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Dan’s Daily: Penguins Look GOOD, NHL Trade Speculation, Lindberg Brilliant in WBS
Cmon, you didn’t really think the Pittsburgh Penguins would boat race two teams out of the arena in the first three games. Certainly not without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Yet here we are. The NHL trade speculation has begun on Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux. The Buffalo Sabres won’t pick up salary to get their ransom for Eichel, and Filip Lindberg was brilliant for the WBS Penguins.
It’s also enjoyable to watch these Penguins.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: After the Penguins beat the Chicago Blackhawks, Sidney Crosby surprised head coach Mike Sullivan with a game puck, and Tristan Jarry gave him the game helmet. Pretty cool locker room video.
Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t have a good night, but he had some fun Saturday morning when he pranked Kris Letang.
PHN+: The Penguins player report cards–not all good grades, but how the Penguins are doing it, and who played well.
WBS Penguins: Filip Lindberg stole the show before nearly 6,000 fans in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday night. That’s nothing but good news for the Penguins org.
NHL Trade Speculation
Twitter: Al Morganti of Philadelphia NBCsn, Tweeted this little tidbit about Claude Giroux (thanks, Spector’s Hockey, for finding it):
https://twitter.com/PaulGb_/status/1449082161815031808?s=20
Sportsnet: Shocker, the Buffalo Sabres did something to delay moving Jack Eichel. The NHL trade requests by Buffalo are deal killers for a player who needs serious surgery. Elliotte Friedman reports Buffalo won’t eat salary.
Ok, that demand, I understand.
NHL News and National Hockey Now:
Vegas: Max Pacioretty is out for weeks with a fractured foot. Bad news for Vegas Golden Knights, who are off to a shaky start.
TSN: Nikita Kucherov also left the game on Saturday with an injury that looked like something more serious than not.
San Jose: I like this kid William Eklund. He fell to No. 6 in the 2021 NHL Draft, and the San Jose Sharks nearly wept tears of joy (exaggeration, kind of). He’s dancing like Gene Kelly. Watch him make the Winnipeg Jets miss in cartoonish fashion. Eklund is fun to watch.
Metro Division:
Montreal: Another bad loss for the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens lost to the New York Rangers, 3-1.
NYI: The Islanders’ defense wasn’t so good–not good at all, and the Florida Panthers torched them.
Florida: Yep, Sam Bennett torched the Islanders. —Hat Trick in the Panthers win.
Washington: Ovechkin is off to a hot start. The Washington Capitals…not so much, as they lost to the Lightning, 2-1.
Canes Country: The Hurricanes beat Nashville 3-2. Here’s the complete locker room reaction.
Jackets Cannon: Columbus rallied to beat Brandon Tanev and the Seattle Kraken. Here are the jubilant takeaways.
Canada Hockey Now:
Toronto: The Toronto Maple Leafs controlled the game and the Ottawa Senators in a 3-1 win.
Vancouver: The Canucks dominated the Detroit Red Wings...and lost. Here’ why.
Calgary: The Flames lost the battle of Edmonton, 5-2. Yikes, Steve Macfarlane breaks it down, and Calgary is not going to be happy.
So, in summation today, Mike Sullivan is a heckuva coach, and the Penguins postgame helmet is gross. Philadelphia is already wondering about Claude Giroux’s future. And it looks like Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall found a winner with Filip Lindberg.
Also–John Perrotto has the best Steelers betting preview vs. the Seahawks, including some good freebies.