Pittsburgh Penguins / NHL category, Page 228
Penguins activate defenseman Mike Matheson from injured reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins activated defenseman Mike Matheson from injured reserve. Sidelined for the past eight games because of an undisclosed injury, Matheson returned to the lineup Saturday in a road game against the New York Islanders. Limited to two games this season, the left-handed Matheson has no points. Additionally, the...
NHL reschedules 8 Penguins games
The NHL announced schedule changes for 27 games Saturday because of covid-19 protocol issues around the league. Eight of those changes involve the Penguins. • Penguins at New Jersey, originally scheduled for Feb. 9, is now scheduled for Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m. • Penguins at New Jersey, originally...
Minor league report: Nailers lose to OilersVideo
Goaltender Francois Brassard made 19 saves on 21 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-2 home loss to the Tulsa Oilers at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Friday. Forwards Lawton Courtnall and Cody Sylvester scored goals for Wheeling (3-8-3). Highlights: The Nailers’ next game is at home against...
The Penguins get ‘back to basics’ with their power playVideo
It wasn’t really a guarantee or a vow. If anything, it was just a confirmation of the obvious. When the Pittsburgh Penguins found out a pair of home games this week against the New Jersey Devils would be postponed because of covid-19 concerns with the Devils, they planned to take...
Penguins’ Zach Aston-Reese ‘trying to be better than last year’
The Pittsburgh Penguins could get a trio of players back in their lineup for Saturday’s road game against the New York Islanders. Two of them, defensemen Kris Letang and Mike Matheson, have missed two and eight games, respectively, because of undisclosed injuries. The third has waited much, much longer to...
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ season opener postponed
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ season-opener has been postponed. Because of covid-19 protocols impacting the opponent, the Binghamton Devils, the game has been moved from Saturday to 5 p.m. Monday. The contest will still be held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have not played a regular season game...
Penguins defenseman John Marino resumes practicing
Penguins defenseman John Marino participated in practice on Friday in Cranberry. After being absent from Thursday’s practice, Marino rejoined his teammates, two days removed from being placed on the NHL’s list of absences for covid-19 related protocol on Wednesday. Inclusion on that list — which is updated daily by the...
Mark Madden: Evgeni Malkin’s shot can fix Penguins’ struggling power play
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ power play stinks and is unlikely to be fixed. It ranks 22nd in the NHL with a conversion rate of 13.9%. It won’t always rank that low. It will generate hot streaks based solely on the unit’s talent, which is plentiful. But right now is not one...
Minor league report: Penguins close preseason with lossVideo
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fell in their final game of the preseason, losing on the road to the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 2-0, at the PPL Center in Allentown on Thursday. Goaltender Emil Larmi made 29 saves in the defeat. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finished the preseason with a 1-1-0 record. The Penguins are...
Penguins take NHL’s changes to covid-19 protocol in stride
Just over three weeks into the season, the NHL revised several of its rules pertaining to covid-19 protocols. The league announced the alterations Thursday afternoon, a day after 40 players were identified on the league’s daily listing of absences related to covid-19. In a statement, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman indicated...
Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson eager to prove himself
As the primary return in a September trade that jettisoned a fan favorite — and a two-time Stanley Cup champion — in Patric Hornqvist, Mike Matheson always was going to face an uphill battle to appetize the locals. And considering he played only two underwhelming games out of a possible...
First Call: Bruce Arians’ quote about Ben Roethlisberger; Chris Drury not in mix for Penguins GM job
Bruce Arians and Franco Harris comment on the Steelers. A perceived general manager candidate is off the Penguins’ list. And Robert Morris hockey has a rare mid-week doubleheader. All that in Thursday’s “First Call.” Bruce on Brady and Ben Former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians provided an interesting quote about...
The biggest problems facing the Penguins … besides the power play. Oh, and the power play.
