The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to have woken up from their early-season slumber thanks in large part to the most dominant trio of scorers the league has to offer.

Sure, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel recording multitudes of points isn't exactly breaking news at this point in their remarkable careers, but they've all been on a different planet as of late.

In 13 games since the calendar flipped to 2018, including Friday's 7-4 win over the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh's big three forwards have been simply unstoppable.

Additionally, Crosby is currently riding an 11-game point streak, Malkin was recently recognized as the NHL's first star of the month, and Kessel has moved into second in league scoring (62), just two points behind leader Nikita Kucherov.

It's no coincidence that Pittsburgh is one of the NHL's hottest teams, capturing 20 of a possible 26 points so far in 2018 and surging to second place in the Metropolitan Division after sitting in seventh on Dec. 31.

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Henrik and Daniel Sedin will apparently remain with the Vancouver Canucks through the trade deadline.

General manager Jim Benning said Friday that the Canucks organization and the Sedins have agreed to play out the rest of the season and then revisit the matter before the franchise points leaders' contracts expire July 1, according to Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre.

The twin Swedish forwards met with Benning on Wednesday, but didn't provide him with a definitive answer regarding what they want to do when their deals run out in the summer.

"They're still undecided about what the future holds for them," the GM told MacIntyre. "We've all agreed let's just play out these final games and we'll see where we're at. At the end of the year, we'll sit down again and see what they're thinking. We'll tell them what we're thinking and we'll figure it out from there."

Last week, Henrik told TSN 1040 that he and Daniel would try to let the Canucks know by the Feb. 26 trade deadline whether they wanted to either agree to a hypothetical deal to a contender before the deadline, re-sign with the club at season's end, or retire at that point.

Both are pending unrestricted free agents in the final campaign of dual four-year, $28-million contract extensions inked in the fall of 2013.

The 37-year-olds have spent their entire 17-year careers with the Canucks. Henrik ranks first in team history in assists, points, and games played, while Daniel sits first in goals, second in both assists and points, and second in games played.

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Adam Larsson will take as long as he needs before returning to the Edmonton Oilers.

The defenseman will be out indefinitely after the death of his father, Robert, according to NHL.com's Derek Van Diest.

The elder Larsson had a heart attack while visiting Edmonton from Sweden on Jan. 25. He was 50 years old.

The blue-liner left the morning skate that day and didn't play in that evening's game against the Calgary Flames or Thursday night's contest against the Colorado Avalanche.

"Adam is dealing with that, it's affected our room immensely, and we'll continue to support the Larsson family, and you won't see him here for a little while because we're going to give him the time that he needs to spend and take care of things," Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said Friday, according to Van Diest.

General manager Peter Chiarelli and the NHLPA offered their condolences to the Larsson family Friday.

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The Montreal Canadiens have recalled forward Nikita Scherbak from the AHL, the team announced Friday.

Scherbak, 22, played two games with the club earlier in the season, and will be available for both of Montreal's contests this weekend. The Habs host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, and the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

In 24 games with Laval this season, Scherbak, a first-round draft pick in 2014, has recorded seven goals and 23 assists.

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With the New York Rangers crumbling - losing seven of their last 10 games - goaltender Henrik Lundqvist affirmed his commitment to the club Friday.

The Rangers have been ravaged by injuries to key players, and are reportedly exploring all opportunities to sell major assets ahead of the trade deadline. But even on the precipice of missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, Lundqvist is sticking by the only franchise he's ever known.

"The competitor in me wants us to have the best team possible right here and now. I'm not hoping we have a contending team in two or three years," Lundqvist told Larry Brooks of The New York Post. "But at the same time, even though it's hard to say because it kind of goes against myself, I feel so much for this organization, that whatever path they take, I'm in.

"I want to play for one organization. This one. I love it here. I want to be here and battle through the ups and downs, the good and the bad. It's important to me."

Lundqvist, 35, has three seasons remaining on the seven-year, $59.5-million contract he signed in 2013. He said he can't envision himself joining another team in pursuit of a Stanley Cup - the one omission from his Hall of Fame resume.

