Penguins/NHL category, Page 220
Mark Madden: Don’t expect Sidney Crosby to finish his career in Canada
A bunch of Canadian media used their platform to try to wish Sidney Crosby to a Canadian team, speculating that the Penguins and Crosby may (this got said with great gravitas) talk about his future this coming offseason, and what would be Crosby’s likely destination? That “speculation” (read: made-up drivel)...
Tim Benz: For the Penguins power play, every day is ‘Groundhog Day’
Because of covid-19 issues with the New Jersey Devils, the Penguins won’t play again until Feb. 6 against the New York Islanders. The games against New Jersey at PPG Paints Arena have been postponed. So what will they do with the downtime? Working on the power play is a good...
Penguins remain on task despite so many diversions
In any other timeline, Tuesday would have been unusual for the Pittsburgh Penguins. But practicing at Madison Square Garden in the middle of bustling New York then flying home to Pittsburgh might have been relatively normal compared to their past seven days. To review, the past week for the Penguins...
Injured Penguins Zach Aston-Reese, Mike Matheson making progress
Injured Pittsburgh Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese and defenseman Mike Matheson participated in the team’s practice Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Both remain on injured reserve but have been semi-regular presences at the Penguins’ irregular practice sessions as of late. Aston-Reese is recuperating from offseason surgery on his...
Penguins assign defenseman Will Reilly to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Penguins assigned defenseman Will Reilly to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. A first-year professional, Reilly was recalled from the taxi squad Monday and served as a healthy scratch during a 3-1 road loss to the New York Rangers that same day. Reilly, 23, has yet to play a...
Empty Thoughts: Rangers 3, Penguins 1Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 3-1 loss to the Rangers: First things first, no one in a Penguins jersey was injured. There haven’t been many times after games this season that could be said. The combination of the Penguins’ chaos on the blue line and the six power-play chances they were...
Penguins’ power play struggles continue in loss to Rangers
The Penguins entered Monday’s road game against the New York Rangers with a hideous slump on the power play. They preached the right things about trying to remedy their malfunctions in that area. “Simplify” and “shoot” are two words they have offered repeatedly, almost to a man, during their skid...
Penguins place Brian Dumoulin on long-term injured reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Brian Dumoulin on long-term injured reserve. That designation allowed them to recall defenseman Will Reilly, a first-year professional, from their taxi squad. Dumoulin, one of the team’s top players, has been sidelined the past two games — since a 3-2 overtime road loss to the...
Penguins’ upcoming home games postponed by Devils’ covid-19 issues
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ upcoming home games Tuesday and Thursday against the New Jersey Devils have been postponed indefinitely. On Monday, the NHL announced four additional Devils players were added to the league’s covid-19 protocol-related absence list. They join the six Devils players already on that list prior to Monday. Those...
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang sidelined with undisclosed injuryVideo
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will miss Monday’s road game against the New York Rangers because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Mike Sullivan termed his absence as “day to day.” Letang, the team’s top defenseman, left Saturday’s 5-4 overtime road win against the Rangers at 10 minutes, 15 seconds of the...
Penguins to wear alternate jerseys against Rangers
The Penguins will wear white alternate jerseys for Monday’s road game against the New York Rangers. With the NHL struggling to generate revenue this season as a result of limited ticket revenue because of the pandemic, the league has made all 31 active teams don alternate jerseys this season. The...
Penguins Prospect Watch: Nathan Legare, Sam Poulin debut for Val-d’Or Foreurs
A weekly look at how Penguins prospects and minor leaguers have fared over the past week: • In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), forwards Nathan Legare and Sam Poulin each made their debuts for Val-d’Or Foreurs on Saturday in a 3-2 shootout road win against the Gatineau Olympiques....
