Deen’s Daily: MacKinnon, Crosby Connection; Theodore Injured; Canada Wins 4 Nations Opener

Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby connected on a goal right away. Shea Theodore is out for the tournament with an upper-body injury but Team Canada still came away with an exciting victory.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — February 13.

Colorado Hockey Now

If you weren’t bought in for the 4 Nations Face-Off, look no further than the opening minute to see how much this means to the players. MacKinnon starts the game for Canada at center, draws a penalty, and scores a goal all within 56 seconds. The connection between him and Crosby is very much real.

Catch my 10 Observations from the opening game of the tournament. Some great stats in there for Cale Makar and Devon Toews, too. The Avs’ three Canadian representatives were all over this game.

Around the NHL

Vegas Hockey Now: More on the brutal injury to Theodore. The blueliner played less than seven minutes and has already been ruled out for the rest of the tournament.

“It’s heartbreaking for the kid,” Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper said post-game. I can’t imagine the Golden Knights are going to be too thrilled to see one of their top dogs get hurt.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Crosby’s former teammate and 2010 Team USA opponent Brooks Orpik chatted with PHN about the legend of No. 87.

New Jersey Hockey Now: How Jack Hughes’ 4 Nations deployment could impact the Devils trade deadline plans.

Montreal Hockey Now: Top 5 and bottom 5 in crucial statistical categories for the Habs so far.

Philadelphia Hockey Now: Three reasons to pay attention to the remainder of the Flyers’ season.

NYI Hockey Now: Noah Dobson changed agents on Wednesday. Here’s what it could mean for his future.