Hi from Ottawa. The Penguins are skating here shortly. I’ll have live updates here:

• On the ice: Alex Nedeljkovic, Mike Chiasson, Blake Lizotte, Jesse Puljujarvi, Owen Pickering, Kevin Hayes, Ryan Shea, Matt Nieto, Drew O’Connor.

• The Penguins are blasting Russian music in the training room this morning. Can only guess who won that battle.

• Erik Karlsson cut his hair short. He claims he just took his wig off.

• Tristan Jarry will start tonight.

• Looks like the same lineup as in Montreal. Nieto came off with the game guys.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't point out that no Pittsburgh newspaper is traveling to cover the Penguins on this ongoing Montreal/Ottawa trip. 

We are. 

Hockey matters in our city. Hockey matters to our readers. And you'd better believe hockey matters to all of us at DK Pittsburgh Sports.

Welcome to the first Survey Says feature of the season.

The "Which teammate ...?" questions are always the best, and we've already done a couple asking about post-playing careers -- Who'd be a good TV analyst? Who'd be a good coach?

For this one, I asked which teammate would make the best general manager after retiring, which requires a few attributes -- someone who is smart, knows the game well, but is also creative and able to negotiate. The players had a lot of fun thinking about this one.

Ryan Shea: This is the easiest one -- Rusty. Whether it's fantasy football, cards, whatever, he convinces you that you're always in the wrong when you're not. He does a pretty good job. Negotiating? He would do it. And obviously, he's a great player, and he knows the game very well. That's an easy one. I feel like everyone would probably say Sid, and that's also true, but Rusty would be the one. I could see him tossing out offer sheets left and right just to shove it in people's faces.

Marcus Pettersson: Tanger would be a very hard negotiator. Sid, obviously, with the mind he has for the game and just seeing how guys are, seeing special players. Karl could do it, but I don't think he wants to. I'll say Lars -- he has the right temperament for it, is very calm, good under pressure.

Michael Bunting: I would probably say Sid. He knows the game really well, and he knows players.

Jack St. Ivany: I'll go Noel Acciari. He just understands the game really well, he knows a lot of people, been around, been on winning teams. He knows what it takes.

Sam Poulin: Sid. He knows the game more than anybody else. I just feel like he would make the right picks.

Owen Pickering: Tristan Broz. He's super smart. You can say any sentence to him and he can tell you the amount of characters that are in the sentence within three seconds. Super smart. And I would also say me, (Rutger McGroarty), and (Avery Hayes). We started an NCAA (video game) dynasty, and we've rebuilt the Nebraska Cornhuskers to be a wagon. We have some GM qualities, for sure.

Valtteri Puustinen: Sid, of course. But I'll say Rusty. I think he's such a smart guy.

Bryan Rust: Noel Acciari. He's very personable, but I think when it came down to it, he'd be able to make the tough decisions. I don't think he would react over-emotionally to situations.

Matt Grzelcyk: It's tough not to say Sid. I mean, he's so knowledgeable and loves the game. He's got a fun side, but a very serious side as well and would be very well-respected around the league.

Joel Blomqvist: Sid, pretty easy. He knows the game so well, he'd be pretty good for that job.

Alex Nedeljkovic: I've got a few guys in mind, but I don't know if they have the patience for it. Lars could probably do it. Lars would be a good GM, he has the patience.

Noel Acciari: Sid, definitely. Ned probably could, actually. I think he could be a GM for sure. He's knowledgeable about those things.

Ryan Graves: Sid knows every player. He knows like, the history of hockey. He knows guys that played 10 games 15 years ago, it's impressive. It's crazy.

Rickard Rakell: Karl. I think he'd be good because he's not scared to speak his mind, and he sees the game very well. He's a creative person.

Erik Karlsson: Tanger. He's good at negotiating.

Matt Nieto: I'm going to go with Petey. Petey is a good candidate for that. He's a smart guy, knows the game, he seems like he could work some business deals.

Blake Lizotte: Probably Hayesy. He seems like he's always in the mix and always debating something. He's trying to get the most of a lot of everything, whether it's arguing to get a little more or whatever. I think he'd be good.

