Recent Posts
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 […]
Dubas Presser: Guentzel’s Future, Shakeup Trade, and the Rebuild Plans
CRANBERRY — Pittsburgh Penguins president Kyle Dubas had the same thought as many of us. The team needed a shakeup and needed a trade. Dubas addressed that possibility as well as Jake Guentzel’s future, Mike Sullivan’s requests, and why you should not expect to see a tear it down, burn it down, rebuild. Guentzel’s future […]
Last Chance? Penguins Game 53 vs. Islanders: Lines, Notes & How to Watch
Blowing up their personnel combinations could be the next step in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ seemingly endless quest to right the ship and make a desperate push to get into a playoff spot. The changes could be in play Tuesday when the New York Islanders visit for a Metropolitan Division clash. The Penguins (24-21-7) sit three […]
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 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 […]
Could Guentzel’s No-Trade Clause Be Holding Up a Deal?
The NHL trade deadline, set for 3 p.m. Friday, is coming up on the horizon, and Jake Guentzel still is on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ payroll. Now, it’s possible — though rather unlikely — that the Penguins have reversed field and decided to try to re-sign Guentzel, who will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this […]
Former Penguins Winger Alex Nylander Nets Hat Trick; On Fire in Columbus
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Emil Bemstrom last week from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a conditional sixth-round pick and faded prospect Alex Nylander. Ironically, the conditional sixth-rounder becomes a third-rounder if Bemstrom scores six goals. There is no condition regarding Nylander’s performance, but Columbus should be pleased so far. Monday night, Nylander netted his first […]
Jake Guentzel Travels West With Penguins, Skates
Injured top-line left winger Jake Guentzel traveled with the Pittsburgh Penguins on their western trip and skated separately from the club Monday in Vancouver. “It’s great. It’s a big step when (injured players) get on the ice,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “It just means they’re that much closer, so it’s great to see him […]
Penguins Trade: Get Bemstrom from Columbus, Nylander Goes to CBJ
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired winger Bemstrom from Columbus for forward Nylander and a conditional sixth-round draft choice in 2026. That draft choice will become a third-rounder if Bemstrom scores six goals for the Penguins during the balance of this season. Benstrom, 24, has five goals and six assists in 32 games with the Blue […]
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 […]
Deadline Fallout: Penguins Internal Anger; Trades Not Made
BOSTON — The NHL trade deadline provided one of the more surprising twists after Pittsburgh Penguins president Kyle Dubas traded away Jake Guentzel later Thursday evening to the Carolina Hurricanes for three lower-ranked prospects and Michael Bunting. While Dubas made a strong case for the trio of prospects at his press conference Friday after the […]
Bunting Never Saw Trade to Penguins Coming, But Seems Glad it Did
CRANBERRY — No one, especially Jake Guentzel, should have been surprised when the Pittsburgh Penguins moved him as the NHL trade deadline approached. When Guentzel didn’t re-sign with the Penguins and seemed to be intent on testing the free-agent market this summer, they had little reason to keep him once their playoff hopes became a […]
Penguins Wrap: Malkin’s Big Admission; Honoring Jagr’s Greatness
The Pittsburgh Penguins are celebrating their past this weekend, honoring Jaromir Jagr for his many achievements during 11 seasons with the franchise. Good idea, because there’s not much to celebrate about their present. They snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory in Chicago Thursday, but remain well behind the Eastern Conference playoff field […]
PHN Postgame Q&A: So Many Mistakes; Move Malkin to Wing?
Try as they might Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins could not overcome themselves or the New York Islanders, losing in overtime 5-4 at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins’ second and third lines with Malkin and Lars Eller, respectively, were especially good. However, the mistakes on defense were too much. The power play was 0-for-3 and yielded […]
Penguins Room: Players in Awe, Jagr ‘Inspiration’ Changes Dynamic (+)
The Pittsburgh Penguins practiced Saturday. They’ve lost three of four games and slipped perilously behind others in the playoff chase. Still, none of that was the news that gripped a couple of thousand fans who packed into the UPMC Lemieux Complex to watch practice or the fans in absentia who were glued to social media. […]
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 […]