RSS Penguins Team Notes

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: LA Kings @ Pittsburgh Penguins 11/9/25

Who: Los Angeles Kings (6-5-4, 16 points, 5th place Pacific Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (9-4-3, 21 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)

When: 2:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Broadcast locally Sportsnet Pittsburgh and Fanduel Sports Network, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: After today the Penguins have a few days off to travel to Sweden for a pair of games against Nashville next week starting

Opponent Track: The Kings are 1-2-0 in the month of November, losing the last time out to Florida at home on Thursday. This is the first game of a six-game Eastern road trip for Los Angeles.

Season Series: The Penguins won 4-2 back on October 16th in LA. This will be the final game of the season series.

Hidden Stat: Anze Kopitar has announced his retirement after the season, today will be his final game in Pittsburgh and against the Penguins in general. Kopitar has 25 career points (8G+17A) in 27 games against the Pens.

Getting to know the Kings​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Joel Armia – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe

Kevin Fiala – Quinton Byfield – Alex Laferriere

Andrei Kuzmenko – Phillip Danault – Trevor Moore

Warren Foegele – Alex Turcotte – Corey Perry

DEFENSEMEN

Mikey Anderson / Drew Doughty

Joel Edmundson / Brandt Clarke

Brian Dumoulin / Cody Ceci

Goalies: Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg

Potential scratches: Sam Helenius, Jeff Mallot, Jacob Moverare

• The Kings are healthier than the last time the Pens saw them in October now that Kuemper and Kopitar are healthy again.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• Has Corey Perry found the fountain of youth? The veteran has scored 12, 12, and 19 goals in the last three seasons and already has six in nine games this year.
• There has been a lot of talk and rumors going back and forth about impending free agent Adrian Kempe. He’s making his case to be the next in the Kyle Connor/Martin Necas/Logan Cooley tier of players in the $10-12 million long-range. Will the Kings ante up, or will he actually make it to free agency?

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Bryan Rust – Sidney Crosby – Ben Kindel

Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin – Anthony Mantha

Joona Koppanen – Kevin Hayes – Ville Koivunen

Danton Heinen – Blake Lizotte – Connor Dewar

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea / Kris Letang

Ryan Graves / Connor Clifton

Goalies: Sergei Murashov and Arturs Silovs

Potential Scratches: Philip Tomasino, Matt Dumba, Harrison Brunicke

IR: Filip Hallander, Tristan Jarry, Justin Brazeau, Jack St. Ivany (lower body), Rutger McGroarty (upper body), Joel Blomqvist (lower body), Rickard Rakell (hand), Caleb Jones (lower body, out 6-8 weeks), Noel Acciari

• Save us, Murashov? Could be the debut of the 21-year old goalie on the back-half of the back-to-back. The Pens could use the energy boost from the exuberant youngster and the natural added extra attention to detail to help out the first timer.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/penguins-...-preview-la-kings-pittsburgh-penguins-11-9-25

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Kings Highlights: Pens lose in Murashov’s debut

The Penguins and Kings met on Sunday, here was how it went.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-recaps/68923/penguins-kings-highlights-pens-lose-in-murashovs-debut

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

The week ahead: Schedule presents opportunities for Penguins

When it comes to their results, the past week had to be a little frustrating for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

They carried the play for large portions of the week, and against some really good teams, but still only managed to come away with three out of a possible eight points in the standings. Given the way they played at times it all seemed like a missed opportunity. Maybe even a little underwhelming.

They played 40 perfect minutes against the Toronto Maple Leafs, only to turn a 3-0 third period lead into a 4-3 regulation loss.

They played a great 30 minutes against the Washington Capitals and let another 3-0 lead slip away, only to rebound with a strong third period to get the win.

They played a really solid 60 minutes against the New Jersey Devils, but could not beat Jake Allen and ended up losing their third shootout in as many tries.

They had another strong 40 minutes against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday before running out of steam on the second half of a back-to-back in the third period, turning a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 loss.

From a process perspective, there was a lot to like. Especially given some of the injuries at forward and how much they still carried play at times. Arturs Silovs was strong in goal outside of the shootout. Sergei Murashov had a strong debut on Sunday. They did a lot of things well, but putting together a full 60 minutes was not one of them.

Now the Penguins have a few days off as they travel to Sweden to play two games against the Nashville Predators on Friday and Sunday.

The Predators are not a particularly good team. They enter the week having lost four games in a row and eight of their past nine, have one of the worst records in the league and are coming off a 2024-25 season where they were also one of the worst teams in the league and easily one of the most disappointing following an offseason spending spree. They play one game on Monday against the New York Rangers before traveling to Sweden to play the Penguins.

As a team, the Predators do not do anything especially well.

They are 30th out of 32 teams in points percentage, 30th in goals per game, 29th in goals against per game, 27th on the power play, 11th on the penalty kill, 16th in expected goal share during 5-on-5 play, 25th in 5-on-5 save percentage and 26th in all-situations save percentage.

Again, it is just not a very good team. Barry Trotz is an excellent NHL head coach, but he leaves a lot to be desired as a general manager and does not really seem to have a set plan or direction for where the franchise should be going.

All of this should be an opportunity for the Penguins to get a few points and make up for their missed opportunities this past week. It is expecting a lot to expect any NHL team to beat another NHL team in consecutive games, but they really need to take advantage of this chance to stack some points in the standings.

For the most part, the Penguins have done that this season.

These next few weeks are also a good opportunity for that beyond the two games against Nashville.

After the two games in Sweden, the Penguins return home for a three-game home stand against the Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken and Buffalo Sabres.

That is five winnable games over the next 16 days, with a lot of days off built in. Those days off could be good for an injured team that has looked tired at times over the past couple of games, and especially on Sunday.

The Penguins are still in an okay position in the standings, but after missing some chances to get more points this week they really need to take advantage of the schedule over this next stretch of games if they intend to stay in the Stanley Cup Playoff race this season.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/68931/the-week-ahead-schedule-presents-opportunities-for-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Kings celebrate in Murashov’s debut

Here are your Pens Points for this Monday morning…​

The Pittsburgh Penguins closed out a back-to-back set on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Of note, it was highly touted goalie prospect Sergei Murashov’s NHL debut. The Kings came out as the victors in what was a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. [Highlights]

Despite the loss, defenseman Erik Karlsson is already turning the page, beaming with excitement to return to his home country of Sweden later in the week to play the Nashville Predators in the Global Series games. [NHL]

Perhaps Sunday’s debut will go down in Penguins lore much the same as Marc-Andre Fleury’s debut did in October 2003. Now, Murashov obviously has a long way to go before living up to any such billing, but if the game and its lead-up were any indication, the Penguins and their fans believe they have something special with the 21-year-old. [Penguins]

Former Penguins defender Brian Dumoulin will be rightfully remembered as a steady, shutdown partner with Kris Letang. After departing the team in the summer of 2023, he now finds himself in sunny SoCal with the Los Angeles Kings, looking to win once again. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL…​

Washington Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is expected to miss three to four months after having surgery to address injuries to his abdominal and adductor muscles. [TSN]

How realistic is it to expect Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid to reach 2,000 career points before they hang up their skates? [Sportsnet]

Saturday’s 9-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche was the worst home defeat for the Edmonton Oilers since a 10-2 defeat against the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 27, 2009. McDavid and the Oilers have started slow out of the gate once again, and the Edmonton captain is hoping to see more of a response from himself and his teammates. [NHL]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/6892...kings-murashov-debut-nhl-global-series-sweden

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

The Penguins shootout problems are still lingering

It is far from the most pressing concern for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, but holy crap is this team bad in shootouts. They are 0-3 in shootouts this season, and over the past four years have been objectively one of the least successful teams in the NHL’s tie-breaking skills competition. It is leaving a lot of points on the table, and when you are a fringe playoff team you are not really in a position to be leaving any points on the table.

