors. And yeah, Sidney Crosby is one of the best of all time.

We’re chasing a few stories, including college-free agents in whom the Penguins have expressed interest. We’re also examining more playoff scenarios. This is getting even crazier than we could have imagined.

For the first time in a long time, I think Penguins fans were pleasantly surprised and a bit happy last night. Fair warning: tonight is going to be a chore. New Jersey is fast, the Penguins have a bug running through the locker room, and they are on the second of back-to-backs. This has “oh boy” written all over it.

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Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: We started yesterday off with a little shot across Twitter’s bow. For every fan who hopes the Penguins tank — here’s why it’s better if they do not and why it benefits the Penguins to win.

It was a shocker. Sidney Crosby made history. The New York Rangers couldn’t crack the Penguins. From Madison Square Garden, Dave Molinari’s Penguins Recap.

It was a much better scene inside the room than it’s been in a while. Alex Nedeljkovic shined. Crosby was all smiles (and got a text from Wayne Gretzky). Go inside the Penguins’ room.

And the Penguins report card — if you want more on the game and the performances that silenced the New York crowd, here you go. I gave out a handful of A’s in the Penguins grades.

And…

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Let’s Go Bucs! 5-0. The Nationals were no match for your Pittsburgh Pirates.

And the Indianapolis Indians are looking pretty good, too. Get the latest Pirates prospects report.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Philly Hockey Now: John Tortorella let rip with his best Michel Therrien impression yet. Soft. Don’t have the balls for playoff hockey. The coach unloaded on his Philadelphia Flyers.

NYI Hockey Now: Yikes. The Islanders had it. Then gave it away before rescuing a win in overtime over the Flyers. The look on Brock Nelson’s face said it all. The New York Islanders survived.

Detroit Hockey Now: Motown is chasing that wild card and got a big win Monday, too. The Detroit

The Athletic ($): The St. Louis Blues are going to miss the playoffs again. It’s roster shakeup time. That also means big-name defensemen on the NHL trade block.

TSN: Craig Button’s top 50 prospects list. The list will make Penguins fans sad — not one Penguins prospect on the list, and the number of players on the list that they passed over is significant.

Editor’s note: TSN did list Penguins prospect Ville Koivunen on the list, but associated him with Carolina. The Penguins acquired Koivunen as part of the return for Jake Guentzel.

Chicago Hockey Now: Trevor Zegras. NHL trade rumors. Are the Chicago Blackhawks the right fit?