Pittsburgh Penguins CEO and president David Morehouse told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday that head coach Mike Johnston, along with general manager Jim Rutherford and star centers Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, would be returning to the club for the 2015-16 season. Not only will they returning, Morehouse said that the Penguins’ upper management “never considered” replacing the team’s GM or head coach. In Johnston’s case, it will be a much-deserved second chance to establish himself ... Read More
Mailbag: Playoffs? We’re talking about playoffs.
Do the Penguins still control their playoff destiny? Yes. By earning a point, the Penguins reduced their magic number from four to three. That means any combination of the Penguins winning three points and/or the Ottawa Senators losing three points will qualify the Penguins. The Senators play the New York Rangers on Thursday night. The Penguins host the New York Islanders on Friday night. Both teams play on Saturday, with the Senators in Philadelphia and the Penguins in Buffalo. Even if ... Read More
Mailbag: How can the Penguins replace Kris Letang?
We got a lot of questions this week surrounding Kris Letang's injury and the Penguins playing with only five defensemen on Saturday. Let's dive right in. Why can’t the Penguins call up a defenseman or exchange a forward on the roster for a defenseman in Wilkes-Barre to balance out the roster? The Pens don’t have enough cap space to call up Tux (that’s the WBS mascot, if you didn’t know), let alone a player. Some back-of-the-envelope math reveals less than $100 thousand of cap space in the ... Read More
Johnston to coach while mourning
Penguins head coach Mike Johnston will be coaching this afternoon with a heavy heart, as he deals with the loss of his mother Sheila Johnston, who passed away on Friday in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Mrs. Johnston was 81 years old. Coach Johnston is expected to coach both of the team’s games this weekend before returning to Canada for the funeral on Tuesday. After Sunday, the team does not play again until Wednesday. “The Penguins offer their deepest sympathy to Mike and his family during this ... Read More
Pascal Dupuis will not return to the Penguins this season
When Pittsburgh Penguins left-winger Pascal Dupuis was first diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs in November, the Penguins staff knew that it would be difficult for Dupuis to play again this season. He was required to miss at least six months from the time of diagnosis. That would have given him a return date of mid-May, which is late into the playoffs, but still possible for a return. Today, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford announced that Dupuis will not be returning this ... Read More
Ben Lovejoy returns to Anaheim as Pens face Ducks
The Penguins will try to shake off Wednesday's ugly 3-1 loss in Colorado and get right back in the hunt for the Metropolitan Division title as their four-game western road trip continues with a 10:00 p.m. faceoff tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: This will be the second meeting between the Penguins and Ducks this season, but you may have to stretch your memory to recall the first. That would have been the season opener, way back on October 9, 2014, which the Penguins won ... Read More
Did the Penguins get Robbed?
There were plenty of things about the Penguins 3-2 overtime loss to the Bruins that could be upsetting to Penguins fans. A questionable call in overtime (and even worse handling of that call), a flat-out bad call for goaltender inteference that wiped out a goal, the power play’s continued struggles (0-4 with only five shots), and plain old bad luck (Zdeno Chara’s goal went off two posts and in. Sideny Crosby’s shot hit the post and the back of Tuuka Rask but couldn’t find it’s way across the ... Read More
What’s on the Penguins Christmas list?
When Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford and head coach Mike Johnston creep down the stairs to take a gander under Mario’s big tree this morning, what are they hoping Saint Nick has left them? Here’s a look at what the Penguins staff hopes they find in their stockings on Christmas morning. A TOP-SIX WINGER: The Penguins come into the holiday break with 49 points, which puts them atop the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. They lead the second-place New York Islanders by ... Read More
Penguins fall to Hurricanes after “no effort” outing
Although he had 34 saves, Marc-Andre Fleury did not get a win for his birthday as the Pittsburgh Penguins fell to the Carolina Hurricanes at CONSOL Energy Center by a final score of 4-2. The first period was anticlimactic. The Hurricanes scored first; Jiri Tlusty deflected the puck off of Olli Maatta’s skate to sink it in the net behind Fleury with 4:13 left to play in the first, but Kris Letang leveled the score at 1-1 less than 45 seconds later, grabbing an easy rebound goal against Carolina ... Read More
Pittsburgh Penguins’ Regime Change Will Give New Meaning To ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’
(Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins) As the #IceBucketChallenge summer rolls along, it reminds us that the Pittsburgh Penguins are about to experience a splash of frigid water to the face. Even though general manager Jim Rutherford and head coach Mike Johnston have been in place since June, the realities of the new regime probably haven't taken hold for most of the Penguins yet. That will change in a few weeks when training camp begins. For five years, the Penguins had the luxury of a consistent ... Read More