RSS Penguins Team Notes

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Tomasino clears, practice lines and notes

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.

#LetsGoPens lines and D-pairs at today's practice, which is a full skate after an optional session on Tuesday:

Dewar-Crosby-Rust
Hayes-Malkin-Mantha
Novak-Kindel-Poulin
Koppanen-Lizotte-Heinen (Tomasino)

Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Shea-Letang
Graves-Clifton
Dumba-Brunicke

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) November 19, 2025

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.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/69252/tomasino-clears-practice-lines-and-notes

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Preparations Continue

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]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/69254/pens-points-preparations-continue

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins hosting ‘Hockey Fights Cancer’ night for tomorrow’s game vs. Minnesota

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.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/6...-cancer-night-for-tomorrows-game-vs-minnesota

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Back to the grind

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]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/6930...del-nhl-matthew-schaefer-neck-guards-olympics

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Dan Muse is doing all of the right things so far for Penguins

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:

“We have good individual players. And now we’re finally starting to feel good as a team. The roles are starting to slot in. You know what’s expected of you. You do the things you’re good at, and not the things that someone tells you to do, that you can’t do.”

This week Ryan Graves, who has actually been okay since his return to the lineup, offered a similar, if gentler, comment:

Ryan Graves has been solid, on for just 1 goal against in 5 GP. What's changed?

"The last few years I’ve really tried to fit a mold," he told me. "Now, the staff has said, ‘Be you. Be what you’ve been your whole career.’

"That's freeing, to be able to play your style of game."

— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) November 20, 2025

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.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/...g-all-of-the-right-things-so-far-for-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Seattle Kraken @ Pittsburgh Penguins 11/22/25

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.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/69339/game-preview-seattle-kraken-pittsburgh-penguins-11-22-25

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Wild Recap: Pens lag behind, get blown out

Pregame​

The Penguins only make one change from their last lineup a million days ago, Sam Poulin replaces Philip Tomasino on the third line.

Tonight's lineup vs. the Wild.#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/QByVsd67p5

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 21, 2025

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.

in flow state pic.twitter.com/sdPQLxuzrg

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 22, 2025

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.

and anotha pic.twitter.com/A1YsUBveha

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 22, 2025

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.

that’s Wild hockey baby pic.twitter.com/oP8Pwt3M5U

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 22, 2025

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.

blink and you'll miss it pic.twitter.com/4Q9MbftnqB

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 22, 2025

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.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-recaps/69327/penguins-wild-recap-pens-lag-behind-get-blown-out

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Kraken Recap: Pens battle, but fall in OT to Seattle

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.

All lined up.#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/rPTESUqU9u

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 22, 2025

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, mush pic.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 board pic.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.

A PPG FOR PGH!

Evgeni Malkin has points in eight of his last ten games and has a team-leading 24 (6G-18A) points on the year. pic.twitter.com/gBMxh84qdQ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 23, 2025

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 denied pic.twitter.com/KzjyWH8wFL

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 23, 2025

Overtime​

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.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-reca...n-recap-pens-battle-but-fall-in-ot-to-seattle

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Gamethread: Kraken @ Penguins

Talk about the game with Pens fans here!

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-open-threads/69287/gamethread-kraken-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Sidney Crosby records 500th career multi-point game

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.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/69403/sidney-crosby-records-500th-career-multi-point-game

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

The week ahead: This seems like another pivotal week for the Penguins season

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.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/...-another-pivotal-week-for-the-penguins-season

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins could get first look at Tristan Broz this week

The Penguins will try to snap their November slump by calling up one of their top prospects for his NHL debut.

Tristan Broz, 2021 second-round pick turned top-line center in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, was called up by the Pens ahead of Wednesday’s matchup against the visiting Buffalo Sabres.

Tristan Broz opened today with a genuine, humble nod to everyone who helped him turn a dream into reality.

More on his first-ever call-up to the NHL: https://t.co/pz7oMqiPd1 pic.twitter.com/Wbbospfnh3

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 24, 2025

Broz, who started out his college career with Minnesota before transferring to Denver, helped the Pioneers win the 2024 national championship with an overtime game-winner to help his team advance past the Frozen Four.

He was set to debut for the Penguins last season before a diagnosis of mononucleosis derailed that plan,

Broz performed well this preseason but couldn’t beat out 2025 first-round pick Ben Kindel for a spot on the season-opening roster.

While starting the season in the AHL he has recorded 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in his first 18 games of the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

“Really strong reports. I think you go back, he had a strong training camp, too… this is warranted,” Dan Muse told reporters Monday about Broz’s time in the AHL this season. “Training camp matters. It matters a lot. He made a good impression. He earned that during training camp.

“So now, he goes in there, and he goes to Wilkes, and he follows it up. He’s playing well on both sides of the puck… He’s a guy who, he’s making plays, he’s impacting the game offensively. For us, our biggest thing is, we want him to jump in and continue to build on what he’s doing.”

