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[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: New Jersey Devils @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3/15/2025

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

The Pens take on a Devils team making a playoff push despite missing Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton.

Who: New Jersey Devils (36-25-6, 78 points, 3rd place Metropolitan Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (27-31-10, 64 points, 8th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 3:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: National broadcast on ABC, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The homestand continues on Tuesday against the New York Islanders, then wraps up with a Friday game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Up next the Pens are headed to Florida and upstate New York in one of the final road trips of the season.

Opponent Track: The Devils are riding a three-game winning streak into tonight’s game, most recently scoring two late goals to fend off Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday at home.

Season Series: The Devils took the first two games of this series, with a 3-0 shutout in Pittsburgh on Dec. 21 followed by a 3-2 shootout win in New Jersey on Feb. 4. These teams meet one more time on Feb. 11 in the Pens’ last road game of the season.

Hidden Stat: Only Darcy Kuemper, Jake Allen and Filip Gustavsson have recorded a higher save percentage than Tristan Jarry’s 1.99 GAA mark since March 9, per Pens PR.

Getting to know the Devils​

Projected lines (from yesterday’s practice)

FORWARDS

Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Stefan Noesen

Ondrej Palat - Dawson Mercer - Tomas Tatar

Daniel Sprong - Cody Glass - Jesper Bratt

Paul Cotter - Curtis Lazar - Nathan Bastian

DEFENSEMEN

Luke Hughes / Brett Pesce

Brian Dumoulin / Johnathan Kovacevic

Brenden Dillon / Simon Nemec

Goalies: Jacob Markstrom, Jake Allen

Scratches: Erik Haula, Justin Dowling, Kurtis MacDermid, Dennis Cholowski

IR: Jack Hughes, Jonas Siegenthaler, Dougie Hamilton

• Jack Hughes underwent shoulder surgery on March 5 and won’t be available until the start of next season. Dougie Hamilton will miss at least the rest of the regular season with a knee injury.
• Despite those key absences, the Devils are four points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the No. 2 spot in the Metro— and New Jersey has two games in hand.
• Jake Allen spoke on Thursday with team reporter Amanda Stein on how the Devils are covering for Hughes and Hamilton’s absences:

“Guys are stepping up. It’s not always going to be pretty, and I think we have to understand that. The offense that Jack and Dougie bring have to come in a variety of different ways, not just Jack can dance and do things on his own, Dougie’s got his experience in the way he can play and shoot the puck, but we’ve got to step up and find ways to win, to get offense and I think the guys are just finding that grinding, playing solid, nothing pretty.”

• The Devils have been shifting around lines during the ongoing three-game win streak in order to test out new combinations without Hughes and Hamilton in the lineup. One of those changes saw defenseman Simon Nemec, previously a healthy scratch, slot into Thursday’s lineup and score a key goal against the Oilers.
• It looks like Erik Haula is on track to be a healthy scratch tonight. He missed a month earlier this winter with an ankle injury and has been limited to three points (1-2—3) in 13 games since his return.

Player stats​

(via hockeydb)

• Devils veteran winger Timo Meier is seeing more ice time, especially on the power play, since the Hughes injury.
• In addition to reuniting with familiar faces like Brian Dumoulin and Daniel Sprong, the Pens are seeing Cody Glass for the first time since his trade. So far Glass has been an effective addition in New Jersey, with three points (1-2—3) in three games as a Devil.

Since Cody Glass was acquired the Devils have scored 11 goals. Glass has been on the ice for 6 of them #NJDevils

— nick cahill (@devilstatguy) March 14, 2025​

• Fun fact: Sprong and Glass sit next to one another in the Devils’ locker room, per The Hockey News’ Kristy Flannery.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Philip Tomasino

Connor Dewar - Kevin Hayes - Emil Bemstrom

Boko Imama - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Vladislav Kolyachonok / Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves / Connor Timmins

Goalies: Alex Nedeljkovic, Tristan Jarry

Potential Scratches: Ryan Shea (week-to-week injury), Tommy Novak (day-to-day injury)

Injured Reserve: P.O. Joseph (upper-body injury)

• Optional practice for the Pens on Friday. Emil Bemstrom, Kevin Hayes, Danton Heinen, Boko Imama, Matt Nieto, Sebastian Aho, Ryan Graves, Vladislav Kolyachonok and the goalies were the only participants. Tristan Jarry left the ice after 20 minutes, per the Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh.

With the recent heavy workload, Sullivan said they felt the guys who went on the ice needed the touches/repetitions. They felt the ones who didn't skate could use the rest so that they have necessary energy when the Penguins host New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) March 14, 2025​

• Status quo on the Pens’ injured players, per Mike Sullivan. P.O. Joseph and Ryan Shea are week-to-week. Novak remains day-to-day.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/15...w-jersey-devils-pittsburgh-penguins-3-15-2025

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Sidney Crosby hits more milestones in win over Devils

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

Checking out Crosby’s latest accomplishments

Sidney Crosby recorded an assist on Rickard Rakell’s second period goal yesterday against the New Jersey Devils. It was Crosby’s 1,669th career point, which ties Wayne Gretzky for the fourth most points scored by one player for a single franchise.

The assist was also Crosby’s 50th of the season, marking the 12th season in his career that he’s hit that plateau.

Sidney Crosby (615-1,054—1,669) tied Wayne Gretzky (1,669 w/ EDM) for the fourth-most points with a single franchise in NHL history, behind Gordie Howe (1,809 w/ DET), Steve Yzerman (1,755 w/ DET) and Mario Lemieux (1,723 w/ PIT). #NHLStats: https://t.co/BIRONDfl2r

Watch the… pic.twitter.com/LPhflzRoSA

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) March 15, 2025​

At 73 points, Crosby is seven points away from his 14th career 80 point season. Getting to 80 points will also ensure that Crosby reaches a point per game in all of his 20 NHL seasons, which would break Gretzky’s record in that category. The Penguins have 13 more games to go this season.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/15/24386715/sidney-crosby-hits-more-milestones-in-win-over-devils

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Devils Recap: Pittsburgh makes it four in a row with 7-3 beating of New Jersey

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

The Penguins break a six-game home losing streak to New Jersey with a big win on Saturday afternoon

Pregame​

No changes for the Penguins who decide to stick with what’s been working to lead to entering this game on a three-game winning streak.

Here's a look at the lines today against the Devils. pic.twitter.com/s3ZBpYYaOm

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025​

The Devils are also on a three-game winning streak and have three former Penguins newly acquired to their lineup (Cody Glass, Daniel Sprong and Brian Dumoulin).

The afternoon lines. pic.twitter.com/WLSN6QchNA

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 15, 2025​

First period​

Pittsburgh starts out well with a flurry of shots early, but it’s New Jersey who scores first. Ryan Graves inexplicably coughs up the puck (well, I guess the explanation is he isn’t very good) and Glass is the beneficiary to see the puck come right to him and he quickly sweeps it on net. 1-0 NJD.

NHL scriptwriters really nailed this one. pic.twitter.com/PmpIxf6AsS

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 15, 2025​

The Penguins come back with two goals scored 25 seconds apart near the end of the period to put their stamp on the game. Watch the keep in the zone by Conor Timmins, it gets lost for what comes next but was a wonderful job by him at the blueline. That works gets the puck down to Noel Acciari who throws it at the net. Connor Dewar is there to send the rebound past Jacob Markstrom.

DEWEY pic.twitter.com/PxLH5reo9z

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025​

The quick strike after the goal comes on a broken play. NJ’s Dawson Mercer can’t keep a hold of the puck and the Pens jump out on a 2-on-1. Phil Tomasino’s pass is not on target, it’s behind Danton Heinen and catches his skate. But it ends up working perfectly when Markstrom over-slides due to the bad pass and Heinen recovers enough to bump it into the empty net. 2-1 game.

Danton Heinen settles down Tomasino's pass and tallies to put the Penguins up 2-1!#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/DqLiu3gbqw

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 15, 2025​

Shots are 7-6 PIT, a little bit of the luck o’ the Irish there with some of those bounces early on.

Second period​

Early in the period, Vlad Kolyachonok gets the gate for tripping. Tristan Jarry goes crazy to make a ton of rapid fire saves to keep the Pens ahead. Pittsburgh uses a Malkin-Crosby-Rakell line after the penalty is killed and it works. Crosby feeds Rakell for a quick shot that sneaks in by Markstrom. What could have been a 2-2 game a little earlier if not for timely Jarry saves has gone the other way to become a 3-1 Penguin lead.

The dynamic duo is at it again! https://t.co/zw6u6dlMMk pic.twitter.com/uabsQ0ITew

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025​

Rakell catches a stick to the nose that draws blood and Pittsburgh is off to a four-minute power play. It isn’t that impressive but disaster is adverted when Evgeni Malkin clears a puck away from the blueline that the refs don’t whistle dead. NJ scores but it’s a quick and easy challenge that corrects the call.

Surviving their own power play, the Penguins take that 3-1 lead into the break for the final intermission.

