First Call: 2 Vikings stars sit out practice before Steelers game; Rick Tocchet may fill open Flyers coaching job

The Minnesota Vikings are dealing with significant injury issues as the Steelers get set for a visit Thursday night. A former Penguins fan favorite may be in line to become the Philadelphia Flyers next head coach. Robert Morris is having basketball problems. And some stunning numbers from Monday night’s NFL action between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots.

Tocchet time?

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Colorado Avalanche 7-5 Monday night.

Former Penguins assistant Mike Yeo was on the bench as head coach. That’s because the franchise fired Alain Vigneault earlier in the day.

Philly is 8-11-4, good for seventh place in the eight-team Metropolitan Division. And some are saying former Penguins and Flyers player Rick Tocchet may be in line to be the next bench boss.

Mike Yeo will be #Flyers coach tonight vs. #Avs in second game of back-to-back.

We'll see where this goes, but my sense is Rick Tocchet will be high on Philadelphia's candidate list.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 6, 2021

Tocchet was a head coach in Tampa Bay and Arizona. He was also an assistant with the Penguins from June 2014 through June 2017, winning two Stanley Cups. He is currently a television analyst for TNT.

No go

As the Minnesota Vikings prepare to host the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night, they are currently doing so without two star skill-position players.

Neither running back Dalvin Cook nor wide receiver Adam Thielen practiced Monday.

Thielen suffered a high ankle sprain Sunday during the first quarter of a 29-27 loss in Detroit. Cook missed that game after suffering a shoulder injury during a loss against the San Francisco 49ers Nov. 28.

Cook is currently seventh in the NFL with 773 rushing yards. Last week, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com projected that Cook’s absence would extend at least beyond the game against the Steelers Thursday.

Linebackers Anthony Barr (knee/hamstring) and Eric Kendricks (biceps) were limited Monday. They both missed Week 13.

Deal with the conditions

The New England Patriots gutted out a 14-10 win over the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football.” They did so in 50 mph winds that limited the passing games of both teams.

How limited exactly? Check out these numbers from ESPN Stats and Info.

The Patriots defeated the Bills with 3 pass attempts; the fewest by any team since the Bills in Week 3 of 1974 vs the Jets (2) pic.twitter.com/hp0DTuOMw1

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 7, 2021

The Patriots won tonight completing 2 of 3 passes for 19 yards. The 2 pass completions are tied for their fewest in a single game in franchise history.

The three pass attempts are the fewest in a single game in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/RQAz85UXLY

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 7, 2021

Regardless of what it took to get done, the Patriots have now won seven in a row. They are 9-4. And Bill Belichick’s team is currently the top seed in the AFC.

The Pats have a bye next week, then they visit the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15. The Bills fell to 7-5, currently a half game in front of the Steelers for the AFC’s last playoff spot.

Needing to break through

The Robert Morris men’s basketball team is still looking to break into the win column.

The Colonials are currently 0-7, losing those games by an average of 15.14 points.

That places them 334th in the NET rankings out of 347 teams. Andy Toole’s team looks for its first win of the season Wednesday against Lancaster Bible College.

Hype for hope

Speaking of the Colonials, the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation is accelerating fundraising efforts to get the Robert Morris hockey teams back on the ice. The university disbanded both the men’s and women’s teams in May.

A few months later, the school issued a Dec. 15 deadline for the teams to raise $1.4 million to be reinstated, along with an additional $1.4 million toward future pledges.

Now, via the Twitter account of new PCHF board member Ryan Malone, the group is releasing a hype video encouraging people to donate to the cause.

It features Malone, Neil Walker, Brett Keisel, Shaun Suisham, Colby Armstrong and other Pittsburgh area sports alumni playing hockey at the RMU Island Sports Complex.

This is OUR TaHn! When you play da ⁦@penguins⁩ ⁦@Pirates⁩ ⁦@steelers⁩ team you play the whole TaHn! Buy in and be part of the greatest comeback in Sports History. Down 500,000 goals! Game ends Dec 15! ⁦@PghCHF⁩ @IronCityBeer⁩ ⁦https://t.co/HujY8tc8ge pic.twitter.com/Yyh2YLA4dK

— Ryan “Bugsy” Malone (@Bugsy12Malone) December 6, 2021

The PCHF website says the team is at $869,921 toward this year’s goal with eight days left.