Talk about the international game with Pens fans here!
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.
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 Linepic.twitter.com/XkdfCcPtTW
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 13, 2025Life in the NHL is good
Just two youngsters living the dream, what a league the NHL is.
Stockholm travel diaries with the rookiespic.twitter.com/bsoFpOqhvh
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 13, 2025
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, 2025First 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.
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.
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.
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.
Talk about the international game with Pens fans here!
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.
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]
The Penguins waived forward Philip Tomasino today.
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.
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.
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]
Philip Tomasino will be staying with the Penguins for a while longer after clearing waivers today. The Pens have the option to re-assign him to the AHL but haven’t not announced that immediately.
With Tomasino on the outs for at least the playing lineup, here’s how the lines were looking for the team’s first full practice back after Sweden.
That’s a thin forward group, some good news is that Rickard Rakell, Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari all hit the ice prior to the team practice. Rakell was said to be out 6-8 weeks from a hand injury suffered in late October, which would put his return around early/mid December if that initial timeline holds. Brazeau was announced as out for a minimum of four weeks from his early November injury, which would put his window to return in early December should nothing change in that recovery process. Based on timelines, Acciari could be at the front of the line since he was announced as the least severe with a minimum three week injury at the start of November. None of the three are likely to be suiting up for games in the very near future but it’s nice to see a little progress in their respective processes to get a step closer to eventually coming back.
Beyond that, a player curious by his attendance was Harrison Brunicke. Brunicke has been scratched for five-straight games and though ineligible to play full-time in the AHL this season as a Canadian junior player, he could be assigned to the AHL for a 14-day rehab assignment (clear as mud, huh?). Based on the Wilkes-Barre schedule with games on Friday and due to the maximum 14-day window, there’s no reason to keep him in Pittsburgh if the team wanted him to gear up and get ready to play this weekend in the minor leagues, so that unclear situation hasn’t gained much clarity or movement.
The Pens will have a little more time to get over their jet lag and long trip, their games don’t resume until Friday and Saturday night home contests against Minnesota and Seattle.
Wednesday was another practice day for the Pittsburgh Penguins at UPMC Lemieux as they continue to ramp up for a return to game action this Friday against the Minnesota Wild at PPG Paints Arena. By now the jet lag from the flight home from Sweden should have worn off and hopefully the Penguins can be at their best when the puck drops against the Wild. Coming off just two games in an 11-day stretch, the Penguins will now play five games in a nine day window, including a pair back-to-back contests to wrap up November.
Pens Points…
After a red hot start to the season, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins took their lumps following a rash of callups left them shorthanded. Now some of those callups have been replaced and the Baby Pens were back to their winning ways over the last week. [Pensburgh]
There were four different goaltenders on the ice at practice for the Penguins this week, but only two are healthy enough to play at the moment. Tristan Jarry is one of the injured netminders at the moment, but he’s slowly working his way back to game readiness. [Trib Live]
Many figured the Penguins were still a few seasons away from being true contenders again as they work through a franchise rebuild. While that still may turn out to be true, the sudden emergence of Sergei Murashov is a sign it may not be as long a trip back as feared. [The Athletic $$]
In a tough blow to the Penguins prospect pool, 2025 draftee Peyton Kettles will be in Pittsburgh on Friday to undergo shoulder surgery. The development was announced by Kettles’ junior team the Kelowna Rockets and no time frame for his recovery was given. [Trib Live]
While over in Sweden, some Penguins players had the chance to meet up with Swedish hockey royalty. Stopping by to pay the team a visit was Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg who sat down with Crosby for an interview on Swedish television where Crosby and Forsberg exchanged sticks. [Sports Illustrated]
NHL News and Notes…
It’s not often the engraver could reliably etch names on NHL awards trophies, but the race for the Norris Trophy and the Calder Trophy might be as settled as they could be at this point of the season with Cale Makar and Matthew Schaffer seemingly running away with the awards. [The Hockey News]
For the first time in its history, the Winter Classic is heading to Florida for a January 2nd showdown between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers in Miami. As always, the teams will be wearing specialty jerseys for the occasion, both of which were revealed on Wednesday. [NHL]
There will be no supplemental discipline for Mikko Rantenen for his dangerous hit on Alexander Romanov that resulted in an injury to Romanov and an ejection for Rantenen. [ESPN]
The Penguins are hosting a ‘Hockey Fights Cancer’ night tomorrow night for the team’s upcoming game against the Minnesota Wild.
