Penguins/NHL category, Page 149
Tim Benz: Penguins’ spike in goals is impressive, but the work to create the shots is what shines
When it comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goal explosion against the New York Rangers, the contrast is stark between what the Pens did in Games 1 and 2 at Madison Square Garden versus their output at home. Over the first two games at MSG, the two teams played a little...
As Penguins look to eliminate Rangers, momentum (and history) are on their side
The Pittsburgh Penguins are about to play the New York Rangers in a playoff elimination game. Momentum is on their side. And so is history. For the most part. The two teams have faced each other in the postseason seven times before this spring. The Penguins have won five of...
Minor league report: Nailers drop Game 3, on verge of elimination
Forward Cam Hausinger had two goals for the Wheeling Nailers in a 5-4 home loss to the Toledo Walleye in Game 3 in a Central Division Final series at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Tuesday. The Walleye lead the best-of-seven series, 3-0. Forward Matt Alfaro contributed a goal and...
Former Penguins forward Patrick Marleau retires after 23-year NHL careerVideo
SAN JOSE, Calif. — For 23 seasons, Patrick Marleau woke up each day preparing to play hockey, and that helped him eventually break Gordie Howe’s record for most games played in the NHL. After a difficult year away from the game hoping another team would call and offer him a...
Penguins notes: Rickard Rakell takes part in optional practice, status remains day-to-day
Rickard Rakell was skating swiftly and taking part in every drill his teammates did. But don’t be fooled by the black jersey he wore that matched half of the other Pittsburgh Penguins on the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex ice Tuesday. The practice between Games 4 and 5 of the Penguins’...
Mike Sullivan ‘humbled’ by Penguins’ playoff coaching wins record
There are three other men who have been a head coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they claimed the Stanley Cup. Two are in the Hall of Fame. The other was once named NHL coach of the year. None, though, have won as many playoff games for the franchise than...
After trying regular season, Kasperi Kapanen finds his game at perfect time for Penguins
Unlike his game, Kasperi Kapanen’s sense of humor never abandoned him throughout this season. Told that his coach said he is currently playing his best hockey of 2021-22, Kapanen was as quick with a quip as he is in taking that initial stride through the neutral zone. “Yeah, I mean,...
Mark Madden: Goaltending, Crosby combine to put Penguins on cusp of series win
You can flip Igor Shesterkin over. He’s done on this side. It seemed likely that goaltending would decide the first-round playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. But not like this. Third-stringer Louis Domingue has played passably for the Penguins. Shesterkin, the likely Vezina Trophy winner as...
Five things: Penguins insulate 3rd-string goalie by limiting Rangers’ scoring chances
Five stats-based observations about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 7-2 win Monday that afforded them a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers: 1. No danger For the first time after a victory in this series, the primary storyline surrounding the Penguins wasn’t Louis Domingue. Domingue wasn’t...
Tim Benz: The Penguins have suddenly reduced Igor Shesterkin from bold to broken
OK. Now, this is what it looks like to break a goalie. Penguins fans should know. They’ve seen it before. Penguins vs. that-season Vezina winners in playoffs, past 40 yrs-'96Rd1 WSH Jim Carey*✅'00Rd1 WSH Olaf Kolzig✅'01Rd2 BUF Dominik Hasek✅'16Rd2 WSH Braden Holtby✅'17Rd1 CBJ Segei Bobrovsky✅'22**Rd1 NYR Igor Shesterkin❓(*-lost job; **-presumed)...
Penguins’ Sidney Crosby moves into NHL scoring lead, hits milestone with another multi-point game
For all the talk about goaltending or matchups or that speed and age have been working against the Pittsburgh Penguins in recent postseasons, perhaps their captain serves as the proverbial weather vane for the team’s fortunes. Over the prior three playoff runs from 2019-21, Sidney Crosby combined for six points....
Penguins rout Rangers again, take 3-1 series lead
Reality set in bluntly. And quickly. It took barely two minutes for the New York Rangers to ruin the fun. All the memes on spicy pork and the delirium of sing-song chants gave way to a bleak realism for the Penguins. After the Rangers took the first lead on the...
Injury problems behind him for now, Jason Zucker happy to be contributing to Penguins
Jason Zucker’s 11th NHL season has been his toughest to endure, he said Monday. Moments later, though, the Pittsburgh Penguins veteran wing spoke of “the joy” he’s feeling these days. “Just excited to be in the lineup, excited to be out there playing,” Zucker said after the morning skate in...
