Deen's Daily
Deen’s Daily: Legendary Milestones in Pittsburgh; Avalanche Still Can’t Win
Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby have been through it all together. In 2007 they helped the Pittsburgh Penguins get back to the playoffs for the first time in six years. The following season, they were in the Stanley Cup Final together for the first time. Then in 2009, Malkin won the Conn Smythe and he and Crosby celebrated their first championship together. Fast forward to 2017, the duo had three Cup rings, multiple Hart Trophies, Ted Lindsay Awards, and Conn Smythe Trophies among them.
It’s now 2024. The duo is nearing the end of their careers. And on a nationally televised game on TNT, both of them reached huge career milestones en route to a 6-5 OT victory over the Buffalo Sabres. They were also great postgame when talking about the milestones. It helps when you also get two points.
Colorado Hockey Now
At some point, the Avalanche are going to win a hockey game this year. Right? Maybe Friday against the Anaheim Ducks. Because on Wednesday — the second leg of a doubleheader on TNT — the Avalanche dropped to 0-4 on the season following a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins. They even lost Miles Wood to injury, although he is being re-evaluated.
Mikko Rantanen was must-watch television against Boston. He was all over the ice drawing penalties, taking penalties, chirping at the officials, at Bruins players, and even at himself. And he was in on all three Colorado goals.
Matt Stienburg also made his NHL debut on Wednesday. The 24-year-old was selected in the third round in 2019 by the Avalanche and has come a long way. Stienburg dropped the gloves with a much bigger Nikita Zadorov. But before making his debut, Colleen Flynn caught up with him to chat about getting called up.
Colleen also wrote about John Ludvig, who was a pleasant positive surprise in his Avs debut earlier in the week. I would imagine Ludvig is back in the lineup on Friday after a couple of tough games from some of the other blueliners who dressed against Boston.
Around The NHL
Buffalo Hockey Now: It’s not quite as bad as the Avs’ 0-4 start, but it’s tough times in Buffalo right now for Bowen Byram and the Sabres. The OT loss to Pittsburgh drops them to 1-3-1 on the season after they let yet another point slip away. J.J. Peterka returned from a concussion and was noticeable in a positive way.
Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings are another one of those Atlantic Division teams (along with Buffalo and the Ottawa Senators) desperately aching to make the playoffs. They’ve not had a great start to the season, but there are positives to take away from their power play.
Philadelphia Hockey Now: A couple of former Flyers defensemen have joined forces in Carolina and are playing like one of the best pairings in the NHL according to some of their analytics. One of them might sound familiar — he spent the last few months of the 2024 season with the Avalanche.