RSS Penguins Team Notes

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Evgeni Malkin’s absence should result in bigger role for Kid Line

Just when it looked like the Pittsburgh Penguins were starting to get healthier and back to full strength, more injury news hit. The Penguins announced on Tuesday that forwards Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte are being played on Injured Reserve.

They are significant injuries.

Both players are expected to be out on a “week-to-week” basis, according to the Penguins.

Updated injury timelines:

Both Malkin and Lizotte are week-to-week with upper-body injuries. https://t.co/QnteKaUIyj

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) December 9, 2025

In Malkin’s case, he has found an extra gear this season and already has 29 points in 26 games. He has been one of their top offensive players and in a lot of games has been a major difference-maker (Thursday night in Tampa Bay, for example).

Lizotte has been a key cog on the fourth line and a major part of the penalty kill.

In their place, Danton Heinen and Sam Poulin are coming back from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

It is obviously not ideal in the short-term given the potential the Malkin, Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau line has shown this season. Malkin’s absence comes just as Brazeau was making his return. Based on Sunday’s game, it is likely that Kevin Hayes will stay in that center spot.

Long-term, it’s probably not the worst thing for Malkin to not be playing 82 games and some time off might do him well. It still hurts the team in the short-term with some tough games ahead this month.

But it also might be an opportunity for other players on the team — specifically The Kid Line of Ben Kindel, Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty.

With Malkin down and the second-line not really have anybody you can count on to drive it or drive offense, this seems like it would be a good opportunity to elevate the role of the Kindel line and allow it to serve as the “second line” for the time being.

The one thing first-year head coach Dan Muse has been really good about this season — and really effective with — is balancing out the ice-time and consistently rolling four lines, so on most nights there really has not been much difference in the ice-time between the first, second and third lines. There still has been a difference. On Sunday in Dallas, for example, The Kid Line played 9:51 during 5-on-5, which was the lowest of the Penguins’ four lines. They were extremely effective in those minutes, and have been since being put together.

It is a small sample size, but in 26 minutes together that trio has out-shot teams by a 15-3 margin and owns a 72.3 percent expected goal share. They also pass the eye test and have consistently caused havoc in the offensive zone.

Let them cook a little bit and see if they can turn that territorial advantage, as well as a slightly bigger role with more ice-time, into offense.

When Malkin is healthy and centering the second line I have absolutely no problem with the Kindel line playing the “third line” line role. It extends the lineup, and you should be looking at your third line as an additional scoring line anyway if you are trying to win. You need offense from that group. It has also been effective in its role. But when Malkin is not in the middle of Mantha and Brazeau I feel like that group does not really project as a top-six group. The Kindel line does, at least in terms of talent and playing style. I am not saying you need to overload their plates or play them for 15 minutes. Give them an extra shift or two. Bump them up in the rotation. Give them more of the offensive zone face-offs that would otherwise be going to Malkin.

Put them into situations where they can succeed, create chances and hopefully score. You are going to need some extra offense anyway.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/...nce-should-result-in-bigger-role-for-kid-line

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Wilkes Weekly: Kings of PA

The WBS Penguins enjoyed another successful week by earning victories over Pennsylvania rivals in Lehigh Valley and Hershey. Here’s Nick Hart from WBSPenguins.com on his weekly roundup of the action:

Friday, Dec. 5 – PENGUINS 6 vs. Lehigh Valley 2
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improved to 4-0-0-0 in its season series against Lehigh Valley with a decisive home win. Six different players lit the lamp, and each member of a line composed of Aidan McDonough, Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes compiled multiple points. Sergei Murashov logged a season-high 34 saves.

Saturday, Dec. 6 – PENGUINS 4 at Hershey 1
Joel Blomqvist was a fortress with 27 starry saves to keep the Penguins in the game before erupting for four unanswered goals. Valtteri Puustinen kicked off his team’s surge late in the second period, then tallied again 58 seconds into the third. Gabe Klassen and McDonough also scored in the final frame.

Goaltending remains a huge point in the Pens’ favor. To have back-to-back games and be able to roll out Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov is such a huge advantage and great piece of depth to rely on. Per Hart, the WBS Pens have allowed two or fewer goals in 13 out of their 23 games this season, which obviously puts a team in a wonderful position to win games.

Puustinen’s two goals were his first since October 29th and doubled his season total up to four. He’s become something of a forgotten player for the NHL radar and buried deeper within the organization but has been able to be a mainstay for the WBS Pens this season.

The wins push WBS up to 17-5-1 and retain their first place spot in the Atlantic division for another week.

The Providence Bruins are right there, the Pens and PBruins meet on Saturday night in a game that could decide the top of the standings for the short-term. WBS also plays @Hartford tonight and hosts Charlotte on Sunday.

On the roster movement tracker, Boko Imama and Joona Koppanen have returned to the AHL in the last week. Danton Heinen was called back up to Pittsburgh and Sam Poulin went up to the NHL (and quietly back down) to Wilkes yesterday. Defensively, Harrison Brunicke and Jack St. Ivany have completed their temporary rehab stints and are out of the AHL which created room for Scooter Brickey and Finn Harding to return to WBS from Wheeling to even out the numbers. That could be the way it is for a while in the AHL since Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte are on IR with week-to-week injuries could signify that Heinen’s services will be required in the NHL for the near future.

The overall net adds of forwards to get Koppanen and Imama back should help the cause in WBS, the team went with an 11 forward/7 defense lineup on Saturday partially due to the amount of forwards who were recalled to Pittsburgh at the time.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/wbs-weekly/70092/wilkes-weekly-kings-of-pa

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Revisiting Sidney Crosby’s chase of Mario Lemieux’s point record

Sidney Crosby is up to 1,718 career points, five shy of Mario Lemieux’s Penguin franchise record of 1,723. Lemieux stands ninth all-time in NHL scoring. Putting up 1,723 points for a single team is a franchise record that many thought had a chance to stand indefinitely. Only two players have scored more points for a single franchise than Lemieux did with Pittsburgh (Gordie Howe notched 1,809 with the Red Wings, Steve Yzerman had 1,755 for Detroit).

Crosby’s path to 1,723 looked uncertain when he missed well over a total season during 2010-11 and 2011-12 while dealing with concussion and neck issues in a period where he was regularly recording 100+ point seasons in his absolute scoring prime. That led our crystal ball towards doubting the day where Lemieux would get surpassed might ever come.

January 2014: Will Sidney Crosby ever pass Mario Lemieux in points?

Can he do it?​

Realistically, given how player point production drops in the latter years, combined with Crosby’s injury history, the betting odds say that Mario is safe as the Penguins #1 scorer of all time*.Crosby lost 113 games (or 160 points at his rate of scoring) due to injuries from 2011-2013 in what should have been the prime of his career, and that probably ended all doubt of whether or not Lemieux would remain number one.

Still, what we’re witnessing with Crosby- who’s 11 points up on everyone in the entire league right now in scoring- is special. Just as Mario Lemieux was special, especially considering how few games he was able to play, and just how well he played despite being in a lot of pain even when he was able to play.

Barring some Jagr-esque commitment to play the game until an extremely late age, it seems unlikely that Crosby will pass Lemieux. But as we’ve seen over the years, I sure wouldn’t bet against greatness.

One thing that wasn’t foreseen in 2014 was the staying power Crosby would prove to have. Since January 1, 2020, Crosby has scored 484 points in 409 games. Putting up almost 500 points deep into his 30’s, playing a vast majority of the games and staying productive at a Swiss watch level of precision wasn’t something to count on back then. It also speaks to what a great ride it has been to have a first-hand view of one of the Mount Rushmore’s of hockey carve out his spot right before our eyes over the years.

Back in 2014 it looked like Crosby might go onto have a Lemieux-esque type of brilliant but brief career. Instead, longevity, has proven to become a positive for Crosby, which would have been difficult to dream up in the first half of his career when missing large chunks of seasons was a regular occurrence. It’s often said that players don’t find a way to get healthier and more durable as they age, somehow Crosby has managed to pull that off in addition to his magical feats on the ice.

Crosby has played 464 more career regular season games than Lemieux, whose storied career was marked throughout with extended periods of injury and retirement absences. That second-half career durability and the ability to suit up in so many more games in this different era is the starting point for why Crosby is primed to take over the top spot for career points from Lemieux.

Moving ahead a decade, all that work had come into focus, and Crosby’s pursuit of the franchise scoring record was looking like an inevitability more than a theoretical proposition.

August 2024:

Sidney Crosby’s pursuit of Mario Lemieux’s all-time franchise scoring records

Points
Lemieux: 1,723
Crosby: 1,596

—At current rates and with that darn extension, Crosby ought be looking at setting the bar for the Penguin point total sometime in the 2025-26 season, perhaps fairly early into the year too. That would be a remarkable accomplishment that many never thought would fall, considering that Lemieux was seventh in NHL scoring when he walked away and if all goes well will only be lasting 20 years.

By the summer 2024 it was not terribly difficult to then project the timing of when Lemieux’s Penguin point total would fall, even before Crosby had officially inked the contract extension to keep him with the Penguins through the 2026-27 season. All the pieces were coming together by then, and dutifully Crosby has stayed right on target with the projections.

Crosby previously broke Lemieux’s record for most assists in franchise history, and with the current Pens captain closing in on the points, the only question now is if Crosby can go for the clean sweep of the major stat categories and take over Mario’s goal total to finish it off.

That topic provides another opportunity to potentially be incorrect. Lemieux, at 690, is is 47 goals clear of Crosby. Given Crosby’s age of 38, it may seem like he doesn’t have 58 more goals in him. However, this season Crosby has scored 18 goals in 28 games. Crosby has scored 43 goals in the previous 82 games played between Dec 1 2024 and today. Based on that type of late-season flourish, even if Crosby hung up his skates when his contract ends in 2027, he would have a really good chance of scoring at least 48 goals over the next 18 months or so (in up to a max. of 136 games). Should he decide to play longer after that for the Pens, the goal record is undoubtedly going to be Crosby’s.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/6...-crosbys-chase-of-mario-lemieuxs-point-record

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

How will the Penguins respond?

Momentum is only as good as the next shift, the next play and the next game. That is important to keep in mind for the Pittsburgh Penguins going into Thursday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens — and their next two games this week — after their back-to-back tough losses against the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. There is a school of thought that losing two games, in the manner in which they did, and only getting two points instead of four points, could be some sort of season-defining turning point.

There is always the possibility of that. Those were not just random defeats to good teams.

Those were gut-punch defeats to good teams that you outplayed by a significant margin for the majority of the game. Those were defeats that you were in total control of. They were also defeats that kept replaying a similar narrative that has happened all season with a blown third period lead and an overtime/shootout loss.

In a lot of ways the game on Tuesday night against Anaheim was highly encouraging.

