Aarif Deen
The Penguins dominated the Avalanche at Ball Arena and it wasn’t close. What went wrong? And how much of the blame can be placed on the power play? Also, Evgeni Malkin returns for the Pens to give them a burst and Artemi Panarin got one over his former teammates in New York.
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — March 17.
Colorado Hockey Now
The Avalanche were embarrassed on Monday. They gave up seven goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are still without Sidney Crosby. Nothing went right, and a lot went wrong. MacKinnon said it best: They played bad.
The power play is still struggling. Even after a 6-for-20 stretch over two weeks, the last two games have pretty much erased a lot of the improvements they were making. This loss wasn’t by any means on the lack of PP goals, but you can tell the momentum is shifting with each passing man advantage that doesn’t go well.
Around The NHL
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Evgeni Malkin returned from a five-game suspension and helped flex that offense against the Avs.
New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils are probably too far out of the playoff race, but they’re helping spoil the Bruins season after their latest OT victory.
Detroit Hockey Now: That Bruins loss, even if it was in OT, helped the Red Wings climb in the standings after a win against the struggling Flames.
Boston Hockey Now: They had a multi-goal lead early, but couldn’t hold on.
Forever Blueshirts: Artemi Panarin’s return to MSG went well for him. Not so much for the Rangers.