Dan’s Daily: Hart Trophy Odds, Fleury Wins, Capitals Punishment

The goalie to put an end to Phil Kessel’s hot start was former teammate Marc-Andre Fleury, though Kessel scored his fourth goal of the year in garbage time. In wrestling terms, that’s good guy vs. good guy for Pittsburgh Penguins fans. Fleury stopped 20 shots, and VGK is a buzzsaw this season. The early Hart Trophy odds are out, but for Penguins betting, Sidney Crosby is not among the favorites. Finally, the Washington Capitals stars had a little too much socializing, likely in Pittsburgh.

We’ll start with the Capitals today. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Kuznetsov, and others are now in the NHL COVID protocol, and the team is $100,000 poorer after the boys were caught hanging out in non-approved team areas (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

The NHL didn’t specify a date for the infraction, but it happened in Buffalo or Pittsburgh. Given the timing, it seems Pittsburgh.

The Vegas Golden Knights are undefeated. 4-0-0. Marc-Andre-Fleury stopped 20, but no highlight-reel saves (Vegas Hockey Now)

In case you missed it — the NHL is suspending the pucks embedded with electronic chips. There was an error in production, and the pucks weren’t treated properly. They didn’t slide well. (EPRinkside)

Who would you bet on to win the Hart Trophy? For Penguins betting purposes, Crosby is not among the favorites. (Spectors Hockey)

The Dallas Stars waived defenseman Julius Honka. It looks like that’s the end in Dallas (Dallas Morning News)

Before you ask, my answer would be yes.

National Hockey Now

Erik Karlsson has his legs again. Uh oh, West Division. They beat St. Louis 2-1. Here’s Sheng’s snag analysis (San Jose Hockey Now)

The Boston Bruins players are convinced Tuukka Rask is on a mission to prove his doubters wrong (Boston Hockey Now)

It’s early, but Devan Toews looks pretty, pretty good in Colorado (Colorado Hockey Now)

Josh Bailey is on the COVID list, and Andy Greene is set to face the New Jersey Devils, the team he captained for years (NYI Hockey Now)

It was an off day for many teams, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are back on the ice at practice this morning. We’ll have full coverage.