They showed us they were able to bounce back from a tough loss just a couple of days earlier, and responded with perhaps even stronger showing than the one they had in Dallas (which, up until that point, might have been one of their best games of the season given the opponent and the context of the road trip). They mostly limited one of the highest-scoring teams in the league, dictated the game, bounced back from a deficit of their own and put themselves in a position to close it out.

Then everything fell apart at the end of regulation.

It is not a stretch to say they were rattled in overtime by what happened at the end of regulation, and that 1:44 of power play time illustrated that perfectly. That was a team that had no confidence. That was a team that was shaken to its core. They played like it, and despite having some quality chances and wide open looks in overtime were unable to get the win.

Then the shootout went exactly as everybody expected it to go, right down to Sidney Crosby trying the exact same move that never works.

It is easy to look at all of that, within the context of the week, and within the context of the season as a whole, and say, well, this team might be cooked.

I know this is not the type of thing people want to hear after games like that, but there were still a lot of things the Penguins should be taking away from those games. Specifically the fact that they did play great hockey for the overwhelming majority of them, and did so against two really good teams. In Dallas, they did so against arguably one of the two or three best teams in hockey, which came after road regulation wins at Philadelphia and Tampa Bay.

There is mounting evidence to suggest that there IS a good team here. A flawed team, to be sure, but still a good team that is capable of hanging with and going toe-to-toe with the best teams in the league.

This is very much a trust the process situation, because lately the process has been outstanding and almost everything you want to see from a playoff team. The attention to detail needs to be better. The situational awareness needs to be better. But those things are, in theory at least, easier to fix than getting a team to play better overall. They have the hard part right. Now they just have to finish the rest of it.

This is also an example as to why I think it can, and will, be beneficial to have veteran players that have won before around a rebuilding team with young players. A team that is constructed primarily of young players still trying to find their way in the NHL might look at those two games and very much let it ruin their season. Having winners around that have been through adversity, tough times and worked/played their way through it is important. There is a value in that.

The Penguins still have four more games on this home stand, including three more this week. All of them are against opponents they should be capable of beating.

They are still in a very good position in the standings, and still enter play on Thursday with the seventh-best points percentage in the NHL and the third-best points percentage in the Eastern Conference. It is easy to look at the point totals and get concerned about how close things are and how little margin for error there is right now, and there is some truth to that. To a point. But games played matter, and the Penguins have still played fewer games than any other team in hockey.

Like I pointed out on Monday, they are one point ahead of the Rangers, while having played four fewer games. They are tied with the Devils in two fewer games. Only two points behind the Islanders in three fewer games. They have put themselves in a good position, It could be a better position. They have put themselves in situations and given themselves opportunities for it to be a better position. They can still continue to do that as long as they do not let these recent games disrupt their progress. They have given themselves a cushion and are playing better.

Over the past eight games the Penguins have 11 out of a possible 16 points and the fifth-best points percentage in the league over that time. They have the third-best expected goals share during 5-on-5 play during that stretch. Yes, they have given away some points in that time and could, and should, be better …. but they are still collecting points. A lot of them. They are right there. Keep going with it. Keep doing it. Keep playing that way. Keep trusting the process.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/70113/how-will-the-penguins-respond

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Friedman: Hoffmann family’s exclusive window to purchase Pens has expired

A potential buyer for the Pittsburgh Penguins who had an exclusive window to buy the team has apparently allowed that window close.

Earlier this year, news surfaced that the Hoffmann family, who are based out of Florida and own the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, had emerged as a serious contender to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said at the time that he believed the Penguins would get sold at a valuation of $1.75 billion as the Fenway Sports Group was considering selling the franchise just under four years after making the purchase.

Friedman mentioned the possible sale in his latest 32 Thoughts column, mentioning that the Hoffmann family’s exclusive window to buy the team has expired.

4. Also with Pittsburgh: the Hoffmann (sp.) family’s exclusive window to purchase the Penguins has expired. Doesn’t mean the sale can’t (or won’t) happen — I’ve heard they are still pushing to close — but the process is once again open to other bids.

The Penguins were reportedly valued at $900 million when FSG purchased a controlling stake in November 2021, Pierre LeBrun reported for The Athletic.

The previous ownership group of Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle were reportedly also interested in re-purchasing the Pens, but the value of the franchise has increased so much since they got out that it might be cost-prohibitive a property for them to jump back into these days.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/7...exclusive-window-to-purchase-pens-has-expires

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins waive Matt Dumba

The Pittsburgh Penguins added two roster players in the big trade to bring in goalie Stuart Skinner and defenseman Brett Kulak in exchange for just one going on the door in goalie Tristan Jarry. That math means someone has to depart the Pens’ roster and the team announced it will be veteran defender Matt Dumba who has been removed from the roster and will be going on waivers when the list comes out at 2pm today.

In a corresponding move, defenseman Matt Dumba has been designated non-roster for the purpose of being placed on waivers at 2:00 PM. https://t.co/MLnTV9ZFgd

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) December 12, 2025

Dumba was acquired for Dallas over the summer, looking to drop his $3.75 million cap hit. Pittsburgh picked up a future second round pick for their troubles. Dumba had been rotating in and out of the lineup on the third pair, averaging 14:56 per game and scoring one goal and two assists over 13 contests. His results, much like his past few seasons, have not provided much among a rebound.

Matt Dumba on waivers. pic.twitter.com/4SydoE4PKu

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 12, 2025

Should the 31-year veteran go unclaimed, he would join the long line of veterans like Danton Heinen and Ryan Graves that have been assigned to Wilkes-Barre this season. Both of those players have been recalled when injuries and their impressive AHL play have necessitated it. Dumba’s contract expires at the end of this season. Pittsburgh took him onto gain an extra draft pick but now need his roster spot to see if Kulak will add more to the lineup.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/70173/penguins-waive-matt-dumba

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens goalie situation is ‘wide open’ after trading Tristan Jarry

The Penguins have had a Tristan Jarry problem for a while now. The 30-year old is on the books through the 2027-28 season at a $5.375 million cap hit. Pittsburgh doesn’t have salary cap issues for the future, but Jarry’s involvement with the team has been through the ringer ever since he was waived and sent to the AHL early in 2024-25. The Pens boast Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov, two promising young goalies who have done well in the minor leagues. Having a high-priced vet like Jarry around muddied the waters in terms of the roster moving forward for a team that also acquire 24-year old Arturs Silovs over the summer.

Needless to say, trading Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers solves that issue in one fell swoop. Removing Jarry and his contract opens things up in a major way, considering the goalie he was acquired for, Stuart Skinner, is an impending unrestricted free agent this summer. It’s clear on the surface what GM Kyle Dubas said in his comments, the future is wide open and now that the Pens have moved on from Jarry, it clears a hurdle for the next wave of younger players to fit in.

Dubas, on the goalie situation overall: "Beyond this year, there's no real commitment. The door is wide open for competition between (Skinner, Silovs, Murashov and Blomqvist)… There's a lot of incentive there… We'll see who can climb to the top and take it and run with it."

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) December 12, 2025

Dubas mentioned for now that Skinner and Silovs will be the NHL goalies with the team monitoring Blomqvist and Murashov very closely in Wilkes-Barre. They already got a brief glimpse of their prize 21-year old rookie Murashov for four games this season in the NHL due to an injury to Jarry.

The other bright spot for the Pens with this trade is the addition of Brett Kulak to add to their blueline.

Dubas said the message to the #LetsGoPens locker room is essentially, "we're trying to mitigate the loss in that we do have two very talented young goaltenders coming; we have a talented young goalie here in Arty; and we're improving our team and adding assets that we could use…

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) December 12, 2025

Dubas would continue on about Skinner:

“The message to the room is that Stu Skinner has had a very good run in Edmonton as well,” Dubas said. “I know this year didn’t start off the way that he or the team would have wanted it to, but I think, especially of late, he’s been back playing his game to the level that he’s expected.

“That’ll be up to Stu and (goalie coach) Andy Chiodo and our performance staff and coaching staff and our whole group to support him, have him come in and play well. Obviously, I think if you’re in his shoes, it’s a lot to prove. I mean, they’ve made the move to go away from him, and we’ll give him the best opportunity we can to be at his best.”

Skinner has been a heat magnet for his role as Edmonton’s starting goalie, like Jarry he has been trending down for a few years, but also like Jarry there is the capability to ramp up with a string of quality starts. Ironically enough, Skinner has been in one of those hot flashes lately with a .937 save% and +6.8 goals saved above average in his last five games.

Stuart Skinner, acquired by PIT, is a goalie. #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/g1KPWPnhow

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 12, 2025

Here’s how Jarry stacks up in the same outlook:

Tristan Jarry, acquired by EDM, is a goalie. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/anq4wOMWE5

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 12, 2025

Overall they have a very similar profile; Jarry has been better on the PK and his highs (excellent starts) are much higher. Skinner’s lows (bad starts) have been lower and his consistency has lagged, yet Skinner ranks as a better puck stopper in high, medium and low danger shots. He’s not a goalie to wow or stand on his head and single-handedly win games yet a lot of his metrics tend to be just as good or better than Jarry’s.

That the Pens were able to complete this deal — which also includes them receiving a second round pick four drafts from now in 2029 and not having to retain any salary at all on Jarry has to be considered a massive win. Jarry was radioactive just months ago, now Pittsburgh was able to bring back assets for him while wiping the slate clean for the future in terms of the salary cap as well as the depth chart.

For Edmonton, the move looks like a Hail Mary pass play. For those that don’t follow football, that has a low percentage chance of working out. Now boxed into Jarry’s cap hit — which ranks 19th among all NHL goalies and goes for 2.5 more seasons — the Oilers have thrown their lot hoping the Alberta resident can maintain his game and provide an upgrade over what they have been missing in net.

Time will tell if that works out or not for the Oilers, but on the Pittsburgh side of things the transaction represents a win that could help them out in the short and longer term to pull off this deal at this time.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/...tion-is-wide-open-after-trading-tristan-jarry

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Sharks Recap: Pens prove a four-goal lead is the worst in hockey (for them)

Pregame​

Rickard Rakell is back, which provides a big boost to the forward lines. The Pens shake Tommy Novak, Anthony and Kevin Hayes all down a little bit, give Ben Kindel, Rutger McGroarty and the returning Rakell bigger roles than the past. Pretty good there. The newly acquired players from Edmonton are hung up with immigration, so Sergei Murashov returns to the NHL, but Arturs Silovs gets the net in the first game of the post-Tristan Jarry era.

How we're lining up today vs. San Jose pic.twitter.com/hiY8vp78pN

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2025

The visiting San Jose Sharks have this lineup for the day. Alex Nedeljkovic watching from the bench in his return to Pittsburgh.

