Deen’s Daily: Avs Winning Streak Somehow Continues; Nelson Gets Emotional; Red Wings Keep Falling

The Avalanche beat the Pittsburgh Penguins despite a lackadaisical effort. Brock Nelson was emotional in what could be his final game on Long Island. Also, the Red Wings are in free fall and suddenly outside of the playoffs.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — March 5.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avalanche didn’t have a great game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but still came away with two big points in the standings.

It was all thanks to a strong effort from Scott Wedgewood between the pipes and opportunistic scoring from the top six.

Around the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Catch the game recap from Dan Kingerski, whose headline looks a lot like the one I wrote about how the Pens played well but didn’t win. That’s about the best way you can sum this one up.

NYI Hockey Now: An emotional Nelson helped the Islanders beat the Central Division-leading Winnipeg Jets. But uncertainty about his future still lingers.

An emotional first star Brock Nelson discusses his @nyislanders big win over the league leading Jets and what it’s meant to wear an Islander jersey his entire career. #Isles | @Shannon_Hogan pic.twitter.com/hr3DyFhYgE

— Isles on MSGSN (@IslesMSGN) March 5, 2025

Boston Hockey Now: The Bruins staked their flag in the ground as sellers, shipping off Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers in a three-team trade.

New Jersey Hockey Now: To help make the money work for the Oilers, the Devils facilitated the trade and retained 25% of Frederic’s $2.3 million salary. In return, they received a college hockey prospect.

The Devils also suffered another notable injury. Already missing Jack Hughes, they’re looking to get more out of Timo Meier.

Philadelphia Hockey Now: This latest Trade Deadline Update highlights that two Scott Laughton competitors are off the board.

San Jose Hockey Now: San Jose started Alexandar Georgiev in consecutive games because Vitek Vanecek is expected to be traded. Who could be interested in him? The Sharks went on to embarrass the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.

Vegas Hockey Now: Speaking of players sitting for trade-related reasons, that’s been the case for two games for former Golden Kngith misfit Reilly Smith

Florida Hockey Now: After acquiring Seth Jones, the Panthers locked up a depth forward to a multi-year contract.

Montreal Hockey Now: The Jake Evans trade rumors have come to an end. Montreal locked up their center to a reasonable long-term contract instead.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings were 15-5-2 through the first two months of 2025. But their slow start to March looks very similar to a year ago after the latest loss. Wednesday is the first time in over a month that Detroit will wake up outside of the playoff picture.