Third period​

The Devils put a bit of a push on early but Jarry makes a save. The puck goes the other way and Jonathan Kovacevic coughs the puck up to Phil Tomasino. He rips a quick shot that beats Markstrom and the Penguins are up 4-1 with 17:38 to play.

Phil-ing good pic.twitter.com/hTX9VwcHgH

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025​

Acciari gets his stick up and clocks Dumoulin the face to draw a four-minute power play for NJ. Pittsburgh kills off the first half of it but Timo Meier strikes to bring the score to 4-2 with 14:20 to play.

Meier Madness rages on. #NJDevils | @Mikes_Amazing pic.twitter.com/zIpfKSAOyt

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 15, 2025​

Seconds after the next faceoff, Malkin high-sticks Brett Pesce and it’s four more penalty minutes. Luke Hughes shoots and Jesper Bratt gets a tip on it on the first part of it give NJ two more power play minutes. 4-3 game.

Tip drill!#NJDevils | @Mikes_Amazing pic.twitter.com/zpvvac8c8h

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 15, 2025​

Pesce is all around the penalties today, he cross-checks Kevin Hayes and Pittsburgh gets a chance for the power play. At first, it’s not pretty at all - the Devils’ pressure puts the Pens on their heels for a while. But the Penguins recover to score, Danton Heinen makes a key play to pick off a weak clearing attempt, a few passes later and Erik Karlsson measures up a shot to the top corner. 5-3 with under six minutes to go.

Erik Karlsson snipes it top shelf to give the Penguins some insurance pic.twitter.com/rDMnNEFOZk

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 15, 2025​

NJ pulls Markstrom with about 2:40 to go. Pittsburgh has to ice the puck with 1:15 to play and the Devils utilize their timeout to give their top players a breather. Dewar tacks on his second goal of the game into the open net to make it 6-3.

Hayes slips another goal in to make it 7-3. Not the best day for Jacob Markstrom.

Some thoughts​

• Early in the Pittsburgh winning streak there were some smoke and mirrors with the Pens getting heavily out-shot and relying on great goalie play to pull out unlikely wins. They’re still getting the great goalie play from Jarry but this game was a lot more even in terms of the way both teams played.
• Based on the disparity of scoring chances earlier, it seemed like the Pens were on a classic “dead cat bounce” type of last gasp to string together a few results. But now? Maybe not. They still only have 66 points in 69 games and are way too far out to do anything but it’s become a scrappy team to watch that is trying hard and executing well.
• Dewar’s been a big part of that, he had 0 goals in 31 games with Toronto this season and he already had three tallies in just four games in Pittsburgh. Turning 26 this summer and lacking a contract and now going on his third NHL organization the clock is starting to tick loudly on his future. He really needs a strong finish to the season to set himself up for a future. So far, so good on that front. Dewar doesn’t have the skill to produce a ton in this league but he needs to be visible with his energy and efforts adding up to something out there. That’s been happening to an admirable degree thus far.
• Old friend Cody Glass scored today, but that’s nothing new for him with the Devils. He’s up to four points (2G+2A) in four games with NJ. He wasn’t bad in Pittsburgh but didn’t quite pop either as an impactful player, the change of scenery has gone well for him as far as first impressions go.
• Poor Rickard Rakell was just having the mark under his eye that required stitches fade away when he got the bridge of his nose opened up by a high stick today. He’ll be looking like a hockey player for a while longer yet. That’s been the price for getting up to 31 goals on the season now - his career-high was 34 back in 2017-18.
• New Jersey becomes the seventh different team for Sprong, still just 27. Lots of talent, not as much for character and attitude.
• A goal and an assist today for Tomasino leads to a tidy 10 goals and 10 assists on the season. He’s scored all 10 goals (and 9/10 of the assists) with the Pens in 40 games. With a strong finish that’s turning into a nice little season for himself.
• Not the prettiest of hockey today, puck was going all over the place and neither team was taking good care of it with their decisions. The Pens looked like they were cruising to a relatively easy win after Tomasino put them up 4-1 but then immediately handed over four power play chances to the Devs. Two quick PPG later and any hopes for that easy win went out the window.

The winning streak is up to four games and the Pens now enjoy a couple of days off before their next game against the Islanders on Tuesday night.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/15...-four-in-a-row-with-7-3-beating-of-new-jersey

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Gamethread: Devils @ Penguins

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Pens and Devils meet on the ice

Talk about the game with Pens fans here!

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/15/24382088/gamethread-devils-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Conor Timmins is an intriguing addition

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

He has also played extremely well so far for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Like most general managers and executives across professional sports, Kyle Dubas has shown a tendency to acquire players that he is comfortable with, likes and ultimately trusts from his previous organizations.

When he was in Toronto, there was a very obvious pipeline between the Soo Greyhounds and the Maple Leafs.

Now that he is running the Pittsburgh Penguins, that same pipeline exists from Toronto.

In less than two years running the Penguins he has already acquired several players from his time in Toronto, including minor league defenseman Filip Kral, NHL forwards Michael Bunting and Noel Acciari, and most recently defenseman Conor Timmins (forward Connor Dewar was also in that trade, but Dubas and Dewar did not overlap together in Toronto — Timmins, meanwhile has both the Soo Greyhound AND Maple Leafs connection, which is like .... a double-win for Dubas).

The results so far have been mixed, but trending toward positive.

Bunting gave the Penguins a year of solid play and was flipped for forward Tommy Novak and two future draft picks (through Luke Schenn).

Acciari, even if unspectacular, has logged depth minutes and killed penalties, while Kral has posted solid numbers in the AHL.

Timmins has only played a handful of games with the Penguins, but the early returns have been difficult to miss.

He’s been kind of good.

Really good, actually.

I am not even just talking about the production that has seen him tally three points in his first four games.

I type this while simultaneously smashing the “SMALL SAMPLE SIZE ALERT” button, but in his first four games the Penguins have outscored teams by a 6-0 margin with him on the ice, and also own a 65 percent expected goals share which is by a wide margin the highest mark on the Penguins over that stretch of games. The Penguins, as a team, have only managed a 40 percent expected goal share during that time.

While I do not expect him to keep playing at this level and producing numbers quite at that level, I am very much intrigued by him as a player and adding him into the organization because there is a lot to like about him.

Aside from having the size and strength that coaches love on their defense, he’s also shown flashes of being a productive player in his limited NHL career both offensively and defensively.

Let’s consider some numbers, all via Natural Stat Trick:

• Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Timmins 1.09 points per 60 minutes ranks 33rd out of 243 NHL defensemen that have logged at least 1,000 minutes of 5-on-5 ice-time. He is sandwiched immediately between big-money defensemen Damon Severson (32nd) and Brandon Montour (34th), and ahead of players like Noah Hanifin, John Carlson, Mackenzie Weegar, Morgan Rielly, Marcus Pettersson, Hampus Lindholm and Jaccob Slavin. That is not to say he is better than any of those players, but it does at least illustrate that he is capable of producing at a very respectable NHL level.
• His 55 percent expected goals share over that same time period is even more impressive, placing him 17th among that same group of 243 defensemen. He is 26th in scoring chance share (54 percent) while his 56 percent high-danger scoring chance share is 14th out of that group. In other words, when he is on the ice, his team is significantly out-chancing its opponents, and that has remained consistent whether it was with Arizona, Toronto or in his brief sampling here in Pittsburgh. It has also remained consistent no matter who his defensive partner has been, or what his offensive zone start numbers look like. Objectively speaking, the play moves in the right direction with him on the ice.
• From a defensive impact, he ranks 23rd in expected goals against per 60 minutes (2.30), 44th in scoring chances against per 60 minutes (25.1), 73rd in high-danger scoring chances against per 60 minutes (10.59) and 35th in actual goals against per 60 minutes (2.11).

Even considering the small sample size (he is 207th out of those 243 defenders in terms of total minutes played) those are still impressive numbers.

Again, he has made the most of his opportunities and been a positive contributor. That is all you can ask for, and he has certainly earned a more meaningful look with a bigger role. The Penguins are in a good position to give him that look and see what he can do with it.

I am not going to sit here and pretend the Penguins stumbled upon a future Norris Trophy winner or emerging top-pairing defender, but it is still an intriguing addition. Perhaps the most likely — and most reasonable — expectation is that they got a solid No. 4, 5 or 6 defender with team control beyond this season that can play at a cheap price under the salary cap.

There is value in that. Especially when the cost of every player in the league is going to skyrocket on the open market in future offseasons due to the rising salary cap.

It is at least worth a look to acquire a player like Timmins when the opportunity presents itself, especially when you are in the Penguins current position and looking to rebuild or re-tool your organization. You need depth. You need good players.

It also only cost them a fifth-round draft pick to take the chance. Part of the reason you stockpile 30 draft picks over a three-year window is not just so you can take more swings at hitting a home run in the draft, but so that you can also flip the occasional pick to take a flier on a younger player like Philip Tomasino or Conor Timmins to see if you can catch lightning in a bottle and get somebody that can help you.