First Call: Matt Murray’s struggles continue; ex-Penguins lighting up the score sheet
Monday’s “First Call” is a hockey hotbed. Former Penguins goaltender Matt Murray is continuing to have problems with his new team. And on Sunday, many of them were caused by some other guys who also used to skate in Pittsburgh. In fact, ex-Penguins are scoring like crazy all over the...
Tim Benz: A return to the 1980s Pittsburgh sports scene? Sadly, it may have already started.
The 1980s were good for a few things. Hair metal. Karate. Tom Cruise movies. Acid wash jeans. Just a few things that leap to mind. However, they weren’t a great time for the Pittsburgh sports scene. No titles were won in Pittsburgh from 1979 (when the Steelers and Pirates both...
Minor league report: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins open preseason with victory
Goaltender Emil Larmi made 21 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who opened their preseason with a 5-1 road win against the Binghamton Devils at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House in Newark, N.J., on Sunday. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got goals from forwards Jordy Bellerive, John Gruden, Zach Nastasiuk, Tim Schaller and defenseman Josh...
Mark Madden: They have shortcomings, but Penguins don’t lack effort
The Penguins might cheat you when it comes to certain things. They might cheat you on structure. They might cheat you on goaltending. Evgeni Malkin is cheating you on production. The cataclysmically injured defense corps is getting cheated on luck. But the Penguins are not cheating you when it comes...
Penguins leaning on rookie P.O Joseph in crucial moments
You can illustrate how dismal of a situation the Pittsburgh Penguins have on defense by simply pointing out they have six defensemen sidelined by injury. But you can paint a much more vivid picture by noting one of their options during a 5-4 overtime road win against the Rangers on...
Empty Thoughts: Penguins 5, Rangers 4 (OT)Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 5-4 overtime win against the Rangers: First things first — and boy has that been typed way too often in this space — there was no update on Kris Letang after the game. He left the game at 10:15 of the first period. On a fairly...
Minor league report: Nailers lose to FuelVideo
Playing their first game in two weeks, the Wheeling Nailers lost at home, 5-4, to the Indy Fuel on Saturday at the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. The Nailers had their past four games postponed due to covid-19-related concerns. Forward Austin Fyten scored two goals for Wheeling while forwards Sean...
Penguins beat Rangers in OT, but lose Kris Letang
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered Saturday’s road game against the New York Rangers knowing they had to do something different to combat what plagued them during the early stages of their ongoing road trip. “We’ve just got to play a better team game,” forward Bryan Rust said. “We’ve got to focus...
Penguins recall defenseman Yannick Weber from taxi squad
As a 12-year veteran who has played in Montreal, Vancouver and Nashville, defenseman Yannick Weber is no stranger to travel. But the trek he made to join the Penguins was quite a caper. The native of Switzerland signed with the Penguins on Wednesday but was unable to arrange a flight...
Who makes sense as the Penguins’ next general manager?
When the Penguins sought a new general manager in the spring of 2014, there were plenty of obvious candidates. The names of Julien BriseBois and Jeff Gorton were some of the most prominent attached to the vacancy. And they made sense. At the time, they were assistant general managers of...
Mark Madden: Jim Rutherford’s 5 trades in 2015-16 transformed Penguins, NHL
Jim Rutherford is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He won three Stanley Cups as an NHL general manager. When the basics of your resume are that strong, drilling down deeper figures to unearth a few bright, shining moments. Rutherford’s was the 2015-16 season. It was his Picasso....
First Call: Steelers’ Bud Dupree laughs at talk of discount deal; Penguins GM candidate emerging
Friday’s “First Call” gives us an update on Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree and his view of free agency. A potential candidate to replace Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is starting to emerge. One former Penguin may be heating up while another is struggling. And the Atlantic 10 tournament has...
Empty Thoughts: Bruins 4, Penguins 1Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 4-1 loss to the Bruins: Evgeni Malkin doesn’t enjoy speaking to the media in any language, particularly a second one. He’s a relatively introverted person and having to explain why the power play stinks in words that don’t always come naturally to him is low on...