We've got your lineup right here. pic.twitter.com/OGjwRoQ0Wv

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 13, 2025

First period​

It’s a fairly non-descript start for both teams. Connor Clifton is off to the penalty box early to offer San Jose with a power play, they get some zone time but can’t score. That power play seems to throw the Penguins off and keep them from getting into the flow of the game, Tyler Toffoli goes onto score from distance on a shot that Silovs doesn’t pick up in time with the traffic buzzing around. 1-0 Sharks.

TYLER TOFFOLI! pic.twitter.com/VL7qeoiraB

— NHL (@NHL) December 13, 2025

Sidney Crosby holds the puck while his team changes behind him, eventually sending a pass for Ville Koivunen. Sam Dickinson has to trip Koivunen, giving Pittsburgh their first power play of the game. Crosby wins the faceoff and soon after Anthony Mantha bounces a shot off the pads of Yaroslav Askarov. The rebound goes right to Crosby and he makes no mistake throwing it back into the net. 1-1 game courtesy of a quick strike from the power play.

That's 19 goals this season for Sidney Crosby pic.twitter.com/DUzCQZzWYV

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2025

SJ takes another penalty and the Pens’ power play is really feeling it. They’re snapping the puck around like crazy, Bryan Rust hits the cross-bar flush in a near miss. Silovs doesn’t really bang his stick as the power play is expiring and wouldn’t you know Will Smith gets out of the penalty box and an instant breakaway. Silovs makes the save to bail himself and everyone out.

SILOVS SAYS NO pic.twitter.com/CXsHTbIS0V

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) December 13, 2025

In the dying seconds of the period Crosby and Noel Acciari are in on one of the most mis-matched personnel to ever get a 2-on-1. Wisely, Crosby calls his own number and takes the shot, Askarov’s turn to stay up and make the save.

Shots are 13-6 in favor of the Penguins through 20 minutes. Score is tied, which is a shame, Pittsburgh has been the better of the teams so far.

Second period​

The Sharks started their second line featuring Alex Wennberg, so the Pens opted to match that with their own second line to keep Crosby matched up against the Macklin Celebrini line. Worked out well, Rutger McGroarty fires in his first goal of the season 18 seconds into the second period after dancing Nick Leddy and gaining enough room to release a shot. Pittsburgh takes their first lead of the game, 2-1.

What a shot from Rutger McGroarty for his first of the season pic.twitter.com/c0JJONxXOL

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2025

Game continues to go crazy with teams trading chances at either end of the ice, Pittsburgh is OK with playing wide open with the fast and young Sharks. Connor Dewar slips behind the defense, they have hook him and it’s another Penguin power play. No luck.

Pittsburgh survives a sequence where Ryan Graves lets a Shark clear around him and then breaks his stick leading to some rare extended zone time for SJ. The Pens get back to work and find a New England-styled goal with Noel Acciari setting up a wide open Kevin Hayes at the back door. Good awareness for Hayes to open up in the right spot and a nice pass from Acciari. 3-1 game.

A BIG GOAL FROM BIG HAYESY! pic.twitter.com/1KeYXg5Ee0

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2025

Crosby takes a punch to the face from Dmitry Orlov, the refs call it a high-stick but it’s the thought that counts. The Pens go to work on the power play, a SJ player breaks their stick, Crosby isolates on where he’s at and passes over to Bryan Rust. That makes it easy but Rust still puts a perfect top shelf shot in. 4-1 game a just before intermission.

Another PPG for PGH

…AND WE GET 1/2 OFF RUSTY’S SHAKE AT THE @MShakeFactory TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/phbQCZRhen

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2025

Big time job by the Pens to get another one late and give it a three-goal cushion, despite their sketchy relationship with holding big leads.

Third period​

Graves again gets blown by, this time by Skinner. Graves grabs a handful of jersey and then gets his stick in for a hook too for a penalty that could have been a goal if not for a big save by Silovs.

Parker Wotherspoon bodies off Smith along the wall, Smith gets hurt on the play and a couple of Sharks jump Wotherspoon for hurting one of their top players, including Celebrini defending his good friend. San Jose takes an extra penalty as a result and the play cycles back to 4v4. When it cycles through to the power play, Anthony Mantha pounds it in for a 5-1 lead.

That's three PPGs for PGH! pic.twitter.com/2YsWFqPHwP

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2025

Dewar is sent to the penalty box and Erik Karlsson is sent off for the rare delay of game for playing the puck with a broken stick to grant the Sharks some 5v3 time. They make it count, John Klingberg walks in a little and fires a wrister from the top of the circles. 5-2 game with 12:27 to play, and the Sharks still have 1:21 of a 5v4 power play to work with.

John Klingberg gets one back. pic.twitter.com/nulUJi3b4w

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 13, 2025

The Pens survive that but the Sharks aren’t going away. Silovs makes about 3 or 4 great saves while sprawled out but Crosby and Letang can’t provide any puck support. William Eklund gets on the scene and chips the loose puck over Silovs and into the net. 5-3 game, 5:41 to go.

Eky puts it home. pic.twitter.com/BcQb35AyGW

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 13, 2025

SJ pulls Askarov with over three minutes left in the push for more offense. The Sharks get zone time but eventually Crosby sets Rust up for an open net chance – hits the post. That comes back to haunt the Pens, Celebrini makes his first really big moment of the night by bombing away and scoring. The lead has shrank away to 5-4.

Mack's goal for ya. #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/4xToqPfOES

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 13, 2025

Pittsburgh uses their timeout to regroup and break the momentum as try to stop yet another lead from slipping away. Good idea but it does pay off. The Sharks pull Askarov again, and they score again. Celebrini with the big shot. Ryan Shea swings around aimlessly. Toffoli finds the loose puck and chops it in. 5-5 game with 1:34 to go.

IT'S A TIE GAME pic.twitter.com/FfZStct3L8

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 13, 2025

Overtime​

The Penguins already seemed pre-stunned this game has even made it to overtime. It’s not hard to guess what happens next. Celebrini and Klingberg work a great give-and-go past Letang after Klingberg easily avoided Crosby. San Jose completes their comeback, the Pens are left, again, to wonder what the hell happened to their big lead.

Tears in our eyes too, @sharkvoice. pic.twitter.com/Rlrp7JR3ZQ

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 13, 2025

Some thoughts​

• The Penguins are so, so bad at protecting leads these days. It’s always more than one area going wrong, there’s no simple solutions (besides the truth, everyone needs to play better and try harder for longer) or easy fingers to point, it’s everywhere. They take penalties at bad times, they get caught puck watching, they don’t get a save when they need it, they get a chance to score into the empty net to seal the deal and fail. Happens so often it’s just a part of the game for them at this point, across the board and regardless of who is out there. Now we’re left to debate what’s worse between blowing a 5-1 lead with 13 minutes to go or giving up the tying goal with 0.1 seconds left. And that’s only in within the last three games!
• It’s kind of crazy to put coherent thoughts together, so luckily I did the rest as the game was going on. This team is so confounding when it comes to not being able to convert the easy things, like having a 5-1 lead with 13 minutes to go. That has to be a win, every time. But no lead is safe these days with a team ready to melt away.
• To the Sharks credit, it was a heck of a comeback. Their confidence grew, they grabbed momentum and they made it happen. Still can’t believe Rust didn’t angle his body a little better to hit that empty net. Oy.
• One of the Philadelphia writers tweeted that Crosby got some good luck when he scored a rebound goal earlier this month against the Flyers. When you watch Crosby enough (or acquire even the slightest bit of puck knowledge) and see him score again soon after on almost the same play like today against the Sharks, it’s clear that luck has very little to do with it. It’s the consistency of managing to get to the right place at the right time, which is the namesake of Crosby on the hockey rink, which he’s been doing since the early ‘90s in some form or another. Sure, with a bouncing and rolling puck there’s always some element of good fortune required but Sidney Crosby would be buying more Powerball tickets if he was nothing but this lucky. It’s like the old Thomas Jefferson quote about becoming luckier the harder one works, which brings it into perspective about why Crosby can appear to be so darn lucky all the time.
• That Crosby setup to Rust too was so damn cerebral. You could see it in real time too, Crosby figured out where the weakness was for the PKer who didn’t have a stick and then exploited it immediately. Rust held up his end of the bargain with a great shot, perfect stuff. It’s not a stretch to say that Crosby has to be one of the most intelligent players of all-time, the way he can read and diagnose situations like that as they develop in real time is unreal.
• Those two points put Sid at 1,721 for his career. Mario’s at 1,723. The Pens were angling and hoping that the changeover might happen during this homestand that has two more games so that Crosby can get recognized right away for it. (Wouldn’t it be something for Tuesday night’s games against McDavid and Tristan Jarry, ha).
• McGroarty and Ben Kindel combine on a goal, may it be the first of many times! Was great to see those two stay together and even drop their anchor and get a new third forward for the group. The goal followed.
• The sooner Brett Kulak can get his paperwork in-line to join the Pens, the better. Ryan Graves is reverting back to human pylon, nearly costing the team a couple of goals due to his lack of lateral quickness. Wasn’t the finest night for Shea or Wotherspoon either, the left side, and blueline as a whole could really use a defensively competent addition to the mix.

The Pens have to be reeling after all these blown leads. They’ll need to have a quick memory, the Utah Mammoth are coming to town for a game tomorrow. If they’re smart they’ll let the Pens get a 3, 4 or maybe 5 goal lead and start pulling their goalie..

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-reca...our-goal-lead-is-the-worst-in-hockey-for-them

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Utah Mammoth @ Pittsburgh Penguins 12/14/25

Who: Utah Mammoth (15-15-5, 33 points, 5th place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (14-8-8, 36 points, 6th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 3:00 p.m. eastern

How to Watch: Broadcast locally Sportsnet Pittsburgh, Utah16, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: Connor McDavid and Edmonton come to town on Tuesday and then the Pens hit the road to play in Ottawa on Thursday. Then next weekend will be Canadien-centric with a game in Montreal next Saturday (12/20) and then MTL/PIT rematch on Sunday 12/21 in Pittsburgh.

Opponent Track: The Mammoth were last in action Friday at home winning 5-3 against Seattle. Prior to that they had lost three straight games, however. Tonight is the start of the on the road with stops coming up in Boston and Detroit.

Season Series: The Pens take their trip out to Utah on March 14th.

Hidden Stat: Utah is 1-0 all-time in Pittsburgh, having won 6-1 last November in the franchise’s only game under this iteration.