Seeing what he does with his minutes the rest of the season will be one of the things to watch for over the next month. The early returns are promising.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/17/24387822/conor-timmins-is-an-intriguing-addition

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Ups and Downs: Stock report for players on the bubble

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

Which roster players are rising and which are falling for the Penguins

The Penguins are currently enjoying a hot stretch where they are shooting 20% and their goalie is playing very well. Unfortunately, it’s come far too late in the season to change the team’s overall fortunes, but this last month of the 2024-25 campaign will have major ramifications for individuals on the bubble. While the team isn’t playing for much besides pride and trying to put a brave face on finishing up another year, there are plenty of jobs to be won (and lost) in the next few weeks for next year.

Today we take a look at some of these players that are on the level of being in make/break situations. So the focus isn’t on those under contract and in secure places on the team. The Pens might decide to trade someone like Rickard Rakell or Erik Karlsson over the summer but that would be for different reasons that the focus we’re approaching from today for players who are depending on this season to continue their careers with the Penguins moving ahead.

Trending Up​

Ryan Shea — Shea’s arguably trended off this list, due to the contract extension he signed for 2025-26. He’s a player that Pittsburgh likes a lot and seems likely to have won a spot at the bottom of the roster next season. A large part of that was due to his strong play in the past few weeks.

Vladislav Kolyachonok — When Shea got hurt, Kolyachonok stepped into his spot skating big minutes with Kris Letang by default as the best last option. He’s done really well, at just 23 years old and with some nice skating ability and some decent size (6’2”, 195), it’s been a pretty decent start for him. There’s a long way to go but seeing a dozen more games will give Pittsburgh an almost 20 game sample to work with on the year.

Connor Dewar — Dewar’s got to be the poster boy of the Pens’ late-season four-game winning streak. Dewar scored exactly one goal in 54 games with Toronto (regular season and playoff) over the last 12 months and had zero goals this season — so of course he’s been able to produce three goals in his first four games with Pittsburgh. It’s been a fun ride for him and the team in the last week or so. His offense is a bubble that will burst but his style of play is helpful. He’s 25, he’s fast and he can help the bottom-six. Dewar’s game is “no bullshit” as Kris Letang so eloquently put it, and Dewar is playing himself into a contract for next season more and more with every day that passes.

Conor Timmins - Kyle Dubas got Timmins in the OHL, he got him for Toronto and now Dubas has him for Pittsburgh. Timmins is a right shot defender with size, always a valuable commodity. He’s got three points (1G+2A) in four games, while only averaging 14:20 ice time. Almost any decent defender with a pulse can flourish on Mike Sullivan’s highly protected third pair, could Timmins be a Justin Schultz situation where the Pens build up a guy who has the tools into something more than he’s been? Could be, if health permits.

Philip Tomasino — Three of Tomasino’s top-5 games for ice time have come in the month of March, including 17:57 against St. Louis. Tomasino has 10 goals on the season, which only five other current Pittsburgh forwards can say. The arrow is pointing up for his usage, the rest of this season could be an audition to see how viable he could be as a regular linemate for Evgeni Malkin on the second line.

Stock down​

There’s not too many players down right now, considering the Pens are on a big winning streak. There’s also the matter that several players like Matt Nieto, Jesse Puljujarvi and Joel Blomqvist have already had their bubble’s burst and been recently removed from the roster (or the organization completely in Puljujarvi’s case) to bring some closure to their situations.

P.O. Joseph — Injured now, Joseph was playing with Letang because the Pens didn’t think they had any better options. Turns out that between Shea AND Kolyachonok they had two way better options all along. Out of a contract this summer, there’s not much reason to keep Joseph in the fold when others have stepped up and Owen Pickering is waiting in the wings. Joseph did his job to help patch a hole this season but his time in Pittsburgh probably is about to run its course for good.

Boko Imama — In some senses, simply staying on the NHL lineup and making occasional appearances is a big win for Imama. But after his big hit on Garnet Hathaway on Feb. 27th drew a penalty that nearly cost Pittsburgh the game, Imama was a healthy scratch until trades/injuries opened the door to get back into the game day lineup. Even then, he only gets a few shifts per game and fewer NHL players out there in this day and age are going to actually drop the gloves and fight him. He throws a lot of hits, works hard and tries his best to maximize his minutes but as far as long-term goes, there’s not much there. Imama was meant for a bygone era.

Emil Bemstrom — Bemstrom recorded his first NHL point of the season (an assist) in the last minute of the blowout 7-3 win over New Jersey on Saturday, but he’s hardly been visible in 10 NHL contests, playing only an average of 8:54 per game. He probably could/should be passed over by Vasily Ponomarev and it might take two weeks to notice that Bemstrom isn’t in the lineup, if one ever noticed he has been in it lately to begin with. Not a good sign and another guy likely to wash out of the organization at season’s end with the conclusion of his contract.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/17/24387761/ups-and-downs-stock-report-for-players-on-the-bubble

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins going to Sweden for two games next season

Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP via Getty Images

The Penguins are going international next year

It’s been a while since the Pittsburgh Penguins have played in Europe but that is about to change. The NHL announced the Pens will play a pair of games against the Nashville Predators in Stockholm next season as part of the 2025 Global Series.

Penguins returning to Stockholm to face Predators in 2025 Global Serieshttps://t.co/Zu0b4eeH3k

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) March 18, 2025​

From the league:

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins return to Stockholm to face the Nashville Predators in the 2025 NHL Global Series Sweden presented by Fastenal.

The games will take place at Avicii Arena on Nov. 14 and Nov. 16.

Crosby, in his 20th NHL season, has played overseas once in his illustrious career, with the Penguins against the Ottawa Senators as part of the 2008 NHL Premiere Series in Stockholm. He had two assists in two games, a 4-3 overtime win and a 3-1 loss.

Pittsburgh has three Sweden-born players on its roster: defenseman Erik Karlsson and forwards Rickard Rakell and Emil Bemstrom. Karlsson and Rakell represented Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off last month.

“I think it becomes a big thing for us,” said Rakell, a native of Sundbyberg, Sweden. “I think [it’s special] just to have a chance to play in your home country or play in front of, like, your youth team or old coaches that you had growing up. For you to have a chance to have family or friends come and see you and your teammates play, I think it’s a pretty special thing.”

The Pens played in Sweden in October 2008 at the start of the 2008-09 season.

WE'RE GOING INTERNATIONAL!

The Penguins return to Sweden for two regular season games against the Predators on November 14th and 16th for the #NHLGlobalSeries! pic.twitter.com/T8GTx8JWZF

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 18, 2025​

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/18/24388600/penguins-going-to-sweden-for-two-games-next-season

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Islanders Recap: The PDO dam breaks, Pens lose

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

The Penguins go up 2-0 but the smoke and mirrors finally runs out

Pregame​

The Penguins reportedly had some players dealing with bumps and bruises, leading to an emergency recall of Joona Koppanen. It’s needed, Koppanen replaces Emil Bemstrom in the lineup, otherwise Pittsburgh is fairly similar to what’s brought them into the game on a four-game winning streak.

How we're lining up tonight vs. the Islanders pic.twitter.com/Dy6mjMt0jW

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 18, 2025​

First period​

The Islanders start the game out as the better of the two teams, but it’s the Pens who score first. Vladislav Kolyachonok has his head up all the way on a play from the left point and deftly snaps a puck to the front of the net where two Penguins are ready. Koppanen puts a tip on it for his first goal in his 10th career NHL game (five with Boston, five with Pittsburgh) and first game of the season. 1-0 Pens.

A dream come true for Joona Koppanen pic.twitter.com/bfvwX1BwtQ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 18, 2025​

NYI is good the rest of the way but Tristan Jarry is back, baby!

In the last minute of the period the Pens’ first line comes alive. Conor Timmins nearly scores but can’t beat Ilya Sorokin. The puck bounces to Sidney Crosby and with a chopping motion he hacks the loose puck through the defender and to the top corner. 2-0.

Sidney Crosby scores his 1,670th career point pic.twitter.com/ik9YxFO1AH

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 18, 2025​

Patrick Roy challenges for goalie interference. Rickard Rakell isn’t setup inside the blue paint but he does harass Sorokin by leveraging the top of the goalie’s stick down. It’s probably not a bad challenge since no one knows what the referee’s interpretation of goalie interference is, but this time it break in Pittsburgh’s favor and rightfully so. Sorokin was aggressive out challenging, Rakell wasn’t innocent but wasn’t encroaching on the goalie’s stated territory of the blue paint. Islanders are charged a minor penalty for the failed challenge.

Perfect period to encapsulate the run of hot play for the PDOenguins. Shots are 12-9 NYI, but Pittsburgh finds a way to score twice on a deflection and broken play and Jarry’s hot streak hasn’t come to an end yet. 2-0 lead for the home team.

Second period​

Pittsburgh doesn’t score on the carryover power play, a little later Bo Horvat dumps Bryan Rust and then apparently says something naughty to the refs since he gets rung up for two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Pens don’t take advantage of that power play either and they play on.