Muse added that he’s regularly in contact with WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald, and that general manager Kyle Dubas sends him clips of top prospects like Broz to keep him up to date with what’s going on in the AHL.

“When guys come here, I think it allows for us to be able to say, ‘Play your game. Like, ‘These are the things you’ve been doing well, these are the things we want to focus in on as opportunities present themselves here,’” Muse said.

Tristan Broz has been one of the @WBSPenguins top forwards this season:

-His eight goals are first on the team and tied for 11th in the AHL
-His 13 points (8G-5A) are third on WBS
-Since the beginning of last season, no one on WBS has scored more goals than Broz (27) https://t.co/1bMo9J7uFi

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) November 24, 2025

Brozer gets us going!! pic.twitter.com/B9MiYfUd1l

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) November 15, 2025

It’s been four years since Broz was drafted, and he turned 23 back in October, so it’s time for the Penguins to finally get a look at one of their top prospects.

Broz skated in Monday’s practice on the Penguins’ third line between Sam Poulin and Tommy Novak, but it’s not clear if that’s where he’ll be on Wednesday.

Bryan Rust missed Monday’s practice due to illness, so Ben Kindel moved up to play on Sidney Crosby’s wing on the top line.

Where Broz ends up skating if Rust is able to return for Tuesday’s practice will be something to keep an eye out ahead of Wednesday night’s 7 p.m. ET puck drop against the Sabres.

Finding a quick fit for Broz will be key to fixing the Penguins’ need for depth scoring while a long list of injured players including Rickard Rakell, Rutger McGroarty, Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari remain on the sidelines.

Dating back to the beginning of the Global Series in Sweden, the Penguins scored have six non-empty net goals in their last four games. Just one of those (Parker Wotherspoon’s opening goal against the Preds during the second game in Sweden) was scored by someone not named Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.

The Pens will hope Broz, like Kindel and Harrison Brunicke, is able to adjust quickly to the NHL level and help his team find the depth they need to bounce back from a 2-4-3 November record.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/69446/penguins-could-get-first-look-at-tristan-broz-this-week

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Wilkes Weekly: Getting ready for Hershey

The Wilkes-Barre Penguins went 1-1 last week, here’s Nick Hart from WBSPenguins.com with a recap:

Friday, Nov. 21 – PENGUINS 2 at Hartford 5
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s sizzling start faded down the stretch, leading to four unanswered goals against. The Penguins were out-shooting the Wolf Pack 26-6S when they built a 2-1 lead on tallies by Owen Pickering and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard. However, Hartford scored twice in the second and third periods.

Saturday, Nov. 22 – PENGUINS 1 at Providence 0
The Penguins took back the top spot in the Eastern Conference from the Bruins by shutting them out in a tight-checking affair. Rutger McGroarty scored the night’s only goal while skating shorthanded in the first period. Joel Blomqvist denied all 27 shots faced for the team’s third shutout of the season.

The big, recent news has been the return to action for Joel Blomqvist and Rutger McGroarty, both of whom making their delayed season debuts following injury.

Blomqvist has been spectacular right off the bat; allowing just two goals over the two games he’s played so far this season, including posting the shutout mentioned above against Providence. The Penguins certainly have a ton of riches in net this season within their organization between Blomqvist, Sergei Mursahov and Arturs Silovs all performing exceptionally well.

McGroarty has scored a goal in each game, including this beauty of a shorthanded goal against Providence.

MCGROARTY SHORTY

For every shorthanded goal we score, Borland and Borland will donate $250 to the Penguins GOALS foundation. This is shorty #3 on the year! pic.twitter.com/TNDBeOvRCu

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) November 23, 2025

Given that McGroarty didn’t have a preseason and has barely played hockey in the last seven months, patience will be required to get him back up to speed, though he’s showing the signs of readiness.

Across the board, the flow of talent is starting to come back to Wilkes. Harrison Brunicke and Jack St. Ivany are now in town and will be around for the short-term, which forced corresponding moves to assign Finn Harding and Scooter Brinkley to Wheeling and boost the defensive depth chart quite a bit. That’s the positive area, considering many of the AHL team’s top forwards from the beginning of the season (Heinen, Poulin, Koppanen Koivunen) are in Pittsburgh. The list of forward departures grew one larger with the promotion of Tristan Broz to the NHL for the first time.

One area that could help is Philip Tomasino, back in the AHL for the first time since the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs. If Tomasino can match the professional attitude and success of players like Heinen and Ryan Graves that took their demotion in stride without pouting or effecting their game it would be a tremendous boost to a forward group that could badly need it.

That boost will be needed, WBS has a tough week coming up. Tomorrow they play at Hershey, their rival and traditional powerhouse AHL program. Wilkes will be back in Hershey on Saturday, after a quick return home to play Lehigh Valley on Friday night. The Phantoms are off to a strong start as well with an 11-5-1-1 record.