The event is part of a bigger, NHL-wide initiative to help raise awareness and support for anyone impacted by cancer.
When it comes to cancer, we are all on the same team
The Penguins will host Hockey Fights Cancer Night, presented by @UPMCHillmanCC, on November 21.
Details: https://t.co/5mgwPe0LZr pic.twitter.com/1dwDOkkxTi
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 20, 2025
The first 7,500 fans in attendance at tomorrow night’s game will receive a Hockey Fights Cancer knit beanie and a number of other items will be available for purchase throughout the night behind Section 104. Proceeds will support the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.
Fans will also be able to pick up “I Fight For” dedication cards on the concourse that they can fill out to recognize loved ones affected by cancer.
Throughout the night, people impacted by cancer will be honored including during the National Anthem, in between periods, and with a special moment when a young cancer survivor from the area will ring a commemorative bell in celebration of Hockey Fights Cancer.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning…
Might the Pittsburgh Penguins have interest in a (somewhat disgruntled) 21-year-old left-handed defenseman who can move the puck and chip in offensively? While there is no reported connection between teams, it may be worth monitoring what the Anaheim Ducks do with young Pavel Mintyukov. [PensBurgh]
Keeping Ben Kindel at his natural position of center, instead of playing the wing with Sidney Crosby, is the best course of action head coach Dan Muse can take with the promising rookie forward. [PensBurgh]
The Penguins will host a Hockey Fights Cancer night tonight when they battle the Minnesota Wild. [PensBurgh]
The Penguins are a combined 0-4 in games decided in either overtime or a shootout this season. On Thursday, the team decided to refine the issues that have plagued them when fighting for the extra point. [Trib Live]
Defenseman Connor Clifton has only appeared in seven games this season, yet he is second on the team with 33 hits. His physical style of play and love of hitting people have helped him carve out a spot in the NHL thus far. [Trib Live]
News and notes from around the NHL…
Neck guards will be mandatory for all players at the upcoming Olympic Games in Milano-Cortana, it was announced this week. [ESPN]
New York Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer’s start to the campaign has impressed those affiliated with Hockey Canada. So much so that he was informed this week that he was added to Canada’s IOC long list for potential selection to the 2026 Winter Olympics team. [TSN]
Charlie McAvoy will be out indefinitely after having facial surgery, the Boston Bruins announced this week. [NHL]
When the Pittsburgh Penguins play the Minnesota Wild on Friday night it will be their 20th game of the 2025-26 season, and their 20th game under first-year head coach Dan Muse. That is not an overly large sample size of games. It is basically one quarter of one season, and the jury is still very much out on this particular team and Muse as a head coach.
Even so, it is hard not to be impressed with the way Muse has handled this season and this team.
The easy thing to do is just look at the standings and see a team that has, so far, greatly exceeded the preseason expectations and has played its way into the Eastern Conference Playoffs and simply conclude that he is doing a great job.
You can also do an X’s and O’s breakdown and systems analysis of the way they play, or highlight how much more dynamic and unpredictable their power play has become, and praise his tactical work.
All of those things are very valid and fair areas of praise. They would be fair assessments.
There are a couple of other areas that have stood out to me that are also deserving of praise for the way he has handled this team.
The first: Just having players do what they do best.
The sign of a good coach is building a system and plan around the skills your players have. Not trying to force your players into a system or style of play that does not fit their skillsets. I bring this up because there have been multiple Penguins defensemen make points along these lines this season.
Erik Karlsson, who clearly did not see eye-to-eye with Mike Sullivan on … well … anything, was the first to point this out when he delivered this haymaker to Sullivan in an interview with The Athletic’s Josh Yohe:
This week Ryan Graves, who has actually been okay since his return to the lineup, offered a similar, if gentler, comment:
That is not to say that the Penguins defense has necessarily been good. Because there are clearly some big issues with their play in that regard, and no coach or system is going to totally mask those kinds of shortcomings.
