Recent Posts

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 […]

Dan’s Daily: Guentzel Trade Watch Begins; Capitals Selling

Enjoy the excitement of the next few days because I suspect you may not like the hockey that follows. The Pittsburgh Penguins are preparing to say goodbye to winger Jake Guentzel as the NHL trade rumors are buzzing that a deal could go down today. TSN has been updating the Guentzel trade watch every four […]

Foreshadowing Trades? Penguins Move O’Connor to Center, Suffers Concussion

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan made several changes to his lines Tuesday, in what could have been foreshadowing the Penguins’ lineup following the NHL trade deadline on Friday. After three straight bruising losses on the recent four-game road trip and deflated spirits, Sullivan made a couple of surprising moves, including moving Drew O’Connor to third-line […]

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 […]

So You’re Saying There’s a Chance for Penguins …

It’s clear that the Pittsburgh Penguins are in seller mode as the NHL trade deadline closes in. And while Jake Guentzel has gotten most of the attention — understandably so, since 40-goal guys don’t go on the market very often — Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Dubas is expected to pare a number of other […]

Reilly Smith Fires Back on Rumors, ‘Totally Baseless’

CALGARY, Alberta — The rumors have grown so loud and so widely accepted as to become common knowledge, if not fact. You’ve heard the chatter that has been widespread for a couple of months: Pittsburgh Penguins winger Reilly Smith is unhappy in Pittsburgh. Perhaps the only person who hasn’t heard that talk is the player […]

Penguins Thoughts: Prepare for Karlsson; Pens’ Trade Chips

ln an increasingly rare dateline, this comes from the home rink, and the Pittsburgh Penguins battle not only against the quality teams they are battling for a playoff spot but, like an old Polaroid of happier times, to finally recapture the best version of themselves. With each passing day and each gut-punch loss, the Penguins […]

Penguins Six-Pack: Losing Mind Games; Cool Moment for Ludvig

There are times when the Pittsburgh Penguins seem fragile, like a team that fully expects something bad to happen. Perhaps because it so often does. Witness their 5-2 loss to Florida Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena, when the Penguins appeared to take a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Rickard Rakell at 2:32 […]

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 […]

How’d Jaromir Jagr End Up With Penguins? It Wasn’t Just Luck (+)

Former Penguins GM Craig Patrick tells Dave Molinari about Jaromir Jagr’s scheme to get drafted by the Penguins and taking care of him afterward This content is for PHN+ subscribers only. Join us and get access to our entire network for only $4.49 per month, or get a yearly subscription for just $39.99! us! –OR– […]

(Updated) Hellberg Called Up, Nedeljkovic to Start vs. Islanders

Magnus Hellberg was called up Sunday a few hours before the Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the LA Kings, 2-1, at PPG Paints Arena, but that’s not the end of the story. Mike Sullivan said Hellberg was recalled because one of the goalies was feeling under the weather, and the Penguins wanted to make sure they […]

Penguins Return Gruden to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Gruden’s latest stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t last very long. In fact, his travel time to get to and from the team in Seattle might have involved more time than his stay did. Gruden’s recall from the Penguins’ farm team in Wilkes-Barre was announced Thursday morning. Shortly before the Penguins’ game against the Kraken […]

Watch: Penguins Analysis, Examining Mike Sullivan by 3 Criteria

As the Pittsburgh Penguins sink further into the abyss of mediocrity and the playoff trail grows cold with mounting losses, many by their own doing, there is a growing segment of Penguins fans pointing fingers directly at coach Mike Sullivan. Sullivan is in his ninth season as the Penguins bench boss and the second longest-tenured […]

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 […]

Dan’s Daily: Zucker on Trade Block; Suggested Penguins Changes

That was definitely one of the most entertaining games of the season to watch, and all’s well that ends well, as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-6 at PPG Paints Arena. For those of you not old enough to remember the wild, unhinged salad days of the 1980s hockey, that was pretty close. […]

Penguins Pull Out of Slide With 4-1 Win Over Montreal

This was not the Pittsburgh Penguins’ best performance of the season. Not even close, really. But the Penguins weren’t looking for perfection when they faced Montreal Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. They were focused on getting points, and picked up a couple with a 4-1 victory over the Canadiens. After going 1-4-1 in their […]