Penguins/NHL category, Page 210
What’s different with the net-front role on the Penguins’ power play?
Patric Hornqvist is back where he belongs. He’s jabbing, hacking, slashing and generally vexing any goaltender with a considerable lack of social distance as a net-front presence on the top power-play unit. The only difference this year is he is performing that task with a better suntan. Now a member...
Penguins Prospect Watch: Lukas Svejkovsky debuts with 2 goalsVideo
A weekly look at how Penguins prospects and minor leaguers have fared over the past seven days: • With the Western Hockey League (WHL) opening its season on Friday, forward Lukas Svejkovsky got off to a fast start with two goals in his first two games for the Medicine Hat...
Penguins receive approval to play to limited capacity
Hockey nights in Pittsburgh will involve fans once again as soon as Tuesday. On Monday, the Penguins received approval from Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pa. Department of Health to open PPG Paints Arena to 15% capacity (2,800). To date, the Penguins have been limited to having only 500 people...
Mark Madden: Jim Rutherford played it right, but Penguins sure could use Marc-Andre Fleury
When you are dealt a bust hand (hard 12-16 — i.e., not including an ace) in blackjack and the dealer shows a 6, you stand. That’s what the odds dictate. You won’t always win. But if you lose, you still made the right play. If you hit and win, you...
Empty Thoughts: Islanders 2, Penguins 0Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 2-0 loss to the Islanders: Frankly, no one wants to talk about this game, at least from a Penguins’ perspective. Coach Mike Sullivan sure didn’t want to chat about it during his postgame press conference. It was a lousy way for the Penguins to potentially close...
Minor league report: Nailers pound GrizzliesVideo
Forwards Austin Fyten and Nick Rivera each scored two goals for the Wheeling Nailers in a 6-1 rout of the Utah Grizzlies at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Sunday. Wheeling (7-14-4) also got a goal and an assist from forward Vladislav Mikhalchuk while defenseman Patrick McNally recorded three assists....
Penguins get shut out by Islanders for 1st time since 1986
Barring anything unforeseen — and “unforeseen” has an undefeated record over the past 12 months — the New York Islanders are scheduled to move into the new, state-of-the-art UBS Arena on Long Island by the start of the 2021-22 season. That meant Sunday’s game against the Islanders was the Pittsburgh...
Penguins to start goaltender Casey DeSmith in rematch with Islanders
The Penguins are scheduled to start backup goaltender Casey DeSmith for Sunday’s road game against the New York Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. It will be DeSmith’s first game since Feb. 11 when he made 26 saves on 29 shots in a 4-3 road shootout win...
Empty Thoughts: Penguins 4, Islanders 3 (OT)Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 4-3 overtime win against the Islanders: No matter if the Penguins miss the playoffs or win the Stanley Cup this season (or anything in between), changes are going to be coming to the franchise on and off the ice this summer. New general manager Ron Hextall...
Minor league report: Frederick Gaudreau leads Penguins past Phantoms in overtimeVideo
An overtime goal by forward Frederick Gaudreau gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 5-4 road win against the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center in Allentown on Saturday. Gaudreau as well as forwards Jordy Bellerive, Sam Miletic and Nick Schilkey each had a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton...
Penguins get yet another OT win, this time on road
A little more than two weeks into his tenure as Pittsburgh Penguins general manager, Ron Hextall has seen a lot he likes with his new team. But he does have one notable critique. “I’d like to see a little bit more consistency out of our group,” Hextall said via video...
Penguins forward Jared McCann expected to return to lineup
With Jason Zucker sidelined long term because of an undisclosed injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to have found a pretty experienced replacement for him as the left winger on their second line. Jared McCann. The veteran forward was activated from injured reserve Saturday afternoon. He has missed the previous seven...
Ron Hextall begins to shape the Penguins
If the Philadelphia Flyers are a franchise to model, that’s certainly up for debate, especially given their futility in winning the Stanley Cup for nearly half a century. But what they are is a testament to building a competitive team through the draft. Of the 23 players on their active...
Minor league report: Penguins beat PhantomsVideo
Forwards Jan Drozg, Robert Felix and defenseman Jon Lizotte each had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-2 home win against the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Friday. Defenseman Will Reilly added a goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (3-2-1) while forward...
Penguins assign forward Jordy Bellerive to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Penguins assigned forward Jordy Bellerive to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL). Bellerive, 21, had been on the Penguins’ taxi squad since Feb. 19. He has yet to play in an NHL game. In three AHL games this season, he has two goals. Bellerive is in the second...
Penguins staying in playoff race by way of success in 1-goal games
When games with empty-net goals are accounted for, more than 70% of NHL games last season were decided by one goal. It makes sense, then, that success in one-goal games is imperative for teams that aspire to finish with a strong win-loss record. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the league’s best...
Mark Madden: Penguins could use a player like Tom Wilson
The Penguins have a Tom Wilson problem. Specifically, they don’t have him. They had a reasonably facsimile, Ryan Reaves, for part of the 2017-18 season. Not as good, not as tough, but good enough and tough enough. It remains one of Mike Sullivan’s biggest mistakes as Penguins coach that he...
Empty Thoughts: Capitals 5, Penguins 2Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 5-2 loss to the Capitals: Tom Wilson was at it again. During the first period, at the 15:27 mark, the long-time Penguins nemesis dropped Penguins forward Mark Jankowski with a late hit in the neutral zone that shook up Jankowski. After Jankowski had whacked a loose...
Power play falters as Penguins fall to CapitalsVideo
The Penguins don’t like Tom Wilson. And considering how often the Washington Capitals power forward has injured several of their teammates, how could they? More often than not, the Penguins have turned the other cheek when he has dropped a member of the club. At least on the occasions Wilson...
Penguins, East Division develop unique style within NHLVideo
Barry Trotz tuned his television to the game between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers to do a little scouting, flipping around to others outside the East Division just to check some scores and move on. “I really haven’t focused in on the other divisions, really,” the New York...
Penguins recall forward Josh Currie from taxi squad
The Penguins have recalled forward Josh Currie from their taxi squad and added him to their active NHL roster. Currie, 28, has yet to play any NHL games this season. As captain of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Currie has appeared in two American Hockey League games (AHL) and scored two goals....
Penguins forward Jason Zucker out longer term with injuryVideo
Penguins forward Jason Zucker will be sidelined “longer term” due to an undisclosed injury, according to coach Mike Sullivan. On Thursday, the team placed him on injured reserve. Zucker, the team’s left wing on the second line, was injured during the third period of Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime road win against...
Tim Benz: Jason Zucker’s injury may provide peek into mindset of new Penguins brass
The injury to Penguins wing Jason Zucker is a blow to the roster at a time when things have been going well. Head coach Mike Sullivan’s team has won five of six and has another important game looming against the Washington Capitals Thursday night. Plus, with Evgeni Malkin finally showing...
U mad, bro?: Lots of heat on Mike Tomlin, Art Rooney II, Big Ben, Pens fans, Pirates expectations
This week’s “U mad, bro?” turns ugly for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and owner Art Rooney II. Penguins fans take a little slap. We get a 2021 Pirates reality check. There’s a thorough examination of Cold War-era Europe. And I call out one of my TribLive...
Minor league report: Radim Zohorna leads Penguins past BearsVideo
Forward Radim Zohorna had two goals and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-2 home win against the rival Hershey Bears at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Wilkes-Barre Scranton (2-2-1) also got a goal and an assist each from forwards Anthony Angello and Nick Schilkey. Goaltender...
