Jonathan Bombulie stories, Page 25
Hot goalies keeping lid on Penguins offense
DALLAS — The Pittsburgh Penguins caught a break when the Dallas Stars decided starting goalie Ben Bishop, who leads the league with a .932 save percentage this season, would get Saturday night off. Yeah, some break. Instead, they were to face backup Anton Khudobin, who is eighth in the league...
Goals are only thing missing for promising Penguins 3rd line
The recent postseason history of the Pittsburgh Penguins is littered with third lines that made a championship difference. In 2009, Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy were known as the best third line in hockey. In 2016, the HBK Line featuring Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel set...
Bryan Rust’s goal helps Penguins avoid potentially frustrating loss
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the first period of Thursday night’s game against the Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust had a handful of scoring chances, including one shot that rang off the post behind goalie Pekka Riine. Was he starting to grow frustrated? “I was about to break my...
Penguins give up late lead again, prevail in shootout vs. PredatorsVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For the fifth time in their past 14 games, the Pittsburgh Penguins blew a one-goal lead late in the third period and went to overtime. This time, they lived to tell the tale. Sidney Crosby converted on his attempt in the shootout, Matt Murray stopped all three...
Sidney Crosby says Penguins better served going for empty-netters than sitting back in late-game situations
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Playing the position runs in Sidney Crosby’s family, and he’s been known to goof around between the pipes in pick-up games and other informal settings from time to time, but make no mistake: He’s not a goaltender. As such, the idea of sitting back and letting opposing...
Penguins growing weary of trying to make playoffs one point at a time
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Coming into a matchup with the Nashville Predators on Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins have lost two in a row. Both losses, however, came past regulation, in overtime against Philadelphia last Sunday and in a shootout Tuesday in Carolina. All told, the Penguins have picked up a...
Penguins call-up Adam Johnson to rely on speed in NHL debut in Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When most call-ups are set to make their NHL debuts, they have to prove they can keep up with the speed of the NHL game. That shouldn’t be a problem for Pittsburgh Penguins winger Adam Johnson. As he prepares to face the Nashville Predators on Thursday night,...
Penguins’ Olli Maatta cleared for contact as competition for lineup spots on D heats up
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Olli Maatta took a few minutes to fill out an NCAA tournament bracket Thursday morning, taking Duke to win it all and, perhaps because he was influenced by the talk from the locals at Bridgestone Arena, Tennessee to make the Final Four. What Maatta’s really excited about,...
Penguins call up forward prospect Adam Johnson
The Pittsburgh Penguins added some youth and speed to their lineup Wednesday, calling up winger Adam Johnson from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Winger Joseph Blandisi and defenseman Juuso Riikola were sent down. Johnson, 24, is Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s top-scoring forward this season, recording 18 goals and 40 points in 63 games. He’s...
Hits just keep on coming for Penguins defensemen
The Pittsburgh Penguins defense corps has taken a lot of hits lately. Figuratively, there’s probably no greater body blow a defense can absorb than surrendering a lead late in regulation and losing in overtime or a shootout, and the Penguins have done that four times in their past 13 games....
Penguins’ Kris Letang has up-and-down night in return from injury
RALEIGH, N.C. — Kris Letang nearly finished off his first game back after an 11-game absence due to an upper-body injury as a returning hero Tuesday night. Instead, he ended it sitting in the locker room while his team lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes. The heroics...
Penguins blow another late lead in shootout loss to HurricanesVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — If the Pittsburgh Penguins fail to make the playoffs or limp in with an unenviable seed, they won’t have to think hard to figure out why. They’ve done a miserable job of holding leads late in the season. Justin Williams tied the score in the final two...
Penguins’ Phil Kessel sets team record for consecutive games played
RALEIGH, N.C. — Matt Cullen recently played his 1,500th NHL game, and Sidney Crosby recently recorded his 1,200th point in the league. They know a thing or two about longevity. As such, they’re impressed with the record teammate Phil Kessel set when he stepped on the ice Tuesday night against...