Overall, it’s been a success so far for the Pens’ AHL club, who remain in first place in the Atlantic Division, albeit second in points percentage to Providence. The margin of error at the top is very close, with Lehigh on both team’s heels and those Bears lurking as well. Last year’s Calder Cup runner up, Charlotte, aren’t doing too bad for themselves either to make one heck of a strong top portion of the division. (As a reminder, the top six divisional finishers qualify for the playoffs, with added importance to finish in the top-two and earn a first round bye). It’s never too early to cast an eye towards playoffs, there’s only 72 regular season AHL games – which means WBS’s season will be almost 30% completed after next week’s games are played.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/wbs-weekly/69513/wilkes-weekly-getting-ready-for-hershey

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: The pre-turkey tradition continues

Here are your Pens Points for this Wednesday morning…​

How effective can forward Tommy Novak be for the Pittsburgh Penguins? It appears, under the hood at least, he has some talent to drive play and score goals, but none of that has really translated in a black and gold sweater since the team acquired him last season, which leaves many wanting more. Can he deliver that? [PensBurgh]

Healthy reinforcements may be inbound: Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Bryan Rust are each expected to be available for Wednesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, according to what head coach Dan Muse suggested on Tuesday. [Trib Live]

With healthy bodies expected to re-enter the lineup, the Penguins also reassigned forward Sam Poulin to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. [Trib Live]

In 11 NHL games this season, the currently injured Ville Koivunen has just two assists. While the offensive touch he started to develop at the tail end of last season and in the AHL this season has yet to fully materialize, he continues to refine his game, believing the breakout could be coming sooner rather than later. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL…​

The average NHL team is now worth $2.2 billion, according to CNBC’s Official NHL Team Valuations. Where do the Penguins rank alongside the juggernauts like the Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers? [CNBC]

The St. Louis Blues have terminated the AHL professional tryout contract for 37-year-old Milan Lucic. Lucic was signed to a PTO before the 2025 training camp. [NHL]

Is Jim Rutherford about to blow up the Vancouver Canucks? According to Elliotte Friedman’s sources, the Canucks have let other executives know that they are effectively open for business. [Sportsnet]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/6950...-novak-koivunen-nhl-valuations-canucks-trades

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Buffalo Sabres @ Pittsburgh Penguins 11/26/25

Who: Buffalo Sabres (9-9-4, 22 points, 7th place Atlantic Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (10-6-5, 25 points, 5th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. eastern

How to Watch: Broadcast locally Sportsnet Pittsburgh, MSG-B, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: Tonight starts a stretch of three games in four days for Pittsburgh. They’ll make the quick trip over to Columbus for a game on Friday, then return home to meet the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints on Saturday. Then the calendar turns to December on Monday (seriously!) and the Pens will be in Philadelphia.

Opponent Track: Here come the Sabres? Buffalo is 4-1-0 in their last five, including winning three of their last four games, all coming at home and against some decent opposition (EDM, CHI, CAR). Of course, the Sabres also lost to Calgary last week and are 4-5-1 in the last 10, they still keep you on your toes not knowing exactly what to expect aside from proving they’re capable of winning or losing just about any given night.

Hidden Stat: It’s the traditional Thanksgiving Eve home game for the Pens, which has treated them really well in the Sidney Crosby era. Pittsburgh is 8-2-2 at home the night before Turkey Day in the last 20 years, and they’re 4-1-0 since 2019 following a 5-4 win against Vancouver last year.

Getting to know the Sabres​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Josh Doan – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn

Zach Benson – Noah Ostlund – Tyson Kozak

Josh Dunne – Peyton Krebs – Brock Malenstyn

DEFENSEMEN

Mattias Samuelsson / Rasmus Dahlin

Bowen Byram / Conor Timmins

Jacob Bryson / Owen Power

Goalies: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis

Potential scratches: Jordan Greenway, Zach Metsa

Injured Reserve: Josh Norris, Justin Danforth, Jiri Kulich, Michael Kesselring

• Buffalo has a crowded crease with three healthy goalies, the team not wanting to risk their depth and waive Ellis once Luukkonen came back from an injury he suffered in the preseason (against the Penguins, though they did not outwardly cause it). Luukkonen has been coming on as of late, playing in the last two games and winning them both, allowing only four total goals and posting a .925 save% in his recent outings.
• Josh Norris has resumed practicing after getting injured in opening night and being out ever since. Big shame, he looked amazing in the preseason in the games against the Penguins. Unfortunately staying healthy has been a major issue over his career.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• The Sabres are quickly described as a few awesome players (Thompson, Tuch, Dahlin) then guy, guy, guy. It’s been repeated to infinity but still worth pointing out that for a team that has drafted so high so frequently, their NHL talent in the 20-23-ish range isn’t particularly dynamic, though it does have some nice pieces (Power, Benson, Ostlund and now Doan).
• Injuries have played into that; Benson is a nice little player who will only be in his 10th game of the season tonight, and as mentioned above Norris has been on IR all season besides opening night. Add in the starting goalie being out for the start of the year and that’s some tough cards to pull right off the bat.
• All in all, Lyon did well to hold things together as best he could while UPL was out, and Ellis was a pleasant surprise for a bit by battling and helping the team through a tough spot. Lyon, however, hasn’t played in almost two weeks since allowing two goals on three shots against Colorado and has been shuffled down the depth chart for recent games. On the contrast, Luukkonen made 29 saves on 30 shots against Carolina last game.
• They are getting some progress from younger players turning it around and stepping up. There was some outside consternation about the way Samuelsson was playing, looks like he is off to a fine season averaging almost 22 minutes per game and putting up an impressive 11 ES points in 20 games so far while carrying a team-high +9. Similarly, there were grumblings when Doan was the key piece of the summer trade that sent away last year’s 68-point scorer JJ Peterka and Doan has filled a productive spot in the lineup.

