Seth Rorabaugh stories, Page 73
Penguins A to Z: Corey Andonovski is still learningVideo
With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from...
Jason Zucker wants to remain with the Penguins
By just about any measure, Jason Zucker’s 2022-23 season was a rousing success. In fact, he might have been one of the brightest individual triumphs for the Pittsburgh Penguins this past season. First, he was healthy for the most part. That’s a luxury he hasn’t been able to boast of...
5 candidates for the Penguins’ front office
Not much is known — publicly, at least — about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ search for a new head of hockey operations, which entered its second week Saturday. On April 14, the day previous general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke were fired, Fenway Sports Group executive...
Penguins defenseman Jan Rutta undergoes core muscle surgery
Defenseman Jan Rutta had a vivid way of describing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ medical woes throughout the 2022-23 season. “The injuries have been (expletive) this year,” Rutta bluntly assessed April 10 while using a term some might root in fertilizer. Only 10 days later, the team revealed Rutta underwent surgery to...
Penguins forward Bryan Rust: ‘I wasn’t as good as I could have been’
Bryan Rust got to his offseason a bit earlier than his teammates. By 22 minutes on the dot. In his team’s regular season finale April 13, Rust suffered a right hand injury and left the contest at 19:00 of the second period. And exactly one minute into the overtime period,...
Rickard Rakell still sees a chance to win with the Penguins
Rickard Rakell was something of an afterthought last offseason. And it’s not often an All-Star winger with a handful of 20- or 30-goal seasons on his resume is pushed to the margins. But given the other players the Pittsburgh Penguins were trying to re-sign last summer — such as forward...
Nick Bonino is grateful, but frustrated with his return to the Penguins
At first, the man called “Bones” thought he broke … well… a bone. A rib, to be precise. As it turned out, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino suffered a much more distressing injury. During a 4-3 overtime home loss to the New York Islanders on March 9, Bonino had a...
Minor league report: Penguins, Nailers each lose season finalesVideo
Defenseman Ty Smith and forward Valtteri Puustinen each had a goal and two assists for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who lost their season finale, 5-4, in overtime to the Charlotte Checkers at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Forward Drake Caggiula recorded two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (26-32-8-6) while forwards Ty...
The Penguins limp into an early offseason with an uncertain future
Sidney Crosby detests free time. He abhors it almost as much as a clingy opposing third-line center hassling him for a puck or yapping personal insults. So, given the Pittsburgh Penguins’ failure to qualify for the NHL’s postseason that begins Monday, this won’t be an enjoyable summer for the team’s...
Minor league report: Goaltender Joel Blomqvist debuts as Penguins loseVideo
In his season debut at the American Hockey League level, goaltender Joel Blomqvist made 23 saves on 27 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-0 road loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. on Friday. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ second-round pick (No. 52 overall)...
The future of the Penguins hockey operations remains to be seen
The Pittsburgh Penguins were supposed to be off Friday. Typically, a day after their regular season finale, they take a respite to heal injuries and clear their heads before they gear up for the postseason. And that certainly did take place on Friday. Just without the part of preparing for...
Penguins fire general manager Ron Hextall and president Brian Burke
At the beginning, it was almost absurd. Comical, even. One of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ greatest villains became their general manager. In the end, he became vilified for completely different reasons few could laugh at (outside Philadelphia). On Friday, Ron Hextall’s tenure as the 11th general manager in the history of...
Analysis: A stunning lack of support for veteran stars torpedoed Penguins’ season
Ron Hextall was almost indignant over the question. On July 13, less than a day after he had re-signed superstar center Evgeni Malkin — to say nothing of his successful efforts in re-signing franchise defenseman Kris Letang seven days earlier — Hextall was asked what gave him faith that retaining...
Penguins enter offseason after overtime loss to Blue Jackets
Sidney Crosby did something he hasn’t accomplished with much frequency throughout his nonpareil career. Play every game of a regular season. With Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in nearby Columbus, Ohio, Crosby suited up for this 82nd contest of the 2022-23 campaign. It marked...
Penguins assign defenseman Mark Friedman to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) after clearing waivers Thursday afternoon. Having bounced between the NHL and AHL rosters much of the season, Friedman, a right-handed shot, has appeared in 23 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and scored three points (one...
Minor league report: Nailers’ win streak reaches 3
Two goals by forward Keltie Jeri-Leon led the Wheeling Nailers to a 5-2 road win against the Iowa Heartlanders at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa on Wednesday. Forward Ross Krieger had a goal and an assist for Wheeling (28-36-5-0) while defenseman Chris Ortiz contributed two assists. Goaltender Brad Barone made...
Penguins eliminated from postseason contention after Islanders beat Canadiens
For the first time since 2006, the Pittsburgh Penguins have failed to qualify for the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. They were formally eliminated from postseason contention on Wednesday by virtue of the New York Islanders claiming a 4-2 home win against the Montreal Canadiens at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y....
Penguins’ postseason hopes finally extinguished
Perhaps the only thing sharper than Sidney Crosby’s dagger of a backhander is his comprehensive memory. Ask him about any random game in November 2008 or some mundane goal a long-departed teammate scored during the late winter of 2014, he can recall seemingly any nugatory detail such as what kind...
Injured Penguins Marcus Pettersson, Drew O’Connor expected to be ‘game-time’ decisions vs. Blue Jackets
Injured Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor are expected to be “game-time” decisions for the team’s regular season finale, a road contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Coach Mike Sullivan provided their statuses following a practice in Cranberry on Wednesday. Pettersson became eligible to be activated from...
Ex-Penguins defenseman Philip Samuelsson signs with Straubing Tigers in Germany
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Philip Samuelsson has signed with the Straubing Tigers of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The Tigers announced the transaction via release. Samuelsson, 31, was a second-round pick (No. 61 overall) of the Penguins in the 2009 NHL Draft and appeared in five NHL games (with no points)...
Penguins’ playoff hopes dim following ugly loss to Blackhawks
On Feb. 20, Evgeni Malkin tried to rally the Pittsburgh Penguins and everyone with a rooting interest in his scuttling group. “We have a great team here,” the superstar center implored. “I believe (in) everyone. If we play the same, we’ll be in the playoffs for sure.” A mere 50...
Penguins forward Alex Nylander driving to stay in lineup
Alex Nylander has gotten a pretty good view of the bucolic scenes Pennsylvania can offer in the spring. After all, he has driven across the Keystone State plenty of times over the past month and change. “It’s beautiful,” Nylander said. “I don’t need the GPS anymore.” On Tuesday, the skilled...
Penguins defenseman Dmitry Kulikov expected to rejoin to lineup
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is expected to return to the team’s lineup for its regular season home finale against the Chicago Blackhawks at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday. Activated from long-term injured reserve on Tuesday afternoon, Kulikov has been sidelined for the past 14 games due to a suspected left...
Penguins once again recall forward Alex Nylander from Wilkes-Barre/ScrantonVideo
For the fifth time in 36 days, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Alex Nylander from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Tuesday’s transaction marks the third time Nylander has been summoned from Northeast Pennsylvania the past week alone. Emergency recalls are permitted when a regular lineup of 12 forwards,...
Minor league report: Penguins shut out by RocketVideo
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 33 saves on 36 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-0 road loss to the Laval Rocket at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec on Monday. It marked the second time Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (26-31-7-6) had been shut out this season. The Penguins have lost seven of their...