The latest shootout defeat came on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils.

This year the biggest obstacle has been goalie Artus Silovs doing a complete 180 from his play in regulation and overtime and forgetting how to play his position. He has not just been bad statistically, he has not even looked competitive in his attempts.

The shooters are not really helping matters much, but they have at least scored a couple of goals for themselves.

Silovs has allowed goals on seven of the eight shots he has faced.

But that is a new problem this season. The Penguins’ recent shootout problems pre-date him.

Let’s just look at some numbers on this.

Going back to the 2022-23 season the Penguins are just 4-13 in their 17 shootouts. That ..235 winning percentage ranks them 29th in the NHL, ahead of only the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers (?!) and San Jose Sharks.

It has been a collective group effort on how they have reached this point.

Their shooters over that stretch have scored on just 30 percent of their shots, which ranks 20th in the NHL.

Their three most effective shooters have been Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell and Evgeni Malkin, with all of them scoring on more than 34 percent of their shots. As a collective, that trio has gone 13-for-35.

While that’s not quite an elite level, or what you might expect from players as talented as Crosby and Malkin, a 37.5 success rate on a team level would be ninth best in the NHL over the past four years. So … it should be good enough for at least a few more wins.

The problem is the other skaters they have used over that stretch have managed to go just 8-for-34.

That is only 23.5 percent, which would rank at the bottom of the NHL if it were a team-wide success-rate.

The biggest culprits here have been Bryan Rust (2-for-10), Kris Letang (1-for-6) and Jake Guentzel (1-for-4) before he was traded.

In the early part of the Crosby-Malkin era, and even into the second half of it, the Penguins were consistently an outstanding shootout team with talented skaters and strong goaltending giving them a decisive edge every time one was needed. But into the Mike Sullivan era the Penguins were notorious for not doing any sort of shootout activity in practices.

I mention this because according to The Athletic’s Josh Yohe on Tuesday, the Penguins did in fact work on some shootouts.

While it might be good for the forwards to workshop some things, I honestly think the biggest help might be for the goalies.

Silovs specifically.

For years Marc-Andre Fleury was one of the NHL’s most effective shootout goalies, and there is no way you will convince me that regularly getting practice with it was not a factor in that.

While the Penguins forwards have largely been below average in recent years, their goalies since the start of the 2022-23 season have combined for the absolute worst shootout save percentage in the NHL, posting only a .535 mark.

They are one of only five teams that has posted a mark under .600, while the league average is closer to .690.

It is not a surprise that some element of goaltending has been a liability for the Penguins given the way the past few years have played out, but those are just some damning numbers. Somebody has to make a save at some point.

Even if you remove Silov’s 1-for-8 from the equation, the Penguins goalies were still 30th in the NHL in shootout save percentage between the 2022-23 and 2024-25 seasons.

At the end of the day this is not the sort of thing that is going to separate a good team from a bad team. Most teams only take part in four or five shootouts per season (with obvious outliers on both ends of the extreme there). But given how close playoff races are, and the sometimes razor thin margin between the eighth and ninth seeds in the two conferences, one or two extra points could be the difference between a postseason appearance and not having a postseason appearance.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/69004/the-penguins-shootout-problems-are-still-lingering

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins Prospect Update: Horcoff heater, Vaisanen injured

Now that the Penguins are over in Stockholm for a few days we have a good opportunity to look at how their prospects are doing this season. Today will be out second one of the year, with a reminder that since these semi-regular updates are in that it isn’t going to be a comprehensive look at every single player’s statistics (which might not tell a full or complete story anyways) but rather hitting a few of the most notable players and looking a little deeper than just the boxcar stats.

Pittsburgh Penguins Prospect Update: Mid-October

Horcoff hot streak​

Will Horcoff has been the best player in college hockey at scoring goals in 2025-26. It’s quite the glow up from the mid-year add last season that scored four times in 16 games for Michigan as the youngest player in NCAA hockey last season.

Prospect Check In

2025 first-round pick Will Horcoff leads the entire NCAA in goals this season – with THREE @penguins prospects in the top-10.

Zam Plante, Pittsburgh's 2022 fifth-round pick, trails only his brother/linemate for the most points in the nation. pic.twitter.com/UFveKI68dL

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) November 10, 2025

The scoring touch aspect is impressive for Horcoff. Have said it once and will say it many more times, when he gets down low and gets the puck and has a shooting lane, it’s usually going to be a goal. He’s just got those hands and finishing ability and it’s nice to see that starting to extend out to beating goalies from some distance as well as making some dekes to beat defenders to raise his game beyond just getting to the net and knocking goals in.

Horcoff calls game! pic.twitter.com/Okw5ty84iD

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) November 2, 2025

Horcoff has a pair! pic.twitter.com/MCSINehKoA

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) October 31, 2025

Utter filth from Horcoff @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/ZpdRw49PEO

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) November 8, 2025

But unfortunately bad news for the other, other 2025 first round pick​

From the Penguins’ three 1st round draft picks last season there has been three very different paths. Everyone sees Ben Kindel having success in the NHL and now playing on Sidney Crosby’s line. Horcoff as mentioned above is feasting at the collegiate level. Unfortunately it hasn’t been so smooth for Bill Zonnon.

Zonnon’s season has barely gotten off the ground, at first he suffered a knee injury in a QMJHL exhibition game prior to NHL training camp that cost him participation with Pittsburgh in September. Sadly, Zonnon had returned for just two games before suffering another 4-6 week injury. The good news is he reportedly will be able to avoid surgery.

Bonne nouvelle dans les circonstances chez l’@ArmadaBLB, alors que Bill Zonnon n’aura pas besoin de passer sous le bistouri suite à sa blessure de jeudi soir.

Il sera cependant absent pour une période de 4 à 6 semaines.#LHJMQ

— Cédrik Blondin (@cedrikblondin) November 9, 2025

As a result, Zonnon’s draft+1 season is quickly turning into a wash, obviously a tough development to watch. Hopefully Zonnon can heal up and put the latest bump in the road behind him. It’s pretty interesting to watch just how differently the three seasons of the players who will be linked as Pittsburgh first round picks have all unfolded, and hopefully Zonnon can eventually get headed in the direction of where Horcoff and especially Kindel have been trending in the last few months. If anything else, it shows the divergent paths and everyone takes a different journey.

Vaisanen injured​

Staying on the injury front, more awful news regarding Joona Vaisanen.

More brutal injury news: Western Michigan's Joona Väisänen, one of the best defensemen in the country, suffered an injury last weekend that's expected to sideline him longterm. Exact timeline still being determined. But the star blue liner not expected back soon.

— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) November 6, 2025

Hate to see that, the Finnish defender was a team captain at summer development camp and is one of the top defenders at the collegiate level. The Pens really like this guy, and anyone who has watched him lately would be able to see why, solid player. Hopefully this injury won’t having lasting ramifications or hinder the upward path Vaisanen has been on.

Cruz cruisin’​

We’re keeping a close eye on Cruz Lucius, who is in the midst of a massive senior season and looking to earn a pro contract at the end of it. So far definitely so good with a stat-line of 8G+4A in 10 games for Arizona State. Better than the numbers is the make up in it, he’s got some skill that will have to be enticing for the pro level.

TOP SHELF for Cruz

CC 3 | ASU 2 pic.twitter.com/O63Jt89fH5

— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) November 8, 2025

Zam Plante?​

The other prospect in the Pens PR graphic about Will Horcoff above contains Zam Plante. The former 5th round pick in 2022 isn’t nearly as big of a prospect but has been having a great season at Minnesota-Duluth.

