Monday night’s game against the Washington Capitals proved to be interesting for both the Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins with Brooks Orpik suspended for three games and Olli Maatta out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. The Penguins filled their empty defensive spot with Derrick Pouliot, who was recalled from Wilkes Barre/Scranton earlier this season. There was a chance, however, for the Penguins to play defenseman Justin Schultz instead of Pouliot. Was Pouliot the right decision? ... Read More
Penguins recall defenseman Derrick Pouliot
The Penguins recalled defenseman Derrick Pouliot from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, announced by Jim Rutherford Monday morning. Pouliot currently leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defensemen, ranking seventh in the AHL with 23 points in 37 games. Pouliot is making his first NHL premiere this season after playing in 34 games last season for the Penguins, and scoring his first NHL goal against the Florida Panthers. Overall last season, he scored two goals and five assists, ... Read More
How does Dupuis retiring impact Pens salary cap?
Pittsburgh Penguins veteran forward Pascal Dupuis has announced his intention to hang up the skates. He was suffering from chest pains over the weekend that was assumed to be related to his blood clot issues and he and the team decided that it was in his and his family’s best interest for him to quit playing. The Penguins announced that they will be placing Dupuis on long-term injured reserve so that they can continue to honor his contract. While his loss does leave a big hole to fill in the ... 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 rookie tournament recap
The Pittsburgh Penguins went 2-1 over the weekend at the annual rookie tournament in London, Ontario. On Friday, they defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime, then on Saturday they beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1, and finally on Sunday, they fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. They came out as the overall winners for the weekend, earning four of a possible six points. Defensemen Derrick Pouliot got to demonstrate the results of his summer training with Gary Roberts in Toronto. Pouliot ... Read More
Penguins announce rookie tournament roster
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced their roster for the 2015 rookie tournament to be held in London, Ontario on September 11-13. The Penguins prospects and tryouts will compete against those representing the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators at Budweiser Gardens, home of the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. The Penguins will bring 16 forwards, 8 defensemen and two goaltenders to Ontario. 14 of the 26 players are already under NHL contract, three are on ... Read More
Newcomers shine in Penguins prospect camp scrimmage
The Pittsburgh Penguins 2015 prospect development camp drew to a close with an open scrimmage attended by 5000 fans on Saturday. Nearly half of those players, including most of the invitees, will be heading back to school. The remaining prospects and invitees will be back again for the rookie tournament in September. The camp veterans with NHL experience stood out and it was clear they had done this before. In particular, defenseman Derrick Pouliot was on a whole different level as he skated ... Read More
Pro successes Pouliot, Murray to lead way on defense and in goal at development camp
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced the full roster and schedule for the 2015 prospect development camp. The camp will be held July 14-18 at Consol Energy Center. The final practice session at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 18 will be open to the public. The camp will be run by first-year Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, Wheeling Nailers head coach Clark Donatelli and goaltender development coach Mike Buckley. 37 players will take part in the four-day camp. Below is ... Read More
Penguins visit New York for must-win Game 5
For the first time in the 2014-15 season, the Penguins will play with their season on the line in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals tonight at Madison Square Garden. In 2009, the last year the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, they went 3-0 in potential elimination games. The Penguins will have to match that output in the opening series if they hope to escape from the first round. Since the last Cup run, the Pens have gone just 2-5 in games that they could be eliminated in and are ... Read More