The rest of the period plays out without much going on. NYI out-shoots the Pens 12-9 but Jarry is there. 2-0 still

Third period​

The Islanders finally get on the board and just 17 seconds in. The puck takes a weird bounce high off the glass that Kris Letang can’t handle and it springs Kyle Palmieri on a breakaway. He hits the post then the backside of Jarry and the puck barely goes in. 2-1.

Kyle Palmieri starts the third period with a goal ant cuts it to 1! pic.twitter.com/mNCqbbuWOj

— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) March 19, 2025​

NYI’s push continues, Adam Pelech strikes the post but it stays out. A little later it goes in. Islanders strike on the rush, Conor Timmins gets lost in the wash and slides himself out of the play leading to NYI overloading the net and defenseman Noah Dobson cleans up a rebound in deep. 2-2 game.

DOBSON! #Isles | @ford pic.twitter.com/NH6BhCyQ5v

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 19, 2025​

The game opens up in both directions, the Pens get a few counter-punches but it’s mostly the Isles doing carrying the play.

NY pulls in ahead, Pierre Engvall out-races Ryan Graves and sweeps a shot that Jarry can’t catch up with. 3-2 game with 6:52 to play.

PIERRE ENGVALL! #Isles | @ford pic.twitter.com/lKHxmI3GwC

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 19, 2025​

Pittsburgh gets a chance with a power play opportunity. It doesn’t work. They pull Jarry with two minutes left for an extra attacker, that doesn’t work either. NYI scores into the empty net with 1:32 to play to go up 4-2 and seal the win.

Some thoughts​

• Koppanen was Pittsburgh’s 28th goal scorer this season, the most in the NHL per the broadcast. First in something! That might not be an indicator of a very healthy or good team to dress enough players where 28 different ones are scoring.
• Kolyachonok recorded his sixth assist of the season (though only two have been with the Penguins, over seven games). Compare that to P.O Joseph’s one assist in 24 games or Ryan Graves’ two assists in 48 games and my goodness it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone fairly competent on the left side.
• The Pens have been wearing their alternate third jerseys on Tuesday this season, if they stick to that formatting this would be the second-to-last time to see this particular jersey on the ice for a while with the new alternates expected next season. Three weeks from today the Pens host Chicago for their last Tuesday home game.
• About mid-way through the game the lines switched up; Connor Dewar got bumped up to the Malkin-Tomasino line and Danton Heinen dropped down to play with Hayes-Imama and Koppanen was with Lizotte-Acciari.
• You saw the bad of Conor Timmins for the first time on NYI’s tying goal in the third, Timmins’ first goal against in a Penguin sweater. A defensive miscue led to him abandoning his position and making it easy for the opponent to score a goal at the exact moment Pittsburgh needed a strong defensive play. Sometimes it happens but it’s like all the charm ran out for everyone at the exact same time.
• Speaking of that, for the first 40 minutes the Pens looked golden. Jarry was a brick wall, they were out-shot but doing their thing as of late to be opportunistic and stay ahead on the scoreboard. The cracks were showing even before NYI’s first goal 17 seconds into the third but that unleashed the tidal wave from the dam being held together by unsustainable goaltending and barely enough scoring. It was fun while it lasted.
• Even then, Jarry played well making 36 saves on 39 shots. The Isles took over and the Pens were on their heels for much of the night but especially for the whole second half of the game. It wasn’t a goaltending issue, the team just couldn’t step up and overcome the pressure they faced and ended up folding.
• Which means the PDO dried up due to shooting. Pittsburgh only scored two goals on 21 shots, disappointing on both figures compared to what they’ve accomplished lately. Can’t score two goals in the first 20 minutes and close up shop - not that the Pens really intentionally shut things down, they just got outplayed the rest of the way and eventually the opponent found a way to overcome. Deep down (or maybe not even that deep down) everyone had to have an inkling that this late-season run was going to be betrayed by either the shooting or the goaltending and tonight the former proved to be the key, with an 0/3 power play that never even came close to scoring factoring into the loss in a major way.

The Pens get a few days off to regroup and get ready for Columbus coming to town on Friday night.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/18/24387754/penguins-islanders-recap-the-pdo-dam-breaks-pens-lose

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

WBS Weekly: Murashov ties a team rookie record

Checking in on the Penguins’ AHL affiliate

It was a critical weekend for the Wilkes-Barre/Scrantion Penguins and they pulled out a 1-1 split with Lehigh Valley after losing the first game. Here’s Nick Hart from WBSPenguins.com:

Friday, Mar. 14 – PENGUINS 1 at Lehigh Valley 3

The Phantoms scored 70 seconds into the game to take an early lead. McGroarty sniped the first shorthanded goal of his career in the second period, but Lehigh Valley gathered a power-play goal and an empty netter to take the win.

Sunday, Mar. 16 – PENGUINS 5 at Lehigh Valley 3

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton closed its 12-game season series with Lehigh Valley by putting on a high-octane special teams display. The Penguins scored twice on the man advantage and tallied a shorty for the second-straight game. Valtteri Puusitnen’s go-ahead goal with 3:36 left in regulation was the difference as the Penguins improved to 8-2-1-1 against the Phantoms this season.

While it’s a disappointment to lose a game at this time of the year, it’s tough to complain too much about going 8-2-1-1 (the latter two categories breaking out OT and SO losses) against a fairly decent opponent over the season. Not going to be able to literally win ‘em all.

The bounce-back win on Sunday marked rookie Sergei Murashov’s ninth straight - enough to match the WBS franchise record for longest winning streak by a rookie goalie. What is even more impressive is that Murashov only has nine AHL decision — he’s won them all!

With today’s win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Sergei Murashov ties our franchise record for longest win streak in a rookie season with 9 wins pic.twitter.com/qqqlH2r8AA

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 16, 2025​

As mentioned last week, the only reason Murashov is even currently getting AHL playing time is due to an injury to Joel Blomqvist. It’s entirely circumstantial that Murashov is in the AHL right now, but the youngster has made the most of every chance he’s gotten so far at that level. It’s a development that’s been a nice little wrinkle in the season (for everyone but Blomqvist, that is).

To give a sense about which players are in which roles these days, here was the lineup for the Pens in their last game out:

Chase Pietila makes his AHL debut this afternoon!

Watch the action on AHLTV on FloHockey: https://t.co/CrNDVVHuPj pic.twitter.com/vVmLWq1zqr

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 16, 2025​

Amateur tryout season has already begun, 2024 draft pick Chase Pietila made his AHL debut. Pietila was named the CCHA’s defensive defenseman of the year following a solid sophomore campaign. The Pens are intrigued to see how the 21-year old can develop, he’s got some great size (6’3”, 195 pounds) and is a rough player to play against. Pietila doesn’t project to be a future impact player in the NHL but his progress is worth keeping an eye on.

As usual in the minor league world, the upcoming weekend will be a busy one. Wilkes hosts Providence on Friday and Hershey on Saturday before heading up to Bridgeport for a road game on Sunday.

Friday night’s game looms as very important. The AHL playoff format is the first two seeds in the division get a bye and 3/6 and 4/5 play in a short three-game series. Wilkes, Providence (and Charlotte) are all neck-and-neck for that important second spot in the standings. And peep those Games Remaining and remember that the AHL only has a 72-game regular season, not the 82 that NHL fans are accustomed to.

After that crucial Friday night game, the rest of the weekend provides one of the biggest swings available in the AHL. Hershey is No. 2 in points% in the league this year and the back-to-back defending champions but on the other hand Bridgeport ranks 32 out of 32 in points in the whole league (and by a country mile too). There’s always the threat of a let down game for the Pens on Sunday based off it being the third game in three days, on the road and an afternoon start against a lesser opponent but that should be one where the team takes care of business.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/19...rospect-ties-a-team-rookie-record-wilkes-pens

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Home Stretch

It’s another rest day for the Penguins but the same cannot be said for Pens Points which has all the latest.

There is one final contest left in this five-game homestand for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it’s not for another day. Before the Columbus Blue Jackets roll into town on Friday night, the Penguins will enjoy another day off on Thursday to rest up. With just four weeks remaining in the regular season, we are officially entering the home stretch.

Pens Points...​

If he had not already, Sergei Murashov has firmly established himself as the Penguins top goaltending prospect with his record run in the AHL. Murashov has won his first nine career start in Wilkes-Barre, tying the franchise record. [Pensburgh]

It was an ugly final 20 minutes for the Penguins on Tuesday night, giving up four unanswered goals to blow a 2-0 lead. Typically, a result of this type leads to a pile on the goalie, but that didn’t manifest after this collapse. [Trib Live]

NHL News and Notes...​

This week has been host to the annual NHL general manager meetings and Gary Bettman marked the occasion with a media session. Bettman spoke on array of topics including upcoming CBA negotiations, All-Star Game changes, and more. [Sportsnet]

One of the key aspects that Bettman spoke on was upcoming negotiations on a new CBA between the NHL and NHLPA. Discussions are set to begin next month and the hope is everything goes smoothly with the deal set to expire next year. [NHL]

For the first time, the NHL Draft will be switching to a decentralized model this June, similar to the format used by other major sports leagues. With the switch, the NHL is figuring out how the Draft can still be a marquee event on its calendar. [NHL]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/20...arry-bettman-nhl-draft-ahl-murashov-prospects

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Philip Tomasino should get big opportunity the rest of the way

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

He needs to make the most of it.

