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Penguins were interested in trading for Andrew Ladd

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Sounds like Pittsburgh also wanted Ladd, but didn’t have what Chicago could offer.

Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts, #18

The Blackhawks ultimately got Andrew Ladd - and Matt Fraser and Jay Harrison along with him - in exchange for former first rounder Marko Dano, their own 2016 first, and a third round pick, to be dealt if Chicago wins the Cup this year (so obviously they're expecting to give up the 30th overall pick).

The Penguins probably weren't going to top that offer, so backing off was probably the way to go.

Other NHL teams may be after Matt Murray

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[Matt Murray] was the AHL’s Top Goaltender and Rookie of the Year last season. I don’t think Calgary’s the only team that’s tried to pry him from the Penguins, either. So far, everyone’s been rebuffed, meaning they either aren’t trading him, or it’s in stealth mode. (Probably the former.)

I haven’t seen much of him, but didn’t come across anyone who didn’t like him. There are different opinions about how ready he is for the NHL, but he’s got a lot of fans.

Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts, #9

Calgary has had the worst goaltending in the NHL this season, so their going after another team's goalie isn't surprising.

Also in 30 Thoughts, Friedman links the Penguins to Kris Russell, so it's possible the Flames were trying to link a deal around those two players - though it doesn't sound like the Penguins are even biting, period.

Marc-Andre Fleury is 31 years old, and though he's been having one of his best seasons to date, eventually, the Penguins are going to need someone else after him. Murray is 10 years younger.

What would you do with Murray - and does it change if it turns out there's a bidding war for him?

40 multi-goal games for Phil Kessel

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Phil Kessel scored a pair of goals for the Penguins in their 6-3 win against the Red Wings. It was Kessel's fourth multiple-goal game this season (his first season with Pittsburgh) and the 40th of his NHL career.

Elias Sports Bureau, Inc.

Phil Kessel has played 724 NHL games: so in roughly 5.5% of them, he's scored at least two goals. That's not bad at all.

The most multi-goal games Kessel has ever had in a single season is six, back in 2009-10, his first season in Toronto. There are still 26 games to go this season - so plenty of time to match that.

Besides, Kessel hasn't even had a hat trick as a Penguin yet. He's had five in his career so far.

Elias also mentions that he's a leader among active American players when it comes to multi-goal games. Joe Pavelski also has 40, while Zach Parise is at 41. So you need an American scorer? Hey: now Pittsburgh gets to lay claim to one of the best.

Checking in with Daniel Sprong

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"We’ve had success over the last couple years with Wilkes-Barre going on a bit of a run and our college or junior players getting good experience out of that. Hopefully, that transpires for Daniel and prepares him more for next year."

Associate GM Jason Botterill, via Penguins Insider, on potentially assigning Daniel Sprong to the AHL once his junior season is over.

Since getting sent down, Sprong has scored 11 goals and 30 total points over 21 games for the Charlottetown Islanders. That puts him eighth in team scoring, and most of the players above him have played at least twice the games he has.

As the article mentions, the Islanders aren't expected to go far in the playoffs. Currently, they're in 11th place in the QMJHL, just barely over a .500 record, and about 30 points back of the top teams in the league.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is already doing well, at the top of the AHL's Atlantic Division - so throw Sprong into the mix, and they could be even more fearsome than they already are.

Andrew WK came to Pittsburgh to Party Hard: 'This is a big deal to me'

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"My whole main point for coming here, as soon as it happened, I wanted not only to make it clear how important it was to me, but to really make sure that I made the most out of this out of respect to the fans who made it possible. Because it wouldn’t have happened any other way.

"And if it had happened by the team choosing the song, of course it would’ve been meaningful, or the music director of a team. When any team plays any song I have anything to do with at a game here or there, it’s not something I take lightly at all. So just being here, I wanted to make it very clear that this is a big deal to me. This is almost like releasing an album or something."

Andrew W.K., via Sean Gentille and the Sporting News

The entire interview is fantastic, and well worth a read. Andrew W.K. is so sincere in his approach, so earnest and honest in his message - and just how perfectly it translates to both sports and the grassroots campaign the Penguins fanbase initiated - that's he's a very real part of all of this, too.

So his coming in for a game? Awesome. Beyond awesome. Here's to the Penguins lighting the lamp tonight.

Sidney Crosby is scoring goals like never before

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Sidney Crosby extended his goal streak to a career-high seven games when he scored the first of his two goals for the Penguins in their 6-2 win over the Ducks in Pittsburgh. It's the longest goal-scoring streak within one season by a Penguins player since Jaromir Jagr scored in seven consecutive games in October 1999.

Elias Sports Bureau, Inc.

That's 10 goals for Sid in his last seven games - and this doesn't even count the two goals he had over the Carolina Hurricanes two games before this streak started. (If only he'd gotten one against the St. Louis Blues, we'd be talking about a nine-game streak...)

Sid is also currently on an 11-game point streak, with 22 points scored over that time. This is insane.

Watch out New York Rangers, you're next.

Oskar Sundqvist to make NHL debut tonight

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It’s been a crazy 24 hours for Sundqvist. Yesterday after practice he was told to pack immediately and catch a plane for Tampa Bay. He spent the entire day traveling and didn’t arrive in Tampa until after 10 p.m. Though it’s a small price for playing in the NHL.

via the Penguins.

Hopefully that all-day travel will be overcome by his adrenaline and excitement! It's only Sundqvist's first season n North America, but thanks to injuries, opportunity has opened up for him to impress at the highest level.

Sundqvist has five goals and 16 points through 39 games in the AHL this season. Only two players in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton his age have scored more.

He's also adding to what looks to be a very successful 2012 draft for the Pens!

Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin have Sidney Crosby's back

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"The one guy that should have been named an All Star this year is … Sidney Crosby."

via The Players' Tribune, both Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin selected the Penguins Captain as their answer. Which is kind of rude, if you think about it, because you know Sid probably doesn't want to be there at all!

Both players have nice handwriting, though. And Geno is a fantastic artist... who apparently is undecided on post-win locker room songs.

Also, I love both their answers to "The Bachelor" question. James Neal was made for that show. Meanwhile, it looks like Letang crossed out his original answer - considering it starts with a "Ty" I'm guessing he was writing "Tyler Seguin" before his change of heart to his teammate.

Sidney Crosby also wants to score a puppy goal

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"Hopefully there's a lot of kids getting puppies there."

Sidney Crosby, via NHL.com

There's been a rash of puppy goals as of late, starting in Ottawa, when a kid brought a sign to a game reading: "Bobby Dad said if you score we get a puppy!" It was directed towards Bobby Ryan, and lo and behold: he scored.

So then, a young fan in Columbus followed it up with her own sign: "Dad said if 13 scores on my birthday we get a dog". And so, Cam Atkinson scored a hat trick.

Now Sid wants in on the glory, and who can blame him? Puppy goals are all the rage right now. He'll get the chance tonight - and hopefully, some dogs will get some new forever homes.

Evgeni Malkin opens up about the start of his hockey career

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"I don’t remember, but my father says that when I was little and I didn’t have skates, he gave me his. His size was way bigger than mine: I was five and he was 30. [Laughs.] He gave me his speedskates and I tried them and I remember they were huge. My feet were moving inside, but it was fun. After that they bought me new ones."

Evgeni Malkin on his first pair of skates, via Sportsnet

The entire interview is amazing, focusing on Malkin's start in hockey, as well as some of the goofier stuff he gets up to. Geno sounds like such a great guy; give it a read!