Paul Steigerwald, Colby Armstrong handling Penguins’ radio call for Game 4
Paul Steigerwald and Colby Armstrong will handle the local radio call Monday night for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff game against the New York Rangers. The Penguins’ radio network’s regular team of Josh Getzoff and Phil Bourque are unavailable because of NHL covid-19 protocol. The team made the announcement of the...
Penguins forward Rickard Rakell rejoins teammates for morning skate
Penguins forward Rickard Rakell rejoined his teammates for Monday’s morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. It marked the first time Rakell had participated in a morning skate or practice since he suffered a presumed head injury in Game 1 of his team’s first-round playoff series with the New York Rangers...
Madden Monday: Some technical elements of Louis Domingue’s game the Rangers may try to exploit
Something I frequently hear about the Penguins-Rangers first-round playoff series is that Pens goalie Louis Domingue is an “X-factor” or a “variable” in the series. I don’t see it that way. Quite the opposite. Based on what we’ve seen from Domingue so far — he allowed five goals in his...
Minor league report: Penguins beat Bears in overtime, advance to semifinal
An overtime goal by forward Alex Nylanders gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a series-clinching 4-3 home win against the rival Hershey Bears in Game 3 of their Atlantic Division first-round matchup at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Monday. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton claimed the best-of-three-series, 2-1 and will face the Springfield Thunderbirds in...
Minor league report: Penguins drop Game 2 to BearsVideo
Goaltender Tommy Nappier made 30 saves on 32 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 2-1 road loss to the Hershey Bears in Game 2 of an Atlantic Division first-round series at the Giant Center in Hershey on Sunday. The best-of-three series is tied, 1-1. Forward Felix Robert scored the...
Penguins notebook: Forward Jason Zucker makes immediate impact in his return
After missing three consecutive games because of an undisclosed injury, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jason Zucker returned to the lineup in Saturday’s 7-4 home win against the New York Rangers in Game 3 of a first-round playoff series at PPG Paints Arena. And he made a pretty immediate impact. At least...
Penguins goaltender Louis Domingue continues to grow his legendVideo
Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson was one of the relatively few people in Pittsburgh who was familiar with Louis Domingue’s story when Penguins management opted to sign the journeyman goaltender to a one-year, two-way contract late in the 2021 offseason. And Matheson’s scouting report on Domingue wasn’t all that focused on...
Mark Madden: Penguins finally managed score and situation in Game 3
After Danton Heinen scored to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 5-4 lead with 8 minutes, 58 seconds left in the third period against the New York Rangers in Game 3 of their playoff series Saturday, something odd happened: Playoff hockey broke out. The Penguins played below the Rangers’ goal line...
5 Things: Penguins historically have enjoyed playoff success vs. Vezina winners
Five stats-based observations about the Pittsburgh Penguins after a 7-4 win against the New York Rangers in Saturday’s Game 3 at PPG Paints Arena (analytics courtesy naturalstattrick.com unless specified otherwise): 1.Vezina-ed Though balloting won’t be announced until next month, Igor Shesterkin is the presumptive Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s...
Tim Benz: Penguins, Rangers treat fans to 3 games in 1 night as ‘roller coaster’ series continues
During that triple-overtime Game 1 of the Penguins-Rangers Eastern Conference playoff series, the teams played what was almost the equivalent of two full games. Then, in Saturday’s Game 3, they basically played three separate games in one night. The Penguins dominated the first period, taking a 4-1 lead into the...
Minor league report: Nailers fall to Walleye in Game 2Video
Goaltender Louis-Philip Guindon made 25 saves on 29 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 5-2 road loss to the Toledo Walleye in Game 2 of a Central Division final series at the Huntingdon Center in Toledo, Ohio on Sunday. The Walleye lead the best-of-seven series, 2-0. Forwards Matt Alfaro...
Evan Rodrigues nearly matches Mario Lemieux with 3-point 1st period in Penguins win
The first bullet point among the “Player notes” on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ team release after Saturday night’s game featured two names. One was Even Rodrigues. The other was Mario Lemieux. It was that kind of night for Rodrigues. And certainly, it was that kind of first period. “Any time you...
