The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings both beat the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime in the past week. Other than that
Kevin Hogan Jersey Elite , these two teams share little in common.
The Penguins (43-27-6) are second in the Metropolitan Division and getting ready to go after their third straight Stanley Cup, something that hasn’t been achieved since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-83.
The Red Wings (27-38-11), 4-2 losers to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, are out of the playoffs for the second straight season, the first time that’s happened to the franchise since 1981-82 and 1982-83. The Wings are 1-12-1 in their last 14 games.
“We play hard, but it’s just the same thing every night,” Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard told detroitredwings.com. “It’s like Groundhog Day for us right now.”
The Wings have dropped 24 one-goal games, tied for the NHL lead. They’ve lost 12 straight games when they score less than three times.
“I think overall we are playing good but we don’t score enough goals,” Detroit right winger Martin Frk assessed. “We are right there and they just score on us. It’s usually like five, six minutes left in the game and now we have to come back. It’s a little bit tough.
“It would be different if we could score a couple of goals ahead and have a better feeling going into the third period
Taven Bryan Jersey , instead of going in all these tight games.”
On the flip side, the Wings are 1-3-1 in the last five games when they score three or more goals.
“Blame it on the bounces, but it’s out of my mind how many times we’ve lost because of little things that we don’t get on our side,” Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson said.
The Penguins are afflicted by no such maladies. They’ve gone 24-9-3 in 2018, after sitting at one game above .500 (19-18-3) on Jan. 1 following a 4-1 loss at Detroit on New Year’s Eve.
The Pens have scored five or more goals 16 times in 36 games. In 30 of the 36 games, the Pens have scored at least three times.
Not surprisingly, leading the way are captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby recently joined Joe Thornton and Henrik Sedin as the only active NHLers with 700 career assists. He reached the 25-goal mark for the 10th time in his NHL career, and the 80-point plateau for the ninth time. In Penguins history, only Mario Lemieux has tallied 80 points more often (11 times). Lemieux (12 times) and Jaromir Jagr (11 times) are the only Pens to score 25 goals more often.
Malkin scored his 42nd goal of the season, three off the NHL lead
Davante Adams Jersey Elite , in Sunday’s win over the Flyers. He now has at least one point in nine of 12 games, and multiple points six times in 12 games. Malkin leads all NHLers in both goals (28) and points (56) during 2018 and has picked up at least one point in 27 of 36 games and at least two points in 19 of 36 contests.
“These are some of the best players of their generation,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told nhl.com. “There are nights where I drive home after games and replay the game in my mind, and I marvel at some of the things that these guys do.”
>The latest on NFL coaching firings (All times EST):5:30 p.m.Vance Joseph is still the head coach in Denver. Plenty members of his staff, though, are looking for new jobs.Among those who won’t be back in 2018 with the Broncos are special teams coach Brock Olivo, running backs coach Eric Studesville, wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert and O-line coach Jeff Davidson.Also, outside linebackers coach Fred Pagac’s contract isn’t being renewed.5:15 p.m.Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard isn’t seeking an offensive- or defensive-minded coach to replace Chuck Pagano. He wants a coach who can teach and develop players.But the most attractive feature of the job may be working with a healthy Andrew Luck 鈥?and team owner Jim Irsay is making that a key selling point.Just a few days after Luck said his surgically repaired right shoulder was feeling stronger and more stable, Irsay went further
Authentic Devin Hester Jersey , predicting Luck would be even better when he returns.“I have no doubt in my mind that Andrew is going to come back,” Irsay said. “I’m telling you that kid is a special kid. Special. He was born to do great things in the National Football League and he will do great things in the National Football League.“I believe he is going to be back and I believe he is going to be back for a long time and I believe he is going to write his name into the National Football League record books in a very strong way.”If Luck is healthy, the Colts opening becomes far more attractive. Indy has nearly $90 million in salary cap room and the No. 3 pick in the draft to help surround their 28-year-old, three-time Pro Bowl quarterback with better players.1:30 p.m.Bruce Arians of the Arizona Cardinals has announced his retirement, while Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals says he’s still discussing his future with team management.Arians told players of his much-expected decision Monday. The 65-year-old has dealt with health problems in recent years, including treatment for diverticulitis and a successful fight against kidney cancer last offseason. He won a franchise-record 50 games in his five seasons with the Cardinals.Lewis just completed his 15th season with the Bengals, none of which included a playoff victory. There was widespread speculation he would not be asked back, but he and owner Mike Brown did not reach a conclusion after meeting Monday.1:15 p.m.Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks says the Giants, Lions and Colts have requested interviews with him for their head coaching positions.If Wilks leaves, it would be the second straight season the Panthers lose a defensive coordinator.Sean McDermott left Carolina to become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills last year.12:55 p.m.There will be no new coach in Denver.Broncos general manager John Elway tweeted that he’ll be sticking with Vance Joseph despite a 5-11 record that included an eight-game losing streak.The decision came after reports that Elway might be in search of his fourth head coach in five years. But in his tweet
Chris Herndon Jersey Elite , Elway said he believed in Joseph and that together, they would put in the work to win in 2018.12:20 p.m.The Chicago Bears have fired coach John Fox after a third consecutive year of double-digit losses and last-place finishes.Fox, who came to Chicago from Denver, where he won four straight AFC West titles, finished 14-34 with the Bears and never won more than six games in any of his three seasons.He is still 133-123 over a career that also included time with the Carolina Panthers. But Fox’s .292 winning percentage will go down as the second worst in the history of the Bears.9:45 a.m.The Detroit Lions have fired coach Jim Caldwell, who finished the season with a 9-7 record but missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.Caldwell went 36-28 in four seasons with the Lions.He joins Chuck Pagano of Indianapolis and Jack Del Rio of Oakland, each fired after their games Sunday.Other teams that could be making changes today include Arizona, Cincinnati, Chicago and Denver..