NEW YORK -- In a season in which the Southeast Division is ripe for the taking, the Winnipeg Jets have been trying to give it away over the past week.

The trend continued Monday at Madison Square Garden. Staked to an early lead, the Jets faltered on the power play and watched a 2-1 lead against the New York Rangers turn into a 4-2 loss, their third in a row and sixth in the past nine games.

Even with that extended slide, the Jets were in control of the division after a 4-1 road victory against the Carolina Hurricanes last Tuesday. The Jets held a six-point lead on the Hurricanes, who had played three fewer games at the time, but that lead has become more precarious after losing to the Rangers.

PITTSBURGH -- During the Pittsburgh Penguins' first practice since Sidney Crosby was lost for an indefinite period of time because of a broken jaw, it was learned the player who will replace the National Hockey League scoring leader as their first-line center is Tyler Kennedy.

It was also learned there is no shortage of players who will replace Crosby's role as team leader.

Former Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla's first practice with the Penguins was overshadowed by the news that Pittsburgh's captain was not on the Consol Energy Center ice.

"It's definitely terrible to lose Sid," said Iginla, who made his Penguins game debut during the same Saturday game in which Crosby was struck with a puck in his mouth about 90 seconds in. "I was really looking forward to being in the same locker room with him, playing on the same team and stuff.

"Hopefully he'll be back sooner than they say and be back for the playoffs and he'll be flying."

Multiple players said that over the previous 24 hours they had visited Crosby at a hospital a few miles down Forbes Avenue from Consol Energy Center, where Pittsburgh has won 12 in a row. The Penguins' overall 15-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest in NHL history.

When Jordan Leopold dozed off for his pre-game nap Saturday afternoon, he did so as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. Waking up was a different story.

It began a 24-hour whirlwind that saw Leopold change teams in a split second. But the newest St. Louis Blues defenseman has been through this routine before, with it being his sixth National Hockey League stop.

The 32-year-old Leopold, traded by the Sabres to the Blues for a 2013 second-round pick and a conditional 2013 fifth-round pick (that can turn into a fourth-round selection should the Blues win a playoff round), got the call from Buffalo general manager Darcy Regier prior to the Sabres facing the Washington Capitals.

"I was pre-game napping yesterday to get ready and play the Capitals," Leopold said after flying in and taking a physical. "I woke up and got a call from Darcy Regier and (he) quickly said, 'I ended up trading you.' … I really didn't sleep (Saturday) night. I think I finally dotted out about 1:30 (a.m. local time). I got up at 4:30 (a.m.). It wasn't a good, quality night of sleep. After two short flights, here I am."

DETROIT -- When Nicklas Lidstrom speaks, young defensemen listen.

That's why Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland used the "Nicklas Listrom card" when making a sales pitch to coveted 23-year old college free-agent defenseman Dan DeKeyser.

Holland just handed the phone to Lidstrom, the retired Red Wings captain and defenseman who now lives in Sweden but happened to be visiting Detroit with his family to start a vacation.

DeKeyser, who grew up a Red Wings fan in the Detroit suburb Macomb, couldn't believe it.

"He just told me about the organization and how special of a place it is to play," said DeKeyser, who went through his first NHL practice Saturday afternoon with Lidstrom watching from the bench. "They have a great management team and a locker room full of great guys. He said it would be a fun place to play, so I took his word for it."

PITTSBURGH -- The veteran of 1,220 NHL games felt like he was an 18-year-old rookie all over again.

Jarome Iginla

Right Wing - PIT

GOALS: 9 | ASST: 13 | PTS: 22
SOG: 103 | +/-: -6

Jarome Iginla said the emotions and mindset associated with making his Pittsburgh Penguins debut Saturday afternoon were unlike anything since the first game of his career 17 years ago. Saturday was his first game playing for any NHL team other than the only team he'd known, the Calgary Flames.

"You know what, I was trying to think of it, and the closest thing to it was like my first game," the 35-year-old said after Pittsburgh defeated the New York Islanders, 2-0, for its 15th consecutive victory.

"You're literally all the way back to when I was 18 when you're trying to stay calm. And we had an afternoon game that game, too, and you're trying not to be too excited or too nervous, and then I tell myself, 'I've played lots of games. Relax.' But it's different.

After Sheldon Souray's point blast with just 2:08 left in regulation hit the Blackhawks defenseman's stick and redirected past Emery for Anaheim's game-winning goal in the Ducks' 2-1 win on Friday night at United Center, Hjalmarsson heaved his stick at the boards in disgust. He looked like a golfer whose tee shot headed straight into a lake.

It's been that kind of season for the Blackhawks against the Ducks, the team right behind first-place Chicago of the Western Conference standings. Anaheim (23-7-4) not only ended a four-game losing skid, but also swept the three-game season series against Chicago and downed the Blackhawks at the "Madhouse on Madison Street" for the second time.

"I just tried to block it at the end there, and it bounced off my stick … nothing I can do about that," Hjalmarsson said. "I tried to block his shot as much as I could, but you've got to let it go and try to win the game."

CHICAGO -- Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau bluntly used the term "passengers" after a 4-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, his team's fourth defeat in a row.

The time for being gentle was over.

"I think I was just telling the truth, more than anything else," Boudreau said Friday morning from United Center, where his Ducks will try to snap their season-high losing streak against the Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET, NHLN-U.S.).

If the Ducks continue to have passengers against the Blackhawks, odds are their losing streak will balloon to five and their deficit in the Western Conference standings will widen to seven points.

For a man whose job was to render potentially life-altering rulings every day, it was a pretty easy decision for Judge Thomas Brennan Jr.

A circuit judge in Lansing, Mich., Brennan's son was playing hockey at Lansing Catholic Central High School when the varsity coach resigned. In his search to find a replacement, Brennan eyed a teammate on his local rec league team, the Legal Eagles. He was a young lawyer named Jon Cooper who had played in prep school, a little in college and had recently earned his law degree at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, a college founded by Brennan's father.

At the time, there was no way for Brennan to know he was kick-starting the career of a future NHL coach. Cooper will be behind the Tampa Bay Lightning bench Friday night for the first time when they host the New Jersey Devils.

Ken Holland doesn't live in a cave, without access to the Internet or television, so the Detroit Red Wings general manager is aware of the talk circulating about star center Pavel Datsyuk.

Pavel Datsyuk

Center - DET

GOALS: 11 | ASST: 24 | PTS: 35
SOG: 74 | +/-: 14

Holland, however, said he will likely wait until the end of this season to address the situation.

"Obviously, I've heard the rumors," Holland told NHL.com. "I have not had any real conversation with [Datsyuk] or his agent, Gary Greenstein. Gary lives in California and I just saw him the other day. Basically we're going to sit down at the conclusion of this season, before Pav goes home. I don't know what will come out of it."

Since taking over as interim coach of the Buffalo Sabres in February, Ron Rolston has basically been living out of a suitcase and learning on the fly.

The most enjoyable part of it all for the 46-year-old Rolston is dealing with the challenges. He's never backed down from one and isn't about to start now that he's been given such a prestigious opportunity in the National Hockey League.

"I enjoy coming to the rink on a daily basis and getting better," Rolston told NHL.com. "I know there will be speed bumps and we'll have ups and downs, but you deal with it and move on."

It certainly wasn't the easiest position for Rolston to walk into. Not only did he replace a legend behind the Sabres bench in Lindy Ruff, but he acquired a team that had just six victories in its opening 17 games.