Anthony Beauvillier: I'm sure everyone said Kris Letang. For sure. Just negotiating, being around the game, that's just his vibe.

Jesse Puljujarvi: Sid. He knows the game.

Tristan Jarry: I say Kris Letang, just because everyone else is going to say Sidney. He's good at bargaining, he loves a good argument.

Kevin Hayes: Sid and Tanger. They've been around a long time, they've played in both styles of the game. They're pretty smart.

Phil Tomasino: Kevin Hayes. He's got a lot of knowledge about the game, we'll go with him. He's a good answer.

Cody Glass: Oh, Sid. Sid for sure. He's just one of the smartest hockey minds of all time, so I can see him doing that. Will he? Probably not, he deserves his rest. But I'd say him just because of how smart he is.

Vasily Ponomarev: Me. I'm good at math and I can build a good team with the right habits. I know what a team needs to win.

Drew O'Connor: Everyone's going to say Sid, right? Did everyone say Sid? (Me: I've actually gotten a wide variety of answers). Lars, maybe. He's thoughtful, he can analyze things well. I don't think Tanger would sign anybody because he'd spend time arguing. No one will be on the team.

Kris Letang: Probably Sid. He would be able to convince guys to take less money like he did. 

Sidney Crosby: Tanger. He loves to negotiate and argue. I feel like he would just grind on agents and players for contracts. Maybe not a GM, but an assistant GM. I think he would enjoy that part of it. (Me: You've been a popular answer, any interest?) No, I'm just thinking about playing right now as long as I can. I'm not there yet.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was shut out by Charlotte, 4-0, tonight at Mohegan Sun Arena.

As if to pay homage to the parent club, Wilkes-Barre trailed 1-0 just 15 seconds in after allowing a goal on the first shot of the game. The Checkers made it 2-0 later in the first, then added another goal in the second and a power-play goal in the third to make it 4-0. Joel Blomqvist took the loss with 27 saves on 31 shots.

The Penguins had a rare bad night on the power play, going 0 for 5. But even after this, the power play is operating at 21.3%, tied for the sixth-best in the AHL.

Emil Bemstrom returned from injury and led the team with seven shots on goal, improving his average to 3.7 per game. Dan Renouf fought Patrick Giles in the first period, and Jonathan Gruden fought Oliver Okuliar in the second.

The Nailers' 4-1 win over the Royals in Reading, Pa. on Friday was their 12th consecutive win and 15th consecutive game without a loss in regulation, setting a new franchise record for games in which at least one point in the standings was earned.

The Royals scored 1:41 into the game on just their fourth shot. Jagger Joshua tied the game midway through the first, and Matty De St. Phalle scored a pair of goals to make it a 3-1 game before first intermission. Kyle Jackson extended the lead in the second period, and both teams played a scoreless third.

Taylor Gauthier earned the win with 28 saves on 29 shots. He is 3-0 to start the season after returning from injury with an 0.67 goals-against average and a .965 save percentage.

De St. Phalle, a 24-year-old wing, was signed to a two-year AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton out of the University of Wisconsin last spring. His 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in 20 games is tied for second in team scoring behind third-year pro forward Jordan Martel's 24 points. When I went to Wheeling last month, head coach Derek Army told me De St. Phalle is "just a worker, always invested."

"He always wants to do video, always wants to review," Army told me. "He works so hard, he can skate. He's always impacting the play. He's got a little bit of an edginess, which I love personally, a smaller guy (5-9, 170) having that little edginess, jawing with the other team. I do love that about him. He wants to be on the ice in the PK. He wants to be on the ice in every situation. So I really can appreciate that. He's been great, it's good to see him have success."

The 12-game win streak ties the Nailers' franchise record, achieved in both the 2003-04 and 2023-24 seasons. They'll have the opportunity to break that record on Saturday, with another game against the Royals in Reading.

The Nailers' points percentage of .825 leads the ECHL, and they're the only team with a points percentage above .800. They're two points shy of leading the league in points, albeit with three games in hand.