Penguins/NHL category, Page 177
First Call: Browns getting healthy ahead of Steelers game; troubling Pitt-Miami trends; Penguins prepare for red-hot Flames
Thursday’s “First Call” lets us know which Cleveland Browns are tracking to play against the Steelers Sunday. T.J. Watt’s brother, J.J., may be done for the rest of the season. The Calgary Flames are on fire heading into Thursday’s game against the Penguins. And Pitt’s game against Miami may be...
Minor league report: Radim Zohorna’s 2 goals lead Penguins to victoryVideo
Two goals by forward Radim Zohorna, including one on a power-play opportunity, led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-2 home win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Forwards Michael Chaput and Jamie Devane also scored twice for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (4-1-0-0) while forward Valtteri Puustinen...
Penguins notebook: When will backup goaltender Casey DeSmith play next?
Just over two weeks into the season, Penguins backup goaltender Casey DeSmith still is looking for his first win. But first, he needs to find his next start. Because of the nature of the Penguins schedule to open the 2021-22 campaign, which has yet to include any games on back-to-back...
Penguins list Sidney Crosby as ‘day to day’ in recovery from wrist surgery
Even if he was drafted more than five years ago, forward Kasper Bjorkqvist still is relatively new to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He hasn’t even played a game of consequence for the NHL club as of yet. But Tuesday, a day after he was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey...
Penguins get a different view of Lightning in early rematch
Coming into Tuesday night’s game against the Penguins, the Tampa Bay Lightning had one of the more bizarre stats in the NHL. They had yet to enjoy a lead in a game before it ended. The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions arrived at PPG Paints Arena 2-3-1. But one of...
Analysis: Sam Lafferty makes an impact within his limitationsVideo
Empty thoughts from the Penguins’ 5-1 loss to the Lightning: Penguins coach Mike Sullivan isn’t generally a quippy person. And he usually won’t offer any badinage after a loss. But he made an exception in the aftermath of his team’s first regulation loss of the season on Tuesday. When asked...
Lightning avenge season-opening loss by beating PenguinsVideo
Entering the season, there were distinctly different expectations placed upon the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning. One team has claimed the Stanley Cup title the past two seasons and is considered a favorite to extend that streak to a third year. And the other … well … winning...
Penguins forward Kasper Bjorkqvist earned recall on merit
A day after being recalled to the NHL roster, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasper Bjorkqvist was a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at PPG Paints Arena. Monday’s transaction was Bjorkqvist’s first in-season recall since he was selected by the Penguins in the second round (No....
Penguins to start goaltender Tristan Jarry against Lightning
The Penguins are expected to start goaltender Tristan Jarry for Tuesday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Jarry’s status following an optional morning skate. This season, Jarry has appeared in four games and has a 3-0-1 record, a 1.47 goals against...
Poor playoff behind him, Tristan Jarry focuses on improvement for Penguins
Over his past 21 regular-season games, Tristan Jarry has been on quite a run. Not that he’s aware of it. “No idea,” the Pittsburgh Penguins goalie said after practice Monday. “Sorry.” Fitting, because fans seemingly aren’t aware of Jarry’s stretch of elite regular-season play, either. Or, perhaps more to the...
Mark Friedman hones mental aspect of game, evolving into contributor for Penguins
By the view of both he and his coach, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman is at his best when he plays with “an edge.” However that’s defined precisely, don’t take it to mean Friedman necessarily is playing angry or recklessly. Instead, Friedman is attributing the strides he’s making in his...
Penguins’ Kris Letang covid positive, Sidney Crosby practices fully, Bryan Rust progresses
The updates regarding the playing status of many of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ highest-profile players were coming fast and furious Monday. And the news was mixed. Defenseman Kris Letang, it was confirmed, tested covid-19 positive. He enters NHL coronavirus protocol and will miss a second game when the Penguins host the...
