from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- sounds like Pittsburgh tried to get its hands on Brandon Montour from Anaheim. Don’t think the Ducks are interested. He’s a talented guy. Someone who does fit their profile? Jakob Silfverberg, a pending UFA. Entering Saturday’s game in Ottawa, 41 of the Penguins’ 46 goals from forwards came out of their top six.

- t his exit meeting last season, Jimmy Howard said he and the organization both discussed how he needed to get his save percentage from .910 to “.915 or .920.” Fourteen games into the season, it is .922.

“I don’t look at numbers anymore,” he laughed on Tuesday. “I used to when I was younger, but not looking comes with maturity. Sometimes it doesn’t tell the whole story. The only time I talk about it is with the media or my goalie coach. I have to be in my own little bubble, have to play well every single night. Give us a chance.”

Detroit isn’t up there with Buffalo, but after a rough start that could have gone off the cliff, they’ve battled and stabilized. “Last year, we found ways to lose. After the injuries (this year), some of our veterans have come back to calm things down. At the beginning, we were trying to do too much, and things snowball out of control.”

more on Howard plus other topics, including the recent coaching changes...