Penguins/NHL category, Page 304
First call: Le’Veon Bell explains absence from Steelers; Hurricanes ‘Duck Hunt’ Penguins
Wednesday’s “First Call” features Le’Veon Bell’s wandering explanation about his absence from the Steelers, the Hurricanes’ latest postgame celebration, a recap of the Metropolitan Division results impacting the playoff picture. What’s he trying to say? Former Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell did an interview with Sports Illustrated. He tried —...
Penguins podcast: Blown leads, mental mistakes, giving away points
We waited until Wednesday to get Penguins Radio Network host Brian Metzer on the Sided.co podcast for his weekly hockey segment. For good reason. We wanted to wrap up the Penguins’ big game in Raleigh Tuesday night. And they lost. Again. Carolina won 3-2 in a shootout. It was a...
U mad, bro? Penguins fans losing it, Steelers fans … still losing it
A lot is going on in this week’s “U mad, bro?” Penguins fans are mad at blown leads. Steelers fans are mad at Josh Harris. Rage continues about Antonio Brown. And at least one reader is angry about my pessimistic Steelers forecast. ••• “Manofmyster1” leaves no mystery to this tweet....
Penguins’ Kris Letang has up-and-down night in return from injury
RALEIGH, N.C. — Kris Letang nearly finished off his first game back after an 11-game absence due to an upper-body injury as a returning hero Tuesday night. Instead, he ended it sitting in the locker room while his team lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes. The heroics...
Penguins blow another late lead in shootout loss to HurricanesVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — If the Pittsburgh Penguins fail to make the playoffs or limp in with an unenviable seed, they won’t have to think hard to figure out why. They’ve done a miserable job of holding leads late in the season. Justin Williams tied the score in the final two...
Penguins’ Phil Kessel sets team record for consecutive games played
RALEIGH, N.C. — Matt Cullen recently played his 1,500th NHL game, and Sidney Crosby recently recorded his 1,200th point in the league. They know a thing or two about longevity. As such, they’re impressed with the record teammate Phil Kessel set when he stepped on the ice Tuesday night against...
Injured Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta rejoins team for morning skate
RALEIGH, N.C. – When Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta went down with a shoulder injury Feb. 11 in Philadelphia, the team said he would be out indefinitely. Maatta took a significant step toward putting a timetable on his return Tuesday morning in Raleigh. Maatta took part in a practice with...
Penguins show faith in rookie Teddy Blueger after injury to Evgeni Malkin
RALEIGH, N.C. – Due to the ability of in-season acquisitions Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad to play multiple positions up and down the lineup, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan had a plethora of options to choose from when figuring out how to replace injured center Evgeni Malkin. He decided to...
Kris Letang returns to Penguins lineup vs. Hurricanes
RALEIGH, N.C. – Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang made his return from an upper-body injury Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, starting the game in his customary spot on the right side of the team’s top defense pair with Brian Dumoulin. “I’ve been feeling pretty good,” Letang said. “It’s just...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss Roethlisberger, Bell, Penguins’ bad weekend, Pirates infield
Thanks to an off-day, this week’s “Madden Monday” comes on a Tuesday. We get into: • Josh Harris’ accusation that Ben Roethlisberger fumbled on purpose against the Bengals. Why is this information just coming out now? • Le’Veon Bell’s failed contract. The spin continues! LISTEN: Mark Madden, Tim Benz discuss...
Survival tips for Penguins while Evgeni Malkin is sidelined by injury
On March 11, 2016, Evgeni Malkin suffered an upper-body injury after a collision with Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout. The Pittsburgh Penguins had gone 5-5-0 in their previous 10 games and were seventh in the Eastern Conference, only three points ahead of the ninth-place Philadelphia Flyers. Missing the playoffs...
Failure to protect leads a growing late-season problem for Penguins
Statistically speaking, the Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the best teams in the league at protecting third-period leads. They’re 32-0-3 when leading after two periods this season, one of only four teams in the NHL that haven’t lost in regulation under those circumstances. Recent results, though, tell a vastly different...
