Penguins/NHL category, Page 136
Mark Madden: Penguins can always count on Sidney Crosby to bounce back
Let’s celebrate the recent snowfall with refreshing sports notes. No two are identical! • Sidney Crosby played one of the worst games of his career in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-2 home loss to Toronto on Tuesday. He was on the ice for all five Maple Leafs goals. But Crosby regrouped...
First Call: Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel pass familiar names on scoring lists; Penguins face challenge from sizzling Jets
It’s a hockey heavy “First Call” for this Friday, as we remember a banner day in Penguins history. We preview the team’s next opponent, who is on fire at the moment. Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel are taking some steps up the historic scoring ladders. Some former Penguins contributed to...
4-point night from Sidney Crosby leads Penguins past Wild
Even if he is the 17th leading scorer in NHL history, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby is sure of one axiom. Offense can’t come at the expense of defense. And throughout a mostly unremarkable November for the Penguins, their overall defensive game has largely struggled. “We’ve got to be better...
Penguins defensemen aim to build rapport quickly as goals against mount, pairings change
The Pittsburgh Penguins, losers of nine of their past 11 games, can’t afford to be overly patient with their lineup. Suffice to say, as long as the Penguins remain mired in their current skid, no player should be under the illusion that individual deployments will not be subject to immediate...
As Penguins’ slump continues, Mike Sullivan weighs changes to lines
Near the end of Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan made a tweak to his top line, sending out Rickard Rakell in place of Bryan Rust with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Shortly thereafter, the Maple Leafs scored their fifth and final goal of...
Mark Madden: Stubborn Penguins in danger of missing playoffs
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in trouble. It’s not too soon to say that. In fact, it may get late early. Whatever can go wrong, is. Their recent seven-game losing streak is the headliner. But the devil is in the Penguins’ details, and the New Jersey Devils are 13-3. They didn’t...
TV Q&A: Which Penguins games will air on WTAE-TV?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: In a TV spot, WTAE general manager Mr. Wolfertz said Channel 4 will carry four Penguins games this year, but he didn’t say which ones...
Matt Murray’s return ‘a great experience’ as he beats Penguins for 1st win with Toronto
Matt Murray has seen that kind of push from the Penguins in that building many times. He knows what it looks like — and what it sounds like — when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and company decide it’s time to put the pedal down. It’s just that when...
Penguins’ top line victimized in loss to Maple LeafsVideo
As Sidney Crosby goes, the Pittsburgh Penguins tend to go. And neither went in a particularly good direction Tuesday night. During a 5-2 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena, Crosby had a goal but was somewhat directly involved in two of the visitors’ scores. In...
Penguins activate forward Teddy Blueger from long-term injured reserve
Penguins forward Teddy Blueger has been activated from long-term injured reserve a few hours before they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena. To make room on the roster, the Penguins assigned forward Filip Hallander to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Following Tuesday’s morning skate, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan labeled Blueger —...
Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray returns to PittsburghVideo
Tuesday’s game at PPG Paints Arena was significant for Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray. After all, it was only his second game of the season. Hobbled since suffering a groin injury — an adductor tendon — during a morning skate Oct. 15 in Toronto, Murray was activated from long-term...
Penguins scheduled to start goaltender Casey DeSmith against Maple Leafs
The Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to start goaltender Casey DeSmith for Tuesday’s home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan announced DeSmith as the team’s starting goaltender following an optional morning skate. In six games this season, DeSmith has a 2-3-1 record, a...
Questions about Tristan Jarry’s health mirror conversations about Najee Harris’ earlier this year
It appears the Pittsburgh Penguins have themselves a Najee Harris-esque injury situation developing with goaltender Tristan Jarry. Jarry is saying that he is playing through injury while the head coach is downplaying it. That hasn’t worked out great for Harris and the Steelers much of the year at Acrisure Stadium....
Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel feels all right on the left sideVideo
A healthy scratch for 10 of a possible 15 games this season, Chad Ruhwedel isn’t going to be overly picky over the circumstances that will allow him to be in the lineup. And being asked to play the left side of a defensive pairing as a right-handed defenseman is a...
What’s next for injured Penguins forward Teddy Blueger?
The answer always seems to be the same. But the questions remain. “Anything new?” “Not really. I don’t know what I’m allowed to say.” That typically has been the exchange between reporters and Pittsburgh Penguins center Teddy Blueger for the past month and change. In the paranoid realm of the...
Penguins forward Filip Hallander remains sidelined due to illness
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Filip Hallander was absent from the team’s practice session in Cranberry on Monday because of an undisclosed illness. Hallander took in the practice session as a spectator behind the glass while wearing street clothes. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not provide a substantive update on Hallander’s...
First Call: Bill Cowher rants about Jeff Saturday; JuJu Smith-Schuster knocked out; Matt Murray may face Penguins
Monday’s “First Call” features quite a rant by former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher. JuJu Smith-Schuster was knocked out of Sunday’s game in Kansas City. The Penguins may get a shot at former teammate Matt Murray. And Duquesne’s basketball team is trying to rebound from their loss in Kentucky. Sour...
Minor league report: Nailers conquered by KometsVideo
Goaltender Taylor Gauthier made 32 saves on 37 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 5-1 home loss to the Fort Wayne Komets at WesBanco Arena on Sunday. Forward Griffin Lunn scored the lone goal for Wheeling (4-6-0-0). Highlights: The Nailers’ next game is a a road contest against the...
Penguins’ 2nd line boosting offense
Much of the success the Pittsburgh Penguins had during the mostly satisfactory three-game road trip they concluded in Montreal on Saturday — in which they collected five of a possible six points — was buoyed by potent production from their second line. Currently, that unit is composed of Rickard Rakell...
3 takeaways: Penguins’ penalty kill showing improvement
Three takeaways from the Penguins’ 5-4 overtime loss to Montreal on Saturday: Improved penalty-kill The Penguins’ penalty-kill remains a work in progress. Heading into Saturday’s game at Montreal, it ranked 24th in the league — a bit of a climb up the ladder from where it’s lingered so far this...
Penguins assign defenseman Mark Friedman to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Penguins assigned defenseman Mark Friedman to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Sunday. This transaction comes three days after Friedman was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Friedman was summoned to the NHL roster as a precaution after incumbent defensemen P.O Joseph and Jan Rutta were injured during a 4-1...
Minor league report: Penguins’ losing streak reaches 4Video
Goaltender Filip Lindberg made 21 saves on 24 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 3-2 home loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Forward Sam Houde and defenseman Ty Smith scored goals for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (6-4-1-0) which has lost four consecutive games. Highlights: The...
Penguins dropped by Canadiens in overtime
On the surface, the five of a possible six points the Pittsburgh Penguins claimed on the three-game road trip they completed on Saturday should be satisfactory through any lens. The way they attained the fifth point, however, left lots to be desired. Surrendering the lead on three separate occasions, including...
3 takeaways: Penguins defenseman Jan Rutta makes surprising return to lineup
Three takeaways from the Penguins’ 4-2 win over Toronto on Friday night: Rutta returns Penguins defenseman Jan Rutta’s status was somewhat uncertain entering Friday night’s contest, and for good reason. He left Wednesday’s 4-1 road win against the rival Washington Capitals prematurely after being on the wrong end of a...
Minor league report: Penguins’ losing streak reaches 3Video
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 20 saves on 22 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 3-1 home loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Friday. Forward Drew O’Connor scored the lone goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (6-3-1-0), which has lost three consecutive games. Highlights: The Penguins’...
