Dater’s Daily: Dave Tippett may be in trouble in Edmonton, Nikita Zadorov rips NHL over Olympic cancellation

It seemed like the Edmonton Oilers had turned something of a corner early this year, getting off to a blazing start and causing some pundits to forecast a possible deep playoff run under veteran coach Dave Tippett. Suddenly, the Oilers can’t win a game anymore and Tippett might soon see a pink slip.

The Oilers lost again Monday night, in New York to the Rangers, their eighth loss in the last 10 games. The Western front-runners early in the year, the Oilers are now one point out of fifth place in the Pacific Division.

• In Edmonton, fans and some media are starting to call into question the job security of Tippett, although longtime Oilers journo Jim Matheson believes Dave Tippett deserves more runway (Edmonton Journal)
• Here’s a very interesting story about a former no-name goalie in the 1990s who just spent $56 million on a house in Aspen (Edmonton Journal)
• Former Av Nikita Zadorov is not happy with how the NHL handled its contributory decision to cancel players from going to the Olympics in Beijing, and over its continued Covid mandates (Calgary Hockey Now)
• Here’s an in-depth account of the feel-good story of a Seattle Kraken fan alerting the Vancouver Canucks equipment manager to a cancerous mole on his neck and likely saving his life. (Vancouver Hockey Now)
• The accolades continue to roll in for Florida Panthers star forward Jonathan Huberdeau and rightfully so. (Florida Hockey Now)
• Are the Pittsburgh Penguins really this good? (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)
• New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson is coming into his own at just the right time for the embattled Islanders. (NYI Hockey Now)
• The big problem for the skidding Red Wings these days? It’s been the power play (Detroit Hockey Now)
• Auston Matthews tested positive Monday, but the Maple Leafs are hoping it was maybe a false-positive (Hockey News)
• Could Mark Giordano be going back to the Flames? (Hockey News)
• If the Premier Hockey Federation is going to succeed, Alex Sinatra will do it her way (ESPN)
• Scenes from the Winter Classic in Minnesota (ESPN)