Another Plante to Plante power play GOAL!! pic.twitter.com/6T8azfxf2q

— UMD Men's Hockey (@UMDMensHockey) November 8, 2025

Plante has been tearing it up with his brother Max (a second round pick in 2024 for Detroit). Max has 19 points (7+12A) in 12 games, incredible stuff. Z. Plante is an interesting prospect, have to agree with Jesse that there are little hitches in his game that for a 5’9” player you wonder how will go at the higher levels. Not sure how projectable he might be but certainly his production at the NCAA level is noteworthy.

Ilyin heating up​

It seems like an annual occurrence that Mikhail Ilyin gets off to a slow (or slow-ish) start in the first 5-10 games in the KHL then really turns it on. Well my friends, happy to report he has been getting to the fun stuff now.

Mikhail Ilyin is having a breakout season.
He has 19PTS (5G, 14A) in 23 games and 17 points in his last 15.
He’s showing major growth in his 3rd KHL season.
Let’s see how much more he can develop this year — and could be a strong candidate to make the team next season. pic.twitter.com/r65XeorL3I

— Pens Prospects (@pensprospects_) November 7, 2025

MIKHAIL ILYIN CALLS GAME!!!
Overtime winner and a phenomenal game — 1G, 3A to seal the win!
What a performance. His best game of the season, no doubt. pic.twitter.com/y79gLAJXBz

— Pens Prospects (@pensprospects_) November 6, 2025

Fifth round ‘25ers playing well​

Jordan Charron, a Pens’ 5th rounder in ‘25, is still up there at second in the OHL in goals (15). That’s actually a little bit of a cool down from him starting out the year with a goal per game for quite a while, but still a fantastic beginning of his season.

Charron gets us back within one pic.twitter.com/5k0pNLf6lV

— Soo Greyhounds (@OHLHoundPower) November 9, 2025

Over on the other side of Canada in the WHL, another Pens’ fifth round pick from ‘25, Ryan Miller, is working on an 11-game point-streak. As we said in past updates, Miller (who had 31 points in 50 WHL games last season) was a very strong bet to blow up statistically this season. It’s not irregular for players like that to get more ice time and a bigger role as they go from being on the younger to older end of the league quickly after getting drafted. Miller is up to 21 points (6G+15A) in just 18 games.

THAT'S OUR CAPTAIN pic.twitter.com/1Vb3YazSi2

— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) November 9, 2025

Finally, yet another 2025 fifth round pick, defenseman Quinn Beauchesne, is riding a four-game goal streak in the OHL. It was kind of crazy that Beauchesne started the OHL season very quietly since he had nothing but an active September in Pittsburgh – fighting guys at the Prospect Challenge, earning NHL preseason game as a mid-round pick at age 18. Looks like he’s settling back in at the junior level nicely.

That's FOUR straight games with a goal for the Moon Man!#IoftheStorm | @penguins pic.twitter.com/wZRh6E36Is

— Guelph Storm (@Storm_City) November 9, 2025

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/prospect-...ospect-update-horcoff-heater-vaisanen-injured

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens in Sweden: Ice size, spas and more

Some little bits and pieces around the Penguins as they take in Sweden this week.

Erik Karlsson sets the stage on what to expect during the games.

What can we expect from the atmosphere in Stockholm for the Global Series?

EK65: "Our culture, usually if you go to a normal game, would be more like a soccer style… everyone who's there is gonna cheer for a good game and both teams equally." pic.twitter.com/pKrJ8onJQm

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 12, 2025

Those opponents were out having a good time for themselves.

An afternoon of adventures in Stockholm ️#NHLGlobalSeries pic.twitter.com/jRjKtYcAub

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) November 12, 2025

It’s an interesting nugget that Europe will mark the third different continent where Penguins vs. Predators games have been held, especially since that’s a fairly random rivalry to be taking all over the world (memories of the 2017 Stanley Cup final aside).

The Pens and Preds opened the 2000-01 season over in Japan, interestingly enough the NHL put regular season games in Tokyo in 1997, 1998 and these 2000 games where in Saitama (somewhat outside of Tokyo) around the time of the 1998 Nagano Olympics. The NHL hasn’t been back to Japan since 2000.

The Pens/Preds international rivalry sits at 1-1-0, each team traded 3-1 wins in Japan. In a fitting twist following the Czech’s ‘98 Olympic goal (and the Pens’ Prague West days) all the goal scorers for Pittsburgh were Czech natives. Jan Hrdina scored a goal in each game, Robert Lang and Martin Straka also scored for the Pens. Jaromir Jagr assisted on three of the four goals.

Pittsburgh played in Finland and Sweden in 2008, splitting two games with the Ottawa Senators. The Predators have more recent overseas experiences, they won two games against San Jose in Germany and Czechia in 2022.

Josh Getzoff clarified a point for ice dimensions of this weekend’s games:

I’ve gotten a few questions on this and wondered myself, but no. The ice/boards in the arena have been modified to North American/NHL dimensions for the Global Series games. The sheet won’t be any larger despite the games being played in Europe @penguins @PredsNHL https://t.co/JKk05yIkSi

— Josh Getzoff (@JG_PxP) November 12, 2025

Good to know the rink size will be the NHL standard 200 feet long by 85 feet wide. The traditional European rink size is 197 feet by 98.5 feet wide (60m x 30m). Hockey’s main international body, the IIHF, is transitioning more towards standardizing the NHL dimensions, the upcoming 2026 Olympics in Italy will be played on the NHL-sized rink.

The Penguins were off the ice today, they’ll be back on the ice for a practice at 11:30am local time tomorrow (5:30am back at home in Pittsburgh) before the first game on Friday. Until then, they’ll enjoy the sights and the spa.

The Penguins had a day off today and many are spending part of their day in Gamla Stan (old town Stockholm). Here are some photos from my exploring there earlier! A cafe every few steps and the cutest buildings and little cobblestone roads!@SNPittsburgh pic.twitter.com/sLrRrzrc3s

— Hailey Hunter (@TheHaileyHunter) November 12, 2025

Spa mode activated pic.twitter.com/FE9RZ6FwgG

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 12, 2025

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/69024/pens-in-sweden-ice-size-spas-and-more

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Wilkes Weekly: New faces coming through

It’s not easy to be an AHL franchise, about as soon as things go well then everything changes. Wilkes-Barre has had to deal with three of their top five scorers (Danton Heinen, Ville Koivunen, Ryan Graves) getting called up and then they lost AHL October goalie of the month Sergei Murashov on top of that.

That’s life in the minor leagues and the beat goes on just the same. WBS was able to go 1-1-1 last week to get somewhat back on track. When players go out the door, it opens room for others; and Wilkes was able to see that come through with players like Maxim Pavlenko coming up from ECHL Wheeling in place of Murashov and earning a shutout in his first AHL start. Here’s Nick Hart’s weekly recap of the action:

Wednesday, Nov. 5 – PENGUINS 3 vs. Toronto 4 (OT)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put on a clinic in the first 40 minutes of regulation, dominating possession and racking up three-straight goals. Tristan Broz scored 16 seconds in, the third-fastest goal in team history. However, the Marlies rallied in the third period and stole the win late in overtime.

Friday, Nov. 7 – PENGUINS 4 at Rochester 6
This time, it was the Penguins’ turn to rally, but their thrilling comeback fell short in the end. The Americans snatched a 4-1 lead going into the first intermission, only for Alex Alexeyev, Broz and Sam Poulin to bring the Pens level at 4-4. Third-period power-play and empty-net goals led Rochester to victory.

Saturday, Nov. 8 – PENGUINS 4 vs. Utica 0
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put forth a top-to-bottom solid outing in front of a 20-save shutout by rookie Maxim Pavlenko. Matty De St. Phalle and Poulin scored for the second-straight game, while Broz logged his team-leading seventh tally of the year.

Coach Kirk MacDonald talked after the Utica win.

"If I don't have to talk at all, then good things are happening."

