It may be the day after Christmas, but the presents keep rolling in for Pittsburgh Penguins fans. Monday, the team announced head coach Mike Sullivan has signed a three-year extension. Sullivan, who recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with the team and won the Stanley Cup last season, is now under contract through the 2019-20 season. Financial terms of the extension weren't disclosed. “Mike did the best coaching job in the NHL last season,” Pittsburgh's general manager Jim ... Read More
Fans get early Christmas present with Penguins’ win over Devils
Just a night ago the Pittsburgh Penguins (22-8-5) were pummeled by their division foe, the Columbus Blue Jackets, who, with the win, took over the lead in the Metropolitan Division. But just 24 hours later, the Penguins rebounded against the New Jersey Devils (13-14-7), winning 4-1. Sidney Crosby is firing on all cylinders, and he scored his league-leading 24th goal of the season against New Jersey. Friday's game marked the eighth time this season Crosby has scored the first goal of the game, ... 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
Seven Penguins score in Tuesday night rout of Rangers
After their seven-game win streak was broken over the weekend, the Pittsburgh Penguins (21-7-5) finally got back into the win column Tuesday night after two overtime losses. The New York Rangers (23-11-1) came into Pittsburgh to play one of the best divisional rivalry games in the NHL, but New York would leave with its head down, falling to the Penguins, 7-2. The first period started with a Sidney Crosby power play goal, his 22nd goal of the season. Matt Puempel managed to get a goal just ... Read More
Penguins glide past Coyotes to win sixth straight game
Over the last week, the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-7-3) have been on an absolute tear. In the last 10 games, the Penguins are 8-2-0 and have scored 50 goals while riding a six-game win streak. Not only has Pittsburgh’s offense been revitalized, but a lot of this dominance has come from the team's third and fourth liners. And Monday night, with a final score of 7-0, Pittsburgh was dominant once again and made the Arizona Coyotes look like they didn't show up for the game at all. Pittsburgh's ... 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
One year later, Sullivan has given Penguins new identity
Exactly one year ago today, the Pittsburgh Penguins made quite possibly their biggest coaching change in decades — and very much for the better. Let’s be honest, when it comes to the coaching carousel, the Penguins aren’t like their neighbors the Pittsburgh Steelers, which have had three head coaches in 47 years. In the last seven years, Pittsburgh has cycled through four coaches: Michel Therrien, Dan Bylsma, Mike Johnston and, now, Sullivan. While Sullivan only has a year under his belt ... Read More
Penguins beat Panthers for fourth straight win
The Pittsburgh Penguins got their 17th win on the season after defeating the Florida Panthers (12-12-4) by a score of 5-1; the Penguins (17-7-3) have now won four straight games. Although Pittsburgh hasn't lost back-to- back games this year, there was a stretch in the past month that the team didn't have the consistency that either head coach Mike Sullivan or the players wanted. However, in their last eight games, the Penguins are 6-2 and have scored more than four goals in each of their ... Read More
Rust scores first NHL hat trick in Penguins’ 8-5 win
Sure, sometimes defenses win championships, but Monday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins' (16-7-3) offense certainly won the game against the Ottawa Senators (15-9-2) by a final score of 8-5. Bryan Rust lead Pittsburgh’s staggering offensive onslaught with his first career NHL hat trick. “I can't say I expected it,” Rust said. “(The last time I scored a hat trick) was more of a blowout. The team wasn't as good. This game was just find a way to get open in certain situations, and I was lucky ... 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