Excuse Derick Brassard for having a little difficulty finding his bearings after the veteran center took an unorthodox cross-country route in reaching the NHL playoffs.

DENVER (AP) — Despite giving up a late lead, Colorado still wound up ahead.

Nathan MacKinnon's shootout goal lifted the Avalanche over the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Friday night and they...

DENVER (AP) — Colin Wilson scored his first goal in more than a month, Philipp Grubauer stopped 29 shots and the playoff-chasing Colorado Avalanche earned their fourth straight win by holding off...

DENVER (AP) — Colin Wilson stepped up with his team banged up.

It was an opportune time for the Colorado Avalanche forward get back on track.

DENVER (AP) — Derick Brassard was on the cusp of a storybook start with the Colorado Avalanche, until his former team wrecked the ending.

DENVER (AP) — Derick Brassard only needed to take a right and walk a few steps to join his new team.

From one dressing room to the other — about as short a journey as a traded player can...

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forwards Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann from the Florida Panthers on Friday for forwards Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan and three 2019 draft picks.

The deal gives the Penguins an influx of youth in the 26-year-old Bjugstad and the 22-year-old McCann as they make another playoff push. The Panthers, meanwhile, get some salary-cap flexibility and two expiring contracts that could help at the trade deadline.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Travis Zajac had a goal and three assists, Keith Kinkaid made 37 saves and the New Jersey Devils had little trouble in a 6-3 victory over the sluggish Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins weren't happy with their lackluster play in the first period after a three-day holiday break.

Then, Phil Kessel and the power play changed everything.

Kessel scored two power-play goals, Derick Brassard added two goals and the Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday.

"Just the plays he made tonight is elite," Brassard said of Kessel. "It's up there with the tops in the league. He's going to win you some games like that."

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Casey DeSmith is providing a lift for the Pittsburgh Penguins while Matt Murray is sidelined by a lower-body injury.

DeSmith made 25 saves to lead the Penguins to a 2-1 shootout win against the New York Islanders on Monday night.

"He was really good all night. He was locked in," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He made some big saves for us."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Injured star Evgeni Malkin was out of the Pittsburgh Penguins' lineup for Game 2 of their second-round series against the Washington Capitals.

Coach Mike Sullivan confirmed about two hours before Sunday's puck drop that Malkin was out for the third consecutive game. Malkin appeared to injure his left leg in Game 5 of Pittsburgh's first-round series against Philadelphia and has not played since.

Eighteen skaters, as is typical, took the ice for the Penguins in their game in Philadelphia on Sunday. Only one was not on it during a Flyers' shot on goal.

It was the sort of thing general manager Jim Rutherford surely was imagining seven weeks ago when he acquired Derick Brassard to be his third-line center.

It's easy to forget, since they ended with parades, but the Penguins opened the last two postseasons with significant injury concerns.

They've been much luckier this time around.

Derick Brassard was in the lineup for Game 1 of a first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night, returning after missing the last five games of the regular season with a lower-body injury.

Derick Brassard did not participate in the morning skate Wednesday in advance of the playoff opener against the Philadelphia Flyers, but that is not necessarily an indication the Penguins forward's return from a lower-body injury was derailed.

If any doubt lingered that Phil Kessel's ironman streak would continue, those concerns appear to have been allayed.

After sitting out Tuesday's practice for a "maintenance day" as he deals with a lower-body injury, Kessel was back for Wednesday's workout at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. He took line rushes in his familiar third-line right-wing spot.

The injuries to Derick Brassard and Phil Kessel have left Conor Sheary on a bit of an island, practicing to get ready for the playoffs while his likely linemates for the postseason opener remain sidelined.

While recognizing injuries are a fact of life in the NHL, Sheary acknowledged the current situation might retard the trio's chemistry building process a little bit.

Derick Brassard and Phil Kessel did not practice Tuesday morning as the Penguins prepared for the final two games of the regular season.

Brassard has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. Coach Mike Sullivan said he's making progress but has not yet resumed skating.

Kessel hasn't missed a game, but he's been hobbled by a lower-body injury of his own. Sullivan said he had the day off for maintenance.

Forwards Carter Rowney (upper-body injury) and Derick Brassard (lower-body injury) were the only players absent from the morning skate before Saturday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens. Brassard was injured midway through Tuesday's loss at Detroit and missed a game with the Penguins for the first time Thursday.

"His status is the same," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "Right now, he is day-to-day. We will take each day as it comes, but he's in the rehab process and he's progressing."

Take a 4-3 rush end. Now put him on a 3-4 team and have him drop in coverage as an outside linebacker.

Picture a kid transferring from Syracuse's 2-3 zone to West Virginia's press.

Or maybe a baseball player switching parks and moving from center field to a corner spot.

Dramatic transitions in style or position aren't always smooth. But good players eventually make them work.

Such has been the case for Penguins center Derick Brassard.

Sidney Crosby's 700th NHL assist came in the third period Wednesday. The only reason it didn't come a period earlier is because league rules ban awarding assists to the player who scores the goal.

Crosby's numerical milestone was overshadowed by a highlight-reel goal, and both helped the Penguins overcome a sloppy start for a 5-3 bounce-back victory against the Montreal Canadiens.

In the sports columnist/sports talk business you are supposed to "have a hot take" and stick to it.