Hear from Coach Kirk MacDonald after tonight's 4-0 victory over Utica pic.twitter.com/vTszMNGGDY

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) November 9, 2025

As far as prospect watch goes for some of the most notable names on the NHL radar:

• Tristan Broz has an active three-game goal streak and scored four points in his last three games
• Avery Hayes has picked up a minor injury and hasn’t played since November 1st
• Owen Pickering has an assist in three games since re-joining the AHL club. Pickering is playing first pair minutes with Philip Kemp, as he was prior to his NHL promotion
• Pittsburgh gets to bring an extra goalie over to Sweden, so Filip Larsson has re-joined Murashov for a few days. Pens GM Kyle Dubas stated that Joel Blomqvist should be returning soon to game action for WBS after suffering a preseason injury

The week ahead, from Hart:

Wednesday, Nov. 12 – PENGUINS at Bridgeport
It’s an early, 10:30 a.m. start for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s mid-week visit to Connecticut. The Penguins are 2-0-0-0 so far this season against the Islanders and have won eight-straight at Total Mortgage Arena.

Friday, Nov. 14 – PENGUINS vs. Bridgeport
The script flips when the Islanders trek to NEPA for a rematch on a 28/22 News Fan Control Friday. The Isles have been known to start fast, accruing a league-leading 17 first-period goals.

Saturday, Nov. 15 – PENGUINS vs. Springfield
The Penguins take on the Thunderbirds for their first of four clashes. Springfield has only one win on the year thus far, but recently added long-time NHL veteran Milan Lucic on a PTO.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/wbs-weekly/69018/wilkes-weekly-new-faces-coming-through

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Ben Kindel is making a rare and impressive case for himself

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had many a pleasant surprise over their first 17 games. They’ve gotten a lot of life out of mid-level free agent signings like Justin Brazeau, Anthony Mantha and Parker Wotherspoon. Arturs Silovs has looked the part of an NHL goalie. Tristan Jarry and even Ryan Graves have started upon redemption journeys, no matter how modest or long-lasting they might be. Evgeni Malkin has seemingly turned back the hands of time. Erik Karlsson is playing like he has something to prove. Sidney Crosby is, well, you can’t be too surprised that he’s still the best player on the ice most nights but at 38 it’s still something to see.

The progression of Ben Kindel, however, is arguably their finest and most pleasant surprise of all so far. No one had him even close to the NHL radar in 2025-26 (though, hey, at least we were able to raise the possibility of the unexpected)

That Ben Kindel pick for the Penguins is looking pretty good… right away.

11th overall selections don't often jump into the NHL months after being drafted, stick around past the 9 game tryout and have an immediate impact.

Only 7 times in the past 35 years has a F picked…

— Byron Bader (@ByronMBader) November 4, 2025

Those seven other forwards who fit in the category are Zach Benson, Cole Sillinger, Ryan O’Reilly, Patrice Bergeron, Dustin Brown, Justin Williams and Sykora. Of those, only the first two have had their rookie seasons in the last 15 years.

Not only is Kindel making it, he’s excelling. It’s early, small sample, blah blah but Kindel has stepped right in and looked the part of a player who can drive his own line and now has stepped up to the first line to play on the wing. Kindel’s two-way play was touted coming out of the WHL just as much as his ability to produce points and that has been the case thus far in his first 15 NHL games.

Of the others, here are some stat lines for their rookie years:

These players, of course, were far from finished products even though it is rare to even show enough to stick in the NHL from this age without being a top-10 draft pick. One commonality amongst these players seems to be a defensive conscious, Beregron won six Selke trophies in his career, O’Reilly has won the award once. Brown and Sykora picked up Selke votes in their careers and were known as reliable players off the puck, as was Williams. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Kindel joins them to at least find his name on Selke ballots in the future if he eventually grows into a penalty killing center as his career blossoms. That makes sense on the surface level, if a young player is going to make it right off the bat they have to instantly create some trust away from the puck and demonstrate a good compete and detail level to their game beyond their young age.

As the stats above show, there’s a lot more offensive upside for the players to find. Most of the rookies ended up in the 25-30ish point range as draft+1 NHLers and almost all of them eventually found their game grow into being 60+ players (including Benson, who got to 60 in his second season). That hasn’t always been the case — Sillinger has no more than 33 points over his four NHL seasons and may never reach the levels that just about everyone else did but the track record there is fairly strong and shows a clear path about a promising future is ahead for young Kindel.

Of course, one doesn’t need this article to realize all of that, the eye test is showing in spades the impressiveness in Kindel’s game. It was only a month ago when the Pens’ coaches had a plan to cycle Kindel out as a healthy scratch at times to keep him from getting overloaded. Plans can change, Kindel has played the last eight games in a row and more all the time (scoring five points and averaging 16:30 per game while playing more minutes each game in the last four games than he played in all of his first 11). The scratches have gone away because there hasn’t been a need lately to give him time off.

Kindel has been able to handle what the Pens have asked, whether that’s been centering his own line or now moving up to play wing with Crosby. For someone drafted outside of the top-10 and won’t turn 19 until after the regular season ends that could be the biggest and best surprise of them all this season in Pittsburgh.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/69057/ben-kindel-is-making-a-rare-and-impressive-case-for-himself

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Off day in Stockholm

It was a day of adventure for the Pittsburgh Penguins who had the day off from hockey activities and were able to explore their temporary host city of Stockholm, Sweden and take in some local culture. While this is primarily a business trip for the Penguins, it’s good for the players to take some down time and enjoy the experience. Some players adventured around the Swedish capital whole others traded in their jerseys for robes and hit up a local spa for some needed R&R before the games begin on Friday.

Pens Points…​

You may have heard, but the Penguins are in Sweden to take on the Nashville Predators in the NHL Global Series and the team seems to be having some fun across the pond. Erik Karlsson can’t wait to play in front of his home fans while his teammates were out on the town in Stockholm. [Pensburgh]

Callups are part of the business as an AHL team and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are learning that the hard way as of late. A slew of callups to the NHL has seen the Baby Penguins lose some key pieces recently and their recent play is showing how that can play out on the ice. [Pensburgh]

There are many good rookies in the NHL this season, Ben Kindel among them. Kindel may be the most surprising of the group given his rapid ascent since being drafted in June, and while he may not be a Calder Trophy favorite, he can certainly play his way into the conversation. [The Hockey Writers]

After missing out on the opening night roster and beginning the season in the AHL, Danton Heinen is back where he wants to be. To make it happen, he had to give up his comfortable spot as a winger and make the move to center to revitalize his career. [Trib Live]

While Kindel has already blown past the nine game tryout window for burning a year of his entry level deal, defenseman Harrison Brunicke is still sitting right on the threshold. If the Penguins are to send him back to juniors, it will have to be after returning from Sweden. [The Hockey News]

Here’s a name you probably didn’t expect to here in the year 2025: Simon Despres. That’s right, the former Penguins first round pick is still active on the ice, recently signing a deal with Scottish professional team the Fife Flyers of the Elite Ice Hockey League in the UK. [Trib Live]

NHL News and Notes…​

One missing star from the NHL Global Series this weekend will be Predators captain Roman Josi who did not make the trip to remain in Nashville to recover from injury. Though he is not in Sweden with his teammates, they are thinking about him from afar. [NHL]

It could be going from bad to worse for the Toronto Maple Leafs after a 5-3 loss to the Bruins on Tuesday night. Captain Auston Matthews left the game early with an injury after a hit from Nikita Zodorov as did starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz after allowing three goals on ten shots. [NHL]

After firing Mitch Love last month following an investigation into allegations against the former coach., the Washington Capitals have added Patrick Wellar as the team’s newest coach to assist Spencer Carbery behind the bench. Wellar was previously an assistant with the Hershey Bears. [Sportsnet]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/69043/pens-points-off-day-in-stockholm

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Predators Recap: Anemic Pens blow another late lead, lose in OT

Pregame​

The Penguins go global with this lineup, including Arturs Silovs in net.

