Penguins/NHL category, Page 219
Madden ‘Tuesday’: Why Penguins goalies are failing, Super Bowl fallout, Steelers ‘nuclear winter’
Our “Madden Monday” podcast had to wait a day because of Mark Madden’s trip to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. Did Madden’s mini-vacation soften his recent harsh assessment of our three Pittsburgh sports teams, specifically the Steelers? “They are one year away from nuclear winter, which is where the...
Minor league report: Penguins fall to Devils in season openerVideo
Playing their first regular season game in nearly 11 months, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins opened their 2020-21 season with a 4-3 overtime home loss to the Binghamton Devils at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Monday. Goaltender Emil Larmi made 30 saves on 34 assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while defenseman Cam Lee...
Through success and failure, Penguins forward Teddy Blueger remains obsessed with workVideo
It was an unreliable moment. And it came from one of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ most reliable players. On Saturday night, in the late stages of a tied game against the New York Islanders, the Penguins needed to get a puck out of their own zone from the left half-wall. There...
Penguins’ Mike Sullivan on Steelers’ Mike Sullivan: ‘There are a lot of Mike Sullivans in the world’
Mike Sullivan stands out for a number of reasons. For one, he’s the only active coach in the NHL who has led a team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, having accomplished that feat with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017. And there’s his loud booming voice with a hint of...
Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson leaves practice with undisclosed injury
Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson left practice early on Monday in Cranberry after he accidentally collided with a teammate. Approximately 20 minutes into the session, Matheson fell to the ice after coming into contact with an unidentified teammate. Matheson laid on the ice for several moments as athletic trainer Chris Stewart...
Penguins Prospect Watch: Kasper Bjorkqvist snaps scoring slumpVideo
A weekly look at how Penguins prospects and minor leaguers have fared over the past seven days: • In Finland’s Liiga, forward Kasper Bjorkqvist scored the game-winning goal on a power play for KooKoo in a 7-2 home win against JYP on Saturday. The goal was Bjorkqvist’s first since Dec....
A look at the candidates for the Penguins’ vacant general manager position
A few hours after former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford abruptly turned in his resignation Jan. 27, team president and CEO David Morehouse laid out what the franchise was looking for in a potential successor. The base requirements for the job really weren’t that complicated. “The criteria is the...
Empty Thoughts: Islanders 4, Penguins 3Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 4-3 loss to the Islanders First things first, there was no update on Penguins forward Jared McCann. He left the game at 15:00 of the first period due to an undisclosed injury. From the television broadcasts available, it wasn’t evident what might have led to his...
Penguins fall to Islanders, possibly lose Jared McCann
There was plenty to like about the Penguins’ 4-3 road loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. • Rookie defenseman P.O Joseph got his first career goal. • Forward Evgeni Malkin had his first even-strength goal this season. • The top line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan...
Penguins to start goaltender Tristan Jarry against Islanders
The Penguins are scheduled to start goaltender Tristan Jarry for Saturday’s road game against the New York Islanders. In six games this season, Jarry has a 2-3-1 record, a 3.92 goals-against average and an .859 save percentage. He has served as the backup to Casey DeSmith for the Penguins’ last...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Ron Hextall is best choice for Penguins GM, right now
Eyebrows were raised when Chris Drury and Scott Mellanby declined to interview for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ vacant GM job. Drury, 44, is assistant GM for the New York Rangers. Mellanby, 54, has the same job with Montreal. Drury might be the best of up-and-coming NHL executives. If I were Drury...
Penguins activate defenseman Mike Matheson from injured reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins activated defenseman Mike Matheson from injured reserve. Sidelined for the past eight games because of an undisclosed injury, Matheson returned to the lineup Saturday in a road game against the New York Islanders. Limited to two games this season, the left-handed Matheson has no points. Additionally, the...
