Penguins/NHL category, Page 98
Penguins promote forward Bryan Rust to top power-play unit
Bryan Rust was in a familiar realm Monday. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ first power-play unit. During a practice session in Cranberry, Rust replaced fellow forward Rickard Rakell on the top unit, joining forwards Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Erik Karlsson. Rakell skated on the second unit, along...
Penguins focus on limiting odd-man rushes by opponentsVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins had a prolonged focus roughly midway through their Monday practice session in Cranberry. Two-on-one rushes and how to defend them. A pair of forwards would attack a solitary defenseman, who tried to impede their progress while a duo of defending forwards trailed the play. After the attacking...
Former Penguins defenseman Adam Clendening signs in Finland
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Adam Clendening has signed with Ilves of the top league in Finland, the Liiga. That team announced the transaction via a release Sunday. The Penguins acquired Clendening as well as forward Nick Bonino and a second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft (which was eventually used...
Designed faceoff plays are a way of life for the Penguins
Jake Guentzel was almost insulted by the query. When the Pittsburgh Penguins All-Star forward netted his first goal of the season — one that proved to be the winning score — at 5 minutes, 50 seconds of the third period in a 5-2 win against the Calgary Flames on Oct....
Minor league report: Joel Blomvqvist records 1st career AHL win as Penguins beat ThunderbirdsVideo
Goaltender Joel Blomqvist made 31 saves on 32 shots and recorded his first career American Hockey League (AHL) victory, leading the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins past the Springfield Falcons, 3-1, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Forward Rem Pitlick tallied a goal and an assist in the home opener for...
Penguins stumble, Gibsonia’s Brandon Saad stars in Blues win
Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not have much to say after his team’s latest loss, a 4-2 defeat to the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. “We didn’t play hard enough and we didn’t play smart enough,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said to media in...
Why does Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson keep getting into so many fights?
Since the year 2000, Hockey Fights has documented the pugilistic side of the NHL and the sport as a whole. Founded when dial-up modems and gif-infested GeoCities pages were still prevalent, Hockey Fights has maintained detailed logs of seemingly every bout in league history. And not surprisingly, there are leaderboards...
Minor league report: Penguins shut out by Wolf PackVideo
Goaltender Magnus Hellberg made 29 saves on 32 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-0 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. on Friday. Former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Louis Domingue stopped all 35 shots he faced to defeat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (1-2-0-0) which was shut...
Penguins’ bottom 6 searching for more scoring punchVideo
Mike Sullivan has made it clear that he is not a fan of comparisons being made between this and last year’s Pittsburgh Penguins club. “(The media) continues to want to talk about last season, and I really have no interest in talking about last season,” the coach said ahead of...
Penguins recall forward Radim Zohorna from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins added a new face Friday afternoon in the hopes of revitalizing a group of bottom-six forwards that has lacked offensive production so far, as winger Radim Zohorna was recalled from Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League. Zohorna, 27, played in four preseason games for the Penguins,...
Penguins’ Kris Letang, Noel Acciari return to practice, expect to play in St. Louis
The Pittsburgh Penguins seem to have avoided the early-season scare of losing one of their top players to injury. Defenseman Kris Letang missed practice Thursday and after the Penguins wrapped up their drills for the day, coach Mike Sullivan told reporters Letang was being evaluated for an unspecified injury. Thankfully...
Mark Madden: ESPN deserves ridicule for Evgeni Malkin-snubbing top players list
The compilation of rankings (lists, Top 10s, Mount Rushmores, etc.) is both a staple and the bane of the modern sports “journalism” existence. Such endeavors are well-read but lazy. You jot names/teams/events down until you’ve reached your prescribed number. It’s easy to generate debate, especially with yourself to start. You...
Penguins place forward Jansen Harkins on waivers
After playing four games with the Pittsburgh Penguins to begin the 2023-24 season, forward Jansen Harkins was placed on waivers Thursday, per Cap Friendly. If no team claims him by 2 p.m. Friday, Harkins, who carries a cap hit of $850,000, can be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey...
