Dan’s Daily: Rantanen Trash Talks Avs; Penguins Candidates to Know

It was a shocking third period comeback. For the first time this season, the Dallas Stars overcame a multi-goal third period deficit as Mikko Rantanen scored a hat-trick and then taunted his former teammates. On Pittsburgh Hockey Now, there’s a potential Penguins trade target to keep your eyes on while taking a look at our five under-the-radar Penguins coaching candidates. Elsewhere in the Daily, Brady Tkachuk slammed rumors about him leaving Ottawa, why Vegas should squash Edmonton again, and there’s heat on the LA Kings for a shakeup.

That was an incredible third period between Dallas and Colorado. The level of play by the Stanley Cup contenders shows how far the Penguins need to go. The Crosby line could hang. The rest of the Penguins…nope.

Also, it looks like my perception and prediction skills were off … WAY off this year. I correctly predicted only one of four Eastern Conference series, and I whiffed on two of three Western Conference series. We’ll see how Winnipeg does tonight, but I could go 2-6 if St. Louis wins. I’ve NEVER been so far off. I really thought Florida was banged up and Tampa Bay would take that one. Whoops.

And since I was stuck inside all weekend as the Omega weather system dumped rain on top of rain, I found a fun show on Peacock, Poker Face. Natasha Lyonne (who’s been in many things, but became famous in American Pie) brings her raspy, grounded sarcasm and detachment to something akin to a serialized detective show, though her character is not actually a detective. There are some big-name guest stars, too. Just don’t watch too many in a row, it’s not really meant for long binging.

Lyonne’s character also drives but has no appreciation for her 1969 Barracuda. Every detective show needs a great car, right? The executive producer is Rian Johnson, who is much better at this than Star Wars sequels.

Also, watch WPXI’s Final Word tonight at 11:30. We’ll see if I can get a haircut before showtime.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Tampa Bay’s loss could be the Penguins’ gain. Tampa Bay GM Julien Brisebois admitted they can’t sign their 2022 first-round pick. Helloooo, Kyle Dubas. And there’s a curious bit of the past revealed regarding Mike Sullivan. The trade target and Sullivan’s almost departure last year are in the Penguins notebook.

OK, there are two names on this coaching list that I absolutely want to see become finalists for the job because I think it’s their time. However, neither generates the buzz that David Carle is getting or Spencer Carbery got. That doesn’t mean they’re not worthy, and last night showed why No. 4 on the list could be a good choice. We nailed the potential GMs list two years ago, so let’s see how we do with coaches–here are five under-the-radar Penguins coaching candidates.

I really, really like No. 1 and 4. They’d be on my shortlist.

And a commenter asked what I meant by “A commanding presence is a must for the Penguins.” I thought it was fairly self-explanatory based on the history of this core (and if you ever want to see my irritated face, just ask, “What do you mean?” I mean exactly what I just said or wrote!). But for you newbies, the Penguins’ talented players have historically been rough on coaches they didn’t buy into. Even Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, among others, were petulant mutineers to Mike Sullivan for part of a season until things were corrected. They chewed up and spit out Mike Johnston and absolutely rebelled against Michel Therrien towards the end.

Sullivan had faults, including occasionally getting too big for his britches, but commanding the room was his great strength.

NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

The Athletic ($): Sketchy coaching decisions, a GM with no playoff wins despite lots of regular season wins during his tenure, and a couple of aging stars put the LA Kings in a bind. They had, then, choked away the Round One win against Edmonton. So what comes next for LA? A shakeup seems quite possible.

Sportsnet: Brady Tkachuk flat out rejected and slammed rumors that he would leave Ottawa, “It’s obviously a lie.” There’s a new day in Ottawa, and Tkachuk is leading the way.

Colorado Hockey Now: Ouch, this one is going to sting for quite a while. Nathan MacKinnon scored 30 seconds into the third period, and the Avs took a 2-0 lead. It should be over, right? Way wrong answer. Former Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen unleashed the beast and netted a hat trick, including the empty-netter, and then taunted his former mates. Dallas rallied for an impressive and wild Game 7 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

In the postgame interview, Rantanen expressed love for his former teammates, but if he yelled what ESPN color analyst Ray Ferraro insinuated that he yelled at the Avalanche bench after scoring the EN goal, someone is going to punch him next season. And probably should.

Vegas Hockey Now: It’s Vegas vs. Edmonton, Part II. The VGK deflated Edmonton’s hopes in 2023 on their way to “Cup in Six,” but Edmonton was merely a goal short of the Stanley Cup last year. So, what happens in round two? Here’s why the sequel also belongs to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Detroit Hockey Now: Losing is a disease, and Detroit is infected. General manager Steve Yzerman is worried. Yzerman openly worried that the repetitive failure is staining the walls of the room and becoming part of the Red Wings’ culture.