Usually when a team slips out of playoff contention at the end of the regular season it can become an opportunity to start looking ahead for future seasons. Prospects get called up, younger players get big playing time, and everything becomes an audition.

With the Pittsburgh Penguins likely to keep their top prospects in the American Hockey League to play meaningful games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, there might not be many opportunities for that to happen here.

(I support that decision and think it is the right call, by the way.)

The closest thing they might have for that is defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok and forward Philip Tomasino.

While I am intrigued by what Koyachonok can do and think he was a worthwhile waiver claim, Tomasino is the one that is really worth keeping an eye on. Not only because he might have a chance to make a bigger impact next season if everything goes well, but also because he has more to play for the rest of the way as it relates to his Penguins future.

While Koyachonok is under contract for next season on a league-minimum/entry-level deal, Tomasino actually has something to prove because he is playing for a contract and a continued spot in the organization.

Not only is he a restricted free agent, but he is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent.

That can complicate things a little bit and make it so a qualifying offer is not a guarantee.

How much of a raise could he potentially be looking at?

How much are the Penguins willing to pay him?

How much can his finish to the season impact the answers to those questions?

Over the past couple of years the Penguins have not extended qualifying offers to arbitration-eligible players like Ryan Poehling and Pierre-Olivier Joseph due to concern their salaries might go beyond their actual on-ice value.

Does the Penguins’ rebuild and (the presumed) lack of a salary cap crunch next season change that mentality? That remains to be seen.

From purely a numbers standpoint, Tomasino has not been a bad player for the Penguins.

He has played a half-season’s worth of games (41) as of Thursday and has scored at a 20-goal pace, which quite honestly makes him one of the team’s most productive goal-scorers.

Among players that have appeared in at least 25 games this season his goals-per-game average is fourth on the team behind only Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby. On a per 60-minute basis, he actually moves up one more spot with his 1.06 goals per 60 minutes (all situations) moving slightly ahead of Crosby (1.04).

Only taking into account his Penguins numbers and excluding his time with Nashville, his goal-per-60 pace (all-situations) would put him in the top-100 in the NHL among the 600 players with at least 500 minutes of ice-time. Even taking into his Nashville time he’s still in the top-160.

From a goal-scoring perspective, he’s produced like an NHL player with the Penguins, and a solid one.

It is also the highest rate he has ever produced in the NHL from a goal-scoring perspective.

But that alone probably isn’t going to be enough to guarantee him a spot next season or a qualifying offer.

While his goal-scoring has reached a career-best in Pittsburgh, his overall point production from a playmaking standpoint has not matched, and his individual shot and scoring chance generation has remained close to his previous career levels. There’s a definite shooting percentage boost happening here that may not be repeatable.

Are the Penguins willing to pay — and gamble — seven figures on that next season?

Overall, I liked the mindset behind acquiring him, and want to see them do more of it over the next year. That is one of the benefits of stockpiling so many draft picks as a rebuilding team. It gives you the opportunity to flip one and take a chance on a younger, talented player that might need a fresh start.

But the Penguins still need to find out more with him, and the next 12 games should be a good time for him to audition even more extensively than he already has.

The Penguins also seem to realize that, as his ice-time in March has jumped from what it was earlier in the season. Granted, the trade deadline probably played a big role in that with Anthony Beauvilier and Michael Bunting leaving, but the bottom line is that he is playing more. He is averaging more than three additional minutes per game than what he was in February and earlier in the season, and his past few games have been among his highest ice-time totals of the season.

That should continue the rest of the way. It is audition time, and he needs to make the most of it.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/20...hould-get-big-opportunity-the-rest-of-the-way

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3/21/2025

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

It’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh! Come get ready for it with a preview of tonight’s opponent

Who: Columbus Blue Jackets (31-28-9, 71 points, 6th place Metropolitan Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (28-32-10, 66 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Local broadcasts on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and Fan Duel Sportsnet Ohio, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: Closing up a five-game homestand tonight, the road is ahead for the Penguins. They’ll be in Florida for a game on Sunday (note the odd 6:00pm start) and then stick around in the Sunshine State for another game against Tampa on Tuesday. Then it’s up to Buffalo next Thursday to complete a partial tour of the Atlantic Division.

Opponent Track: Since their big win in the Big House in the Stadium Series on March 1st, the Blue Jackets have slumped to 1-6-1 after last night’s 1-0 OT loss against Florida. Columbus needs to dig deep on the second night of a back-to-back in their push for a first playoff berth in five years. This March slip now has them on the outside looking in and they need to reverse course quickly as they’re running out of track.

Season Series: Columbus is looking for a season sweep of Pittsburgh! The Blue Jackets won 6-2 back on November 15th and then took a 3-2 shootout decision on January 7th. Sadly there are only three PIT/CBJ games this season and tonight is the last one.

Hidden Stat: Related to the above, the Penguins (0-1-1) could earn a season split with CBJ with a Pittsburgh win tonight (though Columbus would be 2-1 or 2-0-1 from their perspective). Per Pens PR, Pittsburgh has dropped the season series with Columbus just once (2014-15) since the formation of the Metropolitan Division in 2012. Tonight would become the second time if the Blue Jackets win this game.

Getting to know the Blue Jackets​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Kent Johnson - Adam Fantilli - Kirill Marchenko

Dmitri Voronkov - Boone Jenner - Yegor Chinakhov

Zach Aston-Reese - Justin Danforth - Mathieu Olivier

James van Riemsdyk - Sean Kuraly - Luke Kunin

DEFENSEMEN

Zach Werenski / Dante Fabbro

Danton Mateychuk / Ivan Provorov

Jack Johnson / Damon Severson

Goalies: Daniil Tarasov (and Elvis Merzlikins who started last night vs FLA)

Scratches: Christian Fischer, Jake Christiansen, Jordan Harris

IR: Sean Monahan, Cole Sillinger, Kevin Lebanc, Erik Gudbranson

—It’s wild that in almost 25 years of existence the Blue Jackets have never truly had a stable, great first line center (the first four seasons of a young Ryan Johansen, the pluggers like Jenner and Ryan Dubinsky and a later short-term trade deadline pickup of Matt Duchene don’t seem like enough to qualify). That could be changing with Fantilli growing into the mold. The pure stats don’t pop but putting up 20+ goals in the NHL in his draft+2 at age-20 and looking like the sky is the limit is a very long overdue development for this club. Monahan put up 41 points in 41 games before he got hurt to arguably give Columbus the best 1-2 punch down the middle that they’ve ever had.

—Sticking with that theme, Werenski is the franchise defenseman that they’ve rarely had (six years of prime Seth Jones does count for something). Werenski has tied his for career-high in goals (20) and hit personal bests in assists (49) and points (69). He’s also pacing the league by averaging a whopping 27:00 of ice time per game. Cale Makar has pulled way ahead in betting odds for the Norris trophy as the league’s top defenseman, it’s tough to argue he’s not No 1 - but damn if Werenski isn’t right on his heels.

Player stats​

(via hockeydb)

Note: does not include last night’s game

—Olivier, known for being a tough guy and fighter, has turned into a lot more- at least for this season. Prior to last night’s action he had 5G+1A in the last eight games and parlayed his big year into an $18 million contract extension over the next six seasons. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with him moving forward, he only had 13 career goals (in 168 games) entering this year and has already more than doubled that. They obviously love him as a lockerroom guy and protection force but it remains to be seen if he can continue to be as productive of a player.

—It’s a wonder the Blue Jackets are still hanging in there despite the weak goaltending inputs. Their special teams are hardly remarkable either.

The secret to their moderate amount of success is easily identifiable above, it’s been scoring goals and a run of hot shooting. Their 155 5v5 goals ranked second in the NHL as of yesterday, and their 10.2% 5v5 shooting percentage was third. Players popping well above that average are Kent Johnston (21 goals, 21.0% shooting), James van Riemsdyk (14 goals, 20%), Olivier and Dmitri Voronkov (20 goals, 16.4% shooting). That’s a charmed bunch and good time when so many players are hot and many are kicking in more than expected.

By contrast, Pittsburgh only has two skaters with 25+ games that are north of 15% shooting (Blake Lizotte, who only has nine goals in a fourth line role and Rickard Rakell’s 31 goals).

As a good but not great team, Columbus has their share of stinkers but they’re in the Wild Card chase because when they’re good they’ve made it count, and they’ve had plenty of strong offensive nights to lean on. They’ve scored 4+ goals in 28 games times this season and their record in those games is 25-2-1. They’ve scored 5+ goals 20 times this season (record: 20-0-0).

When Columbus scores exactly three goals, they’re only 3-7-3 (with no wins coming in regulation). When they score two or less goals (27 times) they are only 3-19-5.

