Recent Posts
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 […]
Penguins’ Last Chance Saloon; 3 Quick Thoughts From Edmonton
EDMONTON, Alberta — This is it for the Pittsburgh Penguins. No matter how proclaimed the end, waving the white flag before the results were in, we’re just a few days ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. There are no more lifelines, audience polls, or phone-a-friend. It’s time for president of hockey operations/GM Dubas’s final answer. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Penguins Grades: Mistakes, Chaos, Survival and Playoff Hope
Perhaps it was the pressure or intensity of having their backs to the wall, but the Pittsburgh Penguins played the type of game they’ve needed to play all season. And they also made just as many maddening, pull-your-hair-out-by-the-roots mistakes as they’ve made all season. They scored a power-play goal, and they allowed a brutal shorthanded […]
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 […]
Noel Acciari Goes Through On-Ice Workout
CRANBERRY — Pittsburgh Penguins center Noel Acciari, who is recovering from a concussion, had an on-ice workout at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex Monday morning. He did drills for about a half-hours, then stayed on the ice for about 10 minutes while speaking with assistant coach Ty Hennes, who oversaw the session. It was not immediately […]
Penguins Place Rust on IR, Make Roster Call-Up
SEATTLE — The Pittsburgh Penguins made the unsurprising move of placing right-winger Bryan Rust on injured reserve. The team also recalled forward Jonathan Gruden from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Gurden, 23, has played five NHL games this season and eight in his career. He has yet to register his first point. In 41 AHL games this […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
How Can Penguins Get Into Playoffs? Here’s One Surefire Way
The challenge for the Pittsburgh Penguins is pretty simple: Win their final 27 games, and they’ll be in the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring. Of course, the NHL record for consecutive victories is 17, set by the 1992-93 Penguins, so it’s unlikely that they’ll finish the season with a 29-game winning streak. (They already have […]
Penguins Trade: Chad Ruhwedel to Rangers
The Pittsburgh Penguins steady-eddy, always reliable if unspectacular, right-side defenseman Chad Ruhwedel will compete for the 2024 Stanley Cup as the Penguins dealt the d-man to the New York Rangers. The trade return was a 2027 fourth-round pick. Ruhwedel, 33, has been a mainstay on the ’ NHL roster for a few years. He is […]
P.O Joseph’s Big Chance to Reclaim Season, Spur Penguins
It has been a rough sophomore season for Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph. In his second full NHL season, Joseph has been in and out of the press box, failing to claim a regular spot in the lineup. He’s had a few chances but has not yet seized the opportunity. He started the season on […]
Penguins Grades: Toxic Power Play, Inexplicable Mistakes Crushing Season
Like peanut butter and jelly, Sidney Crosby and backhand goals, and Jaromir Jagr and a mullet, the Pittsburgh Penguins and self-inflicted losses with a sabotaging power play have become synonymous. Unlike the former examples, the latter is suffocating what was supposed to be a promising season. Nevermore was a greater microcosm of the Penguins’ season […]