How we're lining up for game one of the #NHLGlobalSeries pic.twitter.com/L8r7kzyMRq

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 14, 2025

Sidney Crosby gets a nice welcome but Erik Karlsson is welcomed back to his country with an even bigger one. Crosby yields the ceremonial pre-game puck drop to Karlsson as well,

That crowd pop when Erik Karlsson is announced during the player intros

Sweden is READY for some hockey pic.twitter.com/cJRw2CfFfm

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 14, 2025

First period​

Very few whistles in the early going but not much in the way of scoring chances either. The Penguins get the first power play of the game after Ben Kindel gets interfered with. Nashville gets the best scoring chance when Erik Haula picks off Kris Letang but Silovs is there to make the big breakaway save.

Evgeni Malkin has a pair of very nice shots, Juuse Saros stops them both.

Kris Letang heads to the penalty box for punching a guy in the face with just over a minute to go, Pittsburgh makes it to intermission without doing any damage.

Shots are 8-8, indicative of an even game to start out. Both goalies were the best players on the ice in the early going.

Second period​

Nashville’s Justin Barron is the next to the box for a high stick, leading to an uneventful Pittsburgh power play. Barron gets out of the box and walks right into a clear breakaway but Silovs makes another big stop.

The Arty Party has gone international pic.twitter.com/6XGNQthihy

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 14, 2025

Nashville keeps pushing, Filip Forsberg makes a very nice play to setup Ryan O’Reilly, but again Silovs is there.

Out of no where, the Pens score. It’s a weird one, Evgeni Malkin has the back of his skates all the way against the end boards behind Saros and flings the puck hard to the front. There isn’t even any Penguins around, but the puck ricochets and ends up in the net. A little Malkin magic finally gets the scoring going with 6:11 to play in the second period.

MALKAMANIA IN STOCKHOLM! pic.twitter.com/pUQzN2gMh1

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 14, 2025

That’s it for the scoring, shots in the middle frame are 11-2 NSH, it’s Pittsburgh who gets on the board.

Third period​

Luke Evangelista sneaks behind the Pens’ defense and gets a great look, blowing a shot by Silovs that hits the crossbar, bounces down and..hits post and stays out. Can’t get much closer than that.

Game keeps on going, still not too many shots in either way. Finally with about 1:15 left the Preds pull Saros for an extra skater.

Nashville takes their timeout to regroup for a 6v5 push. It works out immediately. Sidney Crosby wins the faceoff back but Forsberg steps in and takes it, quickly going to the backhand with a hard shot. 1-1 game with 1:10 to go.

FILIP FORSBERG TIES THE GAME IN SWEDEN

COULDN'T HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BETTER pic.twitter.com/VSouMRUGhR

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 14, 2025

Overtime​

Crosby-Rust-Karlsson starts, Nashville gains possession and Forsberg gets a great chance but Silovs makes a tremendous save.

He had made a few of them over the game but that would be the last. Steven Stamkos found room with no one in front of him and made a great shot to the top corner past Silovs to win the game. 2-1.

YES SIR STAMMER pic.twitter.com/Tiiba3yw9B

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) November 14, 2025

Some thoughts​

• The Penguins are so much slower than they were 2, 3, 4 weeks ago due to having Kevin Hayes and Joona Koppanen in the lineup. A lot taller too, probably. For Dan Muse’s puck support, tight team, I’d think you’d rather have 2-3 Connor Dewar’s or Blake Lizotte’s rather than a couple of 6’5” lumbering giants, but hey, gotta take what you can get at this point with so many players on IR. At this point it seems like it’s limiting the third and fourth lines from generating shots.
• With the luck and results Nashville is getting, it’s fitting they would be up 10-1 in the shot department of the second period, Malkin creates a scoring play where a scoring play absolutely should not have been able to be made, and then the Preds are losing. When it’s not going right, it’s not going right. Despite playing a great period, Nashville falls behind. That can be the life of a game predicated around some crazy bounces and luck, none of them are going the Preds’ way these days. The ending to come back and win was the only difference from how things have mostly gone for them.
• This was hardly the most painful goal Nashville’s given up to a Penguin player from banking it in behind the net to break a 0-0 tie though, so you gotta give ‘em that at least.
• No surprise that a lot of the Swedish players had extra jump in their steps today. Forsberg was good all game and not about to let his team go down without a fight. Haula was visible for the Preds. Karlsson was dancing around and making all sorts of moves.
• Muse’s usage has been interesting at times, putting a Rust-Crosby-Malkin line out for d-zone draw in a 5v6 situation is another. Forsberg scored on Malkin’s side, which maybe there was nothing more that anyone could have done but then again maybe someone used to playing wing could have played it differently. There’s some reward to the risk about scoring an empty net goal by gaining control of the puck but you gotta gain control of the puck first.
• Two straight blown third period leads for the Pens. Really they were lucky to even be ahead in the third period at all in this game with an anemic offense and some great goaltending. That’s now 5-2-1 on the season for the Pens when leading after two, which will be bottom-five in the league in points percentage. Only a few games for now but based on recent games, leads not being safe are becoming a storyline to track.
• It certainly wasn’t the goalie’s responsibility though. Silovs earned the Pens a point and easily was their best and most consistent player of the day.

As far as global series goes, this definitely was a game played in it. The Pens will look to make a lasting memory on Sunday morning back home to wrap up their European games.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-reca...anemic-pens-blow-another-late-lead-lose-in-ot

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Global Series Gamethread: Predators vs. Penguins

Talk about the international game with Pens fans here!

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-open-threads/69034/global-series-gamethread-predators-vs-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens blow another lead in Global Series loss to Preds

There’s an unfortunate pattern developing for the Penguins during this 1-4-1 stretch to start November.

There was that 3-0 third-period lead against the Toronto Maple Leafs, followed by four unanswered goals and a regulation loss last Monday.

Last Thursday, there was that 3-0 second-period lead against the Washington Capitals. That was gone by the end of the frame, although the Pens ultimately regained the lead on a third-period power play.

Next was Saturday’s frustrating matchup with the New Jersey Devils, during which the Penguins consistently controlled play but were unable to find a third-period or OT goal in time to stave off a shootout loss.

The following day, the Pens were up 3-2 in the third period when they gave up another two unanswered goals in a regulation Sunday loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

Most recently, the Pens opened up the 2025 Global Series by continuing the same pattern Friday in Stockholm.

The Penguins had a lead all the way up until the Nashville Predators pulled their goalie and scored with 1:10 remaining in the third period.

The Pens didn’t get a shot off in 44 seconds of overtime before Steven Stamkos scored to seal the Preds’ win.

STAMMER IS YOUR @ENERGIZER OT WINNER!!! #NHLGlobalSeries pic.twitter.com/w791qZyxtF

— NHL (@NHL) November 14, 2025

Most of these games have had plenty of positive moments for the Pens, who looked flat-out dominant especially for stretches of their losses to the Maple Leafs and Devils.

Head coach Dan Muse indicated Friday night he felt the loss to the Predators, however, stood out as one of the Penguins’ worse defeats over this stretch.

Not only did the Pens’ only goal of the night come on a fluky bounce off a defender, but they were forced to concede a loss to a Preds team currently racing the Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres to the bottom of the NHLs standings.

“I think they’re all a little bit different, when you go back and look at them,” Muse said about this stretch. “Different factors at play… if you go back to some of the more recent games that were close, I liked a lot of our game.

“I didn’t feel like that was the case tonight. I feel like we were off in terms of our details. We were off in terms of the execution.”

Erik Karlsson sounded similarly disappointed in his postgame interview. “I think we all know in here that we have put a better product of hockey on the ice for most part of the season,” he told reporters Friday.