That’s not breaking news that it becomes easier to win games through scoring more goals. The value is in the context that CBJ has been able to score a lot of goals with more frequency than they scored 2 or fewer goals. That makes all the difference in the world for having a decent season. Their main issues have been on the other side of the ledger in preventing goals but having an offense that can fairly regularly pop off with 4-5 goals on any given game is a great way to get results.

For measurement’s sake, the Penguins have scored 4+ goals just 19 times this season and scored 2 or fewer goals 33 times. That difference to CBJ, in a nutshell, is why one team was playing very meaningful games in March and why the other is looking at just where in top-10 that their draft pick is going to fall.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines (from practice yesterday)

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Connor Dewar - Evgeni Malkin - Philip Tomasino

Danton Heinen - Kevin Hayes - Boko Imama

Joona Koppanen - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Kris Letang / Conor Timmins

Matt Grzelcyk / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves / Vladislav Kolyachonok

Goalies: Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic

Potential Scratches: Ryan Shea (upper body injury), Tommy Novak (lower body), Emil Bemstrom (undisclosed)

Injured Reserve: P.O. Joseph (upper body)

—None of the injured players (aside from Bemstrom) participated in the team portion of practice aside but all are back on the ice working on their own. Novak was deemed “day-to-day” but that is going on two weeks ago and it doesn’t look like he’s imminently close to returning which is a bummer since he ought to be a decent-sized piece of the team in the near future and the Pens were very excited to see what he could bring to the table.

—Bemstrom being able to practice might mean the dull but somewhat interesting storyline that Pittsburgh will have to turn Koppanen’s recall from emergency to regular in order to keep him in the NHL when Bemstrom can play, or return Koppanen to the AHL. As a reminder, NHL teams get four “regular” recalls from the trade deadline to the end of the season with unlimited but temporary emergency recalls. We might see that decision come today, Koppanen’s goal last game gives some reason to believe the Pens might want to see a little more from him.

—Kolyachonok became a persona non grata in the third period of last game spending most of the period on the bench and found himself demoted to the third pair in practice yesterday. Some parts of social media has made an outcry over this but it’s a good rule to not be upset about placement of recently waived defensemen, it’s all shuffling low-end pieces.

—That’s led to the Pens having two right shots on the top pair, which Mike Sullivan addressed with the reasoning that Timmins’ play has usurped handedness at this point. It’ll be interesting to watch how this experiment works out to solve the age old problem of attempting to find enough semi-capable defenders to play tough minutes. Timmins has excelled in the pocket of relatively low TOI, now the competition he’ll see ramps up.

Sullivan, on putting Timmins with Letang: "We think Conor has played extremely well. That was part of the decision-making there... we'd prefer to have guys playing their strong sides, but sometimes there are things that trump that. We thought we would try it in practice today."

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) March 20, 2025​

—A starting goalie for tonight wasn’t named ahead of time. Jarry lost last game but made 36 games and generally played well. There’s good enough reason to stick with him to see how this one goes, but on the other hand Nedeljkovic hasn’t had game action in exactly two weeks. That marks his longest healthy period of inactivity this season, besides the 4 Nations break. Nedeljkovic has lost his last five decisions, his most recent win was way back on Feb 7 against NYR.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/21...us-blue-jackets-pittsburgh-penguins-3-21-2025

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Gamethread: Blue Jackets @ Penguins

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Another night of hockey from PPG Paints Arena!

Talk about the game with Pens fans here!

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/21/24387758/gamethread-blue-jackets-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Looking at how the traded Penguin players are doing this season

Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images

How has it gone for those traded away from Pittsburgh this season?

It’s been a busy season for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who continue to churn through players. Pittsburgh has traded eight different NHL roster players since the start of the 2024-25 campaign — including flipping Vincent Desharnais and Luke Schenn — who they also acquired during the season.

Now that the dust has settled on the trade deadline and there’s no game today let’s check on how are the players doing in their new spots.

Lars Eller

Traded November 12th to Washington for a 2025 third round pick and 2027 fifth round pick

Washington stats: 50 games, 6 goals, 8 assists, 50.9% faceoff, 12:32 average ice time

Eller’s nominally listed as the Capitals’ third line center but he has a smaller role on the team than that (he’s only ninth in ES TOI for among regular forwards, and fifth in PK time). He’s doing OK as ever, but not that great. Interestingly he’s only winning 50.9% of his faceoffs this year with Washington, he was at 56.0% for the Penguins in 2024-25 and 52.3% last season and his hits and blocked shots are down. We’ll see if he’s conserving energy to be effective in the playoffs or if the 35-year old is fading away.

—

Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor

Traded January 31st to Vancouver for a protected 2025 first round pick (NYR), Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais and prospect Melvin Fernstrom

Pettersson: 18 games, 0 goals, 5 assists, 21:16 average ice time
O’Connor: 18 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 13:55 average ice time

Pettersson has been playing mostly with Tyler Myers on the Canucks’ second pair. As you would expect, he’s been completely as advertised as a good defensive player with a team-high 39 blocked shots since he’s been there and chipping in with the occasional assist with his quietly effective passing game.

A change of scenery hasn’t immediately unlocked much for O’Connor, he’s still lightly scoring with no rhyme or reason every few games. Upon acquisition he was playing in more of a featured role with Filip Chytil and Brock Boeser but now finds his ice time reduced a bit in March in more of a checking line with players like Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood.

—

Michael Bunting

Traded March 5th to Nashville along with a 2026 fourth round pick for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn

Nashville stats: 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 15:41 average ice time

Even if they soured on Novak, the Predators paid a pretty big trade price to bring Bunting onto their team. He’s still looking for his first point in Nashville after coming back from the appendix surgery a few weeks ago. Bunting is under contract next season so he’ll have more to show as time goes by, he’s currently on the second line with Colton Sissons and Jonathan Marchessault.

—

Vincent Desharnais

Traded March 7th to San Jose for a 2028 fifth round pick

SJ stats: 5 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, even plus/minus, 15:58 average ice time

Desharnais is back in the Western Conference and somehow still not under water in terms of goals at the start of his stint with the Sharks. He played almost 19 minutes per game in his brief time with the Penguins and so far San Jose has been sheltering and limiting him more than that, probably for the best given his limited skillset.

—

Cody Glass

Traded March 7th to New Jersey with Jonathan Gruden for a 2027 third round pick, Chase Stillman and Max Graham

New Jersey stats: 6 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 39.3% faceoff, 14:51 average ice time

A little bit of life! Glass only scored four goals in 51 games with Pittsburgh and has already generated half of that in a few weeks worth of work with the Devils. He’s playing third line minutes and has been a nice depth add for NJ as they deal with the injury loss of Jack Hughes for the rest of the season. Of all the players out the door so far, Glass is probably the best pickup by another team.

—

Luke Schenn

Traded March 7th to Winnipeg for a 2026 second round pick and 2027 fourth round pick

Winnipeg stats: 5 games, 0 goals, 1 assist, 17:48 average ice time

It’s still very early but Schenn is playing more minutes with Winnipeg than he has since 2016-17 in a low-end second pair role with Dylan Samberg to give the Jets a defensive-minded duo. Getting to a first place team and having a chance to compete is what Schenn wanted and he’s one of the few players that were happy to end up in Winnipeg.

—

Anthony Beauvillier

Traded March 7th to Washington for a 2025 second round pick

Washington stats: 6 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 12:20 average ice time

Beauvillier has been on the fourth line for the Caps and gotten off to a decent start. He was all over the lineup in Pittsburgh with a variety of roles and seems to have settled into a place with a contender where he will use his energy in small bursts to add to that team’s depth for the playoff run.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/22...-traded-penguin-players-are-doing-this-season

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Blue Jackets Highlights: Pens explode for six goals in win

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh ends home-stand in winning fashion

Highlights of Pittsburgh’s 6-3 win over Columbus.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/21...-highlights-pens-explode-for-six-goals-in-win

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Florida Panthers 3/23/2025

Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images

The Pens match up with the defending Stanley Cup champs for the final time this season.

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (29-32-10, 68 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division) @ Florida Panthers (42-25-3, 87 points, 2nd place Atlantic Division)

When: 6:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: SN-PIT for the Pittsburgh area, SCRIPPS around South Florida, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The road swing continues this week with a Tuesday trip to meet the Tampa Bay Lightning, followed by a Thursday matchup with the Buffalo Sabres.

Opponent Track: The Panthers went 2-4 on their recent six-game road trip, which ended yesterday evening with a 6-3 loss to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Season Series: The Pens and Panthers have needed extra time to decide both games so far this season. Bryan Rust scored in overtime of a Dec. 3 win in Pittsburgh, while Tristan Jarry allowed two shootout goals in a Jan. 3 loss at Amerant Bank Arena.

Hidden Stat: Sergei Bobrovsky, who could get the start against the Pens tonight, is one shutout away from the 50th blank sheet of his career. He is looking to become the 33rd goaltender to hit the milestone.

