The Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves in a familiar place – sort of. For the third straight game, a win will clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and for the third straight game, a loss won’t necessarily eliminate them, either. Tonight’s opponent: the lowly Buffalo Sabres, who have already clinched the worst record in the NHL. The Penguins can clinch a playoff berth today under a number of scenarios: 1. A win in regulation 2. An overtime loss, coupled with an Ottawa loss in ... Read More
Penguins lose to Islanders; Letang done for season
The Pittsburgh Penguins finished their home slate with a disappointing 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Friday night, and may have lost even more than that, as news broke late Friday night that defenseman Kris Letang will not return this season. Letang, 27, finished his most prolific season under less-than-ideal circumstances. He fell backwards into the boards awkwardly after a hit by Arizona Coyotes forward Shane Doan on March 28 and spent the night in the hospital for ... Read More
NHL scoring title and a playoff berth at stake for Pens and Islanders
For the second game in a row, the Pittsburgh Penguins need a regulation win to secure a position in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs. Despite losing 4-3 in overtime to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, the Penguins got some help on Thursday night as the Florida Panthers upset the Boston Bruins, knocking the B’s out of a playoff spot. The Penguins have been provided another opportunity to clinch a playoff berth despite losing four consecutive games, but it won’t be an easy victory. The Penguins ... Read More
Who the hell is Monica Wignot?
When the Pittsburgh March Madness started, everyone had the same expectations. It was going to be the four No. 1 seeds — Ben Roethlisberger, Sidney Crosby, Andrew McCutchen and Antonio Brown — in the Final Four. That’s just how it works. Except this time, it wasn’t. In the first round, when we logged on to check the results to see who advanced, one result made our jaw drop: #16. Monica Wignot - 459 votes vs. #1. Andrew McCutchen - 455 votes. For the first time ever in a tournament, a ... 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
Pens blow another lead; lose fourth straight
The Pittsburgh Penguins blew a 3-0 first-period lead en route to a devastating 4-3 overtime loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Much like on Sunday in Philadelphia, the Penguins dominated the first period, outshooting the Senators 12-7 and jumping out to a big lead thanks to the inspired play of captain Sidney Crosby. Just ten seconds into the contest, Crosby fired a slap shot past Ottawa’s rookie sensation, goaltender Andrew Hammond. It was the fifth consecutive ... Read More
Playoff berth on the line for Pens and Sens
The Pittsburgh Penguins are playing in what is perhaps their biggest regular season game in recent history tonight. The Pens, despite their recent run of poor play, know exactly what they need to do to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs: beat the Ottawa Senators tonight. With a win, the Penguins would not only clinch their ninth consecutive playoff berth, they would also be able to rest a banged up roster for back-to-back games against the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres this ... Read More
Pittsburgh March Madness championship
Well, it all comes down to this. The three-week journey from the field of 64 ends today with the Pittsburgh March Madness championship. The last two standing are Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Monica Wignot, a relatively unknown competitor when the contest started, to a controversial name in the city given her dominance in her bracket. Can she do it again? We'll find out by 9 a.m. on Tuesday, when the Pittsburgh March Madness champion will be named. #1. Sidney ... Read More
Penguins can’t beat Mason, Flyers
The Penguins have been criticized, both internally and externally, for their lack of effort and intensity in losing back-to-back games to the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets last week. The Penguins had no lack of effort in Sunday afternoon’s rematch in Philadelphia. They dominated the Flyers up and down the ice at even strength, but they couldn’t put enough pucks past Flyers goaltender Steve Mason and gave up a pair of power play goals en route to a 4-1 beating at the hands of ... Read More
Pens get Malkin back, lose Downie for final meeting with Flyers
As has been typical of the Pittsburgh Penguins 2014-15 season, as soon as they get one player back from injury, they lose another one. When the Penguins visit the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon, center Evgeni Malkin will make his return to the Penguins lineup after missing the last two games with a nagging injury. Missing in action will be right-winger Steve Downie, who is out for today’s game and is day-to-day with an upper body injury. Downie did not appear to be injured during ... Read More