The first mid-season coaching change in Pittsburgh Penguins team history took place under the watchful eye of Jim Rutherford. He was not General Manager at the time, but rather was serving as the starting goaltender during the 1972-73 season. The Early Years Red Kelly was the second Head Coach in franchise history and in his fourth year having led the team to playoff appearances in two of the previous three seasons, but the team was struggling and he was replaced after posting a 17-19-6 ... Read More
Sullivan wins first game for Pens with no Crosby
Going on almost a month since their last home win, the Pittsburgh Penguins (15-14-3) looked to end their recent winning drought with a victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets (13-19-3). Although playing without Sidney Crosby in tonight’s game the offense finally broke out in a 5-2 win. Phil Kessel (10, 11) scored two back-to-back goals in the second period to give the Penguins a multi-goal lead. Evgeni Malkin (16, 17) took the reins of the team tonight and led his team in their overwhelming ... Read More
Free fall continues for Penguins losing to Carolina, 2-1
The Pittsburgh Penguins (15-13-3) hosted the Carolina Hurricanes (12-15-5) for their second game played in as many days, but with the same result finding themselves on the losing end of things for the fifth straight game, losing tonight 2-1. Evgeni Malkin (15) tried to take over the game early for the Penguins, scoring their only goal of the night in the beginning of the second period. The penalty kill allowed both goals, one coming from former Pittsburgh center, Jordan Staal (7), who gave the ... Read More
Pens assign Daniel Sprong to juniors; recall Scott Wilson
The Daniel Sprong experiment, for now, is over with the announcement today that the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned the 18-year-old to the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Playing 18 games this season, Sprong has scored two goals, with his first coming on Oct. 15 against the Ottawa Senators. Averaging only 8:49 of ice time a game raises the question as to why Sprong was prematurely sent to the national level if he was not going to get more ice time or stay ... Read More
Penguins hit new low losing to Boston, 6-2
In the hope of snapping their three game losing skid and giving head coach Mike Sullivan his first win as Pittsburgh’s coach. The Penguins (15-12-3) hosted the Boston Bruins (17-9-4) this time around, but the result remained as Pittsburgh lost their third straight game, 6-2. Special Teams Trouble Tonight’s game featured a Penguin’s power play that finished the game with no goals on five power play opportunities. Wasted shots led to easy clears and predictability from the offense. Bruins’ ... Read More
Penguins shut out by Bruins
In the second game as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins (15-11-3) Mike Sullivan drew another tough hand in matching up against the Boston Bruins (16-9-4). The visiting Penguins ended the game with 34 shots on goal, 16 more than Boston. An early neutral zone turnover dished out to former Penguin Max Talbot would be all that was needed. Replacing Marc-Andre Fleury who is suffering from a concussion, Jeff Zatkoff finished the game with 24 saves and allowed only two goals in tonight’s 3-0 ... Read More
Fleury, Bennett will both miss time to injury
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury may have a concussion and will miss Wednesday’s game against the Boston Bruins and right-winger Beau Bennett will miss four to six weeks with an upper body, head coach Mike Sullivan said after the team’s practice session on Tuesday. Sullivan said he did not know when Fleury was injured, but that it happened sometime during the team’s 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night. “He came to us last night and said he wasn’t feeling ... Read More
Pens trade Scuderi to Blackhawks for Daley
With head coach Mike Sullivan debuting behind the bench for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Washington Capitals tonight, general manager Jim Rutherford completed a trade behind the scenes, sending shutdown specialist Rob Scuderi to the Chicago Blackhawks for puckmoving blueliner Trevor Daley. Sometimes outspoken, Scuderi, a member of the 2009 Stanley Cup team and a winner again in 2012 with the Los Angeles Kings, expressed some dissatisfaction with the state of the team after the ... Read More
Penguins lose first game in Mike Sullivan era
Having multiple headlines heading into tonight’s game, the Pittsburgh Penguins (15-10-3) hosted the Metropolitan Division leader, Washington Capitals (20-6-2). After news broke out about the introduction of new head coach Mike Sullivanm, and Pascal Dupuis’ sudden retirement, it would remain to be seen what type of team fans would see on the ice tonight. Bringing with him a no-nonsense and control-orientated mentality, Sullivan remained humble, but excited for the opportunity to coach in the ... Read More
Expect Pens to open their game up under Sullivan
After a 2-2-0 trip to the West Coast and losing in a shootout last night to the Los Angeles Kings, the second loss in five days to the Pacific Division leaders, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford decided to pull the plug on head coach Mike Johnston. The Penguins brought in Johnston at the start of last season to install a defensive mentality to combat bad habits picked up from the Dan Bylsma “run-and-gun” tenure. Johnston delivered on the expectations to some extent – the ... Read More