Getting to know the Mammoth​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Clayton Keller – Nick Schmaltz – JJ Peterka

Lawson Crouse – Barrett Hayton – Dylan Guenther

Michael Carcone – Jack McBain – Danil But

Liam O’Brien – Kevin Stenlund – Kailer Yamamoto

DEFENSEMEN

Mikhail Sergachev / Sean Durzi

Nate Schmidt / John Marino

Ian Cole / Olli Maatta

Goalies: Karel Vejmelka and Vitek Vanecek

Potential scratches: Kevin Rooney, Nick DeSimone

Injured Reserve: Logan Cooley, Alex Kerfoot, Juuso Valimaki

• Tough break for Sidney Crosby Little Penguin alum Cooley to hurt his leg last week crashing into a goal post. He’s out a minimum of eight weeks, which that seemed like it could have been a lot worse if that’s about all it is.
• That defense has a lot of “hey, I know him” names on it.
• All Czech goalie crease? That’s a rarity.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• Utah was doing great on the injury front until Cooley went down, barely any of their key players have missed time at all before that point aside from that incident and Durzi missing a chunk of the year and Kerfoot out for all of it so far. 11 of their players still have perfect attendance this deep into the season, that’s no small feat with injury time going up across the league this year.
• Cool to see 34-year old Andrew Agozzino (who played 17 NHL games in Pittsburgh in 2019-20) still kcking around. He’s not at the NHL level currently.
• Tanev has a great agent and reputation to get multi-year contracts deep into his 30’s.

Key matchup: Utah offense vs. Pittsburgh defense

This would be a big red blinking warning light even if the Pens didn’t blow a big lead yesterday and head into today with an unknown and uncertain state, while the Mammoth didn’t play yesterday. Utah is a great 5v5 offensive ream, they generate a ton. They also have the speedy forwards that can exploit the weaknesses of the Pens’ defense: Dylan Guenther scored two goals and added an assist in his lone game against Pittsburgh last season. JJ Peterka is another gifted offensive player with incredible wheels, he scored two goals over three games last season vs PIT (while with Buffalo). Clayton Keller collected three assists in the two games against the Pens last year.

Another “watch out for Guenther” segment

The Hat Trick

Another lesson in goaltender interference as Utah made a wise challenge.
Dylan Guenther has caught fire at the right time.
Nick Schmaltz offered one of his most complete performances of the season.https://t.co/9OcLofUYBX

— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 13, 2025

Guenther has four goals in three games since Cooley has gone down. He was massive against Seattle on Friday night.

“He’s been great,” Nick Schmaltz said. “He’s one of our best players, he makes a ton of plays, he scores a lot of big goals for us.”

“We’re happy to have him. I think he’s been great for us all year.”

It might be Guenther’s two-goal, three point game last year in PPG Paints Arena, but seriously. Circle No. 11 on the board, underline it, bold it and make sure he’s accounted for as much as possible. Easier said than done, of course, but this is the player that could wreck the game if he’s allowed to do it.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Rutger McGroarty – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau

Ville Koivunen – Tommy Novak – Anthony Mantha

Connor Dewar – Kevin Hayes – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea / Kris Letang

Ryan Graves / Connor Clifton

Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov?

Potential Scratches: Danton Heinen, Jack St. Ivany

IR: Blake Lizotte, Evgeni Malkin, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones

• It remains unknown if Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak can get their visa situation squared away in time to join up for today’s game. Murashov was recalled under the emergency circumstances to get on the roster, he’s free to be used at any time (just has to be returned to the AHL once the emergency has subsided and Skinner rejoins the team).
• The IR list is getting notably shorter in recent days, at least. Malkin’s absence has been felt, though Rakell’s return at least provides a trickle down effect to create a fairly formidable group on paper compared to some of the lineups over the past few weeks.
• The team may well choose to have Crosby, Malkin and Kindel on three different lines when all are healthy at the same time, but it seems an easy prediction to make that Kindel won’t be playing on a third line for very much longer. At some point it might make sense to “Jordan Staal age-18” Kindel and put him on a scoring line as a winger considering he definitely is one of the team’s best six forwards.
• This could be a danger game for the Pens, based on frittering away a 5-1 third period lead in a historic fashion. There’s a bad recent precedent, earlier this week when Pittsburgh blew the Anaheim game by conceding the tying goal with 0.1 seconds left they ended up starting slow and losing 4-2 to Montreal as a follow up. It’ll be interesting to see if they can scrub the memories of their latest blown lead but that is typically a difficult thing to instantly move on from.

Penguins seeking answers​

"The common thread is we get away from what works… I have to clearly be better."

Coach Muse following today's loss pic.twitter.com/7IfeiAVrUt

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) December 14, 2025

Dan Muse has a big problem on his hands when it comes to figuring out how to get his team to perform for full games. Given the condensed schedule, they’re going to have to try and figure it out on the fly. In a way they’re left trying to finish building the aircraft while it’s already in the air, but such is life in an 82-game NHL season. How the rookie coach is able to handle this moment could go a long way in defining how the season goes.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/penguins-...iew-utah-mammoth-pittsburgh-penguins-12-14-25

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Mammoth Recap: Past the point of ridiculous, Pens blow another three-goal third period lead, lose in OT

Pregame​

Same forwards and defensemen for the Penguins as yesterday’s meltdown, rookie Sergei Murashov is pressed into action since Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak are still tied up with their paperwork coming into America.

Today's lineup vs. Utah. pic.twitter.com/Bhuk5BQ0RF

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2025

The visiting Utah Mammoth make their first appearance known as the Mammoth in Pittsburgh with this lineup.

Let’s rock. pic.twitter.com/1C8uHgdScV

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025

First period​

You never know what is going to happen in a Penguin game, so you’d better not miss much. Pittsburgh gets the first goal just 48 seconds into the game when Justin Brazeau’s centering pass jumps off a Utah player and into the net. Sure. 1-0 home team early.

Hot start pic.twitter.com/8Lo2DyaT35

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2025

After the great setup on the opening goal, Ben Kindel heads to the penalty box to give the Mammoth the first crack at the power play. Their power play does not look in good condition, multiple clears by the Pens makes short work of it.

The Pens get a power play of their own, not much to write about.

Utah the better of the teams for most of the period but Murashov is there to tend the goal.

The Mammoth turn the puck over on a failed breakout and out of no where Bryan Rust gains control deep in the offensive zone. He just kinda flicks a shot and the goalie Vejmelka isn’t sharp enough to get all of it and the puck slips in. 2-0 game.

Rusty has six points (3G-3A) over his last three games

AND… WE GET 1/2 OFF RUSTY’S SHAKE AT THE @MShakeFactory TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/D4Zgobe4cN

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2025

Sidney Crosby draws a power play on the rush when his old teammate Ian Cole piefaces him with a free hand.

Shots are 8-6 Utah, which sounds close enough. Shot attempts are 24-9 Utah, painting a better picture of where the puck was for a lot of the period.

Second period​

The game settles in, an opportunistic Penguin move creates another goal. Ben Kindel changes on the fly and due to the bench alignment in the second period is behind all the Utah defense. Ryan Shea hits Kindel with a long stretch pass and it’s a free and clear breakaway. Kindel makes no mistake on the right-glove catching Vejmelka to shoot to his blocker side and extend the score to a dangerous 3-0 lead, considering how the Penguins have been going at this point..

Le jeune Ben Kindel s'échappe et donne une avance de 3 à 0 aux Penguins pic.twitter.com/bEvXQgwJwn

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 14, 2025

Ville Koivunen is off to the penalty box for hooking, Murashov makes a huge save on Michael Carcone to help the kill out.

ROBBED BY MURASHOV pic.twitter.com/GDQwLMalJ1

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2025

The Pens keep playing with fire in terms of going short-handed, this time it’s Connor Clifton off for two minutes. Pittsburgh again survives.

Not a lot of offense for Pittsburgh, just three shots on the period compared with 10 for the Mammoth. The mammoth performer so far has been Murashov, stopping all 18 shots his way so far. Pittsburgh up 3-0, which should be comfortable but can’t be with the form this club has been in.

Third period​

Oh boy, Utah opens the door 1:07 in. The sequence is started with the forwards changing and Parker Wotherspoon advanced the puck instead of hanging back and waiting for reinforcements. The Pens never touch it again. JJ Peterka throws a puck on the net, the rebound kicks out to Nate Schmidt and Murashov can’t recover in time. 3-1.

Utah is on the board! pic.twitter.com/XnDaUwKReQ

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025

Right off the next faceoff, it happens again. Carcone races around Clifton and shoots one that Murashov can’t control. 3-2 game. Uh oh.

Carcs gets one

3-2, Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/UOpN7Vr8uP

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025

Pittsburgh goes to the timeout to calm things down. Doesn’t really w0rk. Utah scores another with 14:25 to go. Ryan Graves pushes into Kevin Stenlund in front of the net but doesn’t remove him. Sean Durzi uses the screen to fire in a goal. Out of desperation, the Pens challenge for goalie interference. Stenlund’s skate is in the blue paint but he doesn’t really physically interfere with the goalie, the refs find. Good goal and Pittsburgh is penalized for delay of game.

Durz makes it 3-3!

Things are getting exciting here in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/vb1fdKQJut

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025

Carcone makes Pittsburgh pay for the challenge with a power play goal. Murashov is sinking, not square to the shot, but Shea and the PK are letting any and everything through too. 4-3 Utah.

Michael Carcone for the lead! But picks up his first @NHL point with the assist!

4-3, Utah! pic.twitter.com/Ja2EFpEzgY

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025

Bad gets worse when Rust is sent off for hooking. Durzi did clamp down on Rust’s stick but it has to get up there in the first place to make that happen. Pittsburgh kills it off at least.

There’s still some fight in the Pens, their second line gets a good shift and Brazeau tips in an Erik Karlsson point shot to tie the game back up. 4-4 with 5:54 to play.

BACK IN IT. pic.twitter.com/oe9FsMzXTS

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2025

It’s Pittsburgh looking as good as they have for a sustained bit in a while with Kindel and his line leading the charge to find a late winner, but regulation expires first.

Overtime​

Kindel starts OT with Rakell and Karlsson. Kindel wins the faceoff but turns the puck over to the wrong guy. Dylan Guenter motors in alone and shoots a long-rage shot that beats Murashov. That kind of day for the Pens, which ends in a loss.

