Penguins/NHL category, Page 144

Thursday’s “First Call” shows little faith in the Pittsburgh Steelers to start 2021 on the right foot. A former Pitt Panther basketball player is getting his coaching start in the Bronx. Meanwhile, a former Penguin is hoping to continue his coaching career in Manhattan. And the Pirates need to get...

Mike Matheson looks different. After all, the Penguins defenseman has a black left eye. That came from a teammate. During a 3-0 road win against the Washington Capitals, Matheson took a puck in the face on an errant clearing attempt by goaltender Tristan Jarry. As a result, Matheson missed the...

Practice was over. And Alex D’Orio was doing his “job.” As a mid-level prospect, D’Orio, an undrafted goaltender, was doing what most rookies are “supposed” to do, clearing the ice of pucks and the nets Wednesday in Cranberry after the Penguins had concluded nearly two hours of practicing and scrimmaging....

Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith rejoined his team for practice Wednesday in Cranberry. He had been sidelined since May 3 after he suffered an undisclosed injury during a 7-2 road loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. While DeSmith and forward Evgeni Malkin did participate in practice, neither player took part in a...

The New York Islanders are the preferred first-round matchup for the Penguins. You asked for it, you got it. The players and staff likely feel the same, albeit quietly. That’s sometimes when the trouble starts. But that shouldn’t be the case on this occasion, the Islanders’ series sweep of the...

I don’t think what New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said about the Pittsburgh Penguins exactly qualifies as “trash talk.” Hardly “straight fire” as you kids say on the Twitters and the TikToks. But it’s worth noting. During his postgame comments following New York’s overtime loss in Boston on...

It has been 43 days since the Pittsburgh Penguins faced the New York Islanders and 102 days since the teams completed a stretch of six meetings over a span of about three weeks. Then again, it has been 756 days since the longtime division rivals met in the postseason. For...

It has been more than 14 years since the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t sell every ticket available for a game. To keep their sellout streak of more than 600 games alive, they will have a few extra tickets to sell beginning next week. Gov. Tom Wolf announced the state is easing...

The Pittsburgh Penguins needed 35 players to make it through their 56-game regular season. At one point, they were down to their 12th defenseman. Other times, four of their top nine forwards were out. But with the postseason about to begin, indications are the Penguins could have the luxury of...

In Tuesday’s “First Call,” JuJu Smith-Schuster is asked about Alejandro Villanueva’s TikTok remarks. The Penguins get to celebrate two milestone anniversaries. And the strangest triple you will ever see. Asked about Al When he signed with the Baltimore Ravens last week, former Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva seemed to take a...

The 2021 Pittsburgh Penguins have significantly exceeded expectations. A lot of people — both inside of Pittsburgh and beyond — saw this season as a potential fallback year for the Pens. In a best-case scenario, many thought they’d claw their way into the playoffs as the fourth team from a...

The Penguins will face the New York Islanders in the first round of the postseason. A schedule has yet to be announced. This matchup was set as a result of the Boston Bruins defeating the Islanders, 3-2, in overtime at TD Garden in Boston on Monday. The Penguins, who finished...

With at least a week between their regular-season finale and the first game of their postseason, the Pittsburgh Penguins will use the luxury of downtime as a tool. They will allow the likes of injured players such as goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Brandon Tanev to nurse any lingering ailments...

With the start of the postseason looming for the Pittsburgh Penguins, six regular members of the lineup have questions about their injury status. All six hit the ice Monday in Cranberry. Forwards Evgeni Malkin, Brandon Tanev and Evan Rodrigues and defenseman Mike Matheson all took part in an optional skate...

Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith was named as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by members of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) on Monday. The award recognizes “the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication...

I’m just another heart in need of rescue, waiting on love’s sweet charity … and for the NHL playoffs to start. Meantime, check out these refreshing hockey notes. Here I go again … • Many (including me) had the Pittsburgh Penguins pegged as a borderline playoff team before season’s start....

A weekly look at how Penguins prospects and minor leaguers have fared over the past seven days: • In the American Hockey League (AHL) forward Kasper Bjorkqvist rejoined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after being on loan to KooKoo of the Liiga, the top-tier league in his native Finland. Rejoining the Penguins’...

The Pittsburgh Penguins have clinched the NHL’s East Division. The regular season has been better than any Penguins fan ever had a right to expect. But what does any of it mean if the franchise fails to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs for a third straight year?...

Jim Rutherford is mindful of his pronouns. It’s not “we.” It’s “they.” The Pittsburgh Penguins would be “they.” “I’m usually very careful with my words, as you’ve known over the years,” the team’s former general manager said by phone Saturday. “I went to ‘they’ relatively quickly as I left.” Rutherford...

The Penguins’ taxi squad is no more. With NHL’s rosters expanded for the postseason, the Penguins essentially dissolved their taxi squad. Defensemen Juuso Riikola, Yannick Weber and goaltender Emil Larmi were recalled to the NHL roster while defenseman Josh Maniscalco was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL)....

Maxime Lagace hasn’t had many positive results this season. Or bad ones for that matter. Mainly, he just hasn’t played a great deal this season. And that’s by design. When the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Legace to a one-year, two-way contract in October to be their third goaltender on the organizational...