Getting to know the Panthers​

Projected lines (from Saturday’s game against the Capitals)

FORWARDS

Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist

A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jonah Gadjovich

DEFENSEMEN

Gustav Forsling – Seth Jones

Niko Mikkola – Tobias Bjornfot

Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt

Goalies: Sergei Bobrovsky (Vitek Vanecek started last night against the Capitals)

Scratches: Brad Marchand, Aaron Eklbad, Dmitry Kulikov

LTIR: Matthew Tkachuk

• Former Penguin Evan Rodrigues is playing on Sam Bennett’s wing on the second line to help fill in for Matthew Tkachuk, who was injured during the 4 Nations Face-Off.
• Placing Tkachuk on LTIR allowed the Panthers to acquire Brad Marchand, who has not played since suffering an injury on a hit from P.O. Joseph in his last game with the Boston Bruins earlier this month.
• The Panthers are also missing Aaron Ekblad, who is serving a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy, and Dmitry Kulikov, who is week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury during last Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders.
• Vitek Vanecek started against his former club last night and allowed six goals on 31 shots. Sergei Bobrovsky seems likely to get the nod from Panthers head coach Paul Maurice tonight.

Player stats​

(via hockeydb, does not include last night’s game)

• Florida parted ways with Spencer Knight, who has since become the Chicago Blackhawks’ starting goaltender, at the trade deadline. Vanecek played his third game as backup to Bobrovsky on Saturday.
• The Panthers’ injuries, as well as the loss of Ekblad, are hobbling the defending Stanley Cup champions in the tight race with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Some cracks started to show as the Cats’ defense struggled during Saturday’s loss to the Capitals. If the Panthers can bring back Tkachuk and add Marchand, however, this roster will look more like a contender come the postseason.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines (from Saturday’s practice)

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Connor Dewar - Evgeni Malkin - Philip Tomasino

Joona Koppanen - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari

Boko Imama - Kevin Hayes - Danton Heinen

DEFENSEMEN

Matt Grzelcyk / Kris Letang

Erik Karlsson / Conor Timmins

Ryan Graves / Vladislav Kolyachonok

Goalies: Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic

Potential Scratches: Ryan Shea (upper body injury), Tommy Novak (lower body), Emil Bemstrom (undisclosed)

Injured Reserve: P.O. Joseph (upper body)

• The Penguins gave Conor Timmins a shot at more ice time by pairing him with Kris Letang against the Columbus Blue Jackets. At Saturday’s practice, the Pens placed him on Erik Karlsson’s pairing and put right-handed Karlsson on the left.

Karlsson told DK Pittsburgh Sports’ Taylor Haase about the switch: “I mean, I’ve played 16 years in this league, so I’ve played on the left side a lot but predominantly not. There’s some quirks to it. But I think the more you do it, the more you get used to it. So it’s nice to have some experience with it. But it’s obviously not ideal, and that’s why not a lot of people do it predominantly.”

Mike Sullivan indicated the potential deployment of Conor Timmins with Erik Karlsson - with the right-handed Karlsson on the left side - is something they're just exploring in a similar fashion to Timmins' pairing with Kris Letang on Friday. https://t.co/dNl8ITuhEv

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) March 22, 2025​

• Sidney Crosby is riding a six-game point streak into tonight’s game. He’s put up six goals and four assists for 10 points over the stretch.

Another Crosby note: the captain needs four more points on this season to ensure he hits the point-per-game mark. That would make him the first player in NHL history with 20 such campaigns, per Penguins PR.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/23...ittsburgh-penguins-florida-panthers-3-23-2025

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Panthers Recap: Rust scores twice, but Florida comes back to beat Pittsburgh in shootout

Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

The Pens play pretty well, but those Panthers are just a little bit better than them and end up getting the result in a 4-3 shootout win on Sunday

Pregame​

Connor Timmins gets another new partner for tonight, Tristan Jarry back in the net.

Tonight's lineup in Florida pic.twitter.com/0LVTykMXC0

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 23, 2025​

The home Panthers have the following line and lineup.

#FlaPanthers lines in warmups against Penguins

Verhaeghe-Barkov-Reinhart
Samoskevich-Bennett-Boqvist
Luostarinen-Lundell-Rodrigues
Greer-Sturm-Gadjovich

Forsling-Jones
Mikkola-Balinskis
Schmidt-Bjornfot

Bobrovsky

— Rob Darragh (@darraghfla) March 23, 2025​

First period​

The Penguins start out pretty well to the tune of a 7-2 edge in shots but don’t come close to scoring. And just like that, they give up the first goal. Bryan Rusts loses the puck along the wall with some help from Gustav Forsling and Sam Reinhart collects it in space and makes the Pens pay. 1-0 FLA.

Reino doing Reino things ‍ pic.twitter.com/0W56Gn3SXe

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 23, 2025​

Pittsburgh gets the game’s first power play but it takes a big Jarry save to set them up for success. Rust gets a goal back for the team by receiving a sharp pass from Erik Karlsson and making a deke to get to the backhand and lift one by Sergei Bobrovsky for the power play answer. 1-1.

IN RUST WE TRUST, PART I. pic.twitter.com/LYjE3NcPUC

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 23, 2025​

in the last minute before intermission Rust and Sidney Crosby hook up on a tremendous goal. Rust cuts in towards the net and Crosby sauces a pass to him. With a leaning, one-handed effort Rust is able to get a touch on the puck to send it to the top of the net. Wow, one of the best looking goals of the year for the team here. 2-1 lead.

IN RUST WE TRUST, PART II. pic.twitter.com/PhEtF9hUmL

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 23, 2025​

Shots end up 16-4 Pittsburgh. Really impressive start, it’s a shame and a wonder they’re only up 2-1 on the scoreboard for how dominant they were in the first 20 minutes.

Second period​

Jarry is active early having to make a couple of toe saves in different sequences to flipper away pucks.

The Pens draw a second power play when Kevin Hayes gets hooked. They find a second power play goal when Rust sets up Evgeni Malkin to hammed home. 3-1 Pittsburgh lead.

GENO MACHINO

Vote Evgeni Malkin to the #NHLQCTeam by sharing his name and the hashtag or head to https://t.co/OxUkS3fSt9! pic.twitter.com/fCOFJA3tyI

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 23, 2025​

Soon after the Pens take their first penalty and it leads to Florida scoring on their own power play. Reinhart skates in by Ryan Graves and Kris Letang and then finds a way to slip a low shot through Jarry that has enough velocity to slide into the net. 3-2 game.

Reino goes coast to coast for his second of the night!! pic.twitter.com/MP4lA225mb

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 23, 2025​

Jarry makes a nice play to move the puck towards the Panthers’ bench during an extra sloppy shift change by them to grant the Penguins another power play. Unlike the first two this one doesn’t amount to much.

Shots overall are 23-17 PIT. Still just a one goal game but the game has shrunk to 20 minutes.

Third period​

Florida starts to get it in gear, Timmins takes a penalty and the Panthers are buzzing, but they can’t beat Jarry to score on their man advantage.

With Pittsburgh only having two shots on goal foe the first 15 minutes, it feels like just a matter of time before Florida can tie it. And they do, Anton Lundell on a cross-ice pass takes advantage of Jarry having to move laterally. 3-3 game with 5:32 to go.

LUNDY LIGHTS THE LAMP TO TIE IT UP pic.twitter.com/keZ6D4h0c8

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 24, 2025​

The Pens make it to the end of regulation tied thanks mostly to their goalie holding them into the game.

Overtime​

Crosby-Rust-Karlsson start it out for the Pens, Crosby wins the faceoff and Pittsburgh takes the all-important possession of the puck. After stalling for a while they lose the puck.

Florida regroups and gets the personnel they want out there but they also cough it up. For some reason Blake Lizotte eventually ends up on the ice and he takes OT’s first shot at almost exactly the mid-way point of 2:32 to go, Bobrovsky makes the save.

Malkin wins the second faceoff of OT but the Pens turn it over. FLA gets a 3-on-1 rush but can’t score.

Rakell sends a lead pass for Crosby and the Pens have a 2-on-1. Now it’s exciting, Crosby’s pass to Letang doesn’t work, Florida gets a rush out of it for themselves but Jarry makes a save.

Phil Tomasino and Lizotte push for a last minute goal but can’t beat Bobrovsky.

Shootout​

Sasha Barkov gets the first chance, he moves in with a lot of speed, makes a sweet deke to the backhand and glides it in. 1-0 shootout FLA

Rakell gets the chance to answer, comes in slow and dekes to the forehand but Bobrovsky is able to kick the leg out and stop it.

—

Lundell is up next, he dekes to the backhand but Jarry sticks with him and makes a big save.

Crosby goes for the Pens. He winds down the ice slowly, tries for a shot but Bob has the answer. Still 1-0 FLA in shootout after two rounds.

—

Reinhart gets the chance to win the game but his shot rings off the post.

It’s do or die for Bryan Rust, he dekes Bobrovsky down to his belly but the sprawling goalie finds a way to keep the puck out of the net. Panthers win.

