Pittsburgh Penguins / NHL category, Page 185
Penguins forward Danton Heinen chases a new high scoreVideo
Danton Heinen didn’t have much stability this past summer. He was a restricted free agent, and the Anaheim Ducks opted not to extend a contract offer to the versatile forward, allowing him to walk away as an unrestricted free agent. The Pittsburgh Penguins, with limited salary cap space, signed him...
Minor league report: Penguins shut out ThunderbirdsVideo
Goaltender Matt Jurusik made 28 saves and led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 6-0 home win against the Springfield Thunderbirds at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. Signed to a professional tryout contract (PTO) on Friday, the 24-year-old Jurusik recorded a shutout in his American Hockey League (AHL) debut....
Ex-Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford ready for new challenge in Vancouver
By the time Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko denied Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois on a backhander to secure the Canucks a 4-3 home shootout win at Rogers Arena on Friday night, it was well into Saturday morning on the East Coast. To be precise, it was 12:52 a.m. in...
Mark Madden: The Penguins are playing their way toward sleeper contender status
The Pittsburgh Penguins might yet morph into a sleeper contender. “Might yet” means “not yet.” But there are positive signs. Much depends on the condition and performance of Evgeni Malkin when he returns from knee surgery. (Don’t expect vintage Malkin right away.) The locker room likely sees itself as more...
Minor league report: Penguins return to play, fall in overtimeVideo
Forward Felix Robert had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who lost in overtime to the rival Hershey Bears, 3-2, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. It was the Penguins’ first game since Nov. 27. Due to several players and staffers testing positive for covid-19...
Casey DeSmith continues December to remember as Penguins blank Ducks
The latter half of Casey DeSmith’s 2021 has not gone well. After all, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ backup goaltender suffered a groin injury in May that ended his 2020-21 season, then underwent surgery in June to correct the problem. Additionally, he didn’t win a game for the first two months of...
4 Penguins named to NHL’s All-Star ballot
Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, goaltender Tristan Jarry and defenseman Kris Letang were named to the NHL’s ballot for the Metropolitan Division in this season’s All-Star Game event. Fans can vote on the captain for all four divisions. The “game” is really a two-round tournament between the...
Penguins to start goaltender Casey DeSmith against Ducks
Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith is scheduled to start Saturday’s home game against the Anaheim Ducks at PPG Paints Arena. In five games this season, DeSmith has a 1-3-1 record along with a 3.64 goals against average and an .885 save percentage. DeSmith recorded his first win of the season on...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: NHL not getting maximum exposure on ESPN, TNT
When the NHL left NBC to do rights deals with ESPN and TNT, it seemed good. The season’s first week featured a Tuesday night doubleheader on ESPN and a Wednesday night doubleheader on TNT. The presentation, production and announcing were all sharp. There was lots of fanfare. But ESPN hasn’t...
Kasperi Kapanen pushes Penguins past Capitals
As has often been the case for the past decade and a half, Friday’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals was broadcast nationally. Presuming your definition of “nationally” is exclusive to subscribers of a premium streaming service that requires paying a roughly $7 fee monthly to an international...
Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson playing with more confidenceVideo
Representatives of the Sweden Ice Hockey Association, the body that selects members for that country’s national teams, recently scouted a game in Pittsburgh. They were there to watch Pettersson. Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks. On Nov. 24, the Penguins hosted the Canucks, who are led by one of the...
Pittsburgh’s Sports & Exhibition Authority, NHL board OK Penguins sale to Fenway Sports Group
Pittsburgh’s Sports & Exhibition Authority voted unanimously Thursday to approve the sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins to Fenway Sports Group. The National Hockey League’s Board of Governors also unanimously approved the sale Thursday. Reports that Fenway Sports Group entered into negotiations to buy the Penguins began circulating last month. The...
