Pittsburgh Penguins / NHL category
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Penguins should stick with Egor Chinakhov on top line
When it comes to line combinations, Penguins coach Dan Muse finds himself with a multitude of choices. The Penguins can legitimately roll four lines and be better for it. There’s scoring depth: 11 forwards with 10 goals or more. The stars are spared too many minutes and the accompanying wear...
Minor league report: Nailers fall to Royals
Goaltender Taylor Gauthier made 30 saves on 33 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-2 loss to the Reading Royals at Santander Arena in Reading on Friday. The result dropped Gauthier’s record to 20-8-5. Defenseman Brent Johnson recorded two assists for Wheeling (44-18-3-3) while forwards Matthew Quercia and Matt...
Joe Starkey: Of course I didn’t see this Penguins season coming. Did you? Did they?
Penguins broadcaster Josh Getzoff got it right when the buzzer sounded on the playoff-clinching win Thursday in New Jersey. “This was a team everyone said was lottery bound!” They said it, all right, and for good reason: It was a team that was lottery bound. Nobody in their right mind...
Penguins sign former North Dakota defenseman Jake Livanavage
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed undrafted defenseman Jake Livanavage to a two-year entry-level contract Friday. According to Puckpedia, the deal carries a salary cap hit of $975,000. The contract begins with the current season and could allow Livanavage to make his NHL debut in one of the Penguins’ final three games...
Penguins forward Bryan Rust nominated for King Clancy Memorial TrophyVideo
Forward Bryan Rust was selected as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. This award recognizes “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” The NHL announced nominees for all 32 teams Friday....
Why are the Penguins fighting more this season?
It wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say it was an easy target. But it was definitely a tempting target. During a 5-2 home win by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, one of the most vexing players in the entire NHL, struck Penguins forward Connor Dewar...
Penguins playoff tickets set to go on sale
The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up their first trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2022 with a 5-2 victory in New Jersey on Thursday night. They will have home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, which are set to begin April 18. The NHL won’t announce a full...
Mark Madden: Time is running out on hockey’s greatest individual rivalry
Saturday’s and Sunday’s home-and-home between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals could be the last chapters in the NHL’s greatest individual rivalry ever. I hope not. Alex Ovechkin has 31 goals this season. He’s surely more than a bit dinged up given his career-long breakneck method, but Ovechkin can still play....
Penguins defeat Devils, clinch 1st postseason berth since 2022
When Bryan Rust speaks, he isn’t prone to ambiguity. He gets to the point. On the first day of Pittsburgh Penguins training camp, Sept. 18 in Cranberry, the versatile top-six winger was asked what his goals were for the 2025-26 season. “Dragging this team that nobody thinks can make the...
On Sports: Playoff-bound Penguins kept the receipts; City Connect uniforms unveiledVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins are celebrating their first trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2022. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin keep making history, and the Pirates are among eight MLB teams to show off their new City Connect uniforms in Friday’s “On Sports,” stepping in for “First Call.” Flip the...
Minor league report: Penguins’ winning streak snapped in overtime
Forward Gabe Klassen had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, whose six-game winning streak was snapped with a 6-5 overtime loss to the Bridgeport Islanders at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., on Thursday. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (43-16-7-2) also got goals from forwards Atley Calvert and Tanner Howe, as...
Penguins assign goaltender Sergei Murashov to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Thursday. The team did not announce the transaction but it was reflected on the NHL’s media website and the AHL’s website. Murashov was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Tuesday and practiced with the NHL...
Mark Madden: After 21 seasons, Sidney Crosby’s consistency remains unmatched
Sidney Crosby has done much that will be remembered, not least three Stanley Cups and six international gold medals. That’s all Crosby cares about. More than perhaps any superstar athlete, he’s untroubled by statistics. They’re a side dish that comes with the steak, but Crosby is pure carnivore. He wants...