Dealing with adversity

Buffalo is riding high following their 4-1 win last Sunday against the Hurricanes. It’s pulled them out of last place and fueling some belief about something to build on for this next stretch.

The Sabres had one of their most impressive wins of the season against the Hurricanes on Sunday. They’re now out of last place in the conference. 5 thoughts on the team and the state of team: https://t.co/vOBkUTLH1v

— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) November 23, 2025

“This has to be our minimum,” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said. “This is how we have to play every night. It’s competing, it’s skating, it’s doing the little things right, work for the team. That’s got to be our bare minimum. Then we can improve some other things.”

The Sabres still have plenty to improve, like most teams at the bottom of the standings. But the rest of the Eastern Conference has been enough of a mess for the Sabres to stay on the outskirts of the playoff picture. They’ve won four of their last five games and are 3 points behind the second wild-card and 5 points behind the division-leading Detroit Red Wings.

If they’re going to take advantage of an odd year in the conference, the Sabres will need to deal with bad breaks as well as they did against Carolina. The Sabres had a goal called off because of a questionable goaltender interference call. They also had to deal with a few other odd calls by the officials. They didn’t allow that to deter them against an already-challenging opponent.

“I think it’s something we talked about a lot last year, we couldn’t get through it,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “It’s that dealing with adversity, where sometimes stuff isn’t going to go your way and you’ve got to move on fast. We had to deal with some tonight, for sure, and I thought we did. And the way we were playing, I was comfortable with the fact I thought we were going to still push ahead.”

#1 power play vs #1 penalty kill

Buffalo has been very potent offensively so far at even strength. Their 51 5v5 goals ranks 5th in the NHL, which isn’t out of line from the expected goals they generate. The offensive fireworks have come at the cost of defense, where they haven’t been strong to say the least (52 5v5 goals allowed also is 5th in the NHL). Buffalo and Toronto are the only teams currently averaging 3.15+ goals per game scored and 3.15+ goals allowed this season, betting the over in Sabres’ games is usually the play.

Despite that, somewhat surprisingly, their goaltending (unimpressive statistically in every other way) puts on a Superman cape while on the penalty kill. Buffalo has a NHL high .931 save% while shorthanded, by far the best in the league (only two others [TB, COL] have over a .900% while PKing). That figures to be a strong test for the Penguins, who possess the NHL’s best power play. Buffalo is only getting out-scored 8-3 so far this year while shorthanded, and generating those three SHG is probably something the Pens should be mindful about while they’re on the power play.

To complete the fickle and contradictory nature of the Sabres, their wonderful 5v5 offense dries up during the power play that has only converted 17.9% of the time. They can be all over the map like that and not always follow logic about performing well out of no where in some areas, then failing to capitalize in others.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Connor Dewar – Sidney Crosby – Ben Kindel

Kevin Hayes – Evgeni Malkin – Anthony Mantha

Ville Koivunen – Tristan Broz – Tommy Novak

Joona Koppanen – Blake Lizotte – Danton Heinen

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea / Kris Letang

Ryan Graves / Connor Clifton

Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Tristan Jarry? Also Sergei Murashov (for now..)

Potential Scratches: Bryan Rust (illness), Matt Dumba, Harrison Brunicke (AHL rehab assignment)

IR: Koivunen and Jarry (for now..), Filip Hallander, Justin Brazeau, Rickard Rakell, Caleb Jones, Noel Acciari

• Bryan Rust has been absent from practice the last two days with an illness, we’ll see if he can answer the bell and play tonight, otherwise the team prepared with the above lines that look about as game ready as they can be.
• Reinforcements look like they’re coming as soon as tonight; Koivunen might be the best note of all, considering he was deemed “week to week” just over one week ago and is already back in team practice. Sam Poulin was sent back to the AHL yesterday, a good indicator that Koivunen will be back tonight.
• Tristan Jarry worked in practice yesterday with Silovs as a typical goaltender, signifying he could be back soon, at least dressing as backup (which would bump Murashov back to the AHL) Acciari and Rakell have been on the ice in some capacity this week, though a little further behind.
• The team has announced Tristan Broz will in fact make his NHL debut tonight, so we’ll get a pregame rookie warmup lap tonight. Broz will become the fourth player to make an NHL debut for the Pens this season already (joining an impressive list of Ben Kindel, Harrison Brunicke and Sergei Murashov having done the same) and become the ninth player with rookie status (the three mentioned above, plus Hallander, Poulin, Koivunen, Pickering and Silovs) to suit up for the Pens tonight.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/penguins-...w-buffalo-sabres-pittsburgh-penguins-11-26-25