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, forward Noel Acciari sidelined due to injuries
In August, new Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas indicated he would not be timid when it came to utilizing waivers to craft his roster. And throughout the preseason, he did just that by claiming castoffs such as forward Jansen Harkins and defenseman John Ludvig. It looks like...
Penguins stumble in 2nd period of road loss to Red Wings
Having missed the playoffs last season by a single point, the Pittsburgh Penguins learned a hard lesson. Points and wins carry the same value no matter when they are accrued. “Our team knows what we have to do in order to be successful here,” forward Bryan Rust said in Cranberry...
Penguins waive forward Karel Plasek to terminate contract
About 24 hours after he was acquired in a trade, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Karel Plasek on waivers Wednesday for the purposes of terminating his contract. Assuming no other team claims Plasek, the Penguins can formally cut ties with him after 2 p.m. Thursday. At the moment, the Penguins...
Penguins’ Bryan Rust off to fast start heading into matchup with Red Wings
Playing in Detroit always has an appeal to Bryan Rust. A native of Pontiac, Mich., the Pittsburgh Penguins forward grew up going to Red Wings games at the hallowed Joe Louis Arena rooting for his favorite players, forwards Martin Lapointe and Steve Yzerman. (The attraction to Yzerman, a Hockey Hall...
Penguins’ trade lands defenseman Jack Rathbone and forward Karel Plasek from CanucksVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman Jack Rathbone and forward Karel Plasek from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Ty Glover on Tuesday. Rathbone, 24, was a fourth-round selection (No. 95 overall) of the Canucks in 2017 and has spent the past four seasons with that...
Defenseman Libor Hajek signs with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins signed defenseman Libor Hajek to an American Hockey League contract for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. That transaction was announced via a release Tuesday. Hajek, 25, attended the Pittsburgh Penguins training camp in September and October on a professional tryout contract but did not receive a...
Former Penguins defenseman Scott Harrington signs in Switzerland
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Scott Harrington has joined the ZSC Lions of the National League in Switzerland. That team announced it signed Harrington to a contract for the remainder of the 2023-24 season on Tuesday via a release. Harrington, 30, was a second-round pick (No. 54 overall) of the Penguins...
Mark Madden: Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang provide needed synergy for Penguins
So far, so good for the Penguins. Well, except for that opening-night debacle vs. Chicago, a sure-shot draft lottery team. But two out of three ain’t bad. MA! THE MEAT LOAF! The most encouraging development might be the synergy between defensemen Kris Letang and new boy Erik Karlsson. They will...
Penguins forward Lars Eller remains the pride of Denmark
On the scant occasions the Penguins have a practice session at their facility in Cranberry on a Sunday, they are typically sparsely attended. Especially when it’s football season. That’s to say most folks in Western Pennsylvania would rather worry about their fantasy football teams instead of watching the Penguins fine...
Tim Benz: Former Penguin’s daughter continues Pittsburgh hockey connection at Robert Morris
When Wayne Primeau was a Pittsburgh Penguin, he was part of one of the all-time memorable playoff runs in Penguins’ history. Acquired in February 2001, he was on the team during the Johan Hedberg “Moose Mania” trip to the Eastern Conference Final during Mario Lemieux’s return season. “He was a...
Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph and family star in national car commercialVideo
P.O Joseph might not be the most prominent name on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ roster. But the left-handed defenseman is the only member of the team who endorses a major automotive brand and even has a national commercial. Up north. Last week, Hyundai Canada began airing an advertisement that features Joseph...
Penguins winger Reilly Smith quickly connects with Evgeni Malkin on 2nd lineVideo
As the Pittsburgh Penguins entered the third period Friday against Washington, both analytical data and observations made by the naked eye suggested forward Reilly Smith was due for a goal. The 32-year-old winger had wasted little time in appearing to mesh with linemates Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell, resulting in...
