Dan’s Daily: Rutherford Unloads, Penguins Getting Letang Back

Jim Rutherford is the talk of hockey after he torched the Vancouver Canucks, including himself. Rutherford will define the NHL trade deadline. That brush fire became a full-fledged inferno. The Pittsburgh Penguins gave up a pair of third period goals to the Anaheim Ducks but then rallied for a late third-period tie and OT win. Coach Mike Sullivan updated Kris Letang and Jan Rutta. The Capitals beat the Islanders, Nathan MacKinnon had four points, and the Ottawa Senators will start showing the books to potential owners.

I must confess that I absolutely hate breaking news. Despise it. PHN caught wind of some potential Penguins trade talks–we discussed the source and info and cautiously wrote the story so that it didn’t report more than we intended. Teams usually comment directly or indirectly when a story goes big, and they rarely say, “hell yeah, we’re talking.” Then it becomes a debate. I’d rather watch two trapping teams go to OT than that process–which is why I turn down far more stories than we print. It has been that way for a few years.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins scored in the final 30 seconds and won in OT. Here’s the Dave Molinari Penguins recap.

Reaction in the room was positive. The boys were pretty happy with the comeback. Penguins locker room.

And the full-scale analysis. The team might have been happy, but big issues remain — the Pittsburgh Penguins’ grades.

Official update: “Within a day or so,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will return.

And Jan Rutta is day-to-day. He didn’t play Monday.

Steelers Now:

*Ahem — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Dallas Cowboys Monday, and Tampa Bay is expected to fire their OC, former Steelers QB Byron Leftwich.

The odds have shifted in Arizona. The favorite to be the next head coach of the Cardinals is Brian Flores.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now:

Full details and the info you need — The Pirates made a little bit of a splash by signing top Korean prospect Jun-Seok Shim.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now:

TSN: Bombs away. Jim Rutherford doesn’t like his performance. He’s surprised at the things he will have to do. The Canucks need major surgery. Rutherford’s “wow” press conference started with an update on the Tanner Pearson injury investigation and took off from there.

Sportsnet: 32 Thoughts — There is a lot more on the NHL trade chatter. An NHL exec likes the Penguins’ heart and more on Vancouver, too.

Washington Hockey Now: The Capitals rallied from down three goals to beat the Islanders. The Capitals have been undergoing line shuffles and some self-excoriation. And Monday, they said, “enough was enough.” Washington Capitals locker room coverage.

I suppose that helps the Penguins because they are in direct competition with the Islanders for the second wild card but chasing the Capitals.

NYI Hockey Now: The game had a bit of controversy, too. Alex Ovechkin freight-trained Jean-Gabriel Pageau. It didn’t look entirely clean, but there was no call. Coach Lane Lambert (probably) tempered what he really wanted to say after the New York Islanders’ loss.

Colorado Hockey Now: An important win for the Avalanche. They looked like they had their swagger back. Nathan MacKinnon had four points, and the Avalanche beat the Red Wings 6-3. From Evan Rawal inside the locker room —  Colorado Avalanche coverage.

And your viral moment of the day:

Boston Hockey Now: Boston crushed Philly 6-0, but the fun part — Nick Foligno and Travis Konecny tangled along the wall. Officials handed matching minor penalties, but Foligno wasn’t happy that his restraint was penalized. His words were caught on the ref’s mic. Check out the Boston Bruins highlight.