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Happy Turkey Day

In one of the best annual traditions in hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins were at PPG Paints Arena for their annual Thanksgiving Eve game and started the holiday celebrations early with a 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Tristan Broz made his NHL debut while Tristan Jarry returned to game action along with Ville Koivunen. Matt Dumba recorded his first goal as a Penguin to get the scoring started followed by Bryan Rust, Kevin Hayes, and Connor Dewar. The Penguins will have an off day on Thanksgiving before a Friday-Saturday back-to-back set with the Blue Jackets and Maple Leafs. [Pensburgh]

Pens Points…​

No Ben Kindel in the lineup for the Penguins last night against the Sabres. That continues the trend of the Penguins game management strategy for their young rookie to help him better adapt to playing in the NHL. [Trib Live]

Coming off their trip to Sweden, the Penguins now sit among the teams with the fewest games played so far this season. That is all about to change with two more games this week then a heavy December schedule to help catch up. [PPG]

A terrific start to the season has given the Penguins and their fans plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Veteran players contributing, young guns showing their potential, and goaltending holding the fort are all blessings for the Penguins this holiday. [The Hockey Writers]

NHL News and Notes…​

With each passing day the 2026 Winter Olympics draw closer, and with it, the debate surrounding which NHL players will be making the trip heats up. For the United States, the talent pool to choose from has never been this full, thus making the decisions that much harder. [NHL]

Sticking with Team USA, the long awaited jerseys that both the men’s and women’s teams will wear in Italy were released on Wednesday. Going with a throwback style, the jerseys pay homage to the 1960 men’s Olympic team who brought home gold in Squaw Valley. [Sportsnet]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/69528/pens-points-happy-turkey-day

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Tristan Jarry’s name starting to pop up in trade rumors

One clearcut sign that Tristan Jarry is playing better is that now his name is coming up in some trade rumors, both specific and vague. Let’s take a look.

For starters, the Penguins are growing into a good problem. Between Jarry, Arturs Silovs, Sergei Murashov and now Joel Blomqvist, Pittsburgh has too many quality goalies within the organization. Elliotte Friedman made that point in a 32 Thoughts.

Written 32:https://t.co/XrSeq4Ozi6

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 26, 2025

5. Goalie team to watch: Pittsburgh. Four guys ready to play between the NHL and AHL.

Others have been more direct, and Jarry’s name has been the one to come to the forefront.

I’m told 2X @NHL All-Star and @penguins Goalie Tristan Jarry is among
the goalies drawing significant interest as
a potential option for the @EdmontonOilers , keep in mind he played
in Edmonton with the Oil Kings.#HockeyX pic.twitter.com/gDcqv6TOBO

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) November 26, 2025

Weekes has said things of various quality in the past, but a rumor is a rumor.

Jarry enjoyed a bounce-back start to the season before sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 3. He has a .911 save percentage and is 5-2-0 through seven starts this year. Jarry is set to return Wednesday.

The 30-year-old struggled last campaign and was waived by the Penguins in January. He finished last season with an .892 SV% in 36 appearances.

Jarry is under contract through 2027-28 at a $5.375-million cap hit. He owns a 12-team no-trade list.

Oilers goaltenders Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have both struggled to start the year. Skinner’s save percentage is down to .878, while Pickard is among the NHL’s worst at .847. Skinner and Pickard combined to allow eight goals on 30 shots on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.

Jarry, a native of Surrey, British Columbia, played his junior hockey in Edmonton for the Oil Kings. He won two WHL championships and backstopped the franchise to its first and only Memorial Cup title in 2014.

Not a bad comeback for a goalie who cleared waivers in January 2025. That also becomes a bit of a problem for the Pens, why trade Jarry while he’s playing so well these days? Why not let him turn in those performances for them? Of course, eventually they’ll want to clear the runway for Murashov to be a full-time NHLer but time is on their side in that regard.

Of course, it might not be if Jarry’s performance takes a downturn. But a team like Edmonton, struggling with Stuart Skinner, have more reason to be desperate than the Penguins do at this moment. That should only work to the advantage of Kyle Dubas.

Given how Dubas operates so quietly and under the radar, you’d almost expect something as specific as “Jarry to Edmonton” to not materialize. So far it looks like only media connecting dots that may or may not be there, especially from the Edmonton perspective where they are growing more desperate to seek a goalie upgrade. The Pens do have enviable depth at the position, to Friedman’s point they’re a team to keep an eye on but they don’t have much reason to make a move until another team makes it worth their while. Whether that will end up being the Oilers or not remains to be seen, but people are starting to talk.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/rumors/69553/tristan-jarrys-name-starting-to-pop-up-in-trade-rumors

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Columbus Blue Jackets 11/28/25

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (11-6-5, 27 points, 5th place Metropolitan Division) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (11-9-4, 26 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. eastern

How to Watch: Broadcast locally Sportsnet Pittsburgh and FDSNOH, nationally on NHL Network

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Pens return home to play Toronto tomorrow night before embarking on a three-game road trip next week that will have stops in Philadelphia (Monday), Tampa (Thursday) and Dallas (a week from Sunday).