Take a hard line. Embed an opinion and stand firm on it.

e_SBlt The Steelers should franchise or get rid of Le'Veon Bell. (They should franchise him.)

e_SBlt The Penguins should've traded for Derick Brassard or just kept Ian Cole. (They should've made the trade.)

e_SBlt The Pirates are or aren't guilty of disingenuous PR spin about their offseason moves. (Do I really need to answer that one?)

Last year, Kris Letang missed the playoffs. No problem.

This year, Ian Cole got traded. Big problem.

Such panicky sentiment got batted about by the hoi polloi in the wake of three consecutive Penguins losses that saw 17 goals surrendered. Buyer's remorse pervades discussion of the trade that fetched Derick Brassard from Ottawa but sacrificed Cole's penalty-killing and shot-blocking, qualities that have marked him as a bottom-pair defenseman, yes, but one that can't possibly be replaced.

When the Penguins picked up center Derick Brassard from the Ottawa Senators before the NHL trade deadline, their idea was that he would jell with right wing Phil Kessel to give the team dangerous scoring depth.

That's exactly what happened Saturday night.

Brassard's first goal in a Penguins uniform, assisted by Kessel, came in his third game with the team. It was a clutch, tying effort in the third period, leading the Penguins to a 3-2 overtime win over the New York Islanders.

Ian Cole's winding trade journey has taken him to one of the Penguins' biggest rivals.

The Ottawa Senators traded Cole to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday morning, hours before the NHL's 3 p.m. trade deadline.

The Penguins have the best third-line center in hockey.

It's not newly acquired Derick Brassard. It's Sidney Crosby.

In his effort to balance the Penguins' offense by dividing Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel among three lines, coach Mike Sullivan has, in effect, made Crosby the team's third-line center.

Crosby has spent way too much time skating with Conor Sheary and Dominik Simon lately.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby let one chance to bury the New York Islanders slip away. The Pittsburgh Penguins star wasn't about to let it happen twice.

Crosby finished off a 2-on-1 by sneaking a wrist shot past Chris Gibson 3:48 into overtime to give the Penguins a 3-2 win Saturday. Pittsburgh's captain failed to convert on a rush moments earlier, but an outlet pass by Justin Schultz freed up Crosby once again.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jacket acquired defenseman Ian Cole from the Ottawa Senators on Monday for center Nick Moutrey and a 2020 third round draft pick.

This is the second time in three days Cole has been moved. Ottawa acquired the 29-year-old Friday night from the Penguins in a deal that brought Derick Brassard to Pittsburgh.

But it was believed the Senators were not going to keep Cole, who now joins Pittsburgh's regional and divisional rival.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brandon Manning had a goal and two assists and the Philadelphia Flyers topped the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive victory.

Ivan Provorov, Robert Hagg, Claude Giroux and Nolan Patrick also scored for the Flyers. Petr Mrazek made 25 saves in his second start for the Flyers since being acquired in a trade with Detroit.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired center Derick Brassard from Ottawa on Friday night in a three-team deal that sent defenseman Ian Cole to Ottawa and forward Ryan Reaves to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Penguins announced the deal Friday night during their 6-1 victory at Carolina, with Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford calling it "the most complex trade I've made" because of salary cap issues and the involvement of a third team.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins made plenty of moves Friday night — on the ice, with the roster and in the standings.

Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin each had two goals and an assist and the Penguins moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division by routing the Carolina Hurricanes 6-1 for their season-best sixth straight victory.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning are back atop the NHL.

Kucherov had two assists to reach 80 points this season and Tampa Bay defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Thursday night.

Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman, Vladislav Namestnikov and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning (41-17-3), who leapfrogged expansion Vegas to regain the top spot in the overall standings with 85 points. Louis Domingue earned his third win by stopping 33 shots.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Ottawa Senators' quick start led to an early exit for Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Derick Brassard had a goal and two assists and Ottawa defeated the New York Rangers 6-3 on Saturday.

Lundqvist allowed five goals on 27 shots before being replaced by Brandon Halverson with 13 minutes remaining.

Halverson stopped five of the six shots he faced for New York in his NHL debut.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Mike Hoffman joked with Robin Lehner earlier in the day that he was going to get a goal against his former teammate.

Hours later Hoffman did just that, scoring 1:13 into overtime Thursday night to give the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Hoffman took a cross-ice pass from Erik Karlsson and beat Lehner with a one-timer from the left side to end Ottawa's two-game skid.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks had all their firepower on full display Tuesday night.

Nick Schmaltz and Jonathan Toews each scored two goals and Kane had a goal and four assists as Chicago cruised to an 8-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Richard Panik, Patrick Sharp and Jan Rutta also scored for the Blackhawks, while Anton Forsberg made 25 saves. Kane had five points for the first time in his career.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks had all their firepower on full display Tuesday night.

Nick Schmaltz and Jonathan Toews each scored two goals and Kane had a goal and four assists as Chicago cruised to an 8-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Richard Panik, Patrick Sharp and Jan Rutta also scored for the Blackhawks, while Anton Forsberg made 25 saves. Kane had five points for the first time in his career.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Matt Duchene had a good feeling after Ottawa slimmed a three-goal deficit down to one. Mike Hoffman helped him finish the job.

Duchene scored his second goal of the game seven seconds into overtime and the Senators capped a four-goal comeback with a 6-5 win over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Ottawa Senators found their offense — at least for a night.

Mark Stone and Bobby Ryan scored in the third period and the Senators held off the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 on Friday night.

Derick Brassard, Nick Paul and Matt Duchene also scored for the Senators, and Mike Condon made 21 saves to help Ottawa snap a four-game losing streak.