NHL reschedules 8 Penguins games
The NHL announced schedule changes for 27 games Saturday because of covid-19 protocol issues around the league. Eight of those changes involve the Penguins. • Penguins at New Jersey, originally scheduled for Feb. 9, is now scheduled for Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m. • Penguins at New Jersey, originally...
Minor league report: Nailers lose to OilersVideo
Goaltender Francois Brassard made 19 saves on 21 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-2 home loss to the Tulsa Oilers at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Friday. Forwards Lawton Courtnall and Cody Sylvester scored goals for Wheeling (3-8-3). Highlights: The Nailers’ next game is at home against...
The Penguins get ‘back to basics’ with their power playVideo
It wasn’t really a guarantee or a vow. If anything, it was just a confirmation of the obvious. When the Pittsburgh Penguins found out a pair of home games this week against the New Jersey Devils would be postponed because of covid-19 concerns with the Devils, they planned to take...
Penguins’ Zach Aston-Reese ‘trying to be better than last year’
The Pittsburgh Penguins could get a trio of players back in their lineup for Saturday’s road game against the New York Islanders. Two of them, defensemen Kris Letang and Mike Matheson, have missed two and eight games, respectively, because of undisclosed injuries. The third has waited much, much longer to...
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ season opener postponed
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ season-opener has been postponed. Because of covid-19 protocols impacting the opponent, the Binghamton Devils, the game has been moved from Saturday to 5 p.m. Monday. The contest will still be held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have not played a regular season game...
Penguins defenseman John Marino resumes practicing
Penguins defenseman John Marino participated in practice on Friday in Cranberry. After being absent from Thursday’s practice, Marino rejoined his teammates, two days removed from being placed on the NHL’s list of absences for covid-19 related protocol on Wednesday. Inclusion on that list — which is updated daily by the...
Mark Madden: Evgeni Malkin’s shot can fix Penguins’ struggling power play
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ power play stinks and is unlikely to be fixed. It ranks 22nd in the NHL with a conversion rate of 13.9%. It won’t always rank that low. It will generate hot streaks based solely on the unit’s talent, which is plentiful. But right now is not one...
Minor league report: Penguins close preseason with lossVideo
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fell in their final game of the preseason, losing on the road to the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 2-0, at the PPL Center in Allentown on Thursday. Goaltender Emil Larmi made 29 saves in the defeat. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finished the preseason with a 1-1-0 record. The Penguins are...
Penguins take NHL’s changes to covid-19 protocol in stride
Just over three weeks into the season, the NHL revised several of its rules pertaining to covid-19 protocols. The league announced the alterations Thursday afternoon, a day after 40 players were identified on the league’s daily listing of absences related to covid-19. In a statement, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman indicated...
Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson eager to prove himself
As the primary return in a September trade that jettisoned a fan favorite — and a two-time Stanley Cup champion — in Patric Hornqvist, Mike Matheson always was going to face an uphill battle to appetize the locals. And considering he played only two underwhelming games out of a possible...
First Call: Bruce Arians’ quote about Ben Roethlisberger; Chris Drury not in mix for Penguins GM job
Bruce Arians and Franco Harris comment on the Steelers. A perceived general manager candidate is off the Penguins’ list. And Robert Morris hockey has a rare mid-week doubleheader. All that in Thursday’s “First Call.” Bruce on Brady and Ben Former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians provided an interesting quote about...
The biggest problems facing the Penguins … besides the power play. Oh, and the power play.
At 5-4-1, things could be worse for the Pittsburgh Penguins. But they aren’t great. During Wednesday’s“Breakfast With Benz” podcast, Penguins Radio Network host Brian Metzer and I spent a lot of time drilling down on the problems facing the power play. But that’s not where the analysis needs to stop....
Penguins defenseman John Marino added to NHL’s covid-19 protocol list
Penguins defenseman John Marino was added to the NHL’s list of players unavailable to play or practice because of the league’s covid-19 protocol. Marino’s name was added to the list Wednesday. The Penguins, as scheduled, did not practice. The inclusion of Marino’s name on the list does not necessarily indicate...
