Pittsburgh Penguins / NHL category, Page 313
Tim Benz: Penguins’ Jake Guentzel goes from question to constant in exactly 1 year
At this time last year, Jake Guentzel wasn’t a constant. He was a question. A big one. A year ago to this day, I wrote about how crucial it was for Guentzel to snap out of a massive slump and start scoring again to give the Penguins any hope in...
Respect between Penguins’ Mike Sullivan, Islanders’ Barry Trotz to be tested
A look at a key matchup in the first-round playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. Even as they’ve squared off in each of the past four postseasons, coaches Mike Sullivan and Barry Trotz have routinely professed respect for each other. We’ll see how well that holds...
Mark Madden: Sidney Crosby won’t let Penguins lose to Islanders
When Jake Guentzel scored late against the New York Rangers in the Penguins’ regular-season finale Saturday, it scrounged a loser point and matched the Penguins against the New York Islanders instead of Washington in the playoffs’ first round. That seemed like a good thing. Washington is the defending Stanley Cup...
When playoffs begin, Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson ups his game
When the Pittsburgh Penguins began preparations for a first-round playoff series against the New York Islanders with a practice Monday morning in Cranberry, Jack Johnson was alongside Kris Letang on the team’s top defense pair. Why did coach Mike Sullivan put Johnson in such a prominent spot? A conservative explanation...
As usual, don’t expect Penguins’ Sidney Crosby to say anything inflammatory about Islanders
He has been the unofficial face — and spokesman — of the NHL for more than a decade. As such, Sidney Crosby feels as comfortable facing a gaggle of reporters as he does encountering an opponent’s trap at the blue line. So about the last thing the Pittsburgh Penguins have...
Forward Zach Aston-Reese back at Penguins practice, hopeful to play in playoff opener
Zach Aston-Reese returned to Pittsburgh Penguins practice in a full-contact capacity Monday, but the team stopped short of saying he will play in the playoff opener Wednesday. “Right now, I am just day-to-day,” Aston-Reese said. “So we will see how I feel (Tuesday) morning.” The Penguins open their first-round playoff...
Penguins’ Brian Dumoulin practices, status unclear for playoff opener
Brian Dumoulin was back on the ice for practice Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. But will he be on the ice for the playoff opener Wednesday at the Nassau Coliseum? “We will see,” said the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman, who is recovering from a lower-body injury. “It’s day by day,...
Seeking balance, Penguins split Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel in practice
The greatest playoff success the Pittsburgh Penguins have enjoyed during their recent championship era came with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel anchoring their own lines. Coach Mike Sullivan hasn’t forgotten. As the Penguins began preparations for a first-round playoff series against the New York Islanders with a Monday...
Penguins lift Pittsburgh to No. 1 NHL market on NBC, NBCSN
Skate aside, Buffalo. Pittsburgh jumped over the perennial ratings powerhouse to become NBC’s top market for NHL games during the 2018-19 regular season, the network announced, averaging a 1.3 rating. The network accounted for games on both NBC and NBC Sports Network. The Penguins’ prime-time March 10 matchup vs. the...
Buckle up, baby! Big screen returns for Penguins playoff run
Fans will be able to watch Pittsburgh Penguins playoff home games from outside PPG Paints Arena again this season, albeit at a new location. A large video screen will be set up in a parking lot at the corner of Centre Avenue and Logan Street. The big screen is back...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden talk Penguins-Islanders, Antonio Brown vs. JuJu, Pirates bats
In this week’s “Madden Monday,” Mark Madden and I hit on the big three: The Penguins, Steelers and Pirates. We start with the Penguins and their upcoming series with the Islanders. Mark likes the Penguins in six games. I’m thinking five. Yet somehow, I’m still expecting every game to be...
Tim Benz: For Penguins, it’s minimum expectations vs. maximum anticipation
Kris Letang summed it up perfectly. The Penguins defenseman was answering questions just a few minutes after the club secured a playoff berth. His team had just beaten the Red Wings, 4-1, Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena to clinch a spot. This is the 13th year in a row...