Ex-Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford hired as Vancouver Canucks’ president
Former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford was hired as president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks. He also will assume the title of interim general manager of the Canucks while leading a search for a full-time general manager. Rutherford abruptly resigned from his role as the Penguins’ general...
Penguins reluctant to make any recalls while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton deals with covid-19 issues
Even with forwards Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust sidelined indefinitely because of injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins still are expected to have a full lineup of 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders at their disposal for Friday’s road game against the rival Washington Capitals. They just aren’t likely to have...
Friday’s Penguins-Capitals game limited to ESPN Plus or Hulu
The broadcast of the Penguins’ game against the Washington Capitals on Friday will be limited to streaming services ESPN Plus or Hulu. No traditional or regional broadcasters will carry the game. This will be the Penguins’ first game on the platforms. They are scheduled to have three additional games on...
Minor league report: Nailers edged by CyclonesVideo
Forward Shaw Boomhauer and Nich Hutchison each had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 6-5 road loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati on Wednesday. Goaltender Stefanos Lekkas made 32 saves on 36 shots for Wheeling (10-7-1) while forward Jared...
With Jake Guentzel hurt, ‘terrible’ Kasperi Kapanen gets a chance on Penguins’ top line
Kasperi Kapanen didn’t like the question one bit. But he was honest — and probably accurate — in answering it. Following practice in Cranberry on Wednesday, he was asked how he would rate his performance in the past handful of games considering he’s been up and down the lineup recently....
Penguins forward Jake Guentzel sidelined on a ‘week-to-week’ basis
Penguins forward Jake Guentzel will be sidelined on a “week-to-week” basis because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Guentzel’s status following practice in Cranberry on Wednesday. The injury was labled as “upper body” but no specifics were offered. During Monday’s 6-1 road win against the Seattle Kraken, Guentzel...
Penguins prospects Joel Blomqvist, Calle Clang selected for IIHF World Junior Championship
Penguins goaltending prospects Joel Blomqvist and Calle Clang have been selected for the rosters of Finland and Sweden, respectively, in the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship tournament. This is the second consecutive year they have been chosen for the tournament. Neither player appeared in a game during last season’s tournament....
Penguins goaltenders fending off concerns about their potential
It took until early December, but Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith finally got his first win of the year Monday night in Seattle. “It feels great,” DeSmith said after the 6-1 victory over the expansion Kraken. “Mentally that was big for me to go out there and get a solid win...
Mark Madden: It will be interesting to see how seasons play out for Sidney Crosby, Ben Roethlisberger
Sidney Crosby has a six-game points streak, compiling three goals and eight assists over that span. He’s up to a point per game on the season, with 13 in 13. Crosby had wrist surgery and battled covid but now looks the part after struggling for the best part of a...
Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith gets his ‘confidence going in the right direction’Video
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan had a curious way of describing Casey DeSmith’s play in late November. After a 6-3 home loss to the woeful Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 27, Sullivan complimented the backup goaltender. Kind of. “I thought he was solid,” Sullivan said. “The goals that they got were good...
Jeff Carter, Jake Guentzel lead Penguins to rout of Kraken
Like all of his current teammates, Brandon Tanev came from somewhere else. Such is life for every member of the Seattle Kraken. In their first season of existence, the Kraken are a menagerie of castoffs from the other 31 incumbent franchises. For Tanev, a popular forechecking forward, he was jettisoned...
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has another game postponed due to covid-19 protocols
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had another game postponed for what have been labeled as “covid-19 protocols.” A home contest against the Hershey Bears scheduled for Wednesday has been rescheduled for Dec. 14. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had two games this past weekend postponed for the same reason. One of those games, a home contest...
Ex-Penguins forward Jared McCann thriving with the KrakenVideo
The Seattle Kraken don’t really have any traditions. Really, how could they? They’re a first-year expansion franchise that has been playing games of consequence for less than two months. There is at least one exception, however. How they conclude practices. “Usually the next team up, the guy in the middle...