After so many bright spots to point toward during this stretch, Pens fans will have to hope a lackluster showing on a global stage against a relatively weak opponent will spark some changes as to how this team controls play down the stretch of games.

The Pens are 9-5-4 after Friday’s loss. They need to start finding ways to win quickly or else risk falling behind the New York Islanders (9-6-2) or Mike Sullivan’s New York Rangers (9-7-2) in the Metropolitan Division standings.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/69111/pens-blow-another-lead-in-global-series-loss-to-preds

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Global Series Game Preview: Nashville Predators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins 11/14/25

Who: Nashville Predators (5-9-4, 14 points, 8th place Central Division) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (9-5-3, 21 points, 3rd place Metropolitan Division)

Where: Avicii Arena, Stockholm Sweden (NHL Global Series)

When: 2:00 p.m. eastern (8:00pm local time start)

How to Watch: Broadcast locally Sportsnet Pittsburgh and Fanduel Sports Network South, nationally on NHL Network

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Pens and Preds will reset for another game in the same place on Sunday (9:00am Pittsburgh time start) and then the Pens get a few days off to come home. Eventually they’ll start a three-game homestand that opens with the Minnesota Wild coming to the ‘Burgh a week from today in their first game back.

Opponent Track: Nashville can’t be sweating a change of scenery with the way things have been going; they’re just 2-6-2 in the last 10 (one win over lowly Calgary, the other in a shootout). Overall the Preds are 0-3-2 in their last five games and 1-6-2 in the last nine if you really wanted to frame it poorly.

Season Series: These two games will be the only NSH/PIT ones of the season. The Pens went 2-0-0 last season against the Preds (0-1-1 from the Nashville perspective).

Hidden Stat: Nashville is just 2-1-2 when leading after two periods for a .400 points% that ranks last in the NHL

Getting to know the Predators​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Filip Forsberg – Ryan O’Reilly – Luke Evangelista

Steven Stamkos – Erik Haula – Jonathan Marchessault

Michael Bunting – Fedor Svechkov – Matthew Wood

Tyson Jost – Michael McCarron – Ozzy Wiesblatt

DEFENSEMEN

Brady Skjei / Nick Perbix

Nicolas Hague / Nick Blankenburg

Spencer Stastney / Adam Wilsby

Goalies: Juuse Saros and Justus Annunen

Potential scratches: Joakim Kemell, Justin Barron

Injured Reserve: Roman Josi, Cole Smith, Zachary L’Heureux

• Not sure if these lines remain good aftervthe last game’s loss against the Rangers, the internet didn’t have much updated as of yesterday. Skjei’s wife, for instance, had a baby the other day and social media had him there so he may or may not even be with the team overseas.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• Rookie Matthew Wood, 20, has been one of the few bright spots for Nashville. The former Pensburgh mock draftee, Wood is red hot coming off a hat trick in the previous game against NYR. Wood has 6G+3A in the last seven games.
• On the other end of the spectrum, the star known as Steven Stamkos is fading away. He does have two goals in the last four games — the first broke a nine game point drought to show he’s not completely gone — but his days as a dominant player look to be in the past. The tell is in his shots: Stamkos had 241, 240 and 262 shots from 2021-24 in his final three seasons in Tampa. He had just 174 last year, his first in Nashville. This year he has only 37 shots in 18 games (a pace of 168 over the season). Between limited playmakers to get him the puck and/or age effects of being unable to quickly get release before NHL defenders can get in the way, the decline is very real for Stamkos. It’s even worse drilling down, Stamkos has only 16 5v5 shots in the 18 games this season and no goals in the most common situation (he has two power play goals and one at 5v6 while his team had an empty net).
• Old friend Michael Bunting looks like he’s off to a standard Michael Bunting season with a few points but nothing inspiring. Not sure I’d call the Bunting/Novak part of last year’s trade a “lose lose” but it’s probably at least a “same, same” deal for both clubs without a big win on either side, kinda some pieces changed places and everyone going about their business just the same.

Dreadful stuff outside of the penalty kill. The Predators are a stale team and a bad one. They don’t hit expectations on goals for or against, their goaltending isn’t great, their finishing stinks as does the power play. There’s certainly more problems up a level from the coaching but this chart alone points to a prime team for a mid-season coaching change to clear the air and try a new voice, especially since the charts on rate for expected and actual goals are virtually in-line with last season’s poor performance.

If that happens and the Preds can even get back to a mid-tier level offense (which based on the expected goals looks possible) and some added defensive emphasis ends up helping the goaltending start anew, that could be a situation where people rave that a coaching change spurred some positive movement up the standings. However, even at this point the playoffs look unlikely.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Bryan Rust – Sidney Crosby – Ben Kindel

Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin – Anthony Mantha

Ville Koivunen – Kevin Hayes – Philip Tomasino

Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Joona Koppanen

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea / Kris Letang

Ryan Graves / Matt Dumba

Goalies: Sergei Murashov and Arturs Silovs

Potential Scratches: Danton Heinen, Connor Clifton, Harrison Brunicke, Filip Larsson

IR: Filip Hallander, Tristan Jarry, Justin Brazeau, Jack St. Ivany (lower body), Rutger McGroarty (upper body), Joel Blomqvist (lower body), Rickard Rakell (hand), Caleb Jones (lower body), Noel Acciari

• Larsson is with the NHL team, the league allows the traveling party to carry a third goalie for the overseas trip. He can’t play in games barring injury.

Hi, Carl​

Missing the K of HBK, reuniting two out of the three ain’t bad. Hagelin works these days for the Wild as a scout.

Spotted: 2/3 of the HBK Line pic.twitter.com/XkdfCcPtTW

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 13, 2025

Life in the NHL is good​

Just two youngsters living the dream, what a league the NHL is.

Stockholm travel diaries with the rookies pic.twitter.com/bsoFpOqhvh

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 13, 2025

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/penguins-...lle-predators-vs-pittsburgh-penguins-11-14-25

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Predators Recap: Two-headed monster sighting in Sweden, Pens win

Pregame​

A bunch of changes for Pittsburgh from last game; Sergei Murashov is in net. Ville Koivunen is hurt, so the team opts to bump Ben Kindel back to the third line, shuffling Connor Dewar up with the first line and Kevin Hayes looks to do a Justin Brazeau impression on the second line.

How we're lining up today #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/GGVtsHcj78

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 16, 2025

First period​

Kindel makes a great defensive play and starts a rush up the ice the other way. The two former Predators nearly strike when Philip Tomasino sets up Tommy Novak for a great chance but Novak can’t finish.

The Pens get the first goal a few minutes later. There’s all kinds of traffic for Juuse Saros to deal with and Parker Wotherspoon does well to hold a puck and drift far enough so that rookie Matthew Wood is no longer in the shooting lane. The puck from Wotherspoon has eyes, and Saros doesn’t, finding the back of the net. 1-0 Pens.

SPOONS GETS US GOING pic.twitter.com/geGs1BqqLf

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 16, 2025

Pittsburgh stays on the gas, it pays off when Evgeni Malkin gets the second crazy bounce for a goal. Something about Sweden for him. Malkin is behind the net and trying a center pass, it banks off Predator defenseman Nic Hague and jumps into the goal. 2-0 Pens.

MAGNETIC MALKIN pic.twitter.com/yg0x0MotHB

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 16, 2025

The Pens keep pushing and get another, a long shift in the offensive zone leads to Sidney Crosby flinging the puck quickly on net after Justin Barron accidentally touches it over to him. 3-0 game, Nashville only has one shot on goal at this point.

We love Sid.
Stockholm loves Sid.
The world loves Sid. pic.twitter.com/70WOEGHkFX

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 16, 2025

Wisely, the Preds use their timeout in an attempt to break the momentum. It works to stop the onslaught of goals against but doesn’t much wake them up much more.

