Dan’s Daily: Sabres Implode; Kakko Rips Rangers; Penguins Turn-Around

The Pittsburgh Penguins are suddenly the good team, while the fun in New York extends well beyond the misery of braving packed crowds to see the tree at Rockefeller Center or the cold of seeing Niagara Falls lit up for Christmas. The Buffalo Sabres’ owner told the players nothing would change, and he had faith in them. They responded with their worst performance in an already abysmal season. Not to be outdone, the New York Rangers are racing toward the bottom, and young forward Kaapo Kakko ripped his coach for making him a healthy scratch. Start spreadin’ the news.

Elsewhere in the Daily, the Vancouver Canucks are officially on the prowl looking for a couple of key pieces on the NHL trade market and will act as soon as they find what they need. However, Ivan Provorov might take himself off the market, if Columbus will let him.

The Penguins room was a bit of fun Tuesday night. Hey, permit me a human side, but I’ve seen those guys suffer and carry 100-pound weights on their chests, so it’s nice to see them get rewarded, too. No, I’ll not cover them any differently, but if I had to cover Buffalo, God help them because I would bury the organization from top to bottom with aggressive precision and a sledge hammer on a daily basis.

It’s not a coincidence that organizations such as Buffalo, the Pittsburgh Pirates, or the Cleveland Browns never win consistently. And it’s not the snow or color of their jerseys or lack of fan support.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: In the wake of Marcus Pettersson’s injury, the Penguins made a call-up. Meet the new defenseman Nate Clurman.

Ok, let’s dive into the win over the LA Kings that brought the Penguins to .500. We’ll start with Dave Molinari’s Penguins recap.

I had some fun with the analysis. Coach Mike Sullivan did some tinkering in the second period, He tweaked the Penguins forecheck to create a maze in the neutral zone that thwarted LA. We got into the changes as well as the the player grades in the Penguins report card.

Alex Nedeljkovic said “we beat them at their own game in a way.” Rickard Rakell had the quote of the night and he very plainly pointed to a rising feeling. You could almost hear the John Williams musical score. You can see for yourself with the the raw video. Go inside the Penguins locker room.

PHN YouTube: The Penguins don’t stink. Sorry. Check out the five-minute Penguins postgame:

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

The Athletic ($): The latest NHL trade rumblings as reported by Pierre LeBrun. You know when Jim Rutherford gets itchy, he gets busy. Expect some movement–and it could be soon–by the Canucks who have identified a couple of needs.

LeBrun also reports that Ivan Provorov’s little brother has committed to play at Ohio State, and big brother would like to stick around for that instead of being cannon fodder at the NHL trade deadline.

NY Post: Kaapo Kakko didn’t hide his disappointment over being a healthy scratch. First, he poked at the coach, saying it’s easy to take it out on the young guy. Then he kicked his teammates saying he definitely wasn’t the worst one out there. Here you go.

Philly Hockey Now: It’s a historic battle. John Tortorella vs. the Michigan goal. In this corner, hockey purity. In that corner, fans love it. Our new writer at Philly Hockey Now, William James, who will graduate from Penn State Friday, lays out the fun with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Now to the juicy stuff. The Flyers are going to subtract at the NHL trade deadline. They’ve already said so. However, James writers there are several young players who could accelerate their rebuild–maybe it’s time to adjust course? Change the Flyers trade plans?

New Jersey Hockey Now: It was the big get of the offseason, at least for GM Tom Fitzgerald. However, Fitzgerald hedged his praise of goalie Jacob Markstrom when New Jersey Hockey Now asked about his performance. He kind of praised him, but kind of challenged him to be better. Was it a lukewarm reaction by the New Jersey Devils GM?

Florida Hockey Now: No, you can’t have him. He’s not for sale, except he might be. George Richards has the persistent trade rumors surrounding gritty center Sam Bennett.

WIVB: Look at below. The Buffalo Sabres have hit rock bottom despite a visit from the owner. It was ANOTHER loss as the Montreal Canadiens just absolutely smoked them from the outset. Ouch.