Seth Rorabaugh stories, Page 116
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin continues to progress in recovery
Injured Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust all took to the ice Monday at the team’s facility in Cranberry. Malkin, still recovering from offseason surgery on his right knee, was the only of the three who participated in the formal portion of practice. Wearing a white...
Penguins forward Danton Heinen chases a new high scoreVideo
Danton Heinen didn’t have much stability this past summer. He was a restricted free agent, and the Anaheim Ducks opted not to extend a contract offer to the versatile forward, allowing him to walk away as an unrestricted free agent. The Pittsburgh Penguins, with limited salary cap space, signed him...
Minor league report: Penguins shut out ThunderbirdsVideo
Goaltender Matt Jurusik made 28 saves and led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 6-0 home win against the Springfield Thunderbirds at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. Signed to a professional tryout contract (PTO) on Friday, the 24-year-old Jurusik recorded a shutout in his American Hockey League (AHL) debut....
Ex-Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford ready for new challenge in Vancouver
By the time Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko denied Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois on a backhander to secure the Canucks a 4-3 home shootout win at Rogers Arena on Friday night, it was well into Saturday morning on the East Coast. To be precise, it was 12:52 a.m. in...
Minor league report: Penguins return to play, fall in overtimeVideo
Forward Felix Robert had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who lost in overtime to the rival Hershey Bears, 3-2, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. It was the Penguins’ first game since Nov. 27. Due to several players and staffers testing positive for covid-19...
Casey DeSmith continues December to remember as Penguins blank Ducks
The latter half of Casey DeSmith’s 2021 has not gone well. After all, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ backup goaltender suffered a groin injury in May that ended his 2020-21 season, then underwent surgery in June to correct the problem. Additionally, he didn’t win a game for the first two months of...
4 Penguins named to NHL’s All-Star ballot
Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, goaltender Tristan Jarry and defenseman Kris Letang were named to the NHL’s ballot for the Metropolitan Division in this season’s All-Star Game event. Fans can vote on the captain for all four divisions. The “game” is really a two-round tournament between the...
Penguins to start goaltender Casey DeSmith against Ducks
Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith is scheduled to start Saturday’s home game against the Anaheim Ducks at PPG Paints Arena. In five games this season, DeSmith has a 1-3-1 record along with a 3.64 goals against average and an .885 save percentage. DeSmith recorded his first win of the season on...
Kasperi Kapanen pushes Penguins past Capitals
As has often been the case for the past decade and a half, Friday’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals was broadcast nationally. Presuming your definition of “nationally” is exclusive to subscribers of a premium streaming service that requires paying a roughly $7 fee monthly to an international...
Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson playing with more confidenceVideo
Representatives of the Sweden Ice Hockey Association, the body that selects members for that country’s national teams, recently scouted a game in Pittsburgh. They were there to watch Pettersson. Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks. On Nov. 24, the Penguins hosted the Canucks, who are led by one of the...
Ex-Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford hired as Vancouver Canucks’ president
Former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford was hired as president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks. He also will assume the title of interim general manager of the Canucks while leading a search for a full-time general manager. Rutherford abruptly resigned from his role as the Penguins’ general...
Penguins reluctant to make any recalls while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton deals with covid-19 issues
Even with forwards Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust sidelined indefinitely because of injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins still are expected to have a full lineup of 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders at their disposal for Friday’s road game against the rival Washington Capitals. They just aren’t likely to have...
Friday’s Penguins-Capitals game limited to ESPN Plus or Hulu
The broadcast of the Penguins’ game against the Washington Capitals on Friday will be limited to streaming services ESPN Plus or Hulu. No traditional or regional broadcasters will carry the game. This will be the Penguins’ first game on the platforms. They are scheduled to have three additional games on...
Minor league report: Nailers edged by CyclonesVideo
Forward Shaw Boomhauer and Nich Hutchison each had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 6-5 road loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati on Wednesday. Goaltender Stefanos Lekkas made 32 saves on 36 shots for Wheeling (10-7-1) while forward Jared...
With Jake Guentzel hurt, ‘terrible’ Kasperi Kapanen gets a chance on Penguins’ top line
Kasperi Kapanen didn’t like the question one bit. But he was honest — and probably accurate — in answering it. Following practice in Cranberry on Wednesday, he was asked how he would rate his performance in the past handful of games considering he’s been up and down the lineup recently....
Penguins forward Jake Guentzel sidelined on a ‘week-to-week’ basis
Penguins forward Jake Guentzel will be sidelined on a “week-to-week” basis because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Guentzel’s status following practice in Cranberry on Wednesday. The injury was labled as “upper body” but no specifics were offered. During Monday’s 6-1 road win against the Seattle Kraken, Guentzel...
Penguins prospects Joel Blomqvist, Calle Clang selected for IIHF World Junior Championship
Penguins goaltending prospects Joel Blomqvist and Calle Clang have been selected for the rosters of Finland and Sweden, respectively, in the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship tournament. This is the second consecutive year they have been chosen for the tournament. Neither player appeared in a game during last season’s tournament....
Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith gets his ‘confidence going in the right direction’Video
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan had a curious way of describing Casey DeSmith’s play in late November. After a 6-3 home loss to the woeful Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 27, Sullivan complimented the backup goaltender. Kind of. “I thought he was solid,” Sullivan said. “The goals that they got were good...
Jeff Carter, Jake Guentzel lead Penguins to rout of Kraken
Like all of his current teammates, Brandon Tanev came from somewhere else. Such is life for every member of the Seattle Kraken. In their first season of existence, the Kraken are a menagerie of castoffs from the other 31 incumbent franchises. For Tanev, a popular forechecking forward, he was jettisoned...
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has another game postponed due to covid-19 protocols
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had another game postponed for what have been labeled as “covid-19 protocols.” A home contest against the Hershey Bears scheduled for Wednesday has been rescheduled for Dec. 14. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had two games this past weekend postponed for the same reason. One of those games, a home contest...
Ex-Penguins forward Jared McCann thriving with the KrakenVideo
The Seattle Kraken don’t really have any traditions. Really, how could they? They’re a first-year expansion franchise that has been playing games of consequence for less than two months. There is at least one exception, however. How they conclude practices. “Usually the next team up, the guy in the middle...
Minor league report: Nailers beat Fuel in overtimeVideo
Defenseman Chris Ortiz scored two goals, including one in overtime, for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-2 home win against the Indy Fuel at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Sunday. Forward Nick Hutchison recorded three assists for Wheeling (9-6-1) which has recorded points in six consecutive games. Goaltender Stefanos...
For Penguins forward Jake Guentzel, ‘the bounces are going my way’Video
Sidney Crosby has his lethal backhander. Evgeni Malkin owns a trident missile of a one-timer from the right circle. Jaromir Jagr, now a spry 49 years old, probably could still score 20 goals with his signature wrister. And Mario Lemieux? He was capable of finding offense by using just about...
Jake Guentzel’s hat trick leads Penguins past Canucks
Entering Saturday, the Penguins, in the midst of a three-game losing streak, were struggling to find consistent scoring. So, they shook up their lines a bit. Namely, their bottom three lines all underwent alterations. Danton Heinen was promoted to the second line. Kasperi Kapanen was demoted to the third line....
Minor league report: Nailers’ 4-game winning streak snapped
Defenseman Josh Mansicalco, a Penguins prospect, and Cam Hausinger each had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-3 overtime road loss to the Toledo Walleye at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday. Forward Nick Hutchison recorded two assists for Wheeling (9-6-1-0) which had...
