Recent Posts

Dan’s Daily: Insider Trade Chatter; Penguins Get Some Help

A Pittsburgh Penguins trade went down during the first period of their 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. It won’t send shockwaves around the league, but it might help. The team got some help in their playoff race as New Jersey and the Islanders lost. The Penguins were sort of good on Thursday night, but […]

Molinari: Here’s What Matters Most in Penguins’ Deadline Trades

The Pittsburgh Penguins will play Edmonton this coming Sunday for the second time in eight days. The Oilers should expect to face an opponent that is quite different — though, almost certainly, not better — than they one they shredded, 6-1, at Rogers Place Sunday. That’s because losing their final three games on a four-game […]

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: We’re Looking for Points, Not Scapegoats

CRANBERRY — There are numerous reasons the Pittsburgh Penguins are having such a disappointing season. Their power play has produced more punch lines than goals. Some key veterans — guys like Evgeni Malkin and Karlsson, Rickard Rakell and Ryan Graves — have not performed at the level the Penguins expected. And need. Most of their […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Pointless in Seattle: No Comeback for Penguins in 2-0 Loss

The Pittsburgh Penguins had been forced to play from behind in three consecutive games before they visited Seattle Thursday night. Each time, they’d found a way to rally and grab a victory. So when the Kraken got the first goal at Climate Pledge Arena, the Penguins probably weren’t overly concerned. Especially not when they had […]

(UPDATED) Penguins Practice: Harkins Concussed; Letang ‘Nicked Up’

CRANBERRY — Blue-collar winger Jansen Harkins has been diagnosed with a concussion, the apparent result of a hit from Winnipeg center Adam Lowry during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2-1 loss to the Jets Saturday. Harkins did not participate in practice Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex and has been placed on injured reserve. Center Evgeni Malkin […]

Dan’s Daily: Trade Winners, Canucks Hold, Penguins Changes Coming

After weeks, if not months of buildup, the NHL trade deadline was a bit of a fizzle. Not quite a new Stars Wars letdown, but the day had a methodical pace, and the lack of return for Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel took the air out of everyone’s sails. Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle […]

One Honor During Jaromir Jagr’s Visit Has a Nice Ring to it

Perhaps the afterglow of Jaromir Jagr’s visit to Pittsburgh and the related celebrations and activities has diminished a little, but there is something other than the No. 68 banner in the PPG Paints Arena rafters that remains as a reminder. And, while the timing certainly worked, truth be told there is reason to believe it […]

Trade Deadline Report: Teams Have Called About Jarry, Blomqvist

On Saturday night, Hockey Night in Canada panelist Elliotte Friedman reported that other teams believed the Pittsburgh Penguins could deal a goalie before the March 8 NHL trade deadline. The natural assumption was the potentially available goalie was pending unrestricted free agent Nedeljkovic. However, on his Monday edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman expounded […]

Penguins Recall Joona Koppanen from Wilkes-Barre

The Pittsburgh Penguins made a personnel move a few hours before their game against Columbus Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena, but it wasn’t one of the franchise-altering deals people have expecting since the Penguins dropped to the fringe of the Eastern Conference playoff race. They have recalled winger Koppanen from their farm team in […]

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 […]

Now or Never, Penguins Game 54 vs. Canadiens: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch

It might be a contest of which team can muster more desperation Thursday when the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Montreal Canadiens. If the Penguins (24-21-8) are in a bad way trying to climb into a playoff spot, then the Canadiens (22-25-8) are hanging on by a fingernail at best. The Penguins are coming off a […]

Dan’s Daily: More Opinions on Dubas; How Penguins Get Younger

The Pittsburgh Penguins and president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas dominated the 24-hour news cycle. From Jake Guentzel’s future to Dubas’s admitted failure to find a shakeup trade and the Penguins’ desire to get younger, it’s all under the microscope and fueling the NHL trade talk. Elsewhere in the Daily, Auston Matthews is on a […]