Injured Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta rejoins team for morning skate
RALEIGH, N.C. – When Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta went down with a shoulder injury Feb. 11 in Philadelphia, the team said he would be out indefinitely. Maatta took a significant step toward putting a timetable on his return Tuesday morning in Raleigh. Maatta took part in a practice with...
Penguins show faith in rookie Teddy Blueger after injury to Evgeni Malkin
RALEIGH, N.C. – Due to the ability of in-season acquisitions Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad to play multiple positions up and down the lineup, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan had a plethora of options to choose from when figuring out how to replace injured center Evgeni Malkin. He decided to...
Kris Letang returns to Penguins lineup vs. Hurricanes
RALEIGH, N.C. – Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang made his return from an upper-body injury Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, starting the game in his customary spot on the right side of the team’s top defense pair with Brian Dumoulin. “I’ve been feeling pretty good,” Letang said. “It’s just...
Survival tips for Penguins while Evgeni Malkin is sidelined by injury
On March 11, 2016, Evgeni Malkin suffered an upper-body injury after a collision with Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout. The Pittsburgh Penguins had gone 5-5-0 in their previous 10 games and were seventh in the Eastern Conference, only three points ahead of the ninth-place Philadelphia Flyers. Missing the playoffs...
Failure to protect leads a growing late-season problem for Penguins
Statistically speaking, the Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the best teams in the league at protecting third-period leads. They’re 32-0-3 when leading after two periods this season, one of only four teams in the NHL that haven’t lost in regulation under those circumstances. Recent results, though, tell a vastly different...
Flyers score twice late, stun Penguins in overtimeVideo
When the Pittsburgh Penguins found out they would be without star center Evgeni Malkin on a week-to-week basis because of an upper-body injury, they were down. The Philadelphia Flyers enjoy nothing more than kicking their longtime cross-state rivals when they’re in that condition. James van Riemsdyk scored the tying goal...
Penguins notebook: Evgeni Malkin out, Bryan Rust in against Flyers
Just when the Pittsburgh Penguins were nearly healthy up front, they were dealt a massive blow on the injury front Sunday. Evgeni Malkin will be out on a week-to-week basis with an upper-body injury, coach Mike Sullivan said after his team lost 2-1 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers. Sullivan...
Playoff-chasing Penguins put aside memories of outdoor loss to Flyers
Despite the bad blood that has been building between the long-time rivals this season, shenanigans aren’t in the forecast when the Pittsburgh Penguins play host to the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night. The standings are probably too tight to expend energy on extracurricular activities. When the teams met Feb. 11,...
Dominik Simon ends long goal drought in Penguins’ loss to Blues
The Pittsburgh Penguins came into March with three forwards lugging around lengthy goal droughts. The third zero has finally been erased. Dominik Simon scored his first goal in 21 games during the second period of a 5-1 Penguins loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon. “It’s obviously always...
Matt Murray pulled as Penguins’ winning streak ends with loss to BluesVideo
For most of the last few weeks, almost everything was going right for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top line. On Saturday afternoon, almost everything went wrong. Sidney Crosby couldn’t get a handful of brilliant scoring chances past goalie Jordan Binnington, Crosby and linemates Jake Guentzel and Jared McCann were on the...
Bryan Rust, Kris Letang remain out as Penguins take on Blues
The Pittsburgh Penguins are expecting Bryan Rust and Kris Letang to return from injury in short order, but they won’t be in the lineup Saturday afternoon. Coach Mike Sullivan said Rust and Letang will remain out as the Penguins play host to the St. Louis Blues. Letang has been out...
Patric Hornqvist heating up as Penguins mount late-season charge
BUFFALO, N.Y. – In the waning moments of Tuesday’s win over the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist came to the conclusion that this just might not be his year when it comes to scoring goals. Forty-eight hours later, after scoring a second-period power-play goal that helped his team...
