A strong defensive performance Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues (25-22-5) gave the Pittsburgh Penguins (33-13-5) their third-straight win, beating the Blues 4-1. The win came not only from a disciplined defense but also a great showing by veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. After not starting in eight games, Fleury finally got the nod to start in net. In his two previous starts, he gave up a combined 10 goals. But Saturday night, Fleury faced 23 shots and saved all but one of them. ... Read More
Hornqvist scores a pair to push Penguins past Predators
After five days off for the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Penguins (31-13-5) hosted the Nashville Predators (24-17-8) for the first game of the second half of the season. Following a 1-1 first period, the Penguins had yet again another offensive barrage in the second period, where they scored three goals. Pittsburgh managed to hang on to the lead all the way through and finished the game with a solid 4-2 win. While the Predators were able to score a goal in the latter half of the third ... Read More
Penguins blow two-goal lead to for third-straight loss
Prior to Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins (26-11-5) hadn't lost two games in a row all season. And now the Penguins have added to that losing streak, falling 6-3 to the Detroit Red Wings (18-19-6) on Saturday night. A Kris Letang goal in the opening minute of the game instantly put Pittsburgh in the lead. And the Penguins' lead would increase in the second period with a goal from Evgeni Malkin. But Detroit wouldn't go down without a fight. Two straight Red Wings goals by Gustav Nyquist and ... Read More
Penguins haven’t missed a step in first game of 2017
After a long week since their last game, the Pittsburgh Penguins (26-8-5) won their fifth straight game after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning (19-19-4) 6-2 on Sunday evening at PPG Paints arena. Following a scoreless first period, the Lightning got on the board first when Jonathan Drouin scored. However, his goal was answered by Conor Sheary and Eric Fehr in the same period to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead heading into the final period of play. Two quick goals in the third period — one by ... Read More
Matt Murray out “week to week” with lower-body injury
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray is “week to week” with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. Murray suffered the injury in Wednesday night's win over the Carolina Hurricanes, although it's unclear exactly what play Murray was injured on. He left after the second period and was replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury. Murray started the 2016-17 season on the injured reserve because of a broken thumb he suffered in the World Cup of Hockey. But when he returned to the ... Read More
Penguins win third straight game, lose Murray to injury
For the third straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins (24-8-5) have picked up a win, this time against the Carolina Hurricanes (15-12-7). Wednesday night’s game was led mostly by the Hurricanes until the final period of play, when both Chris Kunitz and Carl Hagelin scored to tie and eventually win the game, 3-2. Elias Lindholm and Lee Stempniak each scored a goal for Carolina, but the team's lack of offense in the third period prevented the Canes from being able to hang on to their ... Read More
Penguins, Murray get blown out in 7-1 loss to Blue Jackets
After a 7-1 win in the Pittsburgh Penguins' last game out against the New York Rangers, the roles were reversed Thursday night when the Penguins (21-8-5) went on the road to play the Columbus Blue Jackets (22-5-4). Going into the third period, Pittsburgh trailed just 3-1, but by the end of the period, the Penguins allowed had four goals in their 7-1 loss. WIth the win, Columbus took over first place in the Metropolitan division. Sidney Crosby was one of Pittsburgh's lone bright spots in ... Read More
Sometimes the best move is no move at all
Heading into the season, the biggest question was whether Marc-Andre Fleury or Matt Murray would be the Pittsburgh Penguins' starting goaltender. With three options on the table — trade Fleury, trade Murray or trade neither — general manager Jim Rutherford had a very difficult decision to make. Over the summer, the market for goaltenders — especially experienced and proven ones — was slightly above average. A handful of teams hadn't found a reliable and talented golaie yet, which ... Read More
Penguins win-second straight game with comeback victory vs. Detroit
The Pittsburgh Penguins (15-7-3) haven't had back-to-back wins since the beginning of November, but that all changed Saturday evening with a 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings (11-11-3). (Thursday, the Penguins beat the Dallas Stars 6-2.) Saturday, at the start of the third period, a Pittsburgh win didn't look like it would be easy to come by. Detroit entered the period with a 3-1 lead, and it looked like it would be a Detroit victory on enemy ice at PPG Paints Arena. However, an eruption ... Read More
Penguins’ lack of consistency costs them vs. Wild
After yet another lopsided game — this one not turning out to be in the Pittsburgh Penguins' (12-6-3) favor — it appears consistency has become one of the Penguins' biggest issues. From the first drop of the puck, the Minnesota Wild (10-7-2) clearly outplayed Pittsburgh. Following a game where Pittsburgh put up a season high six goals, it allowed just as many from the Wild. Bad turnovers and slow reactions by netminder Marc-Andre Fleury certainly didn't help anything. Fleury had yet another ... Read More