Seth Rorabaugh stories, Page 56
Minor league report: Penguins dropped by BearsVideo
Goaltender Magnus Hellberg made 33 saves on 36 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-1 road loss to the rival Hershey Bears at the Giant Center in Hershey on Wednesday. The result dropped Hellberg’s record to 5-5-0 while forward Austin Rueschhoff scored the lone goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-11-3-0). Highlights:...
Defenseman Kris Letang has historic night as Penguins rout Islanders
The Pittsburgh Penguins emerged from the NHL’s three-day break for the holidays with a rollicking 7-0 triumph against the normally defensively stout New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday. Penguins defenseman Kris Letang spearheaded the onslaught with six assists and became the first defenseman in the history of the...
Penguins forward Noel Acciari makes measurable impact on penalty kill
The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost 87 man games to injury this season. And it’s possible the cluster of games lost that have impacted them the most are the seven contests fourth-line center Noel Acciari missed earlier this month. If nothing else, his absence can be tabulated in a fashion that...
Penguins rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen looks good to anyone watching
Valtteri Puustinen’s family isn’t getting much sleep these days. At least not overnight. With a seven-hour difference between Pittsburgh and his hometown of Kuopio, Finland, Puustinen’s loved ones have to wake up in the middle of the night to see him play on television (or streamed video). “My whole family...
Penguins squander power-play chances in overtime loss to Ottawa
The hot takes have been present in Pittsburgh for weeks and months. Years, really. Who should be entrusted as the starter at the team’s most important and scrutinized position? On Saturday, one of those debates was thrust into a maelstrom because of a startlingly strong performance by a person left...
Penguins prospects Emil Pieniniemi, Kalle Kangas selected by Finland for IIHF World Junior Championship
Penguins defensive prospects Emil Pieniniemi and Kalle Kangas were named to Finland’s team for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship tournament. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association officially announced the roster on Friday. Pieniniemi (third round, No. 91 overall) and Kanges (seventh round, No. 223 overall) were...
Minor league report: Penguins’ winning streak snappedVideo
Goaltender Magnus Hellberg made 33 saves on 38 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-2 road loss to the Laval Rocket at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec on Friday. The result dropped Hellberg’s record to 5-4-0 while forward Alex Nylander and Dmitri Samorukov each scored goals for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-10-3-0),...
Shootouts are rarer for the Penguins and the NHLVideo
In 16 games this season, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jansen Harkins has zero points. But he has a place in franchise history that likely never will be surpassed. During a 4-3 road win against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 13, Harkins scored the winning goal in a 12-round shootout, the longest...
Former Penguins assistant Jacques Martin back with Senators as interim head coach
A familiar face to the Pittsburgh Penguins will be behind the home bench Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Jacques Martin. An assistant coach with the Penguins who helped the franchise win Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017, Martin is the interim head coach of the Ottawa Senators,...
Minor league report: Sam Poulin scores 2 power-play goals as Penguins winVideo
Two power-play goals by forward Sam Poulin helped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeat the Belleville Senators, 5-1, at CAA Arena in Belleville, Ont. on Thursday. Forwards Rem Pitlick and Colin White each had a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-9-3-0) while forward Alex Nylander and defenseman Ty Smith both contributed...
Penguins turn to Alex Nedeljkovic again and finally beat Hurricanes
The Pittsburgh Penguins needed their best Thursday against one of their nemeses in the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes. And with regard to their own crease, backup Alex Nedeljkovic was deemed a better option than starter Tristan Jarry. That proved to be a sound decision as Nedeljkovic, starting for the...
Former Penguins forward Jordan Staal remains stout defensively with the Hurricanes
Jordan Staal saw some familiar faces Thursday at PPG Paints Arena. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Any time the former teammates square off in a game, Staal, captain of the Carolina Hurricanes, typically is deployed against one of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ franchise centers. “They’re both great competitors,” Staal said after...