Gunner doing what he does best! OT Winner!!! pic.twitter.com/Q5YsH4DEZO

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025

Some thoughts​

• Haven’t always liked Rust’s total game this season at times given away from the puck play, but he’s winding into form now and the offensive contributions can’t be denied. Today’s goal marked the third in a row that he’s found the back of the net, and he’s got six points in the last three. With Malkin out and Rakell still working on his timing and game form, the Pens need Rust at the top of his game, he hasn’t disappointed lately.
• Good to see Brazeau score a goal for the first time in his return from injury in his fifth game back, let alone add another huge goal in the third period to tie the game back up. Overall it’s his first goals since October 28th. The Pens improve to 5-1-3 on the season when Brazeau records a point which I’d bet is starting to get out of just being random noise. They’re probably going to do well on that day when players like Brazeau are producing. Today of course falls into that coulda/shoulda/woulda category that’s growing too much.
• That’s two games in a row with a primary assist for Kindel (and another in the third period) to double his season output of assists from three to six after this weekend. All three assists of the recent helpers came at even strength, where he only had one ES assist the entire season as of yesterday morning. The upgrade in QoT to not play with the Tomasino/Koivunen/Novak types these days are starting to pay off.
• And how about that breakaway goal for Kindel? Sometimes back pressure makes that a different situation from penalty shots but in this one Kindel knew he had all the time in the world, made a deke and confident, strong shot that scored. Pittsburgh shouldn’t play another shootout in the foreseeable future where they don’t pick Kindel to go out there for it. He might not be a mortal lock to score but he’s shown more in this (and winning the team shootout competition last month in Sweden) to be involved.
• Another maddening collapse, the Pens were flirting with disaster all game but were able to survive for a while with Murashov making a pair of saves from the puck hitting the top of his stick. Add in some penalty kill time, minimal offensive pressure and spending way too much time in their own end and well, who needs to explain it when it’s happened so often lately.
• You can understand the helpless Muse trying to empty the tank with timeout usage and challenges just in case, but nothing is working anywhere to prevent the collapses. It might not have even mattered but I didn’t like that specific challenge, there was not a lot there to review besides Graves not being good at defense and it served up a golden chance to fall behind. Which they did. So even the coaching inputs are hurting more than helping at this point.
• By the first TV timeout in the third period Utah had 4 goals since intermission, the Penguins had 2 shots. Uuuuuuuugly.
• Given how bad the Pens have been with leads lately, this might be one of the few times you could accurately say with a straight face that it’s a wonder that the team up 3-0 at the start of the third period even made it to overtime considering that they were losing 4-3 fairly deep into the game. Stealing this one would have been nice to steady the ship, but frankly considering the 37-16 shot differential, it’s not a game that they exactly deserved to win following another backbreaking collapse.

Checking the schedule it’s Edmonton up next for Tuesday. That will have some extra attention on it, given the swap of goalies between the two teams.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/game-reca...other-three-goal-third-period-lead-lose-in-ot

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

The week ahead: How will the Penguins bounce back from a baffling, insane week?

When we looked ahead to this past week on Monday, I said it would have been a good week if the Penguins could collect at least five or six points in the four games that were ahead. After all, things were looking good. The Penguins had just completed a wildly successful three-game road trip through Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Dallas where they went 2-0-1 against three good teams, and found themselves near the top of the league and Eastern Conference standings.

The games they had on the horizon were tough, but winnable, and all of them at home.

The Penguins actually put themselves in good positions to win most of those games.

But that 3-2 overtime loss in Dallas, where they lost a late lead and lost another game in a shootout, should have been a warning for what was about to come in the games ahead.

Actually, the Tampa Bay game, where they blew a 3-0 lead, and then nearly blew another late lead, should have been the real warning.

Because they kept doing things exactly like that.

It was a maddening week.

Let’s break down all of the insanity.

• The week began with the Penguins holding a 3-2 lead against the Anaheim Ducks, in a game the Penguins mostly carried, with 17 seconds to play, a power play, and an offensive zone face-off. That should be a regulation win 100 times out of 100 in that situation. The Penguins even won possession of the puck off of the face-off and dumped the puck back into the Anaheim zone with under 10 seconds to play. They still somehow allowed a game-tying goal with 0.1 seconds left. Then they lost in a shootout.
• On Thursday their game was delayed for 30 minutes because of an accident on I-279 in the city that prevented players from getting to the arena on time. While they showed up in body, they were not there in mind and were just absolutely rocked for most of the night by the Montreal Canadiens.
• On Friday, the Penguins and Edmonton Oilers swapped starting goalies with Tristan Jarry going west, following weeks of rumors, for Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak. Jarry already made his debut with Edmonton and got a win. Skinner and Kulak are still dealing with the immigration process and have yet to join the Penguins.
• On Saturday the Penguins seemed to be in a position to wash the bad taste from the previous three games out of their mouths and had a 5-1 lead against a bad San Jose Sharks team — a Sharks team that lost one of its best players in Will Smith to injury — with 14 minutes to play. They allowed the Sharks to pull off their first four-goal, third period comeback in franchise history, tying the game and then ultimately winning it in overtime, 6-5.
• Just 24 hours later the Penguins went into the third period with a 3-0 lead against a Utah Mammoth team — that had to help push a car out of the snow before the game! — and seemed to be in a position to redeem themselves. The Penguins were not playing well, but Sergei Murashov was shining and they had a chance to show they could, in fact, hold a big lead late in a game. And then Utah scored four goals in seven minutes to take the lead. The Penguins were able to show at least an ounce of pride and tie the game late, sending it to overtime, where they lost 44 seconds in.

They were in a position to get those six points.

Any team in the NHL, when given those situations, should have earned the six points. Probably 100 times out of 100. Certainly at least 99 times out of 100.

The Penguins managed to get only three points.

If that is not enough, the Penguins are only 2-1-2 this season when entering the third period with a three-goal lead. That is three losses in those situations.

The rest of the NHL this season is 73-0 when faced with that situation.

They are 1-9 in games that go beyond regulation, which, while still a major problem that is leaving potential points on the table, is not anywhere near as big of a problem as the fact they seem to be in their own heads and incapable of holding what should be an insurmountable lead.

I have no idea what to make of this.

Are the Penguins an overachieving bad team?

Are they a fragile, mentally broken good team?

Losses at this point would be easier to accept if they were just getting dominated from the opening face-off and losing regular, normal games. But that is not happening. The opposite is happening. While the roster is still obviously flawed in some big areas (the defense is not good; the goaltending is inconsistent and has been for years) they are still playing really well for long stretches of time.

They dominated Philadelphia.

They beat Tampa Bay, one of the best teams in the league, in their building, in regulation.

They outplayed Dallas, arguably the second-best team in the league, for most of Sunday’s game.

They controlled the play against a good Anaheim team for 59 minutes 59.9 seconds.

They were dominating San Jose for 40 minutes.

They dominated Toronto, in Toronto, for 40 minutes and had a 3-0 lead earlier this season.

Truly bad teams do not really do that. The Penguins are not uncompetitive. They are not lacking in talent. They can create and produce offense as well as any team in the league and have some of the best special teams in the league. That is worth something.

Even with these blown leads and this stretch of games, they are STILL on a 100-point pace for the season and still very much in the playoff race. By points percentage they are still 11th in the NHL and sixth in the Eastern Conference. A lot of that is due to the broken nature of the NHL standings that do not properly weigh regulation wins versus overtime and shootout defeats. But that is another topic for another day.

Go back to September training camp and tell somebody that in Mid-December the Penguins would be on that pace and in this spot in the standings you would probably say, “hey, maybe they are not so bad.” But there is no way you could have anticipated it looking like THIS.

It is truly one of the most baffling things I have ever seen in sports. Even if you want to conclude that the Penguins are not a very good team and are not as good as their 10-game start to the season, teams simply do not lose games like this, this often, and this frequently. Bad teams just lose games. They get beat from the start. Not even lottery teams give away games like this.

What is really a kick in the head with these recent game is they have come after the returns of forwards Rickard Rakell and Justin Brazeau. But those returns coincided with the absences of Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte. The injury situation just keeps balancing out in the worst possible way.

What do you even do at this point?

The other concerning thing is that it is not really the young guys or the new guys that are causing a lot of this. It is the veterans. Look at the players that were on the ice for the ending of the Anaheim game. Sidney Crosby. Bryan Rust. Kris Letang.

Look at the players on the ice in overtime on Sunday.

Or the players that were on the ice for much of the San Jose meltdown.

It was the guys that should know better and be better and be leading by example. I have made the argument — and still believe it — that it is good for rebuilding teams to having good players that still give a damn around their younger players. Right now those players are the ones doing a lot of the damage in terms of their failure to hold leads and their inability to win in overtime. If these guys want to make the playoffs again in Pittsburgh a lot of this has to fall on them to start being better in these situations.

The Penguins have four games this week, including one more game this home stand against Jarry and the Oilers. With the way the week is going he probably shuts them out and scores an empty-net goal.

They then go on the road for two games against the Ottawa Senators and Montreal before returning home for another game against the Canadiens as part of a home-and-home.

The Oilers have not played up to expectations this season, but they still have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. We saw what Montreal is capable of this past week with their young talent. Ottawa has been struggling lately.

I am not even going to try and think of what a reasonable week should look like because nothing about this team is reasonable.

Whatever their record ends up being this week we are really going to learn something about this team and where its mindset is. If they can regroup and find a way to win some games, that is a great sign. If they go in the tank and just lose games from the start, that is probably a bad sign. If they keep losing third period, multi-goal leads you might have to really start considering drastic changes. This can not continue.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/...guins-bounce-back-from-a-baffling-insane-week

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers @ Pittsburgh Penguins 12/16/25

Who: Edmonton Oilers (15-12-6, 36 points, 4th place Pacific Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (14-8-9, 37 points, 5th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:30 p.m. ET

How to Watch: TNT, HBO Max, truTV

Pens’ Path Ahead: Tonight marks the final night of the Penguins’ homestand. Now the Pens will look to regroup when they head up to the Great White North for games against the Ottawa Senators (Thursday) and Montreal Canadiens (Saturday).

Opponent Track: The Oilers have gotten points in five of their last six games, although they’re most recently coming off to a 4-1 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal.

Season Series: The Penguins won’t see the Oilers again until Jan. 22, when the team heads to Edmonton as part of a four-game West Coast swing.

Hidden Stat: The Penguins aren’t the only team that has struggled with blowing leads this season. The Oilers have gone into 15 third periods with a lead and suffered four overtime losses in that stretch.

Getting to know the Oilers​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman

Vasily Podkolzin – Leon Draisaitl – Matthew Savoie

Trent Frederic – Adam Henrique – Mattias Janmark

Andrew Mangiapane – Curtis Lazar – Max Jones

DEFENSEMEN

Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse – Alec Regula

Spencer Stastney – Ty Emberson

Goalies: Tristan Jarry, Calvin Pickard

Potential scratches: Riley Stillman, David Tomasek

Injured Reserve: Jake Walman, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Clattenburg, Jack Roslovic

• The Oilers have alternated their last two games between former Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, who backstopped Edmonton to a 6-3 win in his first start for his new team, and incumbent starter Calvin Pickard, in front of whom the Oilers lost 4-1 on Sunday to the Canadiens.

Tristan Jarry rockin' his new threads

: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/w9mQKBIE7q

— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2025

• There’s a chance both Jarry and recent Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner could get the nod tonight, just days after they were traded from their former teams.
• When asked Monday what reception he thought he would get in his return to Pittsburgh, Jarry answered: “You never know. I hope in a good way. I put my heart and soul into this team, and I hope they understand that. You never want to go into a game thinking you’re gonna lose. You wanna win every single game that you step foot on the ice. And I think that’s all I want to do, is win in Pittsburgh. And I hope I was perceived that way.”