Opponent Track: Columbus has lost their last three games, though two of those have come past regulation. It hasn’t been the best five-game stretch for the Blue Jackets, who are 1-2-2 in the last 10 days.

Season Series: The Blue Jackets claimed the first game between these teams in a shootout. Tonight is round two for PIT/CBJ this year. They’ll play two more times after this on January 4th back in Ohio and then January 17th in Pittsburgh.

Hidden Stat: Columbus hasn’t won a game by more than one goal since October 29th….Most of their games have been extremely close, needing

overtime in seven of their last 10 games.

Getting to know the Blue Jackets​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Dmitri Voronkov – Adam Fantilli – Kent Johnson

Luca Pinelli – Sean Monahan – Cole Sillinger

Miles Wood – Charlie Coyle – Isac Lundestrom

Zach Aston Reese – Brendan Gaunce – Yegor Chinakhov

DEFENSEMEN

Zach Werenski / Ivan Provorov

Denton Mateychuk / Damon Severson

Brendan Smith / Dante Fabbro

Goalies: Jet Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins

Potential scratches: Mathieu Olivier (injury), Kirill Marchenko (day to day injury), Jake Christansen

Injured Reserve: Erik Gudbrandson, Boone Jenner

• Tough break for Marchenko, who got hurt during the morning skate in Washington and was expected to be out for tonight’s game.
• In better news, Werenski was injured in that game against the Capitals but was able to come back and play the next game against Toronto, looks like CBJ dodged a bullet to avoid an injury to one of their most irreplaceable players.
• Chinakov, a 2020 first round pick, hasn’t found a huge role and has requested a trade. Columbus doesn’t look in a huge hurry to honor the request but it might eventually get in that direction.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• Columbus ranks just 24th in the NHL so far this season with 2.79 goals/game, and their top-four goal scorers (Fantilli, Voronkov, Werenski and Markchenko) have created over 50% of the team’s goal total (34 of 67).
• Gotta be at least a little disappointing that Monahan only has two goals and 10 points in 24 games this season after putting up 19 goals and 57 points in 54 games last year.
• Many were ready to see what Greaves could do in his first full season in the NHL, he hasn’t disappointed yet. Merzlikins plays to about the same level every year, Columbus now might have found a goalie that they can rely on.

Keep it close

Columbus isn’t good at much, besides keeping games close and getting them to overtime more often than not. There’s some value in that for the standings. The Blue Jackets only have six regulation wins in the 24 games this season, but they do have 11 wins overall – almost doubling up their win total via extra time. Overall, CBJ is 2-3 in games decided in OT and 3-1 in the shootout for a 5-4 overall record in games that go past the scheduled 60 minutes.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Connor Dewar – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Kevin Hayes – Evgeni Malkin – Anthony Mantha

Ville Koivunen – Tristan Broz – Tommy Novak

Joona Koppanen – Blake Lizotte – Danton Heinen

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea / Kris Letang

Ryan Graves / Connor Clifton

Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Tristan Jarry

Potential Scratches: Ben Kindel (development plan), Matt Dumba, Harrison Brunicke (AHL rehab assignment)

IR: Filip Hallander, Justin Brazeau, Rickard Rakell, Caleb Jones, Noel Acciari

• The Pens were off yesterday following their big win over Buffalo on Wednesday night.
• It’ll be interesting to see if the goalie rotation continues. One on hand, you’d think it would settle back in to the successful groove the Pens were in earlier in the year when they rotated Jarry and Silovs evenly. On the other hand, Jarry was awesome on Wednesday and Silovs got pulled in his last outing. There’s games today and tomorrow, so both should be getting the opportunity to play soon enough, just a bit intriguing to see how the team will choose to handle the ordering for an important divisional matchup against a team the Pens could be competing with for positioning throughout the season.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/penguins-...burgh-penguins-columbus-blue-jackets-11-28-25

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Erik Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon have formed surprisingly strong top defense pairing

When you start analyzing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ surprisingly strong start to the 2025-26 season, the team’s defense or defensive play is probably not high on the list of reasons for their early success. On paper, it looks like the weak link of the roster, especially when you look at the list of names on the left side. Statistically, a lot of the Penguins’ team defensive metrics are …. bad. By the eye test, they have let some third period leads (and big leads) slip away, while often times struggling in their own zone.

The team is winning thanks to some veteran forwards still having some juice to their game, some fresh young talent making an impact at forward, the power play being outstanding, and the goaltending being even better and more surprising.

There is, however, one aspect of the defense that has been legitimately good and productive, and it is the top-pairing of Erik Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon.

This is probably not something a lot of people were expecting when the season began.

