Pittsburgh Penguins / NHL category, Page 322
Penguins’ defenseman Zach Trotman gets chance to show he fits in
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Every time the Pittsburgh Penguins have suffered an injury on defense this season, general manager Jim Rutherford has said he’s pleased with his organization’s depth at the position. And every time he’s talked about that depth, he’s mentioned Zach Trotman. On Tuesday night, Trotman will get a...
New Penguins defenseman Erik Gudbranson gets ex-teammate’s stamp of approval
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Since they were teammates with the Florida Panthers for four seasons, Pittsburgh Penguins center Nick Bjugstad is well qualified to give a scouting report on newly acquired defenseman Erik Gudbranson. He did that after morning skate as the Penguins prepared to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets...
Kevin Gorman: Penguins GM Jim Rutherford keeps trading away his mistakes
With the Penguins tied for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference entering Tuesday’s game, general manager Jim Rutherford wasn’t able to make any magical trade-deadline deals. Rutherford added much-needed toughness in Erik Gudbranson, but the Penguins dealing for defensemen at the NHL trade deadline was a...
Jack Johnson set for first game in Columbus since signing with Penguins
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Around this time of year, it’s not uncommon for players swapped at the NHL trade deadline to talk about wanting to prove their old teams wrong for letting them go. There’s none of that in Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson. On Tuesday night, Johnson will face his...
Podcast: Why do the Penguins think Erik Gudbranson can help them?
Brian Metzer of the Penguins Radio Network joins me for our weekly Sided.co hockey podcast. We recap Jim Rutherford’s moves at the trade deadline. Erik Gudbranson largely has flamed out in the NHL at this point. Why do the Penguins think he can help? We dive into why the Penguins...
Tim Benz: Time for Penguins forwards to help defense
On Monday, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford did what he could to help his defensive corps. Now maybe the forwards can help a little, too. With the Olli Maatta injury and Jamie Oleksiak trade, the Penguins defensive group was already stretched thin approaching Monday’s trade deadline. Then Saturday’s injuries to...
Tim Benz: Penguins better heed Jim Rutherford’s wake-up call
In a best-case scenario, the Penguins will make a nice playoff run with newly acquired Erik Gudbranson and Chris Wideman in the press box as scratches. They aren’t all that good. Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford gave away two players who aren’t all that good to get them: Tanner Pearson...
Mark Madden: Penguins GM Jim Rutherford’s deadline deals unlikely to matter much
Every time the NHL trade deadline comes around, Penguins fans want the team to trade for Ron Francis again. Like in 1991. That’s speaking metaphorically. But local hockey nostalgia holds that a blockbuster trade is a harbinger for winning a Stanley Cup, especially since it happened again the next year,...
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford hangs onto first-round draft pick at trade deadline
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has a win-now mandate with his star players creeping into their 30s, but even that has its limits. In the build-up to Monday’s NHL trade deadline, Rutherford said he was trying as hard as he could to hold onto his first-round pick in June’s...
Penguins add Chris Wideman from Florida to beef up depth on blue line
While the acquisition of 6-foot-5 Erik Gudbranson at Monday’s NHL trade deadline was about adding size and strength to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ blue line, a trade for Chris Wideman was meant to provide depth. The Penguins acquired Wideman from the Florida Panthers in exchange for center Jean-Sebastien Dea. Wideman, 29,...
Trade-deadline wrangling forces Penguins’ Teddy Blueger to the minors
Promising rookie Teddy Blueger was sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Monday, but his reassignment had more to do with roster wrangling than any dissatisfaction with his play. Because the Penguins are hopeful that defensemen Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin won’t be out long, they haven’t yet been placed on the...
Penguins acquire defensemen Gudbranson, Wideman; Pearson, Dea shipped outVideo
In the estimation of general manager Jim Rutherford, the Pittsburgh Penguins are “on the bubble” to make the playoffs this season. His strategy for getting off the bubble includes adding some muscle to his blue line. Rutherford brought physicality to his injured defense corps just before Monday’s NHL trade deadline,...
