The Pittsburgh Penguins have less than 24 hours to recover from yesterday’s hectic 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins in which they lost both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Today, they’ll face another dangerous opponent in the Detroit Red Wings. TODAY’S OPPONENT: The Red Wings have lost four out of their last five games, including a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Detroit has now fallen to within three points of fourth-place Boston. This is the third and ... Read More
Penguins lose to Bruins without Crosby & Malkin
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost 2-0 to the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon, but it was the Penguins that didn’t play, rather than exploits of the ones that did, that was the biggest story of the day. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby took part in pre-game warmups, but was a late scratch from the game and replaced by veteran forward Craig Adams in the team’s lineup. “With Sid, I was walking out to the bench for the start of the game and I was told that Sid was seeing the doctors and wasn’t ... Read More
Hornqvist scores twice as Pens beat Ducks
For the second time this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped out to a big lead on the Anaheim Ducks. Just like during the first game of the season, Anaheim showed why they are one of the top teams in the NHL by coming back to tighten the score, but the Penguins were again able to hold off the Ducks’ charge and escaped Anaheim with a 5-2 victory. After a scoreless first period, Blake Comeau started the scoring for the Penguins when he tallied his 15th goal of the season at 9:51 of the second ... Read More
Varlamov, Avalanche shut down Penguins
With the Penguins in the midst of an offensive outburst, scoring 18 goals over the last four games, general manager Jim Rutherford chose to upgrade the team’s defense at Monday’s trade deadline. It was the offense, though, that faltered as Semyon Varlamov and the Colorado Avalanche shut down the Penguins in Denver on Wednesday en route to a 3-1 victory. The Penguins offense never seemed to get untracked and they mustered just 29 shots on Varlamov, who earned his 20th win of the ... Read More
Power play leads Pens past Blue Jackets
In the Pittsburgh Penguins first two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets this season – a pair of one-goal losses – the Pens went 0-for-6 on the power play despite taking 11 shots with the man advantage. In Sunday night’s 5-3 win over Columbus, the Penguins power play went 3-for-6 on 14 shots and accounted for the entire margin of victory. The teams took a little while to adjust to the odd 5:00 p.m. start, and the first period was scoreless until the 17:33 mark, when James Wisniewski ... Read More
Penguins win penalty-filled affair in Washington
Given the tenor of the last game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, a penalty-filled affair in the teams’ final regular-season meeting in Washington on Wednesday night was hardly unexpected, but the way the penalties were handed out in the Penguins 4-3 victory over the Capitals was anything but expected. Instead of fights and roughing, it was hooking, holding, tripping and cross checking as referees Kelly Sutherland and Justin St. Pierre called an extremely tightly ... Read More
Fleury blanks Oilers; Malkin scores in return
The Penguins got their three-game swing through Alberta and British Columbia started off on the right foot with a 2-0 shutout victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 22 Oilers shots to record his seventh shutout of the season, which leads the NHL. It also ties him with Tom Barrasso in 1997-1998 for the most shutouts in a season in Penguins history. “It feels like it’s been a while,” said Fleury on his record-tying shutout. “It was a little ... Read More
Malkin to make return for Pens in Edmonton
The Penguins will begin their three-game Western Canada road trip tonight with an 8:00 p.m. start against the Edmonton Oilers. TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Oilers have struggled mightily this season, and at 14-28-9, they are far closer to drafting Connor McDavid than they are finding their way to the postseason for the first time since 2006. Their 37 points are the second-fewest in the NHL to the Buffalo Sabres, so the Oilers are positioning themselves well to land McDavid or fellow top prospect ... Read More
James Neal returns to Pittsburgh with the first-place Predators
After two straight road games against Metropolitan Division foes, the Penguins will be back and home and again hosting a Western Conference opponent this afternoon at Consol Energy Center. The West has been kind to the Penguins this season. They’re 9-2-1 against Western Conference opponents, which is the best this season amongst Eastern teams. TODAY’S OPPONENT: In the ultra-competitive Central Division, it isn’t the ultra-talented Chicago Blackhawks at the top. Nor is it a stong St. Louis ... Read More
Pens back in action against red-hot Jets
After a six-day hiatus, the Pittsburgh Penguins will find their way back to Consol Energy Center ice tonight as they host the Winnipeg Jets. The Penguins looked like they needed a rest, as they coasted into the all-star break on fumes, going 0-2-2 in their final four games, a span that included three critical Metropolitan Division contests. TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: For the Winnipeg, the all-star break couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Jets came into the break on an absolute tear, winning ... Read More