"The question has come up before about maybe having to go somewhere else to win it, but I don't think that way," Lundqvist said. "I've never felt the need for that."

The Rangers have missed the postseason just once during Lundqvist's tenure, and as the team's elder statesman, he's certainly done his part in keeping New York in the mix in 2017-18. In 42 starts, Lundqvist owns a .919 save percentage and he recently became the first goalie in NHL history to record at least 20 wins in 13 consecutive seasons.

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Buffalo Sabres forward Johan Larsson was suspended two games Friday for cross-checking Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck.

Larsson was given a major and a match penalty after hitting Trocheck in the face with both hands on his stick Thursday night.

The league said Larsson made the case that he wasn't aiming for Trocheck's head, but the NHL countered with the fact that "players are responsible for their sticks at all times, and when a player attempts to intentionally use his stick to deliver a blow to an opponent, he cannot necessarily be excused of all responsibility when the blow lands in an unintended place."

The incident occurred late in the third period of the Panthers' 4-2 victory.

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San Jose Sharks defenceman - and 2014 Sochi Olympic Gold medalist - Marc Edouard Vlasic was so disappointed by the NHL's decision not to let players participate in the PyeongChang Olympics that he considered risking arrest and contract termination in an effort to play.

"Do you want to do that?" Vlasic asked about the possible legal action, according to Ross McKeon of the San Francisco Gate. "You’re getting pretty far into the legal department there."

When the NHL announced in April it wouldn't send players to the Winter Games, it ended a run of five Winter Olympics that included the world's best talent.

Vlasic was so persistent in his efforts to eschew the league's decision that his lawyers told him that he risked termination of the eight-year, $56-million extension he signed in July, would be subject to a court order, and a possible arrest if he refused to obey the rules.

"I don’t think it would have gone that far, but it’s a possibility," Vlasic said.

But don't expect Vlasic to pull up a chair to watch the PyeongChang games, though.

"Am I going to watch the hockey? I'll probably see the highlights. I won’t sit down and watch it," he said.

The 30-year-old Montreal native holds out hope he'll be able to represent his country at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

"I would love to in 2022," he said. "I'm fighting not only for myself in '22 but for every other player who gets a chance to do it in 2026, ’30, ’34 and down the road. I’m not just thinking of myself, I’m thinking about all the players who deserve to go.”

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A teenager had a dream come true at an outdoor rink in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec last month.

Nineteen-year-old hockey player Guillaume Ouimet was skating in the ski resort town when none other than Pittsburgh Penguins superstar center Sidney Crosby came by.

"He asked me a question about the ice and if I was alone, and then I tell him I'm alone and I can see he just wants to skate and not be bothered by a lot of persons," Ouimet said, per Kalina Laframboise of CBC News.

Crosby then laced up his skates and joined Ouimet on the ice, and the pair partook in passing drills for about an hour.

"He's so good. It's not even comparable to what you see on TV," said Ouimet. "I was just so impressed."

After the skate, Crosby - who was vacationing in Quebec with the Penguins during their bye week - toured the nearby indoor arena, where Ouimet is the captain of the Mont-Tremblant Diables.

"It's how great of a human being he is - just really keeping both feet on the ground, not thinking he's better than anyone, very generous with his time," Ouimet concluded.

Ouimet shared a few photos of the experience on Instagram:

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Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan will miss at least two games with a hand injury, and possibly much longer:

Ryan suffered a hand injury after scoring a power-play goal in the third period of Ottawa's win over Anaheim on Thursday, and it's the latest in a string of similar issues, per TSN:

• Nov. 29, 2014: Broken finger (two games)
• Dec. 21, 2015: Hand injury (one game)
• Nov. 18, 2016: Broken finger (two games)
• Nov. 30, 2016: Hand injury (three games)
• Feb. 18, 2017: Broken right index finger (11 games)
• Oct. 21, 2017: Broken right index finger (eight games)
• Dec. 21, 2017: Re-aggravated finger injury (one game)
• Jan. 9, 2017: Re-aggravated finger injury (one game)

Ottawa plays Philadelphia and Montreal over the weekend, followed by a game against New Jersey on Feb. 6.

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