But Karlsson has played like the Karlsson the Penguins expected, and several players are speaking of a very clear difference in expectation and mindset.
That is something.
The other thing that stood out this week was the way Muse ended a couple of practices with the Penguins practicing their 3-on-3 overtime and shootouts. It might not seem like a big deal, but overtime play and the shootout have been issues for the Penguins for a couple of years now, and it was something that Sullivan never seemed to address in practices. To a point, I get it. They are not situations that are going to happen every game and they do not exist in the playoffs. That does not mean they are not meaningless situations, because if you consistently give away points in those situations it could be the difference between actually being in the playoffs and not being in the playoffs.
The Penguins were 10-12 in games that went beyond regulation a year ago, and so far this season are 0-4. That is a lot of points being left on the table, and given how tight the Eastern Conference standings are right now every point matters.
Muse saw something that is clearly an issue and put some work into it.
That is something.
The other thing that stood out was Sunday’s decision to move Ben Kindel back to center. He tried something new by putting the rookie on Sidney Crosby’s wing, recognized very quickly that it was not only not working, but was also weakening another key line on the team, and very quickly adjusted back to something that he knows does work. It was another example of him just having a feel for the moment and the team.
This is not meant to be a knock on what Sullivan accomplished in Pittsburgh. He helped put two Stanley Cup banners in those rafters and that will always make him a franchise icon. It is pretty clear, however, that it was time for a change and a fresh voice and a fresh direction. Muse has given them all of that, and so far it has been for the better. Him and the Penguins are still writing their story, but the opening chapter is pretty captivating and attention-grabbing.
Who: Seattle Kraken (10-5-5, 25 points, 4th place Pacific Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (10-6-4, 24 points, 4th place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. eastern
How to Watch: Broadcast locally Sportsnet Pittsburgh, Kraken Hockey Network/Prime and KONG, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins get three days off after this weekend’s back-to-back before returning to PPG Paints Arena next Wednesday to take on the Buffalo Sabres. The team is then set for another set of consecutive games next weekend with a Friday road game against the Columbus Blue Jackets followed by a Saturday visit from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Opponent Track: The Kraken most recently stunned the Chicago Blackhawks with a third-period Thursday comeback that saw them score three unanswered goals late in a 3-2 regulation win. Overall, Seattle has won three of their last four games, and earned points in five of their last seven.
Getting to know the Kraken
Projected lines (from Thursday’s game)
FORWARDS
Mason Marchment – Matty Beniers – Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz – Chandler Stephenson – Eeli Tolvanen
Berkly Catton – Freddy Gaudreau – Shane Wright
Tye Kartye – Oscar Fisker Molgaard – Ryan Winterton
DEFENSEMEN
Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren – Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans – Jamie Oleksiak
Goalies: Joey Daccord, Philipp Grubauer
Potential scratches: Andre Burakovsky?
Injured Reserve: Jared McCann, Matt Murray, Kaapo Kakko
- Burakovsky is questionable for tonight after leaving Thursday’s game following a hit from the Blackhawks’ Ryan Lindgren in the first period.
- 2023 second-round pick Oscar Fisker Molgaard is fresh off of making his NHL debut against the Blackhawks. He joined Lars Eller as the second Danish player in league history to record a point in his NHL debut.
- Former Penguins defenseman Jamie Oleksiak meanwhile hit a milestone Thursday when he skated in his 700th career game against the Hawks.
Season stats
via hockeydb
- The Kraken got Joey Daccord, who started 55 games for the franchise last season, back from injured reserve earlier this week. He struggled Tuesday at the Detroit Red Wings but looked stronger during Thursday’s win at the Blackhawks.
- Daccord’s return coincided with former Penguins goaltender Matt Murray’s exit for what the team estimated to be a six-week absence with a lower-body injury. That’s got to be hugely disappointing news for Murray, who had played just two games in his last two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs before joining the Kraken this fall. Although the Kraken recorded a 1-3-1 record with Murray in net, he had held opponents to two goals or fewer in four of his five outings.