At 5-4-1, things could be worse for the Pittsburgh Penguins. But they aren’t great. During Wednesday’s“Breakfast With Benz” podcast, Penguins Radio Network host Brian Metzer and I spent a lot of time drilling down on the problems facing the power play. But that’s not where the analysis needs to stop....
Penguins defenseman John Marino added to NHL’s covid-19 protocol list
Penguins defenseman John Marino was added to the NHL’s list of players unavailable to play or practice because of the league’s covid-19 protocol. Marino’s name was added to the list Wednesday. The Penguins, as scheduled, did not practice. The inclusion of Marino’s name on the list does not necessarily indicate...
Mark Madden: Don’t expect Sidney Crosby to finish his career in Canada
A bunch of Canadian media used their platform to try to wish Sidney Crosby to a Canadian team, speculating that the Penguins and Crosby may (this got said with great gravitas) talk about his future this coming offseason, and what would be Crosby’s likely destination? That “speculation” (read: made-up drivel)...
Tim Benz: For the Penguins power play, every day is ‘Groundhog Day’
Because of covid-19 issues with the New Jersey Devils, the Penguins won’t play again until Feb. 6 against the New York Islanders. The games against New Jersey at PPG Paints Arena have been postponed. So what will they do with the downtime? Working on the power play is a good...
Penguins remain on task despite so many diversions
In any other timeline, Tuesday would have been unusual for the Pittsburgh Penguins. But practicing at Madison Square Garden in the middle of bustling New York then flying home to Pittsburgh might have been relatively normal compared to their past seven days. To review, the past week for the Penguins...
Injured Penguins Zach Aston-Reese, Mike Matheson making progress
Injured Pittsburgh Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese and defenseman Mike Matheson participated in the team’s practice Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Both remain on injured reserve but have been semi-regular presences at the Penguins’ irregular practice sessions as of late. Aston-Reese is recuperating from offseason surgery on his...
Penguins assign defenseman Will Reilly to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Penguins assigned defenseman Will Reilly to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. A first-year professional, Reilly was recalled from the taxi squad Monday and served as a healthy scratch during a 3-1 road loss to the New York Rangers that same day. Reilly, 23, has yet to play a...
Empty Thoughts: Rangers 3, Penguins 1Video
Observations from the Penguins’ 3-1 loss to the Rangers: First things first, no one in a Penguins jersey was injured. There haven’t been many times after games this season that could be said. The combination of the Penguins’ chaos on the blue line and the six power-play chances they were...
Penguins’ power play struggles continue in loss to Rangers
The Penguins entered Monday’s road game against the New York Rangers with a hideous slump on the power play. They preached the right things about trying to remedy their malfunctions in that area. “Simplify” and “shoot” are two words they have offered repeatedly, almost to a man, during their skid...
Penguins place Brian Dumoulin on long-term injured reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Brian Dumoulin on long-term injured reserve. That designation allowed them to recall defenseman Will Reilly, a first-year professional, from their taxi squad. Dumoulin, one of the team’s top players, has been sidelined the past two games — since a 3-2 overtime road loss to the...
Penguins’ upcoming home games postponed by Devils’ covid-19 issues
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ upcoming home games Tuesday and Thursday against the New Jersey Devils have been postponed indefinitely. On Monday, the NHL announced four additional Devils players were added to the league’s covid-19 protocol-related absence list. They join the six Devils players already on that list prior to Monday. Those...
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang sidelined with undisclosed injuryVideo
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will miss Monday’s road game against the New York Rangers because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Mike Sullivan termed his absence as “day to day.” Letang, the team’s top defenseman, left Saturday’s 5-4 overtime road win against the Rangers at 10 minutes, 15 seconds of the...
Penguins to wear alternate jerseys against Rangers
The Penguins will wear white alternate jerseys for Monday’s road game against the New York Rangers. With the NHL struggling to generate revenue this season as a result of limited ticket revenue because of the pandemic, the league has made all 31 active teams don alternate jerseys this season. The...
