The Pittsburgh Penguins’ decision to weld Kris Letang with Marcus Pettersson on a defensive pairing in recent weeks wasn’t necessarily rooted in a sense of familiarity between the two long-time teammates.

The pros to trading Pettersson outweigh the cons, so don't be surprised if it happens soon. Teams such as the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota Wild seem to be good fits for the top-four defenseman, and they're also teams that may be able to provide the assets Pittsburgh would be looking for.

Marcus Pettersson landing on injured reserve forced the Pittsburgh Penguins to do some tinkering on the blue line. Pettersson had been Erik Karlsson’s defensive partner since Karlsson debuted with the Penguins last season.

The Penguins held on the rest of the third period to secure at least a loser’s point, and then controlled the puck for most of overtime. Crosby then turned to his trademark backhand for his 95th career game-winning goal, and fourth tally in five games to send the Penguins back to Pittsburgh in better spirits.

Dan Rosen of NHL.com: If a team comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins with a too good to be true offer, they have to consider it. There doesn’t appear to be anything imminent, especially with Sidney Crosby. He signed a two-year extension and said he plans to honor it.

Here are your Pens Points for this Monday morning... It wasn’t the original plan of Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, but the reunion between defensemen Kris Letang and Marcus Pettersson has provided some stability for a notably volatile unit.

Yesterday though Penguins GM Kyle Dubas pushed back on D'Amico's report, flatly denying that the team is in selling mode.

Pittsburgh Penguins veteran defenceman Marcus Pettersson has been playing decently well since returning from injury in early January. Pettersson has been playing mostly alongside either Erik Karlsson or Kris Letang this season.

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

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.

To Carbery’s point, the Caps were guilty of overpassing at times, passing themselves out of prime scoring areas on two or three occasions. They also had a couple of odd man rushes in which they weren’t able to put a shot on Pittsburgh’s rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist, who turned in a strong performance in a losing effort.

The Penguins begin a seven-game road trip with a game on Friday night, Jan. 17, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.