Dan’s Daily: Lehner Motivated by Twitter Hate, More NHL Trade Chatter

Robin Lehner got his own bus, got to the rink four hours before game time, and reveled in the Twitter hate that media and fans heaped upon him because he was starting in goal ahead of Marc-Andre Fleury. Lehner let everyone know he saw it, too. The Jack Eichel sweepstakes are getting red hot as NHL trade chatter added another team to the mix. And, we examine one player who checks a lot of boxes on the Pittsburgh Penguins trade front.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lehner’s postgame bluntness.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins want to add size and physicality. There’s one name floating about on the NHL trade market who wouldn’t mind getting his ticket punched out of Buffalo and who would check a lot of boxes for the Penguins needs. What would the Penguins trade cost be for Rasmus Ristolainen?

NHL Playoffs:

Vegas: Robin Lehner saw everyone, journalists and his home fans, “talking shit.” He expected it, and he used that as fuel for a brilliant Game 4 performance. He was also blunt in his postgame comments. 

Oh, Vegas did win 2-1 in OT to even the series at 2-2. 

NYI: There’s a massive watch party at the Coliseum for Game 5 tonight. 

That Ryan Pulock save in the final seconds of Game 4 is being canonized in New York Islanders lore. It was every bit the save Rob Scuderi made for the Penguins in 2009, and Islanders fans are going nuts for it. 

NHL Trade Chatter & National Hockey Now Network

A little preview–coming up in our weekly “Off the Record” column by Jimmy Murphy, either this afternoon or tomorrow morning–one GM revealed the asking price for Jack Eichel. Subscribe to PHN+ here. 

Philly: The Flyers want to improve their blue line corps. Matt Dumba and Seth Jones are two names that were first mentioned, but now there’s a third–Will the Philadelphia Flyers resume their chase of Oliver Ekman-Larsson? 

NY Post: Larry Brooks now puts the Chicago Blackhawks, who have a bevy of prospects and the 11th pick in this draft, in the Jack Eichel mix, too. 

Ottawa Sun: Mr. Bruce Garrioch dismissed talk that the Ottawa Senators could be in play for Eichel. Instead, Garrioch laid out the less expensive but very talented options available to the Senators on the NHL trade front. 

Detroit: Wait, Nicklas Lidstrom never won the Lady Byng?!