The Daily: Penguins Rebound; Celebrini 2nd Fastest Ever; UFA D-Men Available

Like a class with a substitute teacher, Dan’s Daily isn’t really Dan’s this day. After being on hand for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ bounce-back win Thursday night, Dan Kingerski was busy pondering the seemingly head-scratching reality that you have to travel south — SOUTH — across a bridge from Detroit to visit our neighbor to the north, Canada, where the Penguins play Saturday in Toronto.

Evgeni Malkin hit a milestone, and a rookie goaltender had a memorable debut in the Penguins’ 6-3 win over the Red Wings. The win helped erase the sour memories of a season-opening 6-0 loss at home against the New York Rangers a night earlier.

Elsewhere in the NHL, ESPN has the best goalie masks this season, a San Jose Sharks rookie had the second-fastest first-goal ever, the Columbus Blue Jackets revealed that team captain Boone Jenner will miss at least most of the season after shoulder surgery, and the game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning scheduled for Saturday at Amalie Arena has been postponed because of Hurricane Milton cleanup.

Pittsburgh Penguins

What a difference 24 hours made. The Penguins shored up their game and evened their record at 1-1-0 with the win in Motown. Joel Blomqvist, forced into backup goalie duty with Alex Nedeljkovic injured, started and helped hold off the Red Wings. Here is the Penguins postgame recap.

Even within the game, there were a couple of different games. The first period was survival, followed by two periods of attacking the Detroit Red Wings’ vulnerable defense and goaltending. The Penguins got a much-needed win, and Kingerski issued a few high grades but also one stinging assessment in the Penguins report card.

Blomqvist graded out well, especially in the first period. Evgeni Malkin hit 800 career assists, Anthony Beauvillier scored twice in his Penguins debut, and the team got a boost with a goal and an assist from a somewhat unlikely source, Marcus Pettersson.

PHN Video: The Coach’s Debrief is a new series we’re piloting with coach and hockey executive Francis Anzalone. With complete detail from someone who’s been in the coaches’ room (including the Penguins’ room), here’s a sharp breakdown of what the players did (and needed to do) and what the coaches were saying after the Penguins” opening loss.

The video is a must for fans and nerds who want to know what goes on behind closed doors. Anazlone also had a detailed breakdown on Ryan Graves and the Penguins’ defensemen, too.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: One bright spot in the Pirates’ season was the performance of a starter who is a top candidate to be named Rookie of the Year. John Perrotto points out that despite feeling their way through handling the ace, the Pirates ended up with a perfect plan for Paul Skenes.

Steelers Now: The Steelers have lost two games in a row. Quarterback Russell Wilson, who has been listed all along at QB1 but has not yet made his team debut, appears to be close to ready to return from injury. So what are the chances that Justin Fields continues to start?

NHL News & National Hockey Now

TSN: Penguins division foe Columbus has learned that team captain Boone Jenner will be out an estimated five to six months after having shoulder surgery. Already reeling after the offseason death of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matt, the Blue Jackets could be without Jenner for the season, although GM Don Waddell is hopeful Boone can return for the team’s outdoor game March 1.

Also from TSN: The insiders rolled through four unsigned defensemen with big names and reputations but no contract this season.

Sportsnet: Tampa Bay was supposed to play its home opener Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes. In a coincidence that’s not funny, the game has been postponed, with no makeup date yet, because of cleanup efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

San Jose Hockey Now: An old familiar sting hit the San Jose Sharks, who blew a three-goal, third-period lead in losing in overtime to the St. Louis Blues. However, with hard times come high draft picks, and the Sharks’ witnessed the second-fastest first-goal in history from 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini.

Of course, the fastest remains Mario Lemieux. First shift, first shot, first goal.

Florida Hockey Now: Another team captain got hurt, this time in the Florida Panthers’ loss to Ottawa. An apparent leg injury from a crash into the boards led to team captain Sasha Barkov being helped off the ice.

Philly Hockey Now: What was a promising crop of defensemen for the rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers evaporated as none made the final roster. What does that say about the team’s depth?

Islanders Hockey Now: Will Mat Barzal set career highs in goals and points for the New York Islanders? Will the team finally finish with more points than Carolina? Check out four bold predictions.

ESPN: And just for fun, the best goalie masks of the 2024-25 season.