Getting pucks on net
Offense has been an issue so far this season for the Kraken, who head into Saturday’s matchup ranked 31st with 24.6 shots and 28th with 2.7 goals per game.
Low shot totals continued plaguing Seattle early in Thursday’s matchup with the Blackhawks, especially in a second period during which the Kraken were outshot 12-3 at even strength.
That changed in the third period, when the Kraken scored twice on nine even-strength shots, but Lambert made it clear after the win that racking up shots would be a focus for his team going forward.
“Again, it’s seeming to be a little bit of an everyday struggle here, with us generating offense in terms of shot volume,” head coach Lane Lambert said after the game about what he’d told his team before taking on the Hawks, per NHL.com’s Bob Condor. “You know, at some point, our guys are going to have to figure that out, because you can’t score if you don’t shoot the puck. Can’t score if it’s not on that stick. We’ve had opportunities to shoot the puck, and we, for some reason, choose to defer. We’ve got to stop that. So the message is the message is the message. It’s always the same.”
And now for the Pens
Projected lines (from Friday’s game)
FORWARDS
Connor Dewar – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Kevin Hayes – Evgeni Malkin – Anthony Mantha
Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Sam Poulin
Joona Koppanen – Blake Lizotte – Danton Heinen
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Kris Letang
Ryan Graves / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov
Potential Scratches: Matt Dumba, Harrison Brunicke
IR: Ville Koivunen, Filip Hallander, Tristan Jarry, Justin Brazeau, Jack St. Ivany, Rickard Rakell, Caleb Jones, Noel Acciari
- Dan Muse has a tricky decision to make tonight after playing both Silovs and Murashov during Friday night’s shutout by the Wild. Last night’s game marked the first time this season Muse has made an in-game swap in net.
- Sam Poulin drew into the Pens’ lineup for the first time this season Thursday in place of Philip Tomasino.
- There’s not much to like about the Penguins’ Friday night shutout by the Wild. The Pens will hope to shake off the rust from international travel and put together a more competitive showing tonight.
Pregame
The Penguins only make one change from their last lineup a million days ago, Sam Poulin replaces Philip Tomasino on the third line.
First period
The Penguins have a decent initial start. By that, I mean Sidney Crosby gets a shot on goal – it would be about 18 minutes until they got a second.
From there, it got ugly. Kris Letang and Ryan Shea end up in the same corner of the rink, leaving the front of the net open. The puck gets there to Matt Boldy, and woo boy, that’s not who you want to see with the puck immediately in front of the net and no defense in sight. 1-0 for the Wild 3:59 in.
The tough times continue, Blake Lizotte’s stick gets away from him as he tries to lift Jacob Middleton’s stick and instead hacks Middleton near the eye. Not good, Middleton leaves the ice in extreme duress and Lizotte is assessed a four minute double minor. The Pens almost make it out unscathed, but Joel Eriksson Ek tips a Zeev Buium shot from right in front of the net and there’s not much Arturs Silovs can do about that. 2-0 Wild.
With the Pens playing incredibly passive and basically standing around in the defensive zone, Minnesota adds another. Jonas Brodin sends a pass over to Marcus Johansson for a shot to change the angle on Silovs, Crosby can’t block it and the puck sails in. 3-0.
Pittsburgh has three total shots, Minnesota has three goals (on nine shots). Whether it’s jet lag, rust from not playing in forever or something else, the Pens are in bad, bad shape tonight.
Second period
Welp, it doesn’t get much better. Silovs denies Mats Zuccarello from in front but the Wild get the puck to Middleton at the point. He slings the puck in, Kirill Kaprizov gets a deflection from in front that raises the puck up. Oof. 4-0.
Dan Muse calls timeout to break the momentum. He also switches the goalies out and puts Sergei Murashov on, ending Silovs’s night.
The Pens get another power play, it goes no better.
Shea and Letang get to more problems, Shea holds the puck for a long time and limply goes to the weak side with it instead of going north for an uncontrolled exit. Letang can’t get to the puck rimming across the boards but Kaprizov does. Not the guy you want to see pop up there. Kaprizov throws it to the net and there’s a sort of ‘welcome to the NHL moment’ for Murashov to see Boldy do a fly by and tip the puck to the cop corner of the net out of no where. It goes quickly like that at this level. 5-0.