Penguins Prospect Watch: Lukas Svejkovsky emerges as WHL’s top scorerVideo
An occasional look at how the Penguins’ prospects have performed over the previous seven days: • In the Western Hockey League (WHL), forward Lukas Svejkovsky scored in overtime and recorded three assists for the Medicine Hat Tigers in a 5-4 home win against the Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday. A...
Madden Monday: Steelers vs. Browns, Penguins’ hot start, Kenny Pickett’s Heisman Trophy chances
Many football fans in Pittsburgh are hoping that the Steelers (3-3) will get on a roll coming out of the bye weekend and make a push for the postseason. In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9 The X said that effort better start this Sunday...
Minor league report: Valtteri Puustinen scores twice for Penguins in overtime winVideo
Forward Valtteri Puustinen scored two goals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 2-1 overtime road win against the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center in Allentown on Sunday. Goaltender Louis Domingue, in his debut for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (3-1-0-0), made 28 saves on 29 shots in the victory. Highlights: The...
Evan Rodrigues has earned trust as the Penguins’ No. 1 centerVideo
Like most kids growing up in suburban Toronto, Evan Rodrigues was a fan of the Maple Leafs. Rooting for his favorite player, prolific goal-scorer Alexander Mogilny, Rodrigues watched some good — but not great — Maple Leafs squads in the early 2000s routinely fall short of reaching a Stanley Cup...
Analysis: Penguins forward Drew O’Connor figures out how to use his sizeVideo
Empty thoughts on the Penguins’ 7-1 win against the Maple Leafs: With seemingly any center of note sidelined due to various medical concerns, the Penguins elevated rookie Drew O’Connor to the second line on Saturday and he responded with two goals. On each occasion, he used his robust 6-foot-3, 200-pound...
Minor league report: Nailers fall in season openerVideo
Forward Sean Josling had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a season-opening 4-3 road loss to the Fort Wayne Komets at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. on Saturday. Wheeling also got goals from forwards Nick Hutchinson and Patrick Watling while goaltender Joe...
Penguins’ reserves rout Maple Leafs at home
Even if they were at home at PPG Paints Arena, the Pittsburgh Penguins were not the marquee team in their encounter Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. When you’re missing roughly $31.58 million of salary cap space in the form of forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Jeff...
Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen not worried over little offense
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen entered Saturday’s home game against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, without a goal in the first four games of the season. Despite such futility, Kapanen, who had nine shots before Saturday, has been somewhat sated in just creating scoring opportunities. “Obviously, you want...
Penguins recall defenseman Juuso Riikola from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled defenseman Juuso Riikola from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL). The 27-year-old Riikola has appeared in three AHL games this season and has two assists. During the NHL preseason, Riikola played in four games and did not record a point. In 75 career NHL games,...
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang placed in covid-19 protocol
Already missing a handful of all-stars and other vital members of their forward ranks, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be without another essential piece of the franchise when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena. Defenseman Kris Letang was placed into NHL’s protocol for covid-19 on...
Minor league report: Kasper Bjorkqvist leads Penguins to overtime winVideo
An overtime goal by forward Kasper Bjorkqvist gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 2-1 home win against the Hartford Wolf Pack at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Friday. Forward Filip Hallander in regulation for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2-1-0-0) while forward Jordy Bellerive recorded two assists. Goaltender Filip Lindberg made 30 saves...
Penguins star Sidney Crosby’s return remains uncertain, appears close
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ second power-play unit looked a little different during practice Friday in Cranberry. Sidney Crosby was on it. The franchise icon participated in the practice session, albeit in a reserve role during five-on-five rushes for the lines and defensive pairings. So to get Crosby a bit more involved,...
Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry removed from NHL’s covid-19 protocol
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry was removed from the NHL’s protocol for covid-19 and joined his teammates for practice Friday in Cranberry. On Thursday, Jarry was placed into the protocol and withheld from practice. Friday afternoon, coach Mike Sullivan indicated Jarry had a false-positive test for the virus. “That’s certainly...