Flyers score twice late, stun Penguins in overtimeVideo
When the Pittsburgh Penguins found out they would be without star center Evgeni Malkin on a week-to-week basis because of an upper-body injury, they were down. The Philadelphia Flyers enjoy nothing more than kicking their longtime cross-state rivals when they’re in that condition. James van Riemsdyk scored the tying goal...
Penguins notebook: Evgeni Malkin out, Bryan Rust in against Flyers
Just when the Pittsburgh Penguins were nearly healthy up front, they were dealt a massive blow on the injury front Sunday. Evgeni Malkin will be out on a week-to-week basis with an upper-body injury, coach Mike Sullivan said after his team lost 2-1 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers. Sullivan...
Playoff-chasing Penguins put aside memories of outdoor loss to Flyers
Despite the bad blood that has been building between the long-time rivals this season, shenanigans aren’t in the forecast when the Pittsburgh Penguins play host to the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night. The standings are probably too tight to expend energy on extracurricular activities. When the teams met Feb. 11,...
Dominik Simon ends long goal drought in Penguins’ loss to Blues
The Pittsburgh Penguins came into March with three forwards lugging around lengthy goal droughts. The third zero has finally been erased. Dominik Simon scored his first goal in 21 games during the second period of a 5-1 Penguins loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon. “It’s obviously always...
Matt Murray pulled as Penguins’ winning streak ends with loss to BluesVideo
For most of the last few weeks, almost everything was going right for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top line. On Saturday afternoon, almost everything went wrong. Sidney Crosby couldn’t get a handful of brilliant scoring chances past goalie Jordan Binnington, Crosby and linemates Jake Guentzel and Jared McCann were on the...
Bryan Rust, Kris Letang remain out as Penguins take on Blues
The Pittsburgh Penguins are expecting Bryan Rust and Kris Letang to return from injury in short order, but they won’t be in the lineup Saturday afternoon. Coach Mike Sullivan said Rust and Letang will remain out as the Penguins play host to the St. Louis Blues. Letang has been out...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ current play features encouraging signs
It’s easy to overreact to the Penguins’ good play. Every team’s season has ups and downs. The Penguins have looked excellent winning six of their last seven. They were horrific losing nine of 10 from Oct. 30-Nov. 19. But the current uptick definitely features encouraging signs. Goaltending is key, as...
Bryan Rust nears return, but where does he fit in Penguins’ lineup?Video
Only 11 regular-season games separate the Pittsburgh Penguins from the urgent, pressurized grind of the postseason, but for now these are hopeful — if busy — times for one of the NHL’s hottest teams. Especially for Bryan Rust (lower body), who joined Kris Letang (upper body) as injured Penguins who...
Patric Hornqvist heating up as Penguins mount late-season charge
BUFFALO, N.Y. – In the waning moments of Tuesday’s win over the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist came to the conclusion that this just might not be his year when it comes to scoring goals. Forty-eight hours later, after scoring a second-period power-play goal that helped his team...
Penguins’ Casey DeSmith answers call with shutout of SabresVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — While the Pittsburgh Penguins have been putting together a late-season surge the last few weeks, winning five of six games coming into Thursday night, they had a 6-foot-4 insurance policy standing behind them. Goalie Matt Murray had made nine consecutive starts and was playing some of his...
With Kris Letang out, defensemen take turns leading Penguins in ice time
BUFFALO, N.Y. – When Kris Letang went down with an upper-body injury during the outdoor game in Philadelphia on Feb. 23, the remaining healthy defensemen on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster realized it would require a collaborative effort to replace him. They’re taking that concept to the extreme. The Penguins have...
Ex-Penguins winger Conor Sheary heating up for Sabres
BUFFALO, N.Y. – When the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, the most dangerous scorer on the other bench might be a familiar face. With Jack Eichel serving the second game of a two-game suspension Thursday night and Jeff Skinner slumping, Conor Sheary is Buffalo’s leading scorer...
Injury news good for Penguins’ Bryan Rust, bad for Zach Aston-Reese
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The news was good for Bryan Rust, bad for Zach Aston-Reese and status quo for Kris Letang and Olli Maatta as Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan gave an injury update Thursday afternoon. Rust made the trip to Buffalo with the team and participated in morning skate in...
