Pens Points: Dominant in Denver

With their playoff hopes nearing the point of no return, the Pittsburgh Penguins marched into Denver and dominated the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche by a score of 5-2 to end a four game losing streak and jump ahead of the Florida Panthers in the playoff chase. Sidney Crosby opened the scoring with a vintage backhand in the second period and the Penguins never looked back the rest of the way. [Pensburgh]

Pens Points...

It’s time for the annual NHLPA awards which means it’s time for Sidney Crosby to be recognized once again. As voted by his peers, Crosby was selected as the league’s most complete player, garnering 30.1% of the vote. [The Hockey News]

Monday night was another loss for the Penguins despite outshooting and out chancing the Ottawa Senators for 60 minutes. All that counts this time of year is the result on the scoreboard and nothing can lessen the sting of a loss at this point. [Trib Live]

Mike Sullivan will go down as the greatest coach in Penguins history, but his personnel decisions at the moment are killing the team. Most of the blame falls on the front office for poor roster building, but it’s on Sullivan when it comes to deployment. [The Hockey News]

It’s been a long road back to the NHL for Taylor Fedun, but his persistent paid off on Monday night against the Senators. [Trib Live]

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the newly rebranded podcast that will now be publishing twice a week and is available wherever you get your podcasts. [Pensburgh]

News and notes from around the NHL...

It’s just a matter of time before the New Jersey Devils clinch a playoff spot at this point, checking off an important objective for the season. After that, there will still be some business to take care of before the playoffs begin. [All About the Jersey]

When the NHL announced on Tuesday that Fanatics was set to become the official on-ice jersey of the NHL, people had some opinions. Safe to say, many fans are baffled by the decision and aren’t pulling punches in their criticism. [The Cannon]

It remains a tight battle atop the Metro division between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Devils with the Canes currently in the pole position. There is everything to battle for down this final stretch of the season. [Canes Country]