On Sports: Penguins can clinch playoff berth in New Jersey; big ratings for Konnor Griffin’s MLB debut
A lot will be on the line Thursday night in New Jersey when the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Devils. Plus, Alex Ovechkin might or might not retire, Konnor Griffin is must-see TV, and there’s local transfer portal news in Thursday’s “On Sports,” pinch-hitting for “First Call.” Ticket to the...
Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner to travel for Thursday’s road game against Devils
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner appears likely to rejoin his team for Thursday’s road contest against the New Jersey Devils after being scratched for a contest due to a facial injury. During a practice session in Cranberry on Wednesday, Skinner worked out with teammates in a full capacity with few...
Penguins assign forward prospect Mikhail Ilyin to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned forward prospect Mikhail Ilyin to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Wednesday. A fifth-round draft pick (No. 142 overall) in 2023, the 21-year-old Ilyin had been skating with Cherepovets Severstal of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The Russian-born Ilyin was that team’s second-leading scorer...
Forward Anthony Mantha selected as Penguins’ nominee for Masterton TrophyVideo
Life is quite different for Anthony Mantha than it was a year ago. Last April, he only had two children. This past April Fools’ Day, wife Caitlyn gave birth to a daughter, Estelle, joining big sisters Naomie and Vivianne. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Caitlyn Mantha...
On Sports: Flyers gain ground on Penguins; NCAA men’s basketball odds are out for 2027
The NHL’s Eastern Conference playoff race is shaping up for a photo finish after another exciting slate of games Tuesday night that included an overtime winner and two games that went to a shootout. Plus, a look at the 2027 NCAA men’s basketball betting odds, some Duquesne transfer portal news...
Minor league report: Nailers’ winning streak snapped as Gabriel D’Aigle debuts
In his professional debut, goaltender Gabriel D’Aigle made 16 saves on 19 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-2 loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Tuesday. The result snapped a season-best 10-game winning streak for Wheeling (44-17-3-3). A third-round selection (No. 84 overall)...
Penguins goaltenders Stuart Skinner, Sergei Murashov each look ready to play in their own ways
It was picture day for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And boy, did Stuart Skinner stand out as he and his teammates posed for the official photograph of the 2025-26 edition of the club Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena. But it wasn’t his burly mustache or his unusual jersey number (74) that...
Penguins goaltending prospect Gabriel D’Aigle signs tryout contract with Nailers
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending prospect Gabriel D’Aigle signed a professional tryout contract (PTO) with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers for the remainder of the 2025-26 season on Tuesday. He is scheduled to make his professional debut, also on Tuesday, in a home contest against the Cincinnati Cyclones at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling,...
Penguins name defenseman Erik Karlsson as team MVP
The Pittsburgh Penguins named defenseman Erik Karlsson as the team’s MVP for the 2025-26 season. This is the first time Karlsson has received the recognition. It marks the first time in six seasons that someone other than forward Sidney Crosby has been honored with the award. In 73 games this...
Joe Starkey’s Mailbag: Could Sergei Murashov actually be the Penguins’ playoff goalie?
You ask. I answer. It’s time for “Mailing It In,” a weekly Q&A that appears Tuesdays at TribLive.com. Most of the questions come via X, but you can also hit me up at jraystarkey@gmail.com. Let’s gooooooo … Richard Charles, @RichardC11977: Is it time for Murashov? Starkey: Well, as I type...
Penguins recall goaltender Sergei Murashov from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
With incumbent goaltender Stuart Skinner’s health uncertain, the Pittsburgh Penguins recalled goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Tuesday. In a corresponding transaction, goaltender Taylor Gauthier was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Skinner suffered an apparent facial injury on Saturday. While serving as the backup goaltender...
On Sports: How does this Pirates’ start stack up to past seasons?Video
The Pittsburgh Pirates are now 10 games into the 2026 season, so how does this 6-4 start rank among previous campaigns? After a slow night in the NHL, Tuesday’s slate heats up in the Eastern Conference, and the Penguins’ Rickard Rakell shines bright. Plus, the Ravens start offseason activities and...