After a dreadful, boring and awful Friday, this first period was more like it! Maybe the Pens just needed a few more days to shake off the jet lag? Shots go 11-2 PIT, scoreboard is 3-0 and Nashville looks a lot more like the last place team they have been so far.

Second period​

Fairly quiet start to the second period with neither team recording a shot on goal in the first six minutes. Ryan Graves took the first penalty of the game for tripping former teammate Michael Bunting. Pittsburgh survives the power play after Nashville pokes a puck in under the pad of Sergei Murashov, which didn’t count since the refs had ruled the play dead already. (Sounds familiar…)

The Preds are playing better, Ryan Shea has to slash a player in front of the net to erase a scoring chance. During the power play, Pittsburgh gets popped for too many men on the ice, which gives Nashville 34 seconds of a 5v3 advantage with 7:37 to go in the period. Steven Stamkos does get one hard shot but then Blake Lizotte hounds down the puck to keep much else from going.

Not a great second period with three trips to the penalty box and a diminished offensive effort. You can afford that when up a few goals and the PK goes 3/3 though. Give Nashville credit, they didn’t go away without a fight.

Third period​

Nashville pushing for a goal but can’t find it past Sergei Murashov. The Preds get their fourth power play of the game with 8:00 to go but they can’t score on it.

Blake Lizotte can score though, especially into an empty net. The Preds lift Juuse Saros and it doesn’t take long before Lizotte hits the open target with 2:48 remaining to extend the score to 4-0.

Some thoughts​

• It was an ugly lineup for the Penguins with all the injuries they have and players in spots they shouldn’t be in (first line Dewar, Hayes with Malkin). The best way to make up for that is 87 and 71 just taking over and scoring themselves, they’re still the best deodorant to cover up those types of unavoidably stinky lineups.
• Even Crosby’s dad is getting into mustache November, the movement can’t be stopped!
• It’s always easier to find that extra energy and joy for the game after an early goal, even with that I remain extremely impressed by the skating of Malkin. Given his age and the fact he’s faded away big time in the recent past after the start of seasons (or long layoffs) that kinda became my expectation. Now almost 20 games in there’s still a ton of spring in his step. He’s obviously still 39 years old and not quite galloping around like he was 25 or anything, but it’s fun to watch him still have a lot of gas in the tank.
• Danton Heinen didn’t get credit with a point on the game’s first goal, which is cruel since he had as big of a hand as anyone in why the puck ended up in the net. Heinen was good with the puck prior to the play going to the point and then he went straight to the net. Between his screen and the defender’s, Saros didn’t have a chance with all the traffic to find the puck (Joona Koppanen and another defender were in the area too). Simple stuff, yet also very beneficial.
• Blake Lizotte was a fun watch today, as he is most days. All over the ice, grinding away. Lizotte’s work on the 3v5 pretty much single-handedly kept Nashville from getting much going. That was a huge moment in the game considering the Pens have blown a couple of 3-0 leads this season. The game might have unfolded differently if the Preds popped in a goal and took some momentum from it. Very fitting Lizotte put the finishing touch on the win, well-deserved goal considering his excellent play earlier in the game.
• Ryan Graves uber-majorly pissed off the whole Nashville team in a hilarious fashion. Graves hit Luke Evangelista a little high along the boards, Evangelista’s own stick knocked his lip. From there, hostility was on sight for the Preds against Graves after the whistle and an excessive amount of shouting and yelling. Not sure if he did something else too, it’s rare to see the rancor get so heated, especially for a player like Graves who isn’t exactly Darius Kasparaitis or Matthew Barnaby about there..
• Of course, the annoyance went both ways, Crosby sent a pointed little cross-check to Evangelista’s back after the second period ended to send a message that the Pens weren’t amused by his antics.
• A lot of whining on Preds social media (forgot how whiny they are) about some of the elements of this game’s refereeing. Some bad luck that their apparent goal was washed out, but when the puck disappears you can’t count on play going on forever. Power plays were also 4-0 NSH, so how mad can you really be about officiating? There was still every chance to get back in the game courtesy of how these games that get one-sided early tend to get called.
• Murashov was pretty good in the third period and clearly did everything he had to do by making 21 saves for his first career NHL win (and shutout), he probably barely broke a sweat today too. Moneypuck had Nashville with a total of 0.1 expected goals through 35 minutes, virtually nothing going on. They did manage to build their cumulative to 1.4 by coming to life a little in the third period, but there wasn’t many challenging chances to have stop. Just the same, probably the first of many for the youngster and a great step to watch him take.

Always makes for a happier trip home coming off a win, and the Pens were very good at the start of this game and that was more than enough to coast to the finish line against an opponent like Nashville. The boys get a few days to reacclimate and are back in action on Friday.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-reca...wo-headed-monster-sighting-in-sweden-pens-win

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Global Series Gamethread: Predators vs. Penguins

Talk about the international game with Pens fans here!

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-open-threads/69037/global-series-gamethread-predators-vs-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Monday Standings: Saying something mean about every team

Due to the schedule and now off time for the Penguins, we’re bumping back the normal Sunday Standings a day to fit in better. Today’s theme is in the mold of the old late night talk show trope about mean tweets. We’re not tweeting these but just imagine like a coach or captain of these teams are coming up and deadpan reading these pithy observations about some of the more uncomfortable truths around them.

New Jersey: “Your best player can’t complete simple life tasks without injuring himself”. Usually Jack Hughes has missed time due to shoulder injuries, getting hurt at a steakhouse during a team dinner is a new one for him, and just about everyone else that’s entered a restaurant. The star forward suffered a “freak accident” and had to get his finger operated on. He’ll be out for eight weeks. Terrible thing to happen, I guess on the bright side better for an accident to happen in November than March, if it has to happen at all. The good news is the team is 1-0 since then, hopefully this will end up a painful but minor footnote.

Carolina: “You’re only good at the parts no one remembers”. The Hurricanes are off to another great start, comfortably setting sail for a surefire playoff berth by the end of the season. They’re a sure thing this time of year, and as much as consistency is an impressive feat on its own, no one is rightfully going to take note of them for a while. This is the boring part where you already know what is going to happen for the next few months – Carolina will win more than they lose and keep chugging along just fine. Yawn.

Pittsburgh: “The old guys are covering up a disaster”. The Penguins have 36 5v5 goals, ranking 20th at 2.17 in goals/60. Sidney Crosby (11 5v5 points) and Evgeni Malkin (10) have factored into 58% of the even strength offense. In Crosby’s case, it’s easy to see that continuing indefinitely since point generation is what Crosby has done for 20 years. For Malkin, what happens when Anthony Mantha (who only has two goals in the seven games this month and one at even strength) slows down and lesser players like Tommy Novak and Kevin Hayes can’t score on Malkin’s setups? Beyond casting an eye at goalie performance continuing, how long the Pens can count on some of the oldest players in the league propping up an imperfect team is something to track. And, hey, so far so good.

NY Islanders: “Um…Sorokin isn’t going to win the Vezina”. Out of all the teams in the division right now, it might be the hardest to rain on the Islanders’ parade. They’re doing better than expected, Matthew Schaefer is leading all NHL defensemen with seven goals, the team’s offense is up, Emil Heineman already has nine goals, and within the last 8-10 days NYI has defeated the Rangers, Devils, Vegas and Utah, all in road games. Not too much to snipe at, besides the fact the Islanders are fairly lax defensively and Ilya Sorokin has a sub .900 save percentage to start the season. They’re probably not too worried given the talent level there, but we gotta reach for something.

