Pens Points: Capitals Game Day

Good morning one and all,

The Pens are in the nation's capital ready to take on the Caps in a game that was originally supposed to be played on January 24 but had to be rescheduled due to a snowstorm. Game preview here. Caps will be without John Carlson for a while as he was placed on LTIR. [NBC Sports]

It's the morning after an unusually quiet trade deadline. Down Goes Brown has your winners and losers. [Sportsnet]

More specific to the Pens, here are Lyle and Andy with their takes on the trade deadline in Episode 30 of the Garage League Podcast. [SoundCloud]

Jim Rutherford stayed mostly quiet during the trade deadline, aside from moving Sergei Plotnikov who was ready to join the ice crew just so he could get on the ice. [Trib]

Last night on game thread we chatted about Justin Schultz and why I was so negative about his skill set. Here is an older article just to remind people that negative and defeatist body language is one thing, but this guy's WOWYs are so bad it can't be coincidental. [SI]

The Caps made some tweaks in anticipation of the playoffs. Brooks Laich is out, and Dan Winnik is in. Oh and Mike Weber. [AP]

The Bruins were unable to get a top-4 defenseman using Loui Eriksson as a trade bait, so they will pursue their target at the draft. [Boston Globe]

Steve Yzerman was unable to find the right deal for malcontent Jonathan Drouin so now what? Kiss and make up? [Tampa Bay Times]

No, not really. There is probably too much bad blood on both sides for Drouin to return. He can still be traded after the deadline, of course, but will be ineligible for the playoffs. [TSN]

Some systems study from an excellent source. Arik Parnass looks at whether a neutral zone regroup can be beneficial for power play units. [NHL Special Teams]

Do NHL referees intentionally try to balance power play opportunities? Hahaha of course they do. I once sat next to an off-duty ref at MSG and had he said as much to me, point blank, wasn't even embarrassed or anything. [TSN]

The Maple Leafs ended up not moving PA Parenteau and perhaps a few more guys everyone thought they'd trade, but the youth movement is officially on as Kapanen, Nylander, and friends get their call-ups. [Globe & Mail]

World Cup of Hockey rosters are slowly taking shape, and Nicklas Lidstrom is one of the scouts for Swedish Ice Hockey Federation. Five questions with the perfect human and new Hall-of-Famer. [NHL]

Last but not least, Ilya Kovalchuk is still in Russia but no love. SKA eliminates Lokomotiv in the 1st round but Kovy will not play in their playoff run. [Sportsnet]