Recent Posts

Penguins Grades: Team Battles Heartbreak and Distraction

The Pittsburgh Penguins were energetic and aggressive in the first period. They were utterly terrible in the second period. They got by later in the third period when they finally buckled down for a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena. With the NHL trade rumors swirling around Penguins winger Guentzel […]

Canadiens Claim Colin White Off Waivers from Penguins

White is expected to be on the ice when the Pittsburgh Penguins face Montreal this evening at PPG Paints Arena. It will not, however, be as a member of the Penguins, because the Canadiens claimed him off waivers today. White, who can play center or wing, did not have a goal or assist in 11 […]

Penguins Grades: New Sad Reality on Display vs. Bruins

BOSTON — It was kind of sad, really. After some pathetic performances over the past week, which we now know was aided by the inside knowledge that Jake Guentzel was being traded and the team felt the gnawing disappointment of their GM waiving the white flag (which he wisely did), the Pittsburgh Penguins put forth […]

Jake Shake(up): Penguins Trade Guentzel to Carolina

The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded left winger Jake Guentzel to Carolina. The Hurricanes gave them a package that includes a conditional 2024 first-round draft choice and left winger Bunting to secure Guentzel, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and defenseman Ty Smith. The Penguins retained 25 percent of Guentzel’s $6 […]

Rematch; Penguins Game 63 vs. Oilers: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

It’s never guaranteed that things will get easier. Case in point is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who on Sunday have a rematch with the Edmonton Oilers. The Penguins (28-26-8) return home from Saturday’s 5-1 loss at Boston to face the Oilers (38-21-3), the team that spanked them 6-1 one week earlier at the end of a […]

Penguins Six-Pack: Graves Gains Ground; Scenario for Guentzel Return

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a lot of things. In denial is not one of them. They are all too aware of where they sit in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division standings. Of how remote their chances of getting into the Stanley Cup playoffs are. Of how very different their roster might look after the […]

Penguins Trade Grade: 2nd-Tier Hurricanes, Pens’ Loss Deeper than Guentzel

The Pittsburgh Penguins did not get the top prospects, nor a top-six NHL player from the Carolina Hurricanes as Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas zipped Sidney Crosby’s longtime sidecar Jake Guentzel to Carolina for three prospects, a conditional second-rounder that could become a first, and Dubas-acquainted winger Michael Bunting. Bunting will plug a […]

Penguins Postgame: This Can’t Continue

In one of the great cheesy late 1990s movies, Bruce Willis and his band of misfits who rocketed to space on a top-secret space shuttle to save the planet from an asteroid must radio to NASA that their mission has failed. Armageddon has a happy ending as the crew saves the day but the Pittsburgh […]

Penguins Mock Trades: Finding Good Fits For Jake Guentzel

The strong possibility, if not stark reality, that the Pittsburgh Penguins will indeed strip away assets in order to rebuild or retool at the NHL trade deadline became inescapable this week. Sure, some have clamored for it, but the team was pushing hard for a playoff spot, and future-leaning Penguins trades were not happening during […]

Will Bemstrom Be the One to Give Penguins an Offensive Boost?

CRANBERRY — Mike Sullivan’s assessment Saturday of how newly acquired winger Emil Bemstrom could be able to help the Pittsburgh Penguins’ offense might sound familiar. It certainly should. It was, after all, a lot like what Sullivan said a week earlier about Phillips, who had just been claimed off waivers from Washington then. When asked […]

Penguins Report Card: Malkin Rises, but Pens’ Ship is Sinking Fast

A power play terrified to shoot and gives up a breakaway goal at its conclusion. A team that can’t muster the fear or urgency to win games on home ice with their season on the line. Last season, it took until Game 81 for the Pittsburgh Penguins to be eliminated from playoff contention. The impatient […]

Penguins Room: Eller’s Long Silence, Nedeljkovic ‘I (Soiled) the Bed’

It was a stinging loss that will hasten decisions and the finality of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins earned a point in a 5-4 overtime loss to their rival New York Islanders but lost even more ground in the playoff race. They have less than 30 games to go, only a couple of weeks before […]

Jake Guentzel Still Around, Participates in Penguins Skate

The NHL trade deadline hasn’t changed, and the reports about possible trades involving Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel haven’t died down, but that didn’t stop Guentzel from participating in the team’s  morning skate Thursday at PPG Paints Arena. Guentzel, who is on LTIR because of an upper-body injury and not eligible to be activated until […]

Karlsson’s OT Goal Gives Penguins 4-3 Win Over Canucks

The Pittsburgh Penguins did not play a perfect game in Vancouver Tuesday night. They made some mental mistakes. Some physical ones, too. Heck, they gave up a shorthanded goal for the third time in the past five games. But they also played with resolve and commitment and focus, and an obvious appreciation of what was […]

Fasten Your Seatbelts, Penguins Game 55 vs. Flyers: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

Pick your reason that the Pittsburgh Penguins’ game Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers is a huge one. It’s the latest in the long, snarly rivalry between the cross-state teams. It’s a Metropolitan Division showdown. It’s on national TV. Oh, and it’s the latest must-win for the Penguins as they face an uphill challenge to try […]

Dan’s Daily: National Media Debates Penguins Sell-Off; What Pens Need Now

The Pittsburgh Penguins had the world in the palm of their hand. A four-game road trip became a three-game nightmare. It started well with an eye-opening win over the Vancouver Canucks, followed by three “cover your eyes” losses. Now, the Penguins are out of time, and the NHL trade deadline looms. Dave Molinari put forth […]