Penguins get ‘encouraging’ news on injured defensemen Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin
The most important development in Pittsburgh Penguins camp Monday afternoon probably wasn’t anything that happened at the NHL trade deadline. It was when the injury report was released. The Penguins lost both of their top-pair defensemen, Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin, to injuries during Saturday’s outdoor game in Philadelphia. Dumoulin...
Less could be more for Penguins at NHL trade deadline
At the NHL trade deadline, less is usually more. In 2017, the Washington Capitals made a splashy move at the deadline, picking up Kevin Shattenkirk from the St. Louis Blues. In 2018, they added only depth defensemen Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek. Which year did they win the Stanley Cup?...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss Penguins’ outdoor loss, Le’Veon Bell
In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 the X joins me to discuss the Penguins, Le’Veon Bell’s free agency and the Robert Kraft scandal. Specifically, we examine the comparisons between Bell and Todd Gurley. Is that a good thing or a bad thing for Bell these days?...
5 things we learned from Penguins’ loss to Flyers
Moments after the Pittsburgh Penguins lost 4-3 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL Stadium Series on Saturday night, coach Mike Sullivan said he would be able to better assess his team’s performance after watching the game on video. Here’s some unsolicited advice for Sullivan: Don’t bother. An...
Injuries on defense ramp up trade deadline pressure on Penguins
A little more than a week ago, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford was in a somewhat enviable position as it relates to Monday’s NHL trade deadline. Oh, his team hadn’t yet lived up to its potential, playing maddeningly inconsistent hockey and hovering around the fringes of the Eastern Conference...
John Steigerwald: Time for NHL to rein in outdoor games
OK, enough with the outdoor games. Like so many other things, playing an NHL regular-season game in a football stadium was a good idea that has been beaten to death. Saturday in Philadelphia turned out to be an ugly night for the Penguins because of the final score and the...
Sidney Crosby: Penguins must learn from outdoor lossVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has a philosophy about losses. Given how this season has gone, it’s almost become a mantra. It applies to the gut-wrenching 4-3 overtime loss the Penguins suffered in an NHL Stadium Series game Saturday night in Philadelphia the same way it applies to...
Penguins lose Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang to injuryVideo
PHILADELPHIA — In the midst of a phenomenal season, Kris Letang might be the Pittsburgh Penguins’ MVP. Brian Dumoulin could be one of the most underrated defensemen in the league. In a development that could prove monumentally detrimental to the team’s playoff hopes, both were injured on the same play...
Penguins let late lead slip away, lose Stadium Series game to FlyersVideo
PHILADELPHIA — A rainy mess of a Stadium Series game at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night was mostly disastrous for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Claude Giroux scored with 3 minutes, 1 second left in overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-3 victory. The Penguins led by two goals with...
Penguins’ Patric Hornqvist gets top-line assignment for outdoor game
PHILADELPHIA — Having failed to record a point in his previous 14 games, Patric Hornqvist received a serious boost before Saturday’s Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. He was bumped up to the right-wing spot on the team’s top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel....
Pulling the goalie in the second period? Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has considered it
PHILADELPHIA – When the NHL announced Saturday afternoon that the Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers would be played as scheduled, the press release contained a long list of contingencies. The one with the greatest potential impact on the outcome of the game was straight out...
For Penguins, taking it outside requires some adjustments
PHILADELPHIA — As he manned his Lincoln Financial Field net at practice for the NHL Stadium Series matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers scheduled for Saturday night, goalie Matt Murray was first struck by the similarities to, not the differences from, a regular indoor rink. “I’ve only played...
Outdoor game between Penguins, Flyers still scheduled for Saturday night faceoff
Opening faceoff for the Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field remains scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday night. “While we are expecting a chance of a relatively light amount of precipitation in and around the game window, current forecasts are indicating that we...