Penguins tab Alex Nedeljkovic as starting goaltender for 3rd time in 4 games
The Pittsburgh Penguins are scheduled to start goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic in Thursday’s home game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Nedeljkovic’s status following an optional morning skate. Nedeljkovic has appeared in each of the past three games, starting two of those contests. He replaced...
For the Penguins, struggles with the Hurricanes are nothing new
Pittsburgh Penguins backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic enjoyed his time as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. Especially because his best season as an NHLer came during his employment in the Piedmont. As a rookie in 2020-21, Nedeljkovic was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie team after posting a 15-5-3 record in...
Penguins assign Vinnie Hinostroza, Ryan Shea to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned forward Vinnie Hinostroza and defenseman Ryan Shea to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Tuesday. In 13 NHL games this season, Hinostroza has scored three points (one goal, two assists) while averaging 9:53 of ice time per contest. With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Hinostroza has appeared in...
For Penguins forward Rickard Rakell, ‘a new season has started’
Rickard Rakell isn’t terribly interested in discussing the first two months of his season. And why would he? In his first 17 games, he had no goals. And in the next 12 games? Zero. Then again, he was injured for those dozen contests, nursing a suspected right shoulder injury. Healthy...
Sidney Crosby scores winner as Penguins bounce back with wild victory over Minnesota
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ power play has decided a lot of games for them this season. And the bulk of those decisions have been emphatically negative. Largely sputtering with the man advantage through the first third of the season, the Penguins have directed countless man-hours among their players and staff toward...
Penguins assign forwards Jonathan Gruden, Marc Johnstone to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned forwards Jonathan Gruden and Marc Johnstone to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Monday evening. In corresponding transactions, forwards Noel Acciari and Rickard Rakell were activated from regular and long-term injured reserve, respectively. Gruden has played in four NHL games this season and has no...
Former Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury remains ‘the same exact guy’
Pittsburgh Penguins fans got a chance to see the player who once was projected to be the franchise’s goaltender of the future for the Minnesota Wild Monday night. Filip Gustavsson. A second-round pick (No. 55 overall) in 2016, Gustavsson was viewed by management at that time as potentially being the...
Penguins place defenseman Ryan Shea on waivers
The Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Ryan Shea on waivers Monday afternoon. Should he go unclaimed and clear by 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Shea can be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. A first-year NHLer — who does not qualify for rookie status per NHL rules based on his...
Penguins forward Rickard Rakell could rejoin lineup against Wild
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Rickard Rakell has been labeled as a “game-time decision” for Monday’s home game against the Minnesota Wild at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Rakell’s status following an optional morning skate. Currently designated to long-term injury due to a suspected right shoulder injury, Rakell has been...
Penguins change up all defensive pairings
Erik Karlsson has skated in pairings with big defensemen before. When he entered the NHL with the Ottawa Senators in 2009, he occasionally worked with the likes of Filip Kuba (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) or Andy Sutton (6-foot-6, 245 pounds). Later, he was regularly deployed on the Senators’ top pairing with...
20 years after unforgettable debut, former Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury returns ‘home’ with the WildVideo
Dick Tarnstrom’s memories of the opening game of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2003-04 season against the Los Angeles Kings are fuzzy. The lone exception is the Penguins’ starting goaltender that night, an 18-year-old bundle of energy and springy legs making his NHL debut: Marc-Andre Fleury. “He was awesome,” Tarnstrom, a former...
Minor league report: Sam Poulin returns as Penguins win 3rd consecutive gameVideo
Forward Sam Poulin returned to the lineup after missing 18 games due to an undisclosed injured and scored a goal for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 2-1 home win against the Rochester Americans at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Goaltender Magnus Hellberg made 23 saves on 24 shots,...
Tristan Jarry pulled as Penguins get humbled by undermanned Maple Leafs
If the Pittsburgh Penguins require any kind of major augmentations to the roster in hopes of qualifying for the playoffs, time will tell. At least that’s what president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas told reporters in Cranberry on Monday. “Time is going to tell us that and that’s how we’ll...