Third period
Yep, there was in fact a third period. The Pens get a few more shots from the perimeter than they did in the early going, but it’s all low percentage one-and-dones. Clock drains out and this one will never have to be talked about again.
Some thoughts
- Putting Murashov in the net with 18:51 to go in second period was an interesting choice, considering the Pens play again tomorrow night. That tactic might have been more about shaking up the team up than pointing a finger a Silovs, who had to deal with deflections all night, while his teammates could barely muster a shot on goal at all. That said, with a game coming up, teams usually don’t play two goalies in this situation. We’ll see how that one works out for Muse to buck conventional wisdom and try something outside the norm; but you really have to hope the decision doesn’t end up ruining tomorrow at the sake of chasing something today that was already out of reach by putting both goalies in there today.
- Other than that, not too much to think about or add to this exhibition tonight. This is one to flush and forget if there ever was. The Pens were bad and uncompetitively so to a man. Maybe we should have seen it coming with the first game back from the long trip, first game in almost a week in general and running up against a team that’s been a buzzsaw lately (Minnesota is 8-1-1 in November and playing legitimately excellent these days). All the signs were there that this wasn’t going to be an easy one, it turned out way worse than that.
Pittsburgh gets back at it tomorrow against Seattle, hopefully with a little more gusto.
Pregame
Pittsburgh gets Matt Dumba back into the lineup, Connor Clifton comes out to make room. Sergei Murashov is in net for the second day in a row after mopping up the back-end of last night’s blowout loss.
First period
Not a lot going on early, an improvement over last night. Ben Kindel almost scores on a nice setup from Tommy Novak but can’t elevate the puck enough to score.
The teams trade power plays, then Pittsburgh gets an extra one. Sadly, they don’t come very close to cracking Seattle’s 30th ranked penalty kill.
Anthony Mantha almost gets a good scoring chance but it gets broken up. Goalie Philip Grubauer flashes the glove later onto stop Erik Karlsson.
Pittsburgh gets a third power play of the game late in the period, the power play is moderately better than it had been, but no goals.
Shots are 9-3 Pens. The good news is nothing bad happened, the bad news is Pittsburgh didn’t get much positive going either in a scoreless first period.
Second period
The Kraken strike first, Ryan Shea’s gap gets loose on Mason Marchment after Ben Kindel couldn’t deke through him. Marchment quickly pulls the puck in to change the angle and fires a shot by Murashov using Shea as a screen. 1-0, 1:24 into the second.
the very definition of "come for the goal, stay for the celly"
never change, mushpic.twitter.com/p2uL87iNaj
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 23, 2025
The rest of the period ambles on. The Penguins are OK in spots, but not sharp or that dangerous. Then, out of no where, they tie the game. Grubauer tries to go up the wall but his clearing effort is easily sealed off along the wall by Connor Dewar. Dewar quickly slung a centering pass for Sidney Crosby to finish from the middle of the ice on a knee. 1-1 game.
Captain Crosby is on the boardpic.twitter.com/cPUIcFEXbx
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 23, 2025
Any chance to build momentum is thrown out the window when Mantha takes a penalty, the Pens kill it off.
Active period, shots were 13-12 Seattle, each team found the back of the net once. Very big goal by Crosby in order to keep this game even after 40 minutes.
Third period
The Pens get another power play early, Danton Heinen hits the crossbar but it doesn’t go in. The big boys go out there and after knocking the puck around the crease for the longest time (seemingly all night) someone finally gets the hands to finish. It’s Evgeni Malkin from in front. 2-1 Pens go in front for the first time of the night with 14:04 to play.
The Kraken aren’t going away without a fight. Matty Beniers knocks Ryan Graves down in the corner, the Kraken continue their sequence for a while. The puck later gets to Beniers and instead of staying up and trying to use his stick to defend him, Graves hits the ice to take the bottom away. Undaunted, Beniers snipes a shot top shelf. 2-2 game with 7:24 to go. There’s the old Ryan Graves.
matty wasn't going to b deniedpic.twitter.com/KzjyWH8wFL
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 23, 2025Overtime
Crosby wins the faceoff for the all-important possession of the puck in the 3v3 setting.
