Dan’s Daily: Fleury Wins Prank War; Penguins Lose Control

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ lost point on Monday burned them Tuesday when the teams they’re battling for the final playoff spots were victorious. The Penguins lost control of their fate and will need some help to continue their season. The Washington Capitals and New York Islanders held third period leads under heavy pressure. The Islanders got away with a few penalties in the final minutes, but that’s par for the course. Auston Matthews netted a salary-cap-era record-setting goal. Jack Hughes is done for the year, and the Philadelphia Flyers are toast.

I’d like to give you a little update on the Hockey Now family. We recently turned down a substantial offer from a venture capitalist. They changed their offer and wanted to buy the entire company, keeping me on as long as I operated under the parameters of their CFO, the same toolbag who tried to berate me over lunch in Manhattan last July. Tried.

So, we’ll be making a lot of changes on our own over the next few months, but they will be for your benefit, not ours! We’ll be adding new comment sections, new subscription benefits, and, I believe, more expansion. The recent success on YouTube only whetted my appetite to do more podcasting and to put more pods on our platform. Stay tuned.

If you’ve got a good podcast, I’m listening…

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Young players. Ryan Graves addition by subtraction. And a few uncomfortable Penguins truths.

A couple of the Penguins’ Finnish prospects will make their North American debuts after signing PTOs with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

It was not a great night for the Penguins. Their rivals, the Capitals and Islanders, won, taking playoff control away and impacting the Penguins’ playoff hopes.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Fans are getting restless with David Bednar, and let him have it Tuesday. Before Bednar could speak to the media, his teammates jumped to his defense. More from the Pirates clubhouse.

Geez, yinz are getting a little bloodthirsty and hostile.

That Bednar blown save let a few pretty good performances, including a two-homer day, go for naught. Get the Pirates recap.

NHL News & National Hockey Now

TSN Video: Geno Rejda has a bit more on Sidney Crosby and Auston Matthew, but the cool part of the video is the prank war. You just don’t beat Marc-Andre Fleury, but someone tried.

Philly Hockey Now: It was brutal. A 9-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, their eighth in a row. Yep, try not to cry, but the Philadelphia Flyers hit “rock bottom.”

Detroit Hockey Now: It was a playoff-worthy battle between the Red Wings and the Capitals. The Capitals needed to win, and they did, but Detroit should have earned the two points. Why the Detroit Red Wings didn’t cash in is a larger problem.

NYI Hockey Now: Mr. Mojo rising. The New York Islanders survived multiple points of controversy, including a heavy hit on Rangers’ Mika Zbinejad and a terrible missed boarding call in the final minutes. Bad news for the Penguins, the Islanders won.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Jack Hughes will have shoulder surgery, and then the Devils were eliminated from playoff contention. James Nichols let it rip on the end of the 2023-24 New Jersey Devils.

Buffalo Hockey Now: The Sabres are also out. It’s been 13 years since they made the playoffs, and it won’t be this year, either, for the Buffalo Sabres.

Chicago Hockey Now: And here’s an important story for the socially conscious. Joel Quenneville joined the Cam and Strick podcast. He admitted he needed to handle the sexual assault differently. More from the former Chicago Blackhawks coach.