Penguins/NHL category, Page 299
Brian Dumoulin in, Jack Johnson out for Penguins’ playoff opener
UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Brian Dumoulin was in the lineup and Jack Johnson was out as the Pittsburgh Penguins opened the playoffs against the New York Islanders on Wednesday night. Dumoulin, who missed the last three games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, was set to open Game 1...
To see Penguins playoff intensity on display, watch these areas of the ice
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The idea that the intensity of the game increases exponentially once the regular season ends and the Stanley Cup playoffs begin is an accepted fact around the NHL. Players treat it like an article of faith. Fans, huddled around their televisions, swear by it. Entire ad campaigns...
Penguins’ Mike Sullivan, Islanders’ Barry Trotz set for cat-and-mouse game
UNIONDALE, N.Y. – While the increased intensity among players is plain to see for anyone watching even one shift of playoff hockey, this is also the most intense time of the year for coaches. One coach comes out with a wrinkle in his forecheck or breakout for Game 1. His...
Penguins’ Jared McCann jittery before 1st career playoff gameVideo
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Jared McCann was so excited about making his Stanley Cup playoffs debut that he found it “tough to sleep.” The Pittsburgh Penguins forward kept the same pre-game rituals Wednesday at the morning skate but didn’t quite know what differences to expect between the regular season and Game...
Brian Dumoulin’s status remains uncertain as Penguins prepare for playoff opener
UNIONDALE, N.Y. – The status of defenseman Brian Dumoulin remained up in the air as the Pittsburgh Penguins prepared for Wednesday night’s playoff opener against the New York Islanders. Dumoulin did not participate in an optional morning skate Wednesday and coach Mike Sullivan said his status would be a game-time...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Defensive depth brings big decisions for Penguins
When it comes to deciding the defense pairings for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series against the New York Islanders, Mike Sullivan has some important decisions to make. Just don’t call them difficult. The Pittsburgh Penguins are as about as healthy as they have been on defense...
Tim Benz: Penguins defensemen embrace cliches as playoffs loom
It’s playoff time. So that means all aspects of a hockey player’s game should rise. Their skating. Hitting. Defensive intensity. And cliché usage. That’s right. As the stakes rise, so do the amount of regurgitated, empty quotes. Hockey locker rooms usually win the cliché battle among the four major sports...
How do these Penguins stack up to recent franchise Cup champions?
In 16 practice rinks across North America, players gathered Tuesday morning to make final preparations for the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs. As they pulled on their shoulder pads and laced up their skates, they peered around the locker room and wondered if they and the teammates looking back...
Penguins’ Matt Murray as cool, calm as ever as 4th playoff run begins
Just one starting goalie in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs is younger than 24-year-old Matt Murray. But only four have more postseason wins. Have three playoff runs added a layer of wisdom that could make the Pittsburgh Penguins goalie even better than the two-time Stanley Cup winner already is? Not...
Penguins matchup: Bryan Rust vs. Tom Kuhnhackl
A look at a key matchup in the first-round playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. Before almost every game of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2016 Stanley Cup run, home or road, a ruckus would break out in the vicinity of the team’s locker room. It was Bryan...
Few holdovers remain from last time Penguins, Islanders met in the playoffs
Kris Letang’s recollection on the most recent time the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins met in the playoffs is less than extensive. “I remember that we won,” the Penguins defenseman said with a chuckle. Indeed, the Penguins prevailed in six games in the 2013 first-round series that ended by...
Mike Lange to miss start of Penguins playoffs after reaction to pneumonia medication
Longtime Pittsburgh Penguins broadcaster Mike Lange will miss the start of the playoffs because of “an adverse reaction to medication for pneumonia,” the team announced Tuesday. The 71-year-old Lange is in his 44th season as a team broadcaster. He’s been their radio voice in recent years, and over the past...
Kevin Gorman: Penguins have a dozen reasons to win another Stanley Cup
The Pittsburgh Penguins start these Stanley Cup playoffs with a dozen players who have hoisted the Cup in celebration of a championship at least once. Whether they can win another could depend largely upon the postseason play of the dozen Penguins who have never experienced that elation. “You have the...
