Our weekly Penguins podcast with TribLive beat writer Seth Rorabaugh finds Seth on the road in Wilkes-Barre.
He’s checking in on the AHL Pens while the NHL club is out west in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. They face the Oilers Friday after beating the Flames on Tuesday.
Seth gives us updates on the likes of Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Might he be the best part of the return for Phil Kessel in the long run? Based on the way Alex Galchenyuk has started his Pens career, he better.
One battle he has faced is keeping on weight. And that got harder recently thanks to a battle with mononucleosis. Seth gives us a progress report on him, Andrew Agozzino and some of the wounded defenseman. Yes, injuries have found their way down to the AHL as well.
We also talk about the goaltending plan for the rest of this trip and after the holiday break. Tristan Jarry keeps playing well. So we speculate about how long he can hold the number one spot in the crease. Also, how is Matt Murray handling what appears to be, at least, a temporary demotion?
Other conversations include Bryan Rust’s extended hot streak, John Marino’s fast ascent, and Evgeni Malkin’s 400th goal.
On that last topic, we jump into a debate about Malkin’s Pittsburgh legacy versus Jaromir Jagr’s. I think Jagr was a better talent and — at this point — has had a better overall career. But by the time Malkin leaves the team, he’ll definitely exit with a better run as a Penguin.
Let’s see if Seth agrees or not.