Season stats
via hockeydb

• This is a battle of two of the league’s top power plays. The Penguins and Oilers are two of just three teams converting on more than 30 percent of man-advantage opportunities so far this season.
• The Oilers aren’t doing as well stifling goals against, even at even strength or on the penalty kill. Edmonton is heading into this week with a 79.1 PK% (20th in the NHL) and 3.39 team GAA (26th).
• It’s true that those numbers have something to do with Skinner’s 0.891 save percentage in his first 23 appearances, but the Oilers defense has also been to blame especially early in the season. This team ranks 21st in the NHL in high-danger shots against, per MoneyPuck.
• Edmonton will now hope changing up the goaltending situation will help the defensive corps regain some confidence and lower that rate down the stretch. That puts a significant amount of pressure on Jarry, especially after Connor McDavid recently signed a two-year extension below market value in the hopes this team will win a Stanley Cup in 2026.
• Speaking of McDavid: He was named the First Star of the Week last week after putting up 10 points (four goals, six assists) in the Oilers’ last three games. He leads the league in assists (34) and ranks second in points (52) through 33 games. He’s also officially the fastest player in the NHL this season, according to both NHL Edge stats and the eye test below:

CONNOR MCDAVID WASTES NO TIME

: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/r3Us7zq0cK

— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2025

• Zach Hyman, who returned in November after missing the beginning of the season due to his recover from a broken wrist, has provided a boost alongside McDavid on the top line. He heads into the matchup on a three-game goalscoring streak.
• The Oilers’ other star center could hit a milestone today as Leon Draisaitl enters the game one point short of 1,000. Draisaitl would be the 103rd NHL player and first player born in Germany to reach the milestone should he get on the scoreboard in Pittsburgh.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Rutger McGroarty – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau

Ville Koivunen – Tommy Novak – Anthony Mantha

Connor Dewar – Kevin Hayes – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea / Kris Letang

Brett Kulak or Ryan Graves (?) / Connor Clifton

Goalies: Stuart Skinner, Arturs Silovs

Potential Scratches: Danton Heinen, Jack St. Ivany

IR: Blake Lizotte, Evgeni Malkin, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones

• Oilers pickups Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak got added to the active roster Monday. Sergei Mursahov meanwhile got re-assigned to the AHL, so the Pens will be rolling into the week with Skinner and Silovs as the goaltending options.

• Brett Kulak is joining the Pens on the left side of the defense, so Graves could be a potential draft should the Pens slot him in to the lineup tonight.

Brett Kulak, acquired by PIT, is a defensive defenceman who generally plays a stabilizing role. Not having a great season and has had his minutes cut, but worth mentioning the Oilers goalies had an .861 save % with him on the ice. #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/91EPkQcN3K

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 12, 2025

• Sidney Crosby is just two points from matching Mario Lemieux’s franchise-record career total of 1,723 points.
• The Penguins are heading into tonight on a five-game losing streak (it’s featured some of the worst blown leads in the entire NHL this season, but at least they’ve picked up four points in the 0-1-4 stretch without Evgeni Malkin on the second line and Blake Lizotte when they’re down a man). This marks the first time this team has dropped five straight decisions since October 2024.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/70331/game-preview-edmonton-oilers-pittsburgh-penguins-12-16-25

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Tristan Jarry vs. Stuart Skinner: Who will play better the rest of the season?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in action on Tuesday night, getting a fresh start on a new week after one of the most insane and baffling weeks in franchise history. It is also a fascinating game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Sidney Crosby is closing in on Mario Lemieux’s franchise record for career points.

Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl is one point away from 1,000 for his career.

Connor McDavid is in town. That is always incredible to watch, because recently he has just dunked all over the Penguins when he plays against them.

The Penguins might do something bizarre that you have never seen before. How big of a lead can they actually surrender? Tune in and find out.

There is also former Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry returning to face his former team, with Stuart Skinner getting a chance to face his former team. We have the rare dual revenge game just a few days after the trade.

It is tremendous theatre.

The Skinner vs. Jarry matchup is interesting not just in the context of Tuesday’s game, but also for the remainder of the season. Edmonton is hoping that one of the most inconsistent goalies in the league can fix its long-standing problem in goal and help get the team over the hump to win a Stanley Cup.

The Penguins are going to try and maintain their surprising start and roll — for now — with a Skinner and Arturs Silovs duo and hope they can play well enough to get them into the playoffs. Or at least hold down the fort until Sergei Murashov is ready and gets his chance.

It is going to be fascinating to see which of these two goalies (Skinner or Jarry) will play better the rest of the way.

What makes it so fascinating is they are so similar in terms of their overall production and consistent inconsistency throughout their careers. Both have shown flashes of brilliance with high peaks. Both have had stunning struggles and low valleys. Skinner actually backstopped a team to a pair of Stanley Cup Finals. Jarry has fumbled in just about every big moment he has played in and tends to wear down as each season goes on.

The simplest way to put it: They are goalies. Run-of-the-mill goalies that are capable of highs and lows at any given moment when you least expect either of them to happen. I don’t know how anybody, from the teams themselves, to media, to fans, to even the players have any idea as to what to expect over the next four months of the regular season from either player. If you think you know, I think you are kidding yourself.

There are maybe — maybe — four or five goalies in the NHL that I confidently trust over an extended period of time to play and produce at a consistently elite level. I trust Connor Hellebuyck. I trust Igor Shesterkin. I trust Andre Vasilevskiy. I think I trust Ilya Sorokin (probably?). That might be it.

Then there is the second tier of goalies that includes Jake Oettinger, Logan Thompson, the current version of Sergei Bobrovsky and maybe Darcy Kuemper. Or maybe Jeremy Swayman? What’s the difference between him and Linus Ullmark? Good luck figuring it out. They are all pretty good goalies with occasional moments of brilliance but are not consistently great like the first group.

Then there is quite literally everybody else.

You can win a Stanley Cup with Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill playing great, and then be forced to convince yourself they are still good when they turn back into Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill. Joey Daccord will play great enough one year to make you pay him big money, and then you are paying big money to Joey Daccord and wondering why you are paying big money to Joey Daccord.

Jarry and Skinner fall into the everybody else category.

Since the start of the 2023-24 season, the most recent extended stretch of hockey we have from both goalies, Jarry has appeared in 102 games with a .900 save percentage and is minus-4.3 goals saved above average. He has a .797 save percentage on high-danger shots in all situations.

Over that same time period Skinner has played in 133 games with an .899 save percentage and is minus-6.1 goals saved above average. He has a .793 save percentage on high-danger shots in all situations.

Virtually the same goalie.

The argument that you might be able to make in Jarry’s favor at this point is that since returning from his trip to the waiver-wire and American Hockey League in the middle of the 2024-25 season he has been the better goalie, and actually pretty decent. Both are statements of fact.

But what does that actually mean? Jarry playing well for a stretch of games is not a surprise. He has done that throughout his career, and at a rate that is not only better than his current level of play, but also at a legitimate All-Star level.

It also never lasts for more than 10-20 games at a time.

I went back over the careers of both players and looked at their rolling 10-game save percentages and compared them to the league averages in each season. Here they are side-by-side.

Skinner has hovered closer to the league average for most of his career. Jarry has had higher peaks, but significantly lower valleys. When he is good, he can be great. When he is bad, he can be awful.

Even when taking into account the declining league-wide save percentage in the NHL, Jarry’s current level of play versus the league average is not even close to what he has done at his best. So why should there be an assumption that this time his improved play is going to be any different long-term?

The answer is you should not. At least not until he proves it over an extend period of time. Maybe this time will be different?

Here they are overlayed on top of each other.

Good luck figuring out which of these guys you can count on.

Jarry has been a little better in the most recent sampling of games, but even those two numbers and performances are starting to regress back toward each other.

Jarry might play the better the rest of the way. It would not surprise me.

Skinner might play better the rest of the way. It would not surprise me.

Both of them will probably be wildly inconsistent and not what either team needs for its current objectives and goals.

We should expect this because that is what their careers have told us to expect from them as goalies.

At the end of the day the Penguins received a comparable goalie with no long-term commitment, opening up a future spot for their top goalie prospect, while also getting a serviceable defenseman this season that could actually be the most impactful of the two players arriving in Pittsburgh as part of the trade (and a future draft pick).

This is not an attempt to hedge bets on a prediction here. It is legitimately impossible to know who is going to play better. Good luck everybody.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/...r-who-will-play-better-the-rest-of-the-season

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Jarry claims victory in return to Pittsburgh

Here are your Pens Points for this Wednesday morning…​

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers played an ice hockey game at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night. This was a game of great significance for the starting goalies, as both players were on the ice against the team they were traded from just days ago. In the end, however, it was the now-former Penguin, Tristan Jarry, who got the last laugh and helped beat the Penguins 6-4. [Recap]

Jarry, after only being traded this past Friday, had to turn on that competitive switch to play against the only professional team he’s ever known by Tuesday night. With such a quick turnaround to play his former team, he admitted the emotions were still very fresh ahead of the first game as a visitor. [Trib Live]

A trade also means new opportunities for players in their new environment, which is what Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak are looking forward to as they settle in with the black and gold. [Penguins]

After retiring in the summer of 2024, former Penguins forward Derick Brassard, 38, has come out of retirement to sign with Genève-Servette of Switzerland’s National League. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL…​

Leon Draisaitl became the first German-born player to reach 1,000 NHL points after he notched an assist in the first period of Tuesday’s game. [Sportsnet]

A few minor waiver moves were made on Monday, which included a former Penguins defenseman. The Boston Bruins added defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok off waivers from the Dallas Stars. [TSN]

Legendary Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban has purchased a minority stake in the Nashville Predators. [ESPN]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/7043...rs-jarry-nhl-nick-saban-draisaitl-1000-points

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Report: Fenway Sports agrees to sell Penguins to Hoffmann family

It’s been a slow trickle of news and development in the story about the potential sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Last out there was that the Hoffmann family’s exclusive window had expired, but it appears they and Fenway Sports kept grinding to reach a deal and reportedly now have one.

Sources say @FenwaySportsGrp has reached an agreement to sell the #NHL’s @penguins to the Hoffmann family, a Chicago-based investment group led by David Hofmann.

Official announcement expected in coming days.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 17, 2025

FSG bought the Penguins from the Lemieux Group in a $900 million transaction that came about at the end of 2021. Now about four years later, it looks like FSG is flipping the Pens for what should be a massive windfall. NHL franchise values have skyrocketed lately and they should be the beneficiaries of the timing.

That timing was bad news for the reported interest that Mario Lemieux had in an attempt made to buy back into the Pens franchise. The value has about doubled since he sold, leaving the opportunity tight to get back. It remains unknown how or if the Hoffman’s will incorporate Lemieux, who has had a strained and limited relationship with FSG in recent years.