Penguins work on power play during final practice before playoff opener
The Pittsburgh Penguins spent a good portion of their final practice before the start of the playoffs working on the power play. The team does power-play drills at the end of most practices, but usually, they are limited to offensive-zone play. On this occasion, the Penguins also worked on bringing...
Penguins’ Brian Dumoulin, Zach Aston-Reese practice fully, leaving lineup questions
Brian Dumoulin and Zach Aston-Reese again practiced fully and without restriction for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, but coach Mike Sullivan stopped short of declaring each will play in the team’s playoff opener Wednesday. “Their status hasn’t changed,” Sullivan said after practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. “They’re making progress.”...
Penguins recall No. 3 goalie Tristan Jarry on eve of playoff opener
The Pittsburgh Penguins added a third goalie to their roster on the eve of their playoff opener, recalling Tristan Jarry from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Tuesday. Jarry, 23, was passed by Casey DeSmith over the past year as the top NHL backup to Matt Murray. He appeared in n 47 AHL...
Podcast: Can Penguins crack Islanders’ top-ranked defense, goaltending?
In Tuesday’s Sided.co podcast, we get a preview of the Islanders from News 12 Long Island Sports Director Kevin Maher. The Penguins open in New York for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday. Among the questions we try to answer: • Can the Penguins crack New York’s...
Tim Benz: Penguins’ Jake Guentzel goes from question to constant in exactly 1 year
At this time last year, Jake Guentzel wasn’t a constant. He was a question. A big one. A year ago to this day, I wrote about how crucial it was for Guentzel to snap out of a massive slump and start scoring again to give the Penguins any hope in...
Respect between Penguins’ Mike Sullivan, Islanders’ Barry Trotz to be tested
A look at a key matchup in the first-round playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. Even as they’ve squared off in each of the past four postseasons, coaches Mike Sullivan and Barry Trotz have routinely professed respect for each other. We’ll see how well that holds...
Mark Madden: Sidney Crosby won’t let Penguins lose to Islanders
When Jake Guentzel scored late against the New York Rangers in the Penguins’ regular-season finale Saturday, it scrounged a loser point and matched the Penguins against the New York Islanders instead of Washington in the playoffs’ first round. That seemed like a good thing. Washington is the defending Stanley Cup...
When playoffs begin, Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson ups his game
When the Pittsburgh Penguins began preparations for a first-round playoff series against the New York Islanders with a practice Monday morning in Cranberry, Jack Johnson was alongside Kris Letang on the team’s top defense pair. Why did coach Mike Sullivan put Johnson in such a prominent spot? A conservative explanation...
As usual, don’t expect Penguins’ Sidney Crosby to say anything inflammatory about Islanders
He has been the unofficial face — and spokesman — of the NHL for more than a decade. As such, Sidney Crosby feels as comfortable facing a gaggle of reporters as he does encountering an opponent’s trap at the blue line. So about the last thing the Pittsburgh Penguins have...
Forward Zach Aston-Reese back at Penguins practice, hopeful to play in playoff opener
Zach Aston-Reese returned to Pittsburgh Penguins practice in a full-contact capacity Monday, but the team stopped short of saying he will play in the playoff opener Wednesday. “Right now, I am just day-to-day,” Aston-Reese said. “So we will see how I feel (Tuesday) morning.” The Penguins open their first-round playoff...
Penguins’ Brian Dumoulin practices, status unclear for playoff opener
Brian Dumoulin was back on the ice for practice Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. But will he be on the ice for the playoff opener Wednesday at the Nassau Coliseum? “We will see,” said the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman, who is recovering from a lower-body injury. “It’s day by day,...
Seeking balance, Penguins split Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel in practice
The greatest playoff success the Pittsburgh Penguins have enjoyed during their recent championship era came with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel anchoring their own lines. Coach Mike Sullivan hasn’t forgotten. As the Penguins began preparations for a first-round playoff series against the New York Islanders with a Monday...
