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The Pittsburgh Penguins have now submitted a 16-game stretch with as much horrendous defending and as many mistakes as any team in recent memory. And there are no signs of improvement, only a crater from the latest implosion. Coach Dan Muse didn’t rip his team Thursday night, but he did chide them and shred every single flaw. In a foreshadowing moment, we also published a very illuminating story for PHN+ subscribers on the Penguins room, answering for their mistakes and their analysis of what is going wrong with defensive zone coverage.
Elsewhere in the Daily, there is a shark lurking in the NHL trade waters. There’s also a team that makes a great deal of sense interested in Dylan Larkin, but they’re not on his sacred list. Evander Kane is headed to Russia, and agent Dan Milstein is working on finding a new home for Ivan Miroshnichenko.
Penguins lines: projected lineup and starting goalie →
There were a couple of scouts in attendance Thursday. One is an analytics guy who pops in occasionally, so I wouldn’t necessarily circle that team as something to watch. The other, I know that I know him, but it’s driving me bonkers trying to remember who he is. He’s more than a garden-variety scout, and I think he was a head coach, but I just cannot place him. He came over and sat in the media seats before the game, and my less experienced colleagues helped him get back to his proper place, far away from us.
Dan had to educate his industry brethren that when a scout wanders over, you let them stay…and you find out who they are! Oh well, it will come to me sooner or later.
Off to LA this morning. I absolutely cannot sleep when I have a big travel day ahead. Do laundry, clean up the house, pack; it gets me going, so this guy is working on a couple of hours’ sleep. That only means my mid-day column will be extra spicy…
Pittsburgh Penguins
PHN+: We asked several players. What is going wrong with defensive zone coverage, and how do you fix it? Rickard Rakell gave a strong, insightful answer. Kaedan Korczak did, too. Subscribers, check it out. You can also try out PHN+ for seven days free. Here’s this week’s story from the Penguins locker room.
OK, we did the postgame for the 6-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. But rather than a boring recap you’re not going to read, we break down the goals and lay blame in the Penguins’ postgame.
And the report card. Some heavyweight details, but this time, instead of it being all of my analysis, coach Dan Muse did it for me, and he shredded his team’s game and admitted that not even he knows why the Penguins keep abandoning what works. It’s a good Penguins report card.
Boston Hockey Now: The flip side. Boston very much enjoyed their 60 minutes. Jack Studley detailed what makes the Boston Bruins so dangerous.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
The Athletic: Players are warming up to Utah. The Utah Mammoth are building something pretty quickly, and they’re also becoming strong possibilities for the big names on the trade block.
I could definitely see a lot of players being very amenable to living in Salt Lake City, especially guys with young families. It’s a bit too calm for me, but most people would love it.
NHLtraderumors.me: Darren Dreger reports that the Boston Bruins would like to get in on Dylan Larkin. Of course, Larkin hasn’t budged on weaponizing his trade list. For now, Larkin hears them knocking, but they can’t come in.
Boston could make a great offer, too. A younger team on the rise in the capital of US hockey. Cmon. Larkin would make the Bruins a Cup contender.
TSN: Are the Detroit Red Wings having even more trouble making the big trades because they have an interim GM?
Detroit Hockey Now: Simon Edvinsson has not gone back to Sweden, but he’s not skating in Detroit. Max Smith reports that the Red Wings defenseman is in … Nashville?!