As far at the fan impact of this sale, that remains to be seen. FSG was never fully welcomed or embraced having taken over from the legendary Lemieux, though they did pump in a large amount of money to renovate areas of PPG Paints Arena and invested heavily to bring Kyle Dubas on board and give him a large budget to expand the franchise’s off ice and managerial levels. Should the Hoffmann’s continue to allow a wide berth to Dubas and the hockey operations folks to continue a move like this might not be a seismic change for fans and consumers. One area to watch will be the potential transfer of Pittsburgh’s regional sports channel, currently owned and operated by FSG and branded as Sportsnet Pittsburgh. Past reports indicated a sale of the team would include the channel.

More details will certainly be coming in the future about this transaction and what changes might be in store for the team as it picks up a third different owner in this decade.

$1.7B sale price on Penguins from Fenway to Hoffmanns

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 17, 2025

Sounds like the Hoffmann family hasn't yet reached out to Mario Lemieux – who will retain his minority share through the transaction – but that Lemieux could be open to a larger presence around the team under new majority ownership. https://t.co/WXxbT0v1ck

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 17, 2025

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/70477/report-fenway-sports-agrees-to-sell-penguins-to-hoffman-family

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Revisiting Penguin predictions for 2025

It’s always fun to go back and have a laugh at how difficult predicting the future is, so why not put a six-game losing streak on the back burner to see how many twists and turns there really were in the calendar year of 2025.

Here’s an audit of what did and didn’t happen according to the clouded crystal ball.

Mike Sullivan is still the coach of the Pens on 1/1/2026

Is this a bold prediction? Maybe not. Unpopular? Possibly so. But there won’t be a change behind the bench in the near future in Pittsburgh. Sullivan has the confidence of his bosses and the utmost respect from his star players.

Well, starting out a cool 0/1. Sullivan eventually lost that confidence of Kyle Dubas and was fired after the season. It was time for a change, certainly past time based on the short shelf lives of NHL coaches. It makes sense to move into the next phase of the team with a younger and more developmental oriented coach like Dan Muse to bring fresh ideas and insert some new energy to the team but it was fair to need to see it to believe it. So far that’s been mostly a breath of fresh air for 2025-26.

Sidney Crosby will NOT win gold this year (but he will next year)

Crosby has won the last four major international tournaments in which he’s played (2016 World Cup of Hockey, 2015 World Championships, 2010 and 2014 Olympics) but he won’t be adding the 2025 4 Nations Faceoff to his endless mantle of achievements. That will be due to Sullivan and the Americans taking the title of the NHL’s international tournament next month.

That said, the unfamiliar feeling won’t last long — Crosby will capture his third Olympic gold in Milan for the 2026 Olympic games. How’s that for a bonus prediction?

Close but no cigar, the Canadians prevailed over the Americans in a 3-2 OT 4 Nations championship game to add to Crosby’s illustrious mantle of achievements. Wouldn’t bet against them in Italy in a few months either, but the gap between them and the Americans has become razor thin to make it a virtual toss up. The US won the round robin game 3-1 against Canada to prove they are loaded right there with Team Canada’s best.

Crosby breaks the Wayne Gretzky record of most point per game seasons

Easy one, by April Crosby will have more points than games to break the record that Wayne Gretzky set.

Crosby easily cleared this, scoring 91 points in 80 games last season to take that somewhat obscure NHL record as his own. He’s working on extending it with the 35 points in 32 games this season, which won’t be shocking to see that keep going.

The Penguins will trade Marcus Pettersson and not make the playoffs in 2025

The Pens have had a few nice weeks to end 2024, but their hot shooting will regress and they don’t have the defense or goaltending to overcome their general team construction that lacks too much talent in too many areas over the long run. They’ll finish a handful of points out of a playoff spot — not an embarrassment, but at the same time not a serious, real contender to make the playoffs by the end of the season.

As such, the team will trade Marcus Pettersson at the deadline, and maybe one or two others (but not much more). There won’t be a firesale, partially because the Pens will want to keep some talent around to finish the season and partially because contenders are not going to be that interested in what Pittsburgh has to sell. The return for Pettersson won’t thrill but won’t be terrible.

Some added context is needed here; when this article was posted on January 2nd, the Pens were in 9th place in the East, just one point below the playoff line (though they had played two more games at the time than most competitors). Pittsburgh ended up finishing more than a handful of points below the playoff line (11) but did end up trading Pettersson a few weeks after this, any illusion of a strong second half run was just that. There was no true firesale, the team did move Anthony Beauvillier, Cody Glass and Michael Bunting but brought an equal amount of NHL talent by gaining Conor Timmins, Connor Dewar and Tommy Novak. Important players without expiring contracts in Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson all stayed put.

The return for Pettersson was pretty strong, netting a first round pick that would become the 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft. Pittsburgh flipped that on draft day to move down and eventually draft Will Horcoff and Bill Zonnon. Pittsburgh also picked up some spare pieces to even out the money (Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais) and received prospect Melvin Fernstrom, while also including impending free agent Drew O’Connor in the deal.

The jury is still out on the three major young pieces that Pittsburgh got from this move. Horcoff is looking very promising and could be the key from this transaction to pay off down the line.

One of Ryan Graves or Tristan Jarry will be moved this summer

Kyle Dubas will look to undo a self-inflicted mistake and clear out a bad player/bad contract this summer. He won’t be able to work miracles and get rid of both, but he will flip one under-performing and over-paid veteran for a similarly bad contract in the off-season. It will be met with some relief in the long-term.

The moves didn’t happen in the summer but the intent was in the right place. Both Graves and Jarry hit the waiver wire in the course of 2025, reaching natural conclusions from the disappointing and declining play. Jarry rebounded to play well enough to get traded by the end of the year, once Edmonton saw him put more evidence out that he had presumably fixed some of his issues.

As for Graves, well who knows. He went down to Wilkes with a positive attitude, did well and was called back up. Since then he has been up and down on the borderline of the lineup. He still has three seasons after this to go, it doesn’t make sense to buy him out and even with a rising cap there’s not much reason to think another team is going to be interested in adding his services any time soon.

Erik Karlsson stays…for now

The Penguins will need players, and Karlsson’s $10.0 million existing cap hit won’t be easy to move. Pittsburgh won’t be that hard-pressed to make a bad deal that requires them to retain salary and/or acquire asset(s) lesser than what a 22 minute a night right handed defender who can score 50+ points in a season can offer as value on the ice, so they won’t make such a trade. Which means they’ll hold tight with Karlsson for a while longer yet. Karlsson won’t finish his contract (which lasts through 2026-27) in Pittsburgh, but he’ll spend of all 2025 in the Steel City.

There’s always a lot of smoke regarding Karlsson and the potential for a trade, most of it coming from outside forces. The Pens have not yet seemed outwardly anxious to try and move him, and his own performance has been badly needed for a blueline that doesn’t have many capable puck movers on it. Given the full no movement, this situation has always pointed to being an off-season move, should it happen at all. Maybe that changes by the 2027 deadline if the team is not looking playoff quality that year as his contract ticks out to go chase a Stanley Cup, but for now it seems sensible that Karlsson isn’t going anywhere.

No exciting trades or free agent signings..

Much like in 2024, the Penguins won’t be looking at the top free agents available. Besides entry level contracts they will not sign anyone for three or more seasons and not attempt to significantly upgrade their roster through free agency. Nor will there be any exciting trades ahead, unless dealing Pettersson for a couple of futures does it for ya.

Which means don’t hold your breath for news of a Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell trade in 2025, it’s not going to happen this year. The Pens still need somebody to play with Crosby, and those two have been productive and fit the bill to surround Crosby with legit NHL scoring line talent. Both Rust and Rakell are signed through 2027-2028, they’ll play most of the time remaining on those deals in Pittsburgh (even though, like Karlsson above, they won’t finish their contracts with the Pens – but the team will not be in a huge hurry to move them along either).

There’s a few days to go before the Christmas trade freeze but at this point it looks like Rakell and Rust lasted the of whole 2025 with Pittsburgh. Perhaps that changes by the March deadline if the Pens fall out of contention and seek to trade in those aging assets for some younger ones, though the point remains that the team will need some first-line caliber wingers to play with Crosby. That hasn’t changed and barring another club coming in with an offer that the Pens can’t refuse the status quo may continue for longer.

..But the youth revolution will begin

The Pens have been retooling in the last year, but have not really shifted into being a young team just quite yet. That’s mostly because they don’t have enough NHL caliber young pieces to fit the bill, but the slow process is about to show more progress. With Owen Pickering’s development that’s starting to change already, in the next 12 months it will only continue. Rutger McGroarty, Tristan Broz, Ville Koivunen, Joel Blomqvist and Vasily Ponomarev will all work towards being NHL regulars in the coming year. Harrison Brunicke will make his NHL debut. Veterans like Matt Nieto, Noel Acciari and Kevin Hayes will fade away through one mechanism (free agency, trade, IR) or another.

The changes and turnover won’t happen overnight. Veterans like Crosby, Karlsson, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will inflate the team’s overall average age, but make no mistake that through the the median age of the player, the Penguins will certainly be trending towards youth as 2025 goes along.

Some specifics were wrong, Pickering hasn’t taken any tangible steps and Acciari/Hayes have remained, but overall we’ll chalk this up as a win. No one could have foreseen Ben Kindel’s surprising ascension into an instant NHL player, but the Pens have gotten younger across the board. In 2025 they dropped to 30-something goalies (Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic) picking up two 20-something goalies (Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs). Brunicke, Koivunen, Sergei Murashov and Tristan Broz all made NHL debuts along with Kindel. Many older roster players (Nieto, Michael Bunting, Matt Grzelcyk) moved on with younger replacements.

The Pens aren’t truly a young team and never will grade well on the average, but the movement is clearly in place. The team has four U-23 members (Kindel, McGroarty, Koivunen and technically Brunicke) whereas as recently as 2022-23 they basically had none. Others like Murashov and ideally Pickering should be knocking on the door. The wave of young talent drafted in 2025 sets the stage for more like Horcoff to come up through the ranks in ideally the not-too-distant future.

Another slight miss was that some of the under-the-radar signings were not that exciting in July but have worked out wonderfully on the ice. Justin Brazeau and Parker Wotherspoon have played very well on team-friendly deals. Anthony Mantha has 22 points in 32 games. Those moves didn’t move the needle in the moment but have proven to be major adds for the team on the ice, as have to a lesser degree the signings of players like Connor Dewar, Filip Hallander and Caleb Jones for peripheral players.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/70469/revisiting-penguin-predictions-for-2025

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Random thoughts as Penguins try to break losing streak

Checking in with some quick random thoughts as the Pittsburgh Penguins try to break their now six-game losing streak.

