Recent Posts

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 […]

How Penguins Survive without Guentzel; Kids ‘Drag (Malkin) Into Fight’ (+)

SEATTLE — The Pittsburgh Penguins are 4-1-1 since Jake Guentzel was placed on long-term injured reserve. Guentzel has another 10 days of his mandated 24-day LTIR absence and now has company because Bryan Rust is also out week-to-week, also with that most mysterious of hockey terms, an upper-body injury. Because of injuries somewhere between the […]

Penguins Struggles, It’s Time to Take Away Jobs

A season in the balance. A hated and hateful rival ahead in the standings coming for an afternoon war in which a loss would kick loose the last bit of belief that the Pittsburgh Penguins could make the playoffs. Karlsson said it’s felt like the Penguins have been in “now or never” mode for six […]

Penguins Players Feel the Heat; Sullivan Unhappy and Blunt

CRANBERRY — The mulligans are spent. All of the leeway used up. And in a recent analogy used often around the Pittsburgh Penguins room, the runway is getting short. In fact, the Penguins are out of runway. With 30 games to go and the playoff chase slipping away at an alarming speed, it’s time for […]

Jaromir Jagr Joins Penguins Practice … in Full Gear!

CRANBERRY — The security line to enter the Pittsburgh Penguins practice was to the front door and growing. On Jaromir Jagr weekend, the great 68 himself made an unscheduled visit to the Penguins practice facility and word spread. And spread. But that was only a prelude to what will probably be the most fun story […]

Guentzel Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury

Jake Guentzel left the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-2 loss to Florida Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena during the third period with an unspecified upper-body injury. His last shift of the game ended at 8:02 of the third period. Coach Mike Sullivan said after the game that his injury was being evaluated, but offered no other […]

Penguins Wrap: Lose Key Game, Top Winger & Maybe Some Hope

The Pittsburgh Penguins were surging toward serious contention for a playoff berth as the final days of February ticked off. Things changed, at least temporarily, when the calendar did. Early in the morning of March 1 — in the East, anyway — their three-game winning streak was snapped by a 2-0 defeat in Seattle, as […]

Do Lots of No-Trade Clauses = Few Trades Coming for Penguins?

CRANBERRY — Kyle Dubas remained noncommittal Wednesday about whether the Pittsburgh Penguins will be buyers or sellers — or neither — between now and the March 8 NHL trade deadline. That decision, he suggested, will be determined by how the Penguins perform — and where they stand in the Eastern Conference playoff race — as […]

Penguins Grades: Young Legs & Goaltending Shine, Pens Capable of ‘Better’

The Pittsburgh Penguins scored a power-play goal as the front end of two goals in 21 seconds. The outburst erased an otherwise ordinary, bordering on lackluster Penguins performance as they beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins also got some playoff help as the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey […]

Penguins Claim Matthew Phillips off Waivers from Capitals

The Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed forward Phillips off waivers from Washington. He is undersized — 5-foot-8, 160 pounds — but fast and fearless, and can play center or wing. Phillips, 25, has one goal and four assists in 27 games with the Capitals this season. His contract, which expires after this season, carries a salary-cap […]

Penguins Need Malkin to Change; Is He Thinking About the End?

“Please, no,” was Evgeni Malkin’s playful response when someone asked if he could play until he’s 50 years old. The Pittsburgh Penguins honored Jaromir Jagr for several days last week leading to Sunday’s jersey retirement, and if there was a player who most resembled Jagr’s ferocity and strength with the puck, it was Malkin. Malkin’s […]

WPXI Final Word: What Can Penguins Do Before Deadline?

The question was simple. What can the Pittsburgh Penguins do before the NHL trade deadline? The answer from our Dan Kingerski on WPXI’s Final Word was simple, too. We won’t give away all of the fun, but the Final Word panel, also including Adam Crowley and Paul Zeise of 93-7 the Fan, took reasonable and […]

Molinari: Penguins’ Return for Guentzel is Awful … Unless it Isn’t (+)

The trade that sent Jake Guentzel to Carolina Thursday night just might be the worst in Pittsburgh Penguins history. OK, there’s actually no chance that it will outdo, say, sending Markus Naslund to Vancouver for Stojanov, but you get the idea. The Penguins parted with a proven 40-goal scorer in exchange for a package that […]

Penguins Room: Crosby Pushes Back, but the Coach at a Loss

The captain and the head coach spoke Wednesday after yet another soulless loss. The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost three in a row and have varied from dispirited to lethargic with periods of manic comeback attempts that were not enough. The Florida Panthers were the latest to turn the knife, handily beating the 5-2 at PPG […]

Penguins Game 51 vs. Blackhawks: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

Whew boy. The Pittsburgh Penguins have dug a deep hole as they head into a road game Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Penguins (23-20-7) have a quick turnaround following a 5-2 loss Wednesday at home against the Florida Panthers that had fans booing at times. It was their third straight loss. The Blackhawks (14-36-3) […]

Devils Fire Ruff; Travis Green Interim Coach

The New Jersey Devils made a major move as the NHL trade deadline approached, but the Devils didn’t add — or trade — a player. Instead, they have fired coach Lindy Ruff and replaced him, on an interim basis, with associate coach Green. The move was announced by New Jersey’s president/GM Tom Fitzgerald, who broke […]