Duck Tales: Team USA visits Lady Ducks

Team USA is in town, wrapping up their Rivalry series with Team Canada at Honda Center this weekend. With three games left in the series, the ladies are taking to the ice to train — and meet the next generation, spending time with the Lady Ducks 10U and 12U teams last Thursday.

Making the occasion all the more special was forward Annie Pankowski, who is both an Orange County native and former Lady Duck herself.

The Rivalry Series will be part of a larger event to promote and celebrate women and girls in hockey, called the “We Play Weekend.” The Ducks will be hosting a panel of Women in Sports prior to the Rivalry series and U.S. National Team members will take part in S.C.O.R.E. (Scholastic Curriculum Of Recreation & Education) events that promote hockey, physical fitness and academic excellence in classrooms across Southern California.

Read more about it below, along with more news and notes from around the league:

On the Pond

• U.S. Women’s National Team Spends Quality Time With Lady Ducks Program [NHL.com]
• ICYMI: The AC Pod: Anaheim Ducks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning/Los Angeles Kings, Rakell Still Good, Steel Progress [Anaheim Calling]
• John Gibson honors Kobe, crash victims with special mask [Yahoo! Sports]
• Ducks mailbag: Trade targets, Samueli spending and an All-Star Game or draft in Anaheim? [The Athletic]
• Anaheim Ducks travel to Ottawa to play the Senators [The Washington Post]
• Ducks continue to learn painful lessons in their ongoing search for consistency [Los Angeles Daily News]

Around the League

• NHL’s best and worst this week: 10 spicy storylines to watch for the rest of the season [ESPN]
• Sidney Crosby on his relationship with Alex Ovechkin: ‘We’re not best buddies’ [Russian Machine Never Breaks]
• Three Big Questions: What is the best rivalry in the NHL today? [Sportsnet]
• Growing up with an NHL dad [Boston Globe]
• Here’s why the NHL All-Star Game would be better at the start of season [Boston Globe]
• NHL’s Black Hockey History mobile museum visits Miller Elementary in Hill District [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
• What we know about the NHL’s reported, ongoing investigation of the Coyotes [The Athletic]
• Plenty of trial and error when it comes to finding the perfect hockey stick at Michigan [MLive]

Scores & Recaps

• Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Washington Capitals 3
• Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Montreal Canadiens 3
• Vancouver Canucks 3, Carolina Hurricanes 4 (SO)

Click each team’s name to find a recap on their own SB Nation team site!

On the Schedule

• Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 PT/7 ET on ESPN+, TVAS, TSN4, FS-F
• Dallas Stars at New York Rangers, 4 PT/7 ET on ESPN+, MSG+, FS-SW+
• Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings, 4:30 PT/7:30 ET on NBCSN, SN, NBCSP+