Malkin and Novak eventually get out there, Letang hits the crossbar on a breakaway. Seattle collects the puck but ice the puck.
Crosby makes an insane pass for Karlsson, who shoots wide (but not by much).
Later on it’s Karlsson and Malkin that almost combine for a goal but can’t get it to go.
In the final minute of OT, Seattle wins the game. Brandon Montour shoots from distance and it’s got enough velocity to beat Murashov.
Some thoughts
- Between last night’s game and tonight, it took 107 minutes for the Penguins to score a goal after their Swedish trip. It wasn’t very pretty, the team was OK tonight – certainly much better than last night against Minnesota – but just had that little something off in timing or sharpness to put plays together or handle the puck with success at key times. They got more offensive zone time than Seattle and the box score looks fine on shots, so again, it’s not like it was bad but that doesn’t really make it impressive either.
- The roster is certainly a problem too, it’s not very good at the moment due to some injuries having key players unavailable. It doesn’t help that some of the players who were very good early in the season (Anthony Mantha, Ryan Shea in particular, probably Bryan Rust too) are not playing very well lately.
- To that end, a win is usually in the bag in the games that both Crosby and Malkin score goals in, as they did tonight. Issue becomes when no one else chips in..
- Liked the game from Novak and Kindel together, they each have some nifty hands and are on the same page when it comes to making passes around the blue line for zone entries. That hasn’t extended in closer to the net, but play’s going in the right direction with them out there for the most part. Kindel had four giveaways though and a tough go on that first goal against, didn’t really see it as a rookie mistake (though he is a rookie and it was a mistake, so technically it is just that), that’s a function of handling the puck so much in the defensive zone. Sometimes that’s going to happen to not make the play or get a roll of the puck that wasn’t as expected.
- What’s Kevin Hayes do for this team besides be the DJ and affable guy everyone likes? Rutger McGroarty scored his third goal in as many games down in the AHL, it’s hard not to get impatient there just since Hayes is such a zero. He’s not the only one who dressed tonight but playing on the Malkin line makes it more critical.
- It took until the fourth try for the Pens’ power play to score against a 30th ranked Seattle PK that had given up a goal to the other team’s power play in eight straight games to go ahead in the third. Good thing, would have been inexcusable to not take advantage.
- Crosby recorded points on the first two goals, notching his 500th career multi-point game. Only five others in NHL history have done the same. More crazy stats like that are trickling in all the time, just another day at the office for him.
- Pittsburgh is now 0-5 in games that last beyond regulation (two OT losses, three shootout losses). The points squandered pile is growing. This was a tough one to take, the team played pretty well in OT, they had some looks and opportunities, just couldn’t quite get it. Montour’s shot on Murashov was perfectly placed above the leg pad but low to the blocker, and really that’s a save an NHL goalie should make most of the time, just one that sometimes is going to go in during career game No. 4.
The Pens go back into a period of inactivity, for games at least, they’re not back at it until Wednesday. That’s a shame after a 0-1-1 weekend that produced two goals will have to leave a bad taste in their mouth to try and straighten out where they can in practice before the absolute crush of the schedule kicks up in the near future.
Talk about the game with Pens fans here!
Sidney Crosby has recorded his 500th career multi-point game.
Crosby scored a goal and an assist during Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken, marking the 500th time in his career he’s scored more than one point in a game.
Now in his 21st NHL season, Crosby has registered 500 career multi-point games in his 1,373 games played.
Crosby is the 6th NHL player in history to reach the 500 multi-point game threshold.
If that statistic wasn’t impressive enough, the Penguins said that Crosby has more multi-point games in his career than he does games where he scored zero points.
That’s 500 (!!!) multi-point games for @penguins captain Sidney Crosby!
If you’ve ever watched Crosby play at any point over the last 21 years, theres a higher percentage chance you’ve seen him record multiple points in a game (500) than zero points (402)pic.twitter.com/YbkRhKbsKw
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) November 23, 2025
“If you’ve ever watched Crosby play at any point over the last 21 years, there’s a higher percentage chance you’ve seen him record multiple points in a game than zero points,” the Penguins said.
