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PHT Morning Skate: Isles goalies answering questions; dependable Raanta

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In the first game of a Wednesday Night Hockey double header, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins travel to Washington to face Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Tune in to NBCSN on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET.

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• Fantasy Hockey GMs looking for advice should check out Rotoworld’s “Waiver Wired” column. Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch is worth adding off the wire. (Rotoworld)

• Coming into this season, there were plenty of question marks surrounding the Islanders goalies. But so far, Thomas Greiss and Robin Lehner have been solid. (Newsday)

• Which jersey do NHLers around the league think is the best one? No surprise here. (NHL.com)

• NBC Sports Philly explains why Bobby Clarke is the greatest Philadelphia Flyer of all time. (NBC Sports Philly)

• The Anaheim Ducks are glad that they’ve made some progress recently, but the results still haven’t been there for them. (OC Register)

• With Auston Matthews sidelined by a shoulder injury, Mitch Marner has stepped up in a big way. (Toronto Star)

• Antti Raanta spent several years as a backup goalie, but he’s turning into a dependable starting goaltender in Arizona right now. (NHL.com)

• Jason Pominville celebrated his 1,000th NHL game in style over the weekend, and he was extremely grateful that his family could be there with him. “It’s tough not to get choked up when you see the kids, see them on the ice,” Pominville said. “Even during the game. It was kind of fortunate we had a lead. I was able to look up and hear most of them. Just a lot of people that have meant a lot to me throughout my career. A lot of great players, and great memories with them. It was pretty emotional at times.” (Buffalo News)

• The Calgary Flames have quite a few Swedes on their roster, so that group, which includes Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm and Rasmus Andersson, can speak in multiple languages on the ice. (Calgary Sun)

• After years of on-ice frustration, Yanni Gourde was finally rewarded with a huge contract extension. (Tampa Bay Times)

• Sometimes, teams spend a ton of money in free agency only to have those signings fail. Other times, teams make low-risk signings that work out beautifully. The Hockey News looks at five summer acquisitions that have made a surprisingly positive impact on their teams. (The Hockey News)

• Did Wayne Gretzky really end up playing for the Edmonton Oilers because of a high stakes game of backgammon? This is a wild story. (Sportsnet)

• The Ottawa Senators played their 2,000th game in the NHL, and Randy Sexton has so many memories since the team joined the league. The Sens have come a long way. (Ottawa Sun)

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.