NY Rangers: “You don’t like your fans, and the feeling is mutual”. The Rangers are 1-7-1 at home, getting shutout in five of the first nine home games. It’s only mid-November and already more members of the division have a shutout win at MSG against the Rangers (WSH, PIT, CAR, NYI) than don’t have a shutout win at MSG against the Rangers (NJ, CBJ, PHI). That might only because the latter three games haven’t gotten the opportunity to PLAY a game in New York yet this season. That’s almost inconceivably bad! It took four games for the Rangers to score even a single goal in front of the home crowd. Naturally, the Rangers are fabulous (9-1-1 ) on the road this year to make up for it, but the turmoil for NYR is still going strong. Certainly one of the more strange ongoing situations in hockey this year.

Philadelphia: “You’re shootout merchants and frauds”. No one in the NHL has less regulation wins than the Flyers (4). For now a 4-0 shootout record is keeping Philadelphia afloat, and there is something to be said about excelling in the task of the shootout. It counts and helps the record. It could be said that simply surviving the 60 minutes and getting the game to overtime is a talent in and of itself (which the Flyers have done in nearly 50% of their games this season, playing 8/18 past 60 minutes). It’s not a very admirable talent, however and perhaps one that can’t be counted on for the long haul. The Flyers haven’t built a very strong base in the first quarter of the season to think they’ll be going very far.

Columbus: “You’re the definition of mid”. Columbus has 56 goals for to 57 goals against. They’re winners in half of their 18 total games. Even splits of 4-3-1 at home, 5-4-1 away. The Blue Jackets are just kinda there so far this season. They have three wins and five total OT games so far this season to help out in the standings, which has enabled them to hang around and track for a decent amount of points, but CBJ needs to pick things up a bit considering that some of the other teams in the division like Pittsburgh and NYI are performing better.

Washington: “Your special teams are offensively bad”. The Caps have the 30th ranked power play (14.6%) and the 27th ranked penalty kill (72.9%). It’s been a real problem and one that could cost them, considering Washington is actually one of the best 5v5 teams in the league. Maybe the issues around assistant coach Mitch Love (suspended and then dismissed) weren’t helping but whatever it is, the Caps need a turnaround big time. Last year’s power play wasn’t that good (14th) but was at least serviceable. Their PK in 2024-25 was 5th in the NHL and it’s been a huge drop off.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/69174/monday-standings-saying-something-mean-about-every-team

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Back in the ‘Burgh

In terms of miles, the Pittsburgh Penguins just completed their longest road trip of the season, hopping over the Atlantic to Stockholm, Sweden for a two game set with the Nashville Predators. With three points in the bank, the Penguins are now in recovery mode to shake off the jet lag from a long flight back. Thankfully, the NHL schedule maker gave them a few days off to get their clocks right before they return to action on Friday at PPG Paints Arena.

Pens Points…​

When the Penguins return to action later this week, they will do so with a back-to-back set on home ice against the Minnesota Wild and the Seattle Kraken. These two opponents will provide the Penguins with another big opportunity to keep stacking points with some wins. [Pensburgh]

With the Global Series games now in the rearview and the quarter pole of the season on the horizon, it’s a good time to check the standings. With 19 games played, the Penguins impressive start to the season has them sitting in third place in the Metro division with 24 points. [Pensburgh]

He’s still only 21 years old and has only two NHL game sunder his belt, but it’s hard not to come away impressed but what we have seen from Sergei Murashov thus far. If he continues to develop at this rate, he suddenly fills a major piece of the Penguins rebuild puzzle. [Sports Illustrated]

After blowing a late lead and losing in overtime of the first Global Series game on Friday, the Penguins responded in a big way on Sunday with a dominant shutout victory. Friday’s letdown helped fuel the Penguins to bounce back on Sunday to wrap up their trip with a win. [Sportsnet]

Coming off a major knee injury that forced him to miss most of last season, many still wondered what Anthony Mantha had left to give when the Penguins signed him. Turns out there is still plenty left in the tank who the veteran who is helping on and off the ice. [Trib Live]

NHL News and Notes…​

If Jason Robertson hopes to make the United States Olympic roster then more weeks like he just had will go a long to making that happen. With nine points in three games, including six goals, Robertson boosted his Olympic hopes and was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week. [NHL]

Charlie McAvoy was the unlucky recipient of a puck to the face over the weekend and he may be headed for the injured list as a result. He will not play for the Bruins on Monday and whether or not he needs surgery could determine his future status for the team. [NHL]

It’s bleak in Toronto right now as the Maple Leafs early season struggles show no signs of letting up. It’s so bad right now that some are opening opining if the team should just pack it in on the season with not even 20 games played. Dark times north of the border. [Sportsnet]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/69179/pens-points-back-in-the-burgh

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins waive Philip Tomasino

The Penguins waived forward Philip Tomasino today.

Tomasino (PIT) & Guenette (PHI) on waivers

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 18, 2025

The timing of the move is curious, the Pens only have 12 healthy forwards without Tomasino, after putting Ville Koivunen on IR and calling up Sam Poulin from the AHL.

The end result is not that surprising, Tomasino has been a frequent healthy scratch and only averaged 12:10 of ice time in the nine games he’s played in, generating no goals and one assist. As an offensive-minded player, who scored 11 goals and 23 points in 50 games last season with Pittsburgh, Tomasino hasn’t been able to get a lot of traction or find a niche this season and lost his regular role on the power play (going from 1:31 per game last year to just 0:15 this season). It’s felt like they were winding him down as the vicious circle of showing less and getting less icetime continued, though waiving him now with so many injuries is a curious move.

Tomasino on waivers. pic.twitter.com/dzYSKROMEW

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 18, 2025

In general, it shows a roster and lineup that continues to churn. Tomasino wasn’t given a qualifying offer but was brought back as an unrestricted free agent on a one-year contract for 2025-26. Recently the team opted to call-up Danton Heinen, who was waived at the end of training camp and performed well in the AHL. Joona Koppanen was also recently promoted to the NHL. Kevin Hayes has returned from injury. Several other forwards like Koivunen, Hallander, Justin Brazeau, Rickard Rakell and Noel Acciari have ended up on injured reserve, though none appear to be at an imminent return that would necessitate waiving Tomasino today.

Tomasino was acquired last season for a fourth round pick from Nashville. Pittsburgh gave him some runway to relaunch his career but it now looks back at a crossroads. They’ll find out tomorrow at 2pm if Tomasino clears waivers, at which point they could assign him to Wilkes-Barre immediately or opt to keep him on the team for now until some of those injured players need to be activated and take a spot back on the roster.

The Pens have some time before their next game on Friday, should Tomasino get claimed or sent to the AHL there would be time for them to make another call-up in addition to Poulin to add some depth to their current forward group.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/69229/penguins-waive-philip-tomasino

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Another forward hits IR

Here are your Pens Points for this Wednesday morning…​

Rookie forward Ville Koivunen has been deemed ’week-to-week’ and subsequently placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Getting the call in his place will be 2019 first-round pick Sam Poulin. [PensBurgh]

The loss of Koivunen and the recall of Poulin come as the team also waived forward Philip Tomasino, whom they acquired from the Nashville Predators for a fourth-round pick last season. [PensBurgh]

Having not made the typical impact most expect former first-round picks to make, this may be the final shot for the aforementioned Poulin to make a case for a more permanent NHL roster spot. Despite the ups and downs that have come with his Penguins tenure, Poulin remains upbeat, saying, “I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else. I’m just really pumped to be back.” [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL…​

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is day-to-day, inching closer to a return from a lower-body injury that recently sidelined him, general manager Brad Treliving said on Tuesday. [TSN]

Alex Ovechkin scored his 903rd career NHL goal to help his Washington Capitals beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Monday night, and this goal also came with some more history for the legendary Russian: Ovechkin passed Gordie Howe for the most regular-season goals scored at a single venue in NHL history with his 442nd goal at Capital One Arena. [ESPN]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/6922...jury-poulin-nhl-maple-leafs-matthews-ovechkin