Penguins/NHL category, Page 195

Coming off of Easter Sunday, this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast looks at a different kind of resurrection. That of the entire sports world. When will we see it? And when we do, will we recognize it? Mark and I aren’t just talking about the mechanics of the leagues getting off...

If the coronavirus pandemic hadn’t shut down the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins probably would have played their playoff opener Wednesday night. Here’s a look at the 10 most memorable playoff openers in franchise history. 1. April 13, 2016: Penguins 5, Rangers 2 — With Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury out...

Conditioned by a fistful of championship runs over the past three decades, Penguins fans know the deal by now. Yeah, hockey season starts in October, but really, the games that matter start at the beginning of April. If it hadn’t been for the coronavirus pandemic suspending play, the Penguins would...

The NHL draft, like the rest of the sports world, remains in limbo. But the league’s official internal scouting service has released its final rankings in advance of it. And local product Austen Swankler is on the list. Swankler, a North Huntingdon native, came in at No. 200 in the...

Families who lack educational resources in their homes during this school-from-home period are the target of a donation from the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, the team announced Wednesday. The organization’s charitable arm is donating school supplies filling 500 backpacks — 200 each to State Police barracks in Allegheny and Somerset counties...

Wednesday’s “Essey Tire” hockey podcast features Penguins Radio Network host Brian Metzer, as we flashback to the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. Because, well, there are no 2020 NHL playoffs to discuss right now. Thanks for that, covid-19. So the best we can do is look to the past. And AT&T...

The Stanley Cup playoffs would have begun Wednesday, and as such potentially could have been one of the most-watched and listened-to nights of the year on AT&T SportsNet and 105.9 FM radio. In lieu of what could have been Game 1 of a Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers first-round series, the stations...

Community service has been important to Anthony Angello for as long as he can remember and something his mother always preached. Whether it was volunteering at a nursing home, meeting with hospital patients or something as simple as reading a book to children, he has cherished those experiences and is...

I originally thought greed would drive big-time sports leagues to return soon. Perhaps sooner than they should. Now it seems covid-19 is stronger than greed. Isn’t that one heck of a statement? It’s not Vietnam, as per the parallel drawn by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Schefter wants the NFL Draft postponed...

I’m no longer simply bored with the coronavirus-induced sports desert of the moment. I’m now in full-blown depression. My blues extend well beyond sports and into just about every avenue of how people have politicized and polarized the pandemic. It started with the chorus of people insisting sports “weren’t important”...

This week’s Madden Monday is… …well, what can I say? It’s pretty bleak. Mark Madden and I are both pretty bummed out over the covid-19-induced state of affairs influencing the sports world. It’s feeling more and more like every sport — including football — won’t be allowed to resume for...

Let the games begin. Or not. President Donald Trump held a conference call with the commissioners of all the major sports leagues Saturday and told them he is hoping people can start filling stadiums and arenas by August or September. That’s good news for the NFL and college football, but,...

A year without awarding the Stanley Cup? No 2020 NBA champion? Even, perhaps, no World Series or Super Bowl winner? All are seemingly in play as the nation — and world — deals with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The major sports leagues in North America have been shut down in...

In another example of goodwill by athletes from local pro sports teams during the coronavirus pandemic, Pittsburgh Penguins players Bryan Rust, Zach Aston-Reese and Marcus Pettersson purchased 500 personal pizzas for local community distribution centers. The Fox’s Pizza Den personal-sized pizzas were delivered early Friday to the locales in the...

The Penguins don’t know when their next game will be played. They are pretty sure defensemen Brian Dumoulin and John Marino will be in their lineup when it happens. That is very good news for the Penguins. They were an outstanding team with Dumoulin and Marino in the lineup this...

Mike Sullivan cracked a joke to open up his video conference call with media Tuesday. “I never thought I’d say this,” the Pittsburgh Penguins coach said, his sly smirk visible even through the choppy nature of the call, “but I’m happy to be doing this today.” A Boston-area native and...

The NHL Players’ Association asked its membership to select hockey’s creme de la creme. The 588 who responded to the poll chose Edmonton’s Connor McDavid as the NHL’s best forward. They also picked the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby as the league’s most complete player and the player you’d most want on...

Would Mike Vellucci have liked his team to have a better record? Sure. However, that’s not the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach’s biggest takeaway from a season in limbo. Vellucci touched on a couple of topics during a video call with reporters Tuesday, namely how he and his team are trying to...

During the coronavirus-induced sports blackout, everybody and their brother is re-airing classic old games. The NFL, MLB and NHL networks are doing it. Local radio stations are, too. As is AT&T SportsNet. So for this week’s hockey podcast, Penguins Radio Network host Brian Metzer and I put a twist on...