For one, even though Karlsson arrived in Pittsburgh as a Hall of Fame talent with three Norris Trophies on his resume, his first two years with the Penguins were wildly disappointing. The offense was still mostly strong, but the overall impact was not there, and as his initial time here progressed it was becoming painfully obvious that he and former head coach Mike Sullivan did not see eye-to-eye on many things. It was a bad fit.

Through the first quarter of the season under first-year head coach Dan Muse, Karlsson looks rejuvenated and is giving the Penguins the exact type of impact they were expecting when they originally acquired him. His goal-scoring numbers are not quite there at the moment, but he is on pace for 50 assists and is playing remarkably better away from the puck, using his skating and instincts in a way we did not really see under Sullivan. His offensive vision and playmaking are also still very much elite, as he displayed on Wednesday night with that pass to set up Kevin Hayes for the go-ahead goal in the third period.

When it comes to Wotherspoon, he was another of the Penguins’ short-term, low-cost free agent additions that just appeared to be roster-filler and potential future trade-bait than anything else. A two-year, $2 million contract for a 28-year-old that had bounced around the NHL and never really played a major full-time role is not something that is ordinarily going to get much attention.

The best way to describe his game so far is probably just … solid. He does not do anything spectacularly well, and while he has had the occasional mishap (that delay of game penalty in Anaheim), he has mostly been an extremely strong complement on Karlsson’s pairing.

As a duo, they have been very good, and by far the most effective of the Penguins’ most-used defense pairings.

In their 322 minutes of 5-on-5 ice-time together the Penguins have outscored teams 12-7 with the Karlsson-Wotherspoon duo on the ice, and possess scoring-chance and high-danger scoring chance shares of well over 53 percent. Their expected goal share is a little lower at only 48 percent, but it is still among the best marks among Penguins defense pairs.

When that duo is not on the ice, and when neither player is on the ice, the Penguins are being outscored 24-31 while their scoring chance and high-danger scoring chance shares see drops of 3-5 percent.

On a league-wide level, there have been 40 defense pairings that have logged at least 200 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time together (all numbers via Natural Stat Trick).

The Karlsson-Wotherspoon pairing ranks:

• Shot attempt share: 52.07 percent (16th)
• Goals scored share: 61.3 percent (8th)
• Expected goals share: 47.5 (33rd)
• Scoring chance share: 53.2 (15th)
• High-danger scoring chance share: 55.4 (9th)

Not quite elite numbers, but consistently strong and above average, and by far the best on the team across almost all of those categories.

The other aspect to their game that might be going a little unnoticed is they have also been extremely effective on the penalty kill together, which is another area you probably did not expect them — and especially Karlsson — to make such an impact.

They have been the Penguins’ most-used defense pairing during short-handed situations, and have been mostly effective, allowing just 4.68 goals per 60 minutes and only 7.39 expected goals per 60 minutes. What do those numbers mean? A team that allows 4.68 goals per 60 minutes of PK team would rank fourth-best in the NHL. A team that allows 7.39 expected goals per 60 minutes of PK team would rank sixth-best in the NHL.

As a team, the Penguins have a top-six PK unit across almost all metrics, including goals against per 60, expected goals against per 60 and their overall success rate (85.2 percent).

No matter the situation they have simply played strong hockey together, and been a nice strength on a unit (the defense) that has otherwise struggled this season. They deserve a lot of credit for that.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/...ormed-surprisingly-strong-top-defense-pairing

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Blue Jackets Recap: Crosby, Letang fuel comeback for first OT win of season

Pregame​

Lots of new looks for the Penguins; a goal last game helps elevate Kevin Hayes to the first line, Tommy Novak slides up into Hayes’s former spot on the second line. Ben Kindel is back for this one, bumping Tristan Broz out and Connor Dewar returns to his typical home on the fourth line. Defense holds steady and Tristan Jarry starts in goal for the second game in a row for his first time this season.

How we're lining up in Columbus.#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/KFFS5sQDJP

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 28, 2025

First period​

It’s a slow start in the first five minutes or so for Pittsburgh, but they get it in gear and score the game’s first goal. A long o-zone sequence puts Columbus goalie Jet Greaves in a scramble and out of sorts in his crease, the puck goes low to high and Kris Letang finds who else but Sidney Crosby down near the net to redirect the puck in. 1-0.

"SIDNEY ON ONE KNEE, IT'S A GUARANTEE." pic.twitter.com/mz3uK6dM9v

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 29, 2025

The Blue Jackets are able to answer back. Sean Monahan does the honors for his first goal in 10 games when Tristan Jarry can’t control a rebound; neither can Ryan Graves as the puck bounces off his skates and right to Monahan. 1-1 game.

MONNY'S ON THE BOARD!

CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/FBsrfIAmTl

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 29, 2025

The period comes to an end, both team had a power play during it; the Pens looked terrible, CBJ had a little more zone time but weren’t able to set the cannon off. Shots were 8-7 in favor of Columbus.