Some thoughts​

• Rust is heating up (3G+2A over the two weekend games). The first goal was a nice display of skill but that second goal was the tangible results of what playing with Crosby and knowing the timing and exactly what to do and then having the hand-eye coordination to pull it off. Beautiful stuff, that one will go on the year-end highlight reels.
• By virtue of adding two assists in the first period Crosby only needs two more points in the final 10 games of the season to clinch his 20th point-per-game season. Going out on a limb, I say he does it.
• Karlsson made a really nice pass to get his 40th assist of the season, becoming the 13th defender in the NHL to get to that mark this season. 6th place has 43, so with a strong finish he could end up a little more statistically successful this season than you might think from only looking at social media and the internet.
• The Panthers might have been showing some signs of playing in DC yesterday and then traveling back to Florida. Started out extremely flat but were able to get their legs under them and more energy as today’s game went along.
• The Pens in the end just couldn’t do much in the third. Sometimes it’s said they go into a shell but that isn’t completely accurate. Usually the other team just takes control and doesn’t allow a team like Pittsburgh to do much with it when it gets to crunch time.
• Malkin is finally back on the top power play group, long a “Some thoughts” pet peeve and not a moment too soon. Top dogs went two for three with two quick goals. Putting Hayes there over Malkin always seemed an unnecessarily complication, fixing it was overdue but predictably a good idea.
• Jarry 2.0 is up to a 4-1-1 record and save percentage well above .920. What a wild ride it’s been and still as a strong as ever with his recent run of play. He couldn’t stop a beach ball early in the season and now it’s taking perfect efforts on breakdowns to get anything by him. Go figure.
• It’s been a tough go lately to watch Kris Letang recede away from being a dominant top pair defenseman as age effects hit but tonight was a vintage performance. 26:40 played, 9 shot attempts (5 on net), 3 hits, 2 blocked shots and several smart little plays all around the ice. That was the kind of performance that used to be the norm for him but hasn’t been around in a while. Turned back the clocks tonight though looking like his old self and not just being old.
• Graves only played 11 minutes and my goodness it looked like he was only concerned about defending the corner of the rink when Reinhart walked right past him to the unprotected middle of the ice. In fairness, Graves had an ill-timed sweep check attempt at the exact wrong moment and ended up looking bad as a result but that type of play and result is pretty much the whole issue right now. Positioning isn’t right, gap is awful, stick is ineffective and the results are what they are. It was mentioned on the broadcast tonight that Ryan Shea is close to coming back from injury, that’s a good thing because the team could use putting Graves back in the press box as a healthy scratch.

The Pens get a few days in the sunshine and meet the Lightning in Tampa on Tuesday for their next game.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/23...ida-comes-back-to-beat-pittsburgh-in-shootout

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Panthers claw back in shootout

Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Here are your Pens Points for this Monday morning...​

The Pittsburgh Penguins hit the ice in Florida on Sunday to battle the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. The Penguins played well, even earning a 3-1 lead at one point, but the Panthers clawed back to earn a 4-3 shootout win on Sunday. [Recap]

The Penguins have seen quite a bit of roster turnover this season due to trades. How have those players who were traded out of Pittsburgh fared with their new teams? [PensBurgh]

The NHL recently announced that the Penguins and Nashville Predators will play two games in Sweden next season. The Penguins are no strangers to playing hockey outside of North America. [Trib Live]

The Penguins have signed a few prospects to entry-level contracts over the last few weeks, but there are two more prospects in the system whose signing rights they will lose this summer if a deal is not signed. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL...​

As of writing, the Montreal Canadiens hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. This push for the playoffs has Montrealers salivating for a playoff berth for the first time since the 2021 season, where they made it to the Stanley Cup Final. [NHL]

Vancouver Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood made NHL history Saturday afternoon. With his 384th hit, Sherwood holds the NHL record for most hits in a season. [Sportsnet]

Three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon will hang up his skates after this season. [ESPN]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/24...uins-nhl-canadiens-playoffs-maroon-retirement

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Sidney Crosby keeps defying age with his production, consistency

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

He just keeps going and playing the same way he always does.

Whatever you want to see from the 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins over the next 10 games as a team is probably a matter of personal preference. If you want to see them calm down with the winning and lose a few more games to solidify their chances for a better draft pick, that is certainly your choice. I get it. If you think that mindset is for losers and you want to see them finish strong because you enjoy seeing your team win games, and because nobody knows how the draft lottery is going to play out, that is also your choice. I also get it.

No matter what side of that you happen to fall on, can we at least agree on one thing and that you should be enjoying the hell out of still getting to watch Sidney Crosby play hockey every night, and that seeing him find success is still worth tuning in for? Because, folks, that guy not only still has the juice, he is still bringing it literally every single night.

He was outstanding in Sunday’s game against the Florida Panthers, outworking the defending Stanley Cup champions and again one of the league’s best teams, while also adding two more points including a ridiculous, vintage Crosby pass to set up Bryan Rust for his second goal of the game.

It is still mesmerizing to watch.

He is also still defying everything that should be happening with normal aging curves in the NHL.

Most of the focus on Crosby’s individual production this season is on his quest to reach the point-per-game mark for an NHL record 20th season. He is two points away from that mark and has been on a roll over the better part of the past two months. Since the start of February he has recorded at least one point in 15 out of 17 games, including seven games with at least two points. That includes at least two points in five of his past seven games during his current seven-game point streak. He is not slowing down as the season goes on. He keeps getting better. Which is kind of fitting given the way his career has gone. Instead of slowing down when he should be, he just keeps rolling at a level that almost no other player has reached at his age.

I think I am even more fascinated by that than I am the point-per-game record.

• During his age-35 season in 2022-23, Crosby’s 93 points were the sixth-most ever for a player in their age-35 season. The only five players ahead of him are Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Jean Ratelle, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Martin St. Louis. St. Louis is the only one in that group that topped the 93-point mark after 1995.
• During his age-36 season in 2023-24, his 94 points were the second-most ever for a player in their age-36 season, trailing only Gretzky’s 97 points during the 1996-97 season.
• This season, his age-37 season, he is already up to 78 points (which is already the ninth-most ever for a player in their age-37 season) and on pace to push 90 points. If he maintains his current pace and reaches that 90-point mark, he would be just the fifth-player to ever do so at this age. The others on the list are Joe Sakic, Johnny Buyck, Lemieux, and Gretzky.
• It gets even more impressive when you look at all of these ages together as a collective timespan. Since turning 35 Crosby has averaged 1.13 points per game in the NHL. In the history of the league, and among all players that have played at least 100 games age 35-or-older, the only two with a higher point-per-game average are Mario Lemieux (1.35 in 170 games) and Frank Mahovlich (1.16 in 149 games). Gretzky, Ratelle, Sakic, Buyck, Alex Ovechkin and Jean Beliveau are the only other players on the list over even one point per game within that age range.

That sort of career trajectory is really not supposed to happen. Players are not supposed to still be this good at this age, and only the greatest of the all-time greats are able to even come close to this. Which is also fitting because he is among that group.

If nothing else, just embrace watching him keep doing this the rest of the season, and if possible get yourself to the regular season finale on April 17 when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are in town. Both legends of the game are still dominating and would be a great opportunity to see both of them in historic, record-setting seasons.

It is still amazing to me how both Crosby and Ovechkin entered the NHL with expectations that almost seemed unfair and unreachable, and not only have both of them consistently met those expectations, they have consistently exceeded them. They still are.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/24...s-defying-age-with-his-production-consistency

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Harrison Brunicke’s stock rising as WHL season comes to an end

Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Brunicke will be joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL.

Harrison Brunicke, one of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top prospects will be joining the team’s AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as his season in the WHL has ended.

Brunicke’s stock has continued to rise since being drafted in the second round in 2024 with the 44th overall pick, which was acquired when the Penguins dealt Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The 6’3” defenseman nearly made the Penguins’ team last fall and still has another year of eligibility in juniors but will soon be getting his first look at life in the AHL.

In an interview with the Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel, Brunicke said he’s looking forward to joining the team.

“With how good that Wilkes-Barre team is doing, that is pretty special. Hopefully, I’m able to go there and reunite with those guys and have some fun,” Brunicke told the PG. “As far as I know, that is the plan. I think it’s as soon as we can, basically.”

Video from Brunicke’s play for Kamloops shared by The Athletic’s Jesse Marshall showed some of the skills in the young defenseman’s arsenal.

This dude is absolutely ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/91YwttrMDk

— Jesse Marshall (@jmarshfof) March 25, 2025​

In the video, Brunicke collected a puck in the defensive zone, used a spin move to deke around an opponent as he entered the neutral zone, stickhandled around a Kelowna defender and managed to get a shot off that went wide of the net.

“This dude is absolutely ridiculous,” Marshall said.

Brunicke will be joining the AHL soon enough, but until then stay tuned for a full mixtape of his play on Jesse’s YouTube page.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/3/25...es-stock-rising-as-whl-season-comes-to-an-end