They have not won since Evgeni Malkin left the lineup​

That is the pretty obvious line in the sand right now for when everything turned to crap for the Penguins.

When we last saw Malkin on the ice for the Penguins, he was scoring a game-winning goal late in the third period of a 4-3 regulation win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was his second goal of the game, his third point of the night, and his second consecutive multi-point game. The Penguins improved to 14-7-5, had one of the best records in the Eastern Conference (and the NHL) at that point and things were looking pretty good. He was up to 29 points in 26 games and showing that he still has some juice to his game and can still be a big-time difference-maker.

Then he missed a practice for maintenance.

Then he missed a game and was going to be day-to-day.

Then he went on injured reserve and has not played since.

The Penguins have also not won a game since, losing six games in a row including four games by a single goal (all in overtime). I do not think it is a stretch to suggest that the presence of a healthy Malkin in the lineup could have impacted at least one or two of those games.

They miss him, and they miss dearly. It has shortened the lineup, it has taken a key player off of the power play, and it has taken a difference-maker off the ice.

Is Anthony Mantha the best choice for the top power play right now?​

I am not so sure.

Especially in the manner in which he is being used.

If you are going to insist on putting Mantha on that unit, shouldn’t he be spending the bulk of that time in front of the net? Or at least near the net? I understand the Penguins power play has a lot of movement this season (a pleasant change, and a big part of their success) but I just don’t know that he has the puck skills or playmaking skills to be operating in the man-advantage out near the blue line or out near the face-off dots. I did not understand the logic of swapping him into that spot in place of Ben Kindel, and I understand it even less watching it in action.

Kindel has been extremely effective on the power play on that top unit. Put him back out there.

It might be time to split up Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust​

Crosby and Rust have been an outstanding duo for the Penguins for years, but it might have run its course as an effective line.

At least for now.

They can still produce offense together. That is not the problem. But they are absolutely bleeding goals and chances against at an alarming rate, and it’s becoming a huge problem.

For the season, they have been outscored (22-23) during 5-on-5 play. They are on the negative side of every shot attempt, scoring chance, and expected goal metric, despite getting heavy offensive zone starts.

Crosby might like having linemates he is familiar with and can trust, but you’re on a six-game losing streak, nothing is going right, and that line is at the center of a lot of issues defensively, especially late in games. Everybody needs a wake-up call right now.

It is make-or-break time​

This might be the stretch of games that really impacts what the Penguins season is going to be.

Because of games in hand and the NHL’s point system, the Penguins are still in a top-eight spot in the Eastern Conference by points percentage despite having lost six games in a row and won just six of their past 20 games (yeah, you read that right). Because so many of their losses have come in overtime or a shootout, they keep collecting points and hanging around. But their next four games are against teams below them in the standings (Ottawa, Montreal, Montreal, Toronto) and teams that theoretically will be competing for a wild-card spot with them.

It is not too early to start looking at four-point games.

If they can come out of this stretch with a few wins, they will build themselves a little bit more of a cushion and buy themselves more time to hang around in the playoff race. If they do not, they will start settling into a spot in the standings where everybody always thought they would be this season. Even with the recent results I think the Penguins have, more often than not, played better than their record indicates for long stretches of games. They just need to finish them. Now would be a great time to figure out how to start doing that.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/70510/random-thoughts-as-penguins-try-to-break-losing-streak

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Losers of seven straight

Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning…​

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators duked it out in Canada’s capital city on Thursday night. It was largely a no-show performance for a Penguins team that looks defeated and deflated at the moment. The Senators took a 4-0 victory as Pittsburgh’s losing streak reached seven games. [Recap]

Sidney Crosby remains just one point away from tying franchise icon Mario Lemieux for the eighth-most points in NHL history and most points in Penguins history. Of the two legends, which center has had the more impressive career? [TSN]

News and notes from around the NHL…​

Former Ottawa Senators head coach and Penguins assistant coach, Jacques Martin, will be added to the Senators’ Ring of Honor on Jan. 24, 2026, the team announced on Thursday. [Sportsnet]

Former NHL forward Milan Lucic signed with the Fife Flyers of Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League on Thursday. The transaction immediately sparked a backlash in Scotland because of an alleged domestic incident involving Lucic and his wife, Brittany Carnegie, in 2023, so much so that Scottish media reported Thursday that the signing has drawn criticism from domestic abuse advocates and coincided with the resignations of two team officials. [TSN]

Could a reunion between the Montreal Canadiens and forward Phillip Danault be in the cards? The Canadiens are apparently one of several teams calling the Los Angeles Kings to inquire about Danault’s services. [TSN]

Speaking of trades, here are six deals that NHL teams should make after the holiday roster freeze concludes on Dec. 28. [ESPN]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/70518/pens-points-penguins-senators-crosby-lemieux-nhl-lucic-danault

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Hoffmann family enters into formal agreement for controlling interest of Penguins franchise

The Hoffmann Family of Companies has entered into a formal agreement purchase controlling interest of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Hoffmann family, who run a Chicago based investment company, were closing on a deal to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Fenway Sports Group for approximately $1.75 billion.

The Hoffmann Family has entered into a formal agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Fenway Sports Group.

Full Release: https://t.co/xM4hO3NJcG pic.twitter.com/3nllwHBamy

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 19, 2025

That deal is now under agreement and subject to approval from the NHL’s Board of Governors.

“When the opportunity arose to become the next stewards of one of the most respected organizations in sports, we knew we had to pursue it,” said Geoff Hoffmann, CEO of Hoffmann Family of Companies. “The Penguins’ on‑ice legacy and the values shared by the team and the city align naturally with ours. We’re here to build, grow, stay…and win.”

The Hoffmann family business currently oversees more than 125 global brands, including the Florida Everblades in the ECHL.

“Hockey has always been a meaningful part of our family’s story, which makes this an incredibly special opportunity,” Hoffmann said. “We’ve long admired the Pittsburgh Penguins – not just for their championship legacy and history, but for the culture, passion, and loyalty that define the organization. From our earliest conversations, we saw how deeply the Penguins are woven into the fabric of Pittsburgh. We are honored to join that tradition and excited to become an active part of the community.

Current Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas is expected to continue in his role with the team.

“The franchise has thrived under the world-class leadership of Fenway Sports Group, and we are excited to build on that momentum,” Hoffmann added. “Our goal is to support Kyle Dubas with everything he needs to bring the Penguins back to the pinnacle of the NHL. We look forward to working alongside the exceptional leadership team already in place, strengthening our connection with Penguins fans, and ensuring the franchise remains a source of pride for the city for generations to come.”

Fenway Sports Group, who purchased the Penguins from Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle in 2021, are expected to maintain a minority shareholder role.

When the sale is officially completed, Geoff Hoffmann is expected to serve as the team’s Governor with the NHL’s board.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/7...or-controlling-interest-of-penguins-franchise

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

How damaging is a seven-game losing streak to a season?

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost again on Thursday, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Ottawa Senators that was a concerning replay of Tuesday’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers. They fell behind early, showed little pushback, and quietly lost by multiple goals without much of a serious challenge. At least they have moved on from losing multiple goal leads to just simply losing by multiple goals. It is less stressful and infuriating that way.

It is also still not good, and it extends the current losing streak to seven games.

This is relatively uncharted territory for the Penguins in the Sidney Crosby era, and history suggests it is probably not a good thing for their chances of building on what was at one time a strong start and making a surprising playoff appearance.

First, from a Penguins perspective, this is only the fifth seven-game losing streak that has happened in the Crosby era.

Of the previous four, three of them happened during Crosby’s rookie season in 2005-06 when the team won just 22 games.

That season saw the Penguins have losing streaks of nine games (to open the season!), 10 games and seven games.

The nine-game losing streak to open the season saw the Penguins lose four games in overtime or shootout (much like this losing streak), while the 10-game streak was entirely regulation defeats. That losing streak was snapped with an 8-1 win over an equally bad Washington Capitals team, and was immediately followed by the other seven-game losing streak (which featured one overtime loss).

The other previous seven-game streak came early in the 2022-23 season when they went 0-6-1 between Oct. 24 and Nov. 5. It put them into an early 4-6-2 hole that was going to be a challenge to climb out of. They ended up going 15-3-2 over the next 20 games, but that early losing streak, combined with another six-game losing streak later in the season, ended up playing a huge role in them missing the playoffs by a single point, snapping their streak of consecutive playoff appearances.

Until Thursday’s defeat, those were the only seven-game losing streaks that have happened during the Crosby era. This is also the only one that has taken place during the Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era, but even that comes with something of an asterisk because Evgeni Malkin has not actually played in any of these seven games.

The Penguins also missed the playoffs in each of those two seasons. And that probably should not be surprising. Seven games is a significant chunk of a team’s season (almost 10 percent) and given how many three-point games exist in the NHL and how difficult it is to make up points as the season goes on, giving away 10 percent of your season in one big segment is a problem.

The good news: There have been 32 teams that have had a seven-game losing streak in a season since 2005-06 and still ended up making the playoffs. That seems like a solid number!

The bad news: Over that same time period there have been more than 200 seven-game losing streaks from teams that did not make the playoffs.

Some of those instances were the same team having multiple seven-game losing streaks in the same season (like the 2005-06 Penguins), but at the end of the day it still comes out around a 14 percent chance of actually make the playoffs when you lose seven games in a row.

If the losing streak reaches eight games, only 15 of those teams have made the playoffs.

if by some chance it gets to 10 games, only four of those teams have made the playoffs.

So.

Yeah.

The odds are not in your favor when you lose seven games in a row, and those odds only keep going down the longer the losing streak gets.

Not only because of what that does to your season in the standings, but also because it is probably a pretty good indicator that your team in general is simply not very good.

That is what makes this particular seven-game winning streak so maddening for the Penguins. You can fairly say they deserved to lose against Montreal, Edmonton and Ottawa. Those were flat games where they did not play well and ended up with the result they deserved.

But the other four games were just …. baffling. They remain baffling. Everything about the situation they have put themselves in is baffling.

They outplayed Dallas and lost. Okay. Sometimes that happens. Dallas is an outstanding team. Sometimes they are going to get you if you give them another chance. It was an encouraging process with a frustrating result.

But the Anaheim, San Jose and Utah games are the type of games that even bad teams win given the positions they were in. If they simply hold on to those games the entire season looks different right now. Three additional points would give the Penguins a .606 points percentage right now. That would be the third-best points percentage in the Eastern Conference. They would still be in a great position and nobody would be talking about how the fast start had gone away. Because the fast start would still be happening.

That is also what, from a human element perspective, makes this particular seven-game losing streak even more damaging. This team looks broken given the way they have lost some of these games. The confidence looks gone. The energy looks gone.

If it continues any longer the focus of the season will eventually have to shift to what we all originally thought it would be from the beginning. The future.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/analysis/70544/how-damaging-is-a-seven-game-losing-streak-to-a-season