Rumors: Thomas Vanek expected to be traded by the deadline
Thomas Vanek, as expected, will not resign with the New York Islanders prior to the March 5th trade deadline. Arthur Staple of Newsday reports Vanek has turned down a “substantial offer” from the Islanders and the Isles are now likely to move Vanek. The move to acquire Vanek has backfired on GM Garth Snow who took a gamble that the lure of playing with John Tavares would get Vanek to accept a big offer from the Islanders. However, it’s been no secret that Vanek has had his sights set on testing free agency from the get-go with many believing he will be willing to give the Minnesota Wild a hometown discount this summer. The Islanders have fallen 10 points out
How bad is the Metropolitan Division?
If there’s one early observation to make it’s that the Western Conference is a significantly better conference than the Eastern Conference. Going into today’s action, Western Conference teams are 26-6-3 vs the East. In the East, the Atlantic Division has emerged as a much stronger division than the Metropolitan Division. Projected as a competitive division, the Metro has the look of easily being the worst division in hockey and it’s not even close. The joke going around is that the Penguins will have the division title wrapped up before the Olympic Break. The Penguins lead the way off to a 4-1-0, 8 pts, start, with Carolina (2-2-2, 6 pts), New York Islanders (2-2-1, 5 pts), Columbus Blue Jackets (2-2-0, 4
Inside the Metro Division: Hurricanes Trade Talk; Could Morrow re-enter picture with Flyers?
HURRICANES LOOK TO FREE AGENT MARKET OR TRADE ROUTE Will the Carolina Hurricanes look at Matt Niskanen as an option to replace Joni Pitkanen who is lost for the season? Possible, but to this point there hasn’t been any substantive trade talks between the Penguins and Carolina about Niskanen, sources tell Inside Pittsburgh Sports. The Penguins would like to hold onto Niskanen. Even with Pitkanen, it was going to be tough sledding for the Hurricanes in the Metropolitan division and the buzz for a few weeks now has been that Carolina seeks a left handed top-4 defenseman to replace Pitkanen. Ron Hainsey has been linked to the Hurricanes and Bob McKenzie of TSN threw out Leafs RFA Cody Franson as
Flyers, Mark Streit agree to 4 year – $21 million deal
FLYERS, STREIT AGREE TO DEAL The Philadelphia Flyers have made their first big move of the off-season, agreeing to a 4 year worth $21 million with defenseman Mark Streit, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The deal carries an AAV of $5.25 million and with Streit being 35 years old, all four years will count against the cap were Streit to retire.
Trade Deadline: Flyers land Steve Mason; Conacher traded to Ottawa
GOALTENDERS ON THE MOVE *The most interesting deal this afternoon so far was the Tampa Bay Lightning trading young promising forward Cory Conacher to the Ottawa Senators for goaltender Ben Bishop. This is an excellent deal for the Senators who had the luxury of moving Bishop due to their goaltending depth. Trading Conacher could come back to haunt GM Steve Yzerman. Yzerman this past summer thought he had his young long-term goaltender in Anders Lindback but that hasn’t panned out.
Post-Morning Skate Buzz: Malkin, Letang ruled out as Penguins look to extend winning streak to 12 games
POST-MORNING SKATE BUZZ The Penguins will look to extend their winning streak to 12 games tonight without Evgeni Malkin (shoulder) once again. Malkin who has been skating with the team and did again this morning, had been targeting a return for this weekend but is still dealing with some pain in his shoulder, the Penguins center said after the morning skate. Malkin was injured against the Maple Leafs on March 9th and will miss his 8th straight game. In a smart move, Malkin contends he won’t return until he is 100% and the pain in his shoulder goes away. Defenseman Kris Letang has also been ruled out of the lineup, head coach Dan Bylsma confirmed. Letang who skated very well
MORNING SKATE BUZZ: Letang, Malkin extra’s again during morning skate
MORNING SKATE BUZZ FLYERS (13-16-1, 27 pts) @ PENGUINS (24-8-0, 48 pts) The Penguins look to extend their winning streak to 12 games tonight against their cross-state rivals the Philadelphia Flyers and hit the 50 point plateau. The Flyers fighting for their playoff lives, are five points out of the last playoff spot in the East and they are reaching the point in the season where they have to start putting together some long winning streaks to salvage the season. That appears to be a difficult task for the Flyers who have only won two games in a row once since February 7th and have not had a winning streak this season of more than two games. The Flyers come
Post-Game Thoughts (10) on Penguins comeback win, Bennett’s play, Flyers woes & more
PENGUINS RALLY PAST FLYERS Chris Kunitz (14) scored 18 seconds into the third period for his second goal of the game to cap off a four goal rally, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins (16-8-0, 32 pts) to a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers (11-13-1, 23 pts) on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Pascal Dupuis (8), James Neal (15) and Tyler Kennedy (3) also scored for the Penguins who rallied from a 4-1 first period deficit, extending their winning streak to three games. Sidney Crosby had three assists and leads the NHL with 39 points. For the Flyers, Jakub Voracek (12) had two power play goals, Zac Rinaldo (3) and Kimmo Timonen (3) also scored in the loss. Marc
Penguins scratch Despres, Bortuzzo and Vitale
PENGUINS LINEUP VS FLYERS The Penguins scratches tonight vs the Philadelphia Flyers are defensemen Simon Despres, Robert Bortuzzo and center Joe Vitale. All three are regarded as healthy scratches. Paul Martin, as expected, returns to the lineup. TONIGHT’S LINEUP Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Pascal Dupuis Beau Bennett – Evgeni Malkin – James Neal Matt Cooke – Brandon Sutter – Tyler Kennedy Tanner Glass – Dustin Jeffrey – Craig Adams DEFENSEMEN Brooks Orpik – Paul Martin Matt Niskanen – Kris Letang Mark Eaton – Deryk Engelland Marc Andre Fleury in Goal
Penguins Morning Skate Buzz: Martin expected to play; Eaton over Despres tonight?
MORNING SKATE BUZZ Penguins (15-8-0, 30 pts) @ Flyers (11-12-1, 23 pts) Penguins defenseman Paul Martin is expected back in the lineup tonight vs the Philadelphia Flyers and the question leading up to tonight’s game has been who comes out of the lineup? Word from the Penguins morning skate is all signs point to Mark Eaton staying in the lineup after having a strong game on Monday night and getting high praise from head coach Dan Bylsma.