Dan’s Daily: Penguins Hold Third, Panthers Ridiculous Hot Streak

With some accuracy, we now see the NHL playoff brackets. The biggest variables are the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights. The Penguins held serve against the weak-kneed Detroit Red Wings, while the teams that Vegas needed to lose rallied for wins to put Vegas on the brink of elimination. After the season, Pierre-Luc Dubois could be a hot name in NHL trade rumors, and the Florida Panthers are unbeatable.

Florida is on a 1992-93 Penguins-type run.

We’ll start with the Penguins and analysis.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins extinguished what little fight Detroit had. The Penguins stars filled the net in a 7-2 win. Pittsburgh Penguins postgame.

Evgeni Malkin had two goals, but I did not think he played well until the third period. Head coach Mike Sullivan said he was solid on Saturday but dished a little criticism on Friday. The story is two-fold. The Penguins need more…now. And Malkin could be playing for his Penguins future. Evgeni Malkin uncertainty.

The Penguins have a couple of wins in a row, but they can’t shake the Bruins to guarantee they’ll stay in the Metro if Washington catches them. Boston did what few others have done and beat the New York Rangers. The Carolina Hurricanes rallied for a win, which gives them the inside track on first place and again pits the Rangers and Penguins in a 2-3 matchup.

Detroit Hockey Now: For the flip side, our buddy Kevin Allen had some harsh critiques and a dose of sarcasm for the flatlining Detroit Red Wings.

WBS Penguins: 2020 second-round pick Joel Blomqvist made his North American professional debut, but the WBS Penguins lost 3-1. WBS Penguins postgame.

NHL News & National Hockey Now:

Sportsnet 32 Thoughts HNIC: There are a couple of news items I think you may enjoy today. Elliotte Friedman tried to piece together the Robin Lehner situation. Is he out with a knee injury, or is he not? The Winnipeg Jets will have an offseason fraught with hard decisions. No one is safe. Pierre-Luc Dubois might price himself out of Winnipeg.

Also on Hockey Night in Canada, Erik Gudbranson discussed his NHL career and opportunity with Calgary.

“Guddy” ranks right there with Zach Aston-Reese as players I enjoyed wandering over to for a quick chat and insights.

Calgary Hockey Now: Calgary is hot. They’re bringing the heat, every pun intended, every game. Elias Lindholm scored his 40th goal and is looking pretty good for some hardware. Calgary Flames are rolling.

Florida Hockey Now: You can’t beat Florida. Not rats, not slushy ice, not even stripping Disney of its state-wide autonomy can hurt the Panthers. By all accounts, Patric Hornqvist is setting a culture, and (just like 2016?) his team is charging through the final month. Now 13 straight wins. Not even Toronto could stop them–the unbeatable Florida Panthers.

Vancouver Hockey Now: A late charge to make the playoffs looks like it will come up short. Ya can’t lose games in the final week. It’s over. A hard-fought loss to Calgary put a stake in Jim Rutherford’s Vancouver Canucks.

However, our Rob Simpson did dish some high praise for Conor Garland.

Dallas won on Saturday, which all but eliminated Vancouver and put the Vegas Golden Knights on the brink.

Now to news related to the Pittsburgh Penguins…

Philly: When the Penguins face the Flyers this afternoon, they will not see a few familiar faces. Carter Hart, Cam Atkinson, and Rasmus Ristolainen are the lucky ones. They are out of the rest of the season. The hobbled Philadelphia Flyers lineup.

Boston: Uh oh. The Bruins are healthy. David Pastrnak, Linus Ullmark, and Hampus Lindholm returned to the lineup, and the Bruins flexed their muscle against the New York Rangers. They kept pace with the Penguins at 101 points. Boston Bruins win.

Washington: The Capitals trail the Penguins by two points but didn’t play on Saturday. Ilya Samsonov has been pretty good lately–has he claimed the No. 1 job? Washington Capitals analysis.

Montreal: I didn’t do a Daily on Saturday because of the late coffee matinee. But the outpouring of emotion for the departed Guy Lafleur has been incredible and without end. He meant so much to Montreal and hockey. The tributes flowed. In a star-laden franchise, Guy Lafleur was the Montreal Canadiens.