Second period​

Pittsburgh gets a very long extended 6v5 chance on a delayed penalty call but can’t score on the power play. In fact, they give up a goal, and Bryan Rust left early after inadvertently skating into a teammate (though he would return to action quickly). Can’t go much worse than that. Miles Wood skates around a sprawled out Crosby and Brendan Gaunce is able to finish it. 2-1 CBJ.

GAUNCER NETS A SHORTY!

CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/cHvKYKk2ki

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 29, 2025

The Pens barely get any more shots for the rest of the period, Bryan Rust tries his classic drive from the left side to the net but runs out of room, loses an edge and his leg smacks into the goal post. He leaves in pain for the second time in the game.

Columbus beats the clock to extend their lead to 3-1 with 3.3 seconds to play. Charlie Coyle does a great job protecting the puck and keeping Letang from getting to it. Hayes flies by, accomplishing little and leaving Zach Werenski wide open creeping down from his point position. Bad news for Pittsburgh comes from it.

Z ACTIVATED HEATSEEKER!

CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/yiFBMjYy9i

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 29, 2025

Shots overall in the game are 21-14 CBJ, 14 feels generous for what the Pens have done – a good portion of it has come in a few flurries here and there, nothing consistent or building up. It would have been a victory to get to the room only down one goal and try to recover from there.

Third period​

The Pens come out smoking to start the third, Rust is back and gets the puck following a pinch by Erik Karlsson to seal off the wall. Ivan Provorov can’t gap up to him quickly enough and Rust fires a shot at the glove of Greaves. It hits it and goes in. 3-2 game just 13 seconds in.

That's back-to-back games with a goal for Rust pic.twitter.com/yAzVwFz9e9

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 29, 2025

The Pens find an equalizer, and it’s Crosby, of course. A nice bank pass from Tommy Novak puts Crosby behind the defense. In a quick move the Pens captain catches up with the puck and slams on the breaks as he snapes it through Greaves. 3-3.

Sidney Crosby ties Dave Andreychuk for 15th on the NHL's all-time goals list with career goal No. 640! pic.twitter.com/PNbFOrsmiC

— NHL (@NHL) November 29, 2025

Jarry and Greaves trade some big saves to keep the game tied and head to extra time.

Overtime​

Columbus has the puck a bit but they can’t shoot. The Pens get it back and eventually create a 2-on-1 in front of the net. Novak fakes a shot and lays a perfect pass over for Letang. Letang fires in his second goal of the season to give Pittsburgh their first overtime win of the year in their sixth attempt.

COMEBACK COMPLETE

Kris Letang secures the win for the @penguins in @Energizer OT! pic.twitter.com/0ldmhMKBBj

— NHL (@NHL) November 29, 2025

Some thoughts​

• The Pens No 1 ranked power play going 0/2 and giving up a goal to Columbus is a troubling harbinger for the rest of the game. If you only knew just that one note and didn’t know anything about the final score, you’d have to think it wasn’t going to be a winning effort based on that alone. Sneaking out with the full two points wasn’t something to be expected for a while tonight.
• That’s one of the many great things about having Sidney Crosby on your roster. The team can bring a C or D game for most the night, the Crosby factor can show up and give them a fighting chance.
• Jarry did the same, especially in the third period with a couple of very key and clutch saves to keep the puck out of the net. His team didn’t put him in great shape for a while.
• It’s not going very well for Koivunen. In the first period he was slow carrying the puck across the line, causing an offsides. Then Koivunen got the puck on a 2-on-1 and held onto it for far too long, allowing the sliding defender to thwart the play. Whether it’s the game going too fast or Koivunen going too slow, something is a beat off there. Timing can be tricky coming back from an injury but at the same time the performance has to be more crisp there and likely in a hurry to prove he can be better than this at the NHL level.
• Not playing one of Broz or Kindel in the past few days so that Joona Koppanen can play 10ish minutes and a few shorthanded shifts is certainly a choice, and not a good one. Hayes scored last game and got promoted to the top line and that wasn’t a fit either. The roster isn’t ideal but some of the decisions and placement have been questionable to hurt as well.
• Nice game for Rust, took a lickin’ but kept on tickin’. Nothing new for him, his style is going to demand taking some bumps along the way, scoring a goal for the second straight game was a huge moment to answer Columbus’s late goal in the second.
• CBJ has played eight OT games in their last 11, going past the distance is par for the course for them. The Pens were 0-5 in games that lasted over 60 minutes before tonight, finally getting the second point in overtime contests.
• Great job by Novak to contribute two primary assists. Six of his seven assists this season have come that way. When he has the time and space to operate he can work some magic, that little feint in overtime was a great move to help open up the goalie.
• Impressive comeback win for the Pens to enter the third on the road down two goals and get a result. This kind of game makes up for some of the earlier games in the season when they had been on the other end of nights like this to play well but stumble

Quick turn for the Pens, back in action tomorrow night at home when the slumping Maple Leafs come for a visit.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-reca...tang-fuel-comeback-for-first-ot-win-of-season