John Steigerwald: Experience says Penguins or Capitals will win Eastern Conference
The Pittsburgh Penguins finished fifth. Actually, and officially, they finished in third place in the Metropolitan Division behind the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders and ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets. But Carolina and Columbus won more games. As you’ve probably noticed, the NHL has...
With playoffs looming, have Penguins met expectations so far?
Ultimately, the success of the 2018-19 Pittsburgh Penguins will be determined by how they fare in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That’s life for a team with championship aspirations. But as the Penguins prepare for a first-round series with the New York Islanders that starts Wednesday, one interesting question regarding the...
Key matchup: Penguins’ Sidney Crosby vs. Islanders’ Mathew Barzal
A look at a key matchup in the first-round playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. When Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang arrived as the Penguins’ representatives at the NHL All-Star Game in San Jose in January, they were in search of a linemate for the three-on-three...
Penguins must choose wisely to survive 1st-round series with Islanders
Evgeni Malkin takes a short pass from a defenseman and begins to gallop through the neutral zone with trusty linemate Phil Kessel on his right hip. As he crosses the red line, he’s met by a wall of three defenders spaced evenly across the blue line. Malkin has choices. He...
Penguins will open playoff run against Islanders in New York, schedule released
The Pittsburgh Penguins will open their quest for the Stanley Cup in New York. Game 1 of a Metropolitan Division semifinals series between the Penguins and New York Islanders will open at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. While waiting for construction of a new arena at Belmont...
Penguins face serious first-round test in ‘stingy’ Islanders
Moments after their regular season ended with a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins immediately turned their attention to a more pressing matter. How are they going to score enough goals to beat the New York Islanders in the first round of...
Kevin Gorman: Failure to finish in overtime has Penguins going on the road in playoffs
Despite a milestone moment, the Pittsburgh Penguins ended their regular season with more of a sigh than a celebration. Sidney Crosby’s assist on Jake Guentzel’s tying goal gave the Penguins captain his 100th point and his right-hand man his 4oth goal but did nothing to improve their Stanley Cup status....
After milestone goal for Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, who keeps the puck?
When Sidney Crosby set up Jake Guentzel for a third-period goal Saturday night, it answered a lot of questions. Where would the Pittsburgh Penguins finish in the Metropolitan Division standings? Third place after a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers. Who would their first-round playoff opponent be? The...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Penguins maximize the minimum in season finale
On paper, the Pittsburgh Penguins were playing for keeps. On the ice, however, they forgot to keep playing. Well, with any sense of urgency anyway. Having already clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Penguins had only seeding at stake in the season finale against the New York...
Guentzel’s goal in 3rd allows Penguins to get point, avoid wild-card spotVideo
With Sidney Crosby coming into the game with 98 points for the season and linemate Jake Guentzel sitting on 39 goals, it was easy to imagine both hitting significant milestones on the same play Saturday night. Crosby would slide a puck to Guentzel for a shot into an empty net...
Penguins get top prospect Calen Addison under contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins got top prospect Calen Addison under contract Saturday, signing the 18-year-old defenseman to a three-year entry level contract. Addison is the team’s No. 2 prospect, according to The Hockey News, trailing only Providence College winger Kasper Bjorkqvist. With 65 points in 67 games for Lethbridge, Addison was...
No one scores more game-winning goals than Penguins winger Phil Kessel
Despite having what he himself called a cold season in the goal-scoring department, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Phil Kessel is on track to lead the league in an interesting offensive category this season. Coming into Saturday night’s finale against the New York Rangers, 10 of Kessel’s 27 goals have been game...
Penguins’ Jake Guentzel set to cap off remarkably consistent season
During training camp, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel said his goal for this season was to improve his consistency. He’s accomplished that goal in a number of ways. First, he hasn’t gone more than two consecutive games without recording a point. If he scores in the regular-season finale Saturday night...
