Hockey isn't a sport for the light-hearted, and Thursday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins (36-13-7) and the Winnipeg Jets (26-29-4) sure proved that. While the first half of the game was fairly well controlled by Pittsburgh, which put up a 2-0 lead, the Jets stormed back, scoring one goal in the second and two in the third. But even though the Penguins lost the lead halfway through the third, Winnipeg couldn't hold off one of the league’s best offenses. With just over five minutes ... Read More
Sidney Crosby gets point No. 999, Evgeni Malkin makes difference in return
999. Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby came into Tuesday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks with 998 points. He left with 999, just shy of that coveted 1,000-point mark. As a whole, it was a dominant performance from the Penguins (35-13-7), who easily handled the Canucks (25-26-6) to win 4-0. Goaltender Matt Murray recorded his fourth career shutout — his third this season — and played a major role in Tuesday night’s win. However, the game's big story was Evgeni Malkin’s ... Read More
Crosby continues to shine, Penguins beat Devils 5-2
Some familiar names propelled the Pittsburgh Penguins (23-8-5) to their 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils (13-15-7) on Tuesday night. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both scored a goal and had at least one assist in Pittsburgh’s solid win. Justin Schultz, who has been one of the Penguins' hottest players this month, scored his seventh goal on the season. His goal gave the Penguins a very late second-period 3-2 lead and, with two more goals – one from Carl Hagelin, the other from Bryan ... Read More
Penguins face Sharks in Stanley Cup Final rematch
Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-1) The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off of a pretty disastrous game against the Canadiens on Tuesday where, not only did the Penguins lose 4-0, defenseman Kris Letang and winger Conor Sheary also left the game because of injury. Letang left with what was later called an upper body injury and has been listed day-to-day by head coach Mike Sullivan. Brian Dumoulin is expected to take his place and make his first start this season. “You never want to see somebody ... Read More
Consistent Lovejoy helping Dumoulin
At the end of last season, Ben Lovejoy, not completely unfairly, shouldered some of the blame for the sudden end to the Penguins 2015–16 season, especially since general manager Jim Rutherford traded promising 24-year-old blueliner Simon Despres for 31-year-old Lovejoy at the trade deadline. To close out 2014–15, Lovejoy finished with three points and a -7 rating in 20 games with the Penguins while Despres scored a goal and finished with six points in 16 games with the Ducks. In the ... Read More
Changes to D-pairs paying off for Pens
After starting 0-3, the Pittsburgh Penguins have turned things around and are now on a three-game winning streak. They even managed to finally score on the power play against Florida last night. The wins have not come easy, however, and there are still adjustments that could be made to help them improve going forward. One area that has been a hot topic for discussion is the team's defensive pair. The Penguins have used seven defensemen so far this season, and of a potential 21 combinations, ... Read More
Penguins defensive depth taking shape
The Pittsburgh Penguins training camp is almost finished with just one final preseason game remaining. There has been a lot of talk about who would make the opening night roster, but after the most recent stretch of games the eight defensemen the Penguins plan to start the season with appear to have stepped forward. Roster Locks There are a handful of players that were all but guaranteed to make the opening night lineup as long as they can manage to remain healthy. Kris Letang is the ... Read More
Questions remain on defense for Pens
Throughout the Penguins offseason, most of the attention of the fans, the media and the front office was the team’s group of forwards. General manager Jim Rutherford took great strides forward in his second offseason with the club, bringing Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, Sergei Plotnikov, Eric Fehr and Matt Cullen to an already-talented group of forwards. What wasn’t addressed was the team’s defense. Through five preseason games, it seems that it may be an issue. They’ve given up 12 goals in the ... Read More
Penguins re-sign Brian Dumoulin
The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed defenseman Brian Dumoulin to a two-year, one-way contract worth an average of $800,000 annually, according to a statement released by general manager Jim Rutherford on Thursday. Dumoulin, 23, played in eight regular season games for the Penguins in 2014-15, scoring his first NHL goal on December 15 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 62 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, Dumoulin had four goals, 29 assists and had a ... Read More
Penguins send qualifying offers to five players
After a quiet 2015 NHL draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had a busy Monday. The Penguins signed defenseman Ian Cole to a three-year contract Monday morning, and Mon Monday afternoon, the Penguins qualified five of their restricted free agents for the 2015-16 season. According to a source close to the situation, the Penguins sent qualifying offers to forwards Beau Bennett, Bobby Farnham and Dominik Uher and defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Reid McNeill. Bennett, 23, had a disappointing ... Read More