First Call: National outlets see Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett available for Steelers in draft; Alex Ovechkin's injury status

Tuesday’s “First Call” leads us to believe the Pittsburgh Steelers will be on the clock with their choice of quarterbacks on the board during the NFL Draft Thursday night.

There will be some scoreboard watching going on Tuesday in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

And we’ve got an update on Alex Ovechkin’s injury.

Peter picks Pickett

Longtime NFL writer Peter King published his mock draft for ProFootballTalk.com Monday.

He has Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis both on the board at No. 20 for the Steelers, and he sees the team going with Pickett.

“It’s a gut feeling more than anything else,” King said. “How cool would it be if the Steelers, who passed on Pitt’s Dan Marino in 1983 when a successor to Terry Bradshaw was desperately needed (they picked Gabe Rivera) would 39 years later take Pitt’s Pickett to be the long-term sub for Ben Roethlisberger? Pretty cool to think Pickett, who for the entirety of his college career has walked into the door to the right of the Steelers/Pitt complex on the South side of the gritty city, might walk into the left door as a pro now.

“We’ve gotten so used to excoriating any team that would even think of drafting a quarterback high this year that we haven’t just sat back and considered, ‘Maybe Kenny Pickett is actually, you know, good.’”

Certainly, that last statement is true. I think that’s happened with all the quarterbacks in this draft.

But I just don’t see a scenario in which both of those quarterbacks are available at No. 20. And I wouldn’t pin as much hope on the romanticized notion of erasing the Marino ghosts as a catalyst for the Steelers’ thinking as King seems to here.

I’m not saying Pickett won’t be selected by the Steelers if he is available. I’m just saying that, if that’s the case, it should be because they think he is the best player on the board — and a franchise QB for a decade to come.

Not because they want to rewrite a script that was written back when Mike Tomlin was in the fifth grade.

Hold tight?

King isn’t the only person from a major national outlet advancing that the Steelers may have their pick of all the top quarterbacks available on draft night.

ESPN’s Todd McShay claims that he has been told none of the 19 teams in front of the Steelers are all that interested in drafting a quarterback.

“As it stands right now, my sources don’t believe there is a team in the top 19 picks that will be drafting a QB,” McShay wrote Monday. “There’s always a shock on draft night, and teams always look to trade up for a signal-caller, but the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 20 is the first spot I’m hearing serious QB consideration. Word is that the Steelers like Liberty’s Willis, so the question for Pittsburgh GM Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin: Can they pull a Bill Belichick and just hold tight for their guy? (New England stayed put at No. 15 last April and landed Mac Jones.)”

McShay says another first-round team that may be leaning quarterback is the Tennessee Titans. But they aren’t up until pick No. 26.

Quick on the draw

The AHL’s Hershey Bears asked Harrisburg native Micah Parsons to drop the ceremonial first puck Sunday before the team’s game against the Syracuse Crunch.

The former Penn State star obliged. But perhaps the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year wasn’t given the most clear instructions on how to complete that task. It appears the Dallas Cowboys linebacker wasn’t informed to wait for the representatives of both teams to join him at center ice.

Thanks for coming last night, @MicahhParsons11!

We are so sorry for not explaining how a puck drop works. That one is on us. Our bad. pic.twitter.com/WESn2ahUkd

— x - Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) April 25, 2022

Frankly, I prefer Parsons’ approach. I’m one of those people who always complains when the linesmen hold on to the puck too long before dropping it anyway. I think they should all follow Parsons’ example.

An eye elsewhere

As the Penguins (101 points) face off against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (7 p.m., PPG Paints Arena), the Washington Capitals (100 points) will also be dropping the puck against the New York Islanders.

Many Penguins fans are hoping the team stays in front of the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division, so that the club can avoid playing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. That would be the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers.

Remaining in third place would mean avoiding a bump into the Atlantic postseason bracket and result in the Penguins facing either the New York Rangers or Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.

No easy task there, either. But the Panthers had won 13 games in a row prior to a loss against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Another game to monitor Tuesday is Florida’s contest in Boston. The Bruins have 103 points and are currently in the Atlantic’s wild card spot with one game remaining after Tuesday’s battle with the Panthers. They’d flip into the Metro to play either the Rangers or Hurricanes if they finish with more points than the fourth-place team in that Division — be it either the Pens or Caps.

Ovechkin out?

Washington star Alex Ovechkin is day-to-day after leaving Sunday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an upper-body injury.

The Caps made that designation Monday. The 50-goal scorer was on hand for the team picture Monday, even though the club didn’t practice.

Ovechkin guiding Ted Leonsis on the ice pic.twitter.com/oP58mHx0KB

— JJ Regan (@JJReganNBCS) April 25, 2022

JJ Reagan of NBCS Washington reported that “Ovechkin was in full uniform and was not in a sling. Having said that, he did appear to favor his left arm. At one moment, the team applauded an announcement that was made and Ovechkin only moved his right hand.”