The Pittsburgh Penguins and perhaps Rickard Rakell got some good news since Sunday. Rakell left the team sometime after the loss on Saturday to the Washington Capitals to return to Pittsburgh and tend to a family matter.

Kevin Hayes, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Cody Glass and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic, fresh off making history by becoming the first goalie in NHL history to score a goal and record an assist in the same game on Friday in Buffalo, stopped 25 of 26 shots to earn the victory.

The Pens keep building and find another goal, Philip Tomasino swoops around Edmundson and sends a pass over for Evgeni Malkin. Malkin shoots quickly and beats the goalie five-hole with the lateral movement.

The teams battle on the in second, the Pens have the puck a lot but the Caps keep them almost entirely to fighting for space around the outside. Rickard Rakell heads to the penalty box and Pittsburgh kills it off before surrendering a goal soon after.

It’s been about a month since the first iteration of when we checked in on some individual ups and downs, and now is a good time to look back at it. Rickard Rakell — In a way, you might say that Rickard Rakell won the Jake Guentzel trade.

Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas denied speculation about a fire sale, but how many of their top players could be traded?

Many of the Penguins think the spark Nedeljkovic provides on and off the ice might be just what they need to make a postseason push.

The Ducks have lost seven of their last eight, accruing just four of a possible 16 points, while Pittsburgh just hammered the Kings on Monday

Unfortunately for Penguins fans, a fire sale might be the best way to go. They've missed the playoffs the past two years, and this season, they're on the outside looking in. Recent moves by general manager Kyle Dubas also haven't worked out.

Dubas however has other trade chips available in pending unrestricted free agents like Anthony Beauvillier and Marcus Pettersson, but there is a sense that all players except for Crosby and Geno are being considered.

Even though the Pittsburgh Penguins are still on the fringes of playoff contention it still seems to be a foregone conclusion on what they are going to do in advance of the March 7 NHL trade deadline.

Not just pending free agents, but all big name players in play.