So far this season, Crosby has 13 goals and 10 assists through 21 games.
Up next for the Penguins is a Thanksgiving Eve matchup against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Muse was not happy on Saturday night. He was as angry as he has been so far in his brief tenure as the Penguins’ head coach, saying the team needs to be beyond just being happy with playing better. He had just watched his team lose another overtime game (dropping to an almost incomprehensible 0-5 in games that go beyond regulation so far this season) and go a weekend on home ice where they acquired just one out of a possible four points.
The first game, a 5-0 loss to a very good Minnesota Wild team on Friday night, was a complete no-show performance across the board from everybody involved.
The second game, a 3-2 overtime loss to an overachieving Seattle Kraken team on Saturday night, was another game where they lost a late third period lead, made some small mistakes that led to goals, did not convert enough chances, and still did not quite look crisp as a team.
It was not a good weekend, and when combined with a recent stretch of games that has seen the Penguins go 2-4-3, it has to be incredibly frustrating for the first-year head coach. Especially when a lot of those seven losses were very winnable games, and games where they at times played well enough to win. If the Penguins had just two wins in their five overtime games (still having a losing record in them) they would be 12-6-3 right now and everybody would be feeling a lot better about where they are in the standings and what the team is doing. I also don’t think that’s an outrageously hypothetical “what if.” It is honestly what should be expected in those games.
But they did not do that.
Just like they did not hold a 3-0 lead in Toronto, or protect a third period lead at home against the Los Angeles Kings.
That is a lot of winnable points they have bled away in a short period of time. In an Eastern Conference where almost every team is jumbled up together in one big group in the middle, those missed points are going to prove to be costly.
Entering the week the top team and bottom team in the Eastern Conference are separated by just nine points (compared to a 21-point gap between the top and bottom teams in the Western Conference) while there are 11 teams in the No. 2 through No. 12 spots separated by just four points. An extra two points would literally have the Penguins in the second spot in the East right now.
This week is American Thanksgiving, long considered a good barometer for what teams are and who is going to end up actually making the playoffs. The Penguins enter the week on the outside of that picture, just barely on points percentages, and are again in a situation where they have three winnable games sitting in front of them.
Muse said on Saturday his team needs results and points right now.
There are more opportunities sitting in front of them.
The first of those opportunities comes on Wednesday night, at home, against the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo, is again, one of the bottom teams in the Eastern Conference even with consecutive big wins against Chicago and Carolina and wins in four of their past five overall. That is a game you want to win, especially at home, in what is one of your biggest home dates of the year annually (the night before Thanksgiving game).
After that, they get a back-to-back situation over the weekend with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Columbus has a lot of young talent, but has lacked consistency.
Toronto has a lot of injuries and a roster that is completely mid after Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares. Their lineup is also extremely banged up at the moment, and they enter the week with what is literally the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
The Penguins had them down and out before letting them up in the third period.
I still do not fully know what to think of this current stretch. Is it water finding its level and the Penguins simply regressing back closer to what everybody expected them to be? Perhaps to a point. But you also can not ignore the injuries that have taken Rickard Rakell, Justin Brazeau, Ville Koivunen, Fillip Hallander and Noel Acciari out of the lineup. Not to mention the early season absence of Rutger McGroarty. That is six forwards you were counting on to play relatively big roles this season. That has not only taken some good, productive players out of the lineup, it has also forced a lot of lesser players into the lineup and into bigger roles they should not be playing. Connor Dewar has been outstanding on the fourth line. He is out of place on the first line. Kevin Hayes looks like waiver-wire fodder right now, not somebody that should be playing on the second line.
Getting some of those players back will help. Having some of them likely makes a difference in recent games. But we are going to start getting to a point in the season where teams are going to start separating themselves, in one direction or the other, from the pack in the middle of the standings. By the time the Penguins get some of those players back it might be too late to matter. That is why they need to start collecting points again, and this week is another big opportunity to do so with some winnable games on the standings. None of these next three opponents are higher than 18th in points percentage. None of them are higher than 17th in the NHL in expected